Because of the globalization and th

Because of the globalization and the rapid development of economics, multinational
firms are more and more prevalent. Intercultural communication presents a new
challenge to managers. Culture, as Hofstede (1997, p. 4) states, is the “software of
mind” that can influence people’s patterns of thinking and behaving. Mental
programming influences people’s living and working all over their lives. For example,
Sweden and China are immersed in different cultures which lead to different ways of
thinking and behaving. When a Swedish company tries to understand the management
style or behaviors of Chinese staff, some basic principles are challenged. For instance,
Chinese feel that all men are born unequal and they should all obey the decision of the
authority (Martinsons & Hempel, 1998). While Western people believe that all men
are born equal and they can make independent decisions and act on their own (ibid).
Ambos and Schlegelmilch (2008) argue that one culture may support certain type (or
types) of organizations rather than other types, and culture differences will eventually
influence on the performance of company (ibid). In other words, national culture can
influence the management and communications of organizations. For instances, the
management style in the west is different from that in the east: Dutch management
style is “approachable” and “assertive”, while, Japanese managers are “high
hierarchical” and “dictatorial” (Ybema & Byun, 2009, p. 350). Poon, Evangelista and
Albaum (2005) compare the management differences in China and Australia, and find
that culture is a significant influence in management style in multi-culture
perspective.