The Four Dimensions Of Culture

Culture

Culture is one important factor that influences the success of MNCs in host country. Culture can be defined as values, beliefs, practices followed by a group of people, which shapes their behaviour and attitudes. MNC may try to bring the culture of the home country in the host country, but adjusting with the practices prevailing in the host country and their culture is of importance for the success of the MNC in that country. Example, Walt Disney case of opening the park in Paris. In the beginning the park was a failure, one the cultural practices in Europe was analysed and changes were bought accordingly the amusement park started functioning with profits.

Hofstede, Trompenaars, and Jackson have conducted studies that understand the

These dimensions were developed after conducting a study at IBM. These four dimensions help to understand the behaviour at the workplace. Taking the example of Newzealand and China , the comparison can be made for Hofstede four dimensions(Eileen Crawley).Power distance is at 80 in China and 22 for Newzealand. In China, the society accepts inequality and believes that power is centred with top management, but in Newzealand, the hierarchies are just framed for convenience, there is an informal relationship among the managers and employees. Newzealand has a score of 79 and is known as an individualist culture; here people take care of themselves and self-sufficient in their work. China with a score of 20 is a collectivist country. People prefer to act according to the interest of group (family) and there is always biased behavioural due to this. Both China and Newzealand are masculine societies with a score of 58 and 68 respectively. Both these societies work towards their goal and for the success of the same. China has low uncertainty avoidance score of 30 and Newzealand has an intermediary score of 49.This reflects the importance of rules and regulations to controls risk in the society. Long or Short Term Orientation was another concept added to Hofstede’s study. Newzealand has a low score of 33, which implies that people are more focused on achieving quick results and save less for the future. China has a high score of 87, which implies that it is very pragmatic culture.("Greet-