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The role of a manager is evolving in response to the needs of companies operating on the international stage. The complexities of globalisation brought to the area of management are great and require the 21st century manager to adapt in order to offer modern solutions to modern problems. One area in particular of growing importance is intercultural management skills.
The majority of companies can no longer escape the need to buy, sell or work with people from different cultures. Multinationals have offices spanning the globe; manufacturers increasingly rely on foreign markets and distributors; services and products are no longer solely marketed at native audiences and many industries rely on immigrant labour. In short, very few businesses escape the need for intercultural communication.
As a result, companies are increasingly recognising that in order to grow, diversify and retain a competitive advantage, intercultural management skills are critical. ‘Intercultural management skills’ is a loose term used to refer to the capability of a manager to communicate and deal effectively with people from different cultures. ‘Communication’ has long been recognised as the key to business success; however, ‘intercultural communication’ is now an increasingly critical term..
Intercultural communication is critical to business performance in a variety of ways. Internally, an intercultural manager needs to be able to act as a medium between senior personnel and staff; communicate clearly and effectively with colleagues; build and nurture efficient intercultural and transnational teams and display strategic global thinking.
Externally, an intercultural manger must demonstrate business acumen within a framework of intercultural awareness to supervise entrance into foreign markets; oversee the proper selection, mentoring and guidance of company representatives working with foreign interests; negotiate and manage conflict with clients and provide insight into potential areas of success or failure emanating from intercultural differences.
The intercultural manager is therefore tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that communication between colleagues, clients and customers is clear, coherent and free from intercultural misunderstandings.
In order to achieve this, the intercultural manager must possess certain key attributes. These are namely, intercultural awareness, flexibility, capitalizing on differences and patience.
Intercultural awareness is the fundamental foundation of all intercultural management skills. One must possess hands on experience of living and/or working in different cultures, an understanding of how culture manifests in interpersonal interaction and have received intercultural training to consolidate those insights and awareness. Only through an appreciation of intercultural differences will the manager develop further skills.
Once intercultural awareness is active within a manager and they are able to see beyond surface level manifestations of cultural differences, flexibility naturally occurs. Flexibility refers to the ability of the manager to adapt their behaviour and management style to deal effectively with intercultural challenges and to think out of the box when it comes to offering solutions. The flexible intercultural manager is able to cushion intercultural tests and control outcomes positively.
Similarly, the intercultural manager needs to be astute in using intercultural differences positively. Cross cultural differences do not inherently lead to negative consequences. They only do so when mismanaged. It is therefore the responsibility of the intercultural manager to assess the potential of personnel, products and policies being steered by cultural differences and ensuring it does so for a constructive outcome.
Finally, the intercultural manager needs patience. As the Dutch proverb says, “A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains.” Patience is the key to a successful intercultural manager as it allows one to maintain focus, analyse problems coherently, evaluate options and implement solutions.
In conclusion, the success of businesses in today’s globalized world economy relies heavily upon them investing in cultivating intercultural managers. With human traffic across borders constantly on the increase and business interests dependent on foreign markets, the intercultural manager is critical to the co-ordination, supervision and implementation of clear intercultural communication.
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