Considering Culture The Wisdom of Gerte Hofstede Quick Culture Review •Hofstede’s dimensions: •Masculinity/Femininity •Power Distance •Individualism/Collectivism •Uncertainty Avoidance Power Distance •The degree to which the citizens feel “at one” with the government •If you feel the government exists to serve you, you are in a low power distance situation. •If you feel the government is in charge and you have to follow their orders, you are in a high power distance situation. •Abstractly characterized as the distinction between democracies and autocracies. The US, for example, versus China. Individualism/Collectivism •This is the quality of a society that speaks to whether the society acts in coordinated fashion for the good of all or not. •Collectivist societies are concerned for the greatest good for the greatest number. •Individualist societies are all about looking out for number 1. •Individuals in collectivist societies will sacrifice personal gain for societal wellbeing. •Individuals in individualist societies might not. Uncertainty Avoidance •Some societies, and it tends to correlate with collectivism, tend to prefer to avoid things that shake up the status quo. New things are likely to be viewed with suspicious as they might disrupt existing order •In societies that are not risk averse, you see higher instances of entrepreneurism, creativity and innovation Masculinity/Femininity •Every society has cultural sensibilities for who does what work. •Who changes the flat tire on a car? •Who changes the baby’s diaper? •Who can work as a programmer? •Who can serve combat roles in the military? Gilbert and the Singapore Template for Technology-Based Development Template for Policy Analysis It makes sense to study Singapore –It’s a good model for how heavy government intervention is useful –And how having the government back off at the right time is also an evolutionary step Singapore’s government playing the key role in mandating their modern networks. Evolution Singapore got their first computer in 1963. –At that time, had a PTT style phone network that concentrated on providing basic services Evolved from phone service provision to stand-alone computing. They recognized content, computing and “carriage” were inter-related. Timeline 1963 - first computer mid-70’s - undersea and satellite links installed for phone system Committee on National Computerization - 1980 1986 - ISDN committed to by Govt.. 1992 - “intelligent island” plan…IT 2000, and bandwidth-on-demand via BISDN. Singapore offered as a dynamic example of 4 stages: Moving from total government control To regulated private monopoly (AT&T) To regulated competition (US system for local service To unregulated competition Markets: sheltered Services: value-added Structure: technologies Resources: alliances Markets: open Services: value-added Structure: customers Resources: capital I I : Learning I V: Competitive Markets: protected Services: basic Structure: functional Resources: revenues Markets: protected Services: public utility Structure: joint ventures Resources: foreign direct investment I : M onopoly I I I : Cooperative Mandated Infrastructure 1991 National Technology Plan Heterogeneous network supporting common network service layer, Standard functions –Access control –Transaction engines –GroupWare –Intelligent agents Partnerships - the link to the future... It was the opening of markets to competition… And the technology transfer that came with JV’s drawn in to the opened market That gave Singapore the hi-tech they needed to realize their plan What Singapore did, Other nations can, as well! Singapore is a template for other developing nations. –Initial governmental control –Segueing to regulated competition –Moving to more open markets to get the technology from international companies who wish to partner. The Singapore Development Matrix, shifted forward ... Here’s what the author thinks the other Asian nations are doing… A comparison of other developing nations in the region, as they follow the example. Markets: sheltered Services: value-added Structure: technologies Resources: alliances Markets: open Services: value-added Structure: customers Resources: capital I I : Learning I V: Competitive Thailand, 1995 Singapore, 1980 Hong Kong, 1995 Singapore 2000 Markets: protected Services: basic Structure: functional Resources: revenues Markets: protected Services: public utility Structure: joint ventures Resources: foreign direct investment I : M onopoly I I I : Cooperative Vietnam, 1995 Singapore, 1970 Indonesia, 1995 Singapore 1990 Conclusions from Studying Singapore? Infrastructure and government policy are highly interconnected Countries have to be strategic National unity may be important for nations needing to move quickly to be competitive Does anybody know where India’s going? IT Development Status