| “Culture is more often a source of conflict than of synergy.
Cultural differences are a nuisance at best and often a disaster.”
Dr. Geert Hofstede
Culture and organization are two concepts that, without a doubt, are interrelated. Sometimes running a new business in another country, entrepreneurs pay little attention to such important aspect as national culture or do not pay it at all. They are used to managing their company and people using such rules and norms as they are used to having in their home country. But each country differs from another and has its own rules and behavior norms. Without thinking about it, managers put their organization at various risks ranging from disagreement within a company and ending with low efficiency and profitability of production. So, with the help of Geert Hofstede’s studies, I’d like to show how knowledge of national cultures and cultural differences may impact management and nuts and bolts of organization (by the example of Russia and France). This subject is very relevant in our time of development of international relations and business.
One of the most important studies which attempted to establish the impact of culture differences on management was conducted by Geert Hofstede, Dutch social psychologist and anthropologist. The original study, now considered a classic, was based on a survey involving 116,000 IBM employees in 40 different countries. According to the results of this survey, which asked people for their preferences in terms of management style and work environment, Hofstede identified five ‘value’ dimensions which countries differ in: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, and long-term orientation/short-term orientation.
- Power distance (PDI) indicates the extent to which members of the public perceive the differences in position and status of individuals. In national cultures with high level of power distance there are lots of norms and values. In the national cultures with low power distance the leaders are more accessible for communications with their subordinates;
- Uncertainty avoidance (UAI) refers to a society’s discomfort with uncertainty, preferring predictability and stability;
- Individualism/collectivism (IND) reflects the extent to which people prefer to take care of themselves and their immediate families, remaining emotionally independent from groups, organizations, and other collectivities;
- Masculinity/femininity (MAS) dimension reveals the bias towards either ‘masculine’ values of assertiveness, competitiveness, and materialism, or towards ‘feminine’ values of nurturing, and the quality of life and relationships;
- Long-term orientation/short-term orientation (LTO). The prevalence of long-term orientation in national culture means the willingness of society to live with for the future. People can indulge in meeting the needs of the present, by agreeing to investment projects and programs that will be completed during the life of future generations. Short-term orientation is associated with the past and focused on the present. Of great importance are values, such as respect for traditions, respect for social conventions.
Thus, I got interested in the situation in two countries dear for me: Russia and France- what attitudes are prevalent in Russian and French organizations between top managers and supervisors? Therefore, I compared these two countries using Hofsted’s five cultural dimensions approach.
With the help of the graph I analyzed the structure of national culture in each country and came to the following conclusion:
- Russian management is characterized by high power distance (93) and uncertainty avoidance (95). According to the results, we can say that the subordinates must be ready to inequitable distribution of power. It means that the ruling body of the company counts on the special rights and privileges between them and their subordinates. In most of the Russian companies there are many hierarchical levels in the organization culture and more often top-managers have an authoritarian style of management. Also there is more centralized decision-making and a significantly differential wage. In Russia there is a high level of uncertainty avoidance, therefore organizations would tend to have more formalization evident in a greater amount of written rules and procedures, and managers are motivated by stability and security;
- As for the situation in French organizations, we can see that there is a lower level of power distance (68) and uncertainty avoidance (86) than in Russia. It means that in French companies the leaders are more accessible for communications with their subordinates than in Russian companies, and there is higher probability of decentralization and employee participation in management of a company. The level of uncertainty avoidance is also quite high in France in comparison with Russia. Therefore, in France leaders of a company tend to create lots of rules and norms and follow them.
- Other cultural dimensions (individualism, masculinity and term orientation) show significant differences between Russia and France. According to the graph we can notice that French organizations tend to have individual decision-making and less delegation. Managers are used to working individually rather than in groups, and showing their initiative. Individualism focuses on the achievement of individual goals, requirement and progress.
Russia has a lower level of individualism than France. Therefore, on the one hand, Russian managers prefer group decision-making to avoid blame, which shows high uncertainty avoidance. But, on the other hand, in Russian organizations leadership is found to be autocratic and political, reflecting high power distance and growing individualism.
- As far as masculinity/femininity is concerned, Russian leaders are expected to take care of their subordinates, so it denotes low masculinity in Russian organizations. In comparison with French companies, masculinity is higher (43). It suggests that strong masculinity is associated with persistence and competition.
- In comparison with France, in Russia short-term orientation dominates long-term orientation. Of great importance is the respect for traditions. In France the level of long-term orientation is also not so high (39) but, anyway, higher than in Russia. So sometimes French companies try to think more about future and invest in future programs and projects.
So, analyzing cultural differences in cultural dimensions between Russia and France, entrepreneurs can take a better approach to the issue of hiring foreign managers for their companies in the home country or open new businesses in the host country, avoiding misunderstanding and conflicts within a company.
So many nations in the world, so many different cultures, attitudes, views on certain things are. Of course people are different, and understanding of certain vital processes, organizational structure and other aspects is also different. Geert Hofstede put a lot of effort by developing a structure of differences, to somehow explain and convey to people that cultural differences undoubtedly influence the management practices in the company. Hofstede’s findings may significantly help to run an international business in any country, pointing at which dimensions need to be studied in detail, consequently, without putting an organization at different risks.
References
1. What are the practical applications for Geert Hofstede’s research on cultural differences? - 2009 – http://www.geert-hofstede.com/hofstede dimensions.php?culture1=73&cultur2=33#compare;
2. Schneider & Barsoux – Culture and Organization. – 2009 – pp. 87 – 95;
3. Why is culture so important? – htpp://www.geerthofstede.nl;
4. Geert Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions. – 2008 – http://www.businesscoaching.typepad.com/the_business_coaching_blo/2008/05/global-marketin.html;
5. Managing cross – cultural differences in today’s corporations. – 2010 – http://www.bibliofond.ru/view,aspx?id=464331;
6. Cultural dimensions. – http://www.geert-hofstede.com/geert_hofstede_ resources.shtml. |
