A Study On Cross Cultural Groups And Organizations

The IBM study of employees from the 70 countries was the basis for the dimensions and has been critized since there was only one company in the data set however, Hofstede’s belief was that using just one company would better reveal the national differences. According to the authors Phatak, Bhagat, and Kashalk (2009), he believed this because the IBM employees were the same in other respects like type of work, job descriptions, and education. This study has been stated to be the most comprehensive study of how values are influenced in the workplace (Itim International, 2012). Itim International, (2012) noted that Hofstede’s work established a paradigm in international economics, communication, and cooperation, from which Hofstede developed the first emphirical model of “dimensions” for national organizational culutre.

Hofstede defined the culture as “the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group from that another”. His five types of cultural dimensions are the most popular in many cultural area studies, include: (1) power distance; (2) individualism vs. collectivism; (3) uncertainty avoidance; (4) masculinity vs. femininity; and (5) long-term vs. short-term orientation. These dimensions offer an insight towards behaviors and standards in the cultural context which are useful for many motivators to explore the people in different culture. The text suggested that countries with high uncertainty avoidance will lead to more job security, whereas people with low uncertainty avoidance (for example, U.S.) are motivated by new ideas and innovation. People with high power distance are motivated by relationships between subordinates and their boss, while people with low power distance are motivated by team work and relationships with their peers. On the other hand, individuals from high individualism are motivated by opportunities and autonomy; collectivism (for example, Japan) suggests that motivation should be done with group goals and support. Individuals from high masculine culture are comfortable with the tradition and division of works and roles; in a feminine culture, the motivators help people through flexible roles and work

The most famous researcher of prevailing cultures in different countries goes by the name of Geert Hofstede. “He conducted one of the most comprehensive studies of how values in the workplace are influenced by culture” (). With the help of his research team, Professor Geert Hofstede created a model of national culture consisting of six dimensions. “The cultural dimensions represent independent preferences for on state of affairs

Dr. Hofstede performed a comprehensive study of how values in the workplace are influenced by culture. In the 1970’s, as a Dutch researcher Dr. Geert Hofstede, collected and analyzed data from 116,000 surveys taken from IBM employees in forty different countries around the world. From those results, Hofstede developed a model that identifies four primary dimensions of differentiate cultures. These include: Uncertainty Avoidance (UA), Masculinity-Femininity (MAS), Individualism-Collectivism (IND), Power and Distance (PD). After a further study of the Asian culture by researcher Michael Bond in 1991, Hofstede added a fifth dimension in his theory, Long- and Short-term time orientation (LTO), also referred to as the Confucian Dynamism. His research has framed how cultural differences can be used in professional business transactions. Geert Hofstede 's dimensions analysis can assist the business person in better understanding the intercultural differences within regions and between countries.

Geert Hofstede conducted different studies for business culture; most of the comprehensive studies are based on how the values in the workplace are influenced by culture. This paper briefly describes how the Hofstede four dimensions of national cultures distinguished between two countries. The four dimensions that Hofstede discovered were: Power Distance, Individualism, Masculinity, and Uncertainty Avoidance. He used four dimensions to show the difference between each country culture. It shows how cultures are different by 1) less powerful members of institutions and organization within countries. 2) acknowledge people`s hard work 3) the society will be driven by men or women can do anything a man can do. 4) Issues people face in the organization within the society. The four dimensions of national culture were based on research being done by Geert Hofstede. On the basis of these national culture dimensions, countries used these methods to compare the different values with countries around the world.

Geert Hofstede is an influential Dutch researcher in the fields of organizational studies and more concretely organizational culture, also cultural economics and management. He is a well-known pioneer in his research of cross-cultural groups and organizations and played a major role in developing a systematic framework for assessing and differentiating national cultures and organizational cultures. His studies demonstrated that there are national and regional cultural groups that influence behavior of societies and organizations.

When a business decides to venture internationally into different countries with its products, services, and operations, it is very important that the company gains an understanding of how the culture of the different societies affects the values found in those societies. Geert Hofstede conducted one of the most famous and most used studies on how culture relates to values. Hofstede study enabled him to compare dimensions of culture across 40 countries. He originally isolated four dimensions of what he claimed summarized different cultures — power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism versus collectivism, and masculinity versus femininity (Hill, 2013, p.110). To cover aspects of values not discussed in the original paradigm Hofstede has since added two more dimensions — Confucianism or long-term orientation and indulgence versus self-restraint (Hofstede, n.d.). Because of the way Hofstede’s cultural dimensions are given an index score from 0-100, it is easy for a company to get a general comparison between the cultures they are expanding into and the culture they are already in.

Geert Hofstede is perhaps the best known sociologist of culture and anthropologist in the context of applications for understanding international business.[citation needed] Many articles and research papers refer to his publications,[citation needed] with over 20,000 citations[citation needed] to his 2003 book Culture's Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and Organizations Across Nations[13] (which is an updated version of his first publication[4]). The five dimensions model is widely used in many domains of human social life,[citation needed] and particularly in the field of business. Practical applications were developed almost immediately.[citation needed] In fact, when it comes to business, promoting cultural sensitivity will help people work more effectively when interacting with people from other countries, and will participate to make sure transactions are successful.

In this era of Globalisation, cross cultural management is the biggest challenge that is faced by the organisations. Within the business context, cross culture refers to interaction between different cultures. Cross cultural management refers to managing the employees from different cultural background in one environment (Adler, 2008). Cross culture management is a significant issue within the organisations as the success of an organisation depends upon the smooth interaction of the employees. This paper is aimed at providing insight on the cross cultural management and the main issues and challenges relating to cross cultural management. For the purpose of this paper, two articles, “Cross-cultural Differences in Management”, by Amman & Jordan

The Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory was conducted by Professor Geert Hofstede. The Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory are the model of Hofstede was the outcome of factor analysis done on a global survey of the value system of employees at IBM between the years 1967 and 1973. This theory was one of the initial ones which could quantify cultural differences (Cleverism, 2015). The six dimensions of national culture are based on extensive research done by Professor Geert Hofstede, Gert Jan Hofstede, Michael Minkov and their research teams which is power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, long term orientation and indulgence. The original theory that Hofstede proposed talked of four dimensions, namely power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism versus collectivism and masculinity versus femininity. After conducting independent studies in Hong Kong, Hofstede included a fifth dimension, known as long-term versus short-term orientation, to describe

Geert Hofstede defines national culture as ‘the collective programming of the mind distinguishing the members of one group or category of people from others’ (Hofstede, 2012). Hofstede’s findings were influenced by his former occupation as an IBM employee, inspiring his most significant work in advancing the

Hofstede Model suggested four main cultural dimensions to illustrate the dissimilarities: Power distance, Individualism versus Collectivism, Uncertainty Avoidance and Masculinity versus Femininity (Khalid at el. 2011). Long/Short term Orientation was recognised later on by Hofstede and Bond as a fifth dimension (Hofstede & Bond 1988 cited in Khalid et al. 2011). Several business frameworks had applied Hofstede’s model such as managerial behaviour, innovation, training programs and leadership style (Jones 2007). Respectively, some other cultural models had been identified such as Schwartz and the recent Globe project study (Mooij & Hofstede 2010). The three of the mentioned models

A famous study of cultural dimensions, which can provide a more clear view of the impacts of culture on international business.Dimensions of cultural differences are very necessary for organizations especially those who operate internationally to understand and cope with such differences that can manifest themselves in terms of different standards, values and expectations in the various countries in which they operate. (Johnson, Scholes, Whittington 2008: 190) Here I have to mention one of the most effective studies of cultural dimensions, Hofstede's cultural dimensions, which are consisted of power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism and collectivism, masculinity-femininity, and

This research will determine the impact of culture in international depend on five dimensions of Hofstede’s framework. This research collects data of UK companies in Malaysia and China.

Culture can be interpreted as a set of ideas with purpose to design living standards. It is an arrangement of intellectual abilities that governs a person’s behaviour, beliefs, values, language, and more (Weber, 1978). This allows distinguishability between people with different norms. For a developed understanding of the various aspects, Dutch psychologist Geert Hofstede has formulated a theory on cultural dimensions. Through this tool, Hofstede explains how culture affects values. Furthermore, Hofstede relates these values to behaviour. For his study, the