Different Cultura Experiences in Russia and Germany - Term Paper Example

Key issues for expatriates working in Russia and Germany Introduction Expatriates experience different cultural experiences in Russia and Germany, including differences in language, beliefs, norms and values. One of the main values of Russia is truth, referred to in Russian as “Pravda”. Others include dusha, in-group, and time and money. Dusha refers to soul; feelings, emotions and inner secret thoughts. Friendship is also one of the unique cultural values of Russia. On the other hand, Germany is characterized by the values of order, punctuality and privacy (Fiol, 1991). Germans are also hardworking and thrifty in everything that they do. Another key value of Germans is perfectionism. This progress report provides an overview of the values, values and overall culture of the two countries; in order to compare and contrast them. In order to achieve this, two frameworks will be analyzed – Hofstede model and Trompennar’s model. The report will also highlight the organizational culture, negotiation styles and aspects of language. Hofstede Model The culture of the two countries can be analyzed in terms of Hofstede’s 6-Dimensions. The six dimension of culture as suggested by Hofstede include power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, pragmatism and indulgence (The Hofstede Centre, 2014). These dimensions differ in different countries, leading to different values and beliefs of different countries. This differences cause challenges for expatriates working in different countries. Power Distance This cultural dimension expresses cultural attitudes towards inequalities in the society. Russia has a high power distance of 93%, which means that power is very distant in the society (The Hofstede Centre, 2014). There is a large discrepancy between the less powerful and the more powerful. Expatriates therefore need to adapt to behaviours that reflect status roles in business areas – including negotiations, cooperation and visits. On the other hand, Germany has a low power distance score of 35%. Leadership is challenged to provide expertise and results, and control is avoided. Expatriates in Germany are therefore free to challenge the status quo. Individualism This refers to the level of interdependence among members of the society. Russia has a low score in terms of individualism. This is reflected in their friendship value. Friends, relatives and neighbours are always considered to be important in challenges facing people (The Hofstede Centre, 2014). On the other hand, Germany is a highly individualistic society with Hofstede’s individualism score of 67% (The Hofstede Centre, 2014). Germans believe in ideals of self-actualization. Masculinity Russia has a low level of masculinity. This shows that the country has values of caring for others and being concerned with the quality of life (Krishna et al, 2004). In Germany, masculinity score is high; hence the country values performance. Managers tend to be assertive and decisive. Uncertainty avoidance This is based on the way a society views the future – whether it can be controlled or just left to work out itself (Vinken et al, 2004). Russia has a very high score on uncertainty avoidance. Russians do not like ambiguous situations. Germany also has a high level of uncertainty avoidance. Information is sought to create certainty and projects are well thought out. Pragmatism Pragmatism refers to the cultural dimension which describes the way in which the society refers to its past when dealing with future challenges (The Hofstede Centre, 2014). Russia and Germany both have highly pragmatic mindset. People in these countries believe that truth highly depends on context, time and situation. They also adapt to changing conditions by changing their traditions with the changing situations. Indulgence Indulgence refers to the ability of people to control their impulses and desires depending on how they were brought up (Matveev & Nelson, 2004). Russia has a low score of indulgence. Russian culture is characterized by restrained nature. It also has some pessimism and cynicism (The Hofstede Centre, 2014). German culture is also restrained in nature because it has low indulgence. Trompennar’s model According to Trompennar, dimensions of culture arise from problems which need solutions (Trompenaars and Hampden-Turne, 2012). Each culture has its own ways of solving given problems. The dimensions of culture according to Trompennar include unversalism versus particularism, individualism versus communitarianism, neutral versus emotional, specific versus diffuse, achievement versus ascription, attitudes to time, and attitudes to environment. Universalism versus particularism Universalistic societies consider what is good and right while particularistic cultures consider obligations of relationships (Trompenaars and Hampden-Turne, 2012). Germany is characterized by universalistic culture which entails following good ways. Russian culture is particularistic because friendship has special obligations. Neutral versus emotional This indicates whether interactions are objective or they encourage emotions (Trompenaars and Hampden-Turne, 2012). Germany has neutral culture whereby interactions are detached and objective while Russia has an emotional culture whereby business is a human affair which accepts expression of emotions. Specific versus diffuse Diffuse culture involves including a person in a business relationship through personal contact (Trompenaars and Hampden-Turne, 2012). Specific culture entails prescribing a specific relationship by a contract. Germany has a specific culture while Russia involves a diffuse culture. Human contact and interactions are important in Russian business relationships. Achievement versus ascription Cultures characterized by achievement are those that judge their people by achievement while those that have ascriptions judge their people by personality, birth, kinship etc (Trompenaars and Hampden-Turne, 2012). Russian culture judges its people by their personalities, kinships and birth while German culture judges its people by their accomplishments and achievements. Attitudes to time In German and Russian cultures, the future is better than the past. People are judged by what they are planning to achieve rather than what they have already achieved in the past (Trompenaars and Hampden-Turne, 2012). Time and money are very important in Russian culture while achievement and performance is important in German culture. While Germans concentrate on performance and achievements, Russia looks at when such achievements are to be made. Attitudes to environment Some cultures consider the power of a person comes from within; factors affecting individuals reside within the individual (Trompenaars and Hampden-Turne, 2012). Other cultures consider the world to be more powerful than the individual. The environment plays more role than the individual. Germans believe in the power from within while Russians believe in the influence of external environment. Negotiation Negotiation in Russia requires individuals to show behaviours that reflect status and the role of status in the society (Metcalf, 2007). An individual negotiates differently with someone down the rank than someone up the rank. Relationships are also important to obtain information for negotiations in Russia. Focus of negotiation in Russia is also on building relationships. In Germany, negotiation is focused on solving a problem rather than building relationships (Wall and Blum, 1991). It is conducted objectively and involves looking at divergent opinions. Gifts are sometimes given upon successful negotiations in Germany. References list Fiol, C. M. 1991. “Managing Culture as a Competitive Resource: An Identity-Based View of Sustainable Competitive Advantage.” Journal of Management. Vol. 17, no.1, pp.191- 211. Krishna, S., Sahay, S., & Walsham, G. 2004. “Managing cross-cultural issues in global software outsourcing.” Communications of the ACM. Vol. 47, no. 4, pp. 62-66. Matveev, A. V., & Nelson, P. E. 2004, “Cross cultural communication competence and multicultural team performance perceptions of American and Russian managers”, International Journal of Cross Cultural Management. Vol.4. no.2, pp. 253-270. Metcalf, E., L., Bird, A., Lituchy, R., T., Peterson, F., M. and Shankarmahesh, M. 2007, “Cultural Influences in Negotiations: A Four Country Comparative Analysis.” International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, Vol 7, no. 2, pp.147–168. The Hofstede Centre. 2014, Cultural Tools: Country Comparison. Accessed November 11, 2014 from http://geert-hofstede.com/countries.html. Trompenaars, F. and Hampden-Turne, C. 2012, Riding The Waves Of Culture Understanding Diversity in Global Business.3rd edn, Nicholas Brealey Publishing, Boston, MA. Wall, J.A. and Blum, M.W. 1991, “Negotiations”, Journal of Management, vol. 17, No. 2, pp. 273-303. Vinken, H., Soeters, J., & Ester, P. (2004). Comparing cultures: Dimensions of culture in a comparative perspective. Leiden: Brill. Read More