MGT 505 Week 8 Discussion: Cultures

Week 8 Discussion – “Cultures”

It would be an advantage to send a present company employee for a short period of time because:

  • You are spearheading a study within your international company to determine (1) the advantage or disadvantage of hiring locals or natives versus sending present company employees for short periods of time; (2) if the company decides to send present employees, determine the necessary training to facilitate their success in a different culture.

It would be a disadvantage because:

  • They are familiar with the company’s processes and procedures at the headquarters level and therefore can assist new employees in understanding and becoming familiar with them;
    • They are familiar with the work environment and business culture of other countries; and
    • They are familiar with the vision and mission of the parent company, knowledgeable of global operations, and can apply strategic control over the new subsidiary.

The Hofstede model is based on the differences in values and beliefs in respect to work goals. It has easily identifiable implications for business because it provides a clear link between national and business culture and serves as a basis for extensive research on cross-cultural management. It uses five dimensions: power distance – equality among people; uncertainty avoidance – reactions to situations that are considered different and dangerous; individualism – relationships between the individual and the group in society; masculinity – gender roles; and long-term orientation – orientation toward time. Hofstede used only the countries that provided fifty (50) or more responses and four of his cultural value dimensions were developed by using a reduced sample of 40 countries. However, his database was later expanded to include ten (10) additional countries from three regions, Arab Countries and East and West Africa and the data was grouped by country clusters – groups of countries with similar cultural patterns. His rationale behind this approach was that summaries are useful for condensing cultural information and predicting likely cultural traits when specific information is not available.

  • It could become very expensive because they might expect incentives such as an increase in salary/locality pay.
    • If they have a family and depending on how long they will be there, they might want to take their family along for the assignment; and
    • Because they may not be familiar with the politics of that country, their lack of knowledge could jeopardize future business dealings for the parent country.
    • Using the Hofstede model, discuss the differences in power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism versus collectivism, and masculine versus feminine of the different cultures.

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