Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions

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Hofstede's Six Dimensions a group presentation • Hofstede has identified six cultural dimensions, where he explains how culture is made up and maintained within the culture. The values and norms we learn within the country, is forming the way we behave and communicate, which explain how we behave differently in between cultures. • With his six cultural dimensions we can compare differences and similarities between the values of different cultures, which helps by giving a perspective of how the culture works and behaves. And taking these dimensions into consideration during a Business negotiation between cultures can help businesses being more successful in their negotiation - as you need to know who you are doing business with. • Power Distance • Power Distance is related to the power relationship between people of a culture. As in high power distance culture, the power is distributed unevenly – this is countries like Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Whereas in low power distance cultures there isn’t a big difference of the power in between people. This is countries like the United States and the UK. • Collectivism/Individualism • This dimension refers to the strength of ties that people have to others within their community. People in a culture may think of themselves in terms of being individuals or as members of a collective group, whereas they are acting towards this. (French, 2015)This process influences the way societies are organized and decisions are made. • Individualism cultures can be found in the US, Canada and Western European Countries (Kim, 1995). Whereas the culture of Japan, Asia and Africa is more collective. (Kim, 1995). • Masculinity/Femininity • Then we have the dimension that mainly focuses on the approach of decision-making – Masculinity and femininity. Masculine approach might be hard edged, fact based, aggressive decision making whereas femininity is softer and is focusing on feelings, consultation and sharing. • But looking in a bigger picture, a negotiation between two masculine cultures could escalate as both cultures would be stubborn. Whereas it would be easier if at least one of the cultures was more feminine – as it would be easier to find a solution this way. • High vs. Low Uncertainty Avoidance • Uncertainty Avoidance refers to the degree to which the members of a culture feel uncomfortable with uncertain situations. • Members in a low uncertainty avoidance are more relaxed about business negotiations, and don’t think that must have the structure of a negotiation in the same way as cultures in a high uncertainty avoidance, who have a low tolerance of surprises, favour rules and therefore love structure. • • Long-Term Orientation/Short term: • This dimension refers to the time horizon in which people in a culture think long-term or short-term in dealing with challenges. With a high score, have a long-term orientation trend to be pragmatic and modest. In short-term oriented countries, people tend to place more emphasis on principles, consistency and truth, and are typically religious and nationalistic (https://www.mindtools.com/pages/artic...) . • In general, Business people in long-term oriented culture expect to build a strong position in their market. They do not expect quick results and do not mind accepting delayed gratification. Where short-term oriented business people expect to get results yearly, quarterly even monthly. This culture varies with groups and country to country. Time is seen in different ways by western and estern cultures even it can be different from organization to organization of the same country (Kiyoki (ed.) et al., 2009). • Indulgence/Restraint • Indulgence stands for a society or group which is controlled by natural impulses and is focusing on enjoying life and having fun. Where restraint stands for a society that is controlled and restrained on following social norms. • In indulgent culture, people normally focus more on individual happiness, more focused on their leisure time, they give more priority on their freedom and personal control. Where there is less priority of emotions and happiness in being restraint (Maclachlan, 2013). • Conclusion • Culture plays an important role in everyday life: For success in international business negotiations, it is important that the parties make an insight into the cultural difference in which they are going to meet in an international business negotiation. You need to build trust within a business negotiation, and the best way to do so, is to learn the norms and values within the country. A certain amount of trust is an indispensable ingredient for successful negotiation (Reid, 2015)

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