Cultural difference is a fact that multinational companies have to deal with in their day to day operations given the fact that they operate in different countries. The countries not only have different social orientation but also varying religious backgrounds (Schein, 2009).
Diversity is an inherent characteristic that is found in virtually every aspect of human life. Culture can be defined as the collection of common values, believes and norms among a group of people which influences the behaviors, reactions and day-to-day activities of these people (Dubrin, 2008).
Moreover, culture determines what is generally accepted as proper conduct within a group of people. It should be noted that culture is not a trait that can be acquired by birth because it is not determined by hormones, but it is rather imparted into a person through the process of socialization as one interacts with other people.
It is important to note that every organization endeavors to come up with a culture that can enhance its productivity. Broadly, organizational culture has been categorized as either hierarchical or flat-based culture. In the hierarchical culture, every employee in the organization works in accordance with a strict laid down procedure (McEachern, 2011).
Flexibility is absent and the employees are required to meet predetermined quality. On the other hand, flat-based culture gives employees freedom to complete their tasks in the most convenient way.
However, it is important to note that organizations have been known to move from flat-based culture to hierarchical culture as they grow and expand their activities. According to McEachern (2011), hierarchical culture in most complex companies is scarily similar to the culture of public institutions where execution of tasks takes ages.
By restricting employees on what they have to do and how long they have to be at work, hierarchical culture makes employees feel as if they are being witch hunted. As a result, employees may decide to be at their working station but doing their own activities for example, logging into social networking sites (Keyton, 2004). Consequently, employees will be wasting time which they could have used for other productive activities.
Therefore, hierarchical culture negatively impacts on productivity. On the same note, hierarchical culture is known to impose penalties on employees if they are found going against the laid down requirements. In this regard, employees become fearful of what can befall them incase they are found on the wrong side (McEachern, 2011). Subsequently, employees become scared of trying anything new thus innovation is hindered.
On the contrary, flat-based culture gives employees freedom to put their ingenuity into practice. As a result, employees are able to concentrate on ensuring that quality of the products is high rather than just aiming at completing the job. On the same note, employees feel at home under flat-based culture (Schein, 2009).
Therefore, instead of aiming at pleasing their employers by mechanically following the laid down procedures, employers feel relaxed to try new ideas. As a result, companies practicing flat-based cultures are more likely to come up with new products. In Zappos for example, its culture has highly contributed to its success besides other factors (McEachern, 2011).
Zappos culture ensures that employees find the working place a fun place to be. Similarly, the culture is tailored towards making the relationship between employees and employers friendlier thus enhancing results.
It is important, however, to not that each culture has its place in organizations and no one culture can be condemned wholesomely. In other instances a combination of the cultures is the only appropriate method of achieving positive results.
References
Dubrin, A. J. (2008). Essentials of Management. Stanford : Cengage Learning.
Keyton, J. (2004). Communication and Organizational Culture: A Key to Understanding Work Experiences. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publishers.
McEachern, N. (2011, October 25). The Impact of culture on Productivity. HRVoice.org.
Schein, E. H. (2009). The Corporate Culture Survival Guide. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons.