Comparative Analysis of Portugal and Australia Culture - Essay Example

?Comparative Analysis of Culture INTRODUCTION Culture of every country differs from one another on many dimensions. Culture is a set of beliefs and values of a particular country which influences the business environment of the nation. It has been often observed that a cultural scan can play a major role for an individual before embarking on a career transition for the purpose of work to a new host country. Consequently, in this study, the cultural analysis is exhibited of the home country Portugal and the host country Australia. People from various countries in search of work move from one country to another and face the difference of culture. The cultural difference of Australia and Portugal is wide depending on several aspects. For an individual, it is imperative to comprehend the multicultural values especially in the business environment to successfully perform the assigned activities. With this concern, in order to ascertain cultural distinctiveness of the host or target country i.e. Australia, a person working in the corporate sector in the nation was interviewed. Subsequently, a number of critical facets have been derived that would enable to meet the ensuing challenges in a diverse culture. THESIS STATEMENT The objective of the study is to determine the various cultural dimensions which differentiate the business and cultural environment of Australia from Portugal. The behavioral dimension, work purpose, time and human nature among factors are evaluated. FREE WILL AND CONTROL The cultural environment of Australia differs from that of Portugal on the basis of certain grounds. From the conversation with the designated individual and from revealed researches, it has been ascertained that the culture of Australia gives much significance to ascertaining harmony of the country which influences the workplace. The harmony is valued to bring cohesiveness and promote diversity in Australia which supports the work culture to a great extent. Australia renders more significance to the individualistic culture, which makes the society loosely knit. This characteristic is displayed in the business environment where the employees are estimated to be self-reliant and exhibit initiative. The people of Australia are modest, value authenticity, sincerity and give more importance to the business. The hiring and the promotion of the people in Australia depend on the merit of the individuals. Conversely, in Portugal, the importance is given to the moral and relationship factor. The cohesiveness of the people in Australia makes it a better place for business than in Portugal. The Portugal culture gives more importance to personal relation than business. The commitment among the people is more in Portugal as they follow the collective approach, which gives more importance to the group member than an individual (ITIM, “What about Australia”; ITIM, “What about Portugal”). UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE The rules and procedures are flexible in Australia as it follows the pragmatic culture for avoiding uncertainty. With reference to Hofstede’s cultural dimension, it is observed that the score of Australia is 51 as compared to 104 of Portugal which signifies that the Australian culture gives emphasis on idea generation, innovation and has a risk taking approach to help the work environment to flourish amid the changing uncertainties. Whereas, the Portuguese culture states that they follow rigid rules and procedures which help them to avoid uncertainty better than Australia. The people do not focus on emotions much and emphasize planning to make the business grow. The culture emphasizes more emotions, beliefs and have a risk-averse behavior (ITIM, “What about Australia”; ITIM, “What about Portugal”). SOURCES OF TRUTH In the Australian organizational culture, the managers are easily accessible due to a flexible hierarchical system. The communication system is informal in Australia which gives scope for both the management and the employees to have a free interaction. Thus, employee for any query or in search of truth can directly go to the management as the communication is direct in Australian culture. The score in terms of power distance is 36 but in Portugal it is 63, which reflects the dominant position of the managers in Portugal. The Portuguese work environment demonstrates a strong management control, and replicates very less interaction with the employees. It is difficult in the Portuguese culture to get the source of truth as the interaction is formal and stringent (ITIM, “What about Australia”; ITIM, “What about Portugal”). UNIVERSALISM Universalism in the Australian culture is more evident than the Portugal culture. Through the universalism dimension, the rules and regulations are applicable for every individual regardless of their relationship with the management. Moreover, the management has good relation with the employees and can provide feedbacks and give suggestions regarding the improvement which makes the working culture satisfying. Whereas, in Portugal, rules are based on human relationship with the management and also the management is not open to feedback and hence the employees at times feel demotivated. This makes the work environment of Australia better in comparison with Portugal (ITIM, “What about Australia”; ITIM, “What about Portugal”). TIME The Australian culture gives importance to punctuality. They are focused towards their work and believe in doing one task with full commitment. They respect time and focus on one thing at a time to ensure quality. In this form of culture, the business has a to-do list, daily planning, set goals and thus implements time management efficiently. The importance is given to the present and the future as they follow moderate monochromic time. However, the Portuguese culture differs as it follows polychromic time as they do several tasks at a time and hence gives less importance to punctuality which is not good for the business culture. The timely disbursement of remuneration which makes the employees motivated is considered to be prompt in Australia as compared to Portugal (ITIM , “What about Australia”; ITIM, “What about Portugal”). HUMAN NATURE The Australian culture gives more emphasis to the individualistic approach where the people give more importance to themselves than group. The Australian culture gives significance to their own self-image and is not closely associated with their extended family or the society. The individualistic approach of Australia can be ascertained from the score of 90 in Hofstede’s cultural dimensions on the other hand, Portugal scores 27. With regard to the business environment of Australia, it expects the employees to be independent in their approach and exhibit initiative for the betterment of the company and self. Moreover, the rewards are given to employees based on their excellence and performance. The culture gives importance to honesty and punctuality at work. The people of Australia have strong work ethics and hence greet the strangers in a professional style (ITIM, “What about Australia”). The cultural aspect of Portugal focuses on collectivist culture where relationships, emotions and friends are given more importance. They are more family oriented than business oriented (Kwintessential Ltd, “Portugal - Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette”). Every individual is responsible for the companion in the workplace or society. The working environment is judged on the basis of moral and promotions take place on the basis of relationship with the management. The strangers in this culture are greeted very politely in a warm manner (ITIM, “What about Portugal”). PURPOSE OF WORK The Australian people value work and are focused towards competition, attainment and success. They believe in being the winner and value the concept that people should ‘strive to be the best they can be’. The Australian culture gives more importance to success from the very childhood and work aggressively to attain realization in life. They value reward in the form of promotion and when they are able to take decision for the betterment of both company and themselves. On the short-term basis, the performance of the company is measured and hence the people are tending to work in an aggressive manner. The people value their status gained from the hard work and competitiveness. Australia is termed as a masculine society with a score of 61wherein people realize and learn the importance of achievement in their school and work life (ITIM, “What about Australia”). Portugal gives importance to equality, quality of life with the family member and does not seek competition or aggressiveness in a good way. They work to earn their livelihood and not for rewards. The people are more family oriented and there is no relevance of status in their life. They follow the feminist society where fairness and quality of life are important aspects (ITIM, “What about Portugal”). COMMUNICATIONS The communication style of Australia is formal and values the directness in the communication. The nonverbal aspects of greetings such as shaking hands and exchanging business cards are part of their culture. The opinion of the individual is given respect and people are active listeners. The communication is concise as they do not hype their performance or the company and maintain the ethicality of the working culture. The Portuguese have an informal way of communication and greet people in cordial and homely manner (Taylor, “Australia Introduction”). LONG-TERM ORIENTATION With regard to another crucial cultural dimension i.e. ‘Long-Term Orientation’, it is observed that Australia is largely a short-term oriented culture where individuals are determined to ensure quick results in terms of work activities. Similarly, Portuguese culture is also a short-term oriented culture where the people depict respect for prevailing traditions along with being impatient for attaining prompt results (ITIM, “What about Australia”; ITIM, “What about Portugal”). CONCLUSION The study reveals the fact that the work culture is quite cohesive, competitive and goal-oriented in Australia as compared to Portugal. The business culture of Australia is informal and focuses on the profit of the concern and the employee. The various cultural aspects such as communication, human nature and time suggest that the work environment is better in the host country i.e. Australia than Portugal. The quality of life and relationship is the main focus of the people of Portugal, which at times creates a sense of reluctance towards competitiveness in the cultural perspective. Works Cited “What about Portugal.” ITIM. n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. “What about Australia.” ITIM. n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. “Portugal - Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette.” Kwintessential Ltd. 2012. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. Taylor, Stephen. Australia Introduction. 2012. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. Read More