Assignment No: 1

12/13/2020
Comparing and contrasting, The Manager, Management functions and working
cultures of following countries;

a) Russia (in Light of the USSR)

b) ii. United States
c) iii. Western Europe

The manager:

Male managers are influential in the industries of the United States. Women are just 5% of
Fortune 500 CEOs, falling from a historical level of 6% in 2017, in a study conducted by the
center of American Advancement. In Russian companies, the ratio of female managers/CEOs
is less than in the US. Moreover in Western Europe, the female CEOs are also less than the
US but greater than Russia. In the world economic survey the United States lies on 53rd,
Russia lies on 81st and most of the western European countries lie below 50 with respect to
Gender Gap in 2020. The managers in the United States are from the upper or higher class,
In Russia, the managers are from the upper-middle class.

The managers in the United States are highly educated and have more degrees in Business
than in other fields. On the other hand, the Russian counterparts have more college degrees
than the US. Most of the Russian managers have more engineering and technical degrees,
unlike US managers who have more Business degrees. The European managers are also
highly educated but less than the US counterparts. The European managers have also degrees
in Business but fewer Degrees than the US managers. In one of the surveys conducted in
1999 to check the educational level of the managers in the US and Western Europe, it was
noted that 11% of Western European managers had MBA degrees as compared with 39%
MBA degrees to their US counterparts.

Moreover, the career of most of US managers is in marketing (32%) then, in production and
operations (20%), and in finance and accounting (27%) and the remaining goes in HR and
other related fields. These percentages have been changing with the passage of time. On the
other hand, the managers in Russia start their careers in engineering and other technical
fields. They join IT companies from the lower level and work hard to reach the CEO level. In
addition, the managers in Western Europe begin theirs in marketing, finance, operations,
HRM, and many other fields in the companies. The western European countries do the MBA
and join the companies as managers and work hard to reach CEO positions. And the choice
of career in different areas has changed over a period of time.
Furthermore, the managers, as well as CEOs in the United States, are highly paid than the
counterparts in Russia and Western Europe. In 2005 The Consultancy pearl Meyer and
partners have depicted in its survey report that average pay to US CEOs in 200 largest
companies is $11.3 million which is 2.5 times greater than the 100 companies listed on the
London stock exchange. It is difficult to compare the salaries in Europe but comparatively the
salaries of the Western European managers is lower than the US managers. The pay is lower
in Russia than both United States managers and the Eastern European managers.

In the United States, managers and CEOs frequently move across different organizations or
companies. It means competent and talented managers can leave and join any organization
easily. The reason behind the high mobility of the managers in the US is that companies
prefer external hiring. In Standard and poor 500 40% of CEOs were recruited through
external hiring. As compared to the US the manager mobility in the Eastern European System
was lower in the past. The reason behind it was fewer incentives to leave the firm and join
another firm. Another reason not to leave the company in Western Europe was that many
managers want career advancement and want to achieve high positions in the company so,
they start from the lower level and work in that company for many years to attain a high
position. Moreover, manager mobility is also low in the Russian management system as
compared to US and European counterparts

The Management Functions:

The planning by US managers is more formalized, long-range, consultancy based, and based
on the changing environment. In more simple words we can say that US managers make
written plans which means all tasks are clearly mentioned, the time of each activity is
mentioned, the labor is assigned for each activity, and is clearly mentioned in that written
plan. Instead of this, the planning of US managers is long-range. It means US managers not
only think for shorter but also for the long-term. US managers involve external experts in
their planning and proper changes are made in planning as the environment changes. In
contrast, European companies planning is less formalized as well as less long-range.

In one study conducted in Germany, it was reported that most of the Western European firm's
planning was less detailed, short-range, and less environmental scanning based than the US
counterparts. Moreover, it was reported that there was less communication between the
headquarters and subsidiaries.
On the other hand the planning in the Russia or previously soviet socialist is more centralized
than US and Eastern European economies. The managers implement the planning given by
the top management. In the United States and Europe, there is the concept of the free market
but in Russia, the markets are not free they are rigorously monitored and managed by the
central government. As a result of this centralized system, there is many bad consequences on
the different sectors such as inefficient production, lots of wastages, labor laziness, etc.

In the United States, the controlling is done internally as well as externally. By externally I
mean many stakeholders such as creditors, capital markets, and customers affect the
companies in the US. Whenever the performance of companies declines these external
controllers try to warn the company to insist the company improve in its operations. In
addition to the internal controlling US, companies are also controlled by the board of
directors. The owners of the company give the right to the board of directors to select the
executives, advice, and reward and fire the managers in the company. During the controlling
process, the shareholders are kept in mind rather than stakeholders. Hostile takeovers and
mergers and acquisitions are common in US companies than in Europe and Russia. As
compared to the US the controlling in the European management system is based on the
Stakeholders than the stockholders. Moreover, like the US system, the board of directors
controls the company keeping in view the concerns of the employees, customers,
bondholders, suppliers, creditors, and public. Furthermore, Takeovers are very rare in
European culture. Mostly the government resist the hostile takeover of the company for the
sake of stakeholders and try to protect the local firms from the international firms.

In the Soviet management system government has more influence in the controlling and in
supervision of most of the companies as compared to the US. Soviet is have similarities in
controlling system with the European system in terms of stakeholders view and hostile
takeovers. No takeovers occur in this system. In the United States, the managers are more
autonomous than in Russia where the branch supervisor is more important. The communist
party in this system monitor and oversee its political, social, economic, ideological interest in
each enterprise.

Organizing means integrating, coordinate human as well as non-human resources such as

capital, inputs, and other material necessary for the completion of the task. In the United
States, the lower-level managers are given authority to complete the task in the way they
want to complete it. So, in simple words, we can say that managers are encouraged to do the
tasks in a flexible way. This delegation of authority to the lower managers in the United
States is because of the lower power distance. While on the other hand in the European
management system the authorities are not transferred to lower employees as much as in the
US. European management involves only the heads of each sector in planning instead of the
lower employees. The flexibility is the European System is not as much as in the US.
Moreover, in Soviet the enterprises are based on the cost system than the profits as compare
to the US and European system. So, the organization of the resources is done accordingly.
While organizing the Shareholder's interests are in kept in mind in the US, unlike the Soviet
and Europe where the Stakeholders' concerns are preferred more than the stockholders or
shareholders. There is public disclosure of the documents or financial statements in the US as
compared to the Soviet where no public disclosure is allowed. The managers who do not
perform well in the US are given warnings and if after warning don’t improve are fired but in
the Soviet, the managers are treated harshly as much as in the US.

The function of directing refers to instructing, disseminating, overseeing, motivating, and

challenging the managers in the organization. In the United States, interpersonal
communication is more preferred and many orders and directions are given directly to the
subordinates by their supervisors. Authoritarian culture is not as much liked as in Soviet and
Europe. In the United States management System managers are highly motivated by
monetary incentives such as money, perks, allowances, and remuneration, and they are also
motivated by non-monetary incentives such as gratification, and recognition.

As compare to the US the European managers are more oriented to the people. Western
European managers are more risk-averse than their US counterparts. Subordinates are tightly
supervised unlike the US where the subordinates are not tightly checked but they are given
powers to complete the task and they do not interfere in their privacy. As we know as
compare to the US the European countries are majorly collectivist societies so the motivation
for a wage, perks, and rewards is lesser. There is more acceptance of authoritarian leaders in
western European companies.

In the Soviet system, the power distance is high which means that their hierarchical system
the orders are given from the top. No direct communication with lower cadre as compare to
the US. Moreover, we also know the Russian is a collectivist society so there is less
motivation for wages, incentives, rewards, and other monetary benefits than the US
counterparts. There is high uncertainty avoidance in Russia which means orders from the top
management are accepted.

The working culture:

The working environment in the United States is professional and also causal.so, it is not
surprising in the US if employees come with pets because it is common there. People come in
the causal dresses unless they are told by their companies for specific dresses. Moreover, the
work schedules are flexible which means that employees are given the right to complete their
working hours any time during the working hours of the company. The environment in the
office is informal, no hierarchy between the supervisors and their subordinates. Employees
are treated equally and their views are incorporated in the planning. Normally work hours are
eight. Normally employees go to the office from 9 AM to 5 PM. The managers in the US are
very punctual of the time and they go to offices on time and leave on time. Privacy of the
managers in the workplace is ensured by the company.

Moreover, Western European culture is a high context culture means the message can be
communicated through informal cues or non-verbal communication. The work environment
is informal in Western Europe. There is a bad view of the failure in the company. The
government has more influence on companies than the US. The labor unions are more active
in Western European companies than their US counterparts. Employees work under
collective bargaining. There is flexible working hour schedules in the workplace for lower as
well as for top managers.

In Russia, people don’t stop working even on weekends but in the US the managers spend
leisure time with their families. There are privacy issues in the Russian companies, employers
can put security checks on you in office but in the US this not the case. The Russian
workplace is more formal. The employees are called with title and their surname in the office.
There is an apparent hierarchy in the workplace and the chain of command is followed and
valued. People are more punctual in Russia. In the Russian workplace, working hours are
from 9.00 am to 6.00 p.m. from Monday to Friday. Russian dressing for work is very formal
and traditional. Men wear suits and ties, and women wear skirts or pants in their dresses and
suits. In the Russian workplace, wearing a well-cut and impressive suit, especially one on the
more costly side of things, will create a positive impression.
References:

1. https://www.path2usa.com/office-environment-work-culture-in-
us#:~:text=Employees
2. https://www.expatbriefing.com/country/russia/employment-and-business/work-
culture-and-labour-market-for-expats-in-russia.php
3. https://careerprofessor.works/work-culture-russia/
4. https://wbl.worldbank.org/en/data/exploretopics/wbl_gp