The Usefulness of Models of Cultural Difference in Managing International Business

Seminar paper from the year 2000 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: 2,1, Nottingham Trent University (Nottingham Business School), course: Strategic Management, language: English, abstract: More and more business is being done in an international context and more corporations are establishing themselves globally. The question arises, then, regarding whether managerial processes developed for one specific location can be transferred to another and whether they should be changed or remain unchanged during transition. (Hunter 1999) A series of cross-cultural research has been undertaken during the last few decades suggesting that certain management styles or business techniques may be incompatible because of cultural differences. The following essay discusses the usefulness of such models in managing international business. It focuses on the main 'gurus' which have developed the principal models of cross-cultural research including Geert Hofstede as well as Fons Trompenaars. At the end the essay Richard D. Lewis, widely acclaimed author of 'When cultures collide' and his views on national cultures will be discussed.