The World Is An Ever Changing Place

Power Distance: In western cultures hierarchy is established for convenience, where superiors are always accessible and managers are able to rely on employees and teams for their expertise. Consultation is expected for both managers and employees and information to be shared on regular basis. Communication is often informal, direct and participative.

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.

Not long ago my sister recommended me to read Richard Steers’ book “Management across Cultures: Challenges and Strategies”. It was a great book with many interesting insights but one particular chapter called “Culture, Values, and Worldviews” opened my eyes a little bit and helped me to understand why exactly I have never fully fit into any of the new countries I lived in. I understood that the problem was not in me but it is more of a cultural thing. According to Steers, there are five core cultural dimensions that all countries and their cultures can be analysed by – how the power and authority are distributed among the society, whether people are more individualistic or collectivistic, how they perceive the environment, their time and work patterns and the way societies try to reduce uncertainties.

With the unstoppable trend of globalisation, it becomes extremely significant for international businesses to have a thorough understanding of different cultures. Hofstede (1980, pp. 21-23) defines culture as ‘the collective programming of the mind distinguishing the members of one group or category of people from another’. This essay examines Hofstede’s cultural framework and suggests that Hofstede’s cultural framework is an outstanding and authoritative tool to analyze culture differences. In this essay, cultural frameworks will be discussed firstly, following by a discussion of my cultural scores and background. Finally, recommendations on cross-cultural management between China and Australia will be provided.

The world around us is changing and it will not slow down anytime soon. People no longer use cell phones, now they use “Life Companions”. Can anyone remember phone numbers, appointments or how to do math without technology? Most of us cannot leave home without one. The word “Apps” if not already in the dictionary, soon will be. Along with this technology, comes many new industries, such as Uber. They are changing how people get around in many cities, especially those without a large taxi base, such as here in Fort Worth.

The world is a complex changing environment. Due to globalization, we as a nation are more interconnected with the world around us and are affected by other nations. In the 21st century, we have witnessed the rise of a new enemy, motivated by religious ideology, which is waging a war that cannot be won through traditional means. If the United States Army wants to win in this changing environment, there needs to be focused, sustained and collaborative efforts that unify capabilities across war fighting functions to address the needs of the new world to accomplish the mission. The Army does this by asking questions that will help to shape the future force. These questions come from the Army Warfighting Challenges (AWFCs) which is a framework

We live in a world that is constantly evolving and adapting due to technological advancements, more specifically in the field of genetic modification. Genetically modified organisms, also called GMOs, are the result of a “laboratory process where genes from the DNA of one species are extracted and artificially forced into the genes of an unrelated plant or animal” (Advani). Anti-GMO opponents argue that this change is altering nature too much, but GMOs have been on the market for nearly 25 years and have yet to produce the epidemic that they are anticipating. Meanwhile, genetically modified organisms have the potential to benefit the field of agriculture as they are continuing to excel in many areas of research. GMO foods should be

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.

The United States and China boast the two largest economies in the world but, despite this fact, these two countries have very little in common. At first glance, this may seem very obvious to most people but, what exactly is it that makes these two countries so different? How is it that such different perspectives and approaches can both lead to great success? Hofstede’s six dimensions of culture are an attempt to answer these questions and more. Dr. Geert Hofstede, studied employees of the computer firm IBM in over fifty different countries. When he examined his findings he found “clear patterns of similarity and difference along the four dimensions” (Manktelow, Jackson Edwards, Eyre, Cook and Khan, n.d.). The fact that he focused his research on solely IBM employees allowed him to eliminate company culture as a differentiating factor and “attribute those patterns to national and social differences” (n.d.). He used his findings to originally identify four dimensions, later expanded to six, that could “distinguish one culture from another” (n.d.). The six dimensions all on a scale from 0 to 100 are:

Power Distance is the degree to which people accept inequalities between power. This results in a poor flow of information, both from supervisor to members of their organization. (Hofstede 1980) employee, as well as from subordinate to supervisor. Inequalities can be based upon the unequal distribution of power or privileges. In cultures with low Power Distance, people are more reluctant about the use of In most organizations, there is a hierarchy of management, built

In analyzing Hofstede’s five dimensions of culture we can better understand the cultural differences between the U.S. and Europe. (Hall, 2014) “The cultural dimensions represent independent preferences for one state of affairs over another that distinguish countries (rather than individuals) from each other.” (National Culture)

Managing a global business with offices in several countries requires excellent cross cultural management skills. The technological development of laptops, mobile phones and internet accessibility has made it near impossible to only interact with people from one culture; in fact it allows many to do business in various areas of the globe, interact and communicate with managers and employees in international offices, and develop a relationship with others through several behavioural etiquette recommendations. The topic of culture has been widely discussed in a variety of instances, and the idea of developing a ‘cultural identity’ for either an individual or a business can be a scary thought, however if accurate research into other cultures and behaviours is completed, organisations and employees should be able to develop empathy and self-confidence. The term ‘culture’ has been defined time and time again and has been vastly overused; however a solid definition has been created by Geert Hofstede, “Culture is the collective programming of the mind distinguishing the members of one group or category of people from others”. (Pieper, 1990) Working in teams of international origin can be rather difficult. The concept of a ‘team’ is usually defined as a number of people working together to achieve a common purpose and be jointly responsible for the work they do, including those working both inside and outside the organisation. (Browaeys et al 2011) Developing

The world is an ever changing place, moving at a punishing pace. This perpetual motion requires a constant source of energy. This energy comes in the form of oil and petroleum products, products that invigorate both our cars and America’s foreign and domestic policy. Oil is king. It rules everyday life, national policy, and the fates, even the lives, of millions of people. Oil is power in the form of black liquid in a barrel. However, America does not, at the moment, have the ability to control this valuable resource in a way that would enable the freedom of policy that the government so sorely needs. Our hands are tied. This deficiency is already costing American citizens millions and restricting government policy. By importing our oil, American’s limit themselves and the power their government can have in the world arena. There is a solution that would benefit both the economy and prestige of America: eliminating or reducing our dependence on foreign oil, through the means of increased fracking and drilling on American soil.

Power distance is a society 's view on differences in power. High power distance constitutes an acceptance of power inequality in the workplace and in general. Conversely, low power distance means a nation does not accept this difference. The United

You are dying! As we speak, we are all dying! You may die in an hour, maybe a decade or more. How do we know? The answer is that we don’t. We don’t know what life has in store for us. Today I am in the United States, safe; a week from now I could be in Syria. No one can be absolutely sure what is going to happen to us. The reason for this is because of the ever-changing world we live in. A perfect example of this is in “The Story of An Hour.” In the story, the main character goes from being miserably married to being happily single, then to married again and eventually dead; all in one day. I would say that her life changed quite a bit in a small amount of time. Wouldn’t you say the same? The story also says that after she found out her husband was deceased, she whispered, “Free, free, free.” See, back in the 1800s and early 1900s, a woman’s entire life was ruled and dictated by her husband. A woman’s husband worked to earn all of the money they had, the husband built their house, and he had the last say on every matter. You see, the point is that Mrs. Mallard wasn’t herself while she was married. She was Mrs. Brently Mallard. But once her husband, Brently, died she was free. Free to be herself and do whatever Louise wanted; it was a new and great world for her to explore. A world where she was in charge of herself and she could make her own decisions. Her