National culture Essay Example

3. China’s Cultural Dimensions

The Chinese business people usually put into consideration the aspect of the relationship among different business enterprises since it is an essential factor in business (Hofstede, 2011). Moreover, in case any company wants to establish a good relationship with the business people of China, the company is required to foster the emotional bonds as well as the understanding. Some of the ways through which the business partners can establish a close relationship with the business people of China include the creation of frequent contacts with them and also provision of various gifts such as the wine to them.

Taken from: https://geert-hofstede.com/china.html

3.1 Power Distance

China
scores 80 in power distance which means there is an unequal distribution of power in Chinese society. Moreover, those organisations which have the culture which prefers small power distances tends to believe that, it is necessary to reduce social inequalities, minimising the hierarchical organizational structures and also questioning the authority figures. However, those organisations whose culture prefer the large power distances holds believe that the social order always protects every individual, that there should be no questioning of the authority actions and also believes that social inequalities are appropriate (Yoon, 2009) Furthermore, in the Chinese culture, the aspect of ranking is quite significant in the business relationship, and therefore the rank differences should be maintained during communication. For instance, when a trading partner finds the Chinese business people in a meeting, the partner is supposed to first great the person who is of the highest rank. The power distance in China is higher than in Australia (Kirkman, Lowe & Gibson, 2006).

3.2 Individualism – Collectivism

China scored just 20 on this dimension. For the case of China, the aspect of individualism is relatively high, and this is evident in its high number of individual groups. According to Chinese posters, since the year 1949, the communist party
took the charge of government, and collectivism became the main ideological trend based on CCP’s land reform. However, the main issue which should be addressed under this dimension is about the extent of interdependence which is maintained by a community of its members (Hofstede, 2011). Moreover, this dimension mostly puts more emphasis on the self-image of people. After the achievement of land reform, Chinese people are more likely focus on their group with the agriculture reform, they advocated all purpose is for collective (Kirkman, Lowe & Gibson, 2006). Individualism dimension is lower in China than in Australia.

3.3 Masculinity – Femininity

With the score of 66, China can be seen as a masculine society. It simply means that business partners between Chinese are mainly driven by their success, achievements and also the competitions which they encounter (Kirkman, Lowe & Gibson, 2006). For example, this dimension can be viewed under the perspective whereby Chinese employees in most cases leave their families to work in far distance factories.

3.4 Uncertainty Avoidance

China has established beliefs which try to evade these threats which have been reflected in the score of the Uncertainty Avoidance Index. However, various organisations which have the culture of high uncertainty avoidance tend to have worries concerning their future (Yoon, 2009). On the other hand, those organisations which have low uncertainty avoidance are always ready to take various risks and also they always accept changes. Comparing uncertainty dimension with Australia, China has a low level of uncertainty. Moreover, the cultures which have low uncertainty level of avoidance are always risk takers, and therefore they do not put any restrictions towards changes. However, for the case of Australia has got a moderate level of the uncertainty avoidance compared to China, thus meaning that it takes calculated risks hence it does not evade the risky situations (Hofstede, 2011). Therefore, both the managers and the employees of an organization should evaluate the effect of various risks and then act to them accordingly. In addition, various organizations should actually set few rules in order to avoid being rigid in conducting its practices, thus making the organizations to be well prepared for the uncertainty avoidance.

3.5 Time Orientation

China scores 80 in time orientation which makes it a long term oriented culture. This means that Chinese people mostly concentrate on the aspects of perseverance as well as the persistence. However, they require longer time to attain their goals. For instance, the negotiation process of Chinese businesses consumes a lot of time in establishing trust as well as a long-term relationship before they come to their business decision (Kirkman, Lowe & Gibson, 2006). Moreover, those members who engage themselves in the time orientations which are short-term do not actually lay a lot of emphasis on the aspect of hard work, and therefore they only address the current situations. In addition, in an organization where there is a short-term time orientation, the members tend to lack a long-term perspective concerning their own actions as well as behaviour. However, for the case of Australia, usually scores very low in terms of its long-term orientation, and therefore in its organizational context they always believe in hard work and also they believe in attaining quick results. Also, the organizations always values the aspect of time and are mostly based on the time performance, hence they do not actually put into consideration long-term perspective about the effect of their actions. For instance, the Quarterly profit report of organizations is a good example of a short-term orientation. Also, another example of the short-term orientation is actually the quarterly meeting which are usually held by the financial departments of organizations (Hofstede, 2011).

References

Hofstede, G 2011, ‘Dimensionalizing cultures: The Hofstede model in context’, Online readings in psychology and culture, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 8.

Yoon, C 2009, ‘The effects of national culture values on consumer acceptance of e-commerce: Online shoppers in China’, Information & Management, vol. 46, no. 5, pp. 294-301.

Kirkman, BL, Lowe, KB & Gibson, CB 2006, ‘A quarter century of culture’s consequences: A review of empirical research incorporating Hofstede’s cultural values framework’, Journal of international business studies, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 285-320.