UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
BFMA3033
Dimensions of Culture
PREPARED FOR:
DR. MOHD SOBRI DON
PREPARED BY:
ANWER ABDULALEM MOHD
(107912)
DATE OF SUBMISSION: 06 August 2009
Questions
1. What are the FOUR major dimensions of culture studies by Geert Hofstede?
Identify and describe each
2. What is the cultural profile of Malaysia? Of Saudi Arabia? Of Brazil? Based
on your comparisons of these three profiles, what conclusions can you draw
regarding cultural challenges facing managers in one group when they
interact with individuals in one of the other groups?
3. Why do you think Hofsted added the fifth dimension of time orientation?
1.
Answer
s
a. Power Distance Index is the extent to which power is distributed equally
within a society and the degree that society accepts this distribution.
Countries in which people blindly obey the orders of their superiors have high
power distance and culture prefers hierarchical bureaucracies, strong leaders
and a high regard for authority. A low power distance culture tends to favor
personal responsibility and autonomy.
b. Uncertainty Avoidance Index deals with a society's tolerance for uncertainty
and ambiguity; it ultimately refers to man's search for Truth. People feel
threatened by ambiguous situations; create beliefs/institutions to avoid such
situations. Unstructured situations are novel, unknown, surprising, and
different from usual. Uncertainty avoiding cultures try to minimize the
possibility of such situations by strict laws and rules, safety and security
measures, and on the philosophical and religious level by a belief in absolute
Truth; 'there can only be one Truth and we have it'. People in uncertainty
avoiding countries are also more emotional, and motivated by inner nervous
energy. The opposite type, uncertainty accepting cultures, are more tolerant
of opinions different from what they are used to; they try to have as few rules
as possible, and on the philosophical and religious level they are relativist
and allow many currents to flow side by side. People within these cultures
are more phlegmatic and contemplative, and not expected by their
environment to express emotions.
c. Individualism on the one side versus its opposite, collectivism, that is the
degree to which individuals are inter-grated into groups. In other
individualism People look after selves and immediate family only on the
individualist side we find societies in which the ties between individuals are
loose: everyone is expected to look after him/herself and his/her immediate
family. On the collectivist side, we find societies in which people from birth
onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, often extended
families (with uncles, aunts and grandparents) which continue protecting
them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty. The word 'collectivism' in this
sense has no political meaning: it refers to the group, not to the state. Again,
the issue addressed by this dimension is an extremely fundamental one,
regarding all societies in the world.
d. Masculinity versus its opposite, femininity refers to the distribution of roles
between the genders which is another fundamental issue for any society to
which a range of solutions are found. The IBM studies revealed that (a)
women's values differ less among societies than men's values; (b) men's
values from one country to another contain a dimension from very assertive
and competitive and maximally different from women's values on the one
side, to modest and caring and similar to women's values on the other. The
assertive pole has been called 'masculine' and the modest, caring pole
'feminine'. The women in feminine countries have the same modest, caring
values as the men; in the masculine countries they are somewhat assertive
and competitive, but not as much as the men, so that these countries show a
gap between men's values and women's values.
2.
Geert
Hofstede
Theory
Malaysia
Saudi Arabia
Brazil
Power
distance
High (104)
High (80)
High(69)
Masculinity
High (50)
High (52)
Low (49)
Individualism
Low (26)
Low (38)
High 62
Orientation
Long
Long
Long
Uncertainty
avoidance
Low (36)
High (68)
High (76)
Base on the table above, three countries have the same high power distance,
it mean each countries using legal document, so it hard to jump into low level
to the high level. Employees have to accept the superiors have more power
than they have. Furthermore that opinions and decisions are right because of
the higher position some has. In countries with high power distance
employees are too afraid to express their doubts and disagreements with their
autocratic and paternalistic bosses.
Masculinity both of Malaysia and Arab Saudi is masculinity countries. They
like to focuses on job when they are in the job time and punctuality. Society
which social gender roles are dearly distinct: men are supposed to be more modest,
tender, and concerned with the quality of life, different with Brazil.
Individualism in three countries is only in Brazil, it was infect from western
government, decision making is quick because no body taking a part in the
discussion, while both of Malaysia and Saudi Arabia always solves the
problem gathering, when we do discussion we have to priority the
collectivism, commonly the manager should have to consider all the thing
from partner, and that way the decision making taking slowly.
The last is all the countries have long orientation, it mean job not solely this
time when contracting still in process but partner will always to be the partner
although no job contract between partners.
Saudi Arabia and Brazil like to take risk, cause they like challenge, they
believe that if we have great challenge it determine great profit also, different
with Malaysia, Malaysia doesn’t like something that unpredicted, uncertain,
and unsure. It has to measure every variable to avoid the uncertain. They will
avoid anything that doesn't go along with the rules and regulations they were
creating. Because of the fact that people don't know what will happen on the next
day, the future is expressed as uncertain and this uncertainty causes anxiety
3. This fifth dimension Long-Term Orientation versus short-term orientation
was found in a study among students in 23 countries around the world, using
a questionnaire designed by Chinese scholars it can be said to deal with
Virtue regardless of Truth. Values associated with Long Term Orientation are
thrift and perseverance; values associated with Short Term Orientation are
respect for tradition, fulfilling social obligations, and protecting one's 'face'.
Both the positively and the negatively rated values of this dimension are found
in the teachings of Confucius, the most influential Chinese philosopher who
lived around 500 B.C. however, the dimension also applies to countries
without a Confucian heritage.
UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
BPMM3053
SUMMARY
PREPARED FOR:
DR. Noor Azmi bin Hashim
PREPARED BY:
ANWER ABDULALEM MOHD
(107912)
DATE OF SUBMISSION: 06 August 2009