Question

Hofstede (1980) surveyed business people in more than forty different countries and applied a statistical technique, which is called factor analysis, to their responses to determine the outstanding behavioral characteristics. Hofstede found that there were distinct behavioral constructs that could be used to differentiate cultures and labeled the constructs' cultural dimensions. The dimensions have been used in numerous research studies for both basic and applied research. The dimensions have helped cultural psychologists to define cultural groups and to determine the differences between cultures.

Part I

Do an internet search for the full text of the following article using the search terms: Cross-cultural differences in management. Kawar, T. I. (2012). Cross-cultural differences in management. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(6), 105–111.

Briefly summarize the article in essay format adhering to APA format and style. Make sure to include in your work a summary of the following sections:

• Introduction
• Cross-cultural differences in multinational corporations
• Cross-cultural management
• Cultural intelligence
• The effect of cultural values on management
• Conclusion

Part II

After reading and summarizing the research article, use the four original cultural dimensions to compare your cultural group (YCG) with a foreign cultural group of your choice. This cultural group will be referred to as the selected cultural group (SCG) throughout the various parts of this class project. Note that YCG is defined as the group that you feel has most influenced your development and identity. For most of you, YCG will be US mainstream culture. However, some of you may feel that you are most influenced by a different cultural group. For example, if you moved from Vietnam to the United States at the age of eleven years, the most dominant influence will probably be Vietnamese culture. The SCG that you choose to compare with YCG might be from any region of the world. However, you should avoid selecting broad groups, for example, Africans, Asians, or Hispanics. You need to select more specific groups, such as Liberians, Sudanese, Egyptians, Japanese, or Spaniards.

Remember that there are variations within each group; therefore, your task will be to determine the average expression. Perform the task by using the following table. Note that the dimensions are listed in the first column, the information regarding YCG is to be placed in the second column, and the information obtained on the SCG should be placed in the third column. You may use your textbook and lectures or online resources for assistance.

Review Hofstede's original four dimensions.

Cultural Group Comparison Using Hofstede's Dimensions

Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions	YCG	SCG
Collectivism vs. Individualism	Where does your cultural group fall on the collectivism vs. individualism dimension? Fill in the information in this cell and insert the appropriate information into the remaining cells.
Power Distance
Uncertainty Avoidance
Masculinity vs. Femininity

In a 3- to 4-page Microsoft Word document, include the following:

• Completed article summary table
• Completed cultural group comparison table

Reference:

Hofstede, G. H. (1980). Culture’s consequences: International differences inwork-related values. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Answer 1

Introduction

The research work titled, "Cross-cultural difference in management" was done by Tagreed Issa Kawar. This research focuses on the cross-cultural differences existing in organizations that are caused by the differences in the cultural background, beliefs, values and attitudes of the employees that may cause misunderstandings and conflicts. For a successful management of the organization, the employees must be flexible to work with people from different cultural backgrounds.

A culture is defined as the inherited values, concepts and ways of living that are share by the people belonging to the same social group. The culture is acquired during an individual's childhood even before they attain puberty. With the advancement of technologies and globalization, people from different culture get to work in the same organization thus enabling cultural diversity. So, the organization must be aware of the cultural diversity to better manage their employees. There are four levels at which culture can work, it includes national, organizational, occupational and gender levels.

Cross-cultural differences in multi-national corporations

The sociologist Geert Hofstede mentioned four ways that could be helpful in understanding and analyzing the culture differences. They are, individualism vs collectivism, masculinity vs femininity, power distance and uncertainty avoidance. It is important to understand the conflicts that would arise by cultural differences so that the intercultural misunderstandings and miscommunications could be avoided. Cross-cultural conflict refers to the conflicts that arise between individuals who belong to different cultures.

Cross-cultural management

Nancy Adler defined cross-cultural management as the phenomenon that explains behaviors of people in organizations who are from different cultures and how to work with such people. Geert Hofstede developed 'the dimensional approach to cross cultural comparison' which is an indispensable work for studying culture and management. Globalization has resulted in communication across different cultures which not only uses verbal communication but also non-verbal communications such as facial expressions, body language and gestures. Edward T Hall defined inter-cultural communication as the communication between individuals of the different cultures and if that communication is related to the business, then it is called as inter-cultural business communication.

Cultural intelligence

It is the ability of an individual to exhibit the skills, qualities and behaviors that are tuned to the attitudes and values of other person's culture (Peterson, 2004). Cultural intelligence consists of linguistic, spatial, intrapersonal, and interpersonal intelligence.

Effect of cultural values on management

When a business is managed in an international level, managers could face the following differences in their employees relating to the Structure (individualism or collectivism), Power (hierarchy or equality), Communication (high context or low context), Competition (competitive or cooperative), Space (public or private), Time focus (monochronic or polychronic), Action (doing or being), and Time orientation (past, present or future).

Conclusion

This research paper describes about the cultural differences and communication barriers that exists in the organization that the managers must understand to better manage the organization. The employees must also adapt to these cultural differences so that they can overcome such barriers and work effectively.