Model Of Hofstede's Model

International marketing or business is uniquely different from the local market because the product price, place and promotion is vastly different from what is been offered to local customers (Johansson, 2000) With the emergence of the information technology, cross border marketing has never been a distant dream. However, it has never been easier even for giant multinational companies to face challenges that come in international business. The biggest challenge comes from the culture which varies from country to country.

Every country differs in culture which has been there for centuries. The international market is growing rapidly, with more and more multinational organisations entering new markets each day. In this assignment I will evaluate how the difference in cultures affects the performance of international businesses.

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.

The impact of national cultures on marketing practices has been such that it brought about the creation of an academic field, with as a lead-researcher, Geert. Hofstede, on whose writings I have based my analysis.

In an article called Cultural Factor Highly Influences On Consumers & Their Buying Behavior – In Indian Context, the basic characteristics of culture are described:

Introduction: There are around 196 countries in the world and the cultures and values differ between the different countries. There are still similarities in some of the culture traits. In today’s world people are more willing to engage in global business and for this reason they need to be able to adapt to the different cultures. As the cultures vary from country to country, people around the world may face many difficulties during their communication. Many businesses have failed due to the fact that they failed to fully assess the market they were entering in. The paper will portray three different approaches that will aid in understanding cultural differences that can be utilized as effective tools in conducting global business. These approaches are known as the context approach, the cluster approach and the dimension approach.

Making business abroad can be risky, but it can also be profitable for a company as well; thus the necessity to study in deep the country where the company will bring the business to. International companies are faced with many cultural challenges, when doing business across and inside of different borders. Identifying the significant cultural issues involved when evaluating the attractiveness of a particular location as a place for doing business can be crucial for a business. Aspects to consider when studying culture in a new place

Analysing it in depth, several theories exist but this essay is going to concentrate in two main frameworks that suppose a point of inflexion in the study of the culture in the business: Hall’s Model, which is focus in the meaning of context for the culture and time orientations and Hofstede 's Model, which develop a five dimensional scheme to establish cultural comparisons between nations.

     Cultures are varying among different parts of the globe. People with different cultures have different characteristics and viewpoints on the subjects due to diverse understanding and method of learning. During the past few decades, the international trade grows in a very rapid rate due to the advantages that it provides; “increased sales, operational efficiencies, exposure to new technologies and broader consumer choices” (Heslin). Therefore, when considering the culture aspect to current business world, it is crucial for business to understand the culture aspect because of the tremendous growth of international business as well as utilize the international market to its maximum

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.

Using appropriate theories critically analyse the role of culture in International Business. Support your answer by quoting relevant examples from the case study.

This essay will first discuss the nature of Hofstede’s cultural framework and compare it with other culture frameworks. In the second part my personal score for each of the Hofstede’s cultural dimensions will be presented, followed by discussion on how my individual scores relate to the benchmarks suggested by Hofstede for my cultural background. The third section will address the issue of cross-cultural management and give suggestion to an Australian friend who is going to work as a manager in Shanghai.

The increasing innovations and creativity in the business pattern, the cross-cultural business operation, and marketing is increasing day by day. Cross cultural business enables different nations to have a better understanding of global business pattern along with their marketing strategies and tactics that help them to achieve their target in the market place. Moreover, cultures of different nations differ from each other that created the urge for organisations especially multinational corporations to study the culture and life style of other nations before expanding or internationalisation their business organisation.

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

The role of culture and consumer behavior in shaping marketing strategies is explored in the research. The research design includes a secondary literature review as well as primary research using a survey sample size of 30 individuals. The research provides a significant account of the factors influencing cultures, differences between UAE and UK culture. The motives of consumption are also investigated through review of secondary literature and analysis of survey results. The relevance of consumer behaviors with regards to strategy formulation for marketing is also discussed. Finally it is concluded that corporations develop their marketing strategies according to the cultures and target market attributes.