Describe your cultural background in light of Hefstedes theo

Describe your cultural background in light of Hefstede’s theory of cultural dimensions. Where does this culture sit in regard to these five dimensions? What are the implications for managing employees from such a culture? How does the issue of Diversity come into play when considering cultural dimensions? Draw on our readings to comment on the role of diversity in multicultural situations

Solution

Personally speaking I come from a background where there is a high power distance and a focus on relationship rather than task and an inherent long term orientation coupled with a focus on restraint rather indulgence. A lot of focus in my cultural background is placed on collective wisdom and building consensus and also being aligned with the societal mores and regulations. Being an Asian, these features are consistent with the broad expectations of the Asian cultures and in terms of score on Hofstede\'s index, the probable scores are as below:

The implication for managing employees from such a culture is that a lot of emphasis is laid on building relationship and providing unambiguous directions in order to get the best out of the employee and motivating him. Working in a high performing team motivates the individual and as such rewards geared to awarding team effort has to be built in to encourage the person.

The issue of diversity comes into play as the manager may be from a different culture than the subordinates. Even the subordinates may have different cultural backgrounds and hence it becomes necessary to accept individual culture and form a common ground in order to derive the maximum of the team.

In a multicultural situation, it is prudent to encourage and motivate everyone to speak their mind and contribute to the team in order to break cultural barriers and promote innovation and foster team spirit. Once a comfort level is established, the team can function in an integrated manner and contribute constructively.