• You will hear part of an interview on cross-cultural management with Steve

F：These days more and more people are employed in multinational companies which require higher awareness of cultural diversity．ABD is a multinational car manufacturer that has been very successful in dealing with cross-cultural problems．Steve Denison，an internal business consultant，is in the studio today．Steve，could you explain why your company has been such a success in that field?
M：Well，with the increased globalization of the economy and interaction of different cultures，the future of any organization depends on whether the employees can accept the differences and learn from each other．But we do have our‘secret weapon’．
F：Interesting!What is it then?
M：Our secret weapon is‘glocalization’．
F：‘GIobalization’you mean?
M：No，GLOCALIZATIONO The conflict between globalization and localization has led to the invention of this concept‘glocalization’．You know，companies that want to be successful in foreign markets have to be aware of the local cultural characteristics that affect the way business is done．
F：I see．So could you give us some examples about those local cultural characteristics?
M：Sure．Take Latin and Asian cultures for example．Their status is not based on analysis or systems，but is automatically accorded to the boss，who is more likely to be in his fifties or sixties than in his thirties．This is particularly true in Japan，where companies traditionally have a policy of promotion by seniority．A 50-year-old Japanese manager，or a Greek or Italian one，would quite simply be offended by having to report to an aggressive，well-educated，but inexperienced American or German 20 years his junior．
F：OK，What about the performance evaluation then?Would that be different as well?
M：Sure．I’ll use the salespeople to illustrate the difference．In countries like USA or Britain，the principle of pay-for-performance often successfully motivates them．The more you sell．the more you get paid．But the principle might well be resisted in countries where rewards and promotion are expected to come with age and experience．There was an example of a sales rep in an Italian subsidiary of a US multinational company who was given a huge quarterly bonus under a new policy imposed by head office．His sales—which had been high for years—declined dramatically during the following three months．It was later discovered that he was deliberately trying not to sell more than any of his colleagues，so as not to reveal their inadequacies．He was also desperate not to earn more than his boss，which he thought would be an unthinkable humiliation that would force the boss to resign immediately．
F：What about the differences in management structures?
M：Yes，I was just about to come to that．Another example of an American idea that doesn’t work well in Latin countries is matrix management．The task-oriented logic of matrix management conflicts with the principle of loyalty to the all-important line supewisor，you know，the functional boss．And without the awareness and understanding of the other culture，each would think of the other as being ‘corrupt’。
F：So how do we tackle these misunderstandings?Are there any strategies to be applied?
M：OK．Experience and knowledge will surely help us accommodate to another culture，but some key strategies may quicken the process．To begin with，the understanding and acceptance of differences；and that is followed by developing culture sensitivity and shared decision-making．Then organizational resources should be distributed equally．And er…
F：Wow，that’s already a whole lot of strategies．And there’s more?
M：Yes．And er，yes，flexible institutional policies，practices，and procedures should be applied．
F：OK．So what kind of training programs or proposals would you offer your company，you know，to get all these ideas to really sink in?
M：well，there are many different types of cross-cultural training to make sure that we can all get along in the work place，like conflict resolution；conducting cultural audits；managing sexual attraction in the workplace；preparing employees for international work，to name just a few．
F：I’m particularly interested in what you call the‘diversity training’，could you brief me with some of the deta s?
M：Sure.Diversity courses provide people with the skills they need to get the most out of interactions with people of a different race，gender，or nationality．Appreciation of differences is important，but it is not considered the highest priority competency．The abilities to make others comfortable and included are the most important，no matter how much you know about their culture．Institutional barriers are also considered without placing blame on individuals．
F：That sounds good.Steve，thank you very much．
M：Thank you．