To what extent can Hofstede’s work help your learning about cultural difference during the MBA programme?
Background
Approach Why is this Important?
Objective
This paper seeks to identify if Hofstede’s studies canbe used to help students understand their respective cultures and the cultural difference between team members and whether a singular approach provides an adequate and relevant explanation of the programme members cultural differences. *Approaches to Identifying Country Specific traits & values and their *Classification There have been a number of studies that have attempted to identifythe key variables between national cultures. These include Hofstede’s “Five Dimensions of Difference” Hofstede undertook a one-off study of 116,000 employees of IBM working in 40 countries and his findings identified five key dimensions of difference between cultures and *Power-* distance -Acceptance by less powerful that power is unequally shared Uncertainty avoidance ' the ability to deal with ambiguity, risk and accept anxiety *Individualism -* Collectivism - People act independently to care for themselves and their family or the or work for the collective good *Masculinity -* Femininity - Emphasis on masculine values (e.g.competitive attitude and the acquisition of wealth at the expense of others) vs feminine values that focus on showing sensitivity, concern for others and qulaityt of life Long term - short term orientation ' the ability to deal with long-term and general goals vs short term gain and advantage Global Leadership and Organizational Behaviour Effectiveness (GLOBE) Four of the GLOBE dimensions identified (Uncertainty avoidance, Power distance, Five GLOBE dimensions are different from Hofstede’s dimensions: Assertiveness, which refers to the extent a society encourages individuals to be tough, confrontational, assertive, and competitive versus modest and tender. Future...