Cultural Sensitivity

Cultural Sensitivity

Selection of Country for Business Expansion

Business Expansion is counted amongst one of the most shining but tough decisions for a businessman. The reason behind this proposition is that there are multiple factors which have to be evaluated before making the final decision. Moreover, these factors have numerous different variables which are subject to continuous changes due to cultural values and traditions. Considering the rise in businesses, Company A has decided to expand into one of the East Asian countries. After careful evaluation, Japan looks like a suitable place for conducting a business related to the production of engine components because:

Counted among one of technologically advanced nations

Focus on Continuous Improvement through Management

Superior Management of Production Operations

Known for its efficient and effective productivity

Has a good image for its produced units throughout the world

Moreover, Japanese culture is a highly efficient culture where technological advancements are used in an effective manner to get the most out of every mechanical tool available. Looking at the working of engine components production, efficiency might prove to be the strongest weapon for Company A.

Cross Cultural Issues

Working within different and distinct cultures, Organizations have to go through certain problems which are faced due to differences between the home and host cultures. Among the major cross cultural issues that could impact the marketing strategy of Company A, the following are worth noticing from the point of Mingji (2006):

Language Issues

This is one of the biggest issues faced by any organization when it decides to expand its work into another country. Language barriers are the most difficult to overcome because communication is not possible without understandable language. Moreover, until and unless the employees within the home and the host country do not communicate effectively, synchronization of operations could not be achieved.

Norms

Every culture has different work norms because of the type of living existing within the nation. For instance, in the United States of America equality between genders exists and both males and females work to bring about efficient outcomes from the business processes.

On the other hand, Japan is a country where males dominate and females follow the waypoint set by them.

Cultural Differences

Japan has an entirely different culture from the United States of America. The most common differences could include national events, religious beliefs, differences in lifestyles etcetera. By looking at it from a hawk eye's view, these different factors do not seem to be having much of an impact on the company's operations; but in reality there is a substantial impact of these things when it comes to daily company operations.

Effects of Cross Cultural Communication on Marketing Strategies

After Company A finalizes its expansion decisions regarding operations in Japan, the following problems will be faced in the marketing strategy formulation from the cross cultural communication point of view:

Product

When developing the product, the company has to take care of the fact that any product design or symbolic representation should not be used that represents a negative concept in the host culture. For instance, many companies could not translate their product names into the ...