Q17 Pmc Exam Question

17. How might the creation of a multicultural organization help develop competitive advantage? What are the dangers of such arguments? Culture is the customs of a society, the self-images of its members, the things that make it different from other societies. Being a ‘member of society’ means that we have acquired core values through the process of growing up and being socialized. By having multicultural organization, we can see different type of managerial practices and values used in different countries. Countries like Germany and Japan has been attributed to industrial cultures that foster higher levels of performance. They are communities in their own right with distinctive rules and values. Each has their own social expectations and standards, the values and beliefs that people hold central and that bind organizational groups. Different beliefs and techniques are used and we can learn the knowledge and skill from them. Multicultural organization are needed to make firms innovative, in particular the implementation of change and the complex cultural processes that go with this. It may improve values of ‘weak cultures’ to strong culture. A strong culture creates powerful behavioural expectations and constraints, more so than any formal structure of procedures and rules. The stronger the corporate culture, the less need there is for detailed procedures and rules, because culture itself guides action. This is only possible when we understand different culture and create social bonds and common knowledge remains integral to our identity and sense of personal cohesion.

What are the dangers of such arguments? National culture – Whose values and norms affect employee attitudes. Ways people eat, dress, and greet a lady. Values and norms of the organizations themselves affect employee’s attitudes. Follow the rules of the organizations affects the attitudes. Personal values and norms affect employee’s attitudes, people are not instrumental to the organization. Culture has essentially traditional and stable qualities. People feel their stability and security at risk. They do not feel integrated with the whole organization rather than identified with the particular territory of the moment.