Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
cultural dimensions
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Comparison
High PD Low PD
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Example
Malaysia?
Finland?
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Finland (33) Malaysia (100)
• Equal rights • People accept a hierarchical
• Superiors accessible order
• Power is decentralized • Power is centralized
• Managers count on the • Subordinates expect to be
experience of their team told what to do
members • The ideal boss is a respected
• Attitude towards managers autocrat
are informal and on first
name basis
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Challenges as an international manager
• Finnish manager has Solutions:
marketing project with •Finnish manager should
a CEO from Malaysia learn in details about
Finnish manager company’s hierarchy,
receives less respect responsibilities of each
than top managers department beforehand
from the same •Finnish manager should
company show great respect to
Malaysian CEO refused Malaysian CEO despite
to provide any answers any misunderstandings
on marketing field
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Individualism &
Collectivism (IND)
Hofstede 2nd Dimension
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Comparison
Individualist Collectivist
• Individual is most • Views of group most
important important
• Independence over • High obligation to the group
dependence • Self is defined in relation to
• Rewards individual others
achievement • Cooperation, not
• Values uniqueness of competition
individual
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Example
South Korea?
USA?
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United States (90) South Korea (18)
• People taking care of themselves • Expect absolute loyalty to group
• Identity based on individual • Decisions based on group
• Decisions based on individual • Identity based on social system
needs • High dependence on organization
• Emphasis on individual initiative and institutions
and achievement • Emphasis on belonging
• Everyone has a right to a private • Private life “invaded” by institution
life and organizations
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Masculinity (MAS)
Hofstede’s 3rd Dimension
The degree of masculinity indicates
whether a society leans more
towards masculine values, or
towards feminine ones.
Comparison
Masculinity values Femininity values
Japan?
Sweden?
Sweden (5)
• the manager should support the employees
• managers strive for consensus, conflicts are
solved by compromising
• people value equality & solidarity
• incentives : free time & flexible working hours
• important to include everyone
• no sense of superiority
Japan (95)
• long working hours, extremely hard working
(hard for women to participate)
• life is a constant competition
• people are motivated if they are fighting with
a winning team
• drive for excellence and perfection
Challenges as an international manager
• The Japanese want to work longer hours than the
Swedish ones
a lack of motivation among Japanese
fe l t pressure and lack of motivation amongSwedish
• Solution:
– show Japanese the company is successful anyway
– draw up work schedule to reduce pressure of staying
longer
Uncertainty avoidance
index (UAI)
Hofstede 4th Dimension
Uncertainty Avoidance Index
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Comparison
High uncertainty Low uncertainty
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Example
Japan?
USA?
USA (46)
• Acceptance for new ideas and innovation
• Do not require many rules
• High trust in the state
• Thoughts are shared with colleagues / boss
• Feedback and criticism are accepted
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Japan (92)
• Japanese taught to prepare for any uncertain
situation avoid any risk
• Ceremonies for all aspects of life
• Much emphasis on etiquette
• It is not accepted to have a disagreement with
your employer
• Questions only answered if the answer is
absolutely certain
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Challenges as an international
manager
• International team, US team members express an idea
for innovation
US team members want to go ahead immediately
Japanese team members wish to take their time to make
absolutely sure that all details are known
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Long term orientation
versus
short term normative
(LTO)
Hofstede 5th Dimension
Long Term Orientation & Short Term
Normative
• 5thdimension
• Added in 1990s
• Confucian philosophy
• Different culture different decision
• Society long term orientation / short term
normative.
• Long term orientation also defined as pragmatism.
Comparison
Long Term Orientation Short Term Normative
• Prepare for the future • Tradition and norms are
• Thrift and effort is more important
largely encouraged • View the societal change
• Ability to adapt with suspicion
traditions in changed • Focus on achieving quick
condition results instead of long
• Perseverance in term benefit
achieving result
Example
Egypt ?
South
Korea ?
South Korea (100)
• Society is more pragmatic and long term
orientated
• Almighty God is not familiar to South Koreans
• People guided by virtues and practical good
examples
• Serve the durability of the companies.
• Serve the stakeholders and society at large for
many generations to come.
Egypt (7)
• Indicates that the society is very normative
• Strong concern with establishing the absolute
Truth
• Normative in their thinking
• Exhibit great respect for traditions
• Small propensity to save for the future
• Focus on achieving quick results
Challenges as an international manager
• Challenges
• Egypt company Profit in three months
• South Korea company Increase in market share
after three years
• Cooperation fail No same objective
• Understand the culture and come up with an win-
win proposal to satisfy both objective is important.
Indulgence vs. Restraint (IVR)
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Comparison
Indulgence Restraint
•Free gratification •Strict social norms
•Individual happiness and •Lower % of happy people
leisure time are important •Positive emotions not freely
•Higher % of people expressed
declaring themselves very •A perception of
happy helplessness: what happens
•Positive emotions freely to me is not my own doing
expressed and •Leisure time not given much
remembered importance
•Loose gender roles
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South Korea?
Sweden?
Sweden (78)
• Solution:
– Hire more employees so that overtime is not
necessary flexible working hours and free time
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Video
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Conclusion
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References
• http://geert-hofstede.com/dimensions.html
• http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_66.htm
• http://geert-hofstede.com/countries.html
• http://www.communicaid.com/cross-cultural-training/blog/indulgence-
vs-restraint-6th-dimension/#.VCQmNk0riUk
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Thank you!
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