BUSİNESS MANAGEMENT

The charm of the global competition cause businesses strive to go beyond their national borders and grow in international markets. Going international is a milestone for a business to get involved in cultures different from home. Culture encompasses values, beliefs, and norms that shape the way of living and thinking in a society. Culture strongly affects individuals and organizations within a society; thus we consider it the national  culture of a country. The cultural conditioning process happens under the influence of values shaped by authority figures and environmental surroundings. The concept of multiculturalism emphasizes diversity in terms of cultural differences. Hence, multiculturalism refers to differences in values, beliefs, attittudes, customs, and norms that are held by people from different cultures.46 Note that, different regions or different communities in a country also may possess distinctive cultural characteristics as language, folklore, or traditions such as the Black Sea region in Turkey, the Quebecois region of Canada, or the aboriginal people of Australia.

Considering the description of culture by Hofstede as “mental conditioning” for individuals such conditioning recurs in different settings throughout life: family culture; national culture; Professional culture; and organizational culture. Organizational culture is shared values that lead the way of operating towards the goal accomplishment. Organizations are sub-cultures of a national culture, embracing common values with national cultures.

Managers in a multicultural work environment should possess a behavioral pattern such as ethnorelativism which is the opposite of ethnocentrism. Ethnorelativism is the approach that cultures are equal as well as being able to think from the perspectives of others. This type of thinking allows managers to create the best harmony utilizing the richness of the work force instead of unfairly judging others with different values. Ethnocentrism is the belief that one’s own culture is superior to others which creates barriers between members of a group or a work team.

The fact that companies- namely international, multinational, or global- operating in foreign countries work with a diversified group of people, makes cultural encounters critical. Hence behaviors such as cultural awareness and cultural sensitivity then become bridging attitudes for employees of all levels from around the world towards unified goals.

Managers in the global markets apply varying techniques and tools for successfully leading a diversified and multicultural workplace. On the other hand, factors such as technology, education, and industralization bring economies, cultures, and organizations closer. Cultural convergence is one of the results of such rapprochement. Cultural convergence is a process that eliminates the differences in values between nations, groups, or organizations.

As also undertood from the information given, the answer is E. All of the definitions above related to leading across cultures in the options are correct.

Motivation is a drive to be willing to perform a task, take an action, or achieve a goal usually for a desired or expected outcome. The basic process for motivating employees starts      with needs; continues with actions for   the fulfilment of the needs; and  results in satisfaction and rewards. The process starts with the needs that change by individuals and circumstances. Because all individuals have needs of this or that kind, motivation is a basic tool for all managers to create a happy and efficient work place. The motivation process continues with actions towards the fullfillment of the needs by the person, others, and most importantly by managers. The result of these actions are satisfactions and rewards either intrinsicly from within the person or extrinsicly from outside. Satisfaction as well as relief by completing a mission or innovating a product is an intrinsic reward. Satisfaction that is obtained from outside in the form of company shares, promotion, or being praised by the team leader is an extrinsic reward. It is highly critical that managers maintain a balance for intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. Employees who get work satisfaction only by internal or external rewards will in time seek other type of rewards.

As also understood from the information given, the answer is E. All of the statements related to motivation in the options are correct.

Process perspectives focus on peoples’ behaviors which may be affected by environmental factors besides needs. The important point for managers is how to cause employees to repeat or not repeat those behaviors. Some known process perspectives of motivation are equity theory, expectancy theory, and goal setting.

As also undertood from the information given, the answer is C. The information about the two factor theory and three-needs theory is as follows:

The two-factor theory This perspective on motivation was introduced by Frederick Herzberg, also named as the motivationhygiene theory. Herzberg’s theory investigates employees’ relationship to the job. The theory content is based on interviews he conducted to find out when employees were satisfied and when dissatisfied, thus when they were motivated and unmotivated to work. The interview results proposed that the work factors which caused employees’ satisfaction were siginificantly different from the factors which caused dissatisfaction. The findings suggested that employees mentioned dissatisfaction based on extrinsic factors such as work conditions, supervision, interpersonal relations, security, and pay. On the other hand, work satisfaction is based on intrinsic factors such as achievement, responsibility, and success.

Acquired needs perspective, also called three-needs theory and developed by David McClelland, proposes that certain needs acquired throughout one’s lifetime determine the motivation at work. The most common needs are: need for achievement(nAch); need for power (nPow); and need for affiliation (nAff).

Management and leadership are similar in terms of focus on attaining goals, group function, process of interaction and influence and practice changing with circumstances. When we compare leadership and management in terms of authority, management authority is based on legal authority, but leadership power comes from followers. For this reason, the correct answer is C.

Behavioral leadership approaches consist of Michigan studies, Ohio State studies and Managerial Grid model. Other options are not evaluated within the framework of behavioral leadership approaches. For this reason, the correct answer is D

Based on interviews with managers and employees, Michigan studies identified two basic forms of leadership behaviors: task/production oriented behaviors and people/ employee-oriented behaviors. For this reason, the correct answer is C.

Consideration behavior is a form of people orientation and indicates the extent of concern for the relationships with subordinates and their feelings. For this reason, the correct answer is C.

The Managerial Grid consists of five managerial or leadership styles reflected in two dimensions which are concern for people (vertical) and concern for production (horizontal). For this reason, the correct answer is A.

The premise of the situational leadership model is: “Different situations demand different types of leadership”. For this reason, the correct answer is B.

Some leadership styles that are recently introduced are charismatic/visionary leadership, leader-member exchange theory, transformational and transactional leadership, servant leadership, team leadership, and authentic leadership. For this reason, the correct answer is B.

Transformational leadership is explained in four I’s: charisma or idealized influence; inspirational motivation; intellectual stimulation; and individualized consideration. For this reason, the correct answer is E.

The hierarchy of needs theory, ERG theory, the two-factor theory and acquired needs perspective theories are considered as content theories. But expectancy theory is considered as process perspectives on motivation. For this reason, the correct answer is C.

Expectancy or effort performance linkage is the perceived probability of success by an individual about performing a task. For this reason, the correct answer is D.