Russia has commonalities logistically with Eastern Europe rather then Asia, although continentally it is placed on both.  I had heard of travel and trade routes through the Asian Silk Road, but did not know it had extended into Russia.  Having had been under Czar rule until the first world war, “and a provisional government was established with a partnership with the Petrograd Soviet socialists.  The ineffectiveness of this government, particularly with regard to the war, led to the Bolshevik Party—in particular Vladimir Lenin—gaining power. While the Allies won the war, Russia was transformed into a Communist nation…until 1991, when the USSR was dissolved into modern Russia and neighboring countries.” (PSU 2021) Although they did not want any part of WWII, they ultimately joined the Allies and have had a strong history of nation building, with particular contributions to the arts, math and sciences.  The United states and Russia have strong relationships in regards to their space programs.  I remember an instance that occurred where a Russian cosmonaut was stranded in space due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union. 

 That is not to say there aren’t some struggles for nationality to form with countries formerly part of the USSR.”these entities struggle to be nations, like Belarus, Georgia, and the Ukraine.  They seek a new identity and more independence, while coping with dictators, internal conflict an, and serious economic problems.  besides the Russian Federation, the other key Commonwealth player is ancient Ukraine, populated with Slavic peoples since at least 2000BC…its beautiful capital is Kiev, the mother city of the Old Russian Empire, famous for Slavic Orthodox churches, and Cossacks.”(Moran, & Abramson, pg 556) There is a considerable lack of social infrastructure, such as inflation of food and goods as well as production and distribution of those services.  There is significant maffia presence extending its way to New York and Los Angels.  Every few years or so I come across an article about the take down of a sex trafficking ring and quite often the perpetrators have connections to Russia. 

When doing business, one would expect a drawn out process.  Russians are still very ‘protocol-conscious’.  They expect to get multiple offers, and then may still expect additional perks to be available even after coming to an agreement. “Foreigners can expect much confusion, frustration and uncertainty.  In negations, the Russians are noted for patience and stalling, considering compromise a sign of weakness.  They expect to ‘play hardball,”continually seeking concessions, and revising “final offers” the longer the foreigner holds out acceptance, the more attractive the offer.”(Moran, & Abramson, pg 557) 

It is also expected that the individuals sent to represent your company are executives, as high up as possible, in order to establish trust between corporations.  (Moran, & Abramson, pg 557) Rich in natural resources, Russian people value their traditions and education.  Festivities tend to be elaborate, so being open to socialize will also help gain trust. 

Resources

Pennsylvania State University (2021). OLEAD 410, Modules Lesson 13: Eastern Europe and Russia. Retrieved from: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2146712/modules/items/32847720

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (10th ed.). Oxford: Routledge. ISBN: 9781138223684 ives, 1980: 515–60

While Latin America shifts into the 21st century, with the restructure and modernization of their countries, they have a rich heritage intertwined with their ever-growing economy. There are many ancient civilization tourist destinations, one of which I have had a desire to explore someday, Machu Picchu.  I’ve watched in awe at the many travel blogs and television programs that explore these civilizations and have always found them fascinating. “South America is a place where we can simultaneously be amazed a the beauty of the pre-Columbian artifacts and civilization, or the very modern and colorful art works and high rise architecture. Yet, visitors are also appalled by the poverty to the masses and the great wealth of the few, by the violence and terrorism, and by the dominance of a powerful military or dictators.”(Abrasion & Moran pg 409)

There is progression in the state of financial affairs since the 1985 creation of MERCOSUR in which currently involves Argentinia, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru (Abrasion & Moran pg 410) Trade will be a powerful contributor to growing their economies and it is hoped that all South America will join.  The Pan-American Development Foundation has also helped some to the lowest income individuals with their socioeconomic and cultural development while inflation is still a major concern.

While Spanish is the predominate language, Portuguese is often spoken in Brazil.  There is a heavy influence of the Catholic Church that also still dominates private education.  The influance is apparent throughout Latin Americans and they place strong value in family and traditions.  It is customary to offer a small gift if someone helps you out or does you a favor and helps build a rapport.

Resources

PSU World Campus. (2019). Olead 410 Lesson 09: Central America and Mexico Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2008449/modules/items/27026994

Abramson, N., Moran, R., (2018). Managing Cultural Differences. 10th edition. Routledge. New York, NY. P. 413

Synergy is the synthesis of what each individual in the group has to offer. It is about the whole being greater than the sum of its parts” (PSU 2021) In this weeks reading in our conflict resolution class I found similarities to what we have been learning about synergy.  We learn there are three stage models group conflict can be addressed, interdependence, reciprocity and compensation.   Interdependence, “creates a climate that shapes parties’ expectations and their behaviors toward one another.” (Folger, Poole, & Stutman, pp. 104)   Reciprocity has to do with the idea that, if you do something for me, I will do something for you, it “portrays parties to conflicts as either matching one another’s behavior or responding in kind, or compensating; that is, the tendency to respond in just the opposite fashion.” (PSU 2021) Synergy is another way of getting people to work together, “Synergy is a cooperative or combined action, and occurs when diverse or disparate individuals or groups collaborate for a common cause.  The objective is to increase the effectiveness by sharing perceptions and experiences, insights, and knowledge.” (Moran & Abramson, 2014)

Depending on the nature of the collective goal, promotive interdependence would be an option to get people to work together if we could establish that the group would benefit as a whole.  Sometimes it is beneficial to have more of a competitive drive in order to reach the common goal, and sometimes it is better for parties to work individually on accomplishing the task.  There also may be those who are hesitant to perform, in which case reciprocity or quid pro quo would be beneficial to get the job done.

I have found the most success when trying to reach cultural synergy at work have been individualistic followed by promotive and lastly the idea of reciprocity also works well in most professional circumstances.  I do prefer to work alone most of the time, but I do find it can become somewhat draining if I am asked to do more than my fair share of work.  If the supervisor is the one who delegates the assigned work, then there is usually success when the supervisor puts an email together which lists our individual strengths and cc’s all parties involved so everyone can see what they are responsible for what it is they are good at. In this way it both gives a morale boost as well as tends to hold everyone accountable for what it is they are working on in order to gain the best outcome when working as a group towards a goal.

Sometimes I’m asked to train people on how to do a specific project and so they know they can always come to me also if they have questions and we can work together for the solution or the answer to the member’s benefit question.  Our company already has us set up as teams so we work together in groups under one supervisor per team and we work with other teams as well as we try to be, “reflective of the whole organizationational environment, then they become closely knit and productive.  The more team participation is provided and employees are included in team decision-making, the healthier and more relevant is that human system.” (Moran & Abramson, 2014)

References

Pennsylvania State University (2021). Lesson 6: Cultural Synergy Retrieved from: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2146712/modules/items/32847680

Joseph P. Folger, Marshall Scott Poole, and Randall K. Stutman (2018), Working Through Conflict: Strategies for Relationships, Groups, and Organizations (Chapter 3, “Conflict Interaction,” pp. 99-107).

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (10th ed.). Oxford: Routledge. ISBN: 9781138223684 ives, 1980: 238–57

It can be easier to communicate with someone from the same background, but what happens when those you are trying to communicate with are from a different culture?  What if you are communicating in writing vs. in person? I am learning the various ways culture shifts our perceptions of ourselves and others and how to communicate with those cultural differences more effectively. “During the imprint stage, an individual’s learning of good and bad from their caregivers would be highly influenced by culture, as the caregivers are part of the culture. That is how culture persists over time. During the modeling period, culture is transmitted from other influential adults who are from another generation. And in the socialization period, ideas from the current culture are passed along.” (PSU 2021) These stages that we go through help shape us into who we are, but we can make changes and we are constantly learning how to grow in society. “if a value gets reinforced through behavior then it persists. If the behavior doesn’t match up with the value, then the cultural value shifts to something new.” (PSU 2021)

If we are exposed to new ideas and cultures we are more atp to usurp some of that understanding and become more open to those ideas which previously we had no experience.  “Worldmindedness” – a global awareness of other cultures and people (in many ways, the opposite of hate and fear)- is a trait that can be taught, just like a language. (Moran & Abramson pg 13) Being accepting of others and their differences is also valuable in the workplace. “Senior managers are trying to ensure that those reporting to them understand the company’s strategic plan, and are effectively organizing their assigned resources to achieve their assigned productivity goals.  All of these kinds of goals require that the receiver not only understand what the sender is trying to communicate, but also, from the sender’s point -of-view; that the receiver is moved to actions intended by the sender.”(Moran & Abramson pg 42)

Learning to avoid egocentrism and personal bias and being open to new experiences is a way to combat conflict. “At its basic level egocentrism is an inability to take on other people’s perspectives. If one isn’t able to take on another perspective, it is difficult to see what they want or need, but also to shape a message that they understand.”(PSU 2021) This helps when trying to communicate with those who may not have the same cultural orientation.“These errors can be exacerbated because of language and cultural differences, as they reduce the efficiency of communication.”(PSU 2021)

Being able to communicate your organization’s values effectively is an important skill.  Learning about the various culture, language, history, and social influences is important especially if you are part of a global community.  “Scholars have also noted that the strategic focus of human resource systems is more effective when aligned with the organization’s mission, purposes, values, and structure.” (Becker and Gerhart, 1996; Becker and Huselid, 2006; Huselid and Becker, 1997).  Being able to communicate those goals will help you work cohesively and with less misunderstandings.  

Resources

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (10th ed.). Oxford: Routledge. ISBN: 9781138223684 ives, 1980: 242–50

Becker, B. E. and M. A. Huselid: 2006, ‘Strategic Human Resource Management: Where do we go from Here?’, Journal of Management 32(6), 898–925.

Huselid, M. A. and B. E. Becker: 1997, The Impact of High Performance Work Systems, Implementation Effectiveness, and Alignment with Strategy on Shareholder Wealth. Academy of Management Proceedings

Pennsylvania State University. (2021). OLEAD 410. Lessons 1 – 4