INFLUENCE OF CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE IN MODERN DAY MANAGEMENT

 

INFLUENCE OF CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE IN MODERN DAY MANAGEMENT

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.1 Introduction          -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           1-2

1.2 Cultural Intelligence and Organizational Effectiveness:              -           -           -           3

1.3 Cultural Intelligence and Leadership        -           -           -           -           -           -           4-6

1.4 Management Challenges in a Global Economy    -           -           -           -           -           6-8

1.5 Benefits of the Modern Management Theory      -           -           -           -           -           8

1.6 Brief Conclusion   -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           9

1.7 References            -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           -           10

1.1 INTRODUCTION: Cultural intelligence aid in modern day management, because most successful businesses are across borders deal, this create opportunities for learning multi-culture to enable management survive and grow in a new environment. Culture can be learn now in modern time via available material on the internet, magazine, apart from living in that particular place this help to boost management success with cultural intelligence-having a knowledge of the way of life of the people where the business activities is centered became necessary, a prerequisite for management success. Cultural intelligence is one of the required factor for every successful or those intending to succeed in modern time. Since management deal main with human aspect of resources- human capital management, then cultural intelligence will give management of one organization an edge over others that know less of the culture of the environment of their core operation area. Success in management become simple when cultural intelligence is added, as a key point in management.

The concept of cultural intelligence was introduced in modern day management about two decades ago into management.Originally, the term cultural intelligence and the abbreviation "CQ" was developed by the research done by Christopher Earley (2002) and Earley and Soon Ang (2003). During the same period, researchers David Thomas and Kerr Inkson worked on a complementary framework of CQ as well. Cultural factors do not necessarily cause problems for managers when the cultures of two countries are similar. Difficulties can arise, however, when there is little overlap between the home culture of a manager and the culture of the country in which business is to be conducted. For example, most U.S. managers find the culture and traditions of England relatively familiar. The people of both countries speak the same language and share strong historical roots, and there is a history of strong commerce between the two countries. When U.S. managers begin operations in Japanor the People’s Republic of China, however, most of those commonalities disappear.In Japanese, the word hai (pronounced “hi”) means “yes.” In conversation, however, this word is used much like people in the United States use “uh-huh”; it moves a conversation along or shows the person with whom you are talking that you are paying attention. So when does hai mean “yes” and when does it mean “uh-huh”? This turns out to be a relatively difficult question to answer. If a U.S. manager asks a Japanese manager if he agrees to some trade arrangement, the Japanese manager is likely to say, “Hai”—but this may mean “Yes, I agree,” “Yes, I understand,” or “Yes, I am listening.” Many U.S. manager become frustrated in negotiations with the Japanese because they believe that the Japanese continue to raise issues that have already been settled (because the Japanese managers said “Yes”). What many of these managers fail to recognize is that “yes” does not always mean “yes” in Japan.

Cultural differences between countries can have a direct impact on business practice.

These calls for the need to understand culture of any country, region management intend to have their business in.

 

1.2 Cultural Intelligence and Organizational Effectiveness:

The world is now a global village, need for management to have cultural intelligence to be able to influence business environment.

Studies by Earley et al. (2013) demonstrated that there is a correlation between CQ and the effectiveness of MCTs as it increases employees’ commitment and organizational outcomes. The general belief behind much of this past research is that organizational culture is an important social characteristic that influences organization, group, and individual behavior (Cameron &Whetten, 1983). Glisson& James (2016) defined culture within an organizational context as a shared collective construct that entails a property of the work unit. This includes teams, work groups, and the organization in its entirety (Schein, 2009). Cultural intelligence and OE are, therefore, related as the latter would determine how various environments within an organization would function (Schein, 2015). In his study of the organizational effectiveness of 29 organizations, Cameron’s (2006) results showed that certain managerial strategies are strongly associated with high static scores and with improving effectiveness over time. He further emphasized that the right managerial strategy in a culturally diverse work environment was far better than finances, demographics, structure, or other factors (Cameron, 2016).

 

 

 

1.3 Cultural Intelligence and Leadership: A leader, manager that understand the culture of the internal and external environment to lead easily and achieve good result for management.Cultural intelligence is a person’s capability to function effectively in a culturally diverse environment (Earley&Ang, 2003). It has a direct impact on business dealings in a multicultural context because negotiations, deals, and even organizational decisions are affected by the cultural intelligence of the leadership (Sawhney, 2008). “The reason is that different actors of a single transaction may be from different countries of origin and could be under the influence of their own cultures” (Sawhney, 2008). The challenges of cross-cultural interactions can be met effectively if there is a significant level of cultural intelligence amongst the participants. Cultural intelligence plays an important role in helping people understand one another and separating individual differences from more general patterns of behavior across individuals (Earley&Ang, 2003). Joo-Seng (2004) held that one of the most important aspects of CQ is the ability to do the right thing and make moral and ethical decisions. This is of critical importance to the multicultural leader, whose decisions have far-reaching effects. Leadership is viewed as being a core element of organizations, and staff production is directly linked to its leadership. Thus, the organizational success or failure is contingent upon the kind of leadership provided to its members (Bodla&Nawas 2010). Leadership particularly refers to managers who are mainly concerned with the strategy formulation at overall organizational level (Berson et al., 2006; Pieterse, Van Knippenberg, Schippers, &Stam, 2010). Leaders have a direct effect on the behavior of the organization’s members; the leadership style and clear direction of these executives have a deep impact on the entire organization (Wang,Tsui, &Xin, 2011). Therefore, on an individual level, it becomes difficult to calculate the effects of managers on employees’ behaviors (Groves &Feyerherm, 2011). However, at the operational level, the influence of immediate supervisors on employees’ behaviors and motivation is much more obvious (Wang et al., 2010). Historically, the skills of leaders have long been the center of interest in leadership studies. The trait theory of leadership was proposed to emphasize that the leader is the central person who integrates the group and possesses the greatest number of desirable personality traits (Zaccaro, 2004). A well-known theory is the contingency theory, which stipulates that leadership behaviors can vary depending on the situation. Other research has shown that the effective leader indicates, through a series of transactions with followers, the path they need to follow to achieve the valued goals (Vecchio, Justin & Pearce 2008). Currently, the field of leadership research is in transition regarding the essential behaviors of leaders, shifting from earlier versions of initiating structure, consideration, and transactional leaders to transformational leaders (Sumner, Bock, &Giamartino, 2006). The transformational leadership theory was derived from Barbuto’s (2005) qualitative classification of transactional and transformational political leaders and was extended by Frittz (2005). Transactional leadership, anchored in a relationship between leader and follower, is a series of interactions or compromises between leaders and followers. On the other hand, transformational leadership emphasizes the changes leaders instill in their followers by raising the perspectives of their needs and by providing opportunities for them to develop capabilities (Frittz, 2005). Unlike the traditional leadership theories that focused on rational processes, the transformational leadership theory emphasizes emotions and values (Howell & Shamir, 2005). Workplaces focus on mixing these theories in a research context to determine the effective leadership process. Avolio (2010) has conceptualized full-range leadership theory to connect the other theories. It includes the existence of a constellation of leadership styles or behaviors ranging from transformational behaviors to laissez fair (those who basically do nothing while expecting results from the followers) (Avolio, 2010).

1.4 Management Challenges in a Global Economy

The management functions that constitute the framework for this book—planning and decision making, organizing, leading, and controlling—are just as relevant to international managers to domestic managers. International managers need to have a clear view of where they want their firm to be in the future; they have to organize to implement their plans; they have to motivate those who work for them; and they have to develop appropriate control mechanism.Planning and Decision Making in a Global Economy To effectively plan and make decisions in a global economy, managers must have a broad-based understanding of both environmental issues and competitive issues. They need to understand local market conditions and technological factors that will affect their operations. At the corporate level, executives need a great deal of information to function effectively. Which markets are growing? Which markets are shrinking? What are our domestic and foreign competitors doing in each market? They must also make a variety of strategic decisions about their organizations. For example, if a firm wishes to enter the marketing France, should it buy a local firm there, start a new operation, or seek a strategic alliance? Critical issues include understanding environmental circumstances, the role of goals and planning in a global organization, and how decision making affects the global organization.Organizing in a Global Economy Managers in international businesses must also attend to a variety of organizing issues. For example, General Electric has operations scattered around the globe. The firm has made the decision to give local managers a great deal of responsibility for how they run their business. In contrast, many Japanese firms give managers of their foreign operations relatively little responsibility. As a result, those managers must frequently travel back to Japan to present problems or get decisions approved. Managers in an international business must address the basic issues of organization structure and design, managing change, and dealing with human resources. Strategically, too, organizing decisions can be used to help promote everything from organizational flexibility to the development of expatriate managers.Leading in a Global Economy We noted earlier some of the cultural factors that affect international organizations. Individual managers must be prepared to deal with these and other factors as they interact with people from different cultural backgrounds. Supervising a group

of five managers, each of whom is from a different state in the United States, is likely to be much simpler than supervising a group of five managers, each of whom is from a different culture. Managers must understand how cultural factors affect individuals, how motivational processes vary across cultures, how the role of leadership changes in different cultures, how communication varies across cultures, and how interpersonal and group processes depend on cultural background.Controlling in a Global Economy Finally, managers in international organizations must also be concerned with control. Distances, time zone differences, and cultural factors also play a role in control. For example, in some cultures close supervision is seen as being appropriate, whereas in other cultures it is not. Likewise, executives in the United States and Japan may find it difficult to communicate vital information to one another because of the time zone differences. Basic control issues for the international manager revolve around operations management, productivity, quality, technology, and information systems.

1.5 Benefits of the Modern Management Theory

Benefits of the Modern Management Theory

Modern Management Theory is a great management theory for the modern world because it recognizes and respects the changes that come with technology. This theory understands that technology changes the workplace and leaders must be able to incorporate these changes efficiently. For example, a manager that uses the Modern Management Theory will look at a development such as working from home on two fronts. They will analyze the costs and benefits of having employees work from home, and they will also ask individuals how working from home benefits their own lifestyle. 

This two-pronged approach to management allows for the straight facts of hard data, and the more introspective and personal approach to leadership. This theory treats employees as complex individuals who are concerned with more than just their salary, while also allowing for some company decisions to be made by rational and statistical analysis. 

 

 

 

 

1.6 Brief Conclusion

There is a relationship with cultural intelligence and best job performance especially the ones across borders. Even the culture of every organization should be known by each employee as the form the internal part of cultural intelligence, a necessary point for success. The whole world is a global village, hence other tribes, countries cultural values can be learn easily through the internet, magazine and daily interactions with people all over the world.

It is necessary to mention here that as team performance increases organizational performance is positively improved, confirming the positive impact CQ has on an organization. Therefore, a correlation exists between CQ and OE. The impact can also be felt at the levels of job performance of global managers, as well as the trust level of global leaders.

It becomes necessary for every management whether having its operation in one country or not to learn in-depth about the culture of the people he is dealing to survive and strive in the business as a going concern. 

 

 

 

 

 

1.7 References

Management 11 edition by Ricky W. Griffin – Texas A&M University

Ng, P. S. (2012).Cultural intelligence and collective efficacy in virtual team effectiveness. Ann Arbor, MI: Minnesota State University.

Livermore, D. (2010). Leading with cultural intelligence: The new secret to success. New York, NY: Amacom.

Lin, Y.-C., Chen, A. S.-Y.& Song, Y.-C. (2012). Does your intelligence help to survive in a foreign jungle? The effects of cultural intelligence and emotional intelligence on cross cultural adjustment. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 36, 541-552.

Ang, S., &Inkpen, A. C. (2008). Cultural intelligence and offshore outsourcing success: A framework of firm-level intercultural capability. Decision Sciences, 337-358. Ang, S., & Van Dyne, L. (2008). Conceptualization of cultural intelligence: definition, distinctiveness, and nomological network. In S. Ang, & L. Van Dyne, (Eds.), Handbook on cultural intelligence: Theory, measurement and applications (pp. 3-15). Ang, S., Van Dyne, L., &Koh, C. (2006). Personality correlates of the four-factor model of cultural intelligence. Group & Organization Management, 31(1), 100-123. Ang., S., Van Dyne, L., Koh, C., Templer, K.J., Tay, C., & Chandrasekar, N. A. (2007). Cultural intelligence: Its measurement and effects on cultural judgment and decision making, cultural adaptation and task performance. Management & Organization Review, 3(3), 335-371.