Exam 3: International Management and Globalization

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The four prominent dimensions of national culture are power distance,uncertainty avoidance,individualism versus collectivism,and gender focus.
1.Power distance is the extent to which people accept power and authority differences among people.Power distance is not a measure of the extent to which a group has power and status differences; most countries have richer and poorer citizens,and more and less powerful citizens.It does not suggest whether status and power differentials exist in a country; instead,it is the extent to which people in the country accept any differences.
2.Cultures differ in the extent to which they need things to be clear or ambiguous.This dimension of culture has been labeled uncertainty avoidance.Groups that are high in uncertainty avoidance create structures and institutions to reduce uncertainty.Groups that are low in uncertainty avoidance are more comfortable in ambiguous situations and prefer fewer rules.
3.Individualism is the extent to which people's identities are self-oriented and people are expected to take care of themselves and their immediate families.People from countries with high individual orientations exhibit high emotional independence from organizations or institutions and tend to recognize individual decisions and reward individual achievements.In contrast,collectivism is the extent to which a person's identity is a function of the group(s)to which he or she belongs and the extent to which group members are expected to look after each other.People from countries high in this dimension exhibit emotional dependence on the organizations and institutions to which they belong,emphasize group membership,and value collective decisions.
4.Gender focus represents the extent to which people value masculine or feminine traits.Countries emphasizing masculine traits value activities that lead to success,money,and possessions.Countries emphasizing feminine traits value activities that involve caring for others and enhancing the quality of life.