The Importance Of Cultural Environments

Cultural environments that demand better understanding by global managers

With the ever increasing number of firms engaging in international business operations, cultural decision making has become an issue of necessity. Firms and particularly managers need to take into consideration the issues of cultural differences as well as variations in law and ethics to be successful. Cultural value systems are also closely linked to the understanding of moral or ethical issues and expectations regarding moral behavior, (Martin, Resick, Keating & Dickson, 2009). In addition, cultural differences explain the existence of different perceptions of what constitutes effective leadership, For instance, most people from individualistic cultures have a preference

2006). Different cultural norms and ethical values generate differing expectations of what constitutes an acceptable or unacceptable leader behavior in any particular circumstance, (Resick et al. 2006). Such different expectations place restraints on the types of leader behaviors and characteristics that subordinates will regard as appropriate and desirable, (Martin et al. 2009). As Steers, Nardon & Sanchez-Runde argue (2013), if managerial intuitions can vary across cultures, so will the expectations of subordinates regards the appropriate managerial roles. Consequently, what individuals regard as effective managerial behavior will vary across different cultures, (Steers, Nardon & Sanchez-Runde,

Cross-cultural-ethical conflicts arise whenever a company’s business practices contrast those of the foreign country’s practices in which it has set up operations, (DeGeorge, 2005). Wood et al. (2006) proposes that firms caught in a situation of conflicting ethical values should establish ways that are capable of accommodating the legitimate differences of the host countries. Molson Coors has managed to establish mechanisms that enable it to address situations of cultural conflicts. This scenario is particularly enhanced by the fact that Molson Coors had had extensive experience in operating across multiple cultures with operations across various countries. For instance, its ‘Beer Print’ tool enabled it to evaluate the impacts of its operations on the people and environment, (Kennedy Bruce 2014). In addition, its ‘Our Beer’ guided its organizational behavior. Incorporating ethical considerations into a company’s practices is desirable since in most instances, legal requirements and policies are not advocate ethical behavior, as they do not forbid all instances of unethical behavior. As a consequence, it is possible that some laws may allow or even oblige companies to engage in unethical behavior, (Hamilton, Knouse & Hill, 2008).

It is not adequate to comply with legal and social rules in order to avoid sanctions; firms should instead focus on incorporating