Business and cultural differences Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Business and cultural differences - Essay Example But this expansion also needs to recognize the culture of the people. The way the people dress, different ways for analyzing problems and how they interact are very important to understand in order to find the communication gap between the nations. Without proper communication several problems may arise due to difference in the cultural practices. In this study we will find the differences between the cultural backgrounds of UK and that of the acquisition company at China. Several issues which could arise within the organization due to cross cultural activities have been discussed in this study in order to successfully deal with any potential issues (Burton, 2009, p.8). 2 Cultural differences between United Kingdom and China The culture of the nation is often defined from the collective programming of the different minded people. The cultural differences are basically formed from four dimensions of the culture of a nation. These are basically power distance, individualism, masculinit y and uncertainty avoidance. Based on these factors the culture of the nation varies to a great extent from country to country. 2.1 Power Distance Index The power distance index is the indicative of the distance between the top management and the subordinates. In high power distance culture they have inequality of power and wealth in the society. This is not forced on the population but comes from the cultural heritage of the country. China has a highly power distance culture which is ranked 80 compared to the world average of 55, while in UK it’s around 30. Therefore in China the people maintain a great distance in different levels of the organization which sometimes leads to an unfriendly workspace with professional relation being the priority in business. Every employee is not free to express their feelings and they are not allowed to take any business decision. The top management are only responsible to take critical decisions in the business. In UK business strategy, the supervisors are well mixed with the subordinates thus creating a very friendly and healthy workspace since the power is well distributed and dew to very small distance between the levels everyone is invited to share their own thoughts on the business plans. The business plans are taken after discussion with all the levels of the organization. Every individual are encouraged to share their ideas and before taking final decision by top management the suggestions from subordinates are kept in mind. 2.2 Individualism Individualism is working with single responsibility and without interacting with peers in the organization. On the other hand collectivism is working in groups and taking decision collectively without questioning loyalty. Individualist business organisation has very little ties between individual employees. Due to the ancient cultural heritage of China the family or relation are between peoples in the society are very strong and the people are very loyal towards each other . Collectivism is the practice in China society who have a close and committed members in the group be it a family or a business. Everyone takes