The European Union is a significant economic and cultural force in todays society and in order to be effective leaders in that region we must understand the different cultures and values in play. While the EU is mainly looked at as a economic conglomerate of countries, it actually more closely represents a confederation of countries striving towards a common goal of economic security. Currently the EU has 27 member countries, ranging from the United Kingdom to Greece. So what challenges are present in this common goal, and how are they effectively handled?
There are currently 27 countries who are a member of the European Union (eucountrylist.com) and since it would be unreasonable to analyze all of them on these 6 principles, I chose two random countries, Greece and Ireland. Greece has about 10 million citizens in it and Ireland weighs in at just under 5 million. Both of these numbers pale in comparison to the United states 321 Million member population (CIA World factbook). This statistic alone underlines the need for such an economic collaboration in Europe as the European Union. Ireland and the United States share English as the primary language, yet Greece speaks primarily Greek. this demonstrates that while the European Union is a step towards standardization, it is very difficult with its membership due to extremely diverse cultures and languages (Moran et al, 2014)
Well, If there is anything I have learned from this course, its that a lot can be learned using Hofstede’s cultural dimensions of Power distance, individualism vs collectivism, masculinity, goal orientation, indulgence, and Uncertainty Avoidance. Regarding Power Distance, the United States ranks in at 40, while Ireland is 28 and Greece is 60. While these aren’t significant numbers, it does show that in Ireland, it is expected that there is very little difference between the influential and non influential peoples, while in Greece it is expected that some people have greater power than others. Another large difference between the two s Uncertainty Avoidance, where Ireland is rated at 35 while Greece come in at 112. This is significantly different viewpoints regarding the level of ambiguity allowed within the culture. In Greece, it is expected that laws are particularly specific while in Ireland, rules are more for interpretation.
While this is not a comprehensive listing of all the differences faced by these two countries, it is representative of some challenged faced by the European Union as a whole. These differences can manifest themselves in different ways, such as immigration law, Labor agreements, and political systems. For instance, how does the United Kingdoms Monarchal Democracy combine with Greece’s Parliamentary Republic? To effectively lead in these challenging positions, it is suggested that significant background research is done before attempting (Moran et al., 2014) A thorough understanding of the historical context that each country operates from is essential to understanding potential pitfalls while communicating or deal brokering cross nation borders.
References:
Central Intelligence Agency. (nd). The World Factbook. Retrieved Nov 20, 2015 from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
eucountrylist.com. (2008). EU Country List. Retrieved from
Hofstede, G. & Hofstede, G. J. (n.d.) 6 Dimensions Spreadsheet. geerthofstede.com. Retrieved Oct 19, 2015 from http://www.geerthofstede.com/media/651/6%20dimensions%20for%20website.xls
Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014) Managing Cultural Differences (9thed.). New York, NY