Management thories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Management thories - Essay Example This research will explore the contribution of Hofestede to our understanding of the effect of culture to international management practices of organisations. Through utilisation of a huge database of statistics on culture, Hofestede managed to come up with an analysis of the patterns describing the similarities and differences of cultures in five main dimensions. His research focused only on international business managers, which enabled him to come up with a true picture of how culture influences management of international organisations. These five dimensions include power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty and long-term orientation (Smith, Peterson & Schwartz 2002, p. 235). Power distance refers to the level of inequality that prevails among people (Smith, Dugan & Trompenaars 1996, p. 241). This inequality is acceptable by all people, both those with power and those without power. A high power distance society accepts inequality in the distribution of power and the members have a good understanding of their position in the system. With a low power distance society, there are an equal sharing of power and a high dispersion of power. The members in a low power society consider themselves equal. This idea means that in a high power nation such as Malaysia, reports will only reach the topmost managers who will hold meetings in a closed room with only the presence of powerful leaders (Smith, Dugan & Trompenaars 1996, p. 246). Individualism is a reflection of the strength of the relationships possessed by the people concerning others in the entire community. A high level of individualism means that there are no tight connections among them. It also means that there is a low degree of sharing of responsibilities except for family members that can only include the few closest friends. On the other hand, in a society where individualism is low, there is