Hofstede Cultural Dimensions - USA, Ireland, and China

          To give you all a background on what Hofstede's Five Dimensions of National Culture are, it is a model of five dimensions of national culture developed by Geert Hofstede to explain basic value differences. These five dimensions are: power distance, individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientation. These dimensions distinguish cultures each being rated on a scale from 0-100 ( for 75 countries and regions). "Hofstede's dimenesions are used as independent variables for comparing cross-cultural studies and provide many useful explainations of cross-cultural differences in behavior."  (De Mooji 60). Taking this into consideration, let us use this system to compare and contrast three countries, the United States, Ireland, and China.
           Power distance (PDI) is the extent to which less powerful members of a society accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. It is reflected in the values of both the less powerful as well as more powerful members of society. The ratings on this dimension for Ireland (28) and the United States (40) are low, therefore authority in these nations can have a negative connotation, meaning a focus on equality in rights and opportunity and independence is highly valued. These cultures do not have such a cultural background as say China would, who is rated at an 80, values the respect of elders and has a social distance between individuals. In China, a social status is made clear as so others can show proper respect. In Ireland and the U.S., such a distance does not occur, therefore there is more of a place for competition, especially in markets. There is less of a need of dependence and idealization on an individual. They are raised at a young age to be dependent, thus when brand are created and marketed, there is more of a "we try harder" approach which lends itself to a harder entrance into/staying in a market.
          Individualism/ Collectivism (IDV) is considered "people looking after themselves and their immediate family only. versus people belonging to in-groups that look after them in exchange for loyalty" (De Mooji 62). Nations such as Ireland and the U.S. are rated as more individualistic because there is more of a division between private space and the public domain. In Ireland you see business people at work strictly to do their jobs, but once the are finished with the day, they go off and become whoever they are outside of work, maybe head to the pub or go be with family. The U.S. is much the same. Collectivistic groups, much like China, are different. They prefer to be surrounded all the time by their collective group. This means for example they would rather stay at work to finish something when surrounded by coworkers rather than take the work home and finish it later by themselves.  Individualistic cultures are universalistic cultures and believe that there are universal values that should be shared by all, whereas collectivistic cultures are particularistic and accept that different groups have different values.
          Masculinity/Femininity (MAS) is defined differently for each aspect. The dominant values in a masculine society are achievement and success; the dominant values in a feminine society are caring for others and quality of life. Masculine societies value the importance of performance and achievement, and achievement it must be demonstrated. Feminine societies are more people oriented and strive for the consensus. Ireland, the U.S., and China all come in around the same mid-range score on this, so they are somewhat in both groups, however high. There is always the masculine perception when it comes to competition in creating a brand in business and all three countries do have strong business oriented economies. However, when it comes to the social aspect, there is a platform for personal connection and "small is beautiful". This is why they are more mid-range.
          Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI) is the extent to which people feel threatened by uncertainty and ambiguity and try to avoid thee situations. In nations with a strong uncertainty avoidance, there is a need for rules and formality to structure life. Communication is more formal. Conflict and competition are threatening. High levels of anxiety and tension are released through emotion in speaking with hand gestures, loud speaking, etc. It is the opposite for weak uncertainty avoiders. We can see that all of these countries are again in the mid range, starting in the 30s going up into the 40s. This means they do have weaker uncertainty avoidance. The U.S. is higher due to the fact that they are more prone to the more formal communication with emotion as well as competition. China, who has the lowest rating is certainly more avoiding of situations, and there is a level of threat within all three cultures. However, the U.S. and Ireland are more prone to dealing with these things in a society of less strict rules. There is always a way around them. China on the other hand is very structured in this way.
           Long-Term Orientation (LTO) is the extent of which a society exhibits a pragmatic future-oriented perspective rather than a conventional historic or short-term point of view. China if of course the long-term orientation. They value tradition, however, innovation is more important. There is clearly a sense of perseverance, ordering relationships by status and observing them this way, as well as thrift and having a sense of shame. Short-term is of course the opposite of this. This is where we find Ireland and the U.S. There is personal steadiness and stability, respect for tradition and reciprocation of greetings, and favors and gifts. The pursuit of happiness is more important than peace of mind. A good example of how Ireland fits in here is their roots in tradition. As you travel around Ireland, you see the beautiful landscape preserved with old buildings and stories that have been around for thousands of years. They are much more personal people, always telling stories to one another and being genuinely greetable and nice. The U.S. is much the same. Though there is not too much history being a pretty young nation in terms of world history, there is always sentiment in remembering where we came from in terms of history, ethics, and preservation of these standards.
          There are several more explanations and reasoning behind the placement of these countries on the cultural dimension scale, but these examples can hopefully help shed some light into it's background. The great thing about cultures is that in some dimensions they can vary so deeply, yet in others they are quite similar. Culture can bring many backgrounds together, and just the opposite too!

Virtual Visits - Coca-Cola USA vs. Ireland

     The assignment given me for this post was to examine how Coca-Cola addresses the standaradization/adaption debate from which was brought about in the textbook we are reading, Global Marketing and Advertising, by Marieke De Mooij. After examining the company and its two websites, the U.S. and Irish ones, I have come to the conclusion that, while similar in aspects of getting the product out to its consumers and raising awareness of the product, the different sites do it in different ways. Not only do they have different designs, but they seem to have taken the different markets into consideration.
     In the textbook, we learn about the different paradoxes found in international business. What works in one place for an organization may not work in another. Coca-Cola has seemed to have figured this idea out in its websites. In the U.S. website, it is not so much focused on pushing the facts and figures out to the consumers. They already know that Coke is a huge player in the beverage market. Its credibility and success is already there and known by Americans. However, when I switch over to the Irish website, not only does it look different in design than the U.S. site, it focuses more on directing attention to its history, its involvement in community, and basically other selling points that will get personal with the consumer to show them that they are the best company product-wise, community-wise, and credibility-wise.
    Whereas both websites make an effort to show community involvement, not just product and company information, the U.S. website has more focus on its expansion and the involvement it has around the world. As I stated before, Americans already know about coke and its reputation doesn't need much selling point. There's no need to layer on information about the company. That fact is actually quite standard around the world. It's a popular and successsful product. However, as standardized as the credibility and name is around the world, coke has to make sure to adapt itself to the other international market. Americans won't have the same buying behavior as, in this case, the Irish. That is why the Irish website spends more focus on not only reinforcing its credibility and why they should become favorable to the consumer, but it makes sure to touch upon their interests as well. For example, there's the eco-friendly section seen on the site as well as things more directly relatable to them.
    The two sites are very standardized in showing that the company is successful, has grown around the world, and gives back, but they are also different whereas relating to a different type of consumer as they do so. Either way, Coca-Cola does a great job in reflecting the ways in which to deal with the paradoxes discussed in the textbook.