Background
The most well-known framework on cultural values was derived from a landmark study in the late 1960s and early 1970s by Geert Hofstede, who analyzed data from 88,000 IBM employees from 72 countries in 20 languages. His research showed that employees working in different countries tended to prioritize different values, and those values clustered into several distinct dimensions. Those dimensions began with just four categories, but have been expanded in recent years to include:
- individualism-collectivism
- power distance
- uncertainty avoidance
- masculinity-femininity
- short-term vs. long-term orientation (or pragmatic vs. normative) and most recently
- indulgence vs. restraint
Required Reading
Hofstede, G. (1993). Cultural constraints in management theories. Academy of Management Executive, 7(1), 81-94.
First, choose a country outside of the United States. Then, drawing on the material in the background readings and doing additional research, please prepare a paper that addresses how you would adapt your leadership approach to lead a group based upon Geert Hofstedeâs six dimensions if you were the CEO of a multinational organization. For example, how would you adapt your behavior if it was an individualistic or collectivist environment? Would you implement a flat structure if it was a high or low power distance policy? What leadership style would be most appropriate for that culture? Make sure to address all six of Hofstedeâs dimensions. Please be creative and provide examples to justify why you would make such decisions.
Your paper should be short (2-3 pages, not including the cover sheet and references) and to the point. You are expected to deal with these issues in an integrated fashion, rather than treating them as a series of individual questions to be answered one by one and left at that.