An Assessment of Cross-cultural Competence in Leadership Assignment Sample

Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1 Introduction

The research project has been prepared on the importance of the cultural competencies in the multinational organization. In the recent globalized scenario it has been seen that the organizations operate in different cultural environments and it is also important to diversify the operations to operate globally. The cross cultural competencies are the ability of the individuals and different organizations to communicate, navigate and collaborate with the people from the different geographical and the cultural background. In the different organizations the cross cultural competencies need to be implemented by following some key aspects. The key aspects are cultural awareness, communications skills, cultural intelligence (CQ), adaptability, global mindset and it has been seen that these need to be maintained for implementing the cross-cultural competencies. In the different organizations, the cross cultural competencies need to be implemented for operating smoothly in the global scenario. The first chapter of this research is the introduction, where the research topics have been introduced along with that the aims and the objectives have been also defined and the problem statement has been also identified so that the problems can be mitigated by performing the research study. Along with all these the dissertation structure has been also defined to get the clear idea of the research paper.

1.2 Research background

The research study has been prepared for implementing the effective cross cultural competencies in the multinational organization as it has been seen that with globalization the organizations also need to diversify as the employees are coming from different countries, religions and cultures. In that scenario it is important to effectively manage the workforce and that is also important for improving the productivity of the employees. When the effective cross-cultural management is not implemented in the organization the communication between the employee are broken down, productivity is reduced, conflict and tensions develop between the employee, ineffective leaderships are seen, along with that the business opportunities are damaged along with that the legal and ethical issues are also seen (Lindig, et al., 2020). Moreover, due to the lack of cross-cultural competencies the employees from the different locations do not feel comfortable and the productivity of the employees are reduced in a rapid order. Organizations should place a high priority on helping staff members build cross-cultural abilities, offer cultural training, promote a diverse and inclusive workplace, and make certain that the leadership is capable of navigating cultural intricacies in order to solve these issues. In a globalized company context, this proactive strategy can help increase organizational performance and success. First of all, leaders with cross-cultural competences are able to interact and work together with people from a variety of cultural backgrounds. Within a global organization, trust and good relationships are largely dependent on successful communication (Seo, et al., 2020). Cross-culturally competent leaders may modify their method of communication to align with the cultural norms of their team members, guaranteeing that messages are accurately received and comprehended.

Figure 1.2.1: Effective cross cultural competencies management practice

The above figure has presented the effective cross cultural competencies practice which can manage the employees from different location cultures, and further the productivity of the organization can be also increased and the business growth can be also achieved. In the process of effective management the first step is crossing the language barriers, providing equal opportunities for all the employees (Gillespie., 2022). It has been also seen that the cross cultural training among the employees can also create a positive work environment. Along with that the team building activities, self awareness and the employees are also needed to be involved in the process. Moreover it is also important to resolve the immediate conflicts among the employees and the unconscious biases need to be looked out so that equal rights are provided to all the employees of the organization.

1.3 Aim and Objective

1.3.1 Aim

The main aim of the project is to understand the importance of cross cultural competence in the leadership of any organization and the assessment has been performed to understand the importance of the cross cultural competences in the leadership for determining the impact in the GSK.

1.3.2 Objectives

• To understand the concept of the cross cultural competences
• To understand the importance of the cross cultural competences in the leadership
• To understand the impact of the cross cultural competencies in the GSK organization
• To Assess the importance of leadership in the GSK organization

1.4 Research Question

• What are the concepts of cross-cultural competencies?
• How cross-cultural competencies impact leadership in the organization?
• What are the impact of the cross cultural competencies in the GSK organization?
• How is leadership important in the GSK organization?

1.5 Problem statement

In the recent world it has been seen that different organizations have been globalized and along with that globalization the cross cultural competencies has been relevant for the effective management of the employees. Along with that it has been seen that there are different problems that can be aroused, when the cross cultural management is not applied in the organization (LeCounte., 2023). For the different culture and the different diversity there are different problems, such as the communication breakdown, it has been seen that for the different communication style misinterpretation and misunderstanding can occur. In different teams of the organization the productivity is also reduced as the cultural clashes affect the teamwork and the collaboration between the team members. Inside the organization it has been seen that the cross cultural disbalance is also a reason for the ineffective leadership. Along with that it has been also seen that the leaders, who have the inability to navigate the cultural differences, miss the business opportunities and also struggle to lead the diverse teams.

Further, it has been seen that the poor cross-cultural management also leads to unintentional cultural insensitivity and that further leads to the damage of the brand image and organization’s reputations (da Costa Lemos., 2019). In that scenario it is important to implement the proper cross cultural competencies management to operate the organization and also the leadership can be improved by the implementation of the proper cultural competency management plan. In international corporations, cross-cultural competences foster tolerance and diversity. Leaders may establish a welcoming workplace where staff members feel appreciated and valued by learning about and respecting various cultural traditions.

This encourages productivity, creativity, and innovation by bringing in a variety of viewpoints. Furthermore, by being aware of regional laws, traditions, and regulations, executives with cross-cultural competences are better able to manage complicated corporate situations. With this information, they are able to make judgments that are in line with many cultures' expectations and beliefs. In international organizations, cross-cultural competencies are critical for effective leadership (Jonathan., 2021). They help executives effectively navigate challenging corporate settings, foster inclusion and diversity, and support effective communication. All aspirant leaders should prioritize building these abilities in order to drive success as firms continue to expand worldwide.

1.6 Research Significance

The research study has been performed in order to assess the importance of the cross cultural competencies management along with that it has been seen that in the absence of the proper management strategy the productivity of the employee is reduced and the leadership in the team is also affected. Therefore it is important to implement proper strategies for cross-cultural management. In the recent globalized society it has been seen that the people from different communities and different locations communicate and work together on that scenario the human resource management in the organizations are need to be strong for the better management of the work force and need to reduce the cultural barriers. It is also important to provide the comfortable work environment so that the productivity of the employee remains intact. In the cross cultural management strategy one of the most important factors is adaptability. In the diverse cultural background, it has been seen that adaptability helps in accepting the changes in the work environment. Further the adaptability incorporates the flexibility in the behavior or the organizational strategies (Sarafi., 2022). The capacity for cross-cultural communication is a key component of cross-cultural skills in leadership. For heterogeneous teams to collaborate and develop trust, effective communication is essential.

Cross-culturally competent leaders are able to negotiate nonverbal clues, language limitations, and cultural quirks that might hinder communication. Moreover, leaders who possess cross-cultural abilities may develop inclusive organizational cultures. Through comprehending and valuing diverse cultural viewpoints, managers may establish a work atmosphere where every staff member feels appreciated and integrated. Because different points of view are valued and encouraged, this promotes creativity and innovation. Additionally, because cultural differences can lead to misunderstandings or confrontations, cross-cultural abilities assist leaders in avoiding such situations (Ng, et al., 2022). Leaders who understand these distinctions are better able to foresee future difficulties and take proactive measures to resolve conflicts by using efficient conflict resolution techniques.

1.7 Dissertation structure

Figure 1.7.1: The dissertation structure

The figure has represented the dissertation structure of this research study, where the first part is the introduction and in this introduction section the topics of the research have been introduced, along with that the background of the research and the problem statement has been identified. The aim and objective has been defined in the introduction section. In the literature review section the secondary data has been presented which has been collected from the secondary resources and the theories, concepts and hypothesis has been presented along with that the literature gap has been also presented. The third section is the methodology and in the methodology the methods have been presented, which has been helpful and followed throughout the research study. The last chapters are the result discussion and the conclusion. In the result and discussion section the result of the thematic analysis has been presented. Further in the conclusion the summary of the research has been presented along with that the recommendation and the future scope of the research has been also presented.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

2.1 Introduction

The literature review on "An Assessment of Cross-Cultural Competence in Leadership to Determine Its Impact on GSK" is needed as it will help in understanding the relationship between leadership effectiveness, cross-cultural competence, and its effects within the context of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). This literature review in this section will go through some of the existing scholarly works, theories, and other studies that surround the effects of cross-cultural competence in leadership and its importance in multinational corporations. This is most specifically within the organizational area of GSK.

By doing a thorough review of all the literature sources, including academic papers, case studies, and theoretical frameworks, this review will help in analysing the various dimensions of cross-cultural competence. The key areas of the types of theories include the concept of cross-cultural leadership, usefulness of cultural competence, and barriers of cross-cultural competencies in different settings that are very much required with the areas of the organization cultures.

Fig 1: Literature review aspects

2.2 Concept of cross-cultural competencies

The concept of cross-cultural competencies in the context of assessing its impact on leadership within GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) helps in reflecting a type of complete shift in today's globalized business environment. Cross-cultural competencies include a wide range of skills, attitudes, and behaviours that help all business leaders to effectively navigate, communicate, and manage in different types of cultural settings (Yari et al. 2020). In the context of GSK, a multinational corporation that operates across different types of landscapes, the examination of going through cross-cultural competence in leadership is important. This will be mostly due to its potential to influence all kinds of organizational success.

At its main importance, it can be stated that cross-cultural competence must have a deep as well as correct understanding of all types of cultural differences, along with the process of having sensitivity to different types of perspectives, and the ability to adapt leadership styles and practices accordingly as stated in the study by Oikarainen, et al. (2020). Within the company-based values of GSK, this also includes an overall need for leaders to possess not only in having great strong managerial skills but also a high degree of cultural intelligence, empathy, and the capacity to improve some of the inclusive environments.

Effective cross-cultural leaders within GSK are expected to exhibit traits such as cultural empathy, open-mindedness, flexibility, and the capability that are required to bridge communication gaps across different teams and stakeholders of GSK (Virk and Head, 2020). They must also have a complete expectation of an understanding of different cultures that are required in decision-making, negotiation, and other types of conflict resolution procedures which are required accordingly (Engairo, 2023). In all, these competencies are known to go beyond the adjustment of language proficiency or basic cultural awareness and they also include the ability to leverage cultural diversity as a strategic asset for innovation, collaboration, and sustainable growth.

The concept of cross-cultural competence in the leadership roles of GSK have seen many such concepts that will help in promoting the concepts of decision-making within the corporate world. The study by Ajala (2020), observed that the competencies of cross-cultural theory in companies like GSK include the process of awareness styles of all the leaders. This is also combined with the knowledge of different cultures along with the process of understanding different types of cultural values, communication styles, and business with the regions where GSK operates in the healthcare sector. In the same way, the approach of checking the behavioural assessment along with the database check-up is also needed to promote all types of cultural competencies in the companies. The leaders can also modify individual approaches accordingly if needed. In this way, various cultural contexts can be suited alongside and none of the compromises to be made to the organizational approaches. Other than that, the effects of such types of cross-cultural competencies could be observed in many different methods. It will also include the influential actions of the decision-making processes, team dynamics, employee engagement, and overall organizational change. Leaders are also being found nowadays to be very much efficient in improving the types of cross-cultural competencies. This also helps to improve and have a more inclusive and innovative environment, which ultimately leads to increased rates of collaboration, reduced conflicts, improved productivity, and better alignment with global business objectives.

On the contrary, it must be stated here that certain types of challenges are also being found to exist in the process of measuring and developing cross-cultural competencies within the leadership role of GSK (Chen, 2019). These challenges are known to have the adjustment of identifying relevant metrics for assessment, by also having adequate training and support, overcoming any kind of unrecognized biases, and ensuring that there is adequate integration of cross-cultural competence into leadership development programs of the workplace.

2.3 Usefulness of cross Cultural Competencies

Cross-cultural competencies help serve as some of the important assets in the interconnected global landscape of the present day. This is most particularly within multinational corporations like GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). The study by Yari et al. (2020) proves that these types of competencies can help to enhance effective communication and collaboration across diverse teams within GSK. Individuals with cross-cultural competencies can go through all the types of communal as well as language barriers, understand different types of communication styles, and adapt their messaging to get more effectively aligned across different cultural contexts. This also helps in having a more inclusive environment where different types of daily corporate perspectives are valued accordingly. This helps lead to greater amounts of idea generation and problem-solving.

Secondly, a study by Li (2020) focuses on examining two different types of cross-cultural competencies. These are very much needed in facilitating the overall need for having some successful negotiations and decision-making processes. Leaders in GSK can also adapt themselves in navigating cultural challenges with their team members as these can also help to build the values of building trust and rapport more easily. This leads to smoother interactions in business dealings, partnerships, and stakeholder engagements. This capability also reduces any type of misunderstandings and conflicts, enabling GSK to establish stronger relationships globally and make more informed, culturally sensitive decisions accordingly.

Moreover, these competencies contribute a lot to leading the process of innovation and creativity within GSK. Research also helps in finding the fact that exposure to different types of cultures helps in having some of the novel ideas and approaches. Cross-cultural competencies allow the complete workforce of GSK in order to draw all its attention from a competency of different types of perspectives. This also leads to having some innovative solutions that offer service to varied markets and consumer needs.

Lastly, the study by Li et al. (2020) also contributes to the overall adaptability and resilience of GSK as an organization. In an evolving global market, the complete ability to check through and navigate diverse cultural landscapes will help in equipping the company to be more descriptive. This will be completely adhered to in responding to changes, and also to be done by entering into some of the new markets, and capitalizing on all the types of opportunities accordingly.

2.4 The Barriers to Cultural Competencies

The study by Shepherd et al. (2019) helped in understanding the challenges of healthcare challenges in terms of cross-cultural competencies. This study aimed to understand the perspectives of the healthcare professionals concerned with culturally competent care and their experiences with multicultural patients. Along with that, the research also helped in assessing their levels of cultural competence and their complete process of handling such types of cross-cultural challenges. The research surveyed 56 healthcare professionals in the Mid-Western United States by using a type of questionnaire-based approach. In the research process, it was found that almost half the sample lacked some formal cross-cultural training. It has to be stated here that many of the participants also expressed confidence in meeting the needs of different types of healthcare-based GSK clients. However, their understanding of cross-cultural education also focused on having some of the 'cultural awareness,' focusing mainly on the practical aspects such as cultural knowledge and communication help (Shepherd et al. 2019). In the process of having some of the systemic approaches like cultural competence and safety by identifying issues like racism, power imbalances, and self-reflexivity also received some normal importance in the research study.

This study helped in highlighting the prevalent reliance on immediate practical applications in cross-cultural care. It also helped in the process of calling all levels of attention to the need for interventions that combined the value of cultural awareness-based approaches with more comprehensive strategies by including cultural competence and safety. The findings helped in focusing an important area for further exploration, thus halving the ultimate aim to bridge the gap between immediate practicality and a deeper understanding of systemic cross-cultural approaches in the healthcare sector where GSK operates.

For this review by McGregor et al. (2019), the focus has been given to the improvement of health by having cultural competency in the healthcare sectors where GSK operates. Racial and ethnic differences in healthcare have persisted in some of the high-income countries in spite of all types of efforts that are required to improve the access and quality of care for African Americans and Latinos. This remains important as the healthcare society becomes more diverse. The research study here looks at how cultural awareness is taught in healthcare, and why it is much more important to keep training healthcare workers in settings where different types of care come together (McGregor et al. 2019). It also focuses on what policies and methods can help new and existing healthcare workers be ready to help different groups of people.

Effective engagement with many patients is very important in healthcare, as it helps in facing barriers when implementing cross-cultural competencies. Stubbe (2020) gives these types of suggestions to a focus on cultural competence and humility and it also highlights the challenges healthcare providers face in improving the types of inclusive partnerships. Understanding the community also includes the aspect of going through some of the resource disparities, influences of healthcare immigrants from different places, prevalent types of ethnic characteristics, and community attitudes toward diversity, which might pose many types of challenges due to differences in the types of perceptions and experiences. External factors, such as political or legal issues add stress, as they create different types of barriers to effective communication. Self-reflection on personal backgrounds and other types of biases also becomes very important in breaking barriers stemming from any type of notions or implicit biases. This also makes an impact on the interactions with patients.

2.5 Importance of the cross-cultural Competencies in the Leadership of Different Multinational Organizations

Cross-cultural competencies in leadership are very much needed in the overall context of multinational organizations, where many types of cultures get merged, and global operations also demand having the proper understanding and effective navigation of different types of cultural contexts (Caligiuri et al. 2019). Their importance is also found to be aligned with the adherences of getting across several important aspects of organizational functionality and successes which are required accordingly. Firstly, in the context of multinational organizations, cross-cultural competencies in leadership help to understand the aspects of effective communication and collaboration across diverse teams and geographical boundaries. Leaders are known to have the qualities with these competencies as it helps in checking the ability to bridge cultural gaps and understand any type of changes that might happen in communication styles (Abugre, and Debrah, 2019). It also helps in creating an environment of inclusivity where different types of perspectives are valued accordingly. This ability to improve relationships is also required for building some high-performing teams that can adapt themselves to various cultural contexts, ultimately improving the levels of productivity and innovation.

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Secondly, these types of competencies are also important in driving strategic decision-making processes within the scope of multinational organizations or MNCs. Leaders who are known to have cultural competencies are helpful to make informed decisions that can get themselves aligned with the values and norms of different regions (Khoreva, and Vaiman, 2021). This also helps in increasing the reputation and market positioning of the MNCs. Additionally, cross-culturally competent leaders have better levels of training in order to identify opportunities and solve the types of risks that arise from cultural differences, enabling the organization to expand into new markets more effectively. More than that, cross-cultural competencies in leadership contribute a lot to employee engagement and retention in multinational organizations (Santhanam and Srinivas, 2019). Leaders who have a high knowledge of cultural sensitivity and inclusivity create a work environment where all the employees will feel valued, respected, and understood. This, in turn, helps in creating a sense of belonging and loyalty among the workforce, leading to higher employee satisfaction and revenue generation accordingly.

Additionally, in the complete global economy, cross-cultural competencies have some kind of direct impact on the aims and objectives of the organization. Organizations who are having leaders proficient in going through some of the diverse cultural landscapes are better aligned for capitalizing themselves on international business opportunities. It also helps in driving innovation through many such perspectives along with creating some stronger relationships with stakeholders across different cultural backgrounds.

2.6 Analysis of the GSK organization

GSK is a multinational pharmaceutical company and it is headquartered in London, operates across over 100 countries and employs about 10001+ people. It is one of the most renowned companies and it focuses on creating and developing products to treat various diseases. The same vision also aligns with its mission to enhance people's lives and well-being. While prioritizing growth, diversification, and product value addition since 2008, GSK has been facing some intense competition from generics and other major players like AstraZeneca, Merck, Novartis AG, Pfizer Inc., and Sanofi-Aventis. Products like Paroxetine faced FDA blacklisting due to some of the alleged occurrences and links to increased suicidal tendencies in children, resulting in lawsuits (Bardia et al. 2021).

Fig 2: GSK Company Details

This turned out to be a problem for the GSK. Ribena, also have been known to be marketed with false Vitamin C claims, and it can also lead to some kind of lawsuits when it was found to contain small amounts of Vitamin C. Similarly, the Avandia product of GSK also faced allegations of causing myocardial infarction in consumers, and this helped in creating ongoing legal scrutiny. Thus, by stating the analysis of the company it should be stated the analysis for the global healthcare provider is much needed. The mix of operational challenges, controversies, and intense competition within the complete range of volatile pharmaceutical markets helps in understanding the high-risk nature of the complete financial outlook of GSK, by guaranteeing the values of caution regarding loan approval.

2.7 Importance of leadership and the cultural competencies in the GSK

The concepts of leadership and cultural competencies are very much needed within GlaxoSmithKline (GSK. This is because of its multinational presence and different range of operational landscape. Effective leadership in the same way is also needed to help the value-based alignments of the healthcare provider company, GSK through the complexities of the pharmaceutical industry, where the concepts of innovation, compliance, and market agility are required. Culturally competent leaders within GSK are being found to have the overall ability to go through such types of diverse cultural settings. This helps in creating an inclusive environment where different types of perspectives are valued. This is also very significant in a company that operates across 100 countries, and it also gives the value of opinion for having varying cultural norms and practices. Leaders with strong cultural competencies can help in easing the communication gaps, understand local considerations that are required, and adapt strategies to align themselves with different cultural contexts. Such leaders also help the company GSK to connect with global markets more effectively, establish strong patterns of relationships with stakeholders, and drive innovation by increasing the levels of diverse viewpoints.

2.8 Literature gap

The literature gap involving an assessment of cross-cultural competence in leadership and its impact on GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) exists for several reasons. This requires further research in this domain. Firstly, it should be stated that there is much-existing literature on cross-cultural leadership, and studies specific to its impact on GSK or within the pharmaceutical industry are very much fewer when compared to others (Said et al. 2019). GSK operates across 100+ countries, presenting a unique, complex cultural landscape that requires specialized leadership competencies, yet some amounts of research exploring this within such a multinational pharmaceutical context is still to be done. In addition to that, it should be stated that additional leadership is acknowledged throughout on a global basis, but yet, focus has to be given to the literature studies and other evidence-based observations that are dependent on decision-making, and organizational outcomes. Understanding how specific cultural competencies translate into forcing out the types of impacts on the success statement of GSK, such as market adaptation, innovation, or employee engagement, deeper investigation is required.

Further research is also required in order to pinpoint the specific cross-cultural competencies that drive success within the factors driving the healthcare attainments of GSK. This also helps in providing actionable insights for leadership development programs that are specially created for the unique multicultural environment of the company. Addressing this gap could ultimately help in optimizing the performance of GSK, by having a more culturally positive leadership approach, and it also increases the company's global competitiveness.

2.9 Summary

This section of the literature helped in offering knowledge and insights into various existing literature studies on the topic “an assessment of cross-cultural competence in leadership to determine its impact on GSK”. Chapter 2 of this research project provides a complete literature review on the given topic. It helps in making people understand the relationship between leadership effectiveness, cross-cultural competence, and the effects that exist within GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). It also goes through many such scholarly works, theories, and studies, focusing on the effects on leadership, organizational success, and challenges within GSK's multinational framework for having the relation with cross-cultural competencies. The review also helped in understanding the significance of cultural differences, adapting leadership styles, and helping diversity to get accommodated within the organization strategically. The chapter also identified gaps, calling for further research mostly made to have the incorporation of unique multicultural landscape of GSK for having increased leadership development and organizational performance accordingly.

Chapter 3: Methodology of the research

3.1 Introduction

This section of the research study has briefly elaborated the research methods, which has been vastly used to complete the research study. Along with the research methods, the key considerations have been presented, which has been considered before starting the research. The research has been performed on the topic of the cross cultural competencies and its impact in the leadership of the GSK multinational organization. The ethical consideration and the legal consideration of the research project has been considered for protecting the authenticity of the research study. In the methodology section it has been seen that the interpretivism research philosophy has been selected and the deductive research approach has been followed throughout the research study. In the data collection, the secondary method of data collection has been followed for collecting the research theories and the hypothesis, as the research is dependent on the previous research data. In the research work the secondary qualitative research design has been followed for performing the research study efficiently.

3.2 Research philosophy

In the research study it is important to consider the research philosophy as the proper research philosophy refers to the different beliefs and assumptions, which also guide the researcher for conducting the research study efficiently. Ensuring the validity and dependability of research findings is a crucial benefit of having a sound research philosophy. Researchers can reduce bias and guarantee accurate and reliable results by using a methodical and rigorous approach. This is especially important in the social sciences and medical professions, where judgements made on the basis of subpar research can have grave repercussions (Kirongo and Odoyo., 2020). There are different type of research philosophy and the research philosophies are positivism research philosophy, interpretivism research philosophy, pragmatism research philosophy and realism research philosophy. For this research study the interpretivism research philosophy has been followed for the proper result (GHR and Aithal., 2022). Understanding and interpreting social phenomena via the prism of personal experiences and interpretations is the main goal of interpretivism research philosophy. It highlights how environment, culture, and personal viewpoints all play a significant role in influencing how we perceive the world. The capacity of interpretivism to gather complex and nuanced material is one of its main advantages. Through an emphasis on personal experiences and interpretations, scholars can acquire a deeper understanding of intricate social phenomena that may be missed by quantitative approaches. Additionally, interpretivist research permits flexibility in modifying study designs in response to novel discoveries made while gathering data.

Figure 3.2.1: Different types of research philosophy

• Justification: In this research study the interpretivism research philosophy has been followed and the social phenomena has been Understood and interpreted via the prism of personal experiences and interpretations (Williamson., 2021). Following interpretivism research philosophy it has been seen that environment, culture, and personal viewpoints are highlighted for the significance role. The interpretivism research philosophy has been followed to assess the secondary data and also interpret the results from the secondary data.

3.3 Research approach

Before starting the research study it is important to define the research approach, as it determines the overall direction of the research study and also the overall methodology of the research study. Further, the proper research approach also impacts greatly in the validity and the reliability of the findings (Mehrad and Zangeneh., 2019). In the time of selecting the proper research approach it is important to consider the research questions and depending upon the research questions the research approach is generally decided. Among the inductive and the deductive research approaches, the deductive research approach has been followed for performing the research study in a proper structure. In this research study following the deductive research approach the specific theories and hypothesis has been developed for the cross cultural competencies. In order to confirm the validity of the research study, the deductive research approach has attempted to collect the data and perform the empirical observations. In this research study the researcher has collected the pertinent information and tested for reducing the irrelevant data. The deductive study approach's capacity to produce precise and impartial conclusions is one of its main advantages. Researchers can create experiments that are concentrated on evaluating a single hypothesis by beginning with a specific one. This makes it possible to measure and analyze data precisely, producing trustworthy results. This approach's heavy reliance on pre-existing theories or assumptions is one of its drawbacks, too (Maarouf., 2019). The outcomes could also be erroneous if these theories are defective or lacking. Furthermore, deductive research occasionally ignores variables or unanticipated findings that were not initially taken into account.

• Justification: The deductive method was chosen for this research project because it offers the advantage of building on previous findings and theoretical frameworks to provide a testable hypothesis that will help the study go successfully (Hall, et al., 2021). This approach has encouraged a methodical and planned process, enhancing the objectivity and rigor of the investigation. It has advanced the study by building on earlier research in the area, enabling more reliable forecasts and conclusions on the relationship between client satisfaction and service quality.

3.4 Research Design

Secondary qualitative data has been employed in this study to analyze and understand the research issue in order to meet the research objectives. Scholars regularly reread, reorganize, and reassess the body of literature in an effort to uncover fresh perspectives and ideas. Through the utilization of secondary sources, this technique has increased efficiency and decreased costs associated with data collection (Rezigalla., 2020). However, in order to ensure that their findings are reliable and accurate, researchers must carefully assess the caliber and applicability of the data sources they employ. Secondary qualitative research offers a wealth of opportunities for in-depth investigation and a deeper understanding of intricate study concerns.

Figure 3.4.1: Secondary Qualitative research design

The above figure has represented the process of the secondary qualitative research design. In the first step of the research process the topic of the research is identified after that the research sources are identified in the second step. In the third step the existing data are collected for the proper understanding of the research topic (Borgianni and Maccioni., 2020). In the next step of the research study the theories and the hypothesis are combined and compared following the deductive research approach and the deductive research approach helps to reduce the amount of data and the hypothesis by testing them in the real scenario. In the last step of the research study the finalized data are analyzed for the better result and the themes in the data have been identified in this research study in the last step of the secondary qualitative research.

• Justification: The use of a secondary qualitative research design in this study has been justified by the abundance of pre-existing qualitative data on customer satisfaction and service quality. Using the results of previous study, this approach has allowed for the thorough investigation of a variety of perspectives and experiences (Curtis, et al., 2022). Time and money have been saved, and a deeper exploration of the factors influencing service quality and consumer preferences has been made possible. To guarantee reliability and validity, a methodical examination of data sources is crucial. The addition of secondary qualitative research, which offers fresh viewpoints and elucidates the techniques employed to raise service quality, strengthens the study.

3.5 Data collection

Gathering data is an essential part of any research project. It offers precise data that enables researchers to successfully address their study questions. Furthermore, by reducing bias and boosting generalizability it guarantees reliability. Therefore, in order to provide reliable results that increase our understanding of their respective domains, researchers must place a high priority on the thorough planning and implementation of data gathering procedures. Researchers can make well-informed conclusions based on evidence rather than conjecture or subjective opinions thanks to data collecting. It offers a strong foundation on which to infer conclusions and offer suggestions for upcoming courses of action or policies (Cohen, et al., 2020). Research studies wouldn't be legitimate or credible if proper data gathering wasn't done. For the information regarding the cross cultural competencies, this study has only used secondary qualitative data gathered from earlier investigations.

Figure 3.5.1: Different types of secondary data

The above figure has represented the different types of the secondary data and the secondary data can be divided according to the source of the data and also according to the research strands also. Depending upon the data source there are internal data sources and the external data source. In the internal data sources the data is generally gathered from the different organizations and companies and in this internal data collection the emails sales reports are generally gathered from the company and organization. The external data sources are the government statistics articles and the reports, which is generally outside of any organization and available in the public domain and anybody can access the data. On the other hand depending on the research strands the secondary data are divided into two parts one is the quantitative data and the other is the qualitative data (Shi, et al., 2020). The quantitative data are detonated as the numbers, and the qualitative data are not denoted in number.

• Justification: In this research study, secondary data has been collected and the secondary data collection method has been followed throughout the research study. The secondary data has been used as the research study is completely dependent on the previous research results and the findings and aimed to find out more strategies so that the cross cultural competencies can be efficiently practiced in the different organization for better business growth. Further, it is justified that the secondary data collection has been the appropriate method for the data collection and the data analysis.

3.6 Analysis of the data

The evaluation of the theme analysis to identify the intended outcomes has been the main focus of this study (Scolnic, et al., 2022). In secondary qualitative research, thematic analysis has concentrated on examining and assessing recurring themes, patterns, or ideas from the published studies. It has taken a lot of work to become familiar with the data, code, and develop themes. Scholars have meticulously examined the collected data, extracted the relevant information, and arranged it into helpful groups (Koop., 2022). Using this analytical approach has given researchers a comprehensive understanding of the study problem, enabling them to make connections and extract insights from a larger number of studies.

3.7 Ethical considerations

The ethical considerations in the research study are important as it helps to protect the integrity and the authenticity of the research study. Along with that the ethical consideration also helps in protecting the data of the participants (Suri., 2020). The usefulness of the study and the impact of the study increased, when all the ethical requirements are followed properly in the starting of the research study.

• All the participants and the team members are fully versed about the objective of the research study and it has been confirmed that there are no risks involved. Along with that, it has been ensured that the participants are free and informed about the consent.
• The researchers have encrypted the data that has been collected from the primary resources and the secondary resources both (Suskind, et al., 2022). Before starting the research study it has been seen that the data has been kept private and only going to be used for the research purpose.
• Researchers are ethically obligated to protect study participants' privacy and personally identifiable information. Personal data needs to be secure and shared only when required. In this situation, appropriate legislation must be taken into consideration in order to significantly secure sensitive information.

3.8 Summary

The research has been performed efficiently by choosing the proper research methodologies prior to the research. For performing this research study the interpretivism research philosophy has been undertaken so that the theories and the hypothesis can be properly interpreted along with that the deductive research approach has been undertaken for the proper analysis of the hypothesis and theories. Along with that it has been also seen that the secondary qualitative research design has been followed to perform thematic analysis and the secondary data has been utilized for analyzing the trends in the cross cultural competencies in the GSK. Along with that the impact has been also analyzed in the leadership of any team in the organization.

Chapter 4: Result and discussion

4.1 Introduction

This chapter is aimed at providing a detailed understanding of the importance of developing cross-cultural competencies by the leaders of companies such as GSK to influence their capabilities of innovation through effective management of diverse teams. This chapter has included a range of themes to determine the ways different variables such as cross-cultural leadership competencies, team diversity, innovation and expansion of an organisation’s global reach are related closely to each other.

4.2 Thematic analysis

4.2.1 Cross-cultural competence in leadership to enhance diversity at GSK

Cross-cultural leadership aids in keeping individuals belonging to various cultures together and directing them towards a common or shared objective. Embracing a diverse cultural-perspective can help in fostering innovation in organizations through making well-rounded decisions. Cross-cultural leaders influence their team members to share unique opinions, ideas and opinions indicating the leaders’ capability of enhancing inclusion and diversity in the workplace. For example, GSK has focused on building its approach to diversity and inclusion for its people. Therefore, the leader of the organisation is required to develop cross-cultural competence to promote diversity.

Cross-cultural leaders are competent enough to address different types of cultural biases within teams and therefore they can ensure inclusion in diverse teams. In GSK, a target has been set to have at least 30% of leaders from an ethnically diverse population by 2025 and therefore, the organisation has targeted to increase the representation of the diverse group in the leadership positions (GSK, 2021). The major aim of GSK in enhancing inclusion along with diversity within its team is achieving its purpose. The organisation has been committed to making sure that the workforce of the organisation reflects diverse communities and leadership of the organisation reflects the diverse workforce (GSK, 2021). It would never be possible to achieve this objective without focusing on enhancing cross-cultural competencies in leadership.

Figure 4.1: Board diversity at GSK

Ethnically diverse groups in teams tend to have different types of needs or preferences. Therefore, a cross-culturally competent leader can have the ability to determine these needs. It is because of the high level of cultural intelligence of the cross-culturally competent leaders that helps them understand the ways they should adapt their existing approaches and strategies of leading teams based on the different needs of the diverse teams (Homan et al. 2020). It was found in 2021 that the board consisted of 15% of people from ethnically diverse groups (Gsk, 2021). It indicates the leadership focus on increasing team diversity to improve the overall performance of the organisation.

4.2.2 Cross-cultural Leadership for Improvement of Global team-management

GSK is a leading biopharma company operating in the global marketplace and therefore, it is required to manage a global team comprising people from various cultural backgrounds. This requires cross-cultural competency of leaders to manage people from different cultural backgrounds. Cross-cultural competencies of leaders can ensure effective management of the global team of GSK. To manage global teams, enhancing trust and collaboration is imperative to drive team productivity (Mangia, 2021). In this context, valuing heterogeneity among team members is further essential for enhancing motivation among the team members. A cross-cultural leader is capable of understanding the need to value the differences among the team members.

Therefore, it can aid in proper management of the global teams through proper understanding and management of their exact needs. The COVID-19 pandemic caused the organisation to create virtual teams to ensure the safety of the workers. Thus, it reduced the scope for face-to-face interactions among people resulting in communication gaps. During this time, most of the organisations had to face problems in managing the conflicts that arose within cross-cultural virtual teams resulting from linguistic barriers, communication issues and various cultural perspectives. Therefore, ensuring cross-culturally competency in leadership was essential during this time to address these challenges.

GSK in this regard, has rolled out its capability module namely “Leading Diverse Team” and the module is aimed at enabling the leaders and managers to develop an inclusive culture to handle the diverse group of workers in the global environment in an efficient way (Gsk, 2021). It required the leaders of the organisation to consider enhancing cross-cultural team-management skills to manage the cultural diversity within global teams. Cross-culturally competent leaders can adapt their ways of leading in different situations and therefore, when managing diversity in global teams, these leaders can understand the different perspectives of the team-members properly.

4.2.3 Fostering innovation through cross-cultural leadership

Cross-cultural teams are able to foster innovation in organisations as people from various cultural backgrounds tend to possess various skills and knowledge that add a new dimension to the organisational capability of innovation. Cultural context plays a significant role in ensuring organisational agility and therefore, the development of cross-cultural competencies has become imperative for the leaders at organisations such as GSK. The global pharmaceutical sector has become largely competitive, requiring organisations to increase their innovation abilities. Diverse teams are capable of coming up with innovative solutions for addressing the competitive threats in the business environment. A few leaders in pharmaceutical sector have focused on driving innovation to address the competitive threats and in this regard, they have emphasised embracing inclusive behaviour to manage diverse teams (Jones et al. 2021). This requires the leaders to understand the ways of adopting inclusive approaches to manage people’s behaviour in diverse teams.

Inclusive leaders generally excel in proper cross-cultural interactions that can help in promoting diversity within teams. These leaders encourage people to express or communicate their views and opinions irrespective of their ethnicity, race, cultural background and so on (Ashikali et al. 2021). Therefore, a diverse range of opinions from people enhances the chances of innovation resulting in an increase in the competitive edge of the organisations. In GSK, innovation has always been emphasised not only to increase its ability to survive successfully in the fiercely competitive pharmaceutical-sector, however, also to achieve its major purpose of uniting talent, science and technology to find innovative solutions continuously to serve the community (Gsk, 2022). It has been possible through increased leadership focus on effective management of diversity within teams to enhance scopes for innovation.

4.2.4 Expansion of market reach of companies like GSK through cross-cultural leadership

Expansion into foreign markets helps businesses increase their revenue and customer base leading to the overall success and growth of the organisations. Therefore, expanding market reach is essential for all companies to increase their competitive advantage in the global market (Azeem et al. 2021). In this context, operating successfully in the global environment requires a proper understanding of the cross-cultural perspectives in the global marketplace and the leaders of organisations are therefore required to develop their cross-cultural competencies to operate properly in a global marketing environment. Cross-cultural competencies among leaders enhance their ability to understand the strategies that need to be adopted to address different stakeholder needs in the global-marketing environment.

Figure 4.2: Top position of GSK in the global-vaccine market

For example, GSK has been capable of expanding itself in the global-vaccine market while maintaining its position as one of the top pharmaceutical organisations in the market (Statista, 2023). It has been possible through continuous development of the innovation capabilities of the organisation and effective management of team diversity has always played a crucial role in fostering innovation. Increased scope for innovation has resulted in bringing revolutionary changes in product development and the cross-cultural leadership competencies have therefore helped in ensuring successful expansion of the company in the global market.

4.3 Discussion

Cross-cultural competencies in leadership can help in understanding diverse expectations and needs of stakeholders including customers, employees and business partners. Therefore, in today’s fiercely competitive world, it has become crucial for businesses operating in every industry including pharmaceutical industry to develop their ability to understand the changes in stakeholders’ needs especially when operating in a global marketplace. In this context, leaders possessing a high level of cultural competence are capable of adapting their leadership styles and approaches based on the changes in demand in different marketplaces (Dogra and Dixit, 2019). Theme 4.2.1 has provided a clear understanding of the ways cross-cultural competence in leadership is increasingly becoming essential to managing team diversity. As organisations operate in the global-market, they are required to deal with people belonging to different cultural backgrounds, races and ethnicities. Thus, it is essential for the leaders to have a clear understanding of the ways of managing differences among people belonging to different cultural backgrounds to enhance the overall ability of organisations such as GSK to improve their performance. As opined by Kamales and Knorr (2019), cross-cultural leaders always try to ensure that all the people in the teams feel comfortable enough to express their different opinions or perspectives. In GSK, the leaders have always ensured the representation of people from different cultural backgrounds in their leadership boards.

Further, in the second theme, it has been found that cross-cultural leaders are highly capable of managing diversity within global teams. As cited by Sun (2023), cross-cultural teams in the global environment require strong leaders to manage their cultural differences. A strong leader possesses cross-cultural coordination and communication skills to ensure effective management of global teams. The leader of GSK has been committed to ensuring a high level of diversity within global teams through the adoption of inclusive team-management approaches. In GSK, the focus is always on the adoption of an inclusive approach to retain and attract outstanding talents regardless of the cultural or ethnic backgrounds of people.

The major reason why the organisation focuses on inclusion is that it enhances access to a diverse range of skills and competencies that enhance the scope for innovation in the organisation (Gsk, 2023). Therefore, it enhances the ability of the organisation to increase its competitive advantages. In the third theme, it has been found that cross-culturally competent managers and leaders are capable of enhancing innovation in their organisations as they tend to be efficient enough to interact efficiently with the cross-cultural teams and therefore, it enhances their ability to drive innovation. In this regard, it is to be noted that they are also able to resolve all kinds of cross-cultural conflicts efficiently, which reduces the risks associated with deterioration in team motivation and performance.

Figure 4.3: Cross-cultural leadership and cultural adaptability

Therefore, cross-culturally competent leaders can manage the teams’ differences in an effective manner and the factor that influences this ability is their cultural intelligence. As cited by Kai Liao et al. (2021), cross-cultural competence of leaders influences their cross-cultural adaptability to a significant extent. Therefore, they can understand the ways they should respond to the changes in the management of cross-cultural teams.

Their ability to manage cross-cultural teams further influences motivation within teams in a positive way. Thus, their interest in coming up with innovative solutions to enhance the organisation’s competitive advantage in the global market. In this regard, the fourth team has discussed the ways cross-cultural leadership could expand the overall market reach of organisations such as GSK. It has been found that cross-culturally-competent leaders are highly capable of understanding the diverse needs of the stakeholders, which enhances the capability of the organisation to adopt strategies that can ensure the satisfaction of those needs. The study of Luo (2022) has found that cross-culturally-competent leaders can help organisations in reaching the foreign consumers and addressing their expectations properly as the possess effective cross-cultural interaction skills and cultural intelligence. In case of GSK as well, continuous attention towards the development of cross-cultural leadership is enhancing its global reach.

4.4 Summary

It has been found in the chapter that GSK is still working on improving cross-cultural leadership competencies and skills to enhance the ability of the organisation to manage diverse teams. However, to ensure continuous development of innovation capabilities, it is crucial to develop cultural intelligence of the leaders. Therefore, this chapter has aided in determining the reasons behind working on developing cross-cultural leadership and management skills to ensure organisational success in terms of effective global-team management and increased competitiveness.

Chapter 5: Conclusion

5.1 Introduction

This section will link the results and discussion of the study with the objectives of the research. Linking with different objectives and results will help provide recommendations based on studying the recent trends in the employment market. This section will also be helpful to provide a detailed future scope of the study.

5.2 Summary

Cross-cultural competence is one of the major competencies of leaders of an organisation to maintain diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. Without having cultural intelligence and awareness, leaders will not be able to understand the differences in the cultural context of employees from diverse backgrounds (Setti et al. 2022). GSK is one of the biggest MNCs of an organisation and working on cross-cultural competence of existing leaders will help the organisation gain more cultural reputation compared to competitors.

5.3 Linking with Objectives

• Linking with Objective 1: The first objective was to understand the concept of cross-cultural competencies. Analysis of literature and analysis of case studies from different business organizations has shown that cross-cultural competency indicates the high level of cultural awareness and intelligence of people in a workplace (Shepherd et al. 2019). A high level of cross-cultural competency in an organisation means that the organisation promotes cultural diversity and inclusivity by recruiting workers by analysing their level of cultural intelligence. GSK is one of the reputed multinational pharmaceutical brands of the UK which requires staff from different countries and cultures (Rizhamadze, 2020). As a result, GSK has to maintain a high level of cross-cultural competence to manage people from different cultural diversity. As an example, without knowing the cultural diversity of a country the higher authorities of the GSK will not be able to understand the cultural barriers to implementing new medicinal policies or testing new medicines. As a result, recruiting staff from different cultural contexts and diverse backgrounds will help GSK maintain their level of cultural competence.
• Linking with Objective 2: The second objective was to understand the importance of cross-cultural competence in leadership. Analysis of case studies of MNCs across the world has revealed that MNCs need leaders with a high level of class cultural competence as it helps to eradicate all negative biases including cultural bias from the organisation. During the literature review, it has been revealed that organisations with high employee retention rates have leaders from diverse cultural backgrounds and high levels of cross-cultural competency (Caligiuri et al. 2019). Without having an idea of the cultural background of the majority of employees and their cultural context, the leaders will fail to implement a sustainable workplace. Therefore, cross-cultural competence also promotes the need for democratic leadership in an organisation which facilitates open communication. Leaders of reputed MNCs like Google and Microsoft have established an open communication culture in the workplace which helps employees from diverse cultural backgrounds to present their difficulties to higher authorities. As a result, cultural conflicts are reduced.
• Linking with Objective 3: The third objective was to understand the impact of cross-cultural competencies in GSK. According to the researchers, a lack of cross-cultural competence in an organisation increases the communication gap, decreases the productivity of an organisation and increases the chances of cultural conflict (Aririguzoh, 2022). On the other hand, analysis of the literature from online portals indicates that the cultural context of employees from different countries is different. As an example, people from Asian countries understand implicit communication while employees from Europe need explicit communication according to Hall's cultural context theory (Broeder, 2021). As a multinational organisation, GSK needs employees from different countries and cultures to capture the international market. As a result, cross-cultural competence is needed in GSK to maintain a high level of reputation.
• Linking with Objective 4: Leadership is important in GSK from the point of view of cross-cultural competence. Competitors like AstraZeneca have a high market share in comparison with GSK. AstraZeneca has maintained a constant presence in the pharmaceutical market of the world with leaders and managers having a high level of cultural intelligence (Reinhardt et al. 2020). GSK must change their recruitment policies to recruit employees who have experience in managing employees with diverse cultural backgrounds. It will help the organisation to maintain a sustainable workplace which will help to maintain its productivity also. As a result, GSK will be able to get a high market share by promoting leaders with a high level of cultural intelligence.

5.4 Recommendation

• Arrangement of cross-cultural training programs: Arrangement of cross-cultural training programs like IBM will help GSK to enhance the level of cultural intelligence among the existing higher authorities of the organisation. As an example, close cultural training and workshops help the employees and managers of IBM to increase their awareness of different cultural trends.
• Improvement of mentorship programs: GSK must study the cross-cultural mentorship programs of the top organisations like Google, and Microsoft and the closest competitors like AstraZeneca (Astrazeneca, 2023). It will help GSK to find gaps in their training programs. As a result, the organisation will be able to maintain a high level of diversity and inclusivity in the workplace.
• Establishment of robust communication method: Establishing advanced digital communication technology will be able to maintain a high level of communication between the higher authorities and leaders. As a result, an open communication will be maintained which will encourage employees from diverse backgrounds to share their grievances with higher authorities. It will help GSK to maintain sustainability in the organisation.

5.5 Future Scope

The study will be helpful to implement an effective cross-cultural workshop in the organisation after analysing the results and discussion of the current study. On the other hand, the study will be helpful for higher authorities to understand the current trends in the market which will be helpful to identify the skill gaps of current leadership in GSK. The results and discussion of the study will also help to change the recruitment policies of GSK. Examples of other top-level MNCs will help GSK restructure its recruitment policies to attract employees from diverse cultural backgrounds. The study will also reflect the importance of open communication in the workplace. As a result, the chances of exchanging ideas between higher authorities and employees will be increased. It will facilitate innovation in the workplace. The study will also help the higher authorities of GSK to implement robust Communication technology to implement a high level of communication in the workplace.

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