Managing in a global society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Managing in a global society - Essay Example It is therefore the reason why international managers should take their time to study these cultures before introducing new products in the market or opening new subsidiaries (Turner, 2000). Communication, for example, is an important tool, necessary for transmitting ideas throughout an organization. However, it is worth noting that communication does not necessarily entail only the formal aspects such as through writing and speaking but also, it entails maintaining personal etiquette and as per the standards required by the host. The US and UK have English language as their official means of communication. Therefore, it would be easy for a UK entrepreneur to establish himself quickly in the US as opposed to Japan, which has Japanese as the major language of communication (Norbury, 2006). The language barrier present between UK and Japan requires foreign investors to study Japanese as their second language especially due to the fact that Japan scores highly under hofstede’s un certainty avoidance index (Varley, 2000). ... It therefore means that the presenter has to exercise patience before pressing for response, failure to which it would be taken to mean that he is disrespectful thereby risking his success. Worse still is the fact that business negotiations may be hampered by lack of understanding for example due to the Japanese reluctance to say no or to criticize openly (Norbury, 2006). It may therefore be confusing for a foreign negotiator to find that everything he says is met with a positive response, while in the real sense his Japanese counterparts are against his propositions. Experts advise foreigners to concentrate more on their sign languages, which could be for example scratching eyebrows, tone in their voice, teeth clenching, frowning in between a conversation among others. For instance, frowning is a sign of disagreement and therefore, it would be wise to concentrate on the facial expressions or better, phrase your statements in a manner that will demand an outright yes or no as an answ er (Varley, 2000). Coming from a country such as UK where open criticism is considered as normal, it would be taken as an insult and destruction of character to practice the same when negotiating with such people. The high uncertainty avoidance index (UAI) has also been described as a hindrance towards effecting change. This is due to the fact that these people are accustomed to predictability such that introduction of new working environments may not receive a friendly welcome (Hofstede, 1996). This is as opposed to the US whereby UAI is low such that it becomes possible for entrepreneurs to introduce new brands in the market and be able to make profit within short periods of time. This is an important observation, which a person intending to invest in the