Cultural Differences and People Management

Understanding the differences and similarities inherent in other cultures may provide opportunities when working with individuals (or groups) who may have different cultural values, beliefs, and/or norms. There are multiple ways to explore different cultures. One way is through Hofstede’s (2017) cultural dimension; which are currently made up of six broad categories, including high-low power distance, individualism-collectivism, masculinity-femininity, uncertainty avoidance, long-short term orientation, and indulgence-restraint. It is beyond the scope of this paper to explore all these cultural dimensions in great detail; however, it is important to understand some of the implications of these scores. The scores for both the US and China can be seen in Table 1, along with the differences between each score.

Armstrong (1999) cites the work of Furnham and Gunter (1993) defining culture as ‘the commonly held beliefs, attitudes and values that exist in an organisation. Put more simply, culture is ‘the way we do things around here’.

Culture is defined as all of humans’ perception, knowledge, opinions, worth and sensation studied through joining in any cultural system (Nanda & Warms, 2011). In other word, human is the represent of culture (O’Donnell & Boyle,2008, pp.4-14). The dimension of culture is the centre in all aspects of organizational life, especially in business (Nanda & Warms, 2011). For example, the way employer of a company act, think or feel is controlled by their naturally cultural belief (REF). Values of an organisation can be changed effectively by organisational culture (REF).

All Organisations posses a distinct form of culture with some having more than a single culture. This culture is usually very difficult to measure, change and most especially change.

The territoriality principle holds that governments have the right to rule themselves as they see fit.

Halsall, R., 2008. From ‘business culture’ to ‘brand state’: conceptions of nation and culture in business literature on cultural difference. Culture and Organization, volume 14 (1), page 15-30.

Geert Hofstede is a Dutch researcher who identified five dimensions of culture to help understand how and why people from various cultures behave the way they do. The five Hofstede’s cultural dimensions are power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, masculinity vs. femininity, and time orientation. Taiwan has a high power distance meaning that people blindly obey the orders of their superiors, and strict obedience is found. Taiwan ranked high in uncertainty avoidance meaning that the people do not like uncertainty and tend to have a high need for security and a strong belief in experts. In individualism Taiwan ranked as a low individualistic

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

Given this, the main target of this essay is to analyse the main approaches to understanding national culture and how relevant is such an understanding to an internationalising firm.

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

Given this, the main target of this essay is to analyse the main approaches to understanding national culture and the way that this culture can manifest and make the difference in the entry of companies in new markets.

He supposed that culture is a common psychological program of people in same environment, which can separate a group of people from another group of people. This theory is widely used in academic researches and cross-cultural practices and has become an important theory for measurement of cultural differences among different countries. Hofstede's cultural dimension theory is divided into five dimensions, these are Power-Distance、Uncertainty Avoidance、Individualism versus Collectivism、Long-term and Short-term Orientation、Masculinity versus Femininity

Almost every organization, whether public or private, on paper or in practice, has a culture that fairly dictates its everyday functioning. The term culture has many

Firstly, we have to understand what is culture? Culture can be describe as collective programming of the mind, which distinguishes the members of one human group from another. Culture in this sense includes systems of values. (Hofstede, 1984) Culture in a simpler way is the "pervasive and shared beliefs, norms, and values that guide the everyday life of a group." (Cullen, 2010) National, Business, Occupational and Organisational are the different levels of cultures that are encountered by firms regardless of dealing and trading in their own country or expanding into another. Business culture though, is the most relevant out of the four as it pertains to all aspects of doing business in a culture. It 's important to note of this culture as it teaches individuals the appropriate and acceptable manner of conducting business in a society. Understanding business cultures and its importance establishes the argumentative case for the need of firms to behave in accordance to those of their host countries.

Cultural differences, can manifest and accentuate personal and professional mannerism. A French manager named Chalon, with 18-years of multicultural management experience, upon moving to the United States encounters difficulties with his management style. In order to observe the relationship between management and cultural differences, we explored: communication; leadership and group management roles in a multicultural environment; alternative solutions such as mapping, bridging and integrating (MBI); ‘freezing, pleasing or teasing’ leadership; effective feedback. The ideas are a subset in evaluating cultural differences in management, but will serve as helpful development for cultural intelligence for Chalon.