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CN2: Cultured Dimensions of Behavior. By: Alfredo & Cassie. Basic Info. Dimensions- A culture component that percepts a cultured based on values and cultural norms. Hoefstede’s C lassic Study(1973).
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CN2: Cultured Dimensions of Behavior By: Alfredo& Cassie
Basic Info • Dimensions- A culture component that percepts a cultured based on values and cultural norms.
Hoefstede’s Classic Study(1973) • He ask employees of the multinational company IBM to fill on surveys about morale in the workplace. Then he focused on the key differences submitted by employees in different countries. • The trends he noticed he called “dimensions”.
Hoefstede’s Arguments • Understanding cultural dimensions will help facilitate communication between cultures. • It is important in international; diplomacy and international business.
Hoefstede’s Examples of Cultural Differences in Business • Negotiations in western countries: work towards a target of mutual understanding and agreement, and shake hands when that agreement is reached-a cultural signature of the end of negotiations and the start or working together. • Negotiations in middle eastern countries: negotiations lead into the agreement signified by shaking hands. The hand shake does not signal that the deal is completed, in middle eastern countries it is a sign that serious negotiation are just beginning.
Different Dimensions • Individualism • In individualist societies, the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look after herself and his/her immediate family.
Different Dimensions • Collectivism • In collectivist societies, since birth people are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, often extended families(uncles, aunts, and grandparents), which normally provides them with support and protection. • If a individual does not live up to the norms of the family or the larger society social group the results can sometimes be severe.
Markus and Kitayama(1991) • Characterized the difference between US and Japanese cultured by citing two of their proverbs: “In America, the squeaky wheel gets the grease; in Japan, the nail that stands out gets pounded down. ”
Markus and Kitayama results • Markus and Kitayama argue that perceiving a boundary between the individual and the social environment is distinctly western in its cultural orientation, and that non-western cultures tend towards connectedness. • Connectedness-united,joined,orlinked.
More Different Dimensions • Uncertainty vs. Avoidance • They deal with a society’s tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity. • This indicates the extant to which the culture programmes its members to feel either uncomfortable or comfortable in unstructured situations. Unstructured situations are novel, unknown, surprising.
Cultures role • Uncertainty-avoiding cultures try to minimize the possibilities of such situations by strict rules and laws, safety and security measures. • On the philosophical and religious levels they make a belief in absolute Truth- there can only be one Truth and we have it.
Bond(1988) • Chinese culture replaces the uncertainty-avoidance dimension with Confucian work dynamism. • Confucian work dynamism-instead of focusing on truth, some cultures focus on virtue.
Bond(1988) cont. • China and other Asian countries have a long-term orientation. • These cultures value persistence, loyalty, and trustworthiness. • Relationships are based on status. • They have a need to protect the collective identity and respect tradition • This if often known as “saving face”
Hoefstede vs. Bond • Hoefstede found that Finland, France, Germany, and the US have a short-term orientation. • In contrast to Confucian work dynamism, these cultures value personal steadiness and stability. • This shows their focus on the future rather then the past. • In this societies innovation is highly valued.
Hoefstede’s warnings • Ecological fallacy- its when one looks at two different cultures, it should not be assumed that the two members from the two different cultures must be different from one another, or that a single member from a culture will always demonstrate the dimensions which are the norm of that cultured.
Hall’s proxemic theory(1966) • A cultures need for “personal space” • His book The Hidden Dimensions show that different cultures have different perceptions on the amount of personal space that is required to be comfortable.
Hall’s Results • Normally people only allow their closest friends to get inside their personal bubble. • In the US, people engaged in conversation will assume social distance to be around 10-15 cm/4-7 inches. • In Europe its about half of that which is why Americas that travel sometimes find a need to back away from a conversation when the other person seems to be getting to close.