Hofstedes Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Hofstedes Theory - Essay Example A look into globalization and its effects on international businesses, and the pressure of achieving competitive advantage in the global economy is discussed. Special significance is given to studying the differences between UK and Japanese cultures and to see if any common grounds can be reached for effective management.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The world is full of confrontations between people, groups, and nations who think, feel and act differently, but, at the same time, they are exposed to common problems that demand cooperation for their solution.† (Hofstede & Hofstede, 2005, pg3) The above statement effectively summarises the content of the following essay. Since ‘culture’ forms the core topic of the essay, we shall start with defining culture. Culture has been defined time and again by numerous researchers in different ways, but it is important to understand this concept from both sociological and organizational perspectives. Studying culture at societal level will give us a better understanding of the organisational context. Culture is defined as a pattern of shared assumptions that a group learned in order to solve problems, and that the group decided is valid enough to be taught to future generations as the right way of perceiving and solving these problems (Schein, 2004, pg17). In other words, culture is something that is learned and passed on, and not inherited (Hofstede, 1997). It is a multi-faceted concept with many dimensions (Mullins, 1999). Having established ‘culture’ and its application in society, it is evident that individual societies behave according to their own cultural spectra of values and norms, which effectively form their own individual personalities.