Introduction
With the increase in globalization and the high rate of free trade within European countries, there is a potential to acquire new cultures every day. In other words, every nation has a unique culture that influences the residents’ values, actions, and ways of thinking. As a result, numerous companies across Europe have transitioned to different cultures to survive the market’s stiff competition. Moreover, organizations have learned to handle employees differently because of their various cultures. VW is a German automobile company whose intention is to produce a low-priced car and it believes in masculinity and low individualism compared to Wafabike, a Swedish manufacturer, which believes in individualism and less masculinity.
Cultural Blind Spots
The main cultural blind sports that attention should be paid to our individualism and masculinity. According to Hofstede, the Swedish culture is individualistic (as cited in Sundell et al., 2016). This means that people only care for themselves and close family members. As a result, Wafabike company is aimed to thrive, since the bikes they are producing can carry a rider and one passenger. Although Germany is also an individualistic country, it focuses on the parent-children relationship. This, therefore, means that they can buy cars to cater to their family relationship (Sundell et al., 2016). Masculinity is another culture that distinguishes VW company and Wafabike. As described in Richard R. Gesteland’s model Germans believe in deal-focused individual success; hence, VW has a culture of rewarding individual employees for increasing productivity. However, Wafabike believes in relationship-focused teamwork due to the culture of caring for others and having a quality life.
Perception of Other Cultures
The other cultures will see the VW company as profit-oriented while viewing Wafabike as an employee-oriented company. Even though VW company claims to be a low-priced car company, people from other cultures will see it as profit-oriented because of the masculinity culture that they exhibit. The success of individual employees inspires other employees to put more effort into their work; thus, they can increase the company’s profits. However, Wafabike believes in teamwork which makes people view it as a company committed to empowering all its employees. It praises employees for the company’s success instead of rewarding only individual staff members who are perceived to have made the company succeed.
Communication Tips
In future negotiations, it would be appropriate to use paralanguage and touch as a way of communication. Paralanguage in speech enables an individual from another culture to understand what others mean. For instance, it entails the pitch of the voice, accent, and volume of articulation. According to Modeling Behavior of Communication, individuals can adjust their behaviors in a particular environment. Therefore, paralanguage will help in communicating whether the negotiator agrees with the terms. Second, touch should be used in future negotiators. For instance, firm shaking of hands has different meanings across the world. For example, the French show a sign of acceptance when they firmly shake hands. This is explained by social learning theory, enabling the participants to identify an attractive character in a participant.
Succinctly, VW, the German automobile manufacturing company, and Wafabike, a Swedish electric bike manufacturing company, have different cultures. Wafabike believes in individualism to market its products. Their target is mainly people who only mind themselves. However, VW targets the group of people who cares about their close family members. Additionally, VW focuses on masculinity which means that individual productivity is key to the company’s success. However, Wafabike has low masculinity, which implies that they believe in teamwork and empowering all the personnel.
Reference
Sundell, K., Beelmann, A., Hasson, H., & von Thiele Schwarz, U. (2016). Novel programs, international adoptions, or contextual adaptations? Meta-analytical results from German and Swedish intervention research. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 45(6), 784-796. Web.