Cultural differences in Decision Making

July 31, 2019 The Editorial Board - Teamware Solutions

Different cultures make decisions in their own unique style. In Autocratic
cultures decisions tend to come from the top, while in countries with flatter
management styles consensus is taken for making decisions and so on. In some
situations, the corporate culture may override any local cultural traits. There will
always be variations on cultural stereotypes, few general examples of decision
making style around the world are as below:

  The USA is a culture of very flat management structures. The culture is egalitarian
in that individuals are free to challenge authority. However the manager can make
a snap decision in an top-down approach and other individuals adhere by it
    Scandinavian cultures are more likely to base decision making on social factors;
what will benefit the group, as opposed to the individual. In Spain, decisions are
made by consensus and as such, may take a long time. Once a decision is made, it
won’t change, generally because so much discussion has gone into making it in
the first place. By the time a conclusion is reached, everybody is on board
   The Japan and China cultures is similar to Scandinavian countries. Here the well-being of the group matters more than individual choice. In Japanese culture, managers are expected to reach consensus or even delegate decision making to subordinates via a process called Ringi. The final decision emerges as a balance of views of different employees
     Arab cultures are risk averse and hierarchical. Decisions are made from the top,
often following discussion with other stakeholders of equal seniority. Once a
decision is made, is it not questioned! Personal connections play a strong role in
decision making as Arabs tend to do business with friends and family, not
strangers.

It is essential that we understand the different cultures and decision making process when dealing with them for any of our assignments. See this informative video on culture driven business scenario today.