International Management
Case Study: Polish JV
September 27, 2017
Brad J. Plunket
- What are the major differences between US expatriates and the Polish?
There are several differences between US expatriates and the Polish culture. The first difference is the managerial selection. In the US culture, it is typical that the worker starts from the bottom and work their way to the top. However, in the Polish culture, they give positions based on political standing.
Merit, age, and seniority also are very different. In the polish culture it is typical to see an older person hold a position of power in the company, however, in the US-based companies, it is based on job performance. One worker said “The company gives a lot of authority to young people very quickly. You never know, the guy who is looking younger than you could be a vice president already.” (174)
The polish culture is very open about their salary. They view how much they make as a comparison to how they rank in the company as well as a society. Whereas in the United States, salary is very rarely discussed among other workers. It is viewed as confidential and personal information. I can relate to this because I feel that my salary is my personal information. I feel that only the person who does payroll and I should know how much I make, I don’t want to share with my coworkers. I also feel that if I know what my coworkers make, and I feel that I am a better worker, there will be a conflict.
- Apply Hofstede’s model to analyze the Polish culture.
Power distance- Poland appears to have a high power distance. This is because the polish have the following
- The powerful are entitled to privileges
- Everyone has a place
- Inequality is fundamentally good
- How do you see the Polish managers adapt to the US culture? What is motivating to the polish managers and what is not?
It seems like there is a good amount of adaptation of the US culture. It seems like there is overall a good moral, while there is quite a few differences, it seems like there is more positive than negative.
- Do you recommend any changes for both the Polish as well as the US employees?
Regarding recommendations, I would recommend that they continue as they have been doing. It appears that they are making good progress in accepting the changes. I would recommend that everyone have a meeting each week to discuss any concerns that they are feeling. The best way to get through a change quickly is to make sure that everyone is on the same page.