Island Life and Tourism

I found this concept very interesting because living on an island is very different than living mainland. My friend, Wes, was stationed in Hawaii so I found very similar concepts in the lesson and through his experiences he shared with me.

The lesson mentions how those native to an island often have very strong views about the island, their way of life, etc. and they do not want tourists/outsiders to intrude and disrupt how they live (Penn State World Campus). Wes talked very highly of Hawaii and how beautiful it was. Part of living on an island has to do with taking care of it and respecting the nature that thrives there. Oftentimes, outsiders/tourists are not as in tune with the places they visit as natives are, so they contribute to harmful practices that hurt the land and take away from it. Oftentimes on Islands, locals try to be as environmentally savvy as possible which includes reusing as much as possible, recycling, gardening, doing outdoor activities, etc.

I do not think the lesson highlights why native islanders are hesitant towards outsiders. It is not because they are territorial or close-minded–they want the beauty of their home to remain and they are passionate about taking care of and hurting the island. Many people who come in will try to deplete the island of its resources and cause harm to the environment that is a person’s home. For tourists, they don’t have to live with the long-term consequences of their actions because they leave and go back home once their trip is over. Natives are already home and they are left to live with the actions of others.

References

Penn State World Campus (2021). Lesson 11: Asia: Focus on Japan. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2146712/modules/items/32847709.

Individualism in a Pandemic

As I was reading through our last lesson, I immediately felt connected to the concept of individualism. North America, excluding Mexico, scored high in this category at 81. Similar to golf, countries should strive to score lower on the scale that references individualism. For reference, countries with lower scores and thus, lower rates of individualism have higher preferences of teamwork, unity, and the overall good of everyone compared to individualistic cultures that are centered around individual people putting themselves first and making their goals (Penn State World Campus, 2021).

When I saw that North American has such a high score, thus emphasizing the importance Americans put on individual choices, competitive markets, achieving success no matter the consequences of others set in and I was able to connect the concept to the pandemic. Months ago I saw on an article or the news the connection American individualistic culture had on the way the pandemic had been handled.

In individualism, it is all about the individual and not the collective whole of a community or country. This sounds simple enough but it even affects the choices we make on a day-to-day basis because we, as a whole, care more about ourselves than the benefit of others and the greater good of a community. When Covid-19 hit, organizations such as WHO and the CDC came out with recommendations that consisted of staying at home a much as possible, wearing a mask and social distancing when you do have to go out, and now getting a vaccine. America had an especially hard time following these simple recommendations and part of the reason, I believe, is because of how individualistic we are. The emphasis of the precautions put into place was to protect others with weak immune systems from getting sick, yet that didn’t stop Americans from refusing to wear a mask up to the point of physically assaulting public workers when asked to do so or being more concerned about the feeling of a mask vs. accidentally infecting someone. The risk of putting another in harm’s way was also not enough for people, including celebrities, to have “covid parties” just like they would have before there was a pandemic.

And the result of these individualistic actions: one of the highest rates of Covid-19 in the world, and some of the highest death rates to follow. Hospitals became too full to take on new patients, even ones that are not sick with covid. Families lose loved ones and while they are going through grief, they also now have medical/funeral expenses on a lower income caused by not having the deceased member to work anymore, and losing jobs/hours to the pandemic. This is especially alarming because we did/are doing worse than some third-world countries that had less access to healthcare and less ability to get ahold of protective equipment such as masks.

While it is okay to have individualistic tendencies or some aspects of it mixed into cultural beliefs, having too much leads to selfish mindsets and behavior, as seen in the recent 18 months.

References

Penn State World Campus (2021). Lesson 09: Central America and Mexico. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2146712/modules/items/32847697.

Understanding Power Distance in Country and Company

Power distance is one of the eight cultural dimensions used to help understand characterizations that make up a culture. These dimensions can also be used to make comparisons between cultures. The GLOBE project sets out to do just that. According to Nothouse (2019), the primary purpose of the GLOBE project is to “increase our understanding of cross-cultural interactions and the impact of culture on leadership effectiveness” (p. 437). One of the measures the GLOBE project used is power distance which is a measure of the degree that members of a group “expect and agree that power should be shared unequally” (Northouse, 2019, p. 438). How does power distance impact leadership effectiveness and how can it inform about conflicts?

Power distance measures the various levels separating people based on various factors like wealth, power, or authority (Northouse, 2019, p. 437). One example is a company with a very formal organizational structure where you have workers, managers, middle managers, executives, and an executive board. The levels in this organization are created by authority and the acceptance that the members of that organization expect and agree that power should be shared unequally with the power distance in that organization. A fortune 500 company with a very formal organizational structure with many management levels would have high power distance meaning the members of the group accept that those above them in the organization have more power. A fortune 500 company with a strong union representing the worker levels with direct negotiations with leadership would likely have a lower power distance meaning there is less acceptance that upper management holds power unequally

Cultural differences have an impact on multinational companies which by their nature are made of people from many cultures with varying levels of power distance (Oudenhoven et al., 1998, p. 440). In business, cultural conflict can be productive or destructive requiring conflict management to influence behavior to resolve conflict (Oudenhoven et al., 1998, p. 443). For example, Denmark, a Nordic country, is low in power distance meaning they think power should be shared more equally and that decisions should be participative (Oudenhoven et al., 1998, p. 443). Regionally, the Nordic countries, also including Sweden and Finland, are a region cluster of low power distance, meaning those countries have similar views of power sharing (Northouse, 2019, p. 441-442). Oudenhoven et al. (1998) found that countries low in power distance, like Denmark, resulted in higher problem solving behavior with supervisors versus high power distance countries, like Spain, who show less problem solving behavior (p. 450). The level of sharing of ideas is tied to the view of status and acceptance that the highest paid person opinion (HiPPO) must be right.

Figure 1: Power distance in Europe. (Hofstede, n.d.)

Low power distance countries prefer consultation between groups with different statuses with an overall low emotional distance between employees where employees often approach or even contradict those above them (Vegt et al., 2005, p. 1174). By contrast, high power distance countries prefer autocracies or majority rule when making decisions with trust issues for difference statues in power resulting in a less likelihood that opinions or alternative ideas will not be proposed (Vegt et al., 2005, p. 1174). In general, low power distance countries are more participative where ideas are expressed more freely than high power distance countries which rely on hierarchical decision structure and less sharing of ideas. Vegt et al. (2005) found that organizations with low power distance generated a higher innovation climate among members with high tenure and members with high skill levels (p. 2004). Conversely, high power distance organizations created less innovative climate with high tenure and high skilled employees (Vegt et al., 2005, p. 2004).

Power distance can also be a factor in laws. Laws typically reflect the values of a society. Laws are the practices that most people in a society agree are common. Fereidouni and Tajaddini (2017) looked at landlord laws as compared to a country’s power distance and found that high power distance countries tended to have pro-landlord laws (p.634-635). In countries where hierarchy is favored and inequalities are accepted and expected, laws tend to favor those in power. For multinational companies, understanding a country’s power distance can give some insight into how laws affect the company and its workers.

Power distance is a measurement for understanding the degree to which people in a country or a company view inequality. For a multinational company, conflicts can occur when power distances mix at the cultural boundaries. Being aware of these cultural views of power is important for conflict resolution and for understanding local laws. Applying different management styles, like participative management for low power distance organizations, can reduce conflicts. Even identifying property investment and development can be affected by power distance. Power distance is a window into understanding how decision making can be influenced and how to handle potential conflicts where cultural boundaries mix.

References

Fereidouni, H. G., & Tajaddini, R. (2017). Power distance and landlord-tenant practices across countries. International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, 10(5), 628-640. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1108/IJHMA-01-2017-0008

Hofstede, G. (n.d.). Dimension data matrix. Retrieved from https://geerthofstede.com/research-and-vsm/dimension-data-matrix/.

Northouse, P. G. (2019). Leadership (8th edition). SAGE Publications.

Van Der Vegt, G. S., Van De Vliert, E., & Huang, X. (2005). Location-level links between diversity and innovative climate depend on national power distance. Academy of Management Journal, 48(6), 1171-1182. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMJ.2005.19573116

Van Oudenhoven, J. P.,Mechelse, L., & De Dreu, C. K. W. (1998). Managerial conflict management in five european countries: The importance of power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity. Applied Psychology, 47(3), 439-456. https://doi.org/10.1080/026999498377935

Promoting Synergy Among Remote International Teams

One of the greatest benefits of the office workplace is said to be the natural creativity that occurs among colleagues everyday social interactions with each other. Spending 8+ hours in an office with the same people every day naturally means relationships develop. When coworkers and even members of different teams become comfortable with each other and comfortable working in the same space, synergy between teams can occur naturally. Synergy in organizations is the value each individual member has coming together to form a more perfect product. Essentially, does the team, or group of teams, bring together their varied skills to serve their common goal. Particularly in the tech space, it has become more common to have remote or partially remote teams spread across the globe. This presents a number of difficulties. Synergy within teams and among different teams is paramount to a startup tech company that is hoping to grow. Different departments thrive on their ability to communicate and take the best of each team. How do remote and international teams promote and foster synergy?

One of the most important ways to create better synergy between remote and international teams is to make sure that communication and the opportunity for collaboration exists. Setting clear moments where teams come together to speak via videoconference can achieve this (Cigano, 2018). However, it is important to make sure that remote teams do not fall into the same trap that in office teams often do–which is scheduling meetings for the sake of having meetings on the calendar. Meetings should have a clear goal and all members should be asked to contribute. These meetings should always be conducted via videoconferencing rather than just emailing (Cigano, 2018). Videoconferencing can help remote teams associate their team members as real people behind their ideas.

Team synergy is something that comes from the leadership. This does not change if a team or entire company is remotely distributed. This means that leadership must set the tone for team synergy. Consistency is a key that a leader must reinforce in how remote synergy is fostered. This means that if a remote team meets every week on Monday at 3pm, that is the meeting time they all meet (“Steps to Build Remote Team Synergy”, n.d.). This means that team members understand the expectations around the way they work together as a team as a whole. A leader must reinforce that these expectations do not fall away as time goes by and member become more independent. Team members should have a clearly defined and consistent understanding of how they are expected to collaborate on a regular basis. Doing so will help create more opportunities for synergy.

Another factor that can be an added difficulty for remote teams is if they are also from different cultures. In my own small business of 12 people we have people from the United States, Slovenia, Spain, Romania, Hungary, The United Kingdom and Russia. Not only is there difficulty of not being in the same place at the same time, but there is added difficulty of being from different cultures. Synergy in and of itself is a way to help solve this issue. Creating a singular goal that multiple members of the team from different countries are all working towards, can help build synergy (“Cross-Cultural Conflict and its Resolution”, n.d.).

Ultimately, synergy is not impossible among remotely distributed international teams. Just as covid-19 has changed the world, so has the introduction of technology that allows businesses to save money by having more employees work remotely. In fact, many employees see this as a benefit. This means that leaders must work hard to create the opportunity for synergy among their remote teams.

References

Cigano, S. (2018, December 3). How to Drive Synergy Between Remote Employees. Loom. https://www.loom.com/blog/how-to-drive-synergy-between-remote-employees.

Cross-Cultural Conflict and Its Resolution. Penn State Canvas Login. https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2075490/modules/items/29697182.

TelecommutersTalk, & *, N. (2018, November 12). Steps to Build Remote Team Synergy. TelecommutersTalk. https://telecommuterstalk.com/steps-to-build-remote-team-synergy/.

Intercultural communication – Do the Needful – Blog #1

Over the past several years as an IT and Engineering manager in a global organization I have had many opportunities to resolve conflicts resulting from communication issues. It is unfortunately a common event to see some colleague or another make a humorous cultural mistake. On a few occasions I have even given others the opportunity to enlighten me on my own egocentric communication mistakes. In hindsight such conflicts can be humorous, but they only seem confusing, frustrating, or even infuriating when they are occurring to us.

A common inter-cultural communication conflict I have run into several times with colleague’s in India is the phrase, ‘Do the needful’. This is a terribly common phrase in various areas of India, with it turning up in email and chat conversations between myself and folks from Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru regularly over many years. Many times I saw this phrase in emails and chat sessions and the combination of a high and low context cultural difference and the 22% gap in what senders expect people to understand and what receivers actually understand for e-mail (Kruger, Epley, Parker, & Ng, 2005). My colleagues in India came from a high-context culture (van Everdingen & Waarts, 2003) while as an American I come from a low context culture (van Everdingen & Waarts, 2003) meaning that I prefer more direct detailed communication while my colleagues expected the details to be drawn from the context of what they were saying (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014, pp. 43-44).

To my American ears this phrase has always sounded humorous and sort of rude. It sounds humorous because grammatically it kind of sounds like someone is referring to a dance move like ‘doing’ The Twist, The Macarena, The Shuffle, or some dance challenge on Tik Tok. (All the dancers in these video are better than me, even the fails!) I guess the Harlem Shake most reminds me of what popped into my head when someone says ‘do the needful’. This may be because my low-context frame of reference as an American becomes confused by the general lack of direction provided by the high-context communication represented by this phrase. There are literally no directions on what it is they expect me to do, or how they expect me to do it many times when I see this phrase. I imagine the many people in the Harlem Shake videos had little direction to end up doing many different dances instead of one coordinated dance.

Early in my career this phrase would turn up in email, usually something like this. (Many times, with no more context than this.)

Example 1

From: (Not a real address)

To: Phil

Subject: I have some problem

Body:

Phil, I have some problem. Do the needful.

Variations may include other pleasantries, but the messages didn’t often include enough context for me to tell what was actually needed. I would run into this frequently when I was in a support position. Several rounds of emails would follow as we tried to get to the actual details, possibly lasting one day per round due to time zone and shift differences. At first, I thought my colleagues were saying, “This is your problem, not mine, fix it so I can get on with my work.” I took this to be an offensive way to tell someone, ‘I am being taken away from my important work because of some failure you are responsible for, stop whatever you are doing and fix the problem’, the lack of additional information provided with the phrase was a confirmation in my eyes that the writer could not be bothered to help resolve this problem that was obviously beneath their position. My local coworkers and I even began to joke about this phrase when it would occur because they had a similar impression. A

We weren’t the only ones who felt this way, Urban Dictionary defines the meaning of this phrase very similarly (there are other definitions listed but some are cruder):

“Do the needful – The person uttering the phrase has indicated to the listener that they have decided the issue being discussed is not their problem. They don’t care how it is solved, but know they will not be involved in solving it (Willy, 2018).”

As I rose through the ranks of our organization over the years I began to here this from more senior leaders in India including directors, and senior managers over large groups and teams, though they would typically provide a little more context and say Please in front of it.

Example 2

From: SomeDirectorInIndia

To: Phil

Subject: We have some problem

Body:

Phil, At some time we started having some problem, preventing our teams from delivering on their commitments in some way.

Please, do the needful.

This was almost more frustrating to me than the others because I thought that the more senior members were talking down to me and blaming me for their team’s problems. They would commonly copy other senior leaders of our organization on the emails, and the phrase seemed to assign blame for whatever issue they were having to me or my team. I began to respond defensively to such communications when the phrase was used, and push for more detail of what was occurring only to get handed off to a less senior person to provide details which also reinforced my impression of what was being communicated.

Eventually I was on a work trip to India and while working with teams in their normal workspace noticed this phrase used several times in daily conversation with each other. Both senior and less senior people in the organization used it with each other in my presence. The tone and inflexion of their voices as well as their body language did not convey what I had been reading into the emails. This aligns with research that suggest that 80-90 percent of communication is nonverbal (Hall as cited by Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014, p43). As a result many of these details were unavailable to me before meeting face to face or even on the phone. While in the emails even our cultural conflict styles may have led to further misunderstanding (Croucher, et al., 2012).

In a conversation at English Language Learners Stack Exchange about the phrase ‘do the needful’ several commentors express their desire to use this because it simplifies conversation, and others provide several useful alternative methods to communicate the same thing, but Justinredd gave the following advice which pertains directly to this high vs low context issue of intercultural communication that I have observed and is commonly a point of conflict in high low context cultures.

“This is more about culture than about fluency. Americans prefer direct requests… …A polite desi will imply a course of action and request to ‘kindly do the needful.’

(Eg.) Mr. Singh, I’m sending my cousin who is interested in learning guitar. As you have better contacts with musicians, kindly do the needful.

This is well received in India, but this tends to frustrate and even confuse Americans. Most would prefer a direct request.

(Eg.) Mr. Singh, my cousin is interested in learning guitar. Would you use your contacts with musicians to help my cousin find an instructor?

Hearing this, an American will feel they are being treated with respect (justinredd, 2015).”

On the same business trip while at dinner with some of the senior leaders from the facility I was visiting we were discussing an issue that they acknowledged was outside my responsibility but that I understood well and was explaining the root causes of the issue for them. After taking the time to listen and understand the causes the most senior leader looked at me and with great respect said to me “Phil, please do the needful.” That was the end of the conversation.

A mentor of mine who had spent many years on several expat assignments and traveled widely, was at this dinner with us. When he and I made it back to the hotel, I asked him about this phrase and its’ frequent use. He said he also found it unusual at first and that it could be used multiple ways, however he had come to understand its’ meaning as, “I have confidence in your knowledge and capability to take care of this matter for me and would appreciate your expertise in resolving it to avoid further problems. ” He observed that in the discussion at dinner that night it was meant as a compliment and the other less senior local managers at the table would have seen it that way. The leader who had said it had not been blaming me, but had instead taken the opportunity to recognize me in front of his team as an endorsement, and to build further collaboration between us.

In fact, the next day at the office I received several invitations to join local teams at break time or lunch for a walk from the local managers. I also received requests for meetings to advise on projects they were working on that they had not mentioned before. They apparently found new value in a relationship with someone the ‘boss’ would put his trust in. I did not resolve the issue we discussed ad dinner myself but instead contacted the actual team responsible in the U.S. by phone, explained the issue and the impact to the business, provided good local contacts to work with to get more detail, and a suggestion of how they could resolve it. I asked them to keep me and the senior leader who asked me to do the needful in copy on email communications until the issue was resolved. The responsible team then initiated resolution communication proactively rather than being blamed for the issue as the start of the email trail. They collaborated with the local contacts and me for details on the issue as needed until it was resolved.

I have since talked about this experience with several of my direct reports in India and colleagues from India. My colleagues thought it was humorous how I had seen the use of this phrase, but my direct reports seemed almost shocked that I would have that reaction. It was a good chance to remind all of us that even though we work together daily the cultural filters that we view the world through can result in a significant misunderstanding even on an insignificant phrase. We need to speak up if we hear a misunderstanding occurring and invite feedback from others especially on how we communicate to ensure that we don’t miss an opportunity for improvement.

Works Cited

Croucher, S. M., Bruno, A., McGrath, P., Adams, C., McGahan, C., Suits, A., & Huckins, A. (2012, January). Conflict Styles and High–Low Context Cultures: A Cross-Cultural Extension. Communication Research Reports, 29(1), 64-73. doi:10.1080/08824096.2011.640093

justinredd. (2015, July 7). Response to: What’s a preferred alternative to the phrase ‘do the needful’? (Stack Exchange Inc) Retrieved September 20, 2020, from English Language Learners StackExchange.com: https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/17278/whats-a-preferred-alternative-to-the-phrase-do-the-needful/61233#61233

Kruger, J., Epley, N., Parker, J., & Ng, Z.-W. (2005, December). Egocentrism over e-mail: Can we communicate as well as we think? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89(6), 925-936. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.89.6.925

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences, 9th Edition. Routledge.

van Everdingen, Y. M., & Waarts, E. (2003). The Effect of National Culture on the Adoption of Innovations. Marketing Letters, 217-232. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/docview/204470861?pq-origsite=summon&accountid=13158

Willy, W. (2018, January 30). Do the needful. Retrieved from UrbanDictionary.com: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Do%20the%20needful

French Contradiction of Scores in Power Distance and Individualism

The attitude toward work and business is quite different in French culture than in the United States. These differences become apparent when examining a publication written for a regionally specific audience, as I was researching topics covered in chapter 14 of Managing Cultural Differences, I stumbled across Forbes France. I found reading what I typically thought of as a U.S. only magazine with articles and tips about to navigate business from the perspective of a native author from another culture very intriguing.

Many of the latest articles from Forbes France, discussed our current global situation brought on by COVID-19 and the need to work remotely. French leaders have a very different struggle than those in the States; France has a power distance score of 68, which is high and indicates a preference of hierarchical structure within an organization (Hofstede Insights, n.d.). Employees have a high level of dependency on their leaders for constant direction, but how does that translate when working remotely? Micromanaging employees from a distance is a cause for great concern and is stressed as fear of “losing control over their employees” (Forbes France, 2019). Working remotely requires a high degree of independence, this may be an issue from the management’s point of view, but France also has a high score in individualism. With a score of 71 in individualism, this makes for a unique combination; generally, high power distance cultures are collectivist (Hofstede Insights, n.d.). The French declare they hold fellowship and equality as central points of their culture, but the high score in individualism states otherwise (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014). The conflict in these scores indicates subordinates respect and show compliance to their boss’s demands, but when left to their own devices may do the opposite of what they have committed to, as they believe that they know better (Hofstede Insights, n.d.). As the weeks of quarantine have progressed requiring the adoption of telework practices by the majority of the French workforce, the view of the primarily U.S. practice has changed from ridiculous and unacceptable to a means of achieving increased productivity and work-life balance (Forbes France, 2019; Midena, 2020).

Differences in business behaviors and practices are evident and can be examined not only by applying behavior and cultural theories, such as Hofstede’s six cultural dimensions, but by comparing articles in the same publication for different regional audiences. Forbes is a business magazine published in 55 countries and features articles written about leadership and management from the cultural perspective of the local culture. I found it very interesting to read business articles from another cultural view. With the help of google translate, I think I will continue to explore other regional business practices through similar sources while applying lessons from this course.

References

Forbes France. (2019, October 21). Etats Unis VS France : Des Leviers De Motivation Au Travail Différents. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.fr/management/etats-unis-vs-france-des-leviers-de-motivation-au-travail-differents/?cn-reloaded=1

Hofstede Insights. (n.d.). Country Comparison. Retrieved from https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/france/

Midena, M. (2020, April 8). Télétravail Intégral : L’Exemple De Fizzer. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.fr/management/teletravail-integral-lexemple-de-fizzer/

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing cultural differences (9th ed.). Oxford: Routledge.

Why Aren’t There More Women in Leadership Roles in China?

Often, we hear about the inequalities of the job force when it comes to leadership positions between men and women. Nowhere is this more evident than in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. China has a remarkably low number of women in leadership roles across its nation in both the business sector as well as the political arena.

Culturally, China has always viewed women in terms of being upheld to a modest lifestyle, which no doubts include caring for the home and the family. This would contrast heavily with the Baijiu culture which exists in the male-dominated political system. This tradition involves the consumption of large quantities of a highly alcoholic grain spirit which is part of formal meetings. (Yazhou, 2017)

Another issue that presents itself is the fact that for government employees, female public servants are required to retire 10 years earlier than men. With men’s retirement age being 60, it is no wonder that women are more present in the hierarchy of the political arena as most only reach their height and power as they near their 60’s. (Yazhou, 2017) This eliminates women entirely from the equation.

Over the years, there has been a growing voice within China among women that want to see a change in the way women are treated and viewed, however, there is little to no indication that their voice will be heard as Beijing continues to step up its crackdown on feminist activism. (Yazhou, 2017)

Time will only tell if there will be a change in these policies as there are already waves being created in Taiwan and Hong Kong, where they have both seen the rise of women to the head of their state governments.

The trend can only move inland from that point in my opinion.

References:

Yazhou, S. (October 25, 2017). Why China has so few female leaders, CNN. Web. Retrieved April 19, 2020. Link: https://www.cnn.com/2017/10/22/asia/china-female-leaders/index.html

https://sites.psu.edu/global/2020/04/19/6673/

Mexico – A Culture of Indulgence?

What is an indulgence? To indulge means “to yield to an inclination or desire or to allow oneself to follow one’s will according to (“indulge,” Dictionary.com, n.d.)” Dr. Geert Hofstede was a European researcher with an interest cultural dimensions. He conducted studies that compared countries, utilizing six dimensions of national culture (Moran, Remington Abramson & Moran, 2014). One of those dimensions was indulgence and what I’m interested in discussing specifically for the country of Mexico.

I am a Mexican American woman, born and raised in Dallas, Texas. My father was born in Mexico and immigrated here in the late 60s and, a few years later, met my mother, a fifth-generation Mexican American. While I was raised with American ideals, I was also immersed in Mexican culture via my father. My father felt it was vital to honor Mexican traditions. That included a yearly trip to Mexico once a year every summer until I was 13 years old, where I learned quite a bit about farming and raising my own food, living and working as a family unit, the noticeable difference in gender roles, and most important tradition.

My first language was Spanish, and I became bilingual by the time I was in second grade. I speak, read, and write in Spanish fluently. I was not educated in Spanish, so any grammatically correct Spanish I know, I’ve learned in school. While I can’t speak for the masses, I can speak from my own experience in growing up in a Mexican American family.

We didn’t have much growing up. My father was a laborer and eventually went to school to become a certified auto mechanic. My mother worked off and on at a local warehouse and often volunteered at our church, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Catholic Church. The little money that we did have aside from the necessities was usually spent on church tithes, donations, entrance fees for the yearly Fall Festival Queen competition. The annual fall festival queen competition required a hefty donation, holding a raffle, and volunteering to sell food at the festival with all the proceeds going to the church. This was nearly $3,000, and at the time, it wasn’t money we had just laying around. My mother worked, sold, volunteered in exchange for donations to sell to make enough money to pay for my entrance fee, and of the course, the coronation dress, which was another couple hundred dollars. This was so important to my family that they were willing to go without to win, which meant giving away our money. At the same time and at ten years old, we were already saving for my Quinceañera or also known as simply Quince, which is a coming of age event and tradition in Mexico when a daughter turns fifteen.

This event can be almost as expensive as the average wedding. But let me stop here and remind you that we did not have much money, no college savings, no potential inheritance, nothing. We lived day-to-day, but as the lesson commentary and the course book indicated, Mexican people are indulgent. My family lived for the family get-togethers every Sunday, family reunions, weddings, birthdays, Quinceañera’s, baby showers, and so on. We used to joke that we needed an account to fund these things events, all the while going back home to our one-bedroom house and a family of six.

(Michel, 2014)

Quinceañera -15th birthday and coming of age celebration.

Geer Hofstede defines indulgence as the extent to which people try to control their desires and impulses, based on the way they were raised (Hofstede, n.d.). As we read in the lesson commentary, within the course book and most recently on Professor Hofstede’s consulting website, Mexico has a very high score of indulgence at a whopping 97. Hofstede goes on to say that this high score is evidence of an indulgent culture with a positive attitude and a tendency towards optimism with an emphasis on leisure time. This makes some sense now as initially I felt that the description was inaccurate, thinking that Mexican people are some of the hardest working people I know as I practically raised myself and my younger brother since my father and mother worked quite a bit when we were very young. However, given Hofstede’s description of indulgent, I agree and see the logic in his assessment of Mexico.

Mexican’s are indulgent, impulsive, live life to its fullest, optimistic, and enjoy a good party. Perhaps the optimism comes from the notion that most Mexicans are ok with the high degree of separation between the have and have nots. Because they are ok with this, they are ok with spending money, enjoying life and not worrying about the future until we get passed today. We simply think that that person is in a better position, graduated college, has a big house because they’ve earned it and we have not. Again, I can only speak from my personal experience. While I miss some of the traditions I grew up with, I have a different mindset today. I’m a planner, a visionary, and a lover of learning. I believe I deserve and can achieve as much as I want through my efforts.

I live between work hard, play hard, and live life to the fullest.

Sources:

Hofstede, G. Mexico – Hofstede Insights. Retrieved 1 April 2020, from https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country/mexico/

“Indulge” (2020). Dictionary.com. Retrieved from

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/indulge?s=t

Michel, C. (2014). File:Quinceañera. Santa Fe (14184438777).jpg – Wikimedia Commons.

Retrieved 1 April 2020, from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Quincea%C3%B1era._Santa_Fe_(14184438777).jpg

Moran, R., Remington Abramson, N., & Moran, S. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (9th

ed.). New York: Routledge. Pennsylvania State University. (2020). Lesson 9: Central

America and Mexico. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2041071/modules/items/27977869

China’s Cultural Dimensions: Power Distance and Individualism

Lesson 10 of the Leadership in a Global Context course has provided a fair amount of insight into the effect culture has my Chinese counterparts; I have been struggling to understand the pace at which they make a decision. I work with team members from China and I have experienced some noticeable differences in the process they follow in making a decision. Hofstede’s cultural dimensions provide tools to see how my global team members think and what is driving their behaviors. Power distance and individualism seem to be two major factors in the difficulties I am currently facing and will discuss them in further detail.

Power distance is the degree to which the subordinate members of an organization will allow and favor unequally distributed power (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014). Influenced by Confucius, a philosopher, and politician, Chinese society has a preference for simple organizational structures, in which subordinates obey and respect their superiors without question. China belongs to a high power distance culture. The average of PDI (Power Distance Index) of Asian countries is 64, but the PDI of China is 80 (Hofstede Insights, n.d.). Inequalities among people are acceptable, and the subordinate-superior relationship tends to be polarized. I have experienced this, in that only managers or supervisors from China will attend meetings where technical discussions are being held with U.S. team members. Because these discussions don’t include the individuals from China that actually do the work, there is a disconnect, and Chinese attendees on a regular basis state they aren’t close enough to speak about that topic.

Unlike small power distance cultures in which the emphasis is to minimize social or class inequalities, questioning or challenging authority figures, reducing hierarchical organizational structures, and using power only for legitimate purposes (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014). On the other hand, cultures that prefer large power distances believe that each person has a rightful place in the social order, that the actions of authorities should not be challenged or questioned, that hierarchy and inequality are beneficial. Rank is extremely important in a business relationship, and you must keep rank differences while communicating. For example, when you attend a meeting with Chinese business partners, you need to address those with higher rank first.

Individualism is the relative importance of individual versus group interests (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014). Cultures with a low score of individualism prefer collectivism, to work as a group for the benefit of all rather than the benefit of the individual (Penn State World Campus, n.d.). China has an individualism score of 20, which represents a highly collectivist culture, a society based heavily on the interdependence of its people and the importance of relationships (Hofstede Insights, n.d.). Because relationships and the group are viewed as a higher priority in China than in the U.S., the use of indirect communication as a way of maintaining harmony and not challenging others; this can be quite difficult if you are trying to debate the pros and cons of adopting a new process. Being from the States, I have a direct approach to communicating and appreciate “hashing things out” to make the best decision, but it is tough when your team members won’t tell you are wrong because they don’t want to offend you.

Being aware of these social nuances and using Hofstede’s cultural dimensions to view behaviors from a different perspective can lead to more effective communication and interaction with a global team.

References

Hofstede Insights. (n.d.). Country Comparison. Retrieved from https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/china,the-usa/

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing cultural differences (9th ed.). Oxford: Routledge.

Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2018). OLEAD 410 Lesson 10: Asia: Focus on China and India. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2041071/modules/items/27977873

More Background on Brazil

Brazil was first discovered by Europeans in the 16^th century by ships that arrived on “the central coast north of Rio de Janeiro” (News, 2019). Brazil’s name comes from country’s natural tree which is the pau-brasil which stands for Brazil tree in Portuguese.

Not only is Brazil economy built on mining, agriculture, service sections and manufacturing, but also known for its coffee. It is said that they are the “top global producer coffee” (News, 2019). Brazil is considered one of the top tourist destinations.

The Brazil flag is green, yellow and blue. The 27 white stars on the blue globe in the center of the flag represent 26 states and one more star for the federal district. The green represents their lush fields and forest. The yellow (gold) represents wealth.

Image by: (Atlas, 2020)

A fun fact to know is that Brazil was in the Guinness Book of World Records due to a bank robbery. Where the largest amount of money that was stolen back in 2005. It was estimated that $70 million was stolen.

I really enjoyed leaning about Brazil mainly because my best friends’ family are from there. My friend’s grandparents come from Brazil to the US and during family gatherings she invites me to, it is nice to be apart of her heritage and culture. I believe learning about other people’s cultures is a big part of leaning to accept people and learning about other countries.

References

Atlas, W. (2020). Brazil flag and description. Retrieved from World Atlas: https://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/flags/countrys/samerica/brazil.htm

News, U. (2019, Aug. 20). 10 Interesting Facts About Brazil. Retrieved from US News : https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2019-08-20/10-interesting-facts-about-brazil