Employees at all levels of contemporary organizations bring different beliefs, values, languages, expressions, gestures and customs with them to work. Cultural differences represent a massive challenge to all global organisations. So how can we define culture? And just how much of an impact can it have with achieving organisational goals? Geert Hofstede, a pioneer in his research of cross-cultural groups and organizations defines culture as “the collective programming of the human mind that distinguishesthe members of one human group from those of another. Culture in this sense isa system of collectively held values.”
Today’s global workplace is more diverse and complex than everbefore. The effective management of a global supply chain requires organisationsto adopt a new type of skill set; cultural adaptability. Cultural adaptability is fast becoming an integral component in management, it is the willingness and ability to recognize, understand andwork effectively across cultures. It is the appreciation that approaches and styles picked up in one region do not translate well in another. Managers of Multinational corporations interact daily with colleagues, bosses, suppliers and contractors from different cultures. In order to effectively operate in line with goals and targets across multiple regions, they must think and react with an open mind and respect that culture is a learned experience that starts at childhood.
Cultural Adaptability and Crocs Inc.
The growth and profitability of Crocs Inc, the makers of funky brightly coloured shoesusing an extremely comfortable plastic material called “croslite” has trulybeen astounding. Since the companies humble beginnings in 2002, Crocs has grown from a new start up venture initiated by three friends from Colorado, to a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. Today Crocs products are sold globally, in 90 countries and the company is a world leader in innovative casual footwear for men, women and children. The Croslite material used in every croc shoe production boasts many advantages to traditional shoe designs and has been a major source of the success of the company. The Croslite material is easy to wash, prevents odours and moulds to the foot combining comfort and function.
However the foundations of Croc shoes’ explosive revenue growthand presence in the global marketplace lay not just in their innovative and eye catching designs but also in their highly flexible supply chain model formed by a culturally experienced and aware management team. Crocs displayed its cultural adaptability in two simple strategic moves:
1/.Forming the Management: In the early stages of the Crocs development the company formed a management team composed of individuals from the electronic contract manufacturing industry, known for its global presence and dynamic nature. This new team had extensive experience in global manufacturing operations, mergers and acquisitions, and sales and marketing. Croc's now had an experienced management team who had a cultural understanding of global production accustomed to manufacturing what the customer needed, when it needed and responding rapidly to changes in demand.
2/.the right partners for Global Production:This globally aware management team were quick to learn that only contract manufacturers in Asia had the corporate culture to support the crocs manufacturing model. Manufacturers in Asia were flexible and could produce high volume, would take risks with croc's, purchasing new machinery for croc production and invested in growing the business through a mutual win-win relationship. Crocs were quick to realize that manufacturers in other parts of the world could simply not rival with Asian manufacturers responsiveness and commitment. As of 2006 over 60% of croc shoes are produced in China.
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