Posted: September 5th, 2023

Assessment 1 Part B, The environment in which the modern firm operates is impacted

Assessment 1 Part B

Introduction
The environment in which the modern firm operates is impacted by a wide range of factors within the increasingly dynamic contemporary business environment. The contextual factors impacting a firm could lead to potential benefits, which if effectively exploited by the firms lead to better business performance and chances to become sustainable in the market. Furthermore, the contextual factors might present challenges to the businesses and thus, firms should work towards mitigating these challenges so as to become more competitive, as well as achieve sustainable ability to survive in the market. The success of Salam Namaste Restaurant in this context will be impacted by a wide range of contextual factors. The company has noticed that its organizational structure is made up of different factors, which if well exploited and challenges minimized might lead to better achievements by the firm. The restaurant’s business idea of becoming successful in Australia while mainly targeting Asian people could be improved through a better consideration of cross cultural management as the main contextual factor that impacts the success of the firm’s organizational structure.
Cross Cultural Management Overview
The contemporary business environment is becoming more complex for businesses to operate, especially as a result of increasing globalization and advancement in information technology. As the global business becomes more integrated, people have been interacting and migrating at a higher level. Such coupled with the increasing efforts by businesses to expand their operations beyond local levels has encouraged the existence of multicultural workplaces (Hill, Jones, & Schilling, 2014). Subsequently, most organizations are employing workers from a diverse cultural and social background. Given the point that people from different socio-cultural backgrounds have different values, beliefs, as well as attitudes, it might become challenging for them to be pooled into one team that would work towards the achievement of the set business goals (Dessler, 2012).
As Salam Namaste Restaurant operates in a market environment that has a diverse culture, it ought to embrace the spirit of effective cultural management, which will also help in reducing conflicts within its workforce, while ensuring that all employees and managerial staff members work towards the achievement of the set strategic goals. Cross cultural management will entail appreciating diversity in the restaurant and treating people in a fair and dignified manner regardless of their sociocultural backgrounds and values (Festing & Royer, 2008). Subsequently, the firm will be able to establish an effective organizational structure that binds all the employees into one team in which all the members pool their efforts to achieve specifically set strategic objectives. From this point of view, Salam Namaste Restaurant will achieve more success by capitalizing on the potential benefits of cross cultural management, while addressing the potential challenges that are associated with it.
Capitalizing on Potential Benefits
It is essential for the firm to capitalize on the potential benefits of cross cultural management. On the one hand, the restaurant will show its appreciation of cultural diversity through effective cross cultural management thus, building its reputation. By depicting such an image, especially in such a diverse market as the modern Australian market, the firm will have a good chance of building its reputation, especially among foreign customers. The firm might need to employ people from different cultures who will in turn be knowledgeable and competent enough to serve customers from their respective cultural backgrounds and thus, capitalize on this benefit of cross cultural management (Perkins & Shortland, 2006).
Also, the restaurant will also benefit from reduced conflicts within the workplace as a result of cross cultural management. By effectively managing the diverse cultures within the workplace, the restaurant will ensure that people from different cultural backgrounds do not engage in conflicts, especially given their different points of view of different subject matters. Reducing conflicts within the workplace will also enable the firm to enjoy the benefit of harmony, especially in decision making and problem solving (Greiser, 2017). The restaurant might capitalize on this benefit by ensuring that employees are encouraged to embrace cultural diversity as strength and not merely as a source of conflict, which will in turn lead to better advantages.
Another benefit that the company would need to capitalize on is the ability of cross cultural management to achieve a team culture. Cross cultural management practices will ensure that employees and managerial staff from a wide variety of cultures interact more freely (Perkins & Shortland, 2006). Such will in turn ensure that they can openly engage each other in teamwork regardless of their cultural backgrounds. Encouraging teams with diverse values and ideas leads to better chances of achieving better decisions and solutions to solve the problems that could be facing the firm. It is also critical to note that the firm might capitalize on the benefit of a team culture by ensuring that teamwork is one of its core competencies. This will involve encouraging employees to work in teams so as to depict a team spirit within the firm.
Addressing Potential Challenges
Cross cultural management could be faced by potential challenges that could lead to devastating impacts on the firm’s operations, performance, and overall success, which in turn raise the need to understand the potential challenges and ways of solving them (Rees & Smith, 2014). One of the main challenges to cross cultural management is the resultant communication barriers. The company’s management might find it difficult to effectively practice cross cultural management because the employees come from different cultural backgrounds and thus, have differences in the language of communication. It is critical to note that multiple cultures lead to a communication gap within the firm. In this case, Salam Namaste Restaurant will experience communication barriers and thus, the employees and the management, as well as the customers might not communicate in unison. It is critical to ensure that the communication barrier is mitigated so as to enhance the success of the cross cultural management strategy. The firm can solve the challenge of cultural barriers by first being sensitive to the point that such barriers exist, which will in turn make the management and the employees achieve some level of readiness to deal with the problems. Additionally, showing respect and dignified treatment of all employees and customers will help in promoting the multicultural attitude within the firm (Dessler, 2012). It will also be important for the company’s employees and managerial staff to use language carefully to ensure that other people understand them during communication. For instance, an Austrian employee who is serving an Asian customer should ensure that they use straightforward and clear language so that such customers understand. Such also ensures that parties who are inadequate in certain languages are not diverted by deep grammar and accent that might make it hard for them to understand.
In addition, cross cultural management might also be faced with the challenge of reduced team spirit. People from different cultures are employed by the firm, while the customers might also originate from a diverse culture. As a result, they have different values and languages. In most instances in such an environment, people tend to regroup in such a way that they interact with those who have similar cultural values (Perkins & Shortland, 2006). In other instances, the people from the different cultural values are unable to interact freely. From this point of view, there is reduced engagement between the people of the different cultures, which in turn reduces the chances of the formation of teams. Subsequently, people do not contribute together towards ideas and solutions within the firm. It is essential that the company encourages the employees to engage each other regardless of their cultural values so as to ensure that they achieve a team spirit (Michalski, 2011). Such can be done through the conduction of cultural training programs where employees from different cultures interact.
Cross cultural management might also be challenged by closed communication where the management and employees do not interact freely. Given that the workplace has multiple cultures, there might be a situation where the employees do not interact. In such a case, they might not consult during such processes as decision-making and problem-solving. It is critical for the company to ensure that this problem is solved. Open communication can be encouraged by grouping people in teams that are made of different cultural values (Festing & Royer, 2008). Such will in turn encourage exchange of ideas from different cultural perspectives, which might also result in better decision making and problem solving.
Conclusion
Effective enhancement of cross cultural teams by Salam Namaste Restaurant will provide a source of the benefits of innovative thinking and team spirit, while putting the firm at a better competitive position. Although it might be faced with the challenges of increased cultural differences that might interfere with open communication and subsequent teamwork, cross cultural management is one of the main ways through which today’s firms can encourage a global business environment. Subsequently, to achieve a team spirit and avoid cultural conflicts within an organization, the management should ensure that all the stakeholders embrace cultural diversity as strength while practicing it throughout their operations in the firm.
References
Dessler, G. (2012). A Framework for Human Resource Management. Pearson Prentice Hall.
Festing, M., & Royer, S. (2008). Current Issues in International Human Resource Management and Strategy Research. Rainer Hampp Verlag.
Greiser, L. (2017). International Strategic Management. The examples of Ryanair, Walt Disney, IKEA and others. GRIN Verlag.
Hill, C., Jones, G., & Schilling, M. (2014). Strategic Management: Theory & Cases: An Integrated Approach. New York: Cengage Learning.
Michalski, A. (2011). Strategic International Human Resource Management. GRIN Verlag.
Perkins, S., & Shortland, S. S. (2006). Strategic International Human Resource Management: Choices and Consequences in Multinational People Management. Cambridge: Kogan Page Publishers.
Rees, G., & Smith, P. (2014). Strategic Human Resource Management: An International Perspective. SAGE.

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