...Dayra Cerda Extra Credit Assignment Comparing Japan with USA The United States and Japan differ in many things, such as power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, long term orientation and indulgence. Power distance refers to how power is distributed and the extent to which the person who is less powerful accept that power is distributed unequally. The power distance in the United States is a 40 on the scale, compared to Japan with a 54. Japan exhibits a more unequal distribution of wealth compared to the USA. US's wealth is distributed more evenly and decisions are more democratic than in Japan. Individualism people believe in taking care of themselves and immediate family only. The scale of individualism in the US is 91. Americans are comfortable with doing business and interacting with those they do not know well. Japanese scale is at 46 which indicates they are oriented more toward collectivism. Japanese are more concerned with groups, family and areas of interest that pertain to many individuals. A masculine society means they enjoy competition, success and achievement. In the United States, the score for masculinity is at 62, which means they strive to be the best. Many Americans display their...
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...A Comparison of China and the United States using Hofstede’s Five Cultural Dimensions Kerbe Dorsey BUS600: Management Communications with Technology Tools (MOA1512A) Professor Stephen Griffith March 30, 2015 The global marketplace has become a very competitive and stress filled environment. The way a country deals with the many obstacle’s encountered on a daily basis may very well be the fine line that separates success from failure. In this piece we’ll look at the similarities and differences the US and China have gauged by Professor Geert Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions. As we examine the US and China, most would see these two countries as polar opposites of each other, but a closer look would r4veal some shocking cultural similarities. In two of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions the US and China almost mirrors one another. Masculinity and Uncertainty Avoidance are the cultural dimensions where the two countries see eye to eye. Both the US and China scored in the 60’s in masculinity (The Hofstede Centre). This is a key indicator of the competitive nature of both countries. The drive to be the best and the pursuit of excellence is alive and well in both countries. Whether it is an individualized approach or collective approach, the numbers are what they are and the US and China is similar in this cultural dimension. The cultural dimensions where the US and China differ the two countries are...
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...differences amongst different cultures. Between 1967 and 1973, he conducted a large survey containing samples from 117,000 IBM employees; he compared value scores from the database. “The data covered more than 70 countries, from which Hofstede first used the 40 countries with the largest groups of respondents and afterwards extended the analysis to 50 countries and 3 regions” (Natural Cultural Dimensions, 2014). Based on Holfstede’s theory there are five dimensions of national cultures: power distance index (PDI), individualism (IDV) vs. collectivism, avoidance of uncertainty (UAI), masculinity (MAS, and long-term orientation (LTO) vs. short-term orientation. The country culture scores on The Hofstede Dimensions correlate with other data regarding the countries concerned. Power distance, for example, is correlated with income inequality, and individualism is correlated with national wealth. In addition, masculinity is related negatively with the percentage of...
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...Cross Cultural Implications for doing Business in Emerging Markets International business is the act of investment and trade activities by firms across national borders. Small, Medium, and Multinational companies who have the resources tend to be attracted at doing business abroad. There are nine reasons why firms choose to internationalize which are (1) to gain market share, (2) earn higher profits and margins, (3) acquire new ideas about products, service, and business method, (4) to follow and better serve key customers that have relocated abroad, (5) to be closer to their supply chain, (6) have access to lower-cost or better value factors of production, (7) to develop economies of scale in production, sourcing, research and development, and marketing, (8) to challenge international competitors more effectively, (9) invest in a potentially rewarding relationship with a foreign partner. There are different ways companies can engage in international business. Companies can be involved in international trade, exporting, importing, international investment, international portfolio investment, and foreign direct investment. Depending on the type of risk the company decides to take, for example if the company wants the lowest risk possible for doing business abroad then exporting would be one of the safest ways to get their products or service abroad. Foreign Direct Investment is considered high risk due to the structure of each country’s culture, government, laws, rules...
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...Hofstede’s Five Dimension comparison of Germany and China Hofstede’s Five Dimensions Hofstede’s five dimensions are a useful tool to give someone an insight of different cultures. These elements give a country’s behaviour tendencies rather than an exact prescription. There are weaknesses to Hofstede’s Five Dimension theory as it may too easily encourage stereotyping. Even in countries as small as the UK, not all citizens are alike – e.g. it is argued that the culture in the North of England is quite different to the South. Hofstede has also been criticized for being too simplistic; however Hofstede’s theory does give us a general base to work from. 74 countries are listed on Hofstede’s website from which information can be drawn to make comparisons not only between countries but against the world average to give a broader picture. The following graph gives a comparison between Germany and China. It also allows for assessment against the Asian average and World average and our own British culture as benchmarks. Hofstede Comparison: UK, Germany, China Asian Average and World Average [pic] Comparison of Germany and China [pic] Power Distance Index Germany 35 LOW China 80 HIGH Individualism Germany 67 HIGH China 66 LOW Masculinity Germany 66 HIGH China 66 HIGH Uncertainty Avoidance Germany 65 HIGH China 30 LOW Long Term Orientation Germany 31LOW China 118 HIGH Power Distance Index – PDI Power Distance measures equality...
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...EMPL 3270: NEGOTIATION – THEORY & PRACTICE RESEARCH ESSAY Q2: According to Fells (2012, p.207) “As a negotiation unfolds, it is easy to attribute any behaviour, particularly behaviour that is different to your own, to culture and so ignore the many similarities”. Consider this statement with reference to contemporary research on cross-cultural negotiation and use examples to illustrate your analysis Introduction: Former President and charismatic leader of the United States John F. Kennedy once stated that, “We cannot negotiate with people who say what's mine is mine and what's yours is negotiable” (Kennedy, 1961). This timeless quotation epitomizes and typifies in essence what can commonly be regarded as cooperative negotiation. Formally, the term negotiation is commonly defined as two or more parties or groups deliberating amongst each other endeavoring to achieve a decisive result, which is mutually beneficial for both entities. When considering the process of negotiation across contrasting geographic locations or countries, negotiators have to understand the repercussions which heterogeneous cultures have in the final outcome of a potential deliberation. Culture is defined as the ‘unwritten rules of society’ (Hofstede et al, 2010) and most typically refers to those characteristics or values, which are unconsciously embedded in a large group of citizens through the ongoing processes of tradition and various forms of education. Understanding the pertinence of cultural...
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...While Ping/Mulan is training to be fit for war the masculinity stereotype is brought up many times and shows that only the men can be strong or fight for themselves, which is another limitation put on women due to gender. Mulan reinforces the stereotypical ideas of masculinity in the scene where shang sings the song, “I’ll Make a Man Out of You”. Masculinity is mostly defined in the movie by power, strength, and activity, which Mulan surely reinforces. The lyrics, “Let's get down to business, to defeat the Huns. Did they send me daughters when I asked for sons?” shows the stereotypical representation of men because it upholds the fact that they are the only gender who are worthy to fight. Captain Shang's goal is to, “make a man,” out of the...
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...COMPARISM OF HR POLICIES AND PRACTICES IN CHINA AND PAKISTAN INTRODUCTION The introduction of globalization has brought an awareness of the differences in partaking in business activities from one country to the other and from region to region. This is because policies and structures that guide the successful conduct of business activities vary. Human Resource is the most important asset for any organization as it is the source of achieving competitive advantage as well as the development of organisational strategy. In order to succeed, organisations must ensure that they have an effective HRM system in order to achieve organisational objectives. CHINA Name: Peoples Republic of China Population: 1.35 billion Capital: Beijing Largest City: shanghai Area: 9.6 million sq km (3.7 million sq miles) PAKISTAN Name: Islamic Republic of Pakistan Population: 176.7 million (UN, 2011) Capital: Islamabad Largest City: Karachi Area: 796,095 sq km (307,374 sq Major languages: Mandarin Chinese Major religions: Buddhism, Christianity, miles), excluding Pakistaniadministered Kashmir (83,716 sq km/32,323 sq miles) Major languages: English, Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Balochi Islam, Taoism Life expectancy: 72 years (men), 76 years (women) (UN) Monetary unit: 1 Renminbi (yuan) (Y) = Major religion: Islam 10 jiao = 100 fen; Life expectancy: 65 years (men), 67 years (women) (UN) CHINA Main exports: Manufactured goods, such...
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...So Ching Ashley SID: 1007623943 ENG3250 Other Literatures in English Paper Assignment 2 December 6, 2010. Orientalism in M. Butterfly: a Struggle from Gender Identity to Political Balance Long before Song Liling made her debut as M. Butterfly on stage, there was a woman called Cho-cho-san, playing Madama Butterfly with the fullest of her life. M. Butterfly’s counterpart Madama Butterfly presents readers Cho-cho-san, a pitiful and submissive Oriental Butterfly. Cho-cho-san’s character traits fit in almost every single aspect of the ideal of Oriental women, for instance, Cho-cho-san is a geisha, an exotic representation of Japanese women in the eyes of westerners, Cho-cho-san eventually dies of seppuku, which is the Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment, and her ultimate sacrifice of her everything from her religion to her very life. The attributes of Cho-cho-san are not exclusive to this character only but imposed on all Asian women. The western presupposition of some certain fixed and bounded Asian attributes defines the identity of Asian women and thus, creates an image of the sacrificial and submissive Oriental women. Moreover, the historical backgrounds of Hwang’s Butterfly and Puccini’s Butterfly are, in fact, the extension of gender tension to international power struggle. Cho-cho-san’s love story happens in the Meiji Period in which Japan first opened its door to foreigners; while Gallimard and Song Liling begins having an affair in the 1960s, in the midst...
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...Executive summary Claytan Fine China (tableware) Sdn. Bhd (CFC) is the only surviving pioneer in Malaysia’s ceramic industry. CFC manufactures stoneware and fine china tableware which contributes part of tableware product line under Claytan Group. The company intends to invest in China as part of its international expansion project. The cultural distance between Malaysia and China is small. Based on Hofstede’s Value Dimensions Framework, China has almost similar cultural dimension compared with Malaysia. Malaysia is a collectivism society whose give priority to the goals of the group than personal goals. Besides that, there is high power distance between society members. Cultures that are relatively collectivistic generally have higher power distance. Both Malaysia and China has weak uncertainty avoidance. Collectivistic felt that uncertainty is a normal feature of life and each day is accepted as it comes. CFC will expand the production plant to China as a wholly owned subsidiary under the CLAYTAN Group due to cost-reduction motive. The implementation of minimum wage rate system in Malaysia, lower transportation cost, and the form of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) induce the company to expand its production plant to China. China and Malaysia categorized under high context communication style. However, certain degree of adoption is still needed. In term of negotiation, collectivism society such as China and Malaysia are more concern about in-group. The high power...
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...cultures of the countries. To properly use this comparison one must first understand how Geert Hofstede’s 6 Dimensions can be interpreted and of course what each dimension stands for. The 6 Dimensions are: Power Distance, Individualism, Masculinity, Uncertainty Avoidance, Long Term Orientation and Indulgence. According to the Geert Hofstede website each dimension is describe as follows: Power Distance – extent in which the culture accepts the fact that power, within the society, is not distributed equally. The higher the score in this dimension shows that the culture believes that an inequality in power distribution is acceptable. Individualism - extent in which a society maintains interdependence among its members. Self-Image is defined as either I or we. In an individualistic society the members take care of themselves and their direct family members. The higher the score in this dimension indicates that the society is based on individualism and not collectivism. In a collectivist society the members take care of one another, the in group, usually in exchange for loyalty. Some cultures can be a combination of the two. A high score in this dimension shows that the country has a culture based on individualism. Masculinity – this type of culture, masculine, is more success oriented and driven, unlike a feminist culture which is based on caring for others and quality of life. A high score here shows a culture to be masculine and, of course, a lower score shows...
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...com/Starbucks) One of the big questions is what are the factors that makes Starbucks become an successful global coffee leader. Well, there are a lot of factors. However, in my point of view, the most important thing that makes them to be successful is they are able to adapt and localize if it’s required. According to Hofstede’s national culture theory, Starbucks perfectly suits the cultural characteristics of the host country’s customer. The following paragraphs shall analyze how Starbucks succeeds in Asia, especially aiming to specific countries in that region. Firstly, China is one of two biggest countries having a massive polulation about 1.4 billion in Asia that has Hofstede’s cultural dimension scores such as high power distance, low individualism, high masculinity, low uncertainty avoidance and high long-term orientation. (as below model) (Source: http://geert-hofstede.com/china.html) China has thousand years of tea drinking culture and Chinese market is one of the hardest markets to win for foreign companies. Besides drinking tea on specific occasions, some Chinese...
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...nature of organizations and interpersonal relationship within them.” (Fernandez, Carlson, Stepina, & Nicholson, 1997). His work involves the identification of key work-related dimensions of national culture and six cultural dimensions such as power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, masculinity, pragmatism, and indulgence. “Conducting business in today's modern business environment presents exciting opportunities for businesses and individuals.” (Baack, 2012). These dimensions, when considered together, were viewed as providing a framework for understanding how a culture resolves some of their most basic problems of life within organizations. Using the Hofstede Center, I did a cultural survey report on Australia and China which happens to be two of my favorite countries; one of which I have visited in the past. This type of report can be helpful in comparing the U.S.’s culture to others as well and how the U.S.’s culture can influence the way I understand the world around me. Culture has a very significant influence of people, especially managers and executives in their understanding and integration with a foreign and home working environment. Australia and China have very different cultural values. The scores and Dimensions of National Culture are how values in the workplace are influenced by culture. The Dimensions of National Culture are the values that distinguish countries from each other by comparison. The power distance (PDI) refers to the way...
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...Hofstede measures culture in five dimensions and teaches that cooperation across cultures is essential to human survival. These five dimensions are Power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance , and long term orientation. In this paper, I plan to present some similarities as well as some differences in the culture of the United States of America and China based on Hofstede’s dimensions. The United States of America is frequently investigated in cross cultural research due to its economic power and because of its cultural representativeness. China as the largest market, and possibly the most appealing market in Asia, is entering into global collaboration with a wide range of foreign partners. There are only two dimensions were the two countries are even close to being similar and they are masculinity and uncertainty avoidance. A masculine society is driven by success and achievement. A company with masculine culture operates assertively and competitively. If the country is ranked lower on this scale they are referred to as a feminine society which means that caring for others and quality of life are of a greater value. There was only a four point difference on the chart for this dimension. The USA is at 62 and China is at 66. While both countries are considered masculine per the scale, China is said to be more masculine than the USA. Both countries are very competitive in the theory that you are the “winner” if you are the...
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...country has a different understanding of education. I will also concentrate on the influence of culture on education in China and in the United States (U.S.) with special emphasis on Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions, because culture and history can lead the way in understanding the differences among student’s higher education. 1.2 Objectives The paper investigates the differences between the education in China and the U.S. against the background of dramatical differences in culture and history. First the country-specific Cultural Dimensions by Hofstede need to be elaborated to reveal a basic approach for the understanding of a nation’s culture. Based on Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions and the history the effect on education and instructional strategies in China and the U.S. will be discussed. 1.3 Course of the Investigation To achieve the objectives the course of the investigation will be carried out in three steps. In the first step the conceptual background on the topic will be defined to provide a basis. Chapter 2 describes the theory and the five Dimensions of Hofstede’s Culture’s Consequences. In the second step the explanations focus on practical applications of the paper. First the elaboration of Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions to the education (Chapter 3.1) and the impact of the historical roots on the development of higher education in China and the United States (Chapter 3.2) will be discussed. Following, the outstanding differences in education will be presented...
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