1. In what way will the culture of Spain be different from that of the United States? In answering this question, refer to Figures 4-5, 4-6, and 4-7.
Answer For power distance and individualism, Spain and United States have strong individualism. While United States has weak power distance, but Spain has strong power distance. In United States, people believe in equality of people and they are individualists because they care only surrounding people. In Spain, it cannot be said that they believe in centralization because of the score rank in the middle chart. Nevertheless, Spaniards have belief in equality less than United States and they are nearly to be collectivism which they have to rely on others. In addition, for power distance and uncertainty avoidance, Spain has strong level in both power distance and uncertainty avoidance, but United States has weak level in both power distance and uncertainty avoidance. Americans are willing to accept risks, but Spaniards are not. They have to prepare and have strong trust in experts. Furthermore, for masculinity and uncertainty avoidance, Spain has strong uncertainty avoidance, but weak at masculinity. United States has weak uncertainty avoidance, but high masculinity. It shows that Spaniards care about other people more than achievement and competition. On the other hand, United States will care about success. Therefore, there are many things that Americans have to change before come to invest in Spain. 2. If the company expands operations into Italy, will its experience in Spain be valuable, or will the culture be so different that the manufacturer will have to begin anew in determining how to address cultural challenges and opportunities? Explain.
Answer There are some styles when the company want to invest in Italy because there are some differences between Spain and Italy. In power distance, they are in same level which are they accept the gap of differences in society. For individualism, Italians have stronger individualism than Spaniards. It represents that Italians do not have to rely on and care to people around them. For masculinity, Italians have stronger masculinity than Spaniards. They interest in competition, leadership, and the winner. For uncertainty avoidance, Spaniards and Italians tend to believe in words of experts, but Spaniards are more than Italians. For pragmatism, Italy has stronger pragmatism than Spain. Italians believe that doing and practicing to get trust is better than only know about reason and theory, while Spain is distinct. For indulgence, Spain people have ability to control their desire and impulse more than Italian. Therefore, the techniques which are suitable to Spain are not appropriate to Italy because of cultural differences. 3. If the firm expands into France, will its previous experiences in Spain and Italy be valuable in helping the company address cultural challenges? Be complete in your answer.
Answer To compare between Spain and France, these two countries have similarity in cultures. Firstly, France and Spain are strong in power distance. It shows that these two countries have gap between people. Secondly, for individualism, they are also strong individualists, it can be said that they care only own response and surrounding people. Thirdly, both of them are low masculinity which workers have low stress to their jobs. Fourthly, both are strong uncertainty avoidance which people need for security and avoid risks. Fifthly, Spaniards and French believe that the truth will depend on situation and time. Lastly, Spaniards and French have weak indulgence. It can represent that they have low ability to control needs and impulses. Therefore, United States companies can use experiences from Spain to France because they have same cultures.
To compare between Italy and France, these two countries have some same and differences cultures. First of all, for power distance, in France, it is not equal between leaders and followers while leaders and followers in Italy do not have a large gap. Second, Italians and Frenchs are individualists, they will attend to only surrounding people such as their families. Third, in masculinity, Frenchs are feminine because they have more relaxation than Italians who are masculine that like to challenge. Fourth, both of them do not like to admit risks, and they have to prepare and trust in professionals. Fifth, both Italians and Frenchs said that reality will depend on time and predicament. Lastly, in indulgence, Italians have lesser relax and enjoy their lives than French. Thus, to do business with French, United States companies can use some experiences from Italy. For instance, companies may have to adapt company’s structure and working style.