The culture of two different countries also plays a vital role in the communication problem in Dancom. Basically culture means the system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviours, and artefacts that the members of society use to cope with their world and with one another, and that are transmitted from generation to generation through learning. Most of these hosing outsiders are disappointed with the company. They feel needs and goals of company and their own are two different worlds. As a result of this I believe the communication between them and the Danes are not very good. Which lead to inter-cultural tensions in the company. Since there is a strong connection between expectations and perceptions, a possible explanation of the hosting outsiders’ dissatisfaction is the fact that Dancom’s managers are not clear and explicit about what the employees might expect in terms of work perspectives and professional development.
Having a common language in the workplace is very important for effective communication. The language skills of many Russian working at Dancom are not very good. Although many hosting insiders can speak English. Most Russian feel excluded from or limited in their access to information and interpretations of organizational events and from the informal oral communication flows. Since part of the formal written communication (memos, letters, orders, etc.) is bilingual (English-Russian), those Russians whose English skills are less than adequate meet difficulties, mainly in oral communication with Danish colleagues but also with written information which is not available in the Russian language. As we know that oral communications is very important in any organizational context. But in this case because of lack bi- lingual skills of both Russians and Danes many aspects of their expectations are misunderstood or remain in the dark. As a result both Russians and Danes resort to assumption. So inter-cultural tensions are inevitable.
As mentioned above, the communication problem has most impact on the inter-cultural aspect of the company. Often meaning of action is understood differently by different groups. For example the communication with the headquarters, the Russians believe that Dancom headquarter is slow and inefficient. One of the Russian employees even quotes that “You send a fax to the headquarters but there is either no response or a very formal meaningless reply.” (Specialist in the Technical Support department). Russians interpret the lack of response from the headquarters as a lack of respect towards their work and the Russian subsidiary. However, the reason why headquarters do not respond to all requests might be that it is trying not to interfere in the activities of Dancom on an everyday basis and to increase the responsibility of the local managers and employee. So it easy to see that people make different meaning to a similar situation. These kinds of misunderstandings cause inter-cultural tension in the company.
The differences in organization cultures also create inter-cultural tensions. Because of instability of economy and political situation, policies regarding Russian companies require more decision and careful analysis. But the Russian sees this as lack of respect toward them. From the Hofstede’s Uncertainty Avoidance Index (Hofstede, 2001) which deals with a society's tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity; it ultimately refers to man's search for Truth. It indicates to what extent a culture programs its members to feel either uncomfortable or comfortable in unstructured situations. Unstructured situations are novel, unknown, surprising, and different from usual. In this case we can see that Danes take more time in decision they and more careful on planning. This indicates that they have very high uncertainty avoidance. And the Russian employees think the Danes takes too much time in decision making and their careful policies are lengthy in process. According to Hofstede’s Uncertainty Avoidance Index (Hofstede, 2001) Russians have a high uncertainty Avoidance index. So coming from different cultural background creates inter-cultural tension in the company.
Decision making is an issue which Russian middle managers and specialists, both insiders and outsiders, perceive as “confusing”. There is a striking difference between their way of making decisions and the way Danes do it. According to the case study, Danes take decisions on the basis and as a result of teamwork. They claim that Danish managers repeatedly stress the importance of group discussions, co-ordination of actions and the need to reach consensus when making decisions. They are ready to discuss problems openly and to give and receive feedback. All this confuses the Russians who describe themselves as individualists at work and as preferring the individual mode of decision making. They do not consider discussions important and try to avoid them especially when they concern problems. Russians’ believes that everything in Russia changes very fast and no time for long discussion. This is also due to different culture.
The Russian middle managers and specialists continuously refer to their previous experiences and traditional features of the Russian way of handling issues and situations. But in Denmark efficiency, predictability, professionalism and modernity are seen as the key forces for rationality. belief in fate and destiny dictate an underlying belief system in the Russian environment, Russian middle managers and specialists in Dancom tend to make decisions and act on the basis of intuition which often does not meet the understanding of their Danish superiors, Russians feel that the Danes should have more trust in the suggestions coming from Russian middle managers and specialists and in their interpretations of particular situations. A different behaviour is perceived as disrespect and negligence.
The case suggest that the Russian middle managers and specialists have a strong need to be asked for advice in the process of taking decisions on a more operational level, concerning how a certain task can be implemented after the strategic decision has been already taken. When western managers fail to do that, Russian employees react negatively and interpret their behaviour as clear disrespect. This to do with the power distance in the different cultures. As Russian have a high power distance result of their past communistic history and high level of bureaucracy.
If Danish managers try to involve Russian employees early in the decision-making process, the Russians perceive the managers as being characterised either by confusion, unnecessary softness and lack of ability. The Danes do things on a teamwork basis. But Russians are more individual oriented. Russians and Danes in Dancom also define planning differently. Danes interpret planning as a long-term activity. But Russians see it as reactive action or short term activity. These sorts of different actions can be explained by Hofstede cultural dimension. Danes are from feminine society and Russians are from masculine society.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to conflict resolution, since culture is always a factor. Cultural fluency is therefore a core competency for those who intervene in conflicts or simply want to function more effectively in their own lives and situations. Cultural fluency involves recognizing and acting respectfully from the knowledge that communication, ways of naming, framing, and taming conflict, approaches to meaning-making, and identities and roles vary across cultures.
Nowadays, people work in global offices with colleagues from different worldviews, religions and attitudes. It is important to be aware of cultural differences and how they affect team dynamics, communication and management style. Multi-cultural workplaces also offer a wealth of new experience and self-growth opportunities. So I suggest these approaches to resolve intercultural at Dancom
People may feel that they cannot ask a person where s/he is from for fear of being offensive or being seen as racist in some way. This can prevent communication, team effort and even friendship from happening. Encourage people to talk about where they are from, and their culture. Most misunderstanding comes from lack of communication. If you can ask questions of one another, then the growth in relationship will enable more effective working together. The Russian should ask question about the Danes about their culture and how they behave in workplace.
Both Russian and Danes should learn more about each other’s culture. There should be more inter-cultural training within the organization. Especially before coming to a host country. Cultural differences can sometimes be confusing or misinterpreted. Be respectful of the way other people work and interact. Try to learn from them instead of considering your way to be the best and criticising. Apologise if you feel you might have offended someone. Festivals and celebration are a great way to learn about other cultures. Have a lunchtime meeting where you share some traditional food and discuss what the festival means. People are the same underneath and festivals often reflect what is important to all cultures - family, faith, children, honouring the past and looking to the future.
Be aware of and conscious about the variety among the locals in terms of hosting insiders and hosting outsiders. Map the organization; identify who personifies the insiders’ and outsiders’ “camps” and what are their roles in the organization. If possible, select and appoint local members with English language capabilities. Invest effort in learning the Russian language as a sign of respecting your Russian colleagues and their culture. Pay a lot of attention to how headquarters handles the communication flow with the Russian company. When taking decisions, do not be afraid to apply top-down oriented techniques. Be careful in adopting participative approaches inviting initiative and responsibility at the bottom of the organization – they are neither understood, nor welcomed. When introducing strategic plans, formulate short-term oriented tasks with achievable and observable results and assign Russians to work on them. Keep in mind that planning for Russians is a strong commitment, an end that has to be achieved by all means – it is not an instrument for adjusting and evaluating.
Culture does not define a person, and cultural stereotypes can also be responsible for more misunderstanding. Don't jump to conclusions just because someone is from a certain place. Get to know people as individuals regardless of their culture. We are all a work-in-progress, and we can always learn more. Identify what you don't know about your co-workers and their culture. What can you learn about your own culture that affects the way you work? How can you improve the situation so your team can work more effectively together? These easy steps will sourly make inter-cultural tension less and create a better workplace in the organization.
References:
Browaeys, M-J., and Price R. (2008) Understanding Cross Cultural Management Harlow: Prentice Hall
Cullen, J.B., Parboteeah, K.P. (2005), Multinational Management: A Strategic Approach, 3rd ed., Thomson Southwestern
French, R. (2007) Cross-Cultural Management in Work Organisations London:CIPD
Gannon, M, and Newman, K. (2002) The Blackwell Handbook of Cross-cultural Management Blackwell
Hodgetts, R.M., Luthans, F. (2003), International Management: Culture, Strategy, and Behavior, 5th ed., McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Hofstede, G. (2001) Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work Related Values Sage
Hofstede, G. (1991) Cultures and Organizations McGraw Hill
Jackson, T. (2002) International HRM: a cross-cultural approach Sage
Jandt, F. (2004) An introduction to Intercultural Communication: Identities in a Global Community. Sage
Mead, R. (2005) International Management: Cross-cultural Dimensions (3rd edition) Blackwell
Schneider, S. and Barsoux, J-L (2002) Managing Across Cultures (2nd edition) Prentice Hall
Warner, M and Joynt, P (2002) Managing across Cultures: Issues and Perspectives (2nd edition) London: Thomson Learning
http://www.geert-hofstede.com/hofstede_dimensions.php?culture1=23&culture2=73