Understanding Business Culture: Operational Dynamics & Responsibilities - Essay Sample

Introduction

Business culture refers to the way the individuals involved in the organization carry out their activities and how they generally operate within the departments in the organization. The channeling of information, a delegation of the duties as well as the responsibilities that are supposed to be undertaken and those that are responsible for the same are well defined in the culture. The operations and the nature of the same in an organization depend on what the organization deals in and its set objectives through the guidelines set to meet them. In informal institutions, there are some of the characteristics that are associated with it as an international organization. The informal first lack the written rules and regulations that govern the organization. The institution instead has the norms to be observed, for instance, in a case where the employees are involved with duties in an organization that is informally owned by a particular group. With time some of the norms usually come up, which aid in giving help to the members in solving problems that relate to the job or even themselves and also help themselves against the exploitation of the organization. Their communication can as well take any direction, whether vertical or horizontal but with no order. The formal organizations, on the other hand, ha e the culture that makes a given direction and has all the activities undertaken in a particular course. The layout of the events takes a formal program and format which cannot be altered. For instance, it is instituted to labor division and deliberation of the duties. The creation of then-legal firms as well are very deliberate, and they firms take not the interest of the individuals, but the biggest concern is the organizational achievements in then due time through the combined efforts of the individuals in al, then departments and areas of activities.

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Cultural Cluster

A business cluster refers to the covered area that is within the geography of the location of the area impacted the competitive nature of the institution. The market and the advantages that come as a result of the placement of the organization and its coverage within a given limit. Such clusters among others may include; the benefits to the manufacturing industries in areas where manufacturing is done in large scales, for example, the China Pearl River Delta which has created an excellent platform to capture the labor force that is required by some many other institutions. The supplier and the ultimate market are close, and this brings an advantage in the price creation of the products. Knowledge is another advantage that can be enjoyed as a result of the business cultural cluster. The region of activities is in apposition of acquiring certain kind of expertise and technique depending on the skills majorly dealt in in the area and retain it to help the community. An example includes Silicon Valley, which has attracted the software developers in large numbers. This has led to the local development of technology and making it a competitive advantage. The quality of the product that is associated with a given region gives it a reputation, for example, the wine region of Champagne in France has the reputation of wine of high quality which can be backdated to the middle ages. The areas like Hollywood have the advantage of creativity, which has produced entertainment within the region. Some firms as well have the financial, for instance, the London, New York, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Tokyo which have created the essential infrastructural, institutional advantages and leading to the improvement of the life quality in general. In areas like the shopping district of Ginza in Tokyo have attracted many retailers by attracting many shoppers hence the proximity of the shops and having the products brought closer to the people for easier access.

Culture Dimensions

The cultural variations in international business organizations are very vital to the success of the institutions. The dimensioning of these cultures in business are in varied subsections as below;

Individualism and Collectivism

The operation of the institutions at the international levels depends on the type of the institution, whether formal or is informal. The official set up of the institutions have the managerial techniques which are directed towards achievement of the goals of the very objectives. There is teamwork which aims at each individual effort being collected for the purpose of the success of the organization. Each works intending to meet the requirements and goals of the institution and not their interest. The efforts are pivoted by centralized management, which will coordinate all the activities which are done from the various departments of the organization. Each department is tasked with a set of responsibilities which are gathered to evaluate the firm itself. Informal institutions have a culture that depends on the nature and size of the firm itself. The informal organizations may lack the collective responsibility since it allows each to apply their own principles and gives considerations of the individuals rather than the firm.

Masculinity versus Femininity

Gender is a sensitive subject in the formal organizations. The equality policy in the international institutions gives room for both the females and the males to hold on any position depending on the experiences that they have and what they can do best. There restrictions on the basis on Discriminations on the gender of the persons. The operations of the institutions are geared towards the achievement of the goals and not which is to be done by the male or female. The informal institutions, on the other hand, have discriminations based on the kind of duties that are involved in the activities. There is a line drawing on what the male and the female can do because of their masculinity, which may consider the strength and ability.

Uncertainty Avoidance

The institutions, whether formal or informal strives so that by all means, they avoid risks. This is done by improvising the ways that will lead to output and productivity and at the same time, have to take the least risk. In as much as business is more of risk-taking, the organizations intend to generate profits and hence aim to maximize this by minimizing the risk as that they are exposed to as much as possible.

Long-Term Orientation

The orientation is meant to have all the workers and departmental holders understanding the mission and the visions and the plans of the institutions to help them in knowing the direction they are to take in their operations. The orientation is done for a long time in the formal institutions of help in making alignment and adjustment of the policies of the firm. The direction is common to all firms and very important to their evaluations as well since it acts the pointer of the operations. Each person in the industry will have to undertake a particular duty after having known well what it takes for the very activity and how it contributes to the achievement of the goals of the organization.

Languages

The languages that are used in the official international organizations are international languages that fit everyone for regular activities. Certain countries use foreign languages like France use French, England use English, and many others like Spain uses Spanish. The language is meant to facilitate communication among the partners. The situation of the firm and the people involved in the operations in every firm will determine the language used. For legal and official communications, an official language has to be used, for instance, in international meetings. Within the departments, the style used at times may be dictated by the composition of the meeting and the language diversity of nonmembers.

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