report reference China Compare with UK and USA http://geert-hofstede. com/china.
html http://geert-hofstede. com/united-kingdom. html USA-http://geert-hofstede. com/united-states.
html Power distance UK At 35 Britain sits in the lower rankings of PDI – i. e. a society that believes that inequalities amongst people should be minimized. Interestingly is that research shows PD index lower amongst the higher class in Britain than amongst the working classes.?The PDI score at first seems incongruent with the well established and historical British class system and its exposes one of the inherent tensions in the British culture – between the importance of birth rank on the one hand and a deep seated belief that where you are born should not limit how far you can travel in life. A sense of fair play drives a belief that people should be treated in some way as equals.
USA The United States score low on this dimension (40) which underscores the American premise of “liberty and justice for all. This is also evidenced by the focus on equal rights in all aspects of American society and government. Within American organizations, hierarchy is established for convenience, superiors are always accessible and managers rely on individual employees and teams for their expertise. Both managers and employees expect to be consulted and information is shared frequently.
At the same time, communication is informal, direct and participative. Individualism UK At a score of 89 the UK is amongst the highest of the individualistic scores, beaten only by some of the commonwealth countries it spawned i. . Australia and the USA. ?The British are a highly individualistic and private people.
Children are taught from an early age to think for themselves and to find out what their unique purpose in life is and how they uniquely can contribute to society. The route to happiness is through personal fulfillment. As the affluence of Britain has increased throughout the last decade, with wealth also ‘spreading North’, a much discussed phenomenon is the rise of what has been seen as rampant consumerism and a strengthening of the ‘ME’ culture. USAThe United States, with a score of 91 on this dimension, is a highly individualistic culture. This translates into a loosely-knit society in which the expectation is that people look after themselves and their immediate families.
There is also a high degree of geographical mobility in the United States and most Americans are accustomed to doing business with, or interacting, with strangers. Consequently, Americans are not shy about approaching their prospective counterparts in order to obtain or seek information. In the business world, employees are expected to be self-reliant and display initiative.Also, within the exchange-based world of work, hiring and promotion decisions are based on merit or evidence of what one has done or can do.? Masculinity / Femininity UK At 66 Britain is a masculine society – highly success oriented and driven.
A key point of confusion for the foreigner lies in the apparent contradiction between the British culture of modesty and understatement which is at odds with the underlying success driven value system in the culture. Critical to understanding the British is being able to ‘’read between the lines’’ What is said is not always what is meant.In comparison to feminine cultures such as the Scandinavian countries, people in the UK live in order to work and have a clear performance ambition. USA The United States score 62 on this dimension and is considered a “masculine” society. Behavior in school, work, and play are based on the shared values that people should “strive to be the best they can be” and that “the winner takes all”. As a result, Americans will tend to display and talk freely about their “successes” and achievements in life, here again, another basis for hiring and promotion decisions in the workplace.
Typically, Americans “live to work” so that they can earn monetary rewards and attain higher status based on how good one can be. Conflicts are resolved at the individual level and the goal is to win.? Uncertainty avoidance UK At 35 the UK has a low score on uncertainty avoidance which means that as a nation they are quite happy to wake up not knowing what the day brings and they are happy to ‘make it up as they go along’ changing plans as new information comes to light. ?As a low UAI country the British are comfortable in ambiguous situations - the term ‘muddling through’ is a very British way of expressing this.
There are generally not too many rules in British society, but those that are there are adhered to (the most famous of which of of course the British love of queuing which has also to do with the values of fair play).? In work terms this results in planning that is not detail oriented – the end goal will be clear (due to high MAS) but the detail of how we get there will be light and the actual process fluid and flexible to emerging and changing environment. Planning horizons will also be shorter.? Most importantly the combination of a highly individualistic and curious nation is a high level of creativity and strong need for innovation.What is different is attractive! This emerges throughout the society in both its humour, heavy consumerism for new and innovative products and the fast highly creative industries it thrives in – advertising, marketing, financial engineering. USA The US scores 46 on this dimension and therefore, American society is what one would describe as “uncertainty accepting.
” Consequently, there is a larger degree of acceptance for new ideas, innovative products and a willingness to try something new or different, whether it pertains to technology, business practices, or foodstuffs.Americans tend to be more tolerant of ideas or opinions from anyone and allow the freedom of expression. At the same time, Americans do not require a lot of rules and are less emotionally expressive than higher-scoring cultures. Long term orientation At 25 the UK scores as a short term oriented society which drives a great respect for history and tradition as well as a focus on quick results in the future.
As mentioned above, planning horizons tend to be short and business particularly is very focused on short term quarterly goals and quick results.The notion of giving up something today for the promise of something bigger in the future is not a widely held notion, more usual is the belief that ‘a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush’. ?The structure of the London Stock Exchange further perpetuates this pattern – its relentless focus on quarterly results to drive stock valuations exacerbates the culture of focus on short term results. This culture is much discussed in the press with many companies complaining that the LSE drives a culture that gets in the way of genuine longer term relationship building and long term investment projects.The London Stock Exchange is of course a product of British culture USA The United States scores 29 on this dimension and is a short-term oriented culture. As a result, it is a culture focused on traditions and fulfilling social obligations.
Given this perspective, American businesses measure their performance on a short-term basis, with profit and loss statements being issued on a quarterly basis. This also drives individuals to strive for quick results within the work place. There is also a need to have the “absolute truth” in all matters. Individualism
