Strengths and Weaknesses of Cultural Theories - Assignment Example

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES ON A FEW CULTURAL THEORIES Admission Unit Table of contents …………………………………………………………………………………………3 1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………..4 2. Strengths and weaknesses of cultural theories………………………………………………….6 2.1 Hofstede cultural theory……………………………………………………………………….6 2.2 Schwartz cultural theory……………………………………………………………………....8 2.3 Trompenaars cultural theory…………………………………………………………………..9 3. Conclusion and recommendations…………………………………………………………….10 References………………………………………………………………………………………..11 Strengths and weaknesses on a few cultural theories Abstract Cultural theories seek to explain the differences in values, traditions and customs of societies and the effects on various aspects of life. Cultural theories help in supporting and explaining the occurrence of events and situations. This ensures that a deeper understanding of culture becomes critical in decision making among individuals and organizations. Hofstede, Schwartz, and Trompenaars are cultural theorists that apply in cultural dimensions. Smith, Peterson, Schwartz (2012) conducted a study to find out whether these three frameworks make a positive contribution. The study aimed at finding out whether the frameworks can help managers. The study analyzed values in 47 countries with a desire to make conclusions on cultural inclinations. As a result, national differences became the basis for the organizational processes brought by managers. Greater sensitivity came to the aspect of culture in relation to decision making. However, these three frameworks have a positive and negative side that affects the perception of users (Smith, Peterson, Schwartz, 2012). This paper explains the strengths and weaknesses of Hofstede, Schwartz, and Trompenaars frameworks in relation to culture. The paper concludes that the Hofstede framework presents a logical scenario of conducting human resource research. 1. Introduction Cultural theories shed light on the issues in a society that are valuable. Cultural theories have contributed to the field of consumer behavior and international marketing. This has become a reality by placing emphasis on the cultural inclinations of consumers and markets at large.  Hofstede, Schwartz, and Trompenaars denote some of the common cultural theories that help in understanding human and market behavior. Hofstede is one of the cultural theories that look at the dimensions of culture in individuals. This theory indicates that the culture of a society will have effects on the values it portrays. Furthermore, the theory tries to relate the values and behaviors of human beings in order to formulate logical conclusions. Hofstede can be used to explain differences that can be observed among different cultures (Minkov, 2007). This theory presents four dimensions to explain cultural values in society. Power distance is one dimension, and it explains the potency of a social hierarchy. Additionally, there is the dimension of individualism verses collectivism that explains the level of integrating individuals into groups. Furthermore, the third dimension, which is uncertainty avoidance, explains the extent that members of a society can cope with uncertain situations. Also, there is femininity verses masculinity that explains how emotional roles get distributed between genders. Lastly, Confucian dynamism is another dimension that shows time horizon in relation to what societies find critical. Hofstede`s work has made a considerable contribution in areas of communication and international business. Additionally, the Schwartz cultural theory comes in to explain the fact that cultural dimensions exist in society. Schwartz says that problems and questions in societies can be resolved by individuals. This is helpful in building strong values that influence cultural ideals in societies. According to Schwartz, culture is rich in beliefs, meanings, practices, values, norms and symbols. These aspects contribute to the values that many societies hold dear. Furthermore, these aspects influence the decisions and other critical factors of the societies well being. Schwartz noted three problems that influence the society and dictates their cultural ideals. First, he seeks to find out the dependent or autonomous nature of individuals in relation to their groups. Additionally, autonomy verses conservatism explains the aspects of personal values and equality in relation to social groups. Further, egalitarianism verses hierarchy seeks to explain aspects of social order in the society through responsible behavior. Lastly, Schwartz brings out the aspect of mastery verses harmony. This seeks to explain how individuals manage their relationships with the social and the natural world (Minkov, 2007). Lastly, the Trompenaars cultural theory came up with dimensions seeking to explain how human beings relate to each other. Particularism verses universalism is one of the dimensions that explain how individuals judge the behavior of others. Secondly, individualism verses collectivism shows whether individuals function alone or in groups. Additionally, there is the dimension of emotional verses neutral that explains the display of emotions in human beings. Furthermore, diffuse verses separate shows how individuals separate their working and personal lives. Consequently, ascription verses achievement is a dimension that explains how status gets received in society. Synchronic and sequential show a dimension that explains how things happen in the society. This shows whether they happen together or in a sequence. The last dimension shows the control that individuals have over their environment. This dimension is the external verses internal dimension proposed by Trompenaars. The cultural theories mentioned help in defining the understanding of societies. As a result, it is possible for individuals and organizations to fit into different cultures and thrive. This is because the values of any society speak volumes about what they see necessary. 2. Strengths and weaknesses of cultural theories 2.1 Hofstede cultural theory The Hofstede cultural theory portrays various strengths that make it agreeable in many quarters. Many scholars in the line of business consider this framework as the best in understanding national culture this is because of the dimensions presented by the Hofstede framework. The Hofstede framework allows individuals to distinguish countries and their cultural inclinations. According to Chin-Shan et al (2012), the Hofstede cultural theory is superior to the rest. This became real following a study they conducted using the Hofstede framework. The study was to find out the perception of seafarers in national culture. The aspect of human failures in relation to safety at work was a serious concern. The study included individuals from Taiwan, Philippines, and China. The findings indicated that few human fairers existed when there was low power distance. Furthermore, this situation gets marked by high uncertainty avoidance and collectivism (Chin-Shan et al, 2012). In conclusion, the study shows that Confucian dynamism plays a critical role in strengthening associations. These relationships are between human failures and cultural dimensions. As a result, cultural dimensions can help in controlling the human failures related to human behavior. This study supports the Hofstede framework as a positive way of understanding cultural dimensions. This shows that the framework is useful when trying to understand national culture (Chin-Shan et al, 2012). Furthermore, another study conducted by Sunhee et al (2012), supports the strength of Hofstede in understanding national culture. This study shows that organizations and individuals can thrive in another culture by understanding the culture of the people. Sunhee et al (2012) conducted a study to find out the food aspects that foreigners relate to in Korea. The attitudes of foreigners got checked on the basis of uncertainty avoidance and acculturation levels. The study found that the high acculturation group was more responsive to Korean food than the low group. Further, those who fall in the category of low uncertainty spend a lot of money dining in hotels. This shows that the Hofstede framework comes in handy in such situations (Sunhee et al, 2012). Additionally, the Hofstede framework is beneficial in matters of international marketing, negotiation, communication, and management. This is because this framework is keen on national issues in relation to culture. Communication, negotiation and management across borders happens in line with the understanding of national cultures. This is because national cultures guide decisions of individuals, nations and organizations across the globe. This framework has made it easy for individuals and societies to have a mental picture about other nations (Hofstede et al, 2010). However, there are weaknesses that denote the Hofstede framework. One of the weaknesses is the limited factors used to understand national culture. Critics feel that the Hofstede framework limits the understanding of national culture by its factors. They insist that there is more than what the Hofstede framework presents as a way of analyzing national culture. Furthermore, Hofstede agrees that some of the dimensions he came up with are theoretical and may fail to be practical. This makes it a disadvantage on the framework in terms of understanding national culture (Minkov, 2007). Furthermore, another weakness of the Hofstede framework is the generalization of national culture. The Hofstede framework makes individuals believe that the culture of a nation relates to all its citizens (Minkov, 2007). Additionally, the Hofstede framework does not have the ability to distinguish members of the society. This makes it difficult to know how to treat individual members of the society. Thus, national scores cannot be used to explain the state of individuals in a society. Another weakness is the fact that it is not possible to compare organizations within the same country using the Hofstede framework. This is because organizational cultures are in line with practices while national cultures are in line with values. Managers in international organizations need to understand national and organizational cultures. According to Hofstede et al, (2010), “national cultures alone may not help in making sound investment decisions.” This is a weakness portrayed by the Hofstede framework. Further, gender presents another weakness of the Hofstede framework. The framework does not tackle the issue of gender in societies and leaves national culture to support this aspect. This is a weakness because in all societies genders differ in terms of how they conduct their daily activities. Understanding gender shows how individuals behave and helps in making sound decisions concerning a society (Hofstede et al, 2010). Finally, Galit Alton dismisses the Hofstede framework in the academy of management review by noting that the framework has inconsistencies. Galit Alton states that the logic and assumptions presented by the Hofstede framework have serious inconsistencies that limit its ability to show the direction. He cautions users to understand the dimensions of the Hofstede framework before making decisions concerning national culture (Minkov, 2007). 2.2 Schwartz cultural theory This theory on cultural aspects has several strengths that make it relevant to users. One of the strengths of the Schwartz cultural theory is its ability to note problems and questions in society and find ways of resolving them. Schwartz cultural theory is keen on building individual relationships in the society. This helps in understanding the societal values and aspects that facilitate decision making. A study conducted by Siew, Lee and Soutar (2007), support this advantage that relates to the Schwartz cultural theory. Siew, Lee and Soutar (2007) conducted a study to show the relationship between Hofstede’s and Schwartz’s frameworks. Their study indicated that measuring cultural distance using the Schwartz cultural theory is more logical than using the Hofstede framework. This applies in the context of international trade in a sample situation of 23 countries. As a result, the study reveals that Schwartz is superior to Hofstede framework in the context of trade. This is because Schwartz is keen on the individual aspects that make up a society and its cultural values. However, researchers show that these two measures of cultural dimensions are congruent (Siew, Lee, and Soutar, 2007). Furthermore, another study conducted by Cleveland et al (2010), shows that the Schwartz framework looks at individual aspects in relation to culture. This indicates that the framework makes a thorough analysis of the situation on the ground. Cleveland et al (2010) conducted a study on cosmopolitanism in relation to cultural values of Turks and Canadians. The study found that cosmopolitanism associates strongly with cultural and individual values of the Schwartz framework. Additionally, the study realized that the Hofstede’s cultural demographics or dimensions were inferior to that of Schwartz. This is because understanding individual culture became more relevant than understanding national culture in this case (Cleveland et al, 2010). Another advantage would be the inculcation of harmony as part of his dimensions. Harmony shows that the society can seek their cultural abilities by living in harmony. This shows that Schwartz is specific and does not generalize the issue of culture. He indicates that the society exists through individuals who form the culture of a place (Minkov, 2007). However, there are weaknesses that affect the Schwartz cultural theory. This framework is over realistic in terms of the expectations it places on society. This means that the framework expects the members of the society to behave in a certain way in order to solve problems. This is practical in theory, but not in practice. This is because it is not possible to make all individuals to get inclined to a line of culture. This means that using the same principles on individual societies is not logical (Hofstede et al, 2010). Additionally, this framework ignores the national aspect of culture and concentrates on individuals and societies only. This may present a problem in situations where national cultures are necessary in making critical decisions (Minkov, 2007). 2.3 Trompenaars cultural theory This cultural theory looks at the critical aspects of a culture and works on them. This shows that societies use their cultural heritage to communicate with others in any given field. Jong and Hyung-Seok (2007) conducted a study seeking to explain tagline appeals and brand designs in relation to cultural differences. The study looked at Korea and USA as a basis for data collection. The study indicated that Korean brands were more acceptable in the market than those of Americans. This is because Korean brands are symbolic and contain additional values that attract consumers. This study shows that the power of cultural dimensions can enable international marketers to gain ground in foreign markets. In conclusion, this study indicates that the trompenaars specific verses diffuse dimension is usable in this scenario. This shows that culture can help in building corporate identity and brand recognition. This study reveals that personal and working lives of individuals are separate in the context of culture (Jong and Hyung-Seok, 2007). Additionally, Trompenaars cultural theory is keen on the practical aspects of the society. It looks at the deep issues that may explain the culture of individuals or societies. This is strength that makes this framework applicable in many quarters (Minkov, 2007). Furthermore, individual aspects of success get the importance they deserve in the Trompenaars cultural theory. This shows that this framework places emphasis on seeking to understand the cultural situations of human beings. This shows that the Trompenaars cultural theory does not use generalizations in making decisions (Gorodnichenko and Gerard, 2010). Another advantage would be the number of dimensions that the framework has in line with the culture. The cultural dimensions provide a wide range of choices and things to look at when assessing individuals and societies. This framework overcomes the limited nature of Hofstede’s framework in line with dimensions. However, there are shortcomings that go against the Trompenaars cultural theory. First, the theory paints a picture of perfect situations in relation to culture. This is not logical and can lead to a fallacy in relation to cultural aspects. Additionally, the Trompenaars framework might need to borrow a leaf from Hofstede’s framework in order to contribute to international trade, communication, marketing and management. This is because the framework seems to focus on the individual aspects of the society. 3. Conclusion and recommendations The Hofstede cultural theory is practical in human resource research. This is because its dimensions can help in realizing the goal sand objectives of the human resource function. For instance, the application of individualism verses collectivism can help in the achievement of individual and group goals of an organization. This framework can help in analyzing how individuals look at work related issues and compare that with group goals. Furthermore, the Hofstede framework can show details of what to expect in relation to work related activities that are collective. Additionally, the Hofstede framework is helpful in matters of international management, marketing, negotiation, and communication. These are aspects that can help in achieving the best results in human resource research. The understanding of national cultures can help a multinational organization in conducting research related to human resources. Furthermore, gender issues and power issues in relation to the social hierarchy are aspects of the Hofstede framework. This means that human resources research will factor power and gender issues that are critical in decision making (Hofstede et al, 2010). Further, aspect of Confucian dynamism makes the Hofstede framework likeable. This is because time is critical in human resource research. Time is critical in making a decision that affects the human resources of an organization. Consequently, the Hofstede framework is also appealing because it has contributed to communication and international business across the globe. This makes the Hofstede framework the most reliable framework in matters of human resource research (Gorodnichenko and Gerard, 2010). Finally, the choice of the Hofstede framework in this case does not make the other frameworks unnecessary. Trompenaars and Schwartz have the ability to contribute positively to human resource research. Word count: 2761 References Chin-Shan L, Kee-H L., Lun, V. Y. H , Cheng T C E (2012) Effects of national culture on human failures in container shipping: the moderating role of Confucian Dynamism: National Cheng Kung University. Cleveland M, Erdogan S, Arikan G, Poyraz T (2011):  Cosmopolitanism, individual-level values and cultural –level values: A cross- cultural study: Journal of business research, 64 (9): 934-943 Gorodnichenko, Y and Gerard R (2010): Culture, Institutions and Long Run Growth: Massachusetts, Cambridge University press  Hofstede, Geert I, Hofstede G. J and Minkov M (2010).Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, New York: McGraw-Hill. Jong W. J, Hyung-Seok L (2007) Cultural differences in brand designs and tagline appeals: International Marketing Review, 24(4): 474-491 Minkov, M (2007). What makes us different and similar: A new interpretation of the World Values Survey and other cross-cultural data. Sofia, Bulgaria: Klasika yStil Publishing House. Siew I. N, Lee A. J and Soutar G. N, (2007) Are Hofstede’s and Schawartz’s value frameworks congruent. International Marketing Review, 24(2):164-180 Smith P. B, Peterson M. F, Schwartz S. H (2012) Cultural Values, Sources of Guidance and their relevance to managerial behavior: Journal of cross cultural psychology, 23(8): 188-208 Sunhee S, Woomi J P, Junghee J, Kawon K (2012): The Effects of acculturation and uncertainty avoidance on foreign resident choice for Korean Foods: International journal of hospitality management, 31(3): 916–927 Read More