In chapter 8 of  Managing Cultural Differences by Moran & Abramson, we are presented with the topic of teams: Colocated or Virtual, and the challenges that may be presented and solutions. Given that we are in a global pandemic, most major corporations are almost entirely virtual for most of the work week, unless the need to be on location is necessary. I, myself, work from home 100% of the time even though I have the option to go into the office as of July. No one on my immediate team is located in the same state as I am and it has been that way even before the pandemic. As a Product Manager of an Agile team, I kind of sit in a position where I am the leader of all the members even though they do not report directly to me and are self organizing. In essence, the team runs itself with my direction and final decisions are left to me (this distinction will be important later).

My agile team is located in several different time zones. I reside on the east coast, while one co worker resides on the west coast, others are in Texas, VA, and India. Managing our calendar for our Scrum ceremonies has been crucial to the team’s health and Synergy. We try to make it so our colleagues in India are not on any calls later than 11AM EST and our west coast counterparts are not on before 6AM. While it’s not exactly the same as being in the office it does allow us all the same playing field and the opportunity to interact regularly. In the past, I know there have always been some cultural concerns amongst our Indian colleagues where they felt that because they are not in the states or face to face, that they aren’t heard or considered as much as they’d like to be. In this way we are all on the same playing field and the notion of having “face time” with leadership is different.

In chapter 10, the author describes one of their experiences of training in India. One statement that stood out was this quote “ Having learned more about the Indian culture, attitudes toward women, and respect for seniority, I took an opportunity to share my background with our Indian colleagues…” (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014, p . 298). I have personally witnessed this dynamic several times and within my own team. Firstly, it’s important to know that India is a 56 on the masculinity scale in terms of the 6 Dimensions of culture that we viewed in this week’s topic (Pennsylvania State University, 2021). This high rate of masculinity means that in India there are clearly defined roles in terms of gender, that also comes with some power dynamics between men and women and affects how Indian women may be seen and treated in the workspace. From the statement above we also see that Indians have a lot of respect for seniority. What I have at times witnessed with my Indian colleagues as a woman, is that they do, even the males, have a lot of respect for me and my decisions. I don’t always see that respect reflected back to women on their own teams, even when they are the subject matter experts. Oftentimes I will hear them being talked down and over by their male colleagues and I would have to step in and ask them not to interrupt each other, but I have seen this between males as well, but generally a lot less. As a leader, and especially as one who is operating across cultures I want to make sure that I am inclusive and that inclusion involves mutual respect. My team is great and they truly have amazing synergy but there is always room for improvement. This is why it’s important to understand cultural nuances/differences of the people you may work with because I believe that in these instances the respect for seniority in the workplace is above the underlying masculinity dimension (even if just for the moment). In this way I avoid disrespecting or slighting anyone on my team, while empowering others.

 

Abramson, N., Moran, R., (2018). Managing Cultural Differences. 10th edition. Routledge. New York, NY. P.298

 

OLEAD 410: Lesson 09 : Central America and Mexico. (n.d.). Retrieved October 24, 2021, from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2146712/modules/items/32847697

 

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

When seeking business opportunities with Chinese organizations, it is important to take the time to reflect on their singular culture and note the differences and similarities to our own. While one can safely assume that a Chinese organization’s representative to a western organization will be well versed in our culture, it would be a disservice to not consider theirs as well when strategizing a planned relationship with them. Chiefly, which styles of interaction would be more likely to be successful and what sorts of relationships one could hope to build with their Chinese counterparts.

Beginning with introductions, we see that while Americans and westerners, in general, are typically very outgoing and friendly with those they know or are trying to build a relationship with, especially when business deals are in the equation. We have all encountered salespeople who immediately treat their prospective customers with excessive friendliness and familiarity, in order to try and establish an immediate and more intimate relationship with their customers in order to achieve a sale.  Among other things, this exchange seeks to generate faux mutual respect to engender trust in the salesperson without taking the time to do so in a more genuine manner. Though we are used to western salespeople acting in this way, it would be quite jarring to a Chinese businessperson or representative. This is because the Chinese place far more value in the development of trust and respect through long-term relationships with people and their organizations. This is in part because of their culture’s greater emphasis on a more personal form of respect than westerners are used to practicing. We expect our respect paid due in large part to our accomplishments and experiences. See any executive’s office wall for examples: diplomas, memberships, pictures with VIPs, etc. The Chinese place far more value in a trust-based form of respect that is difficult to build in any other way than the long-term demonstration that one is worthy of respect and trust (Abramson & Moran, 2018, p. 442). This flies in the face of the western predilection to make things happen as fast as possible, and it can be difficult for us to accept that the best way to build an intimate relationship with a Chinese business partner is to commit to a lengthy and seemingly mild relationship. However, demonstrating patience and the ability to be depended upon over the course of a long relationship will endear a westerner to their Chinese counterparts will typically result in a lasting and resilient partnership.

It’s not all doom and gloom, though. If one assumes that you have built a solid relationship with your Chinese counterpart, you can also reap the rewards of their culture’s excessively low uncertainty avoidance and equally high long-term orientation scores (Pennsylvania State University, 2021). Referring here to India and China’s low uncertainty avoidance scores compared to the world average, Pennsylvania State University states, “this is good because introducing new plans to both countries would not be seen as threatening”. Given this though, it should not be assumed that the manner in which you present your new plans to China will be universally accepted. These plans should be introduced in a manner befitting the Chinese culture. If you can appeal to the Chinese culture’s sense of long-term orientation (nearly 1.5 standards of deviation higher than the global average), you stand a good chance of finding a profitable and stable market for your product.

Of course, these factors barely scratch the surface of the immensely complex and rich Chinese Culture. However, if you and your organization commit the time and effort, you will find that the connections you establish in China will be some of the most valuable you ever make. If you show yourself to be trustworthy and respectful, you will find your Chinese business relationships to be some of the most wholesome and resilient you will ever establish.

References

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

Pennsylvania State University (2021). Lesson 10: Focus on China and India–OLEAD 410. [Online course lesson]. https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2146712/modules/items/32847703

Being a global leader means understanding that cultures, beliefs, and values are going to be different than what you know and are used to. This means that researching your employees base’s culture and understanding how they operate is of the utmost importance if you are going to connect with them. This connection is necessary to gain employee buy-in and engagement to achieving shared goals across the globe.

For this blog, we are going to focus on dealing with employees from Mexico. Mexico is part of North America but has similarities to Central and South America, so the individual country’s score on Hofstede’s dimensions of culture are going to draw a mix from both regions. (Pennsylvania State University, 2021) Hofstede’s dimensions of culture include the following six dimensions: power distance, uncertainty avoidance individualism/culturalism, masculinity/ femininity, long-term/short term orientation, and indulgence/restraint. Culture is a problem solving tool and is everything we think, do and have in a society (Abramson & Moran, 2018, p. 413). So it is important to understand the differences amongst different regions and avoid stereotyping others if you want to connect with them.

Here is Mexico’s dimensions of culture scores next to North America (excluding Mexico), and the World Average. (Pennsylvania State University, 2021)

	Power Distance	Uncertainty Avoidance	Individualism	Masculinity	Orientation	Indulgence
Mexico	81	82	30	69	24	97
America	44.33	51.33	81.33	53	30.86	68.19
World Average	59.31	67.64	45.17	49.53	45.48	45.42

What does this all mean?

Mexico’s high power distance score means that Mexicans are more likely to be okay with an unbalanced distribution of power, haves/ have nots. The high uncertainty avoidance score means that Mexicans  are more likely to adhere to rules or laws than face uncertainty. The low individualism score means Mexicans prefer to work in a group setting that benefits everyone. The high masculinity score means there are clear cut gender roles in Mexico and leaders will most likely be male. The low orientation score means that Mexicans are more worried about dealing with the short-term than planning for the long-term. Last, Mexicans high indulgence score means they are more likely to fulfill basic human needs like eating, sleeping, etc.

It is not hard to see that Mexico’s scores differ in many areas from North America and the World average. In some areas they are close, like orientation. All this to say, understanding cultures other than your own is valuable as a leader. Knowing that employees in Mexico will respond better to clear rules and policies and they will appreciate celebrations with good hearty food will help to gain engagement from the team. Putting people in groups rather than individual assignments will yield better results in this territory.

Take time to learn your employees and coworkers. It will make it easier to connect in the long run.

References

Pennsylvania State University (2021). Lesson 9: Central America & Mexico–OLEAD 410. [Online course lesson]. Retrieved from: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2146712/modules/items/32847695

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

For this blog entry, I want to focus on the learnings from Lesson 5/6 as it relates to cultural synergy and organizational change within my company. Synergy is defined as “a cooperative or combined action, and occurs when diverse or disparate individuals or groups collaborate for a common cause. The objective is to increase effectiveness by sharing perceptions and experiences, insights, and knowledge.” (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014, p . 266)

While my company is one of the most popular and well known companies in the US and presented as a single entity, internally we were two separate businesses down to our balance sheets. About 3 years ago the company decided that we would merge and this would be known internally as (company name) 2.0. For the most part as an organization we are used to changing abruptly or rather the constant freezing and unfreezing period as described in Lewin’s Change Management model (PSU WC, 2021). So the announcement of the change itself wasn’t as painful, however, most of us in the company understood that this change would mean that not only are the two businesses coming together but there would also be overlap in roles. Overlap in roles usually means there will need to be lots of movement and potentially job cuts.

The anxiety around job cuts or role replacement made the synergy amongst the two competing groups strained for some time. We spent a lot of time asking our leaders to be clear with us about role clarity even after we officially merged because people were not willing to let go of their work or worse yet, deciding that they were not responsible for specific work and so it was not getting done. This caused a lot of frustration but the company continued to make changes to the leadership teams throughout so that the right leaders would be in place to continue tackling these issues more granularly within their respective organizations.

Since executive leaders had to work out their synergy and conflict issues amongst themselves, they were in turn able to come up with a  plan and north star that all the organizations would follow. This helped us to be more aligned across the board as we all had clear direction on what we needed to work towards. We also now had clear role clarity which allowed everyone to focus on the work in front of them that they hadn’t  been able to do before. Three years later and we are back to running like a well oiled machine as a company, wherein we are all aligned, conflicts are minimal, and we have great synergy.

 

Abramson, N., Moran, R., (2018). Managing Cultural Differences. 10th edition. Routledge. New York, NY. P.266

 

OLEAD 410: Lesson 05 : Learning and Change in a Global Setting. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2021, from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2146712/modules/items/32847673

OLEAD 410: Lesson 06 : Cultural Synergy. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2021, from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2146712/modules/items/32847678

Gideon Rachman wrote in the Financial Times that “since 1945, Europe has become increasingly prosperous, peaceful and comfortable – and irrelevant” and closed the article with “Europe has become a giant Switzerland” (Mahbubani 2020).  After all the criticism that Europe has received regarding its ability to lead globally, in walks Angela Merkel.  Merkel who is a trained quantum chemist from East Germany, has quickly propelled herself to be a global leader.

Merkel is succeeding as a woman, in a male oriented party, as Germany’s first female political leader (Connolly 2015).  Many world leaders have tried to overpower or humiliate her during her tenure, but she had endured.  Vladimir Putin brought his dog into a meeting with her, knowing she is afraid of dogs, Donald Trump told her she was stupid and Silvio Berlusconi left her waiting for 15 minutes while he chatted away on a phone call (Kottasova 2021).  Even her own party referred to her as “Miss Germany” or das Madchen (the girl in German).

Why is Merkel so successful as a global leader?  She has become the world’s crisis manager, having seen Germany through the global financial crisis that took down many a nation.  While some people might call her boring, she is calm, pragmatic and diplomatic and people would never think of her as being a corrupt politician (Kottasoca 2021).  Her scientific approach to leadership has helped her image as a wonderful mediator.  She famously helped created a deal between Eurozone and Greece and convinced Russia and Ukraine’s top officials to speak with each other.  She also convinced G8 leaders to cut greenhouse gas emotions and got George Bush to admit there was a climate problem (Kottasoca 2021).

She has never been afraid of being the minority voice in the group by bringing compassion and insistence in the political decisions.  Many German’s are concerned about the direction the country will go after her retirement.  With deadly floods that happened in Germany and the refusal of some of Germany’s state governments to refuse her desire for further lockdowns during the COVID pandemic crisis, many fear the departure of politics balancing with science (2021).

References

Connolly, K. (January 7, 2015) Ten Reasons Angela Merkel is the World’s Most Powerful Woman.  Retrieved October 11, 2021 from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/07/ten-reasons-angela-merkel-germany-chancellor-world-most-powerful-woman

Kottasova, I. Angela Merkel endured as others came and went.  Now world’s crisis manager steps down.  Retrieved October 11, 2021 from:  https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/17/europe/angela-merkel-retirement-germany-analysis-grm-intl/index.html

Mahbubani, K. (June 26, 2020). Can the ER Assume the Mantle of Global Leadership? Retrieved October 11, 2021, from:  https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/eu-global-leadership/

Politics will be poorer without angela merkel’s scientific approach. (2021). Nature (London), 597(7876), 304-304. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-02479-6

As globalization continues to happen, and shows no signs of slowing down in the near future, as business leaders we need to understand how to operate effectively in different cultures. In this case specifically in Saudi Arabia, who has been an military ally, and a business partner especially as it relates to oil. We currently have five military bases throughout the country (https://militarybases.com/overseas/saudi-arabia/). And from an oil standpoint Saudi Arabia is the largest producer in OPEC, and account for 7% of the petroleum products the United States imports in a given year (https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/oil-and-petroleum-products/imports-and-exports.php). With not only a strategic partnership in place, but also an economic partner we as a country need to understand how to work through differences, and understand the needs of each other.

Part of doing this is to understand their culture ,and create synergy. This includes precursors which are knowledge of differences, communication, learning, and the ability to change (PSU, 2021 p.1 para 1). Synergy is commonly defined as a cooperative or combined action, and occurs when diverse or disparate individuals or groups collaborate for a common cause (Abramson & Moran, 2018, p.266). In this case the collaboration between the United States and Saudi Arabia as it relates to shared interests.

In my opinion to truly reach a point where we can have a level of cultural synergy, we need to understand the differences we have, and build a bridge too understanding.  This idea of cultural synergy is an extension of synergy, but just at a cultural level as opposed to an individual level (PSU, 2021, p. 1, para 1). As a business leader we need to recognize that we are different but also look to use those differences as potential learning points.

Saudi Arabia as a country has existed since only 1932 and was founded by ABD AL-AZIZ bin Abd al-Rahman Al SAUD after a lengthy campaign to unify most of the Arabian Peninsula (CIA, n.d.). Although the country has a long standing Islamic culture which dates back over 1,400 years. The house of Saud has ruled since 1932, with a succession princes from the royal family of over 30,000 (Abramson & Moran, 2018,  p.391). The family essentially holds all the important positions of power and is estimated to have a worth in the hundreds of billions of dollars (Abramson & Moran, 2018, p.391).

The country is considered Arabic, and is the birthplace of Islam, founded over 1400 years ago by the Prophet Mohammed . As a country the religion is 100% Muslim, with a demographic breakdown of 90% Arab, and 10% Afro-Asian (Abramson & Moran, 2018, p.390). Islam is intertwined into daily life, as it is not only a religion but also a way of life. Sharia law is a guiding force in how one lives their life, but also how the country itself operates.

This extends to traditional male/female roles and historically has limited opportunities for women in the past. “Islam limits the number of wives a man may have by imposing restrictions on divorce, and ensuring a woman’s rights to property and inheritance from her husband or father. Men may divorce their wives with a simple oath, while women must plead before an all-male, extremist Wahhabist judiciary, and mothers have no right to custody of the children. Husbands may deny wives the right to travel, work, or study at university. Following the impact of the first Gulf War with Iraq, women began a quiet revolution” (Abramson & Moran, 2018, p. 391).

Though with some recent changes, and the country being forced to moved towards the modern world, Saudi women have begun to enter the business world and the professions, especially teaching, along with social and public services. They currently make up more than half of university enrollment, but still number only a fraction of the workforce. Despite social limitations on women, as well as bans on driving, travel, and political activity, Saudi women are slowly forging ahead (Abramson & Moran, 2018, p. 391).

As a country the Unites States has a great deal of differences with Saudi Arabia. Many of the points above are in stark contrast to what we as Americans experience in our daily lives, the religions we practice, and how male/female roles are laid out. With that being said when conducting business in Saudi Arabia, we as leaders need to understand that we can’t simply dictate what we believe to be correct. Culturally we need to understand the differences and work towards fostering relations that respect those differences.

With the discovery of oil, and the thirst for the product worldwide, the Middle East has experienced an influx of foreigners to their lands. As the world continues to move in the direction of globalization, we need to learn about our counterparts, and how we view them, as well as how they view us.

These are some of the common thoughts from Middle Easterners as it relates to people coming from outside their world (Abramson & Moran, 2018, p. 399).

-Many foreigners express superiority and arrogance. They know the answers to everything.
-Many do not want to share the credit for what is accomplished by joint efforts.
-Many are frequently unable or unwilling to respect and adjust to local customs and culture.
-Some fail to innovate to meet the needs of local culture, preferring to seek easy solutions based on the situation in their own homeland.
-Some individuals refuse to work through the normal administrative channels of the country, and do not respect local legal and contractual procedures.
-Some tend to lose their democratic ways when on foreign assignments, becoming instead more autocratic and managing by instilling fear in subordinates.
-Westerners are often too imposing, aggressive, pushy, and rude.
-There is frustration over American and European imbalance in support and aid for Israel, in contrast to the Palestinian cause and human rights.

Most of what I gather from this is the need for clear and concise communication. In my opinion for us to continue to partner with people from countries like Saudi Arabia, we need to foster more communication. This extends to not only how we speak to our counterparts, but also understanding them from a cultural standpoint. We have learned their is always distortion when sending messages from encoder to decoder, but what I also see is potential for breakdowns in the communication process (PSU, 2021, p. 1, para 1). These breakdowns relate to differences in cultural diversity, and only when we understand our differences can we begin to bridge the gap (PSU, 2021, p. 1 para 5).

As leaders what are some of the ways in which you think we can open up more opportunities with a culture that is much different than our own?

Thanks,

Bill Egan

References

Abramson, N. R., Moran, R. T., Moran, S. V., (2018). Managing Cultural Differences. (10^th ed.). Oxford: Routledge. New York, NY.

Pennsylvania State University (2021). Lesson 3: Diversity–OLEAD 410. [Online course lesson]. Retrieved from: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2146712/modules/items/3

Pennsylvania State University (2021). Lesson 6: Cultural Synergy–OLEAD 410. [Online course lesson]. Retrieved from: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2146712/modules/items/3

Pennsylvania State University (2021). Lesson 7: The Middle East: Focus on Saudi Arabia- OLEAD 410. [Online course lesson]. Retrieved from: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2146712/modules/items/32847683

https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/saudi-arabia/#people-and-society

https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/oil-and-petroleum-products/imports-and-exports.php

https://militarybases.com/overseas/saudi-arabia/https://militarybases.com/overseas/saudi-arabia/

Synergy, we all know that buzzword, but do we actually know what it means in the modern workforce? According to Martushev, synergy is “classical in origin. It comes from the Greek roots ‘sun’ (meaning ‘together’) and ‘ergon’ (meaning work)” (Martushev). But if we really look at synergy, how does it apply to our everyday lives in this modern day workforce?  Looking at the working environment of today most everything is based around a team. Teams work together to accomplish a common goal and advance the directive of the company or organization. Synergy and teamwork are synonymous. You cannot have one without the other. Within team forming there are a few steps to get a highly effective team. Forming, storming, norming and performing are all part of Tuckman’s model for a high-performance team (MTC). Synergy occurs throughout this process. “When every team member understands his or her role, the role of other members of the team, and the mission, each individual’s task fits into the overall goal much more easily, as there is no redundancy or loss of efficiency. That efficiency then allows members to work on refining and improving the process so that the whole becomes better than the parts” (Penn State). That final performing stage of Tuckman’s model is this aspect of synergy we see here. 

Looking at this through a personal lens, working in an organization such as the YMCA synergy is really quite important in performing as a highly effective team. The organization is made up of so many smaller parts that it necessitates everyone works together to accomplish goals and tasks. The YMCA is a high-synergy culture environment. Team members work together, different departments cannot function without one another, and everyone is there for the same reason. 

Within organizations, as the leader, it is important to be able to recognize the talents of your individual employees and work on bringing them together with other individuals to perfect the performance of the said organization. Being unable to understand and appropriately combine traits and talents of members will lead to a much rougher group and work environment. Looking back on Tuckman’s model of team formation, every team struggles at one point or another before hitting that performing stage. That is not to say that synergy is non-existent. Everyone is still working it out and learning how to effectively function as a team yet the common goal never gets lost.

As another personal example within the summer camp workplace, team effectiveness is paramount to the success of the summer and the joy and learning that our campers get out of it. Within the summer camp that I primarily work at we have a very structured hierarchy of leadership extending from a regular counselor all the way through a minimum of 4 layers up to our executive director. Bringing 120+ staff members together to create a safe, fun, and learning environment for 2,000 campers is no easy task. We spend a full 2 weeks in staff training and going through Tuckman’s model of effective team formation. There are high moments and there are low moments and we really do not even manage to make it to the performing stage until partway through the summer yet once we do, it is quite obvious how well everything is working. It is similar to a well-oiled machine. Everyone knows their individual tasks and everyone is mostly content with the work they are producing. And most importantly, the main thing that contributes to our synergistic success, is that everyone is there for the same reason. Summer camp is not a glorious job and it certainly does not pay well, so having the one common goal of giving our campers the best possible experience is really what keeps the team functioning at such a high level. Having been on the administrative side this past summer with upwards of 15 staff and 60 campers that I was directly responsible for, seeing the team function at such a high level was very rewarding for me.

People often overlook synergy as ‘just a buzzword’ and think that it is not relevant. But looking at today’s modern work environment shows that having a high functioning team is essential to producing good products in an effective manner. Without the synergy found at the performing stage of group development, teams would be nowhere near as effective as they could be. 

Martushev, C. (2020, February 26). Teamwork: How to create team synergy. CMOE. Retrieved October 11, 2021, from https://cmoe.com/blog/teamwork-how-to-create-synergy/. 

Pennsylvania State University. (2021). Lesson 06: Cultural Synergy. Cultural synergy. https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2146712/modules/items/32847646

Team, the M. T. C. (n.d.). Forming, storming, Norming, and performing: Tuckman’s model for nurturing A team to high performance. From MindTools.com. Retrieved October 11, 2021, from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_86.htm. 

It is easy to imagine Islamic and Western business cultures having very little in common and that these two worlds would rarely converge.  With an extremely tumultuous past, Islam and the Western world are separated by fundamentally different cultural ideologies.  This has never been truer than today with both sides agreeing that their relationship is at an all-time low.  Pew Research shows many in the West see Muslims as fanatical, violent, and lacking tolerance.  Muslims generally see Westerners as selfish, immoral, and greedy as well as violent, and fanatical.  Meanwhile, multinational Islamic and Western businesses both agree that Muslim nations should be more economically prosperous than they are today. (Pew Research Center, 2006)  So how do two fundamentally different cultures with tarnished histories establish a common ground in business culture and prosper together?  To answer that we must first, at a high level, understand each business culture, identify the similarities and differences, and then understand where their paths will cross

Islamic Business

It is important to understand that Islam is not a religion in which people can simply “subscribe to”.  Islam is a way of life.  The literal translation of Islam means “surrender or submission to Allah or God” (Neil R. Abramson, 2018).  Submission is a key principle and with Islam being a way of life it is of no surprise that Islamic ideals also integrate into business culture.  The most important integration is “Divine guidance” which is a fundamental component of the Islamic economic system (Neil R. Abramson, 2018).  From the behaviors of Islamic leaders to the development of business contracts, divine guidance establishes explicit standards which must be adhered to, or otherwise, sin has been committed.  Two examples of this as it relates to leadership are “servant-leadership” and “guardian-leadership”.  The servant-leader sees themselves as the servant of their followers, seeking the welfare of the followers and guiding them toward the good.  Guardian-leadership is the leader’s responsibility to protect their community against tyranny and oppression (Neil R. Abramson, 2018).

Western business

Western business separates religion from economic activity and is instead driven and guided by the maximization of benefit and self-interest (Neil R. Abramson, 2018).  This can be seen in the Western approach to finance contract design where the lender will supply the capital to the borrower but there will be interest applied by the lender which the borrower will be obligated to pay back. (Neil R. Abramson, 2018)  Another common practice in Western business decision-making is its dependency on theoretical data-based outcomes with little to no reliance on optimism.  Business decisions are typically costly and can have intricate components affecting the outcome.  The western business will not take risks without first knowing how to control the components to maximize the outcome and establish the highest probability of success. (Algumzi, 2017)

Similarities of Western and Islamic Business practices

The landscape of similarities between Western and Islamic business practices is undoubtedly stark.  The deeply rooted nature of Islam, the Qur’an, and Shari’ah laws in Islamic business in comparison to the western’s lack of fundamental religious guiding principles leaves virtually no overlap in leadership or managerial philosophies or in the way sales and business growth is viewed.  However, one area that at first glance can be viewed as contrary but digging just a bit deeper reveals that while the motivations are different the outcome is the same.  Entrepreneurial behavior according to the Qur’an is encouraged and even demanded in the teachings of Islam (M. Kabir Hassan, 2014).  With the entrepreneurial motivation being defined as “earning a living in order to support oneself, one’s family and society”.  Western’s view of entrepreneurship is typically thought of as individual utility maximization of economic agents involved and success is often measured by the financial gain (M. Kabir Hassan, 2014).  Disregarding the fact that these views points are derived differently both societies are left with individuals who will have entrepreneurial endeavors which ultimately benefit the societies in which they originate.

Differences of Western and Islamic Business practices

While there are numerous examples that can be used to point out the differences between Western and Islamic business practices there is only one that needs to be highlighted and discussed due to its impact on all other business practices.  The concept and practice of continuous improvement, its myriad of tools, and its methodologies.  Continuous improvement is the practice of empirically and quantitatively improving a process or design to reach an exceptional level of performance.  Islamic business culture completely ignores continuous improvement whereas western businesses have established the practice as a live-or-die way of thinking.  Islamic businesses, due to their adherence to the practices set forth by the Qur’an, believe that their business practices are “entirely free from any practical shortcomings” (Neil R. Abramson, 2018).  This is in stark contrast to Western and arguably all non-Islamic businesses, where the practice has been wholesale accepted since the 1920s.  These methods promised greater customer satisfaction, lower operating costs, happier employees, and overall, more successful companies. (Impruver, 2020)

Convergence of Western and Islamic Business practices

According to Pew Research Centre, in 2060, the number of Muslims will grow to around 3 billion.  This means that as the number of Muslims increases so to will the need for business interactions.  For the first time, Islam has started to show signs of change with ideas of civil society, of citizenship, of democracy, and of relations with the west now openly discussed (Ramadan, 2007).  At this time there is little scientific research that has been done on Islamic business culture as there still remains much to learn.  This is starting to shift in the right direction with an increase in the amount of time and money being dedicated to the study of Western and Islamic businesses interactions.  There is an inevitable convergence that will take place in the future between these two worlds.  By taking the time now to understand, learn from and improve Islamic and Western business cultures will only serve to improve prosperity for both cultures and communities alike.

 

References

Algumzi, A. A. (2017, August). The Impact of Islamic Culture on Business Ethics: Saudi Arabia and the Practice of Wasta. Retrieved from Core: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/153320454.pdf

Impruver. (2020, July 2). 10 POWERFUL CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT METHODOLOGIES YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT. Retrieved from Impruver: https://impruver.com/continuous-improvement-methodologies/

2014. Kabir Hassan, W. J. (2014, May). Entrepreneurship and Islam: An Overview. Retrieved from Econ Journal Watch: https://econjwatch.org/File+download/816/HassanHipplerMay2014.pdf?mimetype=pdf

Neil R. Abramson, R. T. (2018). Managing Cultural Difference, Tenth Ed. New York: Routledge.

Pew Research Center. (2006, June 22). The Great Divide: How Westerners and Muslims View Each Other. Retrieved from Pew Research Center: https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2006/06/22/the-great-divide-how-westerners-and-muslims-view-each-other/

Ramadan, T. (2007, February 16). What the West Can Learn From Islam. Retrieved from The Chronicle of Higher Education: https://www.chronicle.com/article/what-the-west-can-learn-from-islam/?bc_nonce=wbjzhvc816cfafp9t2469&cid=reg_wall_signup