Cross Cultural Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Cross Cultural Management - Essay Example Migration has been a chief source of growth in Australia’s population over the last few years, accounting for 44% of the population increase since 1979 Jupp (2001, p.88). Certainly, overseas immigration is the most important component in the population growth of Australia. Linguistically and culturally varied people comprise a considerable percentage of the West Australian population. The phrase â€Å"culturally and linguistically varied† refers to individuals and groups of people who differ in terms of ethnicity, religion, language and race, with an exception of people whose ancestry is Aboriginal, Anglo-Celtic or Anglo-Saxon. The widely used abbreviation for this group is CALD, â€Å"Culturally and Linguistically Diverse.† This report aims at highlighting several management issues related with diversity, especially between Malaysia and Australia. The report bases its contents on an interview conducted with the CEO of iNOVA Pharmaceutical, Andrew Howden regardin g his experiences as a CEO in Australia and other countries such as Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore. It also bases its findings and discussions on another interview with a Malaysian insider, Ralph, who was born and raised in Malaysia, but relocated to Australia. The report begins with a background analysis of iNOVA pharmaceuticals, the CaLD stakeholders and relevant information on the CALD group. What follows is a summary of the interviews’ results, stating the CEO’s and the insider’s comments, experiences and views on several management issues. The report will then offer a literature review and discussion of the results by offering more information on the role and significance of CALD on Australian business and management, and management and operations differ between Australia and Asian countries, especially Malaysia. In this section; it will focus on the benefits of having a multicultural workforce, in relation to the interview. Before concluding, the repo rt offers recommendations on how to handle problems created by diversity. 2.0 Background iNova Pharmaceuticals (Australia), is the corporate headquarters for â€Å"iNOVA* operations. The company is leading in consumer healthcare, with specialty prescription brands in over fifteen countries including Asia Pacific, New Zealand, Africa regions and Australia. The company was borne out of Riker Laboratory and 3M pharmaceutical fifty years ago, and presently maintains a broad spectrum of products as well as the ability to develop and acquire new products. Providing new opportunities and bringing new talents are fundamental to iNOVA The CALD stakeholder is Malaysia, a Southeast Asian federal constitutional monarchy. The country has a total of 13 states and three territories. Malaysia has a â€Å"freedom of religion† clause in its constitution despite maintaining Islam as its state religion. 61.3% of Malaysians practice Islam while Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hindu ism and several Chinese religions, shares the remaining percentage. Malaysian official language is Bahasa Malaysia, while English is an active second language. The country has a multilingual, multicultural and multi ethnic society. 3.0 Results a) Interview with iNOVA CEO: account and perspective In an interview with Andrew Howden, the CEO of iNova Pharmaceutical, the CEO pointed out several potential difficulties pertaining to the management of people of different cultures and religious backgrounds. The main culture in question was the Malaysian culture, with emphasis on the Muslim religion. The aim of the interview was to establish the potential difficulties that managers must overcome in order to manager people of differe