Influence of Culture on Global Organizational Practices - Essay Example

Influence of culture on global organizational practices based on Hofstede’s understanding s Submitted by s: Introduction Organizational culture is the conduct of human beings in the setting of an organization and the meanings that people associated with this behaviour (Naylor, 1997, p. 282). Culture entails the vision, principles, rules, systems, traditions and philosophies that are linked to an organization. Organizational culture also involves teaching these collective behaviours and assumptions to new members of the organizations as a manner of observing and discerning as well as feeling. Organizational culture has an impact on the manner in which people and groups interrelate amongst themselves, with clients and with organizations stakeholders (Barry, 2009, p. 408). Organizational culture can also be considered as conventional shared mental expectations that guide understanding and activities in an organization through the definition of suitable conducts for different situations. Even though an organization may have its own exclusive culture, in the bigger organizations, there may be conflicting cultures that co-exist based on the attributes of various management teams (Aamodt, 2013, p. 512). Ultimately, the culture of the organization may have an impact on the sense of belonging of the employees to their organization and the organization may have cultures that are differing along with subcultures within their main cultures (Lane, 2004, p. 46). The culture of the organization may be attributed to the dynamics like past, market, expertise, approaches and the variety of employees as well as form of management of an organization. Conversely, corporate culture represents the cultures that are purposely developed by the management of an organization in order to attain particular strategic goals (Nickson, 2013, p. 52). Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory This theory is a structure for cross-cultural communications that was created by Geert Hofstede, which describes the impact of the culture of a society on the beliefs of its adherents and the manner in which these values are connected to behaviour while utilizing a framework that is resultant from factor analysis (Bardhan and Weaver, 2011, p. 111). This concept has been broadly implemented in a number of disciplines as an archetype for research especially in cross-cultural mind-sets, multinational management along with cross-cultural communication. The cultural dimensions theory was originally developed to evaluate the results of a global survey of the values of workers by IBM in the sixties and seventies (Christiansen, 2012, p. 5). The theory was among the first that had the capacity to be computed and could be used in the explanation of observed differences in different cultures (Matsumoto and Juang, 2013, p. 123). When the concept was initially developed, it recommended four proportions that could be used to examine cultural values including individualism-collectivism, avoiding of ambiguity, and power distance together with masculinity-femininity (Martin, 2012, p. 251). Research that was conducted in Hong Kong resulted in Hofstede adding another dimension, long-term bearing, to address the features of values that had not been addressed in the original archetype. Consequently, Hofstede added another dimension in 2010, which was indulgence versus self-restraint based on the analysis that was conducted by Michael Minkov. Ultimately, additional research has polished a number of the initial dimensions and brought in the dissimilarities between national-level and personal-level data in the analysis. Hofstede’s works continue to be a key resource in cross-cultural disciplines and have stirred other key cross-cultural studies directed at values along with research on different features of culture including social beliefs. Hofstede sought dissimilarities between more than one hundred and sixty thousand IBM workers located in fifty different nations and three regions of the globe while attempting to identify features of culture that could be able to affect the behaviour of businesses (Jacob, 2003, p. 108). Hofstede goes further to suggest aspects concerning cultural differences that exist in regions and nations and the significance of international knowledge together with multiculturalism in cultural self-analysis (Brebbia and S. S. Zubir., 2012, p. 575). Differences in culture demonstrate dissimilarities in thoughts and social activities as well as in mental initiatives, which are terms that Hofstede utilizes for predictable behaviours. He associates culture with ethnic and regional groups together with organizations, professions, families and laws among others. Hofstede recommends the need for changing mental initiatives with change in behaviour first that may result to changes in value even though particular groups such as Jews and Gypsies have preserved their identity through centuries and their values demonstrate and adaptation to the principal cultural setup. Hofstede illustrated that the cultural groupings that have an effect on the behaviour of an organization may be national or regional and went on to acknowledge four dimensions of culture while he was studying national cultures (Piepenburg, 2011, p. 14). Among the dimensions that were acknowledged is power distance where different societies identify varying solutions for social inequality and even though they are invisible, the inequality of power within organizations regarding the association between bosses and subordinates is functional based on Hofstede’s reflection of the way inequality is dealt with in the society (Phongpaibul, 2007, p. 35). Based on Mulder’s Power Distance Reduction concept, subordinate staff will attempt to decrease power distance existing between them, their superiors usually attempt to sustain or increase it, and to some level, social order expects dissimilarities in the amount of power (Singh, 1988, p. 120). Therefore, a high score represents an expectation that some people possess bigger amounts of power than others do while a low score demonstrates that all the people are supposed to have equal rights. Uncertainty avoidance entails coping with improbability concerning the future as seen in the society through technology, legislations and religion (Beugré, 2007, p. 58). In Hofstede’s view, organizations address this uncertainty using technology, legislations and customs or through rational and non-rational ways where the customs are considered non-rational. He went on to consider memos and reports are customs along with some sections of the accounting structures, a big percentage of planning and controlling initiatives as well as the selection of professionals. Individualism against collectivism involves the conflict of interests regarding individual and collective goals and Hofstede states that the workers within the firm will demonstrate the expectation of the society (Fitzgerald, 2003, p. 23). Consequently, the members of the collectivist society tend to have an increased reliance on emotions when in an equilibrium and the firm is supposed to demonstrate responsibility upon the members. Extreme individualism is evident in the United States and collectivism is considered as a negative trait. Therefore, other cultures outside the United States will try to deal with problems in the society and the organization in various ways that are not similar to the American way. Hofstede states that the economies associated with the capitalists markets nurture individualism and competition while being associated with the development of the middle class. Research has shown that some individuals as well as cultures might be associated with both high individualism and high collectivism, for instance, a person who holds duty to his group highly does not afford low priority to individual rights and being self-sufficient (Carmichael, 2002, p. 36). Masculinity against femininity entails reflecting if particular societies are largely male or female in regard to the values held by the society’s culture, the roles bestowed on the genders and the relations in terms of power (Jackson and Tomioka, 2004, p. 31). On the other hand, a long-term bearing against short-term-bearing is seen as dealing with the manner in which the society searches for virtues. A society with short-term bearings usually has strong concerns with the establishment of absolute Truth as they think in a normative manner. Further, they demonstrate a lot of respect for traditions, a comparatively small tendency to save for the future as well as an emphasis on the attainment of rapid results. However, in a society associated with long-term bearings, people have the belief that the truth is dependent on the circumstances, setting and stage. Thus, they display and ability to embrace traditions to evolved conditions, a strong tendency for savings and investments, prudence, along with persistence in attaining their objectives. All these proportions are related to the effects of national cultures in terms of administration and may be employed in the adaptation of guidelines to the locally prescribed requirements. Applications of Hofstede’s theory Hofstede is a renowned sociologist of culture as well as an anthropologist in terms of applications for appreciating global businesses. Numerous articles reference his books with more than twenty thousand citations associated with his work. The five dimensions framework is broadly employed in numerous domains of the social life of human beings and especially in the business discipline and upon the establishment of these dimensions, practical applications quickly followed (Pauleen, 2007, p. 180). In the business set-up, the promotion of cultural sensitivity assists individuals to work more efficiently during their interactions with persons from other nations and participates to ensure that transactions are fruitful(DuBrin, 2011, p. 454). Transnational communication One of the main concerns in business is communication; therefore, Hofstede’s model provides insights to other cultures for the people who have daily interactions with people from other countries and regions of the world together with the experts who work internationally. Further, cross-cultural communication entails an awareness of the cultural dissimilarities, as what may be seen as perfect and permissible in one nation, may be perplexing or rude in another (Sovic and Blythman, 2013, p. 151). Cultural dimensions affect communication at all its levels including through the language and wordings, gestures and body language as well as the permissible and non-permissible etiquettes while also applying to written communication (Banks, 2012, p. 55). Transnational dialogues International dialogues entail methods of communication, expectations and position of issues and objectives in accordance with the countries of origins of the negotiators. When these dialogues are applied in the correct manner, the appreciation of cultural dimensions increases chances of success in the dialogues while decreasing the probability of conflicts. For instance, in talks between the Canadians and the Chinese, the Canadian delegation may seek an agreement and the signing of a contract while the Chinese delegation may want to dedicate more time to activities that are not associated with the business including small talk and preference to protocol so that they can create a connection. Negotiations in the Western world put emphasis on mutual understandings and agreements and shaking hands when the parties agree (Klaesson, Johansson and Karlsson, 2013, p. 417). Therefore, the handshake is a cultural indicator of the culmination of negotiations and the beginning of cooperation in the Western world. Conversely, in the nations of the Middle East, a lot of negotiations take place prior to the agreements that is indicated by the shaking of hands, but the deal is not sealed in the as this handshake is a cultural indication that more serious dialogue is about to begin. Transnational management Cultural considerations also apply in transnational management along with cross-cultural leadership where decisions are dependent on the customs and principles of a particular country (Jackson, 2011, p. 81). When dealing with international corporations, managers may train their workers so that they can develop some sensitivity to cultural dissimilarities and develop distinct business practices based on protocols in different nations. Hofstede’s dimensions provide guiding principles for the definition of culturally permissible methodologies to corporate firms and as a component of the public sphere, Hofstede’s work is employed by many consultancies all over the globe. Transnational marketing Similar to communication and dialogue, the five dimensions framework is useful beneficial as far as transnational marketing is concerned as it provides a definition of the national values in the business setting (Richter, 2012, p. 92). As business attempt to adapt their products to the local customs and likings, they must appreciate the uniqueness of these markets. For instance, in order to market vehicles in a nation where the avoidance of uncertainty is characteristically high, the marketing campaign should dwell on the safety of the cars, while in other countries, the campaign may emphasize on the social image associated with the cars. Marketing of mobile phones is also another thought-provoking example of the use of Hofstede’s theory in regard to cultural dissimilarities. For instance, advertising mobile phones in China requires a collective experience, while in the US; the advertisement must demonstrate how the buyers can use it to save their time and money. The range of applications of the theory developed by Hofstede is so broad that it has been applied to disciplines such as wed design whereby national preferences must be adopted in accordance with cultural values (Schumann, 2009, p. 62). Limitations of the Hofstede model Regardless of the fact that Hofstede’s model is usually accepted as the most all-inclusive structure of cultural values at the national level, especially by people who study business culture, its rationality as well as limitations has been the subject of wide criticism. Apart from the five cultural dimensions developed by Hofstede, other elements of culture can be analysed and other levels that can be used for the assessment of culture. In most instances, these levels are ignored mainly because of the manner in which these levels are constructed. There are sampling inconsistencies that debar the survey from being convincing on organizations or countries as the interviews were directed as sales and engineering employees with a limited number of women and the participation of a small number of social minorities. Regardless of whether the country indices were employed in the regulation of wealth, size of the population and growth, the advantaged male workers in engineering and sales departments of one of the leading global companies cannot be perceived to represent their countries. Further, Hofstede recognizes that the cultural proportions he developed are mere conceptual constructions and are tools that are supposed to be applied in practical applications. Generalities concerning the culture of a particular country are useful but they must be considered in this context and as guiding principles for enhanced appreciation as they are proportions at the group-level that create a description of the national mean applying to the whole populace. The cultural dimensions developed by Hofstede assist the people who use them in distinctive nations but are not concerned about the dissimilarities that exist between the members of the society. The dimensions do not particularly define the personalities of individuals and the national scores are not supposed to be taken as deterministic in the context of individuals. For instance, a person from Japan may be confortable in changing environments but on average, the Japanese people have a high avoidance for uncertainty. However, this rule has its exceptions and Hofstede’s principles can be placed in contrast with its likeness at the individual level, which is the trait theory in terms of the personality of humans. Disparities on the typologies of individualism and collectivism have been suggested as self-expression as well as individualism is enhanced with when the economy grows without a dependence on culture and they are important in the small populations that experience external competition for resources. Eligible persons in powerful positions adopt independence regardless of whether they live within collective cultures and similar to the power index, the individuality and communalism studies distribute nations based on foreseeable patterns in their demography and economy. Therefore, they may not be in a position to provide information concerning specific organizational dynamics nor organizational and individual disparities in the same socio-economic set-ups. Individual aggregates require cautious separation from the national aggregate as individuals are the main subject of psychological evaluation while their socialization and their interrelation with the society is a supposed to be examined at the family, school, city and national level based on its own statistical symbol of culture. People cannot develop their own speech and sense-making practices without depending on the rest of the society, as individuals are generally poor candidates as far as cultural sense making is concerned. Contemporary critics have rejected the probability of any person being self-determining since the unitary, individual self is an impression of the modern society demonstrated by the required copies and replications in languages and conduct that persons participate in to maintain the membership of a particular society. When developing a description of culture, dissimilarities in gender are mainly not considered but there are particular factors that are beneficial to evaluate in discussions concerning cross-cultural communications. In every society, the culture of the male members is different from that of the female members and even though males and women possess the ability to perform similar duties, there are often indications to which every gender has varying responses. In the circumstances where a particular gender reacts in an alternative way to their set roles, the opposite gender may not consider this deviant gender role as being permissible. The degree of responses faced by individuals exposed to external cultures may be likened in the same way to responses of gender conduct of the opposite sex. The level of gender diversity in a nation is dependent on the cultures in that country together with its history. In this regard, the bipolar model is based on typical distinctions existing between the political philosophies that are liberal or socialist. Despite the value assertiveness, autonomy competition and aggression among other characteristics of liberal economies, welfare socialism focuses on protecting and providing for the weak, increased involvement in environmental issues and stress on welfare and while strongly respecting quality of life and shared responsibilities. Societies that are considered masculine were also considered to be among the most successful during the period when Hofstede conducting his study, while the successful feminine societies were characterized by either relatively small populations, lesser economies of scale or strong shared philosophies. The masculine-feminine contrast creates a division of the organization into those that display compassion, solidarity or competition and this dimension is sexist in nature. Conclusion Defining culture has remained unclear to the researchers assessing it using varying methods with the common understanding of culture being the way of doing things or the customs by which a society systematizes its activities. Nonetheless, the term tends to be categorized more definitely when considered in relation to the organization and the systems it employs to perform actions. The popular idea among researchers is that all the organizations display particular values and customs in the business setting and a company has the likelihood of ending up exhibiting two aspects including organizational culture and corporate cultural culture. Hofstede carried out a comprehensive research process in IBM to get an insight of the behaviour of the company and the workers showed throughout the numerous offices it operated all over the globe. His idea was than organizational behaviour is affected by groupings of natural and regional cultures and the conclusion from the research enabled Hofstede to create five dimensions of culture that he considered were demonstrated by organizations all over the globe. References Aamodt, M. 2013, Industrial/organizational psychology, Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, Belmont, CA. Banks, E. 2012, Risk culture, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke. Bardhan, N. and Weaver, C. 2011, Public relations in global cultural contexts, Routledge, New York. 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