Hofstede Theory of Cultural Differences

Hofstede Theory of Cultural Differences As we know that today we are living in an era of globalization and culture has a very significant impact on the organization in which operates. Thats why so many researchers have placed too much importance to create a good relationship between the practices and culture of an organization in which it operates, but on the other hand according to the Earley (1994), if management practices are not according to the needs and demands of their employees so then the following problems will arise such as de motivation, low productivity and high turnover. So in order to overcome such problems, a very serious attention much is given to improve the culture of an organization as it ultimately effects the development and effectiveness of HRM strategies and policies. For better understanding of the effect of national cultures on development and effectiveness of HRM strategies, firstly the concept of culture must be clearly understood. A pattern of basic assumptions invented, discovered, or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaption and internal integration that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems. Brewster et al (2008), p.14-15 This definition of culture basically defines that culture is a set of believes, norms and values that people acquire and share with others. The basic feature of culture is that, culture is adaptive. It is helpful for those people who are coming or joining a new place and easily come to know about the existing problems in an organization. Another definition for a culture is: the core of culture is composed of explicit and tacit assumptions or understandings commonly held by a group of people; a particular configuration of assumptions/understandings is distinctive to the group; these assumptions/understandings serve as guides to acceptable and unacceptable perceptions, thoughts, feelings and behaviours; they are learned and passed to new members of the group through social interaction; culture is dynamic it changes over time (Milliken and Martins, 1989). This definition by Milliken and Martins basically defines that culture has two characteristics, first is, its a collective phenomenon, everybody used to share it and secondly it shapes the way people of that culture thinks and respond. As discussed earlier, this is an era of globalization, every single nation has its own culture, their way of thinking, perceiving, responding is absolutely different from different nations. That is why every culture has its own set of values, beliefs and norms. And it easily be seen by different examples of nations like wise: if we see USA the rate of freedom is very much high over there similarly independence, individualism and level of competition tends to be very high in USA but on the other hand lets take Japan where much importance is given to belongingness, all the work is done on group consensus, seniority is also taken into account and cooperate with each other as much as they can similarly in Arab countries family harmony and parental guidance is high and much of the authority is given to the senior member of the society. In Asian countries like Pakistan, ratio of hospitality is very high, respect for seniors and aged people are also high, mostly a decision is taken by havin g guidance from a senior member of a family. Most of the cross-cultural researchers like Hodstede and Trompenaars argued that the culture of the society plays a vital role and helps a lot in reshaping the practices of the management. As the society vastly vary in cultures, management has to keep in mind different methods for motivation of the employees from different cultures and sometimes it creates a problem for the management in decision making process. Hofstede Cultural Dimension: Now I will explain in detail that how management practices differs when organization operates in diverse cultures. Taking into consideration the work done by Hofstede (1980), where he carried out a research by analysing the questionnaires filled up by IBM employees in 70 countries. He concluded that cultural differences depend on four factors: Power Distance: Power distance is the extent in which less powerful members of the society or organization enjoys unequal distribution of the power. For instance, Females and Minorities. In organizations where power distance is high, Hierarchy tends to be taller where all major decisions are taken by few members of the top level management and all decision making process is centralised. High power distance also means that low level management cannot challenge the decision taken by upper level management and also it is very difficult to meet them. But on the other hand where power distance is low, decision making process is decentralised, all the big and small decisions are approved by taking help from the low level management. The basic concept over here is the employee empowerment, and these organizations are found with flat hierarchical pyramid. For Instance: Virgin group of companies. Where chairman of the organization have made small departments and they are allowed to take all decisions regardi ng their department, this helps them out in good decision making skills and also the employee empowerment. Uncertainty Avoidance: Uncertainty avoidance is the extent to which people feel threatened about a typical situation and have created a set of beliefs in order to avoid these situations. High uncertainty avoidance companies or nations tend to have a strong belief on heir experts and their knowledge and their managers are low risk takers and have a high need for security and these countries are usually developed nations. And countries with low uncertainty avoidance tend to be more risk takers. All activities running in an organization are usually unstructured and there are few written rules, as the managers are willing to accept the risk that is why employee turnover is high in these organizations. From the perspective of HR, all employees are open to accept the new ideas and viewpoints. Individualism versus Collectivism: Individualism refers to the extent to which people look after for themselves and their immediate family only. People in individualistic society tend to gain individual rewards and want to take all decisions by themselves. As they are responsible for their decisions only, they also rewarded individually. Countries which are high in individualism tend to be wealthier and developed, where all promotions are made on the basis of market value. But on the other hand, societies with collectivism tend to work in a group and take care for each other in exchange of loyalty. Countries which are high in collectivism tend to be poorer, where individual initiatives are low and promotions are given on the basis of seniority. Hofstede argued that countries like America, Great Britain and Australia tend to be individualistic societies. Where employees are running behind the individual recognition and promotion in an organization is the major motivational force. But countries like China, Japan and Pak istan, tend to be collectivist society, where all decisions are made on group consensus. Everybody take care for each other and employees are more focused towards group recognition. And the most important over here is that, management encourages cooperation and loyalty and they are treated as a family rather than an individual working for the organization. In 1992 Holden mentioned collectivist society as: Japanese managers spend up to 30% of their time, in and outside normal office hours, educating their younger colleagues and initiating them in the lore and wisdom of the company, preparing them functionally and psychologically for the operations outside the firm (Holden, 1992, p.31) Masculinity versus Femininity: A Masculine culture is the one in which basic social values are success, money and things. A country which is high in masculinity, people laid great importance on recognition, advancement, showing off, material achievement and being outward. But on the other hand countries which are high in femininity, tend to be caring and loving. A great importance is laid on cooperation, group decision making, friendly atmosphere and more employee freedom. Organizations which are working in low masculine society, promotions are made on the basis of merits and all employees are treated as a member of one family, but in organization working in high feminine society, rewards are set in such a way so that more and more competition takes place between employees rather than cooperation. Conclusion: It can easily be concluded that, Hofstede shows that national cultures contain at least four dimensions and every organization has to come up with these dimensions as they are working in diverse cultures. After analysing these dimensions a company can easily operate in diverse cultured society as national culture has a significant impact on the organization. Knowledge of different cultures is very much essential for the organizations which are working as multinationals and also for HR Professionals, as people who are going to hired by the organization have different set of beliefs regarding motivation, loyalty, career development and decision making. So a proper match must be there between the organization practices and the national culture, in this way an organization can easily succeed in a society in which it operates. So that there would be a positive impact of national culture on the development and effectiveness of HRM strategies and policies.

Mock Exam, English by Norwegian Student.

Mock Exam 1stc 7th of December 2012 By Gard Detlev Oksendal Task 1 1B 1. The three most important differences between the writing styles in the two texts (Appendices 2 and 4) Difference one: The biggest difference between Appendix 2 and 4 is the fact that Appendix 2 is a short novel, which we don’t know if it’s true or not compared to Appendix 4 who is an informative text with clear fact and reasoning. App 2 is taken from the book â€Å"the house on mango street†, which clearly is a novel in contrast to App 4 which is an article from Newsweek, 2011. Difference two: App 2 is written in short sentences with many stops.The text is actually written a bit mysterious way. App 4 on the other hand is a coherent text, where the message of the text is clear. Difference three: In App 4 they use real – life stories to underline their facts. In contrast, App 2 is written out of Sandra Cisneros free fantasy and thoughts. Maybe this story is based on some kind of truth, but it doesn’t say anything about it. 2. The advantages as well as the disadvantages of moving abroad, seen from a young person’s point of view. Here are some of my arguments whether I think it is a good choice or not to move abroad as a young person.As far as I can think, there are much more advantages by moving abroad as a young person, rather than not moving. I have made two lists, one with advantages the other one with disadvantages: Advantages * You learn to know other cultures, which can be really positive. Not just for the knowledge, but also the fact that you as a human really can grow by knowing and accepting foreign cultures. * Of course it depends on the place you go, but let`s say for example that you are an American, who is considering moving to Asia, there are many good reasons to do so: * Asia is the up and coming in the world these days.If you are able to communicate with them in their native language, they often go in with more will in for example a ne gotiation, or simply just a small talk, getting to know the cute girl you saw at the club last night. Another language you might want to learn is German. Germans are some of the most organized and economic people in the world. If you know their native language, most people will meet you with open arms. * When I read through Appendix 4 in the booklet you handed out, I held on to one sentence which describes the situation in the world today in a very good way.Let me quote Jim Rodgers from the text â€Å"How to Raise a Global Kid† by Lisa Miller: â€Å"The money is in the East, the Debtors are in the West. I`d rather be with the creditors than the debtors. † * Even tough, English is becoming bigger and bigger as a second-language despite the big debt problems they have in the US. 200 million Chinese Schoolchildren are studying English, and in South Korea many parents lost their temper recently. The reasoning behind was that they wanted their kids to learn English at first grade, rather than in second as they practice today. Yes, English is really important as a world language up to this date, despite the fact that Asia is growing bigger and bigger, US drowning in their enormous debt that only increases with millions each minute you read this text. So your English will definitely help you when moving abroad. * Asia is just an advice to where you could move, but there are many different places you can go. So my advice to the youth out there who is considering moving abroad: Go for it! Disadvantages: * One of the disadvantages by moving abroad as young is the fact that you don’t get as much safety as you would get growing up in your own country.On some children, this can make a huge impact and even damage to them later in life. * Other cultures may get a bit too exotic, crazy and alien in some ways. You can get shocked; some are able handle it and even learn from it, some people are definitely not. So if you are a bit weak, a bit afraid of the u nknown and other cultures, maybe you should consider it two times before moving abroad. * If you come to another country and don’t know the language, it can be a huge problem. You can’t assimilate and feel as comfortable as in your home country.You don’t get included in the community and you can feel a bit alone at school etc. * Another concern is the money. If your trip goes wrong, something happens, you may be loose a year of school and lots of money. Is it worth taking the risk? * Earlier today, I saw an example of how difficult it could be coming to another country, another culture. The movie â€Å"Bend it like Beckham† by Gruinder Chadha impart this in a beautiful and touching way. And for any of you who haven’t seen it, I’d like to recommend it strongly. Task 2 2BThere are two main historical reasons of why English is the most wide – spoken language today. The first reason is the power of the US – not only in terms of war and economics, but also technology, movies, the internet and science. The other reason is the time where Queen Elisabeth 1st (1558 – 1603) and her England conquered the world. She established a global colonial empire, and introduced English as a world language. English is today the language which by far is the most used as a lingua franca. In more than 60 countries English is the official second language, but that is not the whole truth.The world today is very much based on the internet, and more than 80% of the information stored on computers around the world is in English. Despite the fact that 350 million people use English as their first language today, it is by far not the most spoken first language. However, English today is the most important language in the world because of the simple fact that almost â€Å"everyone† knows a few worlds in English. I can’t stress it enough; English is by far the most important language today. Mandarin is really catching up, but English is still dominant. Mandarin is almost explicit used in China, and not so much as a lingua franca.The biggest factor of why English is as dominant as it is must be the internet. The internet is very much based on English. And the world is based on the internet. I addition to this, it is also used in many other important arenas. My task today is to present to you some of these arenas. * When it comes to business and matters of trade, the English language is really important. By studying English through a respected old school like Cambridge or Oxford, you can expect to be able to easily handle emails, memos, contracts, agreements and other resembling themes.The matter of fact is that when you have an education In English, you are more likely to easy pursue a to a business career. * Probably the greatest advantage of studying English would be in job matters. People who can speak English fluently, In addition to speak their native language are extremely attracted by compa nies of many types, especially the international ones. Courses with at least some quality in it, offer their students the opportunity to improve job prospects, the opportunity to communicate with others as well as the access to information all around the world. Another arena where English can be very useful is when movies or TV-shows. Most of the films made today are made in English, at least the ones from Hollywood. Understanding the plot will be much easier when knowing English. Subtitles in Norwegian or other languages can sometimes cause the meanings of words to be lost in the translation, and they can be a distraction to the action taking place on the screen. In addition to this, movies in other languages are often subtitled by English. * The fourth arena where English very much can be useful is when traveling.Most workers in the tourist line of business know at least a couple words English. From that platform it is much easier to communicate with other people when travelling. * Concerning the education arena, English is not only useful, it is almost necessary to know at bit English. According to the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training, there are more than 800 courses taught in English, just at the University of Oslo. There are lots of books in Norwegian. However, in college or university many of the books you have to read are written in English.According to the book â€Å"Gateways† by Eva Ulven and Audun Raugset two thirds of the world scientific findings are published in English. * The last thing I want to mention is that many manuals are written in English. Let`s say that you have bought a new TV for 30  000 dollars from America, and you don’t understand the manual, it will take a lot more effort and time to get your TV working. The world today is very much based around the mass – media, and most of the mass – media is written, spoken or sung in English. Yes, I repeat; sung. One of the main factors influencing us is the music.American rappers dominate the hit- lists today, and if anyone is even close to their dominance it must be the Englishmen. They aren’t just on the hit lists in their own country, but also in foreign countries like Norway. Another factor is that the community of YouTube and the social media such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook are very much based on – and ruled by the English language and culture. Parallel to the growth of the internet, the power and importance of English is increasing every minute. In my eyes, Norway is one of the countries who are the most influenced by the American culture.We have taken lots of different American traditions, and made them ours. For example Halloween and Valentine’s Day are American traditions we are practicing here in Norway. I my opinion, that is really sad. Before kids used to go â€Å"julebukk†, but now a days people just don’t do â€Å"Julebukk† anymore – just because Hallowee n and other American traditions have taken over. American music is also really big in Norway, and artists like Eminem, Wiz Khalifa and Rihanna is what most of the Norwegian youth enjoy listening to. Gaming and internet is big part of our Norwegian community, and both are very much based on English.The two most played videogames in Norway, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and FIFA 13 are both on English, and have to say that I have learned much English from it myself. In Norway, people watch TV-series a lot, and most of them are in English. Most of them with Norwegian subtitles, but again the fact that they even showcase American series show us how important English is in Norway. So my conclusion based on what I have written, thought and read goes like this: English today is by far the most important language in the world, concerning business, travelling, education, culture and much, much more.However, languages like Mandarin and Indian is starting to catch up, just because of the simple ma tter of fact that the Chinese and Indian are increasing rapidly when speaking of population.. On the other hand, English is still increasing, just because of the western pop-culture. All the things I have mentioned – all the things we base our international community are based – and ruled by English. English is the dominant language in the world today, and I think it will be continuing as consistent as it is today at the top for many, many years in the future.

Trueblood Case

SUBJECT: Deciding the Appropriate Extent of Audit Performed for Billy’s Beats for Asset Valuation Billy’s Beats Inc. , an SEC registrant, is a new audit client with a fiscal year-end of December 31, 2010. Billy’s is a manufacturer of musical instruments. Billy’s acquired Little Drummer Boy Inc. in 2010 for $575 million in cash. Significant assets acquired included property, plant, and equipment totaling $865 million and other assets totaling $145 million. The useful lives assigned to the property, plant, and equipment acquired were 30 years for the plant and 15 years for the equipment.The useful lives for the plant and equipment already owned by Billy’s are 20 years and 10 years. Other included assets of acquired customer lists, were assigned a useful life of 15 years. To test the useful lives of the operating assets, the engagement team asked management why the number of years assigned to the plant and equipment acquired differed from the years ass igned to the assets which Billy’s had already owned. Management stated that the useful lives for the acquired assets were the amounts used by Little Drummer before the acquisition.The engagement team discussed the useful lives of the acquired property, plant, and equipment with the plant manager of Little Drummer. The plant manager stated that 30 years and 15 years for the plant and the equipment, respectively, were the useful lives used before the acquisition. This discussion was documented in the audit working papers. The valuation specialist allocated the plant fair value of $865 million to each asset class based on the percentage of the seller’s total original cost applicable to each asset class. These percentages were provided by management of Little Drummer and relied on by the valuation specialist.The engagement team compared the percentage of total costs to a client prepared spreadsheet listing each asset class, asset ID, and percentage of total cost. No errors were noted and, accordingly, no further testing of the client-prepared spreadsheet was performed by the engagement team. In addition to its drum manufacturing business, Billy’s also wholly owns RockOut Inc. , which is the largest manufacturer of guitars in the United States. RockOut grew through the acquisition of other guitar companies and completed five acquisitions durng 2012, eight acquisitions during 2009, and four acquisitions during 2008.As a result of the acquisitions, RockOut reported approximately $90 million, which was 15 percent of total assets and 60 percent of total intangible assets, of customer lists as of December 31, 2010. RockOut amortizes its customer lists on a straight-line basis over 25 years, which management believes reflects the pattern in which the economic benefits of the customer lists are used up. During 2010, management revised its estimate of the customer list economic life, and began assigning an amortization period of 15 years to newly acqui red national customer lists.Amortization expense for the year ended December 31, 2010, was $3 million. To test the economic lives of the customer lists, the engagement team asked management what the reasoning was for the change in the assumed economic life this year. Management provided a memorandum that discussed the rationale for using the 25-year economic life to amortize the various customer lists, as well as the rationale for the current-year change in management’s estimate of the newly acquired national customer lists lives.According to IAS 16, The cost of an item of property, plant and equipment comprises, its purchase price, including import duties and non-refundable purchase taxes, after deducting trade discounts and rebates, any costs directly attributable to bringing the asset to the location and condition necessary for it to be capable of operating in the manner intended by management, and the initial estimate of the costs of dismantling and removing the item and restoring the site on which it is located, the obligation for which an entity incurs either when the item is acquired or as a consequence of having used the item during a particular period for purposes other than to produce inventories during that period. Because this in not how the company decided on the value and useful lives of the assets in question they should have follows IAS 36 to determine if there was an impairment. The audit procedures for determining if there was a valuation problem could also be addressed using FASB Statement No. 142.

Obama´s Universal Healthcare Reform Essay - 2556 Words

Obama promised change, then he took on one of Washingtons toughest issues; Universal healthcare reform.Obama said that he wanted to be the generation that says, universal health care in America, we can do that! He spoke no less than remaking America, but in the end were they just pretty words? Another day, another headache for president Obama. The president had staked his entire first term on this, and if it fell through his whole presidency could have gone downhill, fast. Everybody loved the idea of healthcare reform, but are they willing to pay the price that it will cost? When making a bill such as this, every option must be open for discussion and every idea must be on the table. From the beginning, he was getting disapproval†¦show more content†¦Obama wasted no time putting health care reform on the agenda, stating that they cant afford to put health care reform on hold any longer. And at looked like an easy victory for the president, at first. Failure, was not an option, it would be viewed not only as a failure but failure to govern, and an inability to use the 60 vote majority that they had in the Senate as well as the significant margin that they had in the House. If the Obama Administration failed, then there would be a tremendous political price to pay. Emanuel knew the political price that administrations paid when it lost the battle for health care reform. Sixteen years ago, he had worked in the Clinton administration, the Clinton effort to do health care was a classic example of a simple minded approach to an incredibly complex and messy political issue. Basically, Clinton delivered a one thousand page plan onto the doorstep of Congress after a year and basically said, Pass this plan, my wife came up with it, and its a good plan. The chairmen, at the time, who had been there longer than them and was going to be there longer than them, killed the bill. Around the same time the Harry and Louise ads stated popping up and they just cost and cost the Administration in the Clinton years. They were handed a devastating defeat and Emanuel had seen it all. Yet, Sixteen years later, Obama is attempting healthcare reform again and as chief of staff, he wouldShow MoreRelatedHealth Care Reform1432 Words   |  6 PagesHealth Care Reform 2010 There is so little contradiction that government should be engaged in one way or another in creating a solution that gives Americans in need of medical assistance the right to life, liberty and the continued pursuit of happiness. The disagreements come in recognizing the failure of government to properlyRead MoreUniversal Health Care1154 Words   |  5 PagesUniversal Health Care is defined as the belief that all citizens should have access to affordable, high-quality medical care (Anderson, 2013). 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