Cultural Dimensions

Levels of Culture
Manifest
Expressed

values
Basic assumptions

Frameworks
Kluckhohn

& Strodtbeck- Variation in

Values Orientation
Bigoness & Blakelys Dimensions
Hofstedes Dimensions
Halls Culture Context
Trompenaars Seven Dimensions

Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck

Values orientation
Relation to nature
Time orientation
Basic human nature
Activity orientation

Variations
Subjugation
Past
Evil
Being

Harmony
Mastery
Present
Future
Neutral/Mixed Good
Containing/ Doing
controlling
Relationships among Individualistic Group
Hierarchical
people
Space orientation
Private
Mixed
Public

Bigoness & Blakely

Pleasantness
Good Citizen
Competent
(Cheerful,loving, (Responsible,
(Capable,
helpful)
polite, obedient) courageous)
Australia (n=36) 12.7
Brazil (n=30)
11.7
Denmark (n=37) 11.9
France (n=32) 13.1*
Great Britain
(n=89) 12.5
Germany (n=106)
Italy (n=31)
12.2
Japan (n=20)
10.0*
Holland (n=31) 12.2
Norway (n=46) 11.5
Sweden (n=69) 12.8
USA (n=42)
12.1
Overall

12.3

Good Thinker
(Imaginative,
intellectual)

10.9
10.1*
11.5
11.3

5.6
4.7*
5.2
5.6

8.3
6.8*
8.6
7.8

11.7

6.2

7.7

13.0*

10.8

5.5

8.0

11.7
9.8*
11.8
11.4
12.0
11.5

5.2
6.2
5.4
5.2
4.5*
6.7*

6.7*
7.5
7.5
8.0
8.1
7.7

11.3

5.6

7.9

Hofstedes Dimensions of Cultural Differences:

Individualism versus collectivism
-concern for self vs. others
Power distance
-acceptance of unequal power distribution
Uncertainty avoidance
-preference for structure
Materialism versus concern for others (Masculinity/Femininity)
-tough vs. tender
Long-run versus short-run orientation (Bond)
-future vs. past/present

Collective
PAK COL
TAI PER
VEN
THA
SIN
HOK
GRE

JAP

PHI
IND

IC

NZL

CAN
NET
GBR
USA
AUL

Individual
Low

Power Distance

High

Hofstede Dimension Scores for 10 Countries

USA
Germany
Japan
France
Netherlands
Hong Kong
Indonesia
West Africa
Russia
China

PD

IC

MF

UA

LT

40L
35L
54M
68H
38L
68H
78H
77H
95H
80H

91H
67H
46M
71H
80H
25L
14L
20L
50M
20L

62H
66H
95H
43M
14L
57H
46M
46M
40L
50M

46L
65M
92H
86H
53M
29L
48L
54M
90H
60M

29L
31M
80H
30L
44M
96H
25L
16L
10L
118H

From Hostede, 1993

Academy of Management Executive

Halls Culture Context

High-context
China, Egypt, France, Italy

Low-context
Australia, Canada, England, United States

Trompenaars Seven Dimensions of Culture

Universalism

vs. Particularism
Individualism vs. Collectivism
Neutral vs. Affective Relationships
Specific vs. Diffuse Relationships
Achievement vs. Ascription
Relationship to Time

Culturally Based Differences

in Management Style
Culture provides values that guide
acceptable managerial behavior
and leadership styles.
Transplanted managers
may need to adopt some
of the characteristics of the
national stereotype of an
effective leader in the local
culture.

Culturally Based Differences in

Management Style:
Stereotypes
United States
Emotional,
egalitarians
China
Low-profile,
tough negotiators

Japan
Formal,
consensus seekers

Germany
Technically expert,
authoritarians

France
Elitist,
authoritarians

Multicultural Managers and

Organizations
The

Multicultural Manager

Has the skills and attitudes to relate effectively to and motivate

people across race, gender, age, social attitudes, and lifestyles.

Respects and values the cultural differences.
Has the ability (e.g., is bilingual) to conduct business in a
diverse, international environment.
Has a cultural sensitivity in being aware and interested in why
people of other culture act as they do.
Is not parochial in assuming that the ways of ones culture are the
only ways things should be done.
Is not ethnocentric in assuming that the superiority of ones
culture over that of another culture.

Protocol Dos and Donts in Several Countries

Great Britain
DO say please and thank you often.
DO arrive promptly.
DONT ask personal questions because the British protect their privacy.
DONT gossip about British royalty

France
DO shake hands when greeting. Only close friends give light, brushing kisses on cheeks.
DO dress more formally than in the United States. Elegant dress is highly valued.
DONT expect to complete any work during the French -two hour
DONT
lunch chew gum in a work setting.

Italy
DO write business correspondence in Italian for priority attention.
DO make appointments between 10:00 and 11:00 or after 3:00.
DONT eat too much pasta, as it is not the main course.
DONT handout business cards too freely. Italians use them infrequently.

Protocol Dos and Donts in Several Countries

Greece
DO distribute business cards freely so people will know how to spell your name.
DO be prompt even if your hosts are not.
DONT expect to meet deadlines. A project takes as long as theGreeks think is
necessary.
DONT address people by formal or professional titles. The Greeks want more informality.

Japan
DO present your business cards with both hands and a slight bow as a gesture of
respect.
DO present gifts, American-made and wrapped.
DONT knock competitors.
DONT present the same gift to everyone, unless all members are the same organizational
rank.

Multicultural Managers and Organizations

The Multicultural Organization
Values cultural diversity and is willing to

encourage and even capitalize on

such diversity.

Benefits of a Multicultural
Organization
Achieves the benefits of valuing diversity.
Avoids the problems of not managing

for diversity:

increased turnover
interpersonal conflict
communication breakdowns

Developmental Stages for the

Multicultural Organization
Monocultural
Exclusion of
minorities and
women from power

Nondiscrimination

Multicultural

Unfair advantage
of majority group
removed, but no
culture change

Shares power
and influence
with all; major
culture change

Barriers to Good Cross-Cultural Relations

Perceptual

expectations

Predispositions about the appropriate appearance and physical

characteristics of individuals.

Ethnocentrism
A belief that ones culture is the best and judging other cultures

by how closely they resemble ones own culture.

Intergroup

rather than interpersonal relations

Stereotyping individuals based on their group membership

Stereotypes

in intergroup relations

Assuming an individuals personal characteristics based on

their group membership.

Cross-Cultural Processes:
Motivation
In order to use motivational concepts across cultures,
managers must know two key factors:
Which needs the people are seeking to satisfy.
Which rewards will satisfy those needs.

Research findings:
A motivational concept that

has a good cultural fit with

a culture can be
successfully applied
to that culture.

Cross-Cultural Processes:
Ethics
Global business practices and behaviors create
ethical and legal dilemmas for managers:
The choice of which cultures code of ethics to follow.
Conflicts between individual and organizational

responsibilities for ethical behavior.

The ethics of outsourcing when
doing so may create a human
health or environmental safety
hazard in another culture.

Cross-Cultural Processes:
Negotiations
Suggestions for negotiating abroad:

Use a team approach.

Do not push for informality.
Be patient.
Learn to tolerate less than full
disclosure of information.
Accept silence as part of
negotiating.
Take no for an answer
sometimes.
Be adaptable.

Cross-Cultural Processes:
Conflict Resolution
National cultures influence which method of
conflict resolution a manager will choose.
Tinsleys models of conflict resolution:
Conflict Resolution Model
Cultural Group
Membership
Deferring to status power
Japanese
Applying regulations
Germans
Integrating interests
Americans

Diversity Training and Cultural

Training
Diversity

Training

Attempts to bring about workplace harmony by teaching

people how to get along better with diverse coworkers.

Objectives of diversity training:

Fostering awareness and acceptance of individual differences.

Helping participants understand their own feelings
and attitudes about people who are different.
Exploring how differences might be tapped as assets
in the workplace.
Enhancing work relations between people who are different
from each other.

Diversity Training and Cultural

Training
Training

in Cross-Cultural Relations

Cultural training

A set of learning experiences (e.g., mastering a foreign

language) designed to help employees understand the customs,
traditions, and beliefs of another culture.

Culture shock

The physical and psychological symptoms that can develop

when a person is abruptly placed in another culture.
Cultural training is designed to help expatriates avoid culture
shock, which is a major contributor to the high failure rate of
overseas assignments.