The PPT enlightens us on the dynamics of culture in various countries from a perspective of business orientation and country specific preferences

2. Session Objectives
Definitions of Culture
Cultural concepts
Hofstede Cultural Dimensions
National Culture Clusters
Reflections on cross-cultural mgmt. research
Development of cultures

3. Kluckhohn & Kroeber def. of Culture
Culture consists in patterned ways of  Thinking
 Feeling
 Reacting
Acquired & transmitted mainly by symbols, constituting the distinctive
achievements of human groups, including their embodiments in
artefacts
The
Essential
Core of
Culture
consists of
Traditional Ideas &
their attached values

4. Schein’s concept of Culture
A Culture has 3 levels:
1. Artefacts - visible
2. Values – intermediate level of consciousness
3. Underlying assumptions – invisible, unconscious & tacit
The Layers include :
Surface or Explicit culture (The Outside Culture) : Things that are readily observable , such as
dress , food , architecture , customs , body language , gestures , etiquette , greetings, gift
giving .
Hidden Culture (The Middle layer ): Values , religions and philosophies about things like child
rearing ,views of what is right and wrong .
Invisible or Implicit culture (The Core ): The cultures universal truths .
Schein emphasizes that relationships that lead from artefacts through values to underlying
assumptions are much weaker than those leading in the contrary direction , because the
influence of underlying assumptions on values and artefacts is stronger than vice versa

5. Schein’s 6 underlying assumptions
1. Nature of reality & truth
2. Time dimension
3. Effect of spatial proximity & distance
4. Nature of being human
5. Type of human activity
6. Nature of human relationships

6. Significance of culture in an International Context
1. Culture affects the way we develop and maintain relationships . It also plays a significant
role in determining success with colleagues and partners and helps us grasp how to
evolve into respected leaders around the world
2. Understanding culture fundamentally affects how we run our business, what
characteristics to look for in selecting people , how to develop global talent , how to
conduct meetings , and how to manage employees and work with teams .
3. Knowledge about and competency in working with varying country and organizational
cultures is one of the most important issues impacting the success of international
business activity , in general , and of IHRM, in particular .

7. Significance of culture in an International Context
Few years ago World economics forum asked over 3000 executives from around the globe to
rate countries on how well developed “ Inter Cultural Understanding” was in those countries .
At the top of the list were :
Switzerland | Singapore | Netherlands | Hong Kong | Malaysia
These countries have build their economies on international trade
While at the bottom of the list were :
Poland | Czech Republic | South Africa | China | Russia
These countries , until quite recently has had economics largely basically self contained and or
closed to international trade .

8. Goals of cross-cultural mgmt. studies
Organizational behavior
between countries & cultures
Describe
Compare
Explain & improve interaction
between employees, customers,
suppliers or business in different
countries & cultures
Explain & improve interaction between employees, customers, suppliers or business in different
countries & cultures

9. The Hofstede study

10. About the Research
 The Study occupies a special place in the field of cross cultural comparative research because it was
the first major study in this field .
 It can be positioned on the values level , the intermediate level of Schein’s concept of Culture . This
means it results in variables that are partly conscious and partly unconscious .
 This approach was different from the other studies that primarily consider the artefacts level .
 In total , the analysis was based on 116,000 questionnaires from IBM employees .
 The Surveyed employees represented all hierarchical levels of the company and possessed various
qualifications, from unskilled workers to university graduates .
 The study was conducted in 2 phases ( 1967-1969 & 1971 – 1973)
 Employees from a total of 38 various professional groups were surveyed
 The questionnaire was translated in 20 different languages in total and subsequently reverse
translated for determining validity .

11. Hofstede’s 6 Culture Dimensions
1) Power distance
2) Uncertainty avoidance
3) Femininity vs. masculinity
4) Individualism vs. collectivism
5) Confucianism or long-term orientation
6) Indulgence vs Restraint

12. Power Distance
 This Dimension expresses the degree to which the less
powerful members of a society accept and expect that power
is distributed unequally.
 The fundamental issue here is how a society handles
inequalities among people.
 People in societies exhibiting a large degree of Power Distance
accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has a place and
which needs no further justification.
 In societies with low Power Distance, people strive to equalize
the distribution of power and demand justification for
inequalities of power.

13. Uncertainty avoidance
 The Uncertainty Avoidance dimension expresses the degree to
which the members of a society feel uncomfortable with
uncertainty and ambiguity.
 The fundamental issue here is how a society deals with the fact
that the future can never be known: should we try to control
the future or just let it happen?
 Countries exhibiting strong UAI maintain rigid codes of belief
and behavior, and are intolerant of unorthodox behavior and
ideas.
 Weak UAI societies maintain a more relaxed attitude in which
practice counts more than principles

14. Femininity vs. Masculinity
 The Masculinity side of this dimension represents a preference
in society for achievement, heroism, assertiveness, and
material rewards for success.
 Society at large is more competitive.
 Its opposite, Femininity, stands for a preference for
cooperation, modesty, caring for the weak and quality of life.
Society at large is more consensus-oriented.
 In the business context Masculinity versus Femininity is
sometimes also related to as “tough versus tender” cultures.

15. Individualism vs. Collectivism
 The high side of this dimension, called Individualism, can be
defined as a preference for a loosely-knit social framework in
which individuals are expected to take care of only themselves
and their immediate families.
 Its opposite, Collectivism, represents a preference for a tightly-
knit framework in society in which individuals can expect their
relatives or members of a particular ingroup to look after them
in exchange for unquestioning loyalty.
 A society’s position on this dimension is reflected in whether
people’s self-image is defined in terms of “I” or “we.

16. Confucianism or Long-term orientation
 Every society has to maintain some links with its own past
while dealing with the challenges of the present and future.
 Societies who score low on this dimension, for example, prefer
to maintain time-honored traditions and norms while viewing
societal change with suspicion.
 Those with a culture which scores high, on the other hand,
take a more pragmatic approach: they encourage thrift and
efforts in modern education as a way to prepare for the future.
 In the business context, this dimension is referred to as
“(short-term) normative versus (long-term) pragmatic” (PRA).

17. Long-term cultures characterized by:
 Great endurance, persistence in pursuing goals
 Position of ranking based on status
 Adaptation of traditions to modern conditions
 Respect of social & status obligations within limits
 High savings rates & high investment activity
 Readiness to subordinate oneself to a purpose
 The feeling of shame

18. Short-term cultures characterized by:
 Personal candor & stability
 Avoiding loss of face
 Respect of social & status obligations without consideration of
costs
 Low savings rates & low investment activity
 Expectations of quick profit
 Respect for traditions
 Greetings, presents & courtesies based on reciprocity

19. Indulgence vs Restraint
 Indulgence stands for a society that allows relatively free
gratification of basic and natural human drives related to
enjoying life and having fun.
 Restraint stands for a society that suppresses gratification of
needs and regulates it by means of strict social norms.

20. Source: Hofstede Dimensions
China Korean Japan Vietnam India Philippines USA Mexico
Large/SmallPower
Distance 80 60 54 70 77 94 40 81
Strong/WeakUncertainty
Avoidance 30 85 92 30 40 44 46 82
Individualism/Collectivism 20 18 46 20 48 32 91 30
Masculinity/Femininity 66 39 95 40 56 64 62 69
Long/Shortterm
Orientation 118 75 80 80 61 19 29 29
20
0
40
Large/Small Power Distance
120
100
80
60
Strong/Weak Uncertainty Avoidance
Individualism/ CollectivismMasculinity/ Femininity
Long/Short term Orientation
China
Korean
USA
Mexico
Cultural Dimensions : Asia

21. Hofstede study: Power distance & individualism vs. collectivism

22. ©Hofstede Insights
National Cultural Clusters
The results of several studies suggest cultural groupings of the following countries :
 Anglo : Australia ,Canada , Ireland , New Zealand ,South Africa , United Kingdom and USA
 Arab : Abu Dhabi , Bahrain , Kuwait ,Oman , Saudi Arabia , United Arab Emirates
 Far Eastern : Hong Kong , China ,Indonesia ,Malaysia ,Philippines , Singapore , Vietnam
,Taiwan & Thailand
 Germanic : Austria ,Germany , Switzerland
 Latin American : Argentina ,Chile , Colombia ,Mexico , Peru ,Venezuela
 Latin European : Belgium , France ,Italy , Portugal , Spain
 Near Eastern : Greece , Iran , Turkey
 Nordic: Denmark , Finland , Norway , Sweden
 Independent : Brazil , India ,Israel ,Japan , South Korea

23. Impact of the cultural context on HRM practices
HRM Practices Impact of the cultural context
Recruitment and
Selection
 In societies low on ‘In-group collectivism’ individual achievements represent
important selection criteria.
 In societies high on ‘In-group collectivism’ the emphasis in the recruiting
process is more on team related skills than on individual competencies
Training and
Development
 In societies high on gender egalitarianism women have the same chances for
vertical career advancement as men
 In societies low on gender egalitarianism female managers are rare
Compensation
 In societies high on uncertainty avoidance employees tend to be rather risk
averse and prefer fixed compensation packages or seniority -based pay
 In societies low on uncertainty avoidance employees tend to be rather risk
taking and accept high income variability through performance-based pay
Task Distribution
 Societies high on collectivism tend to emphasize group work
 Societies high on individualism rather attribute individual responsibilities in the
work system

24. Future Hofstede-style research issues
Realization of cross-level studies
Consider groups, organizations, & country levels
Inclusion of cross-cultural differences
Consider intracultural variance
Inclusion of theoretically relevant moderators
Consider gender , class affiliation, etc.
Interaction between variables

25. ©Hofstede Insights
Cultures change
There is increasing
1. International connectedness
2. Global economy coordination
3. Harmonization of laws & regulations
4. Migration
Cultures are not confined to given territories.
This means new challenges for HRM.
 How resistant are cultures to change?
 Generation Y are fast, self-organized & absorbed learners
with distinct work-life balance preferences
 Entire society workforces are aging

26. Thank You

27. Culture …….As Schell and Solomon phrase it :
Learned and absorbed during the earliest stages of childhood , reinforced by
literature , history , and religion , embodied by heroes …. , and expressed in …
instinctive values and views , culture is a powerful force that shapes our
thoughts and perception .
Culture , with all of its profound and subtle ; they might be obvious or
invisible .
Ever present , yet constantly changing , culture permeates the world we
know and moulds the way we construct or define reality .