FOM Fachhochschule fr Oekonomie & Management Mnchen

Berufsbegleitender Studiengang zum Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) - International Management 5. Semester

Seminararbeit im Fach Interkulturelle Kompetenzen

Application of selected Hofstedes cultural dimensions to the web presentation of [x] and [y]

TABLE OF CONTENTS Abbreviations 1. Introduction 2. Cultural Dimensions 2.1 Geert Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions 2.1.1 Geert Hofstede 2.1.2 Research of Cultural Dimensions 2.2 Application of Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions 2.2.1 Application and Comparison 2.2.2 Web presentation of Daiichi-Sankyo 2.2.3 Web presentation of Bristol-Myers Squibb 3. Conclusion 3.1 Consequence of comparison 3.2 Critics on Hofstedes Model Bibliography and Index of Figures 7 8 4 5 6 2 3 page 1

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ABBREVIATIONS
COL Collectivism IDV JAP LTO Individualism Japan Long-Term Orientation

MAS Masculinity PDI UAI US Power Distance Index Uncertainty Avoidance Index Unites States of America

1. INTRODUCTION
In a global, multinational community it is inevitable to get in touch with foreign cultures. Therefore is it very important to be able to deal with cultural diversity and cultural universals. The organizational anthropologist Geert Hofstede rated more than 60 countries in cultural dimensions defined through a huge research at the international company IBM Corporation and its subsidiaries. This seminar paper aims to carry out a comparison of the web presentation of two companies of the same industrial sector but with different countries of origin according to the Cultural Dimensions of Geert Hofstede.

2. CULTURAL DIMENSIONS 2.1 GEERT HOFSTEDES CULTURAL DIMENSIONS 2.1.1 Geert Hofstede
Geert Hofstede, Ph.D. was born 1928 in Haarlem, the Netherlands as Gerald Hendrik Hofstede. Hofstede is Professor emeritus of Organizational Anthropology and International Management of the University of Limburg in Maastricht. In addition he is the founder and director of the Institute for Research on Intercultural Cooperation1. He published several books including Cultures Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and Organizations across Nations (1991, new edition 2005) and Cultures and Organization: Software of the Mind (1997, new edition 2005). He literally influenced the way of thinking about human and cultural consequences as a result of the globalization. Hofstede is one of the most referred authors in quotations for social sciences in journals2. His concept is based on an analysis about intercultural management and refers to more than 100.000 questionnaires in 40 countries gathered at IBM Corporation.

1 2

Hofstede, G.: http://www.geert-hofstede.nl, Biographical information about Geert Hofstede Drescher, W.: Die bedeutendsten Management-Vordenker, Campus Verlag GmbH, 2005

2.1.2 Research of Cultural Dimensions

During his research while working at IBM as a psychologist, Hofstede revealed a model that identifies four primary dimensions to differentiate cultures. Out of 116.000 questionnaires from 40 countries he collected and analyzed during his empirical research between 1968 and 1972. He later added a fifth dimension, the Long Term Orientation. The five cultural dimensions he carried out are: 3 1. Power Distance Index (PDI) which means the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions accept and expect that power and influence is distributed unequally. 2. Individualism (IDV) & Collectivism (COL) focuses on the degree the society reinforces individual or collective, achievement and interpersonal relationships 3. Masculinity (MAS) refers to the distribution of roles between the genders which is another fundamental issue in any society. 4. Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) deals with a society's tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity. It indicates to what extent a culture programs its members to feel either uncomfortable or comfortable in unstructured situations. 5. Long-Term Orientation (LTO) versus short-term orientation: Values associated with Long Term Orientation are thrift and perseverance; values associated with Short Term Orientation are respect for tradition, fulfilling social obligations, and protecting one's 'face'.

Hofstede, G.: Cultures consequences, 2nd edition, Sage Publications Inc., 2001

2.2 APPLICATION OF HOFSTEDES CULTURAL DIMENSIONS 2.2.1 Application and Comparison

Subjects of the study are the web presentations of two pharmaceutical companies, Daiichi-Sankyo (Japanese company) and Bristol-Meyer Squibb (US company). Referring to Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions Japan culture has high indexes in MAS, UAI and LTO in contrast to middle to low indexes in PDI and IDV. The United States culture has a high index in IDV, middle index in MAS and low indexes in PDI, UAI and LTO.4

Figure 1: www.geert-hofstede.com

Figure 2: www.geert-hofstede.com

As result of an overlay, the US index in IDV is much higher than the Japanese. Although PDI, MAS, UAI and LTO indexes of Japanese cultures exceed the US figures.

PDI IDV MAS UAI LTO JAP 54 46 91 95 62 92 46 80 29

USA 40

Figure 4: www.geert-hofstede.com

Figure 3: www.geert-hofstede.com

Hofstede, G.: Cultures consequences, 2nd edition, Sage Publications Inc., 2001

2.2.2 Web presentation of Daiichi Sankyo Co., LTD.

Figure 5: http://www.daiichisankyo.com

Daiichi Sankyo is a pharmaceutical company with headquarters in Japan. The web presentation offers only minimal options of links to navigate. Its design and navigation is almost exclusively text based and very forward to the information requested without many sub links. Japan with a high UAI of 92 is highly interested in not getting lost when navigating through the website. The web presentation introduces the company with slogans like Creating hope in patients lives5 and titles their vision as a Global drug-discovery-oriented company6, including social, economic and humanistic values. It contains as well an own section with social responsibility reports which are published annually. According to the company slogans it is more focused on Innovation than leading, social responsibility is a strong cultural aspect. Referring to Japans IDV score of only 46, it is important to reach social goals and group achievements over personal achievements. Daiichi-Sankyo communicates a mid-term business management plan to be the Global Pharma Innovator7 in 2015. This backs Hofstedes high index in long term orientation for Japanese culture. The Board of Directors are displayed with their name only, no photography or other personal details are revealed (only very few exceptions with a portrait) which indicates that personal data is protected as expected in a low IDV score as well.

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http://www.daiichisankyo.com/corporate/brand/index.html http://www.daiichisankyo.com/corporate/vision/index.html http://www.daiichisankyo.com/ir/mid/index.html

2.2.3 Web presentation of Bristol Myers Squibb

Figure 6: http://www.bms.com

Bristol-Myers Squibb is a pharmaceutical company with headquarters in the Unites States of America. The web presentation is not only text based but also interactive containing several videos. Some information is not obvious to find due to a lot of sub links. Referring to Hofstedes theory for a company with a medium UAI it is not surprising that the user has to finds his way to the sought-after information through some uncertainty. Its website presents a BioPharma leader8 which is focused on the success of the own products. The claims Their will. Our medicine.9 and Together we can prevail10 emphasize a strong image of personal success which characterizes a culture with high IDV score. All Senior Management Team and Board of Directors members are presented with their biography. This shows prominence as a corporate and individualistic culture and reveals personal information. Very distinct is the section of the website for awards and recognitions. Extraordinary, personal achievements as presented here are a further indicator for a high individualistic culture.

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http://www.bms.com/ourcompany/Pages/home.aspx http://prevail.bms.com/ http://www.bms.com/

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3. CONCLUSION 3.1 Consequence of comparison

Daiichi-Sankyo representing a Japanese company and culture reveals characteristics of a low Individualism score by putting social achievements over personal goals, protecting personal data and retain to official slogans. With a very direct navigation and clear descriptions uncertainty is minimized as expected referring to Hofstedes high UAI for Japan. Long Term Orientation has a score of 80 and is proofed by a mid-term plan presented at the website.

Bristol-Meyer Squibb is expected to represent the high score for Individualism the US culture is like according to Hofstedes research. With personal achievements, extreme claims and showing personal success the web presentation is modeled as predicted. Uncertainty is not minimized or maximized; the navigation is leading to the request aligned with some navigation steps. This presents medium UAI as assessed in US culture. The low Long Term Orientation index Hofstede identified for US culture is invigorated with missing long-term management plans and focus on quarterly results.

As a consequence of this study Hofstedes model can be applied on these examples. However, for international corporate groups it is not surprising that the characteristics are not only emphasized for its culture of origin but also for an international target group.

3.2 CRITICS ON HOFSTEDES MODEL As with any generalized study, the results may or may not be applicable to specific individuals or events. In addition, although the Hofstede's results are categorized by country, often there is more than one cultural group within that country.11 Furthermore Hofstede collected all the questionnaires at only one company. It is not proven that there is no sub-culture at IBM that may distort the results for the country scoring. One of the most prominent critics is Brandon McSweeney, Professor and Director of Research at the University of Essex, who published a broad critique about Hofstedes research. His main concern is based on missing plausibility and crucial assumptions like the number of questionnaires. They differ for each country, from 37 in Pakistan to 7907 in Germany during the first survey.12 Hofstede also collected data from only 40 countries but rated 66 countries in their cultural behavior.13 Other critiques also concern Hofstedes assumption that the use of few questionnaires and only five cultural dimensions represent the whole culture of a country or region. Nevertheless, Hofstedes model provides a good starting point and is referred in many journals and books.

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Melkman, A; Trotman, J (2005): Training international managers, Gower Publishing Ltd, 2005 Hofstede, G. (1984): Cultures Consequence, Sage Publications Inc., 1984 McSweeney, B. (2002): Hofstedes model of national cultural differences and their consequences: A

triumph of faith a failure of analysis, Sage Publications Inc., 2002

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Drescher, W. (2005): Die bedeutendsten Management-Vordenker, Campus Verlag GmbH, 2005 Hofstede, G. (1984): Cultures Consequence, Sage Publications Inc., 1984 Hofstede, G. (2001): Cultures consequences, 2nd edition, Sage Publications Inc., 2001 McSweeney, B. (2002): Hofstedes model of national cultural differences and their consequences, Sage Publications Inc., 2002 Melkman, A.; Trotman, J. (2005): Training international managers, Gower Publishing Ltd, 2005

INTERNET RESSOURCES
http://www.geert-hofstede.nl, Biographical information about Geert Hofstede http://www.geert-hofstede.com, Geert Hofstede research http://www.daiichisankyo.com/corporate/brand/index.html http://www.daiichisankyo.com/corporate/vision/index.html http://www.daiichisankyo.com/ir/mid/index.html http://www.bms.com/ourcompany/Pages/home.aspx http://prevail.bms.com/ http://www.bms.com/

All websites were accessed in May 2010.

INDEX OF FIGURES
Figure 1 to 4: www.geert-hofstede.com Figure 5: http://www.daiichisankyo.com