Geert Hofstede was one of the first researchers to analyse the influence of national culture on management practices. According to Geert Hofstede, “There is no such thing as a universal management method or management theory across the globe.” (Summary of Cultural Dimensions Theory 2014). He furthermore developed his initial statement by stating “Management is not a phenomenon that can be isolated from processes taking place in society. It interacts with what happens in the family, at school, in politics, and government.” (Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions: Summary, Forum and Expert Tips 2014). Based on extensive research from 1967 to 1973, Hofstede developed the cultural dimension theory is a framework for cross-cultural management. Culture is “total of the beliefs, rules, techniques, institutions, and artifacts that characterize human populations or “the collective programming of the mind.” (Understanding Cross-Cultural Management, Browaeys et al. 2011, pp131). Hofstede developed the original model after using factor analysis to examine the results of world-wide survey of employee values by IBM in between the 1960s and 1970s. The theory was one that could be used to observe differences between different cultures in a wide range of disciplines, including international management. The original theory proposed only just four dimensions; they include individualism/collectivism(IDV), power distance(PDI), uncertainty avoidance(UAI) and masculinity/ femininity(MAS).Hofstede(1991) stated that these dimensions concern “four anthropological problem areas that different national societies handle differently: ways of coping with inequality, ways of coping with uncertainty, the relationship of the individual with her or his primary group, and...
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...ractices, in the dimensions have influenced the understanding of culture on management practices worldwide within and between companies. Finally with regards to development of global competencies, the cultural dimensions “mediate how competencies are both interpreted and rewarded.” Business and practices has been approached differently because of the cultural dimensions. In terms of negotiations, the dimensions help negotiators to understand and use many different cultures. i.e. planning the specifics of the negotiation. With regards to Globalizing function, Human resources would need to “consider training/learning approaches/methodologies (brainstorming [individualism] vs. small group discussion and presentation [collectivism]; lecture [high power distance] vs. participative approaches [group discussions]; compensation and benefits: individual vs. group rewards).”
According to Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, Mexico has high scores of Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, and Masculinity. We can tell from the scores that Mexico is a hierarchical society that people tend to work and live in orders, which means that there are levels among people and they try to fit into their own positions; people try to avoid unknowns and unwilling to take risks; and gap of values between men and women does exist in Mexico, competition, achievement, and success are emphasized in this society so people want to be the best instead of liking what they do. With low scores of Individualism and Long-term Orientation, Mexico is considered a collectivistic society with a normative culture. It emphasizes loyalty and strong relationships
While there are many various global issues that affect the International Human Resource Management to run efficiently, there are two key concepts that play a major role in understanding how to approach them with cohesive and a well coherent strategy; they are the International Human Recourse Management Strategy and Understanding the Cultural Environment. In the International Resource Management strategy, many companies will do their research in finding companies that offer the following:
Adversity is commonplace for black youth in the inner city. In Patterson’s The Cultural Matrix, there are a plethora of examples that express these various facets of hardship and differentiate the institutional blockades from the cultural obstacles.
Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.
Triandis, H., & Wasti, S. (2008). Culture. In D. Stone, & E. Stone-Romeo, The influence of culture on human resource management processes and practices (pp. 1-24). Psychology Press
With the proliferation of the internet international Business transactions are more common today than ever. Globalization is now a key factor when creating a business strategy for most companies whether they are small family own businesses or huge corporations. Globalization however does not just involve selling a product in other countries. There are legal and cultural concerns that must be addressed. The legal aspects are fairly simple because in most places the laws are spelled out. It's the local customs, and regional way of doing things that can be tricky. Research on globalization has shown that it is not an omnipotent, unidirectional force leveling everything in its path. Because a global culture does not exist, any search for it would be futile. It is more fruitful to instead focus on particular aspects of life that are indeed affected by the globalizing process. (1). In this new economy, as it has been in the past, it will be the people not the machines who will determine a company's success. Having an effective Human Resource Management team that effectively analyze your company's current and future personnel needs is key in any business organization.
The purpose of this paper is to do a personal assessment of Indian culture. I will also be explaining Hofstede's five dimensional model, will use it to analyze the Indian culture and talk about the five dimensional model from my own observations.
In the article, Cultural constraints in management theories, Geert Hofstede examines business management around the globe from a cultural perspective. He explains how he believes there are no universal practices when it comes to management and offers examples from the US, Germany, France, Japan, Holland, China and Russia. He demonstrates how business management theories and practices are very much subject to cultural norms and values and by understanding these differences, it can give managers an advantage in global business practices.
Cultural Differences in Hofstede’s Six Dimensions According to Professor Geert Hofstede, dimensionalizing a culture requires a complex analysis of a multitude of categories including differing nations, regions, ethnic groups, religions, organizations, and genders. Hofstede defines culture as "the collective programming of the mind distinguishing the members of one group or category of people from another". Throughout his many years of contribution as a social scientist, he has conducted arguably the most comprehensive study of how values in the workplace are influenced by culture, leading to the establishment of the Six Dimensions of National Culture. From this research model, the dimensions of Power Distance, Individualism, Masculinity, Uncertainty Avoidance, Long Term Orientation, and Indulgence are defined according to their implication on individual countries, which when comparatively examined provide a broad understanding of cultural diversity as it relates to the workplace. Identification and Definition of the Six Dimensions In initially defining each of Hofstede's dimensions, a foundational understanding of the six categories is established, from which a greater understanding of different cultures can be built off of.
Strong leaders are those who take the time to learn about cultural differences between themselves, their staff and even their customers. For those looking to hone their skill set, reading Hofstede’s six dimensions of culture is an excellent place to start. The six dimensions present the similarities and dissimilarities in an easy to read format. Of course, simply reading the text will not make an expert. Two interesting countries on the index are Angola and Belgium. Angola is a South African country that was first colonized in 1575 by the Portuguese monarchy. Slowly, the monarchy crumbled and Angola began developing their hierarchy (Sajtova, 2011). Belgium was also ruled by other countries before the revolution that ended in 1839 (about Belgium,
Basically, Hofstede’s cultural dimension is divided into five dimensions along which national culture could be described: power distance (PDI), individualism-collectivism (IDV), masculinity-femininity (MAS), uncertainty avoidance (UAI) and long-term orientation versus short-term normative orientation (LTO).
The Hofstede model of national culture differences, based on research carried out in the early seventies, is the first major study to receive worldwide attention. This influential model of cultural traits identifies five dimensions of culture that help to explain how and why people from various cultures behave as they do. According to Hofstede (1997) culture is Ù[ collective programming of the mind? This referring to a set of assumptions, beliefs, values and practices that a group of people has condoned as a result of the history of their engagements with one another and their environment over time. In this study, culture refers to a set of core values and behavioural patterns people have due to socialisation to a certain culture. The author̼ theoretical framework will be applied to compare differing management practices in China and the West. The five measurements of culture identified by the author are:
According to Robbins, DeCenzo, and Coulter (2011) “motivation is the process by which a person’s efforts are energized, directed, and sustained toward attaining a goal” (p. 267). Organizations are always looking for new ways to motivate employees. In a global economy it is important to understand that cultural differences can impact how an organization can motivate its employees. Geert Hofstede (as cited in Sledge, Miles, & Coppage, 2008) believed there are five dimensions of culture. These five dimensions are power distance, individualism versus collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity versus femininity, and Confucian dynamism (p. 1670). This paper will discuss each dimension of culture and how they could effect employee motivation.
In chapter 1, the true definition of culture within social life will be emphasized with the aim to further clarify the importance of culture within everyday life and human interaction. There are different definitions of culture and this chapter highlights quite a few. There will also be a focus on the Nigerian culture using Hofstede’s dimensions of culture and Hall’s model of cultural differences.
Miroshnik, V. (2002). Culture and international management: a review' The Journal of Management Development 21(7): 521-544