respond to discussion below

Firstly, operations managers must understand local cultures and business practices because they influence negotiations. For instance, while senior-junior relationships contribute significantly to decision making in businesses located in Japan, horizontal relationships are preferred in the United States (Adachi, 2010). Therefore, culturally aware operation managers understand that while equality in power should be considered when negotiating in the US, the seniority of the individuals involved plays a significant role in ensuring negotiations in Japan are successful. Therefore, poor cultural awareness could result in negotiation breakdowns causing businesses to lose potential alliances or revenue sources.

Aside from being better negotiators, culturally aware leaders manage workers better as they understand them well, unlike their culturally unaware counterparts. Using the previous example, culturally aware managers in Japan treat older workers with respect in line with the regions business practices and culture, ensuring they are comfortable and motivated to work. The failure to do so can hurt employee motivation, resulting in poor organizational performance. For instance, a young, culturally unaware manager in Japan might publicly admonish an older employee in public resulting in backlash from other workers. Hosseini (2014) notes that social needs influence employee motivation significantly. Therefore, culturally aware operations managers can better motivate workers since they can identify social needs such as respecting older workers in Japan.

Lastly, culturally aware operations managers enhance their companys image by ensuring that their corporation respects the cultural norms in each locale and adapts to them. For instance, in the Indian furniture market, customers prefer buying complete products in all aspects, which is why IKEA, a company that allows customers to assemble their furniture, found it cumbersome to penetrate the market (Lawrence et al., 2021). By acknowledging this issue and creating strategies to improve their customers experience, such as making products that are easier to assemble, the company improved its brand image, thereby boosting its sales in the region. Culturally unaware operations managers might not have realized that the Indian culture does not prefer DIY furniture, hurting their companys image, sales, and brand loyalty.