Cultural Differences between the Chinese and United States Business Environment - Coursework Example

Download file to see previous pages The United States and China are increasingly growing markets for both local and international businesses. However, the historical, political, social, and economic pasts of these countries have formed a framework for cultural developments, which shape the current business approaches and interactions. As such, this paper is going to employ Hofstede’s dimensions in analyzing the cultural differences between the US and China, and how the cultural constructs influence the business interactions in the two countries.
Currently, China forms the most appealing and in Asia, with increased international collaboration with a variety of partners from other countries and regions. The country not only received direct foreign investments from other countries within the Asia region but also receives large investments from Europe and North America(Guirdham, 2009). On the other hand, the US forms the largest economy in the world, with a growing number of business lines involving the highly diversified population that has generated a mainstream culture towards conducting business. The line that differentiates the US and Chinese cultures is thick enough and evident within the business practices. The four cultural dimensions by Hofstede coupled with the fifth dimension by Bond provide a clear framework for the analysis of the cultural differences between the US and China. Hofstede was one of the cultural researchers who first adopted the problem-solving pragmatic approach in relating culture and management approaches within different business settings. Hofstede clearly defines culture as a form of programming within a group’s mindset, which distinguishes them from a different set of people (Walker, Walker, & Schmitz, 2003). Hofstede further identified four dimensions that he deemed to be important in explaining the value systems of different cultures. The identified dimensions include individualism versus collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity versus feminist. ...Download file to see next pagesRead More