Case Study Module 5

CULTURAL DIVERSITY 1 Case #4 Global Stumble Strategic Management November 19, 2020 CULTURAL DIVERSITY 2 Case #4 Global Stumble Discussion Questions 1. What noticeable cultural differences between Nomura and Lehman do you see in this situation? The Nomura Company acquired Lehman's international operations in 2008, all the top executives and the employees were Japanese nationals. Thus, to give the company a global image, other nations were hired to create a mixture of cultures. A selection of the Japanese employees was transferred to different company branches located in other countries. Somebody also stated differences between Nomura and Lehman were identified in the process. Somebody identified differences in the way training was conducted. The Nomura's initial training separated men and women, while the Lehman training sessions did not separate them. Professional women had instructions on wearing their hair and choosing clothing according to different seasons. They would be required to serve tea despite their academic qualifications from prestigious universities in Nomura. The Lehman's rules restricted women from wearing clothes with sleeves above their biceps, brightly colored garments, and hair highlights. When Nomura acquired Lehman, clients' approval became slower and more difficult, creating another difference between the two companies. The Nomura management strategies emphasized the length of their relationships with their clients. Still, the Lehman management strategy categorized clients on the amount they were able to pay to the company. Consequently, unlike Nomura, Lehman employees were quick to stop servicing most of their loyal clients. 2. What global attitude do you think characterizes Nomura? Be specific in your description. Do you see any evidence of that changing? CULTURAL DIVERSITY 3 The Nomura's management strategy was sensitive to cultural differences. It was apparent in the way they rearranged the employees to create diversity in the organization. Their methods were also aligned on building long-term relationships with their clients, which would involve understanding their cultural differences and making them comfortable. From the case study given here, in my opinion, this attribute of Nomura and its strategy would not change since their plans were well aligned towards achieving their already set objectives. 3. Do some cultural research on Japan and the United States. Compare those cultural characteristics. What similarities and differences exist? How might these cultural differences be affecting the situation at Nomura? The United States culture is vastly different than Japans and the United States culture although have several cultural differences and similarities, the effect on business management and globalization strategies in these regions was very noticeable. (Ashta, 2020). While Japan is characterized as a collectivist society, the United States is an individualistic society. Differences mean that individual goals are more important in the USA culture, while group goals are more important in Japanese culture. Japan is a high context culture characterized by direct communication, while the USA is a low context characterized by indirect contact. Merit and expertise are essential in the USA culture, while in the Japanese culture, interpersonal relationships and networks affect the rank or position of one in an organization. Decision making in the USA is relatively faster than the decision-making process in Japanese business. The US superiors give their employees leeway to make decisions quickly, while in Japanese companies, decisions are made in stages backed up with a series of meetings and documentation (Maharjan & Sekiguchi, 2016).USA management style often focuses more on the result. They spend a minimal amount of time on establishing the process compared to the Japanese. United States CULTURAL DIVERSITY 4 companies are usually multicultural, meaning there are different nationalities, which contributes to another way of thinking, while in Japan, companies are composed of homogenous cultures. The only fundamental business similarity is that both countries work for long hours with little breaks (Jenkins, 2020). These cultural differences affect Nomura's situation in that different work ethics, expectations, and ways of doing business might lead to conflicts in the company. Nomura's business human resource management team will face a significant challenge in creating cultural integration between the employees from different ethnic backgrounds. 4. What could Nomura executives do to support, promote, and encourage cultural awareness among employees? Explain. The Company Executives can provide training to workers on the different cultural practices and how they can relate with one another while respecting cultural differences. The creation of cultural balance in the company's human resources can also help the company employees appreciate the importance of diversity. The compassionate resource management team should ensure that all the departments have people from different cultural backgrounds. Expatriate assignments to the managerial team can ensure that they acquire global experience of running a business and promote guidance on how their subordinates can relate with others from other cultures (Fong et al., 2016). Utilizing clear rules and regulations governing the employees' behavior can also be applied to regulate their behavior and reduce conflicts in the organization. 5. What do you think the statement, "When your business is global, management needs to be global," is saying? In your opinion, is Nomura doing this? Explain. The meaning of the statement is globalization shifts the dynamics of a corporation due to differences in culture. Overall management should be comprised of people from different CULTURAL DIVERSITY 5 cultures and geographical regions. This means that the managerial team should incorporate people with diverse cultural backgrounds and experiences to ensure that the business can cater to its clients' needs from different world regions (Hollerer, Walgenbach & Druri, 2017). Nomura is doing this because the case study indicates that a portion of the Tokyo management team transferred to other countries and switched with different cultural employees in Tokyo. The company goal was to change the "Tokyo-centric" nature of the organization. 6. What do you think the resignation of Jesse Bhattal says about the international "strategy" of the company? The international strategy of the company did not achieve its goals; hence it failed. The consensus concluded that Bhattal did not receive the support he anticipated. While the company was relocating managers to different regions, it did work on giving these managers supportive staff with different cultural backgrounds to assist them with the transition.