Communication Across Cultures free essay sample

Charles Foster’s, the US Director of Sales for High Technology Partners (HTC), composes an email in order to address some critical issues, which he believes, are threatening the supply of XD19 disk drives as well as the importance of resolving these issues. Foster decided to voice his concerns after several failed attempts were made in previous months to address the issues causing the lack of supply. Also, Foster felt that because the XD19 product line had just been launched, and given the fact it is a â€Å"core product† he was â€Å"scared† that the inability to meet consumer demand would eliminate any momentum the XD19 had gained.Foster believed the loss of momentum would be caused both internally due to shifting product line focus and externally due to the extensive amount of alternative products offered to both consumers and distributors as a result of the highly competitive US information technology market. The content of Foster’s email is very direct and critical of the joint ventures manufacturing operations process and directly states two main causes of the inability to meet consumer demand.From Foster’s perspective, given his background as a sales professional with direct exposure to the consumer market, the joint venture’s decision to base production forecasts on run-rates does not reliably project sales figures and are more concerned in cost cutting strategies for the manufacturing process. As a manufacturing company, run-rates are more attractive for the joint venture when forecasting sales because they keep inventories low and improve the inventory turnover.However, from a sales perspective run rates are based on current performance to generate a reliable projection over a certain period of time and do not accurately demonstrate industry trends based on consumer demand. Second, Foster expresses concern over the manufacturing method used by the joint venture . Foster states that by opting to produce the disk drive in batches with 3 to 5 month intervals based on the run rate projections, if an opportunity or sudden jump in demand occur, production of the disk drive cannot be ramped up to meet this demand.Thus, Foster feels it is critical to alter the production methods of the JV in order to be more consumer focused rather than focusing on maintaining low inventories. Also, Foster intends to unveil conflicting views with the JV’s current cost saving methods of production versus his view of meeting market demand and how the lack of quality control issues causing increased costs incurred by HTC. From Foster’s perspective, he is concerned by the current use of the 08 software because it contains several issues that do not meet quality standards in the US.Because the JV produces in batches and is focusing more on using the 08 software, as it meets requirements for use outside the United States, Foster is worried that the limited amount of 07software left in stock will potentially not be able to meet the market demand. Foster identifies the cost that will be incurred generated by the need to expedite the 07 software from Japan and France in order to meet the projected sales of the product. Foster stresses these concerns with the intension of addressing, in a professional and acceptable manner, to importance to of fixing the issues he sees as having a potential impact lack of supply. Foster first chooses to send the email to fellow American, Richard Howe, the Senior Vice President of HPT. Foster reports directly to Richard Howe. Given the professional relationship between the two men, Howe trusts that Foster’s concerns are valid and he decides they are important enough to pass along the to, Maurice Leblanc, the head of the Strategic Business Unit for HTC. Howe’s decisions are typical of a western style management, he addresses that concerns Foster presents to him, understands the issues are important, realizes it is not his area of expertise, and forwards the email to the appropriate individual that can handle the issues.Maurice Leblanc’s appears, as the head of the strategic business unit of HTP, and the individual responsible for assuring a successful JV, interprets the email with serious concern. He and immediately reaches out to Ahmed Hassan, president of the JV, to address the issues and to confirm the severity of the situation. Lablanc is concerned over the quality and control issues of the JV and specifically seeks information as to whether the JV is conforming to the Standard Protocol for the US safety standards. Ahmed Hassan, the president of the JV, is the final person to receive the email composed by Foster.Ahmed, given his middle-eastern background, interprets the situation very different than both Foster and Howe due to the differences in cultural norms between the US and the middle-east. Hassan does not understand the hierarchal communication process used in western-style management. He feels insulted by the strong wording and direct criticism of Fosters’ email and does not understand why Foster did not approach him directly and did not â€Å"call† him to ask him about his business but rather expressed his concerns to his manager.Hassan’s choice to call Foster demonstrates how differences in culture cause differences between his and Foster’s interpretation of the severity of the situation. Given the sequence of events and the actions and responses of the Charles Foster, Richard Howe, Maurice Leblanc, and Ahmed Hassan, both communication method, and lack of u nderstanding of one another’s culture are the main issues causing the confrontation between Hassan and Foster. Foster, Howe, are both from the US, and Leblanc, of France and possess and western style view on business and communication methods. They all choose to address the situation presented to them, and seek the appropriate person that can solve the problem. Their actions are based on a hierarchal system which does not necessarily permit direct communication between the party being addressing the problem and the party being criticized. The main cause of the confrontation that occurred were due to differences in culture between the four men. Ahmed Hassan, although having lived in France for most of his professional career, has a middle-eastern background. The cultural disparity between the middle-east and the western world is quite extensive.In the middle-east there may be more emphasis placed on the relationship rather than the hierarchal system of the western world. Also, the preference of communication method appears to be much different between Ahmed’s perspective and the other three men. Ahmed chooses to call Foster rather than email him. Also, Ahmed asks Hassan why he did not call him directly if Foster was concerned about is business practice. With this said, there were obvious communication breakdowns driven by cultural differences among the four men.Charles Foster is now faced with the critical task of deciding how to respond to Ahmed Hassan. Ahmed expressed how upset he was in his phone call to Foster, and thus Foster has appeared to lose credibility in Ahmed’s eyes, therefore if Foster wants to pursue solving the manufacturing issues he stated in his email, it would be wise for him to organize a face to face meeting with Howe, Hassan and Leblanc. As seen in exhibit 2 the effectiveness of a face to face meeting is much greater than communicating via email.Also, when meeting face to face there when cross cultural interaction regarding an issue, there is much less risk of misinterpretation due to cultural differences. Lastly, the time it takes to address, resolve, and implement a plan to improve production of the disk drive is much more time efficient when individuals meet in person. If it a meeting is organized, Foster should follow an MBI model approach as seen in exhibit 3 to ensure the meeting accomplishes what he intends to resolve. It is critical for Foster to understand the differences between Hassan’s cultural values and how they influenced his response to the Foster’s email.If Foster is able to understand this he can then approach the situation without necessarily blaming the JV’s production methods but evaluating them with the input of Hassan, which in turn should resolve the current issues. Lastly after a system is implemented, the business operations of both HTP and JV can commence with improved efficiency. In conclusion, although I cannot completely relate to the situation that unfolded in this case, I understand the importance of how cultural difference and the use of electronic communication can effect individual interpretation of a situation.In my experience using email, I have not had an experience where I have been misinterpreted to this extent due to cross cultural communication; however, I have experienced multiple situations where email has led to a delay in the completion of a task that either I am asked to do or I ask of someone else to complete. Also, I do have many international friends, and the difference in humor is quite noticeable when foreign speakers are speaking in English versus a native English speaker. Exhibit 1 Exhibit 2