Cross Cultural Issues In International Business

Table of Contents

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Table of contents 1

Introduction 2

Fiji Culture 3

Festivals of Fiji 4

City Festivals of Fiji 4

Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna Day 4

The Lovo Feast 4

Culture 5

The Three Cultures Model 5

Cultural Frameworks and Dimensions 6

Hofstede 6

Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner 7

Hall 8

The Johari Window 9

GLOBE Research 10

Comparison of Cultural Frameworks and Dimensions 11

Management Approach 12

Conclusion & Recommendation 13

APPENDIX A 14

References & Bibliography 15

Introduction

Leisure Time Ltd a consultancy Agency located in Fiji was hire to present a critical analysis on whether or not Hotel Denarau should attract British business tourist. We are a group of advisors specialising in tourism and we wish to assess whether or not targeting the British business tourist market would be a good investment. We also have to determine whether the hotel should use British management in provision for its leisure activities.

The Hotel Denarau is 18-story, 5-star hotel situated in Port Denarau in Suva on the major island of Viti Levu. It is located 5mins from the beach. They offer tour services, sports, Adventures and other attractions.

We have decided to target British due to the interest they have in Leisure activities. We have also decided to use the geocentric approach of management.

Fiji Culture

The Republic of the Fiji Islands is a multicultural island nation with cultural traditions of Oceanic, European, South Asian, and East Asian origins. Immigrants have accepted several aspects of the indigenous culture, but a national culture has not evolved.

The country consists of more than three hundred islands, approximately 110 of which were inhabited; most of the population is concentrated on the main island of Viti Levu. People from different parts of India came to work as indentured labourers on sugar plantations. European immigrants came primarily from Australia, New Zealand, and Great Britain. Viti Levu contains the major seaports, airports, roads, schools, and tourist centres, as well as the capital, Suva. Fijian, Hindi, and English became the official languages after independence in 1970.

People generally eat three meals a day, but there is much variability in meal times and snacking is common. Most food is boiled, but some is broiled, roasted, or fried. The evening meal, which is usually the most formal, requires the presence of all the family members and may not begin without the male head of the household. Men are served first and receive the best foods and the largest portions.

Men associate primarily with other men, and women's activities are performed mostly with other women. A woman's traditional role is to be a homemaker, a mother, and an obedient wife. Men are the primary breadwinners, although women also contribute to the family economy.

Fiji follows three main religious affiliations: Christianity, Hinduism and Islam. Religion ran largely along ethnic lines. Other ethnic communities include Chinese, Rotumans, Europeans, and other Pacific Islanders. Hindu and Muslim communities maintained a number of active religious and cultural organizations.

Festivals of Fiji

The annual festivals of Fiji are a time to unwind and cut loose. There are many festivals indigenous only to Fiji, such as the City Festivals of Fiji, Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna Day and the Lovo Feast. In addition both Fiji and British celebrate festivals such as Divali, Holi, Eid, The Prophet Mohammed's Birthday, Easter and of course Christmas.

City Festivals of Fiji

There are three main city festivals held annually in Fiji. The Bula Festival is celebrated in Nadi each July, the Hibiscus Festival is held in Suva in November and the Sugar Festival is held in Lautoka. These festivals include parades with marching bands and beauty pageants, and are a joyous time for the citizens of the cities to celebrate the unique identities of their cities.

Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna Day

May 31st is celebrated as Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna Day in Fiji to honour the former high chief and scholar who was considered Fiji's greatest statesman. Cultural shows and games mark this public holiday for proud Fijians.

The Lovo Feast

This is a communal village feast for special occasions such as weddings, festivals or the inauguration of a new chief. Lovo is prepared by digging a large pit and lining it with dry coconut husks. The husks are set on fire, and then stones are heaped on top. When the flames from the coconut husks die down, the food is wrapped in banana leaves and lowered into the pit. Meat and fish are always put in first, and the vegetables are put on top. Everything is covered with more banana leaves and stones and left to cook for about 2 Ð... hours.

Culture

Culture can be defined as the source of ties that bind members of societies through an exclusive socially constructed constellation consisting of such things as practices, competencies, ideas, schemas, symbols, values, norms, institutions, goals, constitutive rules, artefacts, and modifications of the physical environment (Fiske, 2002, p.85). These internalized rules create traditions that often go deeper than reason (Stuart, 2004).

The Three Cultures Model

The culture that we are embedded in inevitably influences our views about leadership (Hofstede, 1993). To make sense of the different types of cultural influences, Gardenswartz, Rowe, Digh, and Bennett (2003) developed the three cultures model, which posits three cultural influences at work in corporations:

* Personal culture is the shared combination of an individual's