...Five Dimensions of Culture Individual Work Week 6 Raymond D’Aloisio MAN 2501-12 Everest University Orlando South Five Dimensions of Culture Dr Geert Hofstede did some extensive research to create the Five Dimensions of Culture. This research produces some interesting information for everyone to understand. What does this technology have to show us? Does this explain the means that people of different cultures find themselves working together and communicating more? How can we understand cultural differences? From the information Dr Hofstede put together here is a table with the breakdown of his work. “The Five Dimensions of Culture are armed with a large database of cultural statistics, analyzed and found clear patterns of similarity and difference amid responses along these five dimensions.” (Hofstede, G. 1970). The five dimensions are: Power/Distance – refers to the degree on inequality that exist and accepted worldwide. | Characteristics | Tips | High PD | * Centralized companies. * Strong hierarchies. * Large gaps in compensation, authority, and respect. | * Acknowledge a leader's power. * Be aware that you may need to go to the top for answers | Low PD | * Flatter organizations. * Supervisors and * Employees are considered almost as equals. | * Use teamwork. * Involve as many people as possible in decision making. | Individualism – the strength of ties people have within the community. | Characteristics | Tips | High...
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...Model of Cultural Dimensions The main part of Prof. Geert Hofstede’s study or Model of Cultural Dimensions is “how values in the workplace are influenced by culture.” From 1967 to 1973 Prof. Hofstede collected and analyzed data base of employees value scores. Actually this data was collected by IBM from more than 70 countries. The total number of countries was divided into 3 parts to make the analysis easy. In first part they considered largest 40 countries to analyze data. Then he extended the analysis to remaining 40 countries and 3 regions. Based on IBM study replications and extensions, international population and cultural factors includes 74 countries for Prof. Geert Hofstede’s ranking scores from 2001. The four primary Dimensions of Hofstede’s Model to assist in differentiating cultures are: Power Distance – PDI, Individualism – IDV, Masculinity – MAS, and Uncertainty Avoidance – UAI Additional fifth Dimension developed after study with Chinese employees and managers and applied for 23 countries- Based on Confucian dynamism (Long-Term Orientation – LTO) The dimensions are related to the other country, cultural, and religious paradigms. About Hofstede (Small Biography) Name: Gerard Hendrik Hofstede Dutch organizational sociologist Studied: the interactions between national cultures and organizational cultures Date of Birth: 3 October 1928 Place of Birth: Haarlem Work: Author of several books including Culture’s Consequences and Cultures and Organizations...
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...MGMT 501 Paper Assignment Topic The paper should focus on a specific behavioral sciences issue related to the topics covered in the course. The course and textbook present an array of topics from which to choose. For example, topics that fall within the domain of motivation, leadership, group dynamics, organizational culture, and job satisfaction, to name a few, are important, broad areas that have been the subject of much research and discussion in the study of behavior in organizations. When working with such broad topic areas, it is important to narrow the focus of the paper to a specific model or approach. Topics such as the labor market for IT workers, changing demographics in the workforce, or the prevalence of downsizing in the U.S., while interesting, do not necessarily qualify as course-related organizational behavior topics. However, organizational commitment of downsized employees, or motivational strategies for the management of generation Xers, etc., may well be appropriate topics for this course paper. Students may work with a partner (or even a small interest group), and this partnership entails sharing a general topic area and several research references. However, each student should determine his or her own perspective on the topic. For example, one student in a pair can take one position on a paper, while the other adopts an opposing stance (i.e., point-counterpoint). Or one student can research one component of a larger topic, while the other...
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...Explain the utility of dimensions of national culture to an international manager. International University College, Dobrich, Bulgaria Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK International Business Management BA (Hons) International Business & Cultural Difference Assignment 1 Philippe Bergonzoli Bergonzoli.ph@gmail.com Content Introduction 2 Hofstede’s dimensions 2 1-The Power Distance Index 2 2-Individualism versus Collectivism 3 3-Masculinity versus Femininity 4 4-Uncertainty Avoidance Index 4 5-Long Term-Orientation versus Short Term Orientation 5 6-Indulgence versus Restraint 6 Comparison Overview 7 Others theories 7 Schwartz’s dimensions 7 Inglehart’s dimensions 9 GLOBE dimensions 10 Culture Measurement 10 Culturally endorsed implicit leadership (CLT) 11 Conclusion 12 References 13 Introduction The globalization has been the key which allowed the exchange and diversification of different culture. Nowadays, the proper understanding of cultural differences has become a daily matters for businesses because employees, products, services,… are located, are sold and bought across the world (Mirja Ivonen, Diane H. Sonnenwald, Maria Parma, Evelyn Poole-Kober, August 1998). The subject is not new and has been discussed and analyzed for the past four decades (Xiumei Shi, Jinying Wang, 2010). Geert Hofstede, a Dutch social psychologist and professor emeritus of organization anthropology and international management is one of the pioneer...
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...Hofstede's Dimensions of Culture Geert H. Hofstede was born on October 2, 1928 in Haarlem, the Netherlands. He received his M.Sc. from the Delft Institute of Technology in 1953, his Ph.D. (cum laude) from Groningen University in 1967. Hofstede is most well known for his work on four dimensions of cultural variability, commonly referred to as "Hofstede's Dimensions." These include: Uncertainty Avoidance, Power Distance, Masculinity-Femininity, Individualism-Collectivism, and Long-Term/Short Term Orientation. These dimensions were arrived in his 1980 publication, "Culture's consequences: International differences in work-related values." The study took existing survey data (sample size of 116,000) collected from a multinational corporation (IBM). The result was a score in each of the dimensions for 40 different countries. During 1978-83, the Dutch cultural anthropologist Geert Hofstede conducted detailed interviews with hundreds of IBM employees in 53 countries. Through standard statistical analysis of fairly large data sets, he was able to determine patterns of similarities and differences among the replies. From this data analysis, he formulated his theory that world cultures vary along consistent, fundamental dimensions. Since his subjects were constrained to one multinational corporation's world-wide employees, and thus to one company culture, he ascribed their differences to the effects of their national cultures. (One weakness is that he maintained that each country...
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...Hofstede’s and Trompenaars’ Cultural Dimensions. You are also required to briefly analyze the UAE website of papa john’s, providing suggestions on how they can further localize their content for a Gulf audience. 1. Video Presentation and Supporting Document Each student will be required to create a 3-6 minute video presentation (mp4 or other suitable format). Each student MUST produce a video presentation. Failure to provide a video presentation will result in 0% for the ENTIRE individual element of this assessment. The video presentation must be accompanied by a supporting document, using the template provided (maximum word count 1,500 words excluding reference list, appendix etc.) In your video presentation/supporting document, you need to look at a Gulf/Bahraini audience in terms of the following cultural dimensions. Focus on everyday examples about how people socialize, do business, communicate, eat out etc. (a) Uncertainty Avoidance (Hofstede) (b) Collectivism/Individualism (Trompenaars and Hofstede) (c) Universalism/Particularism (Trompenaars) (d) Neutral/Affective (Trompenaars) (e) Look at the Papa John’s UAE website (http://www.papajohns.ae/pj/) and provide 3 relevant examples of how it needs to localize its web content for a Bahraini/Gulf audience. Link your suggestions briefly to your previous analysis. (Bahraini or gulf) Answer: -Part one: (Bases on my own experience) Hofstede’s and Trompenaars’ Cultural Dimensions: Text: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/seven-dimensions...
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...HOFSTEDE: Cultures And Organizations - Software of the Mind Culture as mental programming In Western languages 'culture' commonly means 'civilization' or 'refinement of the mind' and in particular the results of such refinement, like education, art, and literature. This is 'culture in the narrow sense; 'culture one' Culture as mental software, however, corresponds to a much broader use of the word which is common among social anthropologists: this is ‘culture two’. In social anthropology, 'culture' is a catchword for all those patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting referred to in the previous paragraphs. Not only those activities supposed to refine the mind are included in 'culture two', but also the ordinary and menial things in life: greeting, eating, showing or not showing feelings, keeping a certain physical distance from others, making love, or maintaining body hygiene. CULTURE It is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another. It is a collective phenomenon, because it is at least partly shared with people who live or lived within the same social environment, which is where it was learned. Culture is learned, not inherited. It derives from one's social environment, not from one's genes. Culture should be distinguished from human nature on one side, and from an individual's personality on the other: 1 Cultural relativism there are no scientific standards for considering one group...
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...Hofstede's Dimensions of Culture Geert H. Hofstede was born on October 2, 1928 in Haarlem, the Netherlands. He received his M.Sc. from the Delft Institute of Technology in 1953, his Ph.D. (cum laude) from Groningen University in 1967. Hofstede served in the Netherlands Army from 1953 to 1955. In 1955, he married Maaike A. Van den Hoek. They've also "lived happily ever after", but I'm not sure where (probably Brussels, Belgium). Hofstede is most well known for his work on four dimensions of cultural variability, commonly referred to as "Hofstede's Dimensions." These include: Uncertainty Avoidance, Power Distance, Masculinity-Femininity, Individualism-Collectivism, Confucian Dynamism. These dimensions were arrived in his 1980 publication, "Culture's consequences: International differences in work-related values." The study took existing survey data (sample size of 116,000) collected from a multinational corporation (IBM). The result was a score in each of the dimensions for 40 different countries. During 1978-83, the Dutch cultural anthropologist Geert Hofstede conducted detailed interviews with hundreds of IBM employees in 53 countries. Through standard statistical analysis of fairly large data sets, he was able to determine patterns of similarities and differences among the replies. From this data analysis, he formulated his theory that world cultures vary along consistent, fundamental dimensions. Since his subjects were constrained to one multinational corporation's world-wide...
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...The Influence of the Culture dimension ‘Power Distance’ on product choice: A Cross Cultural Exploration of Effects of Country of Origin on the Choice of Branded Products by Adriana Cordeiro Socha A Thesis presented to The University of Guelph In partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Marketing and Consumer Studies Guelph, Ontario, Canada © Adriana Cordeiro Socha, September, 2012 ABSTRACT THE INFLUENCE OF THE CULTURE DIMENSION ‘POWER DISTANCE’ ON PRODUCT CHOICE: A CROSS CULTURAL EXPLORATION OF EFFECTS OF CULTURAL TRAITS ON THE CHOICE OF BRANDED FOREIGN PRODUCTS Adriana Cordeiro Socha University of Guelph, 2012 Advisor Dr. Brent McKenzie Committee Dr. Vinay Kanetkar Dr. Sara Mann This thesis investigates how cultural traits, such as the cultural dimension of Power Distance, influence preference for foreign made branded products. Cultural background influences several aspects of human behaviour, including the behaviours of consumers. In marketing, individual cultural differences affect consumers’ choice as well as their response to advertising message and brand associations. One example, impact on consumer choice, is related to the country of origin (COO) of the product. The effect of COO has been extensively explored in the literature. However, cultural frameworks like those of Hofstede (2001) have seldom been considered as a factor explaining the variability of consumers’ preference (or avoidance) for products originating in different...
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...strategy. However, employees see change as neither something to sought after nor welcome as it is disruptive and intrusive. It changes the balance. In order to fix this difference, managers must put themselves in their employees’ shoes and examine the terms of the personal compacts between the employees and company. Personal compact is the reciprocal obligations and mutual commitments, both stated and implied, between employees and the organization. It has three major dimensions. The first one is the formal dimension wherein employees capture the basic tasks and performance requirements for a job as defined by the company. In return, managers convey the authorities and resources the employees need in order for him to do his job. If it is not clearly stated in the documents, oral agreement is done in this dimension. This formal compact will not ensure that employees will be satisfied with their jobs or that they will make personal commitment that managers expect. The second dimension is the psychological dimension. This addresses aspects of the...
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...1. What are the three dimensions to business problems? Provide examples of each. The first dimension in the reading is organizational dimensions. These can be described as outdated business processes, political conflict, lack of resources, difficulty of task, unsupportive culture and attitudes, and unstable business environment. Second dimension is technology dimension. Outdated hardware and software, lack of database space, inadequate telecommunications capacity, incompatibility of old systems with new technology, and the rapid technological change are some of the descriptions to look at for this dimension. The final dimension of the three is the people dimension. The problems in this area that are described are lack of training, difficulties of evaluating performance, compliance, work environment, lack of overall company support, indecisive and poor management. In order to have a successful business, I believe that finding solutions to these problems will improve the practice is important. What I have seen in the company I work for now is not everyone is vested in the tasks at hand so the attitudes of some people are poor. If the company can get involvement and interest in the Information System by all members of the company that will eliminate some of the problems and possible create ideas on how to financial fund a good system. 2. What is the difference between IT and information systems? Describe some functions of the information system. Information Technology...
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... These differences can be age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, education, experience, and any characteristic used to distinguish between people. (Jones, 2011) To understand the present, a look at the history of diversity in the workplace will be discussed. I will research and discuss the cultural diversity and how managers today have evolved over the years to learn how to handle it. I will discuss certain steps that managers can take to effectively manage the diversity in their workplace. I will look into the business etiquette and protocol of countries like the United States, Mexico, and Japan. I will also look into where these countries fall on Hofstede’s model of national culture. I will also discuss why it’s important for mangers to learn about a culture they are not familiar with when doing business to make sure they don’t offend the other person or company. History of Diversity in the Workplace The workforce slowly changed after World War II as a growing number of minority groups began to speak up and demand fairness among the workers. (Wagner, 1999). In the 18th century up to about 1930, the modern workplace was a “man’s world.” Women that were employed typically occupied the positions of clerk, typists, secretaries or other office positions. Minorities that were in the workplace, typically African-Americans were segregated to work in the service industry such as servants, porters and other manual...
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...one specific definition to the word ‘Innovation’. According to Schumpeter the term contained the novelty aspect, which makes every new ‘thing’ an innovation. With this in mind, I agree more with the definition stated in this article, because it includes different aspects all in one. Aside from the definition, a great number of papers have been written so far, regarding Innovation. Taking into account this previous research, we can say that there are different dimensions of innovation. However few papers discuss different dimensions across different areas at once, this article provides us with various dimensions of organizational innovation. As written in this paper, we can make several divisions when it comes to innovation. First of all there are two dimensions, namely; innovation as a process and innovation as an outcome. These two can be further divided. We have to remember that innovation as a process explains the why question and innovation as an outcome the what question. The latter is the most important dimension, due to its necessity and sufficiency. Furthermore can we divide three determinants of organizational innovation, namely; innovation leadership, managerial levers and business process. Innovation Leadership can occur on individual or group level. Leaders should possess different skills that enable innovation. Managerial levers connects leadership intentions with organizational results and can be divided into five different parts, namely; mission – goals...
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...Question 1 Multinational enterprise (MNE) can be defined as a company in which it has facilities as well as other assets in one or more countries other than their home country. These companies usually have offices and/or factories in various countries where a centralized headquarters is used for global management. Trade union is an association consisting of members whereby their membership is has to be made up of mainly workers. Protecting and improving the interests of its members in the workplace is one of the trade union’s aims. Most of the trade unions are independent of any employer. Nevertheless, trade unions attempt to develop close working affiliations with employers. This can occasionally take the form of a partnership agreement between the trade union and the employer that categorizes their common interests and objectives. The purposes of trade unions are to negotiate agreements with employers on conditions and pay, discuss main changes to the office such as great scale unemployment, concerns with employers, discuss their members, complement their members in grievance and disciplinary meetings, deliver their affiliates with legal and financial advice and provide education facilities and certain consumer benefits such as discounted insurance. Four characteristics of Multinational Enterprise (MNE) that give trade union cause for concern are labor negotiations, offshore outsourcing or offshoring, insourcing and the actions of...
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...promote different views regarding family, work, social, and personal responsibilities. Hofstede's framework was originally comprised of four dimensions. The first dimension - individualism/collectivism - is widely acknowledged as a defining element of culture. In individualistic societies people are expected to look out after themselves, whereas in collectivist societies there is a greater emphasis on group welfare and loyalty. Individualists value independence and self-expression, and tend to believe that personal goals and interests are more important than group interests. In contrast, collectivists tend to view themselves as members of an extended family or organization, place group interests ahead of individual needs, and value reciprocation of favors and respect for tradition. The second dimension - uncertainty avoidance - represents the extent to which people feel uncomfortable or threatened by ambiguous and uncertain situations, and thus create belief systems and institutions in order to promote conformity. Societies with higher levels of uncertainty avoidance place greater value on security (e.g., financial, social), feel a greater need for consensus and written rules, and are intolerant of deviations from the norm. In contrast, individuals with low uncertainty avoidance rely less on written rules and are more risk tolerant. A third dimension - masculinity/femininity - refers to the extent to which a society embraces predominately male or female values. A masculine society places...
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