Hofstede's Five Dimenstions

At the same time, I also realized that the negotiation partners are not always having the conflict interests during the negotiation. In this case, for some of the issues, we actually have the same goals. So baring this in mind, in the future negotiation case, I would first seek the common goals for both of us first to create a win-win situation.

Having completed a Business course in May, I gained a greater insight into the workings of businesses. I understand the need to build and nurture business relationships, to engage with clients and maintain a strong presence. My previous activities show that I am accustomed to such a role. As a communication intern, I was professional; I handled enquiries from external entities, expanded social media strategy and assisted in workshops if needed. At University, it was the norm to negotiate during projects to ensure a favourable outcome; this practice served me well on numerous occasions, for example, at Model United Nations.

Negotiation is a fundamental form of dispute resolution involving two or more parties (Michelle, M.2003). Negotiations can also take place in order to avoid any future disputes. It can be either an interpersonal or inter-group process. Negotiations can occur at international or corporate level and also at a personal level. Negotiations often involve give and take acknowledging that there is interdependence between the disputants to some extent to achieve the goal. This means that negotiations only arise when the goals cannot be achieved independently (Lewicki and Saunders et al., 1997). Interdependence means the both parties can influence the outcome for the other party and vice versa. The negotiations can be win-lose or win-win in nature.

In a business perspective, the oriental and western cultures remain a huge difference. Low-context societies such as American egalitarian culture, they emphasize on logic and facts, verbal messages are more direct and concise, individualism and extremely tolerant to changes. However, high-context societies such as Chinese hierarchy culture, they prefer non-verbal methods to express meaningful communications, group-oriented, and pay more attention to interpersonal relationships during business interactions. For example, a successful business interaction will count on interpersonal relationships among businesses and government. On the other hand, business dealings can be completely transactional with Americans, without building relationships to do so.

Consequently, negotiation is a process that can be approached in many ways. No matter what strategy we choose, success lies in how well we prepared. The key to negotiating a beneficial outcome is the negotiators’ ability to consider all the elements of the situation carefully and to identify and think through the options. At the same time, negotiators must be able to keep events in perspective and be as fair and honest as circumstance allows. Because a common ground or interest has brought the parties to the negotiating table, a negotiator can benefit by trying to capitalize on this common

Hofstede defined the culture as “the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group from that another”. His five types of cultural dimensions are the most popular in many cultural area studies, include: (1) power distance; (2) individualism vs. collectivism; (3) uncertainty avoidance; (4) masculinity vs. femininity; and (5) long-term vs. short-term orientation. These dimensions offer an insight towards behaviors and standards in the cultural context which are useful for many motivators to explore the people in different culture. The text suggested that countries with high uncertainty avoidance will lead to more job security, whereas people with low uncertainty avoidance (for example, U.S.) are motivated by new ideas and innovation. People with high power distance are motivated by relationships between subordinates and their boss, while people with low power distance are motivated by team work and relationships with their peers. On the other hand, individuals from high individualism are motivated by opportunities and autonomy; collectivism (for example, Japan) suggests that motivation should be done with group goals and support. Individuals from high masculine culture are comfortable with the tradition and division of works and roles; in a feminine culture, the motivators help people through flexible roles and work

Since Singapore’s establishment in 1965, the government of Singapore had adopted a genre of paternalistic leadership in many areas (Lee, 2008). Personally, I have so far taken the view that it was the most fundamental thing for this tiny oriental country.

It is also easy for many other companies to set up headquarter in Singapore as their starting point in Asia to make it possible to reach to its market point. In addition, Singapore is unique in different lifestyles and culture. It is also known for its capability of attracting sizable foreign investment, pro-business environment and entrepreneurs. Singapore focuses more on a knowledge based economy which can be seen in its education sysem. Furthermore, Singapore is located in the heart of Asia and it plays an important role in international

Culture and the environment affect a business in many ways. Culture is not simply a different language, a different shade of skin, or different styles of food. Culture, and the environment in which you are a part of, affect the running of day to day business operations of all companies’ day in and day out. This paper will assess how Linda Myers, from the article, “The would-be pioneer,” (Green, S., 2011) was affected by the huge culture shock of working for a global conglomerate from Seoul, South Korea. We will discuss what went wrong with Ms. Myers approach to business, Hofstede’s five dimensions of culture as it

I chose four dimensions out of the sixth dimensions of Hofstede; Power distance, Individualism, Uncertainty Avoidance, and Long-Term Orientation.

When a business decides to venture internationally into different countries with its products, services, and operations, it is very important that the company gains an understanding of how the culture of the different societies affects the values found in those societies. Geert Hofstede conducted one of the most famous and most used studies on how culture relates to values. Hofstede study enabled him to compare dimensions of culture across 40 countries. He originally isolated four dimensions of what he claimed summarized different cultures — power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism versus collectivism, and masculinity versus femininity (Hill, 2013, p.110). To cover aspects of values not discussed in the original paradigm Hofstede has since added two more dimensions — Confucianism or long-term orientation and indulgence versus self-restraint (Hofstede, n.d.). Because of the way Hofstede’s cultural dimensions are given an index score from 0-100, it is easy for a company to get a general comparison between the cultures they are expanding into and the culture they are already in.

Green Hofstede’s “cultural framework has provided the catalyst for many studies throughout the social science, and has helped shap marketing though” (Blodgett, Bakir, & Rose. 2008). His cultural framwork includes five dimentions. Power distance, individualism or collectivism, masculinity or femininity, uncertainity avoidance and short-or long-term orientation. Add five dimentions together, it becomes a comprehensive complex that can help individuals perform efficient communications while take into the consideration of cultural differences (Baack, 2012).

 Singapore is both a city and a nation-state. This complicates matters. Most foreigners think of Singapore simply as a city. But most Singaporeans think of Singapore in national terms. This, by default, has had the unintended side effect of causing some fissures in the national fabric. It is possible to be both a global city and a nation-state. But it could be argued that the global city project pursued by Singapore has come at a heavy price for the nation-building project.

Singapore has a racially diverse and multi-cultural society, being a multi-ethnic country means that Singapore relies on social cohesion as well as communal harmony to function. It is necessary for Singaporeans to be able to accept, trust and work with each other in order to maintain peace and stability in the country.

The reason we are going to Singapore is to conduct business. With that being said, it is important to learn the way business is conducted in the nation of Singapore. Subtle differences in the approach can potentially make or break a deal. We have to be knowledgeable about their customs in order to avoid offense.