International Management -Cultural and Ethical Difference

The culture of an organization is defined by various factors. One of these factors is
societal culture. An increase in globalization has meant that employees drawn from different
cultures work in the same organizations. Employees are also increasingly working in different
countries. Further, employees working domestically are also forced to work with people from
different countries. Immigration has been on an upwards trend, and organizations are becoming
more and more diverse. To this end, it is important for organizations as well as the management
to have a perfect understanding of different cultures and their impact on behavior in an
organization. Certain cultures have outstanding differences, and understanding these differences
can help the management come up with better tactics to address these prevailing differences. The
focus of the paper is the differences between Chinese culture and American culture.
The Hofstede analysis of different cultures gives insightful information on the same.
Culture is defined as a collection of values that have an impact on the human mind. The
collective values distinguish one group of people from another (Hofstede Insights, 2021). Culture
has an impact on thinking, and this can be seen in the way of life adopted by different groups of
people. In the power distance dimension, China has a score of eighty while the United States has
a score of forty. Power distance is an expression of the acceptance of unequal distribution of
power in a society (Hofstede Insights, 2021). China has a high rating which indicates that people
in Chinese society have accepted power is distributed unevenly. There is the acceptance that
people report to an authority. On the other side, in the United States, the authority has not been
accepted by society to a large extent. Leaders and followers have not accepted the inequality that
may exist in societal relationships.

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On the individualism metric, the United States has a high rating of 91 while China has a
low rating of 20 (Hofstede Insights, 2021). The implication is that the United States is a highly
individualistic society while China is a collectivist society. In China, there is a lot of emphasis on
the achievement of shared goals. In-group considerations are given a lot of weight, and they have
a huge impact on decisions relating to hiring and firing. In contrast, the United States culture
favors the achievement of individual goals as opposed to collective goals. The commitment to
the achievement of individual goals pushes Americans to consult and approach prospective
clients. China and the United States score 66 and 62 respectively on masculinity (Hofstede
Insights, 2021). The two have a relatively high score on masculinity. Both the United States and
China are masculine societies. This behavior is evident in schools and workplaces. Showing off
one’s success is something that is valued in society. In addition, the two societies have a similar
outlook on avoidance to uncertainty, with the United States having a score of 46 and China
scoring 30.
There is a significant difference between the two cultures on the measure of long-term
orientation. China has a high score of 87, while the United States scores 26. Long-term
orientation is a facet that describes society’s outlook on the past as well as the dealing of the
challenges faced at present and in the future. In the United States, individuals place a lot of
emphasis on traditions. Change is viewed with high levels of suspicion. On the other hand,
Chinese society is highly pragmatic. The implication is that Chinese society does not place a lot
of emphasis on traditions. Change is generally accepted, and society believes that education
helps equip people for problems that may be experienced in the future. There is also a significant
difference between the two cultures on the measure of indulgence. China has a score of 24, while
the United States has a score of 68. Indulgence measures the control of urges. A society is either

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indulgent or restrained. The United States is highly indulgent, while China is relatively
restrained.
There are different ethical norms that are embraced both in China and the United States.
In the United States, society is heavily individualistic. As a result, Americans emphasize heavily
on individual and inherent rights. On the other hand, in China, the emphasis is on collective
rights and group norms. Any success is seen as the success of a group, such as employees of a
company or a department in the organization (Bright et al., 2019). Individuals evaluate how their
actions may have an impact on the group. In the United States, people make decisions that are
based on the impact that decisions will have on them at an individual level.
The two cultural dynamics may raise various ethical issues and dilemmas for managers
doing business on an international scale. One of the dilemmas relates to issues of dilemma. In
many organizations, there is a hierarchy of employees (Aguinis & Roth, 2015). At the top is
senior management, while at the bottom lie subordinate employees. However, both the Chinese
and the American cultures have different views on the subject of hierarchy. In the Chinese
culture, hierarchy is important since it allows individuals to show respect to those who are higher
in authority. However, the American culture does not readily accept hierarchy. It favors flat
organizations that allow workers at all levels to have access to the management at the top. A
subordinate worker who hails from the Chinese society does not have expectations of having
access to the management (Aguinis & Roth, 2015). In addition, elders in Chinese society occupy
a special place. They are treated with a lot of respect, and this is not the same in American
society. In China, even the dead are honored, and this is different in American society. Managers
may have a hard time reconciling how they should treat the elderly in the workplace.

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International business leaders in China and America work by ensuring that they are
culturally competent. Different communication styles are adopted, and this helps in eliminating
the cultural barriers that may exist. Cross-cultural training is also encouraged in organizations
that operate in a multicultural environment (Aguinis & Roth, 2015). On the issue of corporate
social responsibility, each business has a duty to work with the community for the achievement
of various communal goals. Managers can achieve this by ensuring that they encourage
cooperation with non-profit organizations. Companies can also invest in social-environmental
initiatives. The management has a duty to champion social and environmental initiatives.
Further, the management can ensure that environmentally friendly business practices are
adopted. Every organization has a duty to protect the environment. This can be done by ensuring
that business operations do not have an adverse effect on the environment.

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References

Bright, D. S., Cortes, A. H., Hartmann, E., Parboteeah, K. P., Pierce, J. L., Reece, M., … &
O’Rourke, J. S. (2019). Principles of management. OpenStax.
Aguinis, H., & Roth, H. A. (2015). Teaching in China: Culture-based challenges. Business and
management education in China: Transition, pedagogy, and training, 141-164.
Hofstede Insights. (2021, June 21). Country comparison. https://www.hofstede-
insights.com/country-comparison/china,the-usa/