Management and Organization Behavior

“Culture is defined as the collective mental programming of the human mind which distinguishes one group of people from another. Statements about culture do not describe “reality”; they are all general and relative”.

So depending on the person, everyone see things in a different view. According to the case study the question is asked: How does culture and environment affect institutions and their management? I will define the problem of what went wrong during Ms. Myers tenure from my point of view.I will explain the problem Ms. Myers is encountering using Hofstede's five dimensions of culture to compare Korean and American assumptions about interpersonal relationships and management. I will propose a solution by making a recommendation of three specific changes Ms.

Myers could have made to her management style to accommodate the Korean environment. When it comes to cultural differences Geert Hofstede created five dimensions of national cultures, exemplifying cultural difference and behaviors.Hofstede geared his study on the multinational corporation IBM. He concluded his analysis with the following five values: 1. Power Distance 2.

Uncertainty Avoidance 3. Masculinity vs. Femininity 4. Individualism vs. Collectivism 5.

Long vs. Short Term OrientationFor each of these values you have to know the cultural in order to discover the distinct behaviors that an individual will have. •Power Distance: in low power distance the people expect that power will be distributed unequally, as in families. •Uncertainty Avoidance: “referring to a lack of tolerance for ambiguity and a need for formal rules and policies” businessmate. org. •Masculinity vs.

Femininity: “a masculine culture emphasises status derived from wages and position; a feminine culture emphasizes human relations and quality of life” provenmodels. com •Individualism vs. Collectivism: Individualism our only out for themselves to fulfill their own goals. Collectivism believes in helping everyone for the great good of all, i. e.

people who join the military.•Long vs. Short Term Orientation: “the degree to which a society does or does not value long-term commitments and respect for tradition. Long-term traditions and commitments hamper intuitional change” provenmodels. com. As any type of professional person; you dream of taking that challenging job and being able to make a difference not only in the company, but, also in the lives of the employees.

As a human resources professional, Linda Myers received her chance to do just that. Ms Myers took on a job at SK Telecom a telecommunications company located in Seoul, South Korea.With her immeasurable knowledge in cross cultural training with well known major corporations, she felt she was up for any challenge and she had found her dream job. Ms Myers felt “she would break ground as one of the first American female executives at a Korean company, she would also lead an initiative to make the organization more global” S.

Green (2011). For the most part she thought she had it all planned out. Upon Ms Myers arrival and throughout her two year stay everything seemed to be a battle and truly a learning process.All the training she had developed she suddenly became her own test study. From the begging things went wrong. There were a number of things Ms Myers could have done to make her transition easier.

To start, Myers never did a formal research of SK Telecom. She should have ask for the company’s biography, she should of ask for an in depth job description for her job performances and company polices. From the time she knew she was going to take the position she should have been learning Korean, in order to show them she was trying to fit in.Most of all Myers should have looked up the cultural of the Koreans and their work ethics, she would have known why she was “one of the first American female executives at a Korean company” S.

Green (2011) and why she was only one of five women at the VP level. She should have also gotten herself a translator to help her whenever she was communicating with SK Telecom to take away any of the confusion she was having. Considering that Ms Myers was very knowledgeable in multinational transitions, she should have been following her very own advice.She had probably used Geert Hofstede five dimensions to assist her in creating plenty of training programs.

By using the Power Distance she would have realized that the Koreans work at a hierarchy; they only communicated with the people of their level. Uncertainty Avoidance is a key to how Koreans operate, they believe in following the rule to the letter. This held very true for when she wanted to make changes Myers said “”at the lower and middle levels, I think that the people were very excited, very eager for change, “she explains. “But at the top most of the leadership was nervous.

”” S. Green (2011).In the Korean society Individualism vs. Collectivism is typically not an issue.

Korean believe in being loyal to the company they for work for and committed to the people above them. Because Ms Myers was an outsider, she was considered in many ways an individual, even though she was trying to fit in as best as she could. Long vs. Short Term Orientation again is not an issue in Korea because Koreans are loyal to their employers.

Since Myers was a Westerner, the Koreans knew she would not be there forever, that her tenure was going to a few years at best.Due to the fact that Ms Myers was a Westerner she should have known that there was going to be issues with such a big transfer. There are several things that could have been done that would have alleviate some of the tension on what Myers felt and would of help ease the apprehension that the other employees felt throughout her tenure at SK Telecom. The first thing that should of happen upon Ms Myers accepting the job offer is SK Telecom should of giving her an comprehensive company package.

This package would have detailed her job description, relevant information pertaining to the company, the company’s policies and a brief description of the Korean cultural with does and don’ts that would help her acclimate to her new surroundings. Since there was the language barrier, Myers should have made it mandatory to have a translator accompany her for at least six months to a year until she had a better understanding of the language and speaking it. By having a translator, she would have been able to understand what was going on in the boardroom meetings.Also, by having a translator, they would have been able to help her with the Korean cultural as well. Considering Myers went to Seoul prior to taking the position, she should of asked an orientation of the company and that would have been helpful; it would of giving her an opportunity to see the company in its element, since she was meeting her co-workers.

“Culture is defined as the collective mental programming of the human mind which distinguishes one group of people from another. Statements about culture do not describe “reality”; they are all general and relative”.So depending on the person, everyone sees things in a different view. According to the case study the question is asked: How does culture and environment affect institutions and their management? I have discusses the problem of what went wrong during Ms. Myers tenure from my point of view.

I have explain the problem Ms. Myers encountered using Hofstede's five dimensions of culture and compared Korean and American assumptions about interpersonal relationships and management. I have propose a solution by making recommendations of specific changes that Ms. Myers could have made to her management style to accommodate the Korean environment.