Cultural Dimensions
Levels of Culture

Manifest
 Expressed values
 Basic assumptions
Frameworks

Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck- Variation in
Values Orientation
 Bigoness & Blakely’s Dimensions
 Hofstede’s Dimensions
 Hall’s Culture Context
 Trompenaars’ Seven Dimensions
Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck
Values orientation
Relation to nature
Time orientation
Basic human nature
Activity orientation
Variations
Subjugation
Past
Evil
Being
Harmony
Mastery
Present
Future
Neutral/Mixed Good
Containing/ Doing
controlling
Relationships among Individualistic Group
Hierarchical
people
Space orientation
Private
Mixed
Public
Bigoness & Blakely
Pleasantness
Good Citizen
Competent
(Cheerful,loving, (Responsible,
(Capable,
helpful)
polite, obedient) courageous)
Good Thinker
(Imaginative,
intellectual)
Australia (n=36) 12.7
Brazil (n=30)
11.7
Denmark (n=37) 11.9
France (n=32) 13.1*
Great Britain
(n=89) 12.5
Germany (n=106)13.0*
Italy (n=31)
12.2
Japan (n=20)
10.0*
Holland (n=31) 12.2
Norway (n=46) 11.5
Sweden (n=69) 12.8
USA (n=42)
12.1
10.9
10.1*
11.5
11.3
5.6
4.7*
5.2
5.6
8.3
6.8*
8.6
7.8
11.7
10.8
11.7
9.8*
11.8
11.4
12.0
11.5
6.2
5.5
5.2
6.2
5.4
5.2
4.5*
6.7*
7.7
8.0
6.7*
7.5
7.5
8.0
8.1
7.7
Overall
11.3
5.6
7.9
12.3
Hofstede’s Dimensions of Cultural Differences:
Individualism versus collectivism
-concern for self vs. others
Power distance
-acceptance of unequal power distribution
Uncertainty avoidance
-preference for structure
Materialism versus concern for others (Masculinity/Femininity)
-tough vs. tender
Long-run versus short-run orientation (Bond)
-future vs. past/present
Collective
PAK
COL
TAI PER
THA
VEN
SIN
HOK
GRE
JAP
PHI
IND
IC
NZL
CAN
NET
GBR
USA
AUL
Individual
Low
Power Distance
High
Hofstede Dimension Scores for 10 Countries
USA
Germany
Japan
France
Netherlands
Hong Kong
Indonesia
West Africa
Russia
China
PD
IC
MF
UA
LT
40L
35L
54M
68H
38L
68H
78H
77H
95H
80H
91H
67H
46M
71H
80H
25L
14L
20L
50M
20L
62H
66H
95H
43M
14L
57H
46M
46M
40L
50M
46L
65M
92H
86H
53M
29L
48L
54M
90H
60M
29L
31M
80H
30L
44M
96H
25L
16L
10L
118H
From Hostede, 1993
Academy of Management Executive
Hall’s Culture Context

High-context
– China, Egypt, France, Italy

Low-context
– Australia, Canada, England, United States
Trompenaar’s Seven Dimensions of Culture

Universalism vs. Particularism
 Individualism vs. Collectivism
 Neutral vs. Affective Relationships
 Specific vs. Diffuse Relationships
 Achievement vs. Ascription
 Relationship to Time
Culturally Based Differences
in Management Style
Culture provides values that guide
acceptable managerial behavior
and leadership styles.
Transplanted managers
may need to adopt some
of the characteristics of the
national stereotype of an
effective leader in the local
culture.
Culturally Based Differences in
Management Style:
Stereotypes
United States
Emotional,
egalitarians
China
Low-profile,
tough negotiators
Japan
Formal,
consensus seekers
Germany
Technically expert,
authoritarians
France
Elitist,
authoritarians
Multicultural Managers and
Organizations
The Multicultural Manager
– Has the skills and attitudes to relate effectively to and
–
–
–
–
motivate people across race, gender, age, social attitudes,
and lifestyles. Respects and values the cultural differences.
Has the ability (e.g., is bilingual) to conduct business in a
diverse, international environment.
Has a cultural sensitivity in being aware and interested in
why people of other culture act as they do.
Is not parochial in assuming that the ways of one’s culture
are the only ways things should be done.
Is not ethnocentric in assuming that the superiority of
one’s culture over that of another culture.
Protocol Do’s and Don’t’s in Several Countries
Great Britain
DO say please and thank you often.
DO arrive promptly.
DON’T ask personal questions because the British protect their privacy.
DON’T gossip about British royalty
France
DO shake hands when greeting. Only close friends give light, brushing kisses on cheeks.
DO dress more formally than in the United States. Elegant dress is highly valued.
DON’T expect to complete any work during the French two
hour lunch
DON’T chew gum in a work setting.
Italy
DO write business correspondence in Italian for priority attention.
DO make appointments between 10:00 and 11:00 or after 3:00.
DON’T eat too much pasta, as it is not the main course.
DON’T handout business cards too freely. Italians use them infrequently.
Protocol Do’s and Don’t’s in Several Countries
Greece
DO distribute business cards freely so people will know how to spell your name.
DO be prompt even if your hosts are not.
DON’T expect to meet deadlines. A project takes as long as theGreeks think is
necessary.
DON’T address people by formal or professional titles. The Greeks want more informality.
Japan
DO present your business cards with both hands and a slight bow as a gesture of
respect.
DO present gifts, American-made and wrapped.
DON’T knock competitors.
DON’T present the same gift to everyone, unless all members are the same organizational
rank.
Multicultural Managers and Organizations
The Multicultural Organization
– Values cultural diversity and is willing to
encourage and even capitalize on
such diversity.
Benefits of a Multicultural
Organization
– Achieves the benefits of valuing diversity.
– Avoids the problems of not managing
for diversity:



increased turnover
interpersonal conflict
communication breakdowns
Developmental Stages for the
Multicultural Organization
Monocultural
Nondiscrimination
Multicultural
Exclusion of
minorities and
women from power
Unfair advantage
of majority group
removed, but no
culture change
Shares power
and influence
with all; major
culture change
Barriers to Good Cross-Cultural Relations

Perceptual expectations
– Predispositions about the appropriate appearance and
physical characteristics of individuals.

Ethnocentrism
– A belief that one’s culture is the best and judging other
cultures by how closely they resemble one’s own
culture.

Intergroup rather than interpersonal relations
– Stereotyping individuals based on their group
membership

Stereotypes in intergroup relations
– Assuming an individual’s personal characteristics based
on their group membership.
Cross-Cultural Processes:
Motivation
In order to use motivational concepts across cultures,
managers must know two key factors:
– Which needs the people are seeking to satisfy.
– Which rewards will satisfy those needs.
Research findings:
– A motivational concept that
has a good cultural fit with
a culture can be
successfully applied
to that culture.
Cross-Cultural Processes:
Ethics
Global business practices and behaviors create
ethical and legal dilemmas for managers:
– The choice of which culture’s code of ethics to follow.
– Conflicts between individual and organizational
responsibilities for ethical behavior.
– The ethics of outsourcing when
doing so may create a human
health or environmental safety
hazard in another culture.
Cross-Cultural Processes:
Negotiations
Suggestions for negotiating abroad:







Use a team approach.
Do not push for informality.
Be patient.
Learn to tolerate less than full
disclosure of information.
Accept silence as part of
negotiating.
Take no for an answer
sometimes.
Be adaptable.
Cross-Cultural Processes:
Conflict Resolution
National cultures influence which method of
conflict resolution a manager will choose.
Tinsley’s models of conflict resolution:
Conflict Resolution Model
Cultural Group
Membership
Deferring to status power
Japanese
Applying regulations
Germans
Integrating interests
Americans
Diversity Training and Cultural
Training

Diversity Training
– Attempts to bring about workplace harmony by
teaching people how to get along better with diverse
coworkers.
– Objectives of diversity training:




Fostering awareness and acceptance of individual differences.
Helping participants understand their own feelings
and attitudes about people who are different.
Exploring how differences might be tapped as assets
in the workplace.
Enhancing work relations between people who are different
from each other.
Diversity Training and Cultural
Training

Training in Cross-Cultural Relations
– Cultural training

A set of learning experiences (e.g., mastering a foreign
language) designed to help employees understand the customs,
traditions, and beliefs of another culture.
– Culture shock


The physical and psychological symptoms that can develop
when a person is abruptly placed in another culture.
Cultural training is designed to help expatriates avoid culture
shock, which is a major contributor to the high failure rate of
overseas assignments.