1. UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCES
IN CULTURE FOR INTERNATIONAL
BUSINESS
PRESENTED BY
SHRIYA BUPATH
ELBY LAZAR
RAKESH SHARMA
SIVAKUMAR
KRISHNA PRASAD

2. Prof. Geert Hofstede
“Culture is more often a source of conflict than
of synergy. Cultural differences are a nuisance
at best and often a disaster.”

3. Understanding culture and its effect on
international business provides a foundation
for working in the global community.
Understanding cultural differences can help
promote good global business.

4. CULTURE
The set of beliefs, customs, and attitudes of a
distinct group of people.
SUBCULTURE
A smaller group or subset within a larger culture

5. UNDERSTANDING THE CULTURE
• Each level of culture—national, regional, or
local—has an impact on the lives of people
who live on that level.

6. UNDERSTANDING THE CULTURE
Succeeding in the world of international business
requires three things.
1 2 3
Understanding
Understanding Participating
and adjusting
Culture in culture
to culture

7. Elements of Culture
Values Norms
Four Elements
of Culture
Roles Folkways
and Mores

8. VALUES, NORMS AND ROLES
• VALUES: Abstract ideas/assumptions about
what a group believes to be good, right and
desirable
• NORMS: social rules and guidelines that
prescribe appropriate behavior in particular
situations
• ROLES : The part a person plays in a social
situation

9. FOLKWAYS AND MORES
• FOLKWAYS: Routine conventions of everyday life.
– Little moral significance
– Generally, social conventions such as dress
codes, social manners, and neighborly behavior
• MORES
– Greater significance than folkways
– Violation can bring serious retribution
• Theft, adultery, incest and cannibalism

10. HOFSTEDE’S CULTURAL DIMENSIONS
Four dimensions of culture
– Power distance
– Individualism versus collectivism
– Uncertainty avoidance
– Masculinity versus femininity

11. POWER DISTANCE
• Cultures are ranked high or low based on the
particular society’s ability to deal with
inequalities
• Distance between individuals at different
levels of a hierarchy
• Scale is from equal (small power distance) to
extremely unequal (large power distance)

12. INDIVIDUALISM Vs COLLECTIVISM
INDIVIDUALISTIC SOCIETIES :
– Degree to which people in a country prefer to act
as individuals rather than in groups
– Individual achievement and freedom highly
valued.
COLLECTIVIST SOCIETIES :
– The relations between the individual and his/her
fellows.
– Tend to be more relationship oriented

13. UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE
– More or less need to avoid uncertainty about the
future
– Degree of preference for structured versus
unstructured situations
– Structured situations: have tight rules may or may
not be written down (high context society?)
– High uncertainty avoidance: people with more
nervous energy (vs easy going), rigid
society, "what is different is dangerous."

14. MASCULINITY Vs FEMININITY
– Division of roles and values in a society
– This dimension looks at the relationship between
gender and work roles.
– Masculine values prevail:
assertiveness, success, competition
– Feminine values prevail: quality of life, maintenance
of warm personal relationships, service, care for the
weak, solidarity

15. CULTURE IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
• The cultures of two trading partners can affect a
business relationship.
• Understanding culture difference is the
foundation, or basis, of understanding every
other aspect of conducting international
business.

16. BOOKS
Some of the famous Books by Prof. Geert Hofstede
that helps to understand more about culture :
• Cultures and Organizations
• Cultures Consequences
• Uncommon Sense about Organizations
• Exploring Culture