Cultural Difference Between India and Australia

Question: Describe about the Cultural Difference of India Vs Australia? Answer: 1.0 Executive Summary This report would help in providing inside knowledge on what can a international manager face when working in a cross cultural environment. The Report would focus mainly on Australia and India culture and would provide the details on how the organizational culture is different and also similar in some aspects. Details on how decision making and communication style are in both the countries and what negotiation styles should be preferred. The report would also provide the details on how international manager should interact with his subordinates in Australia and India. it would also focus on how the gender role are quite same in both the countries. 2.0 Introduction Organizational culture is a way of looking at and thinking about the behavior of people, individually and in groups in organizations. Bower, M., 1966. The way we do things around here, The Will to Manage. The concept of organizational culture has three general sources or determinants (Ott, 1989:75). These are the fundamental starting points of this study. These determinants are: the broader societal culture in which the organization resides; the nature of an organization's business or business environment, and thirdly the beliefs, values and basic assumptions held by the founders or other early dominant leaders as well as the workers. Management is concerned with examining the future and drawing up a plan of action; building the structure, material and human of an undertaking; maintaining activity among personnel; binding together, unifying and harmonizing all activity and effort; and seeing that everything occurs in conformity with established rules and expressed command (Fayol, cited in Pugh, 1990). While in the multinational business model, it is very important for managers to understand the cultural background to be successful in a cross cultural environment. This below report will analyze the first two gigantic countries, Australia and India. The report would also keep the focus on Hofstede's five dimensions which are Power distance (PDI), individualism versus collectivism (IDV), masculinity versus femininity (MAS), long-term versus short-term orientation (LTO), and indulgence versus restraint (IND) (Ahlstrom, D. And Bruton, G.D. ,2009). 3.0 Negotiation Style Cross-cultural negotiations are very common in the current world scenario where in business is expanding across nations. These negotiations can occur between people from different countries. Negotiations plays an important part in concluding at an agreement (Bandias 2012). Australian and Indian styles of negotiations would be discussed in detail in this report. Australians do not negotiate in extreme pressure conditions. They like directness. Hence it is better to give an argument which has some option and facts. Australians are generally experienced in performing business and interaction with people from different cultural background. They have a homogenous culture (Lothar Katz). Indian civilization is group-oriented. Personal relationships are given due consideration in Indian culture. Discussions about the family and friends are considered important for the establishment of a business relationship. Bonds are based on mutual faith and esteem. It takes a long time to build relations hips. Indians are friendly and courteous. They do business dealing who behaves with them equally and authentically (Lothar Katz). 3.1 Negotiating Goal: Contract Or Elationship: Apprehending and switching conferences summaries can be an active way to authenticate understanding and commitments. Interim agreements are not given final consideration. Binding agreement is a document signed by both parties. Written agreementtends to be long.It contains comprehensive terms and conditions of main agreement and the other possibilities.Signing contract means from legal aspects andcommitment of Australian partnership. It is always advisable to meet a lawyer before signing any agreement. Desires to change agreement may be assumed as immoral and will encounter with tough resistance. It is significant to uphold on-time deliveries. Whereas when it comes to India contracts even oral are assumed as a binding agreement. However, it is the best to sign a final agreement by both parties. A written contract should be flawless and brief without comprehensive terms and conditions. Signing contract means both from legal aspect and commitment of Indian partnership. The legal process is slow and time consuming in India, but legal rights can be enforced (Lothar Katz). 3.2 Negotiating Attitude: Win-Win Or Win-Lose Negotiation means in Australia, is to involve in a friendly discussion aimed to arrive at a solution which is delightful to both the parties that is buyer and seller. Both have the responsibility to arrive at mutual solution. Their aim is to achieve short term and long term profits. The basic negotiation is two way and compromising in order to achieve the target of negotiation. Australian concept is to have faith in win-win. They expect to give in return respect and belief. In Indian scenario, the basic approach in negotiating is to utilize distributive and eventuality negotiating. The buyer remains in higher position in a business dealing as well as in case of having the responsibility for attaining the agreement. Partnerships are generally long termed as their aim is to achieve long term gains. Indians have a win-win approach to the solution and they believe in extended relationships. They avoid conflict. In any case, if a dispute arises they behave with esteem, readiness and openness to compromise. The long-term vision contributes to aim of building relationships for their negotiators which last longer than any short-term negotiations (Bandias 2012). 3.3 Personal Style: Informal Or Formal Australians do not make use of Titles. They call a person by his first name followed by family name. Mr./Ms is used with the family name. Handshakes are used while introducing one another. They use greetings like pleased to meet you. Indians pay due importance to the Academic and professional titles. These are used when you address a person. Mr./Ms is used by first name. Traditional style of Indians is to join the hand together for greeting which is called Namaste. 3.4 Communication: Direct Or Indirect Australian evades complicated language. They speak English which is easy to understand. They express negative emotions and positive emotions very frequently, which in turn do not influence their business dealings. They like the people who express their opinion. It does not matter whether they are convinced by their opinion or not. Australians try to behave in a respectful and a gracious manner. People with indirect style of communication regularly assumption about the information possessed by their opposite number Salacuse (1998). In India, Hindi is the national language, although business people speak good English. It is always advisable to speak short sentences with simple English. Indians speak in gentle tones to show the politeness and courtesy for others. Positive emotions are expressed openly. Open conflicts and discrepancies are avoided. They avoid giving their opinion about anything. 3.5 Sensitivity To Time: High Or Low Australia has a culture where people are very loyal to their schedules and are very particular about time. If they miss any timeline they consider it to be a bad and inefficient management. For attaining a deadline Australian devote their weekend and work beyond their normal working hours. Intercultural management achievement can be judged by the individual capability to meet up deadline. Indian people are usually cautious regarding time guidelines and deadlines are taken very seriously in business setup. As Indian culture does give great importance to relationship so there may be cases wherein some elasticity is provided in the schedules. The importance of timelines which was agreed upon should be reinforced and also should be made aware of the fact that it may affect the organization if the schedule is missed. However, the chances that the deadline would be met are quite high. 3.6 Emotions: High Or Low The report shows that there is equal tendency of Australians and Indians in negotiating the trait emotion. Both the country people have better control on their feeling which helps in keeping a calm business atmosphere. 3.7 Form Of Agreement: General Or Specific Australian tend to consent to a comprehensive contract in which all the terms and conditions are mentioned. A contract is signed by both parties with mutual consent. A legal document is prepared by the lawyer. In India oral contracts are given due consideration, whereas it is always better to do written agreement. The written contract does not include detailed terms and conditions. Indians prefer general principles than that of specific as that of Australian. 3.8 Building An Agreement: Bottom-Up Or Top-Down There are different methods which can be followed while finalizing an agreement, these could be either inductive method or deductive method.When we consider the inductive method (bottom-up) it has to be precise on either Product,Quality,Cost and the total sum of all of these things. Whereas when we talk about deductive method(top-down) it would start with a general discussion and lead to a particular thing or topic. Indians prefer to follow the deductive method and Australian's prefer to start with inductive method. 3.9 Team Organization: One Leader Versus Consensus /Leadership Style The democratic idea in organizations of Australian maintains a two way and take part in management method. Australian play emphasis on teamwork rather than on the single persons contribution. Respect and status play an important part when you work in the Indian environment. When someone is working as a team or collective setting the risk factor increases. The ideas should be given in a gentle manner so that the reputation of others should not be affected by it and no one get hurt. Intercultural sensitivity is also important when the ideas between the various groups are discussed. In contrast, independent, self-control is the model of self based on characteristics that are unique to oneself. With an independent, self-construal,behavior is organized and made meaningful primarily by reference to ones own internal repertoire of thoughts, feelings, and actions, rather than by reference to the thoughts, feelings, and actions of others (Markus Kitayama, 1991). This self-construal is similar to Hofstedes (1983) individualistic culture, which emphasized self-esteem, self-identity, and self-image, with personal goals superseding those of the group, and competitive interactions the norm (Chen Starosta, 1998).The United States, Australia, Great Britain, Denmark and Canada are examples of countries. 3.10 Risk Taking: High Or Low In Australia the risk factor is very high and they acknowledge the change. They consider risk taking as a necessary step for success so in their view even if they are a failure due to risk it is not a negative thing. Even if there is a failure due to risk it is not considered as an end of the world and the person is always considered for a second chance. Managers are practical ,they have achievement oriented outlook. Their concern is to find out the ways in which a plan can be made successful. Managers have the center of attention on positive vision and chance (Kwintessential 2012). In India, there is the average acceptance of change and also the risk factor is moderate. Track record of various innovations is kept if they are adapted and implemented. The history is also maintained for various discoveries (Kwintessential 2012). Failure is considered as the loss of self belief by a person and others around him. Intercultural sensitivity is essential for group discussion and meetings for the individuals participating in them. 4.0 Decision Making: There is a vast difference in the way roles are viewed in Australia and India. Australia has an egalitarian business set up wherein all the people are considered important and are given due respect. The person in the managerial position does not feel inferior while taking information needed from his subordinates. The manager also makes use of intellect of his subordinates in decision making (Kwintessential 2012). Protocols and rituals are quite strict in Indian culture. The manager has to be aware of the fact that Indian system has a very strong ladder structure in a business set up. Everyone has divergent role in the organization. There is a high chance that the manager might not consider his subordinates in the decision making process as maintaining the role is an important factor. Employees are considered very important in decision making in any organization when it comes to Australia. The failure or success of the company also influences them as they were part of the decision making process. If the employees are not being given importance in the decision making, it could lead in productivity depreciation (Kwintessential 2012). In India the decision making is done by the manager and is liable for the work performed by his subordinates. There is always a need of middle manager which may help the manager to take the final decision. There is a defined behavior for a person in a defined position.If he performs the task of the lower people it is not considered as a good thing and can also affect his position. It is considered that the work should be performed according to the hierarchy and each person has to perform his role according to his job title. 5.0 Communication Style Previous research has noted self-construal plays an important role in determining approaches to communication and conflict (Ting-Toomey 2001) Australians are business minded and they do not consider it important to make use of an intermediate person for business enhancement. They believe that networking plays a very critical role in the victory of a long term business. A senior executive has a good relationship with one another in the same industry. The population of Australia is very less as compared to India and many people spend their entire life while living in the same place, people endeavor to have a good relationship with one another as there is no certainty when they have to work against each other. Australia culture is direct which is reflected in the way management communicates with their employees. Even in an organization employee prefer to be communicated directly. They also like to have some humor even during a direct and serious talk. Employees do not like to have some selling techniques being applied to them. A relaxed attribute must not be foreseen as a lack of dedication or attention they do go into detail even though it might not seem so. Most Asian Indians exhibit interdependent self- construal and prefer silence and indirect communication (Hughes, Baldwin 2003). In Indian Cross cultural management Personal relationships are giv en due attention. Personal relationships are important factor when it comes to conducting business in India, as the basics are self-esteem and belief. For good relationship between the manager and his subordinate lot of time is required. Manager's require tolerance and determination. Indians are less argumentative. Major decisions are taken by the higher authorities, but it may take time as the process is slow. While doing negotiations with employees do not be too much into legal aspects as Indian have less belief in legal system rather they would trust more on your words. Furthermore, studies indicate that Indian people have a preference more for indirect communication and their sensitivity is also higher as compared to Western people (Kapoor 2003). 6.0 Protocol Greeting Business Signals and body language be able to act, but not excessively so. A little bit of physical contacts is made by Australians such as backslap. It is considered as a sign of friendship. Arm upward movement combined with thumbs-up sign is assumed as rude gesture. Eye contact between the people is quite infrequent. Looking in the eyes of a person conveys sincerity. In Australia, staring at people makes them uncomfortable (Lothar Katz). Signals and body language are quite broader in India than in different Asian nations. Physical contacts are generally avoided except handshakes. For giving blessings elderly people sometimes do so. The Indians made an eye contact with children. Looking away is considered as a gesture of respect rather than insincerity or untruthfulness. Business Meeting For doing a business initial contacts are benefitted but it is not only the prerequisite. Individuals or group of people conducts discussions in the country. Australians are not forever well aligned, which results to take part against each other. Meetings are planned 1 week in advance. The agenda of the meeting is to call the top executive for the discussion instead of taking status. Australian expect their foreign delegates to be on time. Late for ten to fifteen minutes without a genuine reason is considered as a crime in Australian business. For making rapport meetings are initiated with small talks. Sense of humor is welcomed by the people of Australia, but not in excess. Paradoxical and mordant can be the humor of Australian. They register this type of humor to show their disagreement. Persons living is not the subject of meetings. The environment of the meeting is informal. The basic aim is to determine the business topic and to know one another (Lothar Katz). Presentation mater ial must be eye-catching, with high quality and apparent visuals. It should be easy and uncomplicated. While introducing the product to the Australians strong and feeble points should be discussed openly. If the presentation would be presented with hype and excitement than it may bring suspicion in the minds of the people. Excess details are also not appreciated by the Australian people. Local intermediary play a significant role in India. The person would bridge the civilization and interactions gap and plan within the India's complicated bureaucracy, receiving the required documents signed and embossed. Discussions in India can be done by an individual or the team. Every team has a specific role assigned to every member. The members of a team are avoided as it may start building relationship process again. Meetings are planned four weeks prior. Indian meetings generally start late, but they expect their foreign delegates to be on time. It is good to be on time as Indians appreciate punctuality. For establishing personal rapport meetings are initiated with personal talk. It includes query about the family and allow the persons involved in meeting to be aware. Friendly humor is appreciated by Indians, but they do not like to be sarcastic. The basic purpose of the meeting is to know one another. Business discussion is not the mere agenda of the meeting. It can be disc ussed at a later stage. Straight discussions are usually neither expected nor not encouraged in the initial meetings. Presentation material must be good looking, with excellent and apparent visuals. Technical expertise influences the Indians. Translation of the presentation material in English or the other language is generally not essential (Lothar Katz). 7.0 Company Loyalty Loyalty towards your organization depends on many factors out of which one of the most important ones is power distance.It is efficient in determining the extent to which there has been the distribution of power within the society being insured and it also determines the level of equality of distribution (Varvouzou and Zasepa, 2013).India has a power distance rating of 77 whereas Australia has it as 36 which indicates that India. As India is a group oriented society as compare to Australia, which is more of individual driven society, Indians tend to be more are more loyal as compare to Australians. 8.0 Gender Roles Australian females are still behind than males in comparison of the income and authority. However, they have got important roles in the business and other fields. Women should be given equal respect than that of men. A visiting entrepreneur may have less difficulties in the nation. Indian society is governed by males. There are women in important positions, but they are still struggling to get the same income and power as men have in the society. On the other hand visiting entrepreneur have less difficulties in the nation if they work professionally in their business and society.Women like to have more indirect communication in comparison to men (Ellis and Wittenbaum 2000). 9.0 Rewards Rewards play a critical role in motivating the employees in an organization. The preference of a type of Rewards can vary based on the country of the employee. Performance and rewards are linked with each other (Bandias 2012). Rewards should be more than just money or any other award, as each person prefers to be rewarded in one way or the other hence the organization should have a reward system wherein the person to feel that his efforts are recognized by the organization. Indian do prefer to be rewarded with promotions, Recognition from their superiors and financial benefits, whereas Australians would like to be rewarded by getting holiday leaves and additional time for the personal life so that they have work-life balance. 10.0 Work Discipline Professionalism is expected by managers from their employ in Australia. The major concern of a manager is not micro managing their subordinates rather it is attaining a target, productivity and earnings. Managers admire the new ideas given by an individual, although the final decision is always that of a manager. In the Australian cultured business set up specialized understanding is respected irrespective of the levels. Employees are to be consulted when there are decisions to be taken which in turn would have a direct or indirect affect on them. An intercultural management can only be successful if they tie together the talent of their employees. In India, the supervisor's work is to keep a constant check on the work done by their subordinates. They provide constant feedback to them. Their task is to monitor that work assign to them is completed on proper time with quality assurance. Manager's in India also get involved in the personal issues like health, family and other issues of their subordinates. Manager's also try to provide any constructive feedback for employees personal life. 11.0 Conclusion To conclude this report the main findings are highlighted as follows. When we compare the negotiation styles of India and Australia there are some similarities like both the countries have a Win-Win Approach but when it comes to contracts the written contracts are less comprehensive for India as compared to Australia. People of both the countries respect and value timelines and deadlines and they try their level best to achieve these. When it comes to risk taking abilities Australians are high risk taker whereas Indians do not prefer to take high risks. Even in the case of decision making there is a significant difference in the way the decisions are made by both the countries, Australians are not shy to involve subordinate whereas in India it is more of the managers who make the decisions. As importance is given to relationship in India the communication style is also quite different from Australia, where there is a direct style of communication, whereas in India it is more of indirect type of communication. Both the countries are same when it comes to female and male comparison on Income and status. Lastly, in Australia people are expected to complete the work and very little supervision is required, whereas supervision is required in India. 12 References: Ahlstrom, D. and Bruton, G.D. (2009), International Management: Strategy and Culture in the Emerging World, Cengage Learning. 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(2013), National Cultural dimensions according to Geert Hofstede and their meaning in Japanese and German Corporate Management, GRIN Verlag. 13 Appendix Appendix -1 Comparison of Five Dimensions of Hofstedes Model between India and Australia (hofstede) India Grade for India Grade for Australia Australia UAI Informal business attitude Emphasize quanxi (Relationship) and mutual trust Polite and honest Adaptable Flexible regulation 40 51 Enjoy challenge from new ideas More creative Flexible regulation Higher tolerant to receive positive and negative information Short-term strategy for decision maker Power distance Uneven income distribution Centralized with strong hierarchies Acknowledge leaders power Polarization relationship between subordinates and superior 77 36 Flatter structure organization Intimate relationship between subordinates and superiors Informal communication Individualism versus collectivism Collectivist society Group harmony Suppress feeling and emotions for peaceful work environment High trust relations in a group 48 90 Highest concern of individual right Independent and self-reliant Effort decides success Have open mind to share opinions Masculinity versus femininity Women status is low Women income is less Men should focus on work and earn income 56 61 Women income is less Women status is low Men and women both work and earn income Long-term versus short-term orientation Authority belongs to men and seniors Success belongs to oneself and family long-term performance oriented. 51 21 Focus on personal achievement and material possessions Quick decision makers Optimistic and opportunistic Short-term performance oriented Indulgence versus restraint Higher stress Follow by numerous norms and ethics Lower involvement of leisure activities 26 71 Less stress Inflexible rules Higher involvement of leisure activities Appendix -2 The Impact of Culture on Negotiation (Salacuse 1991) Negotiation Factors Range of Cultural Responses Goal Contract Relationship Attitudes Win/Win Win/Lose Personal Styles Formal Informal Communications Indirect Direct Time Sensitivity Low High Emotionalism High Low Agreement Form Specific general Agreement Building Top-Down bottom-Up Team Organization One Leader Consensus Risk Taking High Low