Abstract
This chapter considers in detail the issue of multicultural urban business environments in the context of managing cross-cultural problems within globalization. When people try to accept and respect different cultures, they will gain new opportunities and experiences. One of the most effective tools is tolerant communication leading to understanding and acceptance of cultural diversity. In this research, we study the contemporary concept of urban business environments as a set of external and internal factors influencing business development in the framework of an urban infrastructure. The authors provide their own definition of the concept of globalization and also describe the key global trends, including globalization of human capital under the conditions of demographic and cultural diversity. The work is also aimed to detect how multiculture affects urban business environment in part of finding managerial solutions and countermeasures to overcome the major cross-cultural challenges.
TopThe Concept Of Urban Business Environment
Any business today does not function in a vacuum. Thus, in the framework of the given research the concept of “urban business environment” is defined as a set of external and internal factors influencing business development within dynamically developing urban infrastructure. Let us consider these factors in detail (Martine et al., 2015).
All businesses have to react to what happens not only within their own offices but also outside the office walls. These outside factors are known as external factors or influences. They tend to affect the main internal functions of the business and possibly the objectives of the business and its strategies.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Globalization: A process of interaction and integration among people, organizations, and governments of different areas and nations that is driven by international trade and investments and aided by information technologies. This process has effects on urban business environment, culture, political systems, economic development and prosperity, and also on human physical well-being in the societies around the world.
Urban Culture: A specific combination of societal and organizational cultures.
Societal Culture: Covers norms, expectations, and shared values of a society or a group of people living in a particular place.
Culture: A set of shared values, understandings, assumptions and goals that are learned from earlier generations, imposed by present members of a society and passed on to succeeding generations.
Organizational Culture: Means norms, shared values and expectations that together determine governing of a certain organization; it describes the manner in which people interact as well as approach their work.
Urban Business Environment: A set of external and internal factors influencing business development in the framework of urban infrastructure.
Cultural Diversity: A wide range of various beliefs, behaviors, languages, practices and expressions considered unique to the members of a specific ethnicity, race or national origin, as opposed to monoculture. In some contexts, cultural diversity might actually mean the complete opposite - homogenization of different cultures to increase global economic efficiency.
Cross-Cultural Management: The process of developing and implementing managerial tools and strategies, designing and operating systems and working with the people from different cultures within international business environment to ensure sustained competitive advantage and increased global economic efficiency.
Multiculture: A diverse combination of different nations’ intellectual achievements collectively forming a multifaceted system of traditions, believes and values which together form a brand-new world picture and also affect today’s business environment.