1.7. DIMENSIONS OF CULTURE

To master all this information about a culture in which you are doing business is prohibitive. Learning about cultural difference is a complex task because we run the risk of turning learning about cultural differences into the institutionalization of stereotypes. In fact, many do err on the side of simplicity, memorizing cultural "rules" for doing business in a particular culture. But "The culture of the other," writes Folke Glastra, "is not just a grammar to be learned, but also a catalyst of emotions and an integrative framework for interests."^[] It's important to go beneath the "water line," as it were, to understand more fully the ways in which different cultures answer those fundamental questions of human life.

As we study culture, we must also remember that much of the literature about cultural dimensions and difference has been written from a Western perspective, which itself is culturally biased or influenced. The very language with which we write about culture is, itself, a product of culture.

Because culture is so pervasive, intangible, and complex, and because it has such a strong impact on personal and organizational life, many scholars have identified those dimensions they consider more significant in helping us understand culture in general. To help understand the impact of culture on business, we must first understand the dimensions of culture.

You will also note overlap in the following dimensions of culture. Obviously, in developing your own global diversity initiative, you must determine which dimensions of culture most affect your organization. We are indebted to our colleague, interculturalist Urusa Fahim, from whose work the following synopsis of the major theories surrounding culture is derived.^[]

One culture schema is that developed by Philip Harris and Robert Moran. They use the following ten categories as a means for understanding any group of people:^[]

Sense of Self and Space. The comfort one has with self can be expressed differently by culture. The sense of space that individuals require differs by culture as well. Western cultures focus their attention on objects and neglect the space in-between. The Japanese honor the space in-between as "ma." The distance between people, touch, and whether the culture is formal or informal are ways in which cultures can differ along this dimension.

Communication and Language. Communication systems, verbal and nonverbal, distinguish groups from one another. In addition to differences in language, nonverbal gestures can vary widely by culture as well. Subcultures like the military have their own terminology and signals that cut across national boundaries. Whether communication is direct or indirect is another aspect of this dimension.

Dress and Appearance. Native dress and body adornments tend to be distinctive by culture. Sarongs, headdresses, kimonos, cosmetics, jeans, piercings, and uniforms are among the ways in which dress and adornment can vary. Clothing, hair, and grooming are part of this dimension.

Food and Feeding Habits. What foods are prepared and eaten often differs by culture. Certain foods are restricted or forbidden in some cultures and eaten extensively in others. Feeding habits also vary—from use of hands and chopsticks to knives and forks. Manners while eating are also culturally learned.

Time and Time Consciousness. Sense of time differs by culture. Some are precise and exact, like the Germans, while many Latins are more casual about time. Cultures vary in how they conceive of time, their perspective on it, and how they experience the past, present, and future. Some cultures are monochronic, emphasizing schedules, segmentation of time, and promptness, while others are polychronic, stressing involvement with people and the completion of transactions rather than adherence to a preset schedule. Some cultures perceive time as linear (Western perception) or circular (Eastern perspective).

Relationships. The groups that exist in various cultures are social structures that can vary widely. Family units are common expressions of relationships and can also vary from culture to culture. The identification and status of the authority figure and relationships between people (such as the young and elderly) and how they are expressed vary as well.

Values and Norms. The needs and behaviors of different groups derive from a group's value system. Acceptable standards for group membership are often in the form of unspoken rules and are passed down from generation to generation, often without being explicitly taught. Concepts of independence, privacy, and respect are all aspects of this dimension.

Beliefs and Attitudes. Major belief themes for different groups of people vary, from their belief in different spiritual beings to attitudes toward life itself, death, and the hereafter. Beliefs about the status of women and social order and authority also can differ widely.

Mental Process and Learning. The way we think is influenced by culture. Reasoning is a universal, but the ways that reasoning occurs can be quite different. Some cultures are based on analytical, linear, and rational logic, while others are more holistic, associative, and affective. Some cultures have developed a highly abstract way of thinking, while others favor a more emotional and concrete mode of thinking.

Work Habits and Practices. Attitudes toward work, work ethics, kinds of work, who does what work, and work practices are culturally determined.

These ten dimensions are a useful starting point for exploring the differences we see in different cultures. Anyone who has traveled abroad will have experienced at least the most explicit of these dimensions, such as dress and appearance and food and feeding habits. Others of these dimensions, such as beliefs and values or mental processes and learning bear more investigation before understanding can be reached.

As a result of his research comparing forty countries, Hofstede defined four key dimensions that distinguish different national cultures and affect human thinking, organizations, and institutions in predictable ways: individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, uncertainty-avoidance, and power distance. They are described below.

1.7.1. Individualism/Collectivism

This refers to the extent to which group membership is emphasized and valued in each culture. According to Hofstede's research, the United States is the most individualist country in the world. In individualistic cultures such as the United States, Australia, or Great Britain, the individual is given more importance than the group. Collectivism refers to cultures where interdependence is the norm, such as Guatemala, Ecuador, Panama, and Colombia.

Imagine a photograph that shows a group of people in a room, with one individual standing in the front of the room. A colleague tells the story of showing that photograph to a group of Chinese and a group of Americans. When asked who the person was in front of the room, the American group responded that he was the leader. When asked the same question, the Chinese group responded that he was the outcast. Same picture, very different cultural interpretations.

Clark Johnson, CEO of Pier I Imports, tells the following story: "With our Japanese partners, we had a little flareup with one of their associates who said he was going to do all these things and didn't do them. The president of our Japanese company drew a circle and in the circle he drew a stick man and he said, 'In Japan the associate is the company and the company is the associate.' And then he drew a stick man outside the circle and he said, 'In the United States, the associate is kind of on his own.'"^[]

1.7.2. Masculinity/Assertiveness and Femininity/Modesty

Reward systems will also reflect national culture. Masculine cultures such as Japan, Australia, Venezuela, and Italy emphasize monetary incentives, recognition, and promotion, while feminine cultures such as Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, and Denmark compensate employees with quality of life rewards and emphasize good working relationships, cooperation, and employment security. In feminine societies, roles are often merged or overlap for the sexes. Conflict is resolved by fighting it out in masculine societies, while feminine societies prefer compromise and negotiation.

1.7.3. Uncertainty Avoidance

This refers to the tolerance for ambiguity that different cultures demonstrate. Cultures high in uncertainty avoidance, such as Japan, Portugal, and Greece, work to reduce ambiguity and increase certainty by resisting change. They look for rules to follow in any and all situations. Cultures that score low on uncertainty avoidance, such as Singapore, Hong Kong, and Denmark, have a high tolerance for ambiguity and are more tolerant of deviant behavior. They take more risks.

Details of corporate life, from staffing patterns to buying patterns, can be traced to cultural dimensions. For example, consumers from countries with different levels of uncertainty avoidance might not equally appreciate and pay for extremely high-quality products.^[]

High uncertainty avoidance individuals such as the Japanese might purchase the product for its reliability, but those with a higher tolerance for uncertainty, as are Americans, might not. Management's collective level of uncertainty avoidance may also impact the length of planning horizons, levels of acceptable project risk, and desire for decentralization, according to Hofstede.

High uncertainty avoidance nations are characterized by bureaucratic rules and procedures to govern hiring and promotion, use of seniority in career advancement, and limited use of external hires past the entry level.^[] Roland Berra, head of Corporate Executive Resources of Hoffmann-La Roche, understands the impact of this aspect of culture on business: "American managers coming to Europe have the impression that the system is chaotic. Europeans going to the States find written responses and procedures on practically any issue."^[]

1.7.4. Power Distance

This dimension indicates the extent to which a society accepts that power in institutions and organizations is distributed unequally. High power distance cultures such as the Philippines, Venezuela, and India are authoritarian and formal, while low power distance cultures such as Denmark and Israel are less formal and have a flatter social structure and little emphasis is on making distinctions between individuals on levels of authority and hierarchy.

Other important dimensions of culture are the following, outlined by Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck and summarized in the Cultural Orientations and Their Implications for Management figure.

Relationship to the Environment. People in different cultures are subjugated to their environment, live in harmony with nature, or assume mastery over it. In many Middle Eastern countries, people see life as essentially preordained. Americans and people in some Western nations believe they can control nature. This continua ranges from "It can't be helped" to "If God is willing" to "I will do it" responses to situations.

Time Orientation. Different cultures focus on the past, present, or future. Western cultures perceive time as "money" and use it efficiently. Italians focus on past traditions and historical practices. North Americans are short-term and future-focused, whereas Japan is a much longer-term culture.

Nature of People. Some cultures view people as good, evil, or a mix of the two. For example, Americans see people as a mixture of the two, while other cultures take a rather evil view of human nature, believing people to be sinful when they are born. A more autocratic management style is likely in countries that focus on the evil aspects of people, while participation or laissez-faire styles prevail in countries that emphasize trusting values.

Activity Orientation. Some cultures such as the United States and Taiwan stress doing or action and emphasize accomplishments. Others like Mexico stress "being" and living for the moment. Still others like France focus on controlling and emphasize restraining desires. Doing and controlling cultures are likely to stress pragmatism and rationality in decision making; in cultures with "being" orientations, decisions are likely to be more emotional.

Focus of Responsibility. Cultures can also be classified according to where responsibility lies for the welfare of others. For example, Americans focus on personal achievements to define themselves; Taiwanese focus on the group. This dimension is similar to Hofstede's individualism/collectivism dimension.

^[] Cultural Orientations and Their Implications for Management

One additional model of note and useful to global diversity practitioners is that of Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner, based on their study of more than thirty-five thousand managers in forty countries. Several of their dimensions of culture are outlined below:

Universalism/Particularism. Universalistic cultures such as Canada operate along the lines of universal rules and standards and believe that laws are written by everyone and must be upheld by everyone at all times. These cultures tend to rely on extensive documentation of business relationships. Particularist cultures such as South Korea and Venezuela tend to ignore rules because relationships are more important than rules. They view detailed contracts as signs they aren't trusted.

Individualism/Communitarianism. Do people regard themselves primarily as individuals or primarily as part of a group?

Specific/Diffuse. Specific refers to cultures in which there are clear boundaries around relationships and relationships are contained within the boundary of that context and do not permeate into other spheres of life. Managers from specific cultures tend to focus only on behavior that takes place at work. In diffuse cultures, relationships overlap and permeate across boundaries. Managers from more diffused cultures include behavior that takes place in employees' private and professional lives.

Neutral/Affective. Should the nature of our interactions be objective and detached, or is expressing emotion acceptable? Members of neutral cultures don't express their emotions, while affective cultures are very expressive.

Achievement/Ascription. In some cultures, status is assigned as a result of some achievement, whereas in others status is the result of membership in certain groups. In an achievement culture, you'll be asked "What did you study," and in an ascriptive culture, the question will be "Where did you study?"

There are many other categorizations of the dimensions that comprise culture, not all of which are included here. For example, Edward T. Hall's important work on two basic cultural differences in communication styles (low- and high-context) has great relevance to the workplace and is covered in some depth in Chapter 3 on communication.

1.7.5. The Impact of Culture

In this, and particularly in subsequent chapters, we have attempted to introduce the concepts of culture in a way that helps readers begin to see how culture might have an impact in their own workplace. Knowing the theories of culture and cultural difference is not enough—it's the application of that knowledge that is most important. The "Cultural Dimensions at Work" tool will help you understand how these cultural differences have an impact at work.

1.7.6. Suggestions for Using "Cultural Dimensions at Work"

Objectives

• To understand the impact of cultural norms on the workplace

• To understand that there are alternative viewpoints on cultural norms

• To stimulate discussion and negotiation of differences

Intended Audience

• Members of a global multinational work team, task force, or department

• Managers of international or multicultural teams

• Trainees in diversity training session

Time

• 45 to 60 minutes

Materials

• Copies of "Cultural Dimensions at Work"

• Enlargements of "Cultural Dimensions at Work" (optional)

Directions

• Discuss the aspects of U.S. culture and provide examples of possible alternatives and management functions that might be affected by them.

• Ask participants to respond to the questionnaire, following directions.

• Have participants share their responses in small groups and discuss similarities, differences, and implications for the organization.

• If using an enlarged version of the worksheet for each group, ask the groups to complete the enlarged sheet with examples of their responses for discussion in the large group.

Questions for Discussion/Consideration

• What was difficult and what was easy about completing this exercise?

• What similarities and differences do you see among group members?

• What did you learn from brainstorming possible alternative aspects to values of U.S. culture?

• What are our challenges as an organization around these issues?

• How flexible are you in adapting to others who have different cultural orientations on these cultural values?

• What can we learn from people who have different cultural norms?

• What are the potential "costs" to the organization if these cultural nuances are not recognized and used in organizational planning?

• Where are there potential "hot spots" that may lead to misunderstanding or conflict?

• How could cultural difference be an advantage to the organization?

Cultural Considerations

• There is a potential for defensiveness regarding U.S. and other national cultural values. Discuss this possibility in giving directions for the exercise.

Caveats, Considerations, and Variations

• After the large group discussion, have the small groups reconvene to brainstorm possible adaptations or accommodations in management functions that will make them more culturally sensitive.