THEORY  OF  CULTURES
•Study of cultures – G.Hofstede and E.T.Hall,
•Questionnaire research in 40 countries in multicultural corporations
•More than 128,000 questionnaires
•Results – culture dimensions

CULTURE  DIMENSIONS
1.Individualism x collectivism
2.Monochrony x polychrony
3.Masculinity x femininity
4.High power distance x low power d.
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1.

INDIVIDUALISM  x COLLECTIVISM
•orientation toward work
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•Ind. cultures – task oriented, self-motivated, individual reward
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•Coll. cultures – interest of the group, reward and appraisal for the group

MONOCHRONIC x POLYCHRONIC C.
•Attitude to time
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•Monochronic c. – time is important and linear, events are scheduled, deadlines are kept
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•Polychronic c. – many things at a time, delays are tolerated, deadlines are postponed

C. HIGH  AND  LOW IN MASCULINITY VALUES
•Gender roles in culture
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•C. high in masc. v. – roles of men and women in society are defined, men and women are not equal
•C. low in masc. v.  - roles are not defined, women can have high positions in the society

HIGH AND  LOW POWER  DISTANCE C.
•Distribution of power in organizations
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•High power distance c. – large status differences, hierarchy in the society
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•Low power distance c. – small status differences, subordinates and supervisors can be friends

Practical application
•Understanding of Hofstede’s Model –
•Managers – to predict the likely outcomes of management techniques and employment policies in
different national contexts
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•Students – to predict what kind of culture you will have to stay in - preparation

Power distance
•the degree to which the less powerful members of a society accept and expect that power is
distributed unequally
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•how a society handles inequalities among people
•people in HPD accept a hierarchical order
•everybody has his/her  place -no further justification
•LPD – people strive to equalize the distribution of power

Individualism x collectivism
•Ind - preference for a loose social framework
•Individuals are expected to take care of themselves
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•Coll  a preference for close relationships in society
• individuals can expect their relatives to look after them - in exchange for loyalty
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•people’s self-image is defined in terms of “I” or “we
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Masculinity x femininity
•Mas represents a preference in society for achievement, assertiveness and material reward for
success
•Society is more competitive
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•Fem stands for a preference for cooperation, modesty, caring for the weak and quality of life
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•Society is more consensus-oriented
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Culture clusters
•Finnish culture – individualism, low masculinity, monochrony, low power distance
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•Arabic cultures – collectivism, high masculinity,  polychrony,  high power distance

HOFSTEDE ´S  DIMENSIONS  - FINLAND



HOFSTEDE´S   DIMENSIONS   - TURKEY



HOFSTEDE´S  DIMENSIONS -  ARAB  WORLD



Critical incident 1
•A German businessman is invited to home of his business partner in Saudi Arabia for dinner. He
presses him to tell the time precisely.  After the  arrival he asks where his wife is and is
surprised that she is not having a meal with them.Then during the meal he reaches for the food on a
large platter from all ther sides. After the meal he leaves immediately.
•

Critical incident 2
•A British businessman in an Arabic country wants to make an important deal. He can´t afford to
waste any time, so he is frustrated when he waits for ages to get an appointment with his partners.
Meetings never start on time, and when they do, there are frequent interruptions with people coming
in to get papers signed.
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Critical incident 3
•An American manager working in Japan is impressed by the performance of one member of his team. At
the next team meeting he praises this person in front of the group. The rest of the Japanese team
look confused.
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Critical incident 4
•A Western European marketing manager is working in Japan. It is very difficult for him because
during meetings the Japanese colleagues hardly ever say anything. When they are asked if they agree
to his suggestions, they always say "yes", but they don´t do anything to follow up the ideas. The
only time they open is in a bar in the evenings where they expect him to go out with them on a
regular basis

Task
•Do you remember a very difficult situation that happened to you when meeting people with different
culture background?
•https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Aadf3XvSXo
•Make a short case study – a critical incident about it.
•Structure:
•Description of the situation
•Identification of the problem
•Alternative solutions
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