Cultural differences and theories : Comparing and contrasting the Hofstede and GLOBE theory

Culture Theories:PART I: Comparing and contrasting the Hofstede and GLOBE theory:Abstract:Ethics plays an important part in influencing the culture of business. Ethics is defined as a set of principles for an individual or a group of individuals. Some ethics are influences by religion and some by region. Still there are common ethics which influence every individual. There are various theories which suggest various methods to be followed by organizations to deal with conflicting cultures in organizations. In this paper we shall analyze two vast theories, touch upon their strong points and weaknesses and then see which method would be suitable for what kind of organization. Further on we shall look at how these theories are useful in segmenting, targeting markets, and predicting consumer behavior in international markets. We first start off by describing both the theories, then compare and contrast them. In the second part of the paper, we shall touch upon the factors described above and try to analyze the impact of such theories on those factors.

Español: Modelo de las Dimensiones Culturales de ...

Nicole van Hooij teaching about cultural dimension...

de Hofstede

Introduction:One of the most important factors influencing ethical decision making is culture (Singhapakdi et al. 1994). While understanding cultural differences and theories related to culture, we first try to understand what the term culture means. Culture has five dimensions as described by (Hofstede, 1991 and Bond 1988). These are individualism/collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity/feminine. These are extensively covered in the Hofstede theory. The global leadership and organizational research program (hereafter referred to as GLOBE) is another theory which is actually a huge research being carried out on a worldwide basis. There are a number of similarities and differences in both these concepts. Primarily, both these theories are set out to help understand the culture variable and how it affects the organization. GLOBE describes this as "the theory...