Examine the role of two cultural dimensions on behavior
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Transcript Examine the role of two cultural dimensions on behavior
For Example: Individual/Collectivism, Power
Distance, uncertainty avoidance, Confucian
dynamism, masculinity/femininity
Heather Monville
Examine
“Consider an argument or concept in a way that
uncovers the assumptions and interrelationships of
that issue” – Mr.Weisse
Cultural Dimensions
Asides from Cultural Norms, cultural dimensions is
another components of Culture
Dimensions-the perspectives of a culture based on
values and cultural norms
Hoefstede’s Classic Study (1973)
Involved asking the employees of a multinational
company to fill our surveys about morale in the
workplace
Carried out content analysis on the responses received
Focused on key differences submitted by employees in
different countries
His research looked at 40 most represented countries
Hoefstede’s Arguments
Understanding cultural dimensions will help facilitate
communication between cultures
Different Dimensions
There are four main dimensions (talked about in the
book on page 126)
Individualism
Collectivism
Uncertainty
Avoidance
Individualism/Collectivism
Individualism
Definition: The habit or principle of being independent
and self-reliant.
In an individualist society everyone is expected to look
after himself or herself or his/her immediate family
Collectivism
Definition: The practice or principle of giving a group
priority over each individual in it.
In collectivist societies-from birth and on people are
integrated into strong groups (often extended family)
Markus and Kitayama (1991)
Characterized a difference between United States and
Japanese culture
“In America, the squeaky wheel gets the grease; in
Japan, the nail that stands out gets pounded”-Japanese
Proverb
They argue that perceiving a boundary between the
individual and social environment is distinctly western
in cultural orientation
Uncertainty/Avoidance
Uncertainty
The state of being uncertain
Avoidance
Keeping away from or preventing from happening
Deals with society’s tolerance for uncertainty and
ambiguity
Shows to what extent a culture programs its members to
feel either uncomfortable or comfortable in unstructured
situations
Unstructured situations
Unknown and Surprising
Confucian Dynamism
Bond (1988) argues that Chinese culture replaces the
uncertainty-avoidance dimension with Confucian
Work Dynamism
Confucian Dynamism
Instead of focusing on the truth, some cultures focus on
virtue
Example: China and other Asian Countries have a longterm orientation
Value Persistence, Loyalty and Trustworthiness
Hoefstede (He’s Back)
Found that Finland, France, Germany and US have
short-term orientation
There is a value of personal steadiness and stability
Focus on the future instead of the past
Innovation is highly valued
Warns against Ecological Fallacy
When one looks at two different cultures it should not
be assumed that two members from two different
cultures MUST be different from one another. Or that a
single member of a culture will always demonstrate
dimensions of the norm of that culture
Edward T. Hall
Proxemic Theory (1966)
Based on a cultures need for “Personal Space”
The Hidden Dimension
Different cultures have different perceptions of the amount of
personal space that is required to be comfortable
Time Consciousness
Distinguished between monochronic cultures and
polychronic cultures
Monochronic-Cultures focus on one thing at a time
Focus involved high degree of scheduling and punctuality
Polychronic- Cultures where many things happen at once
The focus is more on relationships and interactions