International Management
International Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
Fred Luthans
Management Jonathan P. Doh
Ninth Edition
Chapter 4
The Meanings and Dimensions
of Culture
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
The Meanings and Dimensions
of Culture
• The specific objectives of this chapter are to
1. DEFINE the term culture, and discuss the
characteristics of culture.
2. DESCRIBE the different cultural frameworks:
Hofstede, Trompenaars and GLOBE project
3. DISCUSS how culture affects managerial
approaches.
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
Culture
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
Culture
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
The Nature of Culture
• Culture is
– Acquired knowledge that people use to interpret
experience and generate social behavior. This
knowledge forms values, creates attitudes, and
influences behavior.
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
Characteristics of culture
– Learned: is not inherited or biologically based. It is
acquired by learning and experience.
– Shared: it is not specific to single individual.
– Trans-generational: culture is cumulative, passed
down from one generation to the next.
– Symbolic: it is based on the human capacity to
symbolize or use one thing to represent another.
– Patterned: has a structure and is integrated; a
change in one part will bring changes in another.
– Adaptive: it is based on the human capacity to
change or adapt.
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
Priorities of Cultural Values
United States Japan Arab Countries
Freedom Belonging Family security
Independence Group harmony Family harmony
Self-reliance Collectiveness Parental guidance
Equality Age/seniority Age
Individuality Group consensus Authority
Competition Cooperation Compromise
Efficiency Quality Devotion
Time Patience Patience
Directness Indirectness Indirectness
Openness Go-between Hospitality
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
Values in Culture
• Values
– Basic convictions that people have about
• Right and wrong
• Good and bad
• Important and unimportant
– Learned from culture in which the individual is
reared
– Differences in cultural values may result in varying
management practices.
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
1. Power Distance
2. Uncertainty Avoidance
3. Individualism―Collectivism
4. Masculinity―Femininity
5. Time Orientation
6. Indulgence vs. Restraint
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
• Power Distance
– The extent to which less powerful members
accept that power is distributed unequally
• High power distance countries: people blindly obey
superiors; centralized, tall organizational structures
(Mexico, South Korea, India)
• Low power distance countries: flatter, decentralized
organizational structures, smaller ratio of supervisor to
employee (Austria, Finland, Ireland)
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
• Uncertainty Avoidance
– The extent to which people feel threatened by
ambiguous situations; create beliefs/institutions to try
to avoid such situations
• High uncertainty avoidance countries: high need for security,
strong belief in experts and their knowledge; structure
organizational activities, more written rules, less managerial
risk taking (Germany, Japan, Spain)
• Low uncertainty avoidance countries: people more willing
to accept risks related to unknown, less structured
organizational activities, fewer written rules, more
managerial risk taking, higher labor turnover, more
ambitious employees (Denmark and Great Britain)
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
• Individualism
– The extent to which people look after themselves and
immediate family only
• Collectivism
– The tendency of people to belong to groups and to
look after each other in exchange for loyalty
• High individualism countries: wealthier, Protestant work
ethic, greater individual initiative, promotions based on
market value (U.S., Canada, Sweden)
• High collectivism countries: poorer, less support of
Protestant work ethic, less individual initiative, promotions
based on seniority (Indonesia, Pakistan)
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
• Masculinity
– A cultural characteristic in which the dominant social
values are success, money, and things
• Femininity
– A cultural characteristic in which the dominant social
values are caring for others and quality of life
• High masculine countries: stress earnings, recognition,
advancement, challenge, wealth; high job stress (Germanic
countries)
• High feminine countries: cooperation, friendly atmosphere,
employment security, group decision making; low job stress
(Norway)
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
• Time Orientation (1988)
– A cultural characteristic dealing with society’s
search for virtue
• Long-term oriented societies: focus on the future, able
to adapt traditions when conditions change, tend to
save and invest, focus on achieving long-term results
(Asian countries)
• Short-term oriented cultures: focus on quick results,
do not tend to save, service to others, belief in
absolutes, value stability and leisure (U.S., UK, Spain)
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
• Indulgence vs. Restraint (2010)
– Indulgent: Indulgence stands for a society that allows
relatively free fulfillment of basic and natural human drives
related to enjoying life and having fun.
– Restraint: Restraint stands for a society that suppresses
satisfaction of needs and regulates it by means of strict
social norms.
• Indulgent societies: perceived happiness, life in control, positive
emotions, basic needs satisfied (U.S., UK, Australia, Chile)
• Restrained societies: less happiness, sense of helplessness, less
likely to remember positive emotions, basic needs not always met
(China, Egypt, Romania)
https://www.hofstede-insights.com/product/compare-
countries/
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
Trompenaars’s Cultural Dimensions
• Universalism vs. Particularism
– Universalism: belief that ideas/practices can be
applied everywhere
• High universalism countries: formal rules, close
adherence to business contracts (U.S., UK, Germany,
Sweden, Australia)
– Particularism: belief that circumstances dictate
how ideas/practices apply
• High particularism countries: legal contracts often
modified, the way deals executed change as people get
to know each other (China, Indonesia, Venezuela)
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
Trompenaars’s Cultural Dimensions
• Individualism vs. Communitarianism
– Individualism: people regard themselves as
individuals
• Countries with high individualism: stress personal and
individual matters; assume great personal responsibility
(U.S., UK, Argentina, Mexico, Thailand)
– Communitarianism: people regard themselves as
part of a group
• Value group-related issues; committee decisions; joint
responsibility (Malaysia, Korea)
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
Trompenaars’s Cultural Dimensions
• Neutral vs. Emotional
– Neutral: culture in which emotions are held in
check
• High neutral countries: people act stoically and
maintain composure (Japan and UK)
– Emotional: emotions are expressed openly and
naturally
• High emotion cultures: people smile a lot, talk loudly,
greet each other with enthusiasm (Mexico, Netherlands,
Switzerland)
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
Trompenaars’s Cultural Dimensions
• Achievement vs. Ascription
– Achievement culture: people accorded status
based on how well they perform functions
• High status to high achievers (Austria, Switzerland, U.S.,
UK)
– Ascription culture: status based on who or what a
person is
• Status based on age, gender, social connections
(Venezuela, China, Indonesia)
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
Trompenaars’s Cultural Dimensions
• Specific vs. Diffuse
– Specific: large public space shared with others and
small private space guarded closely
• High specific cultures: people open and extroverted,
strong separation of work and personal life (Austria, UK,
U.S., Switzerland)
– Diffuse: public and private spaces have similar size,
public space guarded because shared with private
space
• Diffuse cultures: people indirect and introverted,
work/private life closely linked (Venezuela, China, Spain)
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
Trompenaars’s Cultural Dimensions
• Time
– Sequential: only one activity at a time, appointments
kept strictly, follow plans as laid out (U.S.)
– Synchronous: multitask, appointments are
approximate and easily changed, schedules
subordinate to relationships (France, Mexico)
– Past/Present vs. Future:
• Future more important (Italy, U.S., Germany)
• Past/Present more important (Venezuela, Indonesia, Spain)
• All 3 time periods equally important (France, Belgium)
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
Trompenaars’s Cultural Dimensions
• The Environment
– Inner-directed: people believe in controlling
outcomes
• Dominant (sometimes aggressive) attitude toward
environment (U.S., Switzerland, Australia)
– Outer-directed: people believe in letting things
take their course
• “Go with the flow,” flexible attitude, willingness to
compromise and maintain harmony (China, many other
Asian countries)
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
Integrating Culture and Management:
The GLOBE Project
• GLOBE: Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior
Effectiveness
– Project extends and integrates previous analyses of cultural
attributes and variables
– Evaluates nine different cultural attributes using middle
managers from 951 organizations in 62 countries
• First two phases: middle management
– Multi-cultural team of 170 scholars from around the world
worked together to survey 17,000 managers in 3 industries:
financial services, food processing, and telecommunications
– Covered every major geographic region of the world
• Third phase: upper-level management
– Team of 40 researchers from 24 countries surveyed 5,000
reports from 1,000 CEOs
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
The GLOBE Project
• The Nine Dimensions of the GLOBE Project
1. Uncertainty avoidance
2. Power distance
3. Collectivism I: Societal collectivism
4. Collectivism II: In-group collectivism
5. Gender egalitarianism(equality)
6. Assertiveness
7. Future orientation
8. Performance orientation
9. Humane orientation
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
The GLOBE Project
3- Collectivism I: Social collectivism: refers to the degree to
which organizational and societal practices encourage and
reward collective distribution of resources and collective
action.
4- Collectivism II: In-group collectivism:: refers to the degree to
which individuals express pride, loyalty, and cohesiveness in
their organizations or families.
5- Gender equality: the extent to which organizations or a
society minimizes gender role differences and gender
discrimination
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
The GLOBE Project
6- Assertiveness: the degree to which individuals in organizations
or societies are assertive, confrontational, and aggressive in social
relationships
7- Future orientation: the degree to which individuals in
organizations or societies engage in future oriented behaviors
such as planning, investing in future.
8- Performance orientation: the degree to which an organization
or society encourages and rewards group members for
performance improvement and excellence.
9- Humane orientation: the degree to which individuals in
organizations or societies encourage and reward individuals for
being fair, friendly, generous, and caring.
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
GLOBE Country Analysis
• The results of the GLOBE project
– Correspond generally with those of Hofstede and
Trompenaars
– Different from Hofstede in that many more
researchers with varied perspectives were involved
(vs. Hofstede working alone); studied many
companies (vs. Hofstede studied one company)
• GLOBE provides a current comprehensive
overview of general stereotypes that can be
further analyzed for greater insight
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
GLOBE Cultural Variable Results
http://globeproject.com/results/countries/DEU?menu=list
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
Cultural Diversity
How Culture Affects Managerial Approaches
• Centralized vs. Decentralized Decision Making
– Centralized: In some societies, top managers make
all important organizational decisions.
– Decentralized: In others, these decisions are
diffused throughout the enterprise, and middle-
and lower-level managers actively participate in,
and make, key decisions.
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
Cultural Diversity
How Culture Affects Managerial Approaches
• Safety vs. Risk
– Safety: In some societies, organizational decision
makers are risk-averse and have great difficulty
with conditions of uncertainty.
– Risk: In others, risk taking is encouraged, and
decision making under uncertainty is common.
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
Cultural Diversity
How Culture Affects Managerial Approaches
• Individual vs. Group Rewards
– Individual: In some countries, personnel who do
outstanding work are given individual rewards in
the form of bonuses and commissions.
– Group rewards: In others, cultural norms require
group rewards, and individual rewards are
frowned upon.
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
Cultural Diversity
How Culture Affects Managerial Approaches
• Informal vs. Formal Procedures
– Informal: In some societies, much is accomplished
through informal means.
– Formal: In others, formal procedures are set forth
and followed rigidly.
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
Cultural Diversity
How Culture Affects Managerial Approaches
• High vs. Low Organizational Loyalty
– High: In some societies, people identify very
strongly with their organization or employer.
– Low: In others, people identify with their
occupational group, such as engineer or mechanic.
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
Cultural Diversity
How Culture Affects Managerial Approaches
• Cooperation vs. Competition
– Cooperation: Some societies encourage
cooperation between their people.
– Competition: Others encourage competition
between their people.
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
Cultural Diversity
How Culture Affects Managerial Approaches
• Short-term vs. Long-term Horizons
– Short-term: Some cultures focus most heavily on
short-term horizons, such as short-range goals of
profit and efficiency.
– Long-term: Others are more interested in long-
range goals, such as market share and
technological developments.
International Management Ninth Edition Luthans | Doh
Cultural Diversity
How Culture Affects Managerial Approaches
• Stability vs. Innovation
– Stability: The culture of some countries
encourages stability and resistance to change.
– Innovation: The culture of others puts high value
on innovation and change.
