In this document, I deal with companies' inter-cultural management processes for which cultural differences have been a barrier or source of competitive advantage, affecting their success in international business environment.
In choosing the BMW Company, an international one, we will see that the history, evolution, structure, and policies are the base of each global operation, its scale and scope. Indeed, BMW is a European company that is making concerted efforts to address the issue of inter-cultural management. Its efforts have resulted from its multinational operations. This company has managed to carve out an enviable niche market for itself in the premium segment of the automobile industry through technological innovation.
Following the internationalization process, BMW is confronting the cultural differences of each market across the world. This analysis consists of the central issue related to cultural differences, a statement of the main problems, an analysis of each problem or issue, and a recommended course of action.
[...] This accentuates the fact that many aspects of intercultural management lend themselves to being learnt. Global companies such as BMW and Siemens, need to go beyond simple corporate strategies. They have to proceed to the realm of industry level strategy design and implementation. This involves measuring trends in a company's industry and then planning its competitive position in that industry. For instance, when BMW engages in Thailand in industry level strategizing, it analyzes global trends in the automobile industry and then positions itself facing its competitors. [...]
[...] With the three brands, BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the BMW Group has its places of interest set decisively on the premium sector of the international automobile market. To achieve its aims, the company knows how to deploy its strengths in the automotive industry. The strategic objective is clearly defined; the BMW Group is the leading provider of premium products and services for individual mobility. Business Interests In parallel with its automotive activities, the BMW Group combined the development, production and marketing of motorcycles activities, as well as comprehensive financial services for private and business customers. [...]
[...] The BMW solution BMW adopted a three-step procedure for Asian countries such as Thailand. This procedure was developed by BMW's team after examining the functioning of other German companies like Siemens in Thailand.[6] The first step was to introduce Thais into key positions in BMW's teams. These were supposed to increase the communication abilities and the mutual understanding between the countries. Indeed, by implementing this recruitment process, BMW integrated itself with forms of networking, in order to create a good image among the local public and the Thai workers, while simultaneously building a credible international public opinion in collaboration with the media. [...]
[...] Finally, to increase the management processing, BMW could create ad hoc websites, local radio broadcasting from cities of the North and the South; something which could link the global BMW workers and increase the internal intercultural understanding. This would contribute to an even greater presence of minority languages in global communication. Young technicians and professionals in the BMW's worker diaspora could become the cultural entrepreneurs of this type of projects. To conclude, global companies such as BMW requires managers possessing intercultural management skills. [...]
[...] This central core set of objectives should be sufficiently flexible to allow local adaptation as BMW showed. Ethnic culture plays a role in the definition and formulation of strategy for a company. The industry culture also exerts an influence. So does corporate culture. Corporate strategy, like other dimensions of organizational behavior, juxtaposes corporate culture and ethnic culture. It is necessary to ensure the juxtaposition of corporate culture with ethnic culture, rather than corporate culture against ethnic culture. Corporate strategy must be guided primarily by corporate culture and only secondarily by ethnic culture. [...]
APA Style reference
For your bibliographyOnline reading
with our online readerContent validated
by our reading committee
