Introduction
The international management is the modern concerns of the companies with the increase in globalization and internationalization. It is an important part of international business. The management in international business includes the similar management aspects include planning, organizing, leading and controlling of multicultural areas of the business (Rozkwitalska & Gdanska, 2009).
BUMET International Inc. has recently changed its management for Asian region that includes Japan, Korea, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia. The executive management has to consider the differences in the culture of these countries before practicing the management. For this purpose, it is important to compare different cultures and then to implicate the management practices for their management.
Comparison of the Cultures
Although all the countries are accounted in the Asian region, however, they have different cultures. The cultures and practices in the organizations of these countries are also different. Before planning the management style and practices for Asian Region, let’s have an overview of their cultural differences in their organizations. For comparison, the national culture dimensions of Hofstede are going to use that include power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, long term, orientation, and indulgence. The two graphs below shows the countries’ comparison (Hofstede Centre, n.d.):
(Hofstede Centre, n.d.)
(Hofstede Centre, n.d.)
It can be seen in the graph that the ratio of all cultural dimensions is different in all six countries such as long term orientation is very high in Japan, China, and South Korea while it is very low in Thailand and Malaysia. Power distance is high in Malaysia and China. Masculinity is very high in Thailand but averages in other countries. The individualism is very low in all countries except Japan. These cultural dimension differences show that the countries are different from each other regarding organizational practices. Keeping these differences, the international management of BUMET has to consider the cross cultural disciplines and considerations as important.
Change in Management Style
Considering the cross cultural differences, the management is needed to change its management style and practices. The international organization possesses organizational diversity means having people from different backgrounds (Caprar et al. 2015). For this purpose, the management is needed to adopt the flexible style of leadership. Flexibility is very important for the international business management and to manage the workplace diversity. It allows the employees from cross cultures to present their ideas and feedbacks in their style, and it increases the innovation in the company (Harvey & Allard, 2015).
Here are many examples of large and international organizations that are successful due to the organizational flexibility. Zara and Google are two best examples of flexible culture and management styles that promote innovation in their organizations and are the leading firms in their industries (Mathis & Jackson, 2011; Loeb, 2013). Therefore, the management has to change its leadership style for the management of Asian Region of BUMET Company.
Conclusion
References
Caprar, D. V., Devinney, T. M., Kirkman, B. L., & Caligiuri, P. (2015). Conceptualizing and measuring culture in international business and management: From challenges to potential solutions. Journal of International Business Studies, 46(9), 1011-1027.
Harvey, C. P., & Allard, M. (2015). Understanding and managing diversity. Pearson.
Hofstede Centre. (n.d.). Cultural dimensions. Retrieved April 7, 2016, from; https://geert-hofstede.com/malaysia.html
Loeb, W. (2013). Zara's Secret To Success: The New Science Of Retailing. Retrieved on April 7, 2016, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/walterloeb/2013/10/14/zaras-secret-to-success-the-new-science-of-retailing-a-must-read/#5b44a1801332
Mathis, R. L. & Jackson, J. H. (2011). Human Resource Management. South-Western, Cengage Learning.
Rozkwitalska, M. & Gdańska, P. (2009). Cultural Dilemmas of International Management. Journal of Intercultural Management, 1(1), 91–99.
