Summary
The article by Fink, Neyer and Kölling (2007) presents a comprehensive research on cross-cultural management. The paper explores the variations in culture and how the variations affect managers and employees in a managerial environment. The paper brings out the incidences of management that emerge from cross-cultural variations. The paper approaches the issue from a theoretical concept using the Parsons and Shils’ theory of action.
Three fundamental issues of cross-cultural management are explored in the article. These are cross-cultural standards of management, the impact of cross cultural attributes on personality traits, and the managerial dimensions of managing in a cross-cultural environment. The article develops a model of management that can help in enhancing management and adjusting employees and managers in a cross-cultural context of management (Fink, Neyer & Kölling, 2007).
Strengths
The method of research that is used in the paper is quite comprehensive in the sense that it borrows from both literature and a deeper exploration of a theoretical concept to develop a cross-cultural model of management. The qualities of the sources used in the paper are of a desirable standard. The paper makes use of other resources to build up literature, resulting in comprehensive outcomes that are founded in the cross-cultural model of management that is developed by the researchers.
The paper makes use of specific and limited sources in the literature. This helps the researchers to focus on the main issue that informs the research (Krishnaswamy, Appa & Mathirajan, 2006). The multilevel perspective that is taken in the article is desirable; that is, exploration of cultural dimensions of cross-cultural management, the cross-cultural standards of management and the impacts of cross-culture on personality traits of manager and employees.
It helps in the development of relational concepts of cross-cultural management, thus making the deductions more comprehensive in scope. The other feature that is important in this research is the summarization of literature under each mini-research into a conceptual perspective. This implies the value and the critical contribution of literature, making the research to attain the exploratory attribute (Mitchell & Jolley, 2013).
Weaknesses
The researchers did not limit the research questions, a factor that works negatively when it comes to narrowing down of the research topic. However, the research questions in the article are specific. This aided the researchers to focus on the main goals of the research. The literature is quite limited and seems insufficient when it comes to development of deductions or recommendations that are universal. The researchers ought to have expanded the research in order to broaden the scope of the research (Mitchell & Jolley, 2013).
Why the article is critical to human resource managers
The contemporary managerial environment has increasingly become complex due to globalization and its impact on management. Cross-cultural perspectives are, therefore, quite common in the contemporary managerial environment. The article presents a comprehensive research into the cross-cultural antecedents of management. The concept of cross-cultural management developed in the article can be aped and replicated in organizations that are going international in their operations.
Human resource managers find it complex to manage organizations that draw people from diverse cultures of management. This is analyzed in the article. Reading the article can, therefore, help human resource managers to identify the aspects of variations of culture in their organizations and develop effective tactics of dealing with the problems of adapting and managing in culturally diverse environments (Tjosvold, 2003).
References
Fink, G, Neyer A., & Kölling, M. (2007). Understanding cross-cultural management interaction. International Studies of Management & Organization, 36(4), 38-60.
Krishnaswamy, K. N., Appa, L. S., & Mathirajan, M. (2006). Management research methodology: Integration of principles, methods and techniques. New Delhi: Pearson Education.
Mitchell, M. L., & Jolley, J. M. (2013). Research design explained. Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Tjosvold, D. (2003). Cross-cultural management: Foundations and future. Aldershot: Ashgate.