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Cultural factors in negotiation
Cultural Dimensions: The Five-Dimensions-Model according to Geert Hofstede
The influence of culture in negotiation
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The cultural dimension can help to identify what sort of differences may occur in each of the dimension. Knowing this is beneficial to deal with the difference across culture and try to find alternatives to solve the issue. For the purpose of this reflection, I would like to focus on the cultural dimension of Geert H. Hofstede (2001), which are power distance, individualism, uncertainty avoidance and masculinity.
2. Theoretical reflection
First, power distance is a situation in which people acknowledge that there is different status between them (Geert H. Hofstede, 2001). People from a high power distance country tend to pay attention in hierarchical position and so they should act respectively in a relation between superiors and subordinates. While low power distance countries may encourage equalities among people with different level of employment. Therefore, there is a contrast between countries with high and low power distance, which should be understood when people will try to interact across culture.
Second, individualism is the extent to which people would prefer to be known as her or himself rather than a group (Geert H. Hofstede, 2001). A country with low individualism level may disregard personal performance,
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In a high masculinity country, male may be gotten higher position than female as male is perceived to be stronger than female. On the other hand, female may get bigger opportunity for top positions in the low masculinity countries, where gender gap is minimal or may not exist at all. The implication in the cross-cultural negotiation setting that a female representative from low masculinity countries may face difficulty to negotiate with a male representative from high masculinity countries. This is not necessarily because their position is not the same but it is a matter of perception or the way of viewing gender
Geert Hofstede performed the most lauded research on The Dimensions of Culture theory. His findings and the model that he created were outlined in his 1980 book “Cultures Consequences.” The work was met with both acclaim and disregard from fellow academics. Hofstede’s work is generally quoted and cited without any hesitation even today and his model is still widely used the main guideline for dealing with human resources from a cultural perspective.
Torelli, Carlos J., and Shavitt, Sharon. "Culture And Concepts Of Power." Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology 99.4 (2010): 703-723. PsycARTICLES. Web. 30 Oct. 2013.
Since the beginning of time, people have been trying to become individuals and stand out as unique beings. During the foundation of the colonies, individuals were focused on preserving their religious beliefs. As slavery became more predominant, the Civil War era fought to give black people their identity back. In the 1800s and 1900s, the individual initiative shifted from giving a group of people identity to individuals fighting for their own personal beliefs. In today’s society, individualism has been diminished by the collapse of the economy, forcing people to live with their parents for longer periods of time. As the economy continues to grow again individualism is making strides in a positive direction.
Individuality is the quality or character of a particular person or thing that distinguishes them from others of the same kind, especially when strongly marked. According
(1994). Beyond Individualism/Collectivism: New Cultural Dimensions of Values. In U.Kim, H.C. Triandis, C. Kagitcibasi, S. Choi & G. Yoon (Eds.). Individualism and Collectivism: Theory, Method, and Applications. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, pp. 112-115.
For a long time, the popular belief about anthropology was that it was the study of “far away” or “exotic” cultures. After my 10 weeks in Professor Michael Perez’s Anthropology 101 class, I now know this to be anything but the truth. My immediate thought’s for a cultural event to observe were reflective of these misconceptions – I considered an Indian wedding, a winter festival, a family friend’s Quinceanera. Nothing stood out to me.
A few of the most important elements of culture that I identify myself with would be language and values and beliefs. Language is the medium in which societies all over the world can communicate with one another. For example, in Ecuador, the language of Spanish is the means in which everyone can communicate with one another and share their beliefs and values with one another. Language allows us to be able to pass down culture from one time period to the next, which is called cultural transmission. This is vital in order for societies to learn from other’s previous mistakes and be able to succeed and learn. Thus, enabling societies to begin to value certain aspects of life or have beliefs, such as providing equal opportunity to everyone regardless
Hofstede has identified five different cultural dimensions. These dimensions include power-distance, individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, uncertainty avoidance and lastly long term orientation. According to Hofstede, power distance is the first dimension which translates to how all individuals in a society aren't equal and there is a decent amount of inequality when it comes to the division of power. The second dimension involves the theme of individualism which translates to the degree of interdependence as well as how we identify ourselves in terms of "I" or "We". Additionally, Hofstede states that in individualist societies we tend to look only after ourselves and our blood family, however, in collectivistic societies individuals identify themselves as part of groups and take care of each other in exchange for loyalty. The third dimension would be masculinity/ femininity. A high score would translate to a masculine culture which demonstrates a culture driven by competition, achievement and success. On the other hand, a low score which demonstrates a feminine culture shows that the dominant traits involves caring for others and quality of life. The fourth dimension involves uncertainty avoidance which translates to how a society deals with not knowing how the future is going to turn out. This amount of vagueness brings about anxiety and different cultures deal with this issue differently. The fifth and final cultural dimension according to Hofstede is long term orientat...
Cultural Differences in Hofstede’s Six Dimensions According to Professor Geert Hofstede, dimensionalizing a culture requires a complex analysis of a multitude of categories including differing nations, regions, ethnic groups, religions, organizations, and genders. Hofstede defines culture as "the collective programming of the mind distinguishing the members of one group or category of people from another". Throughout his many years of contribution as a social scientist, he has conducted arguably the most comprehensive study of how values in the workplace are influenced by culture, leading to the establishment of the Six Dimensions of National Culture. From this research model, the dimensions of Power Distance, Individualism, Masculinity, Uncertainty Avoidance, Long Term Orientation, and Indulgence are defined according to their implication on individual countries, which when comparatively examined provide a broad understanding of cultural diversity as it relates to the workplace. Identification and Definition of the Six Dimensions In initially defining each of Hofstede's dimensions, a foundational understanding of the six categories is established, from which a greater understanding of different cultures can be built off of.
The dimensions of culture came as a result of a research conducted by Greet Hofstede. The study investigated how culture in a workplace can be influenced by values of the people. In his view, culture is defined as the collective programming of the human brain that helps in distinguishing a group from another one. Moreover, the programming of the human mind influences the patterns, values and perspectives that define a certain community or nation. Hofstede developed a model of the national culture that is made of six dimensions. In addition to that, the cultural dimensions demonstrate the personal preferences on affairs that can be easily distinguished from that of individuals from another nation. Using the model, it is easy to identify systematic differences between the selected nations in terms of values (Hofstede). This paper discusses the cultural dimensions to compare the United States of America and China. The dimensions include Power Distance, Masculinity versus Femininity, Uncertainty Avoidance Index, and Individualism versus collectivism, Indulgence versus Restraint and long-term orientation versus short term normative orientation.
The cultural event that I attended was the Paseo First Friday Art Walk. I chose this event opposed to others because of the unique environment. This was located in downtown Oklahoma City as a strip mall known as The Paseo Arts District. There were art galleries, art demonstrations, live music, pottery, and food. This was all very fascinating to me and I enjoyed my time there.
According to Sledge, Miles, and Coppage (2008) power distance is “the degree to which control and influence are distributed unequally in society” (p. 1670). In a country with a high power distance employees would not feel comfortable voicing their opinions or disagreeing with their managers. Empowering employees would not work well because employees would be scared to take actions on their own. Employees would feel more comfortable with structure and strict procedures. In countries with low power distance managers could benefit from empowering employees. Employees are free to voice their opinions and develop and express new ideas or plans. Empowerment would motivate employees more in a country with low power distance.
This dimension describes the relationship between the individual and the collectivism that prevails in a given society. Individualism means mostly caring of oneself and one’s immediate family. In contrast, collectivism relates to caring for both oneself and other groups.
When I reflect back to the beginning of this semester I am astonished at how much I have learned. English 124 has been a real eye opener for me. Not only have I grown as a writer, but it has challenged me to become more of a critical thinker. In the class we have read many articles on diverse topics, studied theories of history’s greatest philosophers of education, and wrote various styles of papers.
There are a lot of different cultures in the world we live in today. Finding the place you belong and discovering your own culture can be a challenge. This is especially true when you look at culture as an individual versus culture in your family, or even within your community. I’ve always been very family oriented, so that plays a big part in who I am and how my family’s dynamic works. I believe that my family has had a huge impact on the development of my culture, and I hope that I have had the same impact on theirs.