How does culture give an organisation a competitive advantage?

DONE
In my opinion, culture can be an organization's key competitive advantage because it is
unique to the company and cannot be replicated. Cultivating the positive aspects of your
company's culture results in more engaged and fulfilled employees. There is no one more
important to your success than your people. The more employees who are on board with the
mission, the more the culture will grow and lead to a stronger competitive advantage. People
who live by the company's goals and core values thrive at an organization, so that is who
managers should try to hire.

In your opinion, is professional culture more influential than national culture? DONE
In my point of view, National culture is an interconnected web of mental models that is
shared by national groups and transcends the individual. It is influential in moderating the
cognition and behaviour of groups and individuals. Meanwhile, professional culture highly
influential because A strong company culture attracts better talent and, more importantly,
retains that talent. When people feel like they belong to an organization, they're more likely
to stick around for the long term. That means lower turnover, fewer new hires to deal with,
and better chemistry among your team.

What training programmes can help managers to adjust their attitude and behaviour
so that they can perform their international assignment successfully? DONE
Global companies often send managers from the home country office to work in foreign
subsidiaries. Sometimes this is done for the development of the manager, so they can gain
experience in the global operations of the company. It may also be so the company can
exert more control over the subsidiary. This represents a significant investment for the
company, and it does not want to see the manager fail and return home early. One way the
company can help the manager succeed is to provide training before they leave so they
know what to expect. One of the training programmes which can help managers is
documentary training. Documentary training is textbook and classroom learning, which
focuses on looking at differences between cultures and is a key part of both low-rigor and
high-rigor training approaches. Differences are examined because they are potential friction
points that create misunderstandings and hurt feelings. We have probably heard many
examples of cultural differences involving common human interactions, such as greetings,
gender relations, and the giving of gifts. Another training programmes is cultural simulation
training. After learning the cultural “do’s and don’ts” of a host country, many companies will
ask their employees to participate in cultural simulations in which they will role play various
situations and practice responding in culturally sensitive ways. This process is most effective
when the training takes place in the host country or when the trainer can include people from
the actual host country to help. Field simulation training is also a training programme which
may help managers to adjust their attitude and behaviour. When the company believes that
the employees have successfully passed the survival training stage, it is time for field
simulation training. The employee visits a neighbourhood of the same ethnic background
as the destination or, if the trainees are already in-country, then they move out to the real
world. Depending upon the conditions, an individual may be dropped into a rural area with
limited resources and told to get back to the office. Or a family may be moved into temporary
housing so that they can meet their neighbours, shop for food, locate transportation, and just
explore the area. When the simulation is over, the trainees come back to the centre to
compare notes and share experiences.
Based on your own observation, what is the common leadership style of Malaysian
managers?.
Autocratic style
Autocratic leaders are described as leaders who is firm in decision making, strict, dominate,
force in action and directive. Furthermore, the leaders in this style have structured and
organized the overall strategies and action need to be taken in advance, by outlining what
needs to be done, when it should be done, and how it should be done, thus constraining
followers or subordinates’ creativity and innovativeness. The authoritarian leaders have
absolute power over their subordinates and make decisions independently without
discussing from any of group members. There is no emotional interaction between the
leaders and the followers. Moreover, this style is suitable when the crisis happened where
the critical decision is needed or time constraints or where the leader is the experts among
the group members.
Democratic style
The democratic leadership also known as participative leadership was the most effective
leadership style among others . Unlike autocratic, democratic leaders are generally like the
involvement of group members in the decision making process by allowing each member to
contribute and provide input or recommendation. Nevertheless, democratic leader is
basically held on the final decision in his hand but he will open up and encourage the team
members to participate in discussion before the decision is made. Within this approach, the
group members feel motivated, increased their skills and job satisfaction.

Differentiate between the characteristics of American, Japanese, Indian and Arab

negotiators.

American negotiators have a distinctive style: forceful, explicit, legalistic, urgent, and

results-oriented. Although these traits inevitably vary according to personalities and
circumstances, a recognizably pragmatic American style is always evident, shaped
by powerful and enduring structural and cultural factors. Americans negotiate issues
point by point and reach an overall agreement, the Japanese make an overall
agreement first, then get into details. Japanese negotiators have not argumentative
as they prefer to be quiet, loyalty to employers as the employer takes a really good
care of the employee and cultivates a good emotional social setting for decision
making. On the other side, Indian negotiators, respects other party, looks for and
says the truth and also seeks solutions that will please all the parties involved. Arab
negotiators, aggressive and loud. It is their style of negotiation, and an indicative
factor that they are concerned about the business and the dispute. It is generally
said that one needs to manage their emotions during negotiation. Although Saudis
are loud during conversations in negotiation, that does not mean that they are
disrespectful; they are just passionate about the deal. It is advisable that other
negotiators be patient with a Saudi while a Saudi is speaking, as a sign of respect.
Other negotiators may certainly disagree with a Saudi because Saudis appreciate
when a person expresses a genuine thought.