Different dimensions of culture Cultural differences between countries can be difficult to work through for businesses. The actions and believes of others in different cultures can be shocking and sometimes viewed as unethical by other cultures. Imagine the problems these differences can create when in negotiations with a different culture. Working through those differences has become a necessity for business today in the fast growing global market. To successfully do business in the international market it has become critical to understand other cultures that you may be doing business with. To fully understand different cultures we need to explore the dimensions of different cultures. To effectively begin to understand different cultures you will need to identify whether the culture is a high-context culture or a low context-culture. In high-context culture, people rely heavily on nonverbal and subtle situational messages when communicating with others (Kreitner, 2009 pg 97). This type of culture is highly important when doing business in Japan and Hong Kong. People from low-context cultures convey messages and meaning primarily with words (Kreitner, 2009 pg 97). This type of culture is highly important when doing business in Germany and Great Britain. To gain even further in-depth understanding of other cultures we will look at nine different dimensions. The first dimension to focus on is the power distance. This dimension analysis the extent to which the less powerful members of society expect and accept that power is distributed unequally ("Making sense of," 2009). The fundamental issue here is how society handles inequalities among people. People in societies exhibiting a large degree of power distance accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has a place and which needs no further justification. In societies with a low power distance, people strive to equalize the distribution of power and demand justification for inequalities of power. For example, Germany has a 35 on the cultural scale of Hofstede’s analysis. Compared to Arab countries where the power distance is very high (80); Germany is somewhat in the middle. Germany does not have a large gap between the wealthy and the poor, but have a strong belief in equality for each citizen. On the other hand, the power distance in the United States scores a 40 on the cultural scale. The United States exhibits a more unequal distribution of wealth compared to German society. As the years go by it seems that the distance between the ‘have’ and ‘have-nots’ grows larger and larger ("Making sense of," 2009). The second dimension to focus on is Uncertainty and Avoidance. Uncertainty avoidance deals with a society’s tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity; it ultimately refers to man’s search for Truth ("Making sense of," 2009). This demonstrates the cultures comfort ability in unstructured situations. For example, in Germany there is reasonable high uncertainty avoidance (65). Germans are not too keen on uncertainty; by planning everything carefully they try to avoid the uncertainty. In Germany there is a society that relies on rules, laws and regulations. The United States scores a 46 compared to the 65 of the German culture. Uncertainty avoidance in the US is relatively low, which can clearly be viewed through the national cultures ("Making sense of," 2009). Countries that do not deal with uncertainty well typically have strict laws and policies in place to avoid it. The third dimension to focus on is Institutional Collectivism. Institutional collectivism is the degree to which organizational and societal institutional practices encourage and reward collective distribution of resources and collective action ("Defining and identifying," 2009). This demonstrates the extent in which institutes and society reward loyalty. The fourth dimension to focus on is In-Group Collectivism. In-Group Collectivism is the degree to which individuals express pride, loyalty, and cohesiveness in their organizations or families ("Defining and identifying," 2009). This demonstrates the extent individual’s value loyalty to their organizations. Individualist cultures, such as those of the United States and Western Europe, emphasize personal achievement at the expense of group goals, resulting in a strong sense of competition. Collectivist cultures, such as those of China, Korea, and Japan, emphasize family and work group goals. The fifth dimension to focus on is Assertiveness. Assertiveness is the degree to which individuals are assertive, confrontational, and aggressive in their relationships with others. This demonstrates how aggressive and confrontational or passive a culture is ("Defining and identifying," 2009). The sixth dimension to focus on is Gender Equality. Gender Equalitarianism is the degree to which a collective minimized gender inequality ("Defining and identifying," 2009). Gender identities and gender relations are critical aspects of culture because they shape the way daily life is lived in the family, but also in the wider community and the workplace. While the specific nature of gender relations varies among societies, the general pattern is that women have less personal autonomy, fewer resources at their disposal, and limited influence over the decision-making processes that shape their societies and their own lives. The seventh dimension to focus on is Future Orientation. Future orientation is the degree to which a collective encourages and rewards future-oriented behaviors such as planning and delaying gratification. This demonstrates the need to focus on the future as compared to the present ("Defining and identifying," 2009). Western society is the prime example of a future-oriented culture, and even for us it is a relatively recent invention, really only arising during the Renaissance. Present-oriented folks think only about the here and now, not considering how their acts relate to tradition or will affect their happiness in the future. They are impulsive and will not delay immediate gratification for some greater future reward (MacDonald, 2006). The eighth dimension to focus on is Performance Orientation. Performance orientation is the extent to which a community encourages innovation, high standards, excellence, and performance improvements ("Defining and identifying," 2009). The greater the importance of performance orientation, the more central it becomes in the individual’s evaluation of an advertisement. On the other hand, if performance orientation is perceived as less important by individuals in a particular country, then the level of perceived performance orientation will likely play a less significant role in the judgment of that advertisement (Diehl, Terlutter & Mueller). The ninth dimension to focus on is Human Orientation. Human orientation is the degree to which an organization or society encourages and rewards individuals for being fair, altruistic, friendly, generous, caring, and kinds to others ("Defining and identifying," 2009). This measures how much the culture is towards being generous, kind, and fair to others.
Understanding different cultures and believes can result in positive outcomes in negotiations between different cultures. In beginning to understand the differences dimensions of a culture you can began realize that some techniques in negotiations to achieve optimal success used in the United States would ultimately achieve unsatisfactory results in other countries. Although countries may seem somewhat similar, the little differences can have a huge impact of how actions and intentions are perceived. Dealing effectively with both coworkers and customers in today’s diverse workplaces requires a good deal of cultural intelligence (Kreitner, 2009 pg 97).
A manager faced with doing business with cultures like Russia, Japan, Hong Kong, France, India, Thailand, and Germany or any combination of these needs to consider the cultural differences in order to be successful. Ignoring the cultural differences can lead to embarrassment or resentment from other cultures.

References:
Defining and identifying a regional culture. (2009, July 8). Retrieved from http://fuquaccl.wordpress.com/2009/07/08/defining-and-identifying-a-regional-culture/
Diehl, S., Terlutter, R., & Mueller, B. (n.d.). The influence of culture on responses to the globe dimension of performance orientation. Retrieved from http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/v35/naacr_vol35_86.pdf
Kreitner, R. (2009). Management. (Eleventh ed.). Mason: South-Western Cenage Learning.
MacDonald, A. (2006, May 16). Future time orientation. Retrieved from http://www.soundpolitics.com/archives/006215.html
Making sense of cross cultural communication. (2009, April 21). Retrieved from http://www.clearlycultural.com/geert-hofstede-cultural-dimensions/power-distance-index/