首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Basic Cultural Types As business goes global, businessmen have come to find the people in different cultures act quite differ
Basic Cultural Types As business goes global, businessmen have come to find the people in different cultures act quite differ
admin
2010-02-20
29
问题
Basic Cultural Types
As business goes global, businessmen have come to find the people in different cultures act quite differently, and that only when they can deal with cultural issues properly can they expect a business success. It is very important to understand different types of culture in
order to success in【1】 【1】______.
Four-factor framework to define and classify national culture.
Individualism vs. Collectivism
Individualism emphasizes【2】, 【2】______.
but collectivism emphasizes sacrificing personal needs.
In an individualist culture, decision making may be. quick, but its【3】may be slow.【3】______.
But the opposite is true in a collectivist culture.
High vs. Low Power Distance
Power distance refers to how people view power and their own role in decision making.
In a culture with low power distance, employees will seek【4】 【4】______.
in making decisions, and will be unwilling in accepting decisions
they have made no contribution to. But in a culture with high power distance,
employees will【5】most decisions made by their boss. 【5】______.
High vs. Low Avoidance of Uncertainty
Avoidance of uncertainty refers to a society’s ability to tolerate【6】 【6】______.
In a culture of high uncertainty avoidance people tend to
give up individual freedom for【7】 【7】______.
In a culture of low uncertainty avoidance, people may【8】more often. 【8】______.
Masculinity vs. Femininity
This refers to whether a society shows more male or female features.
Societies with masculine values show much aggressiveness and assertiveness,
and value material success.
Societies with feminine values emphasize【9】, and quality of life. 【9】______.
In a feminine culture, the pace of business is slow and calm, and depends
more on personal relationships.
In a masculine culture, business is efficient, and people plan to enjoy【10】 【10】______.
rather than present working day.
【9】
Basic Cultural Types
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I was told that most of you are either engaged or interested in business, and your participation in this series of lectures indicates that all of you may have realized the importance of culture to success in international business. As our lecture today is the first one, we are going to briefly look at some basic types of culture.
The Dutch researcher and business consultant, Geert Hofstede, has developed a useful framework that il- lustrates the four major issues that define and classify national cultures. Facts show that each issue has a very real effect on how people process information and interact, either personally or with business colleagues. During the remaining part of the lecture, let’s explore these issues one by one.
First and foremost, we need to look at the conflict between individualism and collectivism. Does a society cherish individualism, the independent thinker, the person who values personal success over group success, or does it function in an orderly fashion only when individuals sacrifice their needs to those of the group? The values that a society holds will determine how an individual defines himself or herself--as free individual or as a member of a group. Determine the answer to this most basic of questions about a society’s cultural values, and you will obtain a valuable clue as to how to proceed in successfully concluding a business negotiation and managing a business relationship in the future.
Understanding the contrast between the group and the individual is very important for business. In an individualist culture, decision making may be more rapid, but the implementation of a change in policy may be much slower than in a collectivist culture. On the other hand, it may take longer to come to a consensus in a collectivist environment, but once the decision is made, implementation is generally quicker.
The second issue in the study of cultural types is power distance. Power distance actually refers to how individuals in a society view power as well as their own role in decision making. In cultures with a low power-distance, individual employees will seek a role in decision-making and question decisions and orders that they have made no contribution. By contrast, in high power distance societies, employees seek no decision-making role. They accept the boss’s decision simply because the boss is the boss and is supposed to give orders. Employees in this kind of cultures need direction and discipline, and they look to management to provide it. In low power distance cultures, workers will accept more responsibility. Low power distance cultures tend to be more individualistic in nature.
OK, so much for the second issue, power distance. Next let’s move on to the third point, uncertainty-a- voidance. It is a measure of a society’s ability to tolerate ambiguity and uncertainty. A Swiss business colleague said that this could be shown in the difference between Switzerland and Germany. Buses and taxis taking visitors from Geneva’s airport to town would repeatedly broadcast the following announcement: "Welcome to Switzerland. Have a good time and remember that in Switzerland everything that is not compulsory is forbid- den." In contrast, the Germans hate the idea of uncertainty, and obviously know something about redundancy planning and clearly state behaviors that are forbidden to avoid any uncertainty.
The cultural dimension of uncertainty avoidance is profoundly exhibited in the workplaces of all societies. For instance, in Japan, the high preference for uncertainty avoidance results in employees’ decision to give up individual freedom and mobility in exchange for a guarantee of lifetime employment. But in societies that have a low measure of uncertainty avoidance, people usually value achievement over security, there is a less structured and more free-flowing style of management, but fewer workplace rules than societies with a high measure of un- certainty avoidance. Besides, it’s easy to understand that countries that exhibit low measures of uncertainty--a- voidance generally experience high rates of employment turnover and job mobility.
The last issue in Hofstede’s framework is the contrast between masculinity and femininity, which means whether the society manifests more male features or female features. This dimension speaks to both social values and attitudes. Societies with supposedly "masculine" values appreciate aggressiveness and assertiveness, and respect the goal of material acquisition. The more "feminine" cultures, on the other hand, value interpersonal relationships, put quality of life before material acquisition and actively express concern for the less fortunate.
Understanding this dimension also has important implication for business management. The pace of business tends to be more slow and calm in cultures with a majority of feminine traits. Business hinges more on personal relationships--friends doing business with friends--rather than on pure efficiency and written contracts. In masculine cultures, success is the function of the individual, and society is made up of leaders and followers. If you are a success--or a failure--it is the result of your own actions. Business is a more efficient process than in feminine societies and people plan on enjoying their retirement rather than the present working day.
Now it’s time to sum up. In a sense, business success builds on correct understanding of culture in which the business takes place. Hofstede’s proposal seems to have caught the core of cultural difference. In his eyes, culture can be classified in terms of individualism versus collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity versus femininity. So long as we pay attention to these issues, we stand much more possibility to success. So, finally, I hope what I said today can be of use to you in the future. Thank you!
选项
答案
interpersonal relationships / interpersonal relation / personal relationship / personal relation
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/vzqO777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
Ingeneral,oursocietyisbecomingoneofgiantenterprisesdirectedbyabureaucraticmanagementinwhichmanbecomesasmall,
A、IntheformerSovietUnion,evenprimaryschoolsofferedsomevocationaleducation.B、InGermany,90%oftheyoungpeoplerece
Theperiodofadolescence,i.e.,thepersonbetweenchildhoodandadulthood,maybelongorshort,dependingonsocialexpectati
A、MoreandmorestudentsnowplaycybergamesinInternetbarsafterclass,ofwhichgovernmentfailedtotakenotice.B、Dueto
A、Theabilitytobethetopstudents.B、Theabilitytogethighmarksinalltheexams.C、Theabilitytogetonwellwithpeople
Asregardssocialconventions,wemustsayawordaboutthewell-knownEnglishclasssystem.Thisisanembarrassingsubjectfor
A、InLondon,peopleearn£3,000permonthonaverage.B、InBritain,goodlooksoftenleadtohigherincome.C、StudentsinLondon
保证军人妈妈能更好地照顾孩子、享有充足的探亲假及必要的心理健康咨询服务对于她们的家庭幸福及国防安全十分关键。
TheAmericanTaxSystemGovernmentsraiserevenuesthroughtaxation.Ataxisa【1】_______paymenttogovernment.I
A、thehistorichatredbetweenSunniandShiiteMuslimsB、therearesectarianterroristsamongbothSunniandShiiteMuslimsC、Su
随机试题
组织文化的功能是什么?
营运能力分析,主要是衡量企业在______。
A.辨证论治B.对症治疗C.异病同治D.同病异治E.辨病论治根据辨证结果,确定相应的治疗原则和治法,称为
1997年信利商场与丰盛食品公司签订了一份购买苹果脯5000箱的合同,总价款为50万元人民币,于5月20日之前以代办托运公路、铁路联运的方式交付给买方。合同签订后,信利商场即积极筹备货款,银行同意向其提供贷款,但要求其提供担保。信利商场即以两部汽车向银行作
银行业监督管理机构根据审慎监管的要求,可以采取下列哪些措施进行现场检查?
个人和家庭的风险管理目标可以分为()
飞翔公司为增值税一般纳税人,适用的增值税税率为17%,材料采用实际成本法进行日常核算。该公司2015年3月月末结存存货200万元,全部为A产品,存货跌价准备余额为零。该公司按月计提存货跌价准备。4月份发生如下经济业务:(1)购买原材料甲一批,增值税专
Thereislittle,________,farminginthatareaandallyoucanseeismilesofwildcountryside.
已知某消费者的效用函数为U=X2Y2,收入I=600,商品X的价格Px=20,商品Y的价格Py=30.求该消费者的最佳消费组合;
结合材料回答问题:巧用大循环,处理不再难山东某地采用循环经济的理念,将秸秆“吃干榨尽”,对秸秆利用进行了有益探索。一、秸秆种蘑菇该地小麦种植面积为60万亩,按亩产500公斤秸秆计算,每年产生30万吨秸秆。虽然粉碎还田
最新回复
(
0
)