Unit 1 Assignment

Unit 1 Assignment

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Unit 1 Assignment

Geert Hofstede identified five dissimilar cultural dimensions concerning particular countries and assigned a mathematical score to each per their beliefs about each of the cultural dimensions. The five cultural dimensions are:

Power distance

Power distance in the Hofstede model means how people of a particular culture react or feel about the power relationships, for instance, manager and assistant manager, director and subordinate, etc. It also means how much of this difference is accepted in a particular region or culture. For instance, some cultures or people do not accept orders or feel confident and happy to work under direct supervision.

Individualism

Individualism means the inclination towards working for oneself and focusing on self-development. On the other hand is collectivism, where people work for collective gains and development. For instance, in some cultures, people are more self-dependent and self-centered, while in other cultures people prefer to work towards the betterment of their family and sacrifices their wishes. Cultures where individualism is high, innovation, and entrepreneurship are high.

Masculinity

Masculinity indicates that opposition, accomplishments, and achievements run the culture. Low level of masculinity means that the prevailing values in the culture are quality of life and taking care of each other. In short, masculinity is what provokes people to be the best, whereas feminine, means liking what you do and not worrying about competition.

Uncertainty avoidance

As perceived by its name, uncertainty avoidance is a cultural dimension which means avoiding risks or ambiguity. In some cultures people tend to take risks and put it on the line; they are adventurous or curious to know, to experience or to explore opportunities. On the other hand, some cultures avoid taking risks and prefer staying on the safe side. These people do not want or like surprises.

Long term orientation

Long-term orientation refers to the cultural dimension in which people either plan for long-term or short-term benefits. For instance, some people like to live in the present and only work for present sustenance while other people may plan for future gains or long-term benefits instead of short-term. Also, they are more normative in their philosophy and demonstrate pronounced admiration for traditions. (Whalen, 2016)

Every country deserves the description concerning cultural dimensions as the cultural characteristics greatly affect consumer buying behaviors and therefore, businesses. To know how to, and how not to operate in a specific territory, is the key to success.

Syria

Syria has a score of 80 in PDI which is high. This means that Syrian people accept a hierarchical order. In other words, businesses in Syria should tend to be centralization as people of Syria will presume that they will be told what to do. The ideal manager would be benevolent and an autocrat.

IDV with a low score of 35 means that Syrian people are not into individualism and collectivism prevails in the region. Loyalty is paramount and strong relationships are valued more than other things. People prefer to work for the betterment of a group, society as a whole or their families. Businesses here would need to treat people as a family.

MAS score of 52, means that there is no clear dominant inclination concerning masculinity and feminism.

A high score of 60 in UAI means that Syrian people prefer avoiding ambiguities. The society here maintains inflexible codes of convictions and is intolerant of nonconformist behaviors and philosophies. People like to be busy and work hard, accuracy and reliability. Innovation may be repelled.

A low score of 30 in LTO means that Syria is a normative nation. People prefer absolute Truth, exhibit excessive respect for customs, a relatively small tendency towards the future, and an emphasis on attaining rapid outcomes.

Hong Kong

PDI at 68, people of Hong Kong accept a hierarchical order. In other words, businesses in Hong Kong should tend to be centralization as people here will presume that they will be told what to do. They can be dictated with ease. The ideal manager would be benevolent and an autocrat.

At a score of 25 in IDV means that people of this country are not into individualism and collectivism prevails in the region. Loyalty is paramount and strong relationships are valued more than other things. People prefer to work for the betterment of a group, society as a whole or their families. Businesses here would need to treat people as a family.

MAS index at 57 Hong Kong is a rather Masculine culture, which means people here are achievement oriented and ambitious. They are more likely to spend extra hours at work. Students will be more concerned about their exam marks and ranking so to achieve success.

At 29, a low score on UAI means that the people of this country are easy with uncertainty; and are flexible and entrepreneurial.

LTO having a high score of 61 in Hong Kong predicts that the culture is certainly realistic and practical. This means people here have the aptitude to adjust to new traditions and changed conditions easily, and have determination in accomplishing results.

The U.K

At 35 in PDI, the UK is in the lower rankings. It means the people here believe that inequalities among people should be reduced. In this culture, people feel that everyone should be treated justly and fairly.

IDV score of 89 is very high. This means that the society here is exceedingly individualist and secluded. People prefer to think for themselves and uniquely contribute to society. Personal fulfillment is the goal here.

MAS at 66 the UK is a rather Masculine culture, which means people here are achievement oriented and ambitious. They are more likely to spend extra hours at work. Students will be more concerned about their exam marks and ranking so to achieve success.

At 35 in UAI. It means that the people of this country are easy with uncertainty; and are flexible and entrepreneurial (Mooij, 2017)

A score of LTO being 51 is midways score; therefore a prevailing preference here cannot be determined.

The U.K is more like the U.S whereas, Syria and Hong King are more unlike the U.S. With PDI index of the U.S being 40 to 35 in the U.K, IDV 91 to 89, MAS 62 to 66, UAI 46 to 35 respectively, the U.K is more like the U.S. However, Hong Kong and Syria is most dissimilar to the U.S. The U.S to Honk Kong and Syria index of PDI is 40, 68, 80; IDV 91, 25, 35; MAS 62, 57, 52; UAI 46, 29, 60 and LTO being 26, 61 and 30 respectively, are quite different.

References

de Mooij, M. (2017). Comparing dimensions of national culture for secondary analysis of consumer behavior data of different countries. International Marketing Review, 34(3), 444-456.

Whalen, J. M. (2016). The Hofstede model and national cultures of learning: a comparison of undergraduate survey data (Doctoral dissertation, Colorado State University).