Hofstede's Five Importance Of Cultural Differences In Business

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Importance of Cultural differences in business Cultural differences not necessarily mean it is the differences among different ethnic group or nationality. It could also be the differences between the 2 different genders (a common term for such difference can also be called as gender discrimination). Cultural differences can be found at almost everywhere and workplace is no exception. It is very important for business to have a good understanding of cultural differences as cultural differences play an equally vital role in improving the organisation’s success level in the corporate world. By having a better understanding of cultural differences across the borders, the organisation may have an upper hand in dealing with challenges/differences …show more content…

Likewise, Singapore has a culture for itself in attempting to attract foreign investment. And this can be established by Geert Hofstede’s five dimensions of culture. The five dimensions consists of Power Distance Index, Individualism, Masculinity, Uncertainty Avoidance Index and Long-Term Orientation. Singapore culture based on Geert Hofstede’s five dimensions as follows – 1) Power Distance Index (PDI) – It is a measurement to show to what extent a society accepts that fact that power in organisations is distributed unequally. As for Singapore’s Power Distance Index, it is 74. This shows that Singaporeans do accept the inequality and are willing to take orders from top levels. 2) Individualism – It is the extent to which the people can act on their own (Individualism) or as a team (Collectivism). And Singapore’s Individualism rate is 20. This means Singaporeans do prefer working in teams more rather than individually/ 3) Masculinity – It is the extent to which a society values quantity of life over quality of life (Masculinity versus Femineity). For this aspect, Singapore has rate of 48. So in Singapore, there is almost a balance in Masculinity and Femineity, which means Singaporeans can be both goal and family

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