aibs mbaib 2 nd sem cross cultural management by kp kanchana

Amity International Business School

AIBS

MBAIB

2nd Sem

Cross Cultural Management

By

KP Kanchana


German Styles of Management and its impact on the International Business


Countries around the globe have to adapt to what is known as the "German filter", which reflects Germany's nationalistic management methods.


German’s style of Mnagement

• Germany's rule-oriented, hierarchical focus on task accomplishment as an example of an Eiffel Tower management style.

• German subordinates rarely disobey or openly question orders from higher level authority, corporate power structures in Germany are typically more flat than they are tall. That's because German businesses are collections of highly specialized teams.

• German process of management by consensus


• In Germany, jobs are well-defined while assignments are fixed and limited. German employees know what they are supposed to do within an Eiffel Tower culture that is hierarchical, with orders coming down from the top with very little upward communication.


Formal German Qualifications

• German organizations rely heavily on formal qualifications in deciding how to schedule, deploy and reshuffle personnel.

• Companies manage their human resources through assessment centers, appraisal systems, training, development programs and job rotation. These procedures help to ensure that a formal hierarchical and bureaucratic approach work well.


Difficulty Handling Organizational Changes

• When changes need to be made, the German culture is often ill-equipped to handle the complex burdens that a rule-based Eiffel Tower bureaucracy demands. Manuals must be rewritten, procedures changed, job descriptions altered, promotions reconsidered and qualifications reassessed.

Germans Resist Changes

• Germans have a strong aversion to risk. Germans strongly believe that their processes have been proved superior, and it's hard to argue with their successes.

• Germany's superiority complex sometimes leads to an ethnocentric style of management.


German Leadership and Motivation Style

• German leadership and motivation style synthesizes the most pertinent characteristics from Authoritative Theory X, Paternalistic Theory Y and Participative Theory Z.

From Theory X:• Germans like to be directed. • In Germany, job security is primary.

From Theory Y:

• Since Germans are committed to goals, they exercise high self-control. • No threats of punishment are required to ensure task completion.

From Theory Z:• Germans are motivated by a strong commitment to be part of a greater

whole in general, and more specifically to their German organization • Through teamwork, Germans derive self-satisfaction while contributing to

their company’s success.


• The German style of competition is rigorous but not ruinous. Although companies might compete for the same general market, as Daimler-Benz and BMW do, they generally seek market share rather than market domination. Many compete for a specific niche. German companies despise price competition


GERMAN STYLE OF MANAGEMENT

• The German manager concentrates intensely on two objectives: product quality and product service.

• The watchwords for most German managers and companies are quality, responsiveness, dedication, and follow-up.

• Most German managers, even at senior levels, know their production lines. They follow production methods closely and know their shop floors intimately.

• German management is sensitive to government standards, government policies, and government regulations. Virtually all

German products are subject to norms--the German Industrial Norms


• The German management style is not litigious. Neither the government, the trade unions, nor the business community encourages litigation.

• Disagreements are often talked out, sometimes over a conference table, sometimes over a beer, and sometimes in a gathering called by a chamber of commerce or an industrial association. Differences are usually settled quietly, often privately.

• Germany has comparatively few lawyers. With one-third the population and one-third the GDP of the United States, Germany has about one-twentieth the number of lawyers.

• German managers themselves occasionally speculate that change might come too slowly, but they are not certain whether or how to alter the system and its incentive structures.

aibs mbaib 2 nd sem cross cultural management by kp kanchana

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