Cross Cultural Management
Before getting into this topic, it's good to understand the concept of culture. In facing challenges in today's global competition, a manager, especially in companies with an international scale, is required to master the managerial patterns of various cultures in different countries, because it is not impossible, job demands require a manager to manage branch companies abroad. Lack of knowledge about the importance of studying cross-cultural management, will make it difficult for the manager to make adaptations which ultimately results in the loss of a leader's dignity in the eyes of his new subordinates.
When a manager assigned to a company in an overseas branch becomes an expatriate, he will face at least three phases in adapting, which consist of:
➭ Exciting Phase
In this phase, expatriates who usually bring their families with them feel enthusiastic about being moved to a new work environment, especially if the new place of destination has a better quality of life standard environment than their home country.
➭ Challengin Phase
Expats are starting to discover things that may not have been previously thought, that in this new country it is not easy to find a household assistant, that they have to deal with various strict rules ranging from parking, insurance, driver's license, extreme weather, and many more. Not to mention the differences faced in the office, where the prevailing culture is much different from that lived in the country of origin. This phase is a tough phase for expats to learn to adapt, the difficulty level of this phase varies depending on the character of the expatriate. This is where it is important for an expatriate manager to study cross-cultural management before being assigned to another country.
➭ Adapting phase
Expatriates who have successfully passed the challangi phase will enter the adapting phase which is the final phase of the process of accepting a new culture. In this phase, expatriates and their families are comfortable living in accordance with the prevailing culture and style, perhaps even "cultural confusion" will arise when they occasionally return to their homeland after living abroad for a long time.
Each phase previously described has a different cycle time, it can be short, it can also take a long time, again, depending on the expatriate character supported by the support of the surrounding environment, in this case it can be from fellow citizenship (community). compatriots in the country), colleagues in the new office, or family support that is brought along. But one thing is for sure, this phase can be taken more easily if expatriates are equipped with knowledge of cultural management in their home country company before departure.








