Cross-Cultural Management and Communication in Europe - Britain, Germany, France and Italy

Master's Thesis from the year 2002 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: 1 (A), University of Brighton (Management), language: English, abstract: Introduction The member countries of the European Union are becoming more and more integrated, but, as the above extract shows, cultural differences among the individual states still remain and can pose problems. Effective cross-cultural management and communication between the countries is essential in order to work efficiently together and build a strong union. We encounter cross-cultural issues in all areas of our life, but in this dissertation I will concentrate on cross-cultural communication and management in a business context. Today, numerous businesses operate on an international or European level, mergers between companies from different countries have become very common and for these businesses to work efficiently management and employees have to be aware of cultural differences and understand how to use them to their advantage, instead of seeing them as an obstacle. Having worked in an international environment for several years, I have become aware of differences between nationalities and interested in exploring where these differences come from and how to accept and deal effectively with them. Over the summer of 2001 I was working as a coach for several European teams within American Express Customer Relations and encountered difficulties with some of my trainees, which, as I realised later, were triggered by cultural differences. In this paper I will attempt to give a brief overview of the work of three major theorists, who have researched cross-cultural management and communication. In the second chapter I will outline the consequences cultural differences can have on the workings and organisation of business. Due to the parameters of this project I have chosen only three areas to look at - communication, leadership and meetings. The next chapter will include details about a survey I conducted at American Express Customer Relations, the results of which I will critically evaluate and compare to the theories mentioned in Chapter 1. [...]