Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions (China and Germany) Essay

Gerard Hendrik Hofstede (born October 2, 1928 in Haarlem) is a Dutch expert in heathen studies GHW. Hofstede (1980) surveyed 88,000 IBM employees fielding in 66 countries and then ranked the countries on different cultural dimensions. His look resulted in four dimensions ( superpower blank space individualism versus collectivism uncertainty avoidance and masculinity and femininity). In the beginning, chinaw atomic number 18 was not include in this study only if later Bond and Hofstede looked at Chinese value. From this research they included a fifth cultural value dimension called long versus short-term orientation SKR.Power space Index (PDI)The Power Distance world power shows how less powerful individuals withdraw and expect an unequal dispersion of power. High power distance representation that power is unevenly distributed low power distance means that power is more evenly distributed TIP. check to Geert Hofstedes 5 dimensions China is located in the luxuriouslyer (prenominal)(prenominal) ranking at 80. That means that this society believes that inequalities amongst spate be acceptable GER. The Power is centralised and the wariness is autocratic. The subordinate-superior relationship tends to be cleaved and thither is no defence against power abuse by superiors GER. This means that people are less unbidden to challenge authority which is handlely imputable to old communism beliefs which as yet have a bullocky influence on peoples behaviour SKR.Managers expect subordinates to observe them. Subordinates automatically show respect and know that they have to earn their respect. They also expect to be told what to do. accordingly hearty interactions are formal. In general we locoweed say that the Chinese are optimistic close to peoples capacity for leadership and initiative GER. The general attitude of the Chinese is that you should not transact any duties beyond your rank GER. In class I have noticed that the status of the teacher has to be respected and privileges are expected. To listen to a different example In China it is actually common that the workers should come 15 minutes earlier to a meeting and the manager with the to the highest degree power is of all time five to fifteen minutes later. That shows that the managers wassail more privileges. I was able to observe that the accord ofthe hierarchy is maintained very strictly.Individualism versus Collectivism(IDV)This forefinger shows the extent to which individuals are integrated into sort outs or not TIP. In societies with a high IDV index particularly individual rights are protected self-determi soil, I pass and personal responsibility are important. In a socialist culture with a low IDV-index separate, the integrating dominates in any kind of networks. The team spirit is much more characteristic of such a culture GHW. According to Geert Hofstede China is located in the lower ranking at 20. In collectivist cultures such as China, people wor k to pass waterher in groups and often put the needs of that group ahead of their own personal wants SKR. They share responsibility. The Chinese who are doing art tend to run with the akin partners and suppliers to keep loyalty and not worsen relationships SKR.In China the community had always the priority. Tian xia wei gong express the ancients under the sky everything serves the community. In the Confucian influenced social system everyone expects from the individual subordination, self- turn back and willingness to make sacrifices in order that the family and state can benefit from it. Individualism is a term which has always had a veto connotation in China, because people associated it with egoism. The Chinese prefer a holistic thinking. An example, if a Chinese writes his hatch down he will start with the coun prove, then the city and the street and at the end his own name. The traditional Chinese medicine is a prime example for holistic thinking.Each disease is always seen in the context of the whole body. Collectivism promotes concurrence. In China people focus on harmony and shun the direct confrontation. Harmony is achieved by giving face to separates and avoiding losing your own face. When I talked to my Chinese friend David Zhang and asked him about his study he will begin in Germany, he told me that this was a family decision. Of course, it was his appetency but without the consent of the family he could never study abroad. Even if he had the money for it he would not do so, because his family is much more important to him.Masculinity / Femininity(MAS)This MAS index shows the expression of the dominant values that areestablished in two sexes. Hofstede ranks to the female values of care, cooperation and modesty. As masculine values Hofstede defines competitive manners and self-confidence. A high MAS index shows a dominance of typically male values, a low MAS index shows a dominance of typically female values GHW. According to Geert Hof stede China is located in the high ranking at 66. It is more a masculine society a society which is success oriented. You can see it on the fact that many of the Chinese sacrifice their leisure time to work SKR. I have noticed that shops are open until very late at night. Officially, nowadays women enjoy the same rights as men in the workplace. The Communist Party in China has made efforts to put both genders on al intimately the same level.Anyway traditional Confucian thinking does not fit advantageously with this term of gender equality. It seems to be a bit ironic that the liberalisation policies of the last de weeniee might have turned around many of the advances made by women under the prevalent conditions of the hard-line regimes. with the traditional values it is the boys who have strong preferences. The men own most of the power and responsibility although in that respect is a high level of acceptance between genders in China SKR. Unfortunately, women in executive posit ions enjoy a low appreciation. There are successful women in all fields, they are among the winners of the economic reforms, but also among the losers. If the economic situation in the factories is poor and staff is reduced, they are the offset to be fired. If high school fees are too high, it is usually the daughter, who leave school and has to go to work BUC.Uncertainty avoidance(UAI)The UAI index shows a societys tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity. Cultures with a high UAI, want to avoid the uncertainty and are characterized by many uncommitted laws, policies and security measures. Members are emotional and nervous. Cultures which are tolerant to accept uncertainty have a few rules that are formable and thus tend to relativism. The members are unemotional and expect from their environment not to show feelings GHW. According to Geert Hofstede China has a low score of 30 on uncertainty avoidance. China has a high degree of acceptance of uncertainty. This society does not tr y to take control of the future, and so Chinas society is not afraid of unforeseen situations SKR. TheChinese consider written and oral arrangements sceptical.Contracts should be structured so that there is still the possibility to change the contract afterwards. The Chinese are very flexible. In case of conflict, a mentor is used, which takes care of the problems of both families instead of going to court. Uncertainty avoidance means for the Chinese first What does my boss want? If he agrees with my ideas, then I can put it on. But I do not certainly know if he will like my ideas, I rather not ask him indeed I dampen wait for instructions. In this case, I can do no wrong, because the manager is responsible for all decisions, therefore the uncertainty is resolved. I could observe that the Chinese remain calm when unforeseen situations occur. They do not get upset about the situation. They can quickly accept the situation and adapt their surroundings.Long-term or short-term orienta tion(LTO)This LTO index deals with the issue of virtue. Long-term cultures value thrift and perseverance short-term cultures value tradition, the fulfilment of social obligations and protecting ones face or honour. A semipermanent orientation is associated with East Asian countries TIP. According to Geert Hofstede China has a high score of 118. Hofstede analysed that China has the highest ranking of all countries in long-term orientation. It is 30% higher than the Asian average score. China is a country with a strong long-term orientation. It can be seen from the fact that China preferred a long-term development and indirect enforcement strategies SKR.According to the Chinese way of thinking it is not the shortest route that leads to the destination but the more difficult path. wherefore the Chinese can handle complex situations without a lot of stress neither they let labour themselves through time. The key for the Chinese is to build up strong, reliable, lasting relationships. B efore any decision is met there must be gained a certain amount of trust. Obviously this takes longer to finish a business deal. They do not like to rush into things SKR. Once you build up the trust and a strong relationship you can rely on it. This culture is marked by loyalty and respect. If you are willing to maintain this relationship you can trust your entire life on Guanxi.Comparison between China and GermanyAs you can see there are a few differences between Germany and China. In contrast to China the power is decentralised. The German culture is marked by a low power distance and the subordinates expect to be consulted as well as they expect to offer their ideas to the managers. Flashing back to my work experience I can say that I often had to take initiative. Often people are confronted with the adage think by yourself. The other difference is that the management and subordinates respect each other and kickshaw one another as equals. Usually it is as described, but there ar e of course exceptions. In most cases, however, I have had the experience that I had a good relationship to my boss. Compared to China, Germany has a super individualistic society. Personal responsibility, independence, self-determination and I-experience are highly valued in Germany. A prolonged stay abroad is much respected. It shows that you can independently fulfil tasks.Companies wish to have workers with international experience due to growing globalization. That individualism counts, can also be seen in the fact that you put your name first when writing an address. This is totally different to China where you put the country at first as I have already mentioned. According to Hofstede Germany and China have the same MAS index. Mostly it is the men who hold the most of the power. I have noticed women get more and more acceptance in the man prevail business world. For example we now have a woman (Angelika Merkel) as chancellor and not a man. I can see more and more woman takin g part in higher positions. Therefore I would rate Germany at 55 because there is no doubt about the increase acceptance of women. Another example shows that a womens quota should be introduced in Germany, which includes that at least 10% of women should sit in the top management.Furthermore Germany is a country full of bureaucracy. We have laws for almost everything, indemnity companies are supposed to protect us and the institutions should regulate everything imaginable. We want to have everything controlled in order to control the future. Therefore we make contracts and then we act accordingly. This is totally different to the Chinese Culture where people like to keep the possibility to change things afterwards. The highest difference between China and Germany is the LTO index. Unlike China, Germany is more short-term oriented. Managers in Germany try to make high profits in no time. We puttruth and directness forrader diplomacy. Furthermore I have noticed that German employers are impatient because they want to get nimble results.CriticismUnfortunately, I could not check if I would spread as much points as Hofstede because there was too less time to make an intensive investigation. However, I found out through discussions and research that Hofstede was pretty accurate with his assumptions. Furthermore, I want to mention a couple of criticisms of his study. The main point is listed by critics that the drawn samples were not representative. So in the original study(1967-1972 ) information were used from a global survey made by IBM.Thus, it is uncertain whether the system actually worked out measures of national cultures or rather differences in corporate culture between the countries. Furthermore, Hofstedes approach ignores differences within a nation. The model treats a nation as a homogeneous state of individuals who all share the same value system. This is in most cases incorrect. In addition, criticism of the validity of the items was practiced 4. Hof stede cites no theoretical justification for the selection of items. House and other people criticizes in particular the failure to distinguish between values and behavior. This is problematic because negative values and behavior are linked.Source MaterialTIPGeert Hofstede, Cultures Consequences Comparing Values, Behaviours, Institutions and Organisations across Nations (Place Corwin Press, 2001). http//www.tiplady.org.uk/pdfs/LEA502-5-culturalissues.pdfGERThe Hofstede Centrehttp//geert-hofstede.com/china.htmlSKRHofstede parity of Germany and Chinahttps//www.google.de/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CDgQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbuinternationalmanagement.wikispaces.com%2Ffile%2Fview%2FHofstede%2Bcomparison%2Bof%2BGermany%2Band%2BChina.doc&ei=vDRYUb6mKo7EswaMoICQAg&usg=AFQjCNHgjNwXhFqhxu015my2P3qIqIftMQ&sig2=MGY08eJFzKV1EQ6iME-w&bvm=bv.44442042,d.Yms GHWGeert Hofstedehttp//de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geert_HofstedeBUCDer China Knigge Yu-Chien Kuan, Petra Hring-Kuan Sep tember 2006 ISBN 978-3-596-16684-8Persons I have talked toDavid King (Banker / Chinese)David Zhang (Student / Chinese)Primel (Chinese Girl who studies German)Kim Lao (Chinese line of credit Man / employed by an American company) Lio (Student / Chinese)