Please read the article and answer all questions given below. Culture provides a guide or the directions for how we think and behave. Cateora et al. (2011) defines the five elements of culture as values, rituals, symbols, beliefs, and thought processes. Cultural values that can influence business have been found in the work of Geert Hofstede. Hofstede identified four cultural dimensions that can have a profound impact on the business environment: individualism/collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity/femininity.
The individualism/collectivism dimension of culture refers to how self-oriented members of a culture are in their behaviour. Individualist cultures place a high value on individual achievement and self-interest. The United States is an example of an individualistic culture. Collectivist cultures value working toward collective goals and group harmony. Mexico and several countries in Asia adhere to more collectivistic principles. The power distance dimension refers to the “power inequality” between superiors and subordinates.
The United States has some elements of both a higher and a lower power distance culture. Over the years, the U.S. business environment has adopted forms of management, such as participative management, that place supervisors and subordinates on more equal terms. Arab countries score higher on the power distance dimension. Cultures with high power distance tend to be more hierarchal. Uncertainty avoidance refers to how members of a society respond to uncertainty or ambiguity. Cultures that score high on the uncertainty avoidance dimension, such as Great Britain, tend to avoid risk-taking. Organisations within these cultures may have more rules in place to ensure that employees do not deviate from accepted standards. Cultures with less uncertainty avoidance, such as Canada, believe that risk-taking and innovation are important in achieving successful outcomes. A key question involves how culture affects
