Inter-Culture in a Globalized World - Coursework Example

Inter-Culture in a Globalized World By al Affiliation> September 14, Table of ContentsIntroduction 3 Nigeria 3 a. Geographical data, population, economy, religion, language 3 b. Food that reveal the culture of Nigeria including values, religion, celebrations, collectivism, natural resources, political issues etc. 4 Comparative Country: China 5 a. Hofstede’s Dimensions of Culture 5 b. Hall’s Time Orientations 6 c. Critical Analysis of the Frameworks 7 Application of Management Concept 7 Synthesis and Conclusion 9 Reference List 10 Introduction Culture is one of the most studied concepts in management and human behavior in organizations. The importance of culture in contemporary management in a globalised world is emphasized due to the increasing support for organizations to employ personnel from different cultural backgrounds. Likewise, since contemporary organizations venture more in the international markets, it is also necessary for management and leaders to be culturally aware of the values, beliefs, practices, and dimensions that are exhibited by people from the country they plan to venture in. In this regard, the purpose of the current research is to present an overview of two (2) cultures, Nigeria and China. Nigeria would initially be discussed through presenting geographical information, including the food which reveals cultural values. Further, using Hofstede and Hall’s theoretical frameworks, Nigeria’s cultural dimensions would be compared with that of China’s. Finally, an application of a managerial concept, particularly on leadership and team building would be evaluated to provide managers intending to venture in Nigeria with the appropriate proposals to succeed. Nigeria a. Geographical data, population, economy, religion, language Nigeria is located in the western part of Africa, specifically within the Gulf of Guinea (Central Intelligence Agency n.d.). It is described to be slightly about twice size of California. The current population as of June 2014 is 177,155,754 and is therefore considered the most populous country in Africa. In terms of contribution to economic growth, Nigeria was reported as “Africas largest economy, with 2013 GDP estimated at US$ 502 billion. Oil has been a dominant source of government revenues since the 1970s” (Central Intelligence Agency: Economy-overview, n.d., par. 1). However, statistics indicated that around 70% of the 2010 population is below the poverty line (Central Intelligence Agency n.d.). The official language was noted to be English. Other spoken languages include: Yoruba, Fulani, Hausa, and Igbo (Ibo) (Central Intelligence Agency n.d.). Likewise, reports indicate that there are more than 500 indigenous languages in the country. Finally, more than 50% of the population were identified to be Muslims; 40% are Christians; and the remaining 10% are reported to practice indigenous beliefs (Central Intelligence Agency n.d.). b. Food that reveal the culture of Nigeria including values, religion, celebrations, collectivism, natural resources, political issues etc. Food has always been considered one of the identifying distinctive aspects in any culture. According to Thaker and Barton (2012), since Nigeria is considered home to diverse peoples from varied cultural orientations, it is virtually challenging to accurately pinpoint a national dish. As noted, each region manifests differences in preparing their most popular dishes according to customs, religious beliefs, and traditions. Likewise, the authors asserted that “Nigerians and most Africans often cook the same way and may use similar ingredients but the end product may look or taste different, depending on the tribe, local tradition, and cooking methods” (Thaker and Barton, 2012, p. 252). The staple food for Nigerians were stated as follows: yam, cassava, rice, black-eyed beans, corn, millet, and sorghum. These staples were noted to be commonly boiled, fried, and eaten with stew, soup or omelette. Another important characteristic and feature of Nigerian food is the strong influence of religion. Since almost half of the population are Muslims, this means that pork is not eaten (Thaker and Barton, 2012). As such, for Muslims, their diet is reported to be predominantly composed of sorghum, beans, and brown rice. Further, Thaker and Barton (2012) indicated that the amount of food placed on the plate is given importance. As acknowledged, “giving a guest a small portion is seen as parsimony. Therefore, filling the plate to the brim is often expected, even in restaurants, otherwise customers are driven away” (Thaker and Barton, 2012, p. 264). Comparative Country: China a. Hofstede’s Dimensions of Culture Using the cultural dimensions framework of Hofstede, the comparative analysis of Nigeria with China is visually illustrated below along the dimensions of power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, pragmatism, and indulgence (Hofstede Centre, n.d.): Source: Hofstede Centre, n.d. From the framework, it could be deduced that there are significant disparities in the dimensions of pragmatism and indulgence. As explained, the dimension of pragmatism was described as “how every society has to maintain some links with its own past while dealing with the challenges of the present and future, and societies prioritise these two existential goals differently” (Hofstede Centre, n.d., p. 1). Since Nigeria scored very low in this dimension (13), as opposed to China’s score (87), it means that Nigerians are normative and Chinese culture is pragmatic. The difference between the two is disclosed as follows: normative culture means people “prefer to maintain time-honoured traditions and norms while viewing societal change with suspicion” (Hofstede Centre, n.d., p. 1); while in a pragmatic culture, people “encourage thrift and efforts in modern education as a way to prepare for the future” (Hofstede Centre, n.d., p. 1). In addition, through the indulgence dimension, it could be seen that Nigeria scored high (84), while China scored low at 24. This means that Nigerians “exhibit a willingness to realise their impulses and desires with regard to enjoying life and having fun. They possess a positive attitude and have a tendency towards optimism. In addition, they place a higher degree of importance on leisure time, act as they please and spend money as they wish” (Hofstede Centre, n.d., p. 1). b. Hall’s Time Orientations Hall’s time orientations allegedly describes how cultures structure time (Geert Hofstedes Dimensions of Culture and Edward T. Halls Time Orientations 2007). Two (2) time orientations were classified: monochronic versus polychronic. From the distinguishing characteristics of both time orientations, it could be determined that Nigerian culture is more of a monochronic culture; while China exhibits traits of the polychronic culture, especially with regards to task handling as well as breaks and personal time. c. Critical Analysis of the Frameworks Upon review of the results of Hofstede and Hall’s frameworks, it could be stated that these are generalized concepts that applied to the nations on a wider perspective. This means that the concepts could or could not be accurately representative of local people in the respective countries. For instance, in the areas where Nigeria and China differed considerably, the finding that Nigerians are basically fun loving and give more importance to leisure and spending money as wished is not true for all. There are Nigerians who value time a lot and save money for the future. In addition, after evaluating Hall’s time orientations, one could not completely agree to generalizing a particular culture into monochronic or polychronic culture. One strongly believes that there are traits that exhibit Nigerians to be characteristic of both. For instance, in task handling, some Nigerians are very good at multi-tasking; while some do one task at a time. Actually, one encountered a study which indicated that females are better than males at multi-tasking. Therefore, there are other factors that should be incorporated when evaluating the importance of time as influencing characteristics of a particular culture. Application of Management Concept Some of the concepts discussed in management and organizational behavior are leadership theories are team building. From the results of the cultural dimensions, it was revealed that Nigerians basically acknowledge the existence of power distance, or that “people accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has a place and which needs no further justification. Hierarchy in an organization is seen as reflecting inherent inequalities, centralization is popular, subordinates expect to be told what to do and the ideal boss is a benevolent autocrat” (Hofstede Centre, n.d., p.1). Nigeria scored exactly the same as China in the aspect of power distance (80). As such, from the study conducted by Adegboye (2013), “in most Nigerian cultures and especially the Yorubas, a two year age differential forbids the younger to refer to the older by his/her first name” (p. 213). Both cutlures value respect for authorities and hardly call superios on a first name basis. Likewise, the Chinese regard authorities with respect and proper acknowledgement. In aother studey, an important finding asserted by Zhang (2010) is that “cultural difference … is only one of many variables that influence management” (p. 11). In addition, in determining some relationship between power distance, empowerment and team building, Zhang (2010) also revealed that “in a high power distance setting, team participation is not impacted significantly by empowerment, while in a low power distance setting, the positive relationship of empowerment and team participation is relatively more obvious” (p. 12). Overall, Zhang (2010) affirmed that “a high power distance culture in China is conducive for employees team participation but not for empowerment” (p. 15). The rationale for the outcome could be evaluated in terms of the collectivism nature of Chinese communities and their acceptance of authorities. From the evaluation of the two cultures, their management practices share similar characteristics in terms of acknowledging leaders and authorities with proper respect. They avoid calling superiors on a first name basis. Likewise, the acceptance for appropriate positions in the organizations contribute to team building. Synthesis and Conclusion The current discourse has successfully achieved its objective of discussing the main characteristics of one’s country, Nigeria. Likewise, the theoretical frameworks of Hofstede and Hall were used to compare cultural similarities and disparities between Nigeria and China. A critical analysis of the frameworks used included a personal analysis on how the framework should take into consideration additional factors, like relativeness and uniqueness of individual preferences. From the comparison of application of management concepts, focusing on leadership and team building, managers from other countries, say from the United States, who intends to do business in Nigeria should make the necessary research on the cultural dimensions, as well as important management practices. Gathering of these information would help managers to understand more about culture, practices, beliefs, and other applications in leadership and management that would make business transactions more effective. Reference List Adegboye, M. "The Applicability of Management Theories in Nigeria: Exploring the Cultural Challenge." International Journal of Business and Social Science . August 2013. [Available at] http://ijbssnet.com/journals/Vol_4_No_10_Special_Issue_August_2013/26.pdf [accessed December 9, 2014]. Central Intelligence Agency. "Nigeria." cia.gov. n.d. [Available at] https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ni.html [accessed December 9, 2014]. "Geert Hofstedes Dimensions of Culture and Edward T. Halls Time Orientations." ctp.bilken.edu.tr. 2007. [Available at] http://www.ctp.bilkent.edu.tr/~aydogmus/Hofstede_Hall.pdf [accessed December 9, 2014]. Hofstede Centre. "Nigeria in comparison with China." geert-hofstede.com. n.d.[Available at] http://geert-hofstede.com/nigeria.html [accessed December 9, 2014)]. Thaker, A., and A. Barton. Multicultural Handbook of Food, Nutrition and Dietetics. John Wiley & Sons, 2012. Zhang, Y. "Power Distance and Its Moderating Impact on Empowerment and Team Participation ." Digital Commons @ Lingnan University. October 2010. [Available at] http://commons.ln.edu.hk/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1052&context=hkibswp [accessed December 9, 2014]. Read More