Q5: Hofstede

Professor Geert Hofstede conducted one of the most comprehensive studies of how values in business are influenced by culture. He defines culture as the collective programming of the mind distinguishing the members of one group or category of people from others. The dimensions of national culture are based on extensive research done by the professor. So far as international business is concerned, the dimensions of culture form an important facet. Knowledge of the manner in which different features of a business are viewed in different cultures, can help a manager in understanding and sailing successfully across the international business market. In this article, we will discuss Hofstede’s cultural dimensions by exploring the six cultural dimensions and using those dimensions to better understand cultures and people.

The model of national culture consists of six dimensions which represent independent preferences for one state of affairs over another that distinguish countries from each other. The country scores on the dimensions are relative, as we are all human and simultaneously we are all unique. In other words, culture can be only used meaningfully by comparison. The dimensions are outlined as follows.

Power Distance: This dimension explains the extent to which members who are less powerful in a society accept and also expect that the distribution of power takes place unequally.
Uncertainty Avoidance: It is a dimension that describes the extent to which people in society are not at ease with ambiguity and uncertainty.
Individualism vs. Collectivism: The focus of this dimension is on the question regarding whether people have a preference for being left alone to look after themselves or want to remain in a closely knitted network.
Masculinity vs. Femininity: Masculinity implies a society’s preference for assertiveness, heroism, achievement and material reward for attaining success. On the contrary, femininity represents a preference for modesty, cooperation, quality of life and caring for the weak.
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.

This therefore, calls for an urgency in managing cultural differences to help eliminate problems that arise in business. Managers across the world are increasingly facing the challenges thrown in by the global interdependence of markets, and the human resources department in organizations is not an exception. When a common culture prevails, personnel management is not difficult since everybody has a common conception of right, wrong and accepted behaviour. However, when team members come from different cultural backgrounds or the backgrounds of the manager and the team differ, it might lead to grave misunderstandings. The cycle of recruitment, target setting, training and appraisal can be successfully used to manage people if it is culturally adapted. Relevant research and preparation is required for this.

In conclusion, Cultural differences do impact businesses occurring in cross-cultural contexts. A lot of problems arise in matters of participation, communication and other relational areas. However, if business leaders or even the staff understands issues with respect to Hofstede’s six cultural dimensions, these problems can be analysed through a different perspective, and necessary steps to address these problems can be taken.