CROSS CULTURAL MANAGEMENT - HR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

CROSS CULTURAL MANAGEMENT - HR - Essay Example Communication problems arising owing to cultural diversity can damage the team relationships in a business organization. In the case study under consideration, the French company Lemma is facing such problems owing to the differences between its organizational culture and the cultural makeup of the Anglo-Saxon companies it has acquired. There exist distinct differences between the French and Anglo-Saxon cultural values. The organizational culture at Lemma had its basis in the French cultural and social values, which made it difficult for the company to face the global integration – local adaptation dilemma. As per the Hofstede cultural dimensions, France has a high Power Difference Index. This means that the French managers tend to be autocratic in their approach towards administration and business. They prefer a hierarchical form of organization, where the senior administrators and managers do retain a certain distance from their subordinates. The French tend to prefer a cent ralized form of administration and expect their subordinates to obediently endorse the decisions taken by them. French are collectivist in their business and social interactions. The teams tend to be closely integrated in their approach and composition and there exist strong bonds between the colleagues in an organization that are to a great extent determined by status and hierarchy. The managers tend to support and protect their subordinates in exchange for unquestioning loyalty. The companies operate like a large family that is usually hierarchical in its constitution. The French culture is an essentially feminine culture. Personal relationships and bonds stand above anything else. Team members prefer to be modest and caring in their approach and preference is given to arriving at mutually acceptable decisions through consensus, rather than through direct confrontation. France has a high Uncertainty Avoidance Index, meaning that the French managers have a high intolerance for unce rtainty and ambiguity and are uncomfortable with contrary opinions and ideas. Hall facilitates another set of cultural dimensions, which offer more insight into the French cultural values. According to Hall, the French culture is a High Context Culture. Much is taken for granted and people believe in instinctive and contextual understanding rather than resorting to detailed explanation. There exists a strong distinction between in-group and out-group. The bonds between team members are very strong and interpersonal relationships play a crucial role in career development. There is high preference for long term relationships and people are very flexible with time. These premises are supported by the theory of Dutch scholar Trompenaars, as per whom the French culture is affiliated to particularism with highly collectivist tendencies. The French tend to be specific in their approach to relationships, depending too much on custom and protocol. It is an ascription culture, where status is governed more by traditional norms and less by individual achievement. In that context, the term ‘Anglo-Saxon’ primarily refers to the cultural values and norms of the Lemma’s non-French employees, who are primarily North Americans. The cultural values of these employees are in sharp contrast to Lemma’s specifically French values. The ‘Anglo-Saxon’ cultural values lean in the favour of a low Power Distance Index in the sense that Lemma’s Anglo-Saxon employees and managers are not accepting

Turbo Charger Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Turbo Charger Company - Essay Example The four P’s of Marketing: Product: The products that the companies offer are often the heart of any companies marketing strategy. Since the banks are a part of the service industry therefore many a times the results or the benefits of the product are not that conspicuous to the customer. The marketing strategy will fail badly if the product part is not good, no matter how strong the other 3 P’s of marketing are. HSBC offers many products and services but the one thing that makes it stand out from the other banks is its current account feature. This will be used in this assignment to highlight HSBC’s marketing mix. According to HSBC (2012) sources the current account has many features one of them which is the prepaid cards. There are two types of these cards: the financial manager and the budget manager. The financial manager is targeted towards customers who are financially stronger while the budget manager is for customers with relatively lower incomes who find trouble in maintaining a regular credit card like students. Apart from this the current account also has the feature of online banking which makes it possible to make transactions on the move. It also has the option of real time balance alerts. It has an additional option of savings for customers who deposit more than a specified amount monthly into the account. Price: The price is important for the bank it has a dual function. The first is that the price must be good enough that it attracts the customers and the second is that this price must be good enough to generate the required revenue for the bank. A number of factors influence the pricing decision some of which are the maximization of profit, increase in the market share, corporate social responsibility and survival in the market. The trend in the pricing of current accounts has not changed much for quite some time now. There is usually no set up fees and the benefit is sought from the cash that is deposited in the banks. In crease in the interest rate would not help much in increasing the number of existing customers. The credit cards give an incentive to the customer to save more. The saved money is within the customer’s account which the bank can always lend further. This strategy is especially useful in situations when it is hard to raise new capital. Place: Place in terms of the marketing mix means that the product is available to the customer through a proper channel which include delivery as well. Delivery does not only mean the physicality but also the availability of the service through electronic means. Even if the product is of very high quality and very highly rated, the readiness of the availability will highly affect the customers’ opinion whether the product is a failure or a success. The current account scheme is available at the majority of HSBC centers. Promotion: Promotion heavily depends upon the methods of communication used to create awareness among the customers and potential customers regarding a particular product or service. The major objectives of promotion are to get customer attention, give them the relevant information and encourage the customer to buy the product. According to Adrian Palmer (2008) Advertisement on the other hand first of all mean that it entails costs and is paid, it cultivates the attitude of the customer into believing something which in return forces the customer to some extent to buy the product or the service. There