cross culture management

1. Question 3
There are six barriers to communication—
anxiety, assuming similarities instead of differences, ethnocentrism, stereotypes and
prejudice, nonverbal misinterpretations, and language problems.
Intercultural communication allows people to communicate across cultures without
prejudices and failing to pass the message appropriately. Knowledge of intercultural
communication allows people to work anywhere around the world because they are able to
create rapport with anybody and can effectively conduct business. Some of the barriers to
intercultural communications is language, ethnocentrism and stereotyping. To overcome
these barriers, one needs to have a grasp of international languages and all times be
relative, suspending own cultural biases and prejudices.
The differences in two countries' culture with regards to business ethics issue impacts how local
values influence the concept of global business ethics. Each nation contains unique cultures
and distinctive beliefs about what business activities are acceptable or unethical. We have two
distinguished concept to differentiate with regards to national culture. We have tangible and
intangible items like for example is artifacts (tangible) and concepts and values (intangible).
Having lower environmental standards and workplace safety standards for doing business can
also create ethical issues among two different countries. So in order to do business
internationally and cater to the specific needs of local customers, we have to become culturally
sensitive to adopt the culture of host country. Because we have global ethics, no matter what
your culture is since every country observes global ethics, we should respect differences
between other countries.
QUESTION 4
Ethical Issues in Business: The Definition
Before going any further, it’s important to understand what we mean by ethical issues in
business today.
Ethics is a broad term. At its core, acting ethically in business means building a
company around integrity and trust as well as complying with regulations. However,
there are many other issues that fall under the ethical issues in business definition,

2. including empathy, diversity and acceptance, and carrying out business in accordance
to the company’s values.
Types of Ethical Issues in Business
If you are to run an ethical business, you first need to know what types of issues you
can expect to face and may need to overcome.
1. Discrimination
One of the biggest ethical issues affecting the business world in 2020 is discrimination.
In the last few months, many corporations have come under fire for lacking a diverse
workforce, which is often down to discrimination. However, discrimination can occur at
businesses of all sizes. It applies to any action that causes an employee to receive
unequal treatment.
Discrimination is not just unethical; in many cases, it is also illegal. There are statutes to
protect employees from discrimination based on age, gender, race, religion, disability,
and more. Nonetheless, the gender and race pay gaps show that discrimination is still
rampant. Other common instances of discrimination include firing employees when they
reach a certain age or giving fewer promotions to people of ethnic minorities.
2. Harassment
The second major ethical issue businesses face is harassment, which is often related to
racism or sexism. This can come in the form of verbal abuse, sexual abuse, teasing,
racial slurs, or bullying. Harassment can come from anyone in the company, as well as
from customers. In particular, it is an ethical issue for the business if a supervisor is
aware of harassment from a client and takes no action to prevent it.

3. In addition to causing a toxic workplace, harassment can cause employees to leave the
company prematurely — a second reason why some businesses lack diversity.
Harassment can have a long-term impact on employees: psychologically, in terms of
earnings, and even impacting a person’s entire career path.
3. Unethical Accounting
Publicly-traded companies may engage in unethical accounting to appear more
profitable than they actually are. In other cases, an accountant or bookkeeper may
change records to skim off the top.
4. Health and Safety
Another type of ethical issue that is often protected by law is health and safety.
Companies may decide to cut corners to reduce costs or perform tasks faster. As well
as injuries, failing to take workers’ safety into account can lead to psychosocial risks
(like job insecurity or lack of autonomy), which can cause work-related stress.
5. Abuse of Leadership Authority
Abuse of power often manifests as harassment or discrimination. However, those in a
leadership role can also use their authority to pressure employees to skip over some
aspects of proper procedure to save time (potentially putting the employee at risk),
punish workers who are unable to meet unreasonable goals, or ask for inappropriate
favors.
In addition, abuse of authority can extend beyond the workforce. Managers can use
their position to change reports, give themselves credit for the work of a subordinate,
misuse expenses, and accept gifts from suppliers or clients.

4. 6. Nepotism and Favoritism
Nepotism is when a company hires someone for being a family member. Favoritism
occurs when a manager treats an employee better than other workers for personal
reasons.
Not only are nepotism and favoritism unfair, they are also disheartening to employees.
Workers often find they have to work much harder to receive a promotion or other
rewards.
QUESTION 2
Decision Making
The synchronized leader. Follow-through is key tobeing seen as leadership material
in regions such as Northeast Asia (e.g., Mainland China, South Korea, and Japan),
Indonesia, Thailand, the UAE, and much of Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Colombia,
Chile). In order to ascend the organizational ranks, such leaders must seek consensus on
decisions and drive others through a keen process orientation. Business cycles can take
longer as a result. But once all stakeholders are onboard, the deal needs to close fast or
there is risk of jeopardizing the agreement. Synchronized leaders tend to be prudent and
are more focused on potential threats than rewards.
The opportunistic leader. Leaders whoself-initiate and demonstrate flexibility on
how to achieve a goal tend to be more desirable in Germanic and Nordic Europe
(Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway), the UK, Western countries on which
the UK had substantial cultural influence (the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand), and
Asian countries that based their governing and economic institutions on the British
model (India, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong). More or less individualistic, these
leaders thrive in ambiguity. However, checking in frequently with team members is
advised to ensure others keep up with changing plans. Opportunistic leaders tend to be
ambitious risk takers.
Communication Style
The straight-shooting leader. In some regions employees expect their leaders
to confront issues straightforwardly. In Northeast Asia and countries like the
Netherlands, excessive communication is less appealing in the leadership ranks
— people just want you to get to the point. Accordingly, task-oriented leaders are

5. preferred. Impromptu performance review meetings with direct reports occur more
commonly in these locations, and leaders address undesirable behaviors from team
members as soon as they are observed. Straight-shooting leaders tend to be less
interpersonally sensitive.
The diplomatic leader. In certain countries communication finesse and careful
messaging are important not only to getting along but also to getting ahead. In places
like New Zealand, Sweden, Canada, and much of Latin America, employees prefer to
work for bosses who are able to keep business conversations pleasant and
friendly. Constructive confrontation needs to be handled with empathy. Leaders in these
locations are expected tocontinuously gauge audience reactions during negotiations and
meetings. These types of managers adjust their messaging to keep the discussion
affable; direct communication is seen as unnecessarily harsh. Diplomatic leaders tend to
be polite and agreeable.