Exam 4: Managing in the Global Arena

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According to Hofstede's research, national cultural values vary on five basic dimensions:
a. Power Distance - It is the degree to which a society promotes an unequal distribution of power. Countries that highly promote power distance have citizenry that tends to emphasize, expect, and accept more autocratic than democratic leadership.
b. Uncertainty Avoidance - It is the extent to which a society feels threatened by uncertain or unpredictable situations. Countries that are high in uncertainty avoidance prefer being in more defined and predictable situations.
c. Individualism and Collectivism - It is the degree to which people in a society operate primarily as individuals or within groups. People operating as individuals tend to focus on meeting their own needs. People in this situation tend to be self-reliant and succeed by competing with others. On the other hand, people who operate collectively tend to build relationships among others and downplay individualism.
d. Masculinity and Femininity - It is the extent to which a culture emphasizes traditional masculine or feminine values. Traditional masculine values place a high worth on factors like competitiveness, assertiveness, success, and wealth. Traditional feminine values place a high worth on factors like caring for and nurturing others and increasing the quality of life.
e. Short-Term and Long-Term Orientation - It is the degree to which a culture deemphasizes short-run success to achieve long-run success. Cultures that focus more on long-run success emphasize activities like planning, education, rewarding long-run results, and keeping a future oriented perspective. Conversely, cultures that focus more on short-run success emphasize training to enable one to do a job now, rewarding short-run results, and maintaining a day-to-day perspective.