Abstract
The purpose of the survey was to learn about the cultural competence of Japanese managers in their particular German working environments. We chose three very different business locations for our investigation.In the following, a brief overview of the main research results by the six categories of the interview survey.
1. For successful international communication of greatest importance is finding a common language, bridging cultural distances, and adjusting to the local system of meanings. In Düsseldorf and Berlin the common language was English, on the other hand in Wolfsburg it was German. The Wolfsburg-based manager was most integrated in the local network.
2. All managers emphasized that they feel comfortable about living in Düsseldorf, but also mentioned difficulties integrating and sharing information with German people outside of the workplace. Managers based in other locations indicated having achieved a deeper understanding since they had to overcome more difficulties.
4. The business culture at the three locations varied considerably. In Düsseldorf the high concentration of Japanese people does not challenge Japanese individuals to adjust much to the German environment. Managing in Wolfsburg, means that Japanese staff needs to work in a German workplace. This challenges the individual manager to adjust to local management style. Managing in Berlin means experiencing a multi-cultural workplace and challenging their inter-cultural management skills.
5.Japanese managers often rely on the support of German staff with a good command of English and an understanding of the local market. Working for a better life, as a common concept, can bridge cultural differences.
6. Japan-specific infrastructure was seen as important for Japanese management abroad. Düsseldorf cannot be beaten by the other locations.
We investigated also the locational preferences, behavioural orientation and the culturally fluent informant in the ego-network of the manager.
Company environment
The Japanese managers stated that HRM is most important. Second, the working atmosphere was identified as important, but for the Wolfsburg-based manager collaboration within the multinational company network was most important.
Market environment
Market opportunities are most important for most managers based in Düsseldorf and Berlin. For the Wolfsburg-based managers the collaborative development with the Volkswagen AG was most important. A supportive government was important for the managers based in Düsseldorf.
Living environment
A livable living environment is most important for expatriated managers. The managers who lived in Berlin and Wolfsburg placed greater emphasis on the local information network whereas managers living in Düsseldorf had greater preference for manifold city life.
Preferred workplace and living place
Düsseldorf is the preferred working place of Japanese managers. A similarly clear yes-vote for the current work location came also from a Berlin-based manager.
Behavioral orientation
Düsseldorf-based managers indicated a stronger orientation to take risk and felt sufficiently confident to apply home country practices, while the Wolfsburg managers indicated more efforts to adapt to the local business practices.
Experience and challenge
Most managers were actively involved in the decision making of the local subsidiary but merely indicated that they succeeded in creating cross-cultural synergy.
The findings infer that the disadvantage of a spare nation-specific network can be turned into an advantage by extending into local information networks and engaging with local managers who can function as cultural informants.
Düsseldorf is a good location for short-and long-term assignments. Wolfsburg is a good location for knowledge building regarding German automotive engineering and management, and Berlin can be seen as a good location to train cross-cultural management skills.
