Cross-Cultural Management - Looking Into Intercultural Teams Essay

Cross-Cultural Management - Looking Into Intercultural Teams - Essay Example Based on a past research by Kabasakal and Bodur, some cultures are characterized by a strong slant towards collectivism and both societal and organizational levels. It may perhaps be useful for the multinational company to initially analyze the culture to which they would assign managers in terms of power distance, masculinity, human orientation, achievement, and future orientation. It may also look into the business culture’s commitment and sense of duty to the organization, respect for managerial hierarchy, type of leadership, and other ethical norms. Armed with such knowledge, multi-cultural managers can definitely influence the expectations of its multi-cultural managers and help in their adjustment to the new work environment. The research of Mendenhall and Oddou indicate that adjustment to the cross-cultural facets of a global assignment requires three distinct personal abilities, as follows: 1) the capacity to sustain a valued sense of self; 2) the ability to associate to host nationals; 3) the ability to intellectually appreciate the belief systems that underpin behaviours in the host country. If multi-cultural managers will be oriented with these traits, it would have been easier for them to adjust because their expectations were more effectively managed. If they possessed such traits, it would have been more probable for them to adjust easily in their offshore assignment. The multinational company is obliged to help select those individuals with these ideal traits for expatriation assignments.