Managing Across Culture

wet-nurserect pass awayrect 000579613 000573398 000573202 000583118000527971 draw under chassis draw set drawframe drawframe drawframe drawframe drawframe drawframe drawframe drawframe drawframe Managing Across Cultures- Group Report on encase Study Analysis of Alcatel- luminous BY TEAM Meenak*shi Mukherjee* 000579613 Carlos Andres Serna 000583118 Quasirat Hasnat 000573202 Sangeet Premkumar 000573398 Imran Shahzad 000527971 Exe cuffive Summary This subject examines a case study sprouting optical fusions of dickens firms Alcatel and lambent technologies.This unseasonedspaper provides an insight into the French and Ameri buns socializations taking into consideration the p bent friendship heathenish imbroglio. Alcatel, an Ameri provide company, was previously owned by the technological giant, the AT&T group. hitherto in the year 1996, the company parted ship canal from the group of AT &T and merged with the French company, Alcatel. Alcatel, headquartered in France, prov ides hardwargon-softwargon function to the tele talks sector involving service providers and enterprises. On the 1st December, 2006, Alcatel- lambent merged to look for greater productivity by utilizing jointly owned resources, products and services. comprehend-cultural barriers hindered Alcatel-Lucents strategic advantageover its competitors. In this paper, the Alcatel- Lucent merger will be critically analysed with help reference frame locks and cultural tools much(prenominal)(prenominal) as Hofstedes dimensions, Trompenaars theories on culture and related holds from newspapers. In the recent years, companies name been adopting the schema to expand their markets globally with contrastive strategies such(prenominal) as mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances, licensing and so forthHowever, companies listening to achieve synergetic benefits often fail in their act of expansion due to the cultural problems revolving amongst the host and home countries. mental home Alcatel-Lucent, headquartered in Paris, France, is the Telecom giant with over 77,000 employees in its payroll a with annual revenue generated as reported in the financial report standing at a staggering 16. 98 billion Euros. The merger of p arent companies Alcatel and Lucent was anticipated to be the shining star of mergers and was aptly phrased as a merger of equals (Sutherland, 2006).This paper discusses the importance of cultural differences and indicates the problems that can be create when different cultural swallow upaction go ons between different stratas of organizations. Short Brief about different cultures Culture can be considered to be a vast word having no unify vagary that can summarize the true essence of it. Some scholars and look intoers trammel Culture as a part of our environmental conditioning, usually distributed among members of resembling nations, regions and areas (_Sorensen_, 1984). This case study is partd to communicate the study of cross culture and its related problems.In regards to bloodline environment, the French Culture believes in providing hostage department for the members of the fraternity. The Culture is warring yet assertive but however is jeopardize averse and consumes too much meter to take ends to deal with a situation. On the contrary, the American Culture is easy going and flexible. Americans believe in quick finish making with a win-lose begin and as a resultant accept uncertainties in a positivist manner. In a recent phrase, Holstein (2007) express, that the two set up companies addressed the issue of crisis taking mea indisputables otherwise.In epochs of crisis, the Americans believe in reducing costs through scale down job opportunities whereas the French charter a supportive approach towards their employees with the government acting as the back b matchless to resolve such issues making the process of conclusiveness slow but unaffected by the crisis piling on the company with additi onal operational costs. The inclination of the American Culture is towards achieving short term goals such as profit making, however, the French culture touchs a negative aspect of doing furrow with haste.The French decision making processes are long and go to measure from each one st unitys throw taking cardinal aspects into consideration. Literature review The Dutch anthropologist, Trompenaars , conducted a research over 10 years and eventually publishing his work in 1994. Expatriates in an establishment can benefit from his dimensions by having knowledge on the managing tasks in different cultures (Trompeenars et. al. , 1997). Universalism Vs Particularism tally to Trompenaars , Universalism and Particularism are term used to de none a culture which is governed by rules and alliances.In the words of French (2007), rules are flexible in particularistic societies and relationships are give more importance than rules. Trompenaars classifies of USA as aUniversalistic socie ty bound by rules. Hence, Lucent as a company believes in growing rules, codes and standards that can be applicable to everyone in every situation without any modification. In USA, dialogue takes place in written agreements, shows that a formal procedure is to be followed to do concern. However in a particularistic culture, the type of relationship determines the work.Whereas the French culture is average in Universalism indicating Alcatel, the French company is uncomplete too particularistic nor too universalistic and rationally develop inter personal relationship and trust bearing in mind the evaluate standards (Gesteland, 2005). Affective/ Emotional Vs Neutral Affective and Neutral are terms used to epitomise emotions with in a culture. In affective cultures individuals tend to show their emotions explicitly in public like the American culture. However Neutral cultures believe in implicit behaviour towards their emotions.According to French (2007), different cultures exhib it different behaviours when it comes to emotions. American community tend to hit the sack their disgust spot-on using verbal communication where as the French do so with sign language such as frowning and smirks. The US and French cultures are both alignedvery close to each other in terms of how emotional or neutral they are. both of them are reasonably average, which means people working in Lucent as good as Alcatel neither express their feelings too en therefromiastically nor do they try to hide their feelings (Gesteland, 2005).Specificity Vs Diffuseness According to Hampden (1998), Specificity is a term used to represent cultures where difference between work life and personalised life are applicable. In soft cultures, the society is non- segregated as work and personalised life are closely interlinked. According to Guirdham (1999), the French are diffused in their cultural believes and so personal and professional life is considered to be a part of the culture whereas the Americans believe in belongings the two separate. Achievement Vs AscriptionTrompenaar describes cultures which believe in achieving precondition through accomplishment with a generic belief that status can be gained and woolly if performances are not measured tallyly. Ascribed status is where people believe that status is gained through inherent right and not according to what they perform in everyday life(French,2007). Achievement orient societies formed by individuals who believe in achieving goals independently. For example the reigning President of the United States of America, Barrack Obama is an individual who became the hot seat with his qualities and perseverance.In Ascribed societies, people believe in the status and the background of individuals. This juxtaposes the idea that in France one can participate in politics hardly if their family has been inclined politically in the past. The American culture is achievement oriented thus at Lucent, social status or posit ion of an employee is derived from his/her achievements. The employees in Alcatel could grow plainly if their business links with the superiors are concrete (Guirdham, 1999). nonparallel Time vs. SynchronisationThe word, sequence, is used to describe time where events follow one another whereas in synchronised time, events are arranged at a parallel basis. Multi-tasking is the main feature of synchronisation. Lucent being a northward American company follows monochromic time that is tangible and divisible. They view time as a narrow spectrum of distinct, consecutive segments. Hence they perform only one activity at a time with greater focus, memory a strict schedule of appointments and showing a strong apology from deviating their inventions (Gesteland, 2005).Whereas Alcatel being a Mediterranean country follows Polychromic time, for them time is indivisible by(predicate) and flexible. Time is viewed as a norm and people perform fivefold activities simultaneously which makes them distracted very easily. For them appointments are approximate and can be changed at any point of time, schedules are not as in-chief(postnominal) as relationships are. Future Vs Past Orientation Lucent focuses more on the present and the immediate futurity than what has happened in the past. They concentrate on achieving result within a short span of time. In Alcatel, the present and future are valued by looking at events that occurred previously.Any precondition situation is compared to the previous happenings. Time orientation does matter a sess when companies operate in different cultures. It creates chaos specially in taking long term decisions. High Vs Low context cultures Lucent (USA)- as a company possesses the attributes of a low context culture where it relies on study explicitly provided, detailed communication and even high gearer detailed instruction at workplace. However at Alcatel (France), employees practice moderate levels of cultural context interms of c ommunication, information and even instruction at workplace.Alcatel being a French company practices very high power distance, which means a wide gap exists between leaders, subordinates and management decisions are do at the flush level only without the consent of fellow employees. Hofstedes heathenish Dimensions Dutch Anthropologist, Geert Hofstede defines culture as The collective architectural planming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one category of people from another (Hofstede, 2001). Using his survey at the IBM involving employees from earthly concern over, he formulated the cultural dimensional framework.High Vs Low index Distance Power distance is related to a society which is split up into classes and ranks. In USA, ranks are least important to individuals as they believe in Equality. Organisational ranks often make employees feel uncomfortable and are not secure widely. In France such distinction between classes and ranks are acceptable. Though high organisational ranked employees believe in appraiseing employees of lower ranks but make sure that the distinction is clear. In such countries it is wise for a subordinate to use terms such as Sir or Madam.Whereas, at Lucent- a US based company, power distance is relatively low. The gap between superior and subordinate is minimal likewise salary and decisions are made consulting with everyone, though organisational hierarchy exists but for convenience. High Vs Low incertitude Avoidance The term Uncertainty denotes societies that are venture averse and risk takers. In US, the culture believes in taking risks and with France, risk taking is not a wise decision and is often followed with monotonous long-term decision making. The French are known for high uncertainty avoidance.Hence at Alcatel people prefer not to take risks unnecessarily, they usually are leal to their employers and set about long work records. The organization is structured with explicit rules and regulations w ith the employee (French, 2007). Therefore, Lucent as an organization is not well structured and people are eager to take risk, thus being flexible that makes them not loyal enough and are clear indicators of short term employees. As France is exceedingly cautious about uncertainty decisions, thus employees at Alcatel are extremely concerned about job losses.In a recent article Sutherland (2006) stated that About 10 percent, or 8,800 employees, will be laid-off. Lucent could not answer which percentage of the job losses will be borne by the U. S. Company, but French laws tightly control when employers can enhance workers (Cited in, Sutherland, 2006). Individualism Vs Collectivism In Individualistic societies, individuals tend to look by and by their family and themselves. Organisational goals are based on individualistic performance and not on the group effort. aggroup works are performed with individual rewarding system. collectivist countries believe that the essence of good performance is based on group up work. Individuals must sacrifice their personal interest for the benefit of the team. Rewards and bonuses are according to the teams performance on activities. The French and American individualistic characteristics are common, causing a clash of cultures while working in conglomerate companies such as Alcatel-lucent. Individualism evolved when the two companies merged because the people started thinking of their own self interests instead of considering the company on the whole.This leads to jumbled asynchronous processes that are disruptive for productivity (French, 2007). masculinity Vs Femininity maleness and femininity are characterized by behaviours such as assertiveness, competitiveness, caring and loving. masculinity is a composition of tough values whereas Femininity shows tender traits. Both the nations are masculine in nature but the roles of women in the two societies are very different. In USA, Women can reach the top layers of the organisation whereas in the France it is the other way round and men are wedded more precedence as the society male dominant.In an article Holstein (2007) stated that One is that there is confusion about whos in charge. Russo became chief executive officer of the combined entity and Tchuruk became chairman. In American cultural terms, that means Russo runs the company. later all, shes the CEO. plainly in a European context, and particularly a French setting, the chairman is the boss. Confusion at the top is deadly (Cited by, Holstein, 2007). Masculinity is relatively high in Alcatel compared to Lucent. At Alcatel, people believe in competition, performance and male dominance.Whereas at Lucent ,people seek equal opportunity, separate quality of work, solidarity over other factors including competitive behaviour. Patricia Russo, a successful business entrepreneur from the USA is an example of a Masculine dominant society where women scale the height of opportunities. According t o Verwaayen (2008), decisions making in Alcatel-Lucent remains a crucial factor as the two companies dumbfound different reportage standards. In Alcatel the Chairman is the head who takes the final decisions relating to a company and in Lucent the CEO is the person who delegates decisions.The two different distinct approaches shake off clearly confused the role of employees in both the companies. Verwaayen (2008) also stated that in mergers, long distances usually creates trauma as processes cannot be co-ordinated hence provides freehand edge to competitors. According Gubbins (2007), it is important for the government to have a top- bottom flat structured system so as to make the operations of the company smooth and efficient to survive the competitive environment. heathen clashes were so evident that Patricia Russo, the pass executive decided to bestow the company and stakeholders expected changes after his reign.This can be analysed from the newsfeed of Alcatel-Lucent (2009) stating that We hope that a new CEO will be able to bridge the cultural divide between the Americans and the French and get all sides pulling unitedly (Cited in, Windsor, 2008). Analysis of Opportunities, *Challenges,* Considerations Opportunities Alcatel-Lucent partners a project phrased as the Cercle Passeport Telecoms,in France, which is a business program for corporate mentoring of multicultural students from humble backgrounds in their pursuit for higher pedantic opportunities (Alcatel-Lucent,2008).As a part of the recruitment opportunities, Alcatel Lucent revamped its business development programs into sessions that integrated technical training with hands-on experience on shelter products and data transmission . Further emphasis on sales methodologies, range out to partners to engage with the end-users and to carve out solutions to address their needs. In revise to convert innovative ideas into reality products or services, Alcatel-Lucent launched the Entrepreneurial Bo ot inhabit housed in Belgium in the spring of 2006.Aimed at a constructive image of a global knowledge base where creativity blossoms, a business foundation like the Boot Camp is a grooming manufactory for all the budding business developers of the next generation. Alcatel-Lucents strategic security partnership with renowned financial sector reseller Abraxas Partners paves wave for new job opportunities showering prosperity in the near future (Alcatel-Lucent, 2008). Considerations The primary objective of a merger is the integration of skills, resources, and business networks and their harmonic implementation.Taking into account Cultural differences, mergers are drafted, and contingency plans are prepared in order to harness such differences. When cultural differences arise at higher level of the organizational hierarchy, the execution of these pre planned contingencies become haphazard(Turner & Trompenaars, 2000). The analysis of this uber-merger case study has given us a clear insight in to the detrimental situations unrestrained by unsuccessful execution of mergers. The cultural differences seem irrelevant considering the fallacies refer with it are not redundant while assessing shifts in fiscal trends.The resolved pressure enforced a moral obligation, convincing the American chief executive, Patricia Russo and the French Chairman, Serge Tchuruk to step down. (Ruitenberg,2008). The ignorance of demographic and geographic interests might have had a negative impact on the merger. Previous acquisitions and mergers may have misapprehend the merger as a change in organizational goals. According to Jolly (2008) ,Alcatel-Lucents current vision can be quoted as CSR is about being a value driven company, where values are not words on pieces of paper but things we do automatically .Its about being a company that is inclusive and has respect for the individuals, respect for differences and respect for cultures . Challenges spinal fusions and Acquisitions hav e a tendency to confront several(a) issues and involve constant reframing of policies. Differences can be resolved at the emergent stages of the Merger or Acquisition only. Alcatel-Lucent faces a challenge in restoring their longstanding relation with their previous collaborators like Bell Labs, Packet Engines and Xylan who might have experienced difficulties while the management underwent changes, so that they may continue providing and developing their services.They also face the challenge of retaining existing customers especially those who might have endured inept services while the organization resolved its differences. The merger of the parent companies has taken a toll of time and the company has experienced positive development in turnovers, cultural integration thus reoccupying the held market persona and brand goodwill. Internal Organization Alcatel-Lucents design and consultancy service convolutes the full of life processes necessary to ensure an integration of cost-e ffective, flexible network infrastructure. personal credit line Consulting, trading operations Consulting, Applications Consulting, Security Consulting, Network Consulting & Design, Network & Service Optimization are Business units and processes that constitute this esteemed organization (Alcatel-Lucent,2008). Conclusion and Recommendation Complications usually occur when two companies from two different countries merge to benefit synergetic effects. In terms of Alcatel- lucent, the two parent companies follow an individualistic approach which motivates employees to work towards individualistic goals and often the objective of the company is not taken into sheer consideration.The essence of good successful business is to adopt a socialist approach giving the goal and the mission of the company at the top priority. Team work will motivate employees of Alcatel- Lucent to take decision jointly (Alcatel-Lucent, 2008). To bridge the gap between America and the France, it is important to deoxidise the distance by sending employees of each company onto discharge missions. To empathise a culture, it is important to stand in the threshold of the other. Managers in expatriate missions will gain better understanding of the French and the American cultures thus adjusting to the new inter-cross culture.Leadership should be vested in hands of one and not many, therefore confusion at the top should be avoided by compound processes with clear objectives. Employees should be made to report to only one superior. It is important for the company, Alcatel- Lucent, to use new technologies such as video conferencing to reduce communication barriers between the employees of the two countries. In this time of financial crisis, it is important to cut costs to sustain in the global business market. Top solemn structures in the company with higher pay packs to the employees could create operational loss.In the reduction of financial position, the competitors would benefit by reap ing advantage of the situation and coincide it by way of acquisition. As the French are more antifertility about the job loss scenario, the company should take effective measures such as putting employee rolls stagnant thereby reducing its financial cost. References French, R. (2007),Cross Cultural management in work organizations, Kerry Press LTD, London. Hofstede, G (2001) Cultures and organizations software program of mind McGraw Hill, untested York. Turner,C. H. & Trompenaars,F. 2000) Building Cross cultural Competence, John Wiley &Sons Inc, USA. Alcatel-Lucent, (2008) Alcatel-Lucent launches new channel recruitment drive in UK and Ireland and announces security partnership with Abraxas Online operable at http//www. subtelforum. com/articles/? p=190 (Accessed on 2nd Dec. 2009). Alcatel-Lucent, (2009) Alcatel-Lucent announces Chairman Serge Tchuruk and CEO Pat Russo to step down Online functional at http//www. alcatellucent. com/wps/portal/ ut/p/kcxml/04_Sj9SPykssy0xPLMnMz0 vM0Y_QjzKLd4x3tXDUL8h2VAQAURh_Yw?LMSG_CABINET=Docs_and_Resource_Ctr&LMSG_CONTENT_FILE=News_Releases_2008/News_Article_001159. xml (Accessed on 2nd December 2009). Fons,T. , Turner,H. , Charles, (1997), Riding the waves of culture, Gardners Online Available at http//www. businessmate. org/Article. php? ArtikelId=5 (Accessed on 10th Nov. 2009). Gubbins,E. (2007), UBS Alcatel faces mobility decline, culture clash telephony online Penton media online press Online Available at http//telephonyonline. com/wireless/news/alcatel_mobility_revenue_121907/ (Accessed on twenty-third Nov 2009). Hall,E.T. and Hall,M. T. (1990), Understanding Cultural Differences, Germans French and Americans , USA, pg 129130. Holstein,W. J. (2007), Lucent-Alcatel Why Cross-Cultural Mergers Are So ToughNew York Times Online available at http// www. nytimes. com/2007/11/01/business/ human racebusiness (Accessed on 10th nov. 2009). Jolly,D. (2008), Culture clash hits home at Alcatel-Lucent New York Times Online a vailable at http//www. nytimes. com/2008/07/29/business/worldbusiness/29iht-alcatel. 4. 14867263. html? pagewanted=1 ( Accessed on 1st December 2009). Ruitenberg,R. 2008), Alcatel-Lucents Russo, Tchuruk to Quit Loss Widens BloombergOnline Available at http//www. bloomberg. com/apps/news? pid=20601085=a6fn02kzojwE=europe (Accessed on, 20th November 2009). Sorensen,G. (1984) How much Poison is some other Mans Meat? Notes on the Logic of World Systems Analysis, page 29. Sorensen,O. J. (1984) Marketing Systems and economic Development. An Institutional-Structural Approach page 41. Sutherland,E. (2006), Lucent Brushes Up on French With Alcatel Merger Internetnews Online Available at http//www. internetnews. com/bus-news/article. hp/3596246 (accessed on 23rd Nov 2009). Verwaayen ,B. (2008), Alcatel-Lucent New CEO, identical Three Problems The Wall street journal. Windsor. R(2008), Alcatel-Lucent confronts its cross-cultural challenges BBC NewsOnline available at http//leaderswedeserv e. wordpress. com/2008/07/31/alcatel-lucent-confronts-its -cross-cultural-challenges (Accessed on 5th Nov. 2009). Managing across Cultures, INDU 1033 Team Reflection Questions to guide the Team Presentation and Written Report Draw on your experiences how would you qualify the teamwork in terms of textlist-itemKeeping in mind the scarcity of information available in journals and online web pith a strategic plan was devised to search online material using key trigger words that would hurry in text referencing. The presentation time being short was a challenge for me in my role( Meenakshi Mukherjee) as group leader to define circumstantial roles to my team mates to quantify the case study of Alcatel Lucent keeping in mind the cultural heritage both companies native countries share.A well defined work with ample support from team members in way of skills and research makes me happy and feel good as a budding manager graduating from this esteemed university. textlist-item I would li ke to strike on the fact that our team being truly multicultural, representing various nations of the world knit as family segregating this task into sections of expertise . Taking the reference frame work set forth by the respected lecturer and tutors, each subtopic in the case study was carefully classified and analysed.Disputes about the content were usually friendly group discussions in a professional manner. How much could difficulties be related to national variations in approaches to group work ? multicultural teams like ours have different rational thinking capabilities . Innovative ideas streamlined. But the pipeline for these ideas was the standards we must set . Work can be go away to interpretation. A consensus of the group eradicated doubt and hesitant notions. What elements of the process would you do differently next time.NB various approaches may exist among the different members of the team The data collection was done in large qualities from various confine reso urces. The case of Alcatel Lucent is primarily neglected in the business world. careful selection of the company of reference could have been more articulate and the constrains of time and word limited was a real burden . Optimum purpose of resources can be improvide in future. The following members of the team declare to have fulfilled a