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SID: 1134223

Contents
1
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Introduction
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2
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2
1
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Brief History of Wal Mart
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4
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2
2
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Corporate culture of Wal Mart
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2
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4
2
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Hall model of culture
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4
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4
2
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Application of theories to analyse the possible problems
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4
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Hosftede’s cultural dimension: Possible problems
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1
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8
3
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Models of organisatioal change: Lewin’s three step model
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13
Appendix 1: Lewins process of change ( sub- stages)
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17
Learning
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19
Appendix 5: Thomas Kilmann conflict model
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1
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Introduction
What is Culture?
Culture is characterized of share values, behaviours, ideas, beliefs, customs and artifacts
that people or society uses in coping with the world and with each other, which moves from
generations to generations
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2
...
This paper will be dicussing the the reason why Wal Mart Failed in Germany,
and making a recommedation
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3
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The company corporate strategy are: respect for the individual, service to customers
and strive for excellence
...
Guranted” !

1
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Objective of Wal Mart Moving to Germany
The main objective of Wal Mart in making a geographical move to germany was to raise in
store appearance, and environment, also to initiate its UK and US success to gain price
leadreship through cost
...
1
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Davis and T, Devinney, The Essence of Corporate Strategy (Sydeny: Allen &
Unwin, 1997,pp, 57)
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2
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Why Wal Mart failed in Germany
There are quite lots of reason why Wal Mart failed in Germany, its major mistake are:
 Cultural insensitivity of the Germans culture
...

Also, is the difference in Germans consumers behaiviour and culture in comparison with the
American consumers, the biggest mistake made by Wal Mart is ignoring the local culture and
buying habits of Germans and imposing the American style and boss on Germans
operations
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3
...
High context involves
communication does not only involve words but also done through body language, making
the implicit
...
Americans and
Germans are both “Low context culture”
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4
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German business conversation

-They communicate in a direct manner
- Humour is not used in business
-prominence to content, personal
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relationships and down play emotions
-Don‟t expect praise from German managers
-Value honesty and directness, they like
given exmples
-They give many details in explanations by
exploring all side of an issues and spending
lots of time analyzing problems aiming to get
the truth (wahrheitssuche)
...

- Communication is vertical

2
...


- Departmental rivarl is encouraged by

3
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2
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Application of theories to analyse the possible problems
2
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1
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Figure 2: Hofstede model on culture is mainly based on culture consequences (Hofstede,
1980)
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com/germany
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Collectivism” and “uncertainty avoidance” these

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are the two section that has the highest measured gap between both nations, figure 2
above
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Collectivism
Americans

Germans

The individualist attitude of the Americans is

-Tend to be less individualistic, they see

expressed in their need to self fulfilment and

themselves as part of a group, this make

responsibility
...


They are concerned about themselves and
their families

-They put more emphasis on relationships,
they take friendship very serious

Progress is seen as the result of individual
efforts
...


Table 1
The major differences in both countries, a real friendship involves duty and responsibility
these values are opposite of the American believe, they believe in independence and
freedom
...

American

Germany

-Lower level of uncertainty avoidance

They keep risk to a absolute minimum

-They take risk and try new things

-Things are done orderly and structured

-Jobs are changed frequently

-They stay in jobs over a long time, is as well
a consequence of avoiding uncertainty
...
1
...
This makes it difficult to change due to its inherent
stability( Paradigms)
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It is important to understand the importance of culture in different business contexts before
explianing how it can be managed
...
for a manager to be succesful it requires
cultural sensitive adaptations
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 New products development

“Quality” of demand

Source:
Above shows a link between the context of business and the characteristics of groups,
individual influenced by social and cultural norms of a region
...

After conducting a research on why Wal mart failed in Germany, it is important for a
company going international to modify its organizational own identity to suit with the cultural
difference
...
In Germany the degree of communitariansim is high because they prefer to
participate on a team, they see business as a group while the Americans see their company
as a set of functions
...
The forces for change needed to be considered
are:
Environmental Forces: The environmental forces will always put pressure on how business
are conducted and relationships with employees, suppliers and customers,these forces are
market, social and technology forces
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The force of change that Walmart needed to consider mostly is the change internally, though
the environmental forces is necessary to achieve change in organization, according to March
1991 states that the enviromental forces is not as important force reason that it is socially
constructed
...

The internal forces in an organization can speed up change
...

Stage 1: Having a clear strategic vision, the purpose of change should be expresses in the
mission statement of the organisation
...

Stage 3: Symbolic leader: The behaiviour of the top management must be consistenet with
the new culture example is the management by walking around style of working
...

Using the Lewins model to analyse how change can be effective and managed in
organizations
...
2
...
The second
stage is to introduce change, introduce new ideas about how things ought to be done, also
at this stage it is necessary to systematically apply the new idea and implementing the new
culture
...
,(1993) states that at the second stage a manager should “aim
at re- establishing equilibrium of force at the new level by weakening existing”
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( Figure 3) The three stage of model change
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, 1993
10

Refreeze
•Make change
permanent
•Establish new way of
doing things
•Reward desired
outcomes

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Figure 2: Lewin model of change
See Appendix 1: the diagram identifies the Lewin model of change and the sub – stages
where some of the changes are mostly affected by a change agent why others are achieved
through training, and by empowering management to communicate the change that will be
taken place to the organisation
...

Stage 2: Cultural audit: by analysing the following data
 The attitudes and perception on the existing culture
 Employees views on how things should be changed
 The structure of the company: communication process and type of management
structure
...

Stage 5: Trainning management: training those that are important in the management staff
and crucial to the successful adoption of change and indentifying, explaining the process of
cultural change
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Stage 7: Commence change: by communicating the aims, making it clear to the employees,
the goals and objectives to the organisation by using presentations, seminars e
...
c
Stage 8: Reinforce the change and refreeze the organisation:
 By rewarding employees adopting new working practice
 Purnishing employee adopting old direction
 Promoting those adopting new working pratcice e
...
The result of the evaluation
shoud be assessed by the management to view the areas where change is effective and
where it is not
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Considering the stages above, Wal mart failed by not adopting the change management
theory, the management refused to listen to the Germans employees view which is identified
in stage 2 of the model
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References
Allan, W
...
, and Mike, W
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Changing culture, New organisational approaches
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London UP: Somerset
...
, 2004
...

Costellos, S
...
Managing change in workplace
...

Corporate culture provides Wal-Mart competitive advantage
...
com/mag/transportation_corporate_culture_provides/ [Accessed 12,
December 2012]
...
, 2005
...
United State of American: Themas Nelson, Inc
...
, 2010
...
2nd ed
...

Grahame, R
...
, 2001
...
New
York Oxford University Press
...
, 2010
...
8th ed
...

Hofstede, G
...
Cultural and organisation, Mcgraw hill: London
Hofstede, G
...
Culture’s Consequences: International dfference in work related values,
Beverly Hills CA: Sage
...
, 2002
...

Jeremy, G
...
, and Timothy, D
...
The Essence of corporate stategy
...

Lehman, C, M
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Business communication
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Mason OH: South western
Lewin, K
...
Field theory in social science
...
Cartwright, D
...
New York: Harper and Row
...
, and Stefan, S
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Changing organizational culturel, cultural change work in
progress, Sweden: Routledge
...
, 1996
...
63-92
...
, 2007
...
Spiral bound
...
, and Broadfield, A
...
Organisational beharviour and analysis: an
integrated approach
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Harlow FT prentice Hall
...
S
...
L
...
Managing across cultures
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England:
Pearson Education limited
...
, 2004
...
3rd ed
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Warner, B
...
, 2011
...
3rd ed
...

Wal-Mart’s Culture Shock
...
amanet
...
aspx [Accesed 12 December 2012]
...
, and Turan, M
...
Managing Cultural Diversity in Future Organizations, The
Journal of Indian Management and Strategy- 4( 1) ,pp
...

Mehdi, M
...
The International Journal of knowledge, of culture and change
management: Cultural Factors in International Mergers and
Acquisitions
...
com
website ...
com/Files/MMajidiCulturalFactorsinInternationalMergersand
AcquisitionsFINAL
...

Patricia, P, B
...
, 1991
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14(1), pp
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gatherthepeople
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pdf#
GTP organizar training
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The structure in organisations are the “artifact” they are bylaws and constitution, written
documents, stating the goals and purpose of the company, that reflects the interest and core
values of the member
...
The culture features
will specify appropriate behaviour then it is reinforced by the structure contigencies which is
reward and purnishment
...
I will be using some important theories such as
corporation and team conflict, communication model of behaviour expected in team, e
...

My Experience
Working with people of different culture is more challenging,communication can be quite
issue, individual in the group find it difficult to relate with each other
...
T
...
31) team work is any activity performed by several individual aiming at
achieving one aim and objectives
...
M
...
(Forming), according to
Lehman C
...
, (2007) indentified the challenges faced at the first stage of a team due to
different characteristics in the team members
...
M
...

working togther was difficult we already had conflict on what type of company to choose, (B)
was insisting on General motors,(C) and I tried to get informations on general motors, we
discovered there are no materials, (F) was not interested in that company
...
(F) came up with an idea of Wal Mart, we all accepted to
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research on that which lead us to the third phase (Norming)
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Problems
According to Belbin ( 2004) identified that, despite a clear role and responsibilites given to
team members some will not complete what is expected of them to do, they might not be
flexible so things have to “fall between cracks
...
Some members of my team failed to recongise that
collective strenght is more powerful than individual within any group work, our meeting time
was well fixed the only problem was (J) not showing up at the right time, communication was
a big problem
...

Am able to discover my shortcoming working in multicultural group and will improve in my
future workplace
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Appendix 4: Stages of team evolution
Source:http://www
...
ac
...
bing
...
com/advantagemodel/org-health/

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Title: CROSS CULTURAL ISSUES IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Description: Corporate culture in Walmart and why it failed in Germany also application of theories to analyse the possible problems

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