Organizational Culture as a Variable that Determines Effective Cross-cultural Management

Traditionally, organizational culture is strongly connected with the culture of a particular country or a region. In Poland more and more organizations have been paying attention to it since the beginning of transformation. Managers and employees are increasingly putting an emphasis on the intentional development of culture in their own business, also during trainings, as this is an important element of organizational success. However, in Poland, which is a conglomerate of various cultural patterns, specifying one common reference point as the main determinant and the basic element of organizational culture in Polish companies is not easy. The transfer of Polish cultural patterns into a different area usually creates problems. Polish organizations also struggle with adopting other cultural patterns. Globalisation and the process of “shrinking” the world lead to the development of international organizations. As a result, new types of organizational culture can be observed. This can be called a blend of cultures or multiculturalism. Managing in such conditions is cross-cultural management. Organizations, managers and employees have to act in such a way in order to, on the one hand, maintain their cultural identity, on the other hand, skilfully adapt and implement elements from other cultures. This gives organizations an opportunity to be creative and competitive in today’s market.