I have chosen Bangladesh country for my individual project.

Bangladesh was
described in terms of Gerte Hofstede's dimensions.

Power Distance

Bangladesh scores high on this dimension (score of 80) which means that people
accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has a place and which needs no
further justification. Hierarchy in an organization is seen as reflecting inherent
inequalities, centralization is popular, subordinates expect to be told what to do
and the ideal boss is a benevolent autocrat

Individualism

Bangladesh, with a score of 20 is considered a collectivistic society. This is

manifest in a close long-term commitment to the member 'group', be that a
family, extended family, or extended relationships. Loyalty in a collectivist
culture is paramount, and over-rides most other societal rules and regulations.
The society fosters strong relationships where everyone takes responsibility for
fellow members of their group. In collectivist societies offence leads to shame
and loss of face, employer/employee relationships are perceived in moral terms
(like a family link), hiring and promotion decisions take account of the
employees in-group, management is the management of groups.

Masculinity

Bangladesh scores 55 on this dimension and can be considered a Masculine

society. In Masculine countries people live in order to work, managers are
expected to be decisive and assertive, the emphasis is on equity, competition
and performance and conflicts are resolved by fighting them out.

Uncertainty Avoidance

Bangladesh scores 60 on this dimension and thus has an high score. Countries
exhibiting high Uncertainty Avoidance maintain rigid codes of belief and
behaviour and are intolerant of unorthodox behaviour and ideas. In these
cultures there is an emotional need for rules (even if the rules never seem to
work) time is money, people have an inner urge to be busy and work hard,
precision and punctuality are the norm, innovation may be resisted, security is
an important element in individual motivation.

Long Term Orientation

Bangladesh has an intermediate score at 47, this does not indicate a strong
preference in either direction

Indulgence

Bangladesh has a very low Indulgence score of 20. This makes it a Restrained
country. Societies with a low score in this dimension have a tendency to cynicism
and pessimism. Also, in contrast to Indulgent societies, Restrained societies do
not put much emphasis on leisure time and control the gratification of their
desires. People with this orientation have the perception that their actions are
Restrained by social norms and feel that indulging themselves is somewhat
wrong.

The cost of doing business in a country is influenced by culture.Many cultures are

wary of working with unfamiliar businesses, so money and time would have to be
spent in building relationships with them, as well as possibly with an
intermediary.

A country's religion can also affect the costs of business, as religious

values can affect attitudes towards work, entrepreneurship, honesty,
fairness, and social responsibility.
A country's education system can have important implications for the
costs of business. In countries where workers receive excellent training
and are highly literate, the need for specific worker training programs are
decreased and the hiring of additional employees is facilitated.

Example: In Bangladesh, workers will only work 6 hours a day during the holy
month of Ramadan. This is not a cultural difference your business could afford to
eschew, as it is also the law there. This would affect productivity of any
businesses you had there, as well as the timing of business deals.

What about Bangladesh? (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2016, from https://geerthofstede.com/bangladesh.html

Four major dimensions of culture by Geert Hofstede Studied are:

Power Distance:

The extent to which less powerful members of institutions and organizations

accept that power is distributed unequally.

Individualism vs. Collectivism:

Individualism is the tendency of people to look after themselves and their

immediate family only. Collectivism is the tendency of people to belong to groups
or collectives and to look after each other in exchange for loyalty.

Masculinity vs. Femininity:

A culture in which the dominant values in society are success, money, and things
scores high on masculinity. A culture in which the dominant values in society are
caring for others and quality of life scores high on femininity.

Uncertainty-Avoidance:

. The extent to which people feel threatened by ambiguous situations and have
created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid these.

The cultural profile of US, Asian Countries, Latin American, Latin European and
Vietnam:

US: low Power Distance (40), high Individualism (91), high Masculinity

(62), low Uncertainty Avoidance (46) and low Long-term Orientation (26).
Asian Countries: high Power Distance, high Long-term Orientation, low

Individualism, average in Masculinity and high Uncertainty Avoidance

Latin American: high Power Distance, low Individualism, high
Masculinity, very high Uncertainty Avoidance and almost have low Long-

term Orientation
Latin European: high Power Distance, high Uncertainty Avoidance, very
low Masculinity, the middle in Long-term Orientation, and differences in
Individualism such as high in Italy, France and low in Spain, Romania,

Portugal
Viet Nam: high Power distance (70), very low Individualism (20), low
Masculinity (40), low Uncertainty Avoidance (30), and the middle in Longterm Orientation (57)

We can see that Americans might find that interacting with Latin Europeans is
less challenging than with Latin Americans or Asians. Latin Americans and Asians
might find more similarities between themselves when interacting. In any crosscultural interaction, some conflict is inevitable. When two people from cultures of

diverse polarity within a certain dimension encounter, unpleasant situations,

misunderstandings or even culture shock can occur. By understanding these
basic similarities and differences we can begin to prepare for, and minimize, the
conflicts

Long-Term vs. Short-Term Orientation: Long-term orientation describes the

inclination of a society toward searching for virtue. Short-term orientation
pertains to those societies that are strongly inclined toward the establishment of
the absolute truth.
Indulgence vs. Restraint: This revolves around the degree to which societies
can exercise control over their impulses and desires. The dimension of
indulgence vs. restraint focuses on happiness. A society that practices
indulgence makes room for the comparatively free gratification of natural and
basic human drives pertaining to indulging in fun and enjoying life. The quality of
restraint describes a society that holds back need gratification and tries to
control it through stringent social norms.