Australia’s Successful Economy and Hofstede’s Six Dimensions
In looking at the global business world Australia is one of the countries that needs to be highlighted due to its ease in doing business as well as its vast available resources. Australia showed economic growth for 17 straight years prior to the 2008 recession and was one of the first to raise interest rates in 2009 with continued economic growth from 2009 to 2012, (Moran, Abramson & Moran, 2014). There has been a slowdown in the last 10 years but there was still a 0.5% growth, where as Germany, Sweden, Singapore and the U.K. saw a deficit, (Letts, 2019).
Looking at Australia’s ratings utilizing Hofstede’s Insights website they have the following ratings:
Power Distance score is 36 which is low meaning hierarchy is for convinced and managers and employees work as teams with accessibility so that information is shared easily and frequently
Individualism score is high at 90, which means the Australian culture is concerned with themselves and their immediate families as a society. Employees are expected to be self-reliant and promotions are based on merit and initiative.
Masculinity score is 61 which is on the higher side which means the expectation is that individuals are expected to do their best and strive to always win. “They are proud of their successes and achievements and conflicts are settled at the individual level.”
Uncertainty Avoidance is 51 is how a society deals with the fact that the future is unknown and Australia is intermediate in this dimension.
Long Term Orientation score is on the low end at 21 which means they respect their traditions and rarely save for the future and want quick results.
Indulgence scores high at 71 which means the people are indulgent and they give in to their impulses. They are positive and optimistic and enjoy their leisure time.
Considering Australia is a multicultural nation with the largest group being Europeans, 7% are Asians, 1% Aboriginals and a huge immigration population at 120,000 a year, (Moran et al, 2014). It is very interesting that although the country is multicultural with a large European population that the country has one of the highest ratings for the ease to develop global business interactions. The six dimensions are very close to where the United States scores but one of the key differences is that American’s live to work and Australians work to live. With their easy going mannerism and relaxed culture they still have been able to maintain a successful economy more efficiently than other countries that rank in the top 5. There seems to be the right mix within the Australian philosophy and culture that has proven very successful.
References
Hofstede Insights.com, Australia. https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country/australia/
Letts, S., September, 2019. Australia’s Economy Has Slowed to a Decade Low but the Budget May Already Be Back to Surplus; ABC News https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-04/gdp-q2-2019/11474470
Moran R., Abramson, N.R., Moran, S. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences, Ninth Edition. Routledge, New York, NY.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.