E-working: Country Versus Culture Dimension

Globalisation and increasing digitisation mean that companies must increasingly orientate themselves internationally in order to become (more) competitive or to remain competitive. Promoting e-working can revitalise rural development. The issue involved is always interaction between people from different cultures, between people who, according to their cultural backgrounds, feel, think and act differently. When cultural diversity and differences are taken into account, greater creativity, more diverse ideas and faster problem solving are achieved. The cultural dimensions, according to Geert Hofstede, offer a comprehensive model for capturing the various expressions of intercultural values. This paper examines the motives for applying e-working in selected European countries in 2018 according to Hofstede’s six dimensions of national culture. Twenty-eight countries from the Eurostat database were analysed (Finland and the Netherlands were excluded, and software detected them in the e-working variable as outliers). Correlation with e-working is statistically significant at PDI (power distance index - negative: the lower the PDI index, the higher the proportion of e-working) and IVR index (indulgence versus restraint - positive: the higher the IVR index, the higher the proportion of e-working).

The stewardship of ‘Taiwan’s Economic Miracle’ and its feedback on national cultural context

Poverty – prosperity leap debates have been rising steeply across the globe in recent decades. Taking Taiwan with its Li Kwohting’s legacies as a good illustration how the agrarian-based colony turned into the ‘Silicon Island’ for a comparatively small period the authors analyse the man-made policies on making the ‘Taiwan’s Economic Miracle’. The article studies a ‘twilight zone’ within the gap as well as both the prerequisites and outcomes of the ‘Taiwan’s Godfather of Technology’ stewardship. The paper also considers the factors which determine the rapid growth of Taiwan.Despite the almost universal characteristics of the East Asia countries, differences between them remain substantial. This circumstance gives the authors a room for speculations over the reasons of one country becoming the world leaders. The authors use the ‘Four Asian Tigers’ as Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan for comparison. China is also included in the comparative analysis for better understanding. The study showed that the success phenomenon of the country is being determined in the national cultural context, inside of which the economy develops. The Geert Hofstede’s Six Cultural Dimensions model was utilized for employing the indexes as follows: Power Distance, Collectivism vs. Individualism, Uncertainty Avoidance Index, Femininity vs.Masculinity, Short-Term vs. Long-Term Orientation and Restraint vs. Indulgence. The cultural dimensions typology of the Geert Hofstede helped to explain the national predominance for this or that economic and political initiatives of the government, the comparison showed that the core of nation’s prosperity development mechanisms is incorporated in the Taiwanese cultural code.

Analisi delle dimensioni culturali e della cortesia linguistica presente nell’articolo La macchina del fango di Umberto Eco

L'articolo intende analizzare il concetto di dimensione culturale proveniente dal quadro della comunicazione interculturale nell'ambito del lavoro teorico di Geert Hofstede e il concetto di cortesia linguistica di Brown e Levinson. L'articolo analizza un articolo di Umberto Eco raccolto dal sito del settimanale Espresso nell'ottobre 2015. Lo scopo dell'articolo è quello di spiegare il meccanismo sottostante della macchina del fango all'interno del sistema mediatico italiano. L'originalità di questo lavoro consiste nell'utilizzare il concetto di dimensioni culturali utilizzato nell'ambito sociologico così come il concetto di faccia della cortesia linguistica applicato a un testo letterario. In conclusione, questo articolo vorrebbe offrire uno strumento interpretativo utile per descrivere alcune questioni ancora valide sulla realtà culturale e politica dell'Italia. L'intento è capire quali dimensioni culturali e faccia come concetto sono coinvolti in questo articolo.

Merjenje zadovoljstva pri delu v digitalni dobi: uporabna vrednost ali akademska folklora?

Prispevek obravnava evolucijo konceptov zadovoljstva pri delu, organizacijske klime in kulture. Predstavljamo izvor in evolucijo navedenih konceptov. Gre za koncepte, ki so se pojavili po letu 1930 in so povezani z nastankom paradigme organizacijskega vedenja. Koncepti so skozi zgodovino doživeli svojo evolucijo. Nastanek teh konceptov je povezan z željo po večji produktivnosti delavcev v tovarnah. Koncepti izhajajo iz ekonomske doktrine liberalizma oziroma neoliberalizma in niso povezani z uvajanjem komunističnih odnosov v tovarne. V različnih obdobjih so bili fenomeni pojmovani zelo različno. Zadovoljstvo pri delu je opredeljeno kot občutek, pridobljen s primerjavo med tistim, kar želimo, in tistim, kar nekdo pri delu dejansko ima. Zadovoljstvo ima lahko pozitiven ali negativen predznak. Organizacijska klima so stimulusi. Za današnje pojmovanje kulture je ključen Geert Hofstede. K pojmovanju organizacijske kulture in kulture nasploh je zelo veliko doprinesla raziskava GLOBE. Koncepti zadovoljstva pri delu, organizacijske klime in kulture so preživeli paradigmo organizacijskega vedenja in so aktualni še danes. Ker je narava dela danes drugačna, jih je treba obravnavati drugače kot v 20. stoletju.

Escalas de Cultura de Dorfman y Howell. Análisis de Invarianza Factorial Progresiva

Uno de los modelos teóricos más influyentes en la investigación transcultural es el desarrollado por Geert Hofstede, que originalmente consideraba cuatro dimensiones con las cuales se podía comparar diferentes culturas nacionales. Este modelo se basaba en las atribuciones y percepciones de los sujetos en relación a la cultura donde se desenvolvían, sin ser focalizado su modelo de medida en situaciones específicas como la pertenencia a una determinada organización o las creencias individuales. Dorfman y Howell (1988) elaboran una versión para las escalas de Hofstede para incluir el dominio organizacional en las respuestas, como forma de dar cuenta de la cultura laboral. Estas escalas han sido difundidas y utilizadas ampliamente dentro de la comunidad de investigación transcultural, sin presentarse un análisis en profundidad de la calidad de medida de tales escalas. Este artículo se aboca en presentar los resultados del análisis de la invarianza factorial de las escalas, considerando las cuatro dimensiones originales de Hofstede, a través del análisis factorial progresivo considerando los tres pasos de restricciones respecto de los resultados.

Assessment of factors influencing the stability of Ukrainian export based on the fractal analysis

The article considered the assessment of the sustainability of the export flow of Ukraine. It was determined that the markets of Slovakia, the Russian Federation, Germany, Poland and Lithuania possess longterm memory. Also, the main factors that affect the sustainability of export have been analyzed. Among cultural factors, a weak correlation was demonstrated by Long Term Orientation, Indulgence and Power Distance according to the Geert Hofstede method. At the same time, the cultural patterns according to the S. H. Schwartz method did not show a correlation with the long-term memory of product export. On the stability of the export flow, the role of the linguistic distance and the factor of the diaspora presence have been assessed. It was proved that the gravitational effect has the greatest impact on the stability of export; Power Distance, linguistic distance and the factor of the diaspora presence have the negligible impact as well.

Japan’s Food Culture – From Dango (Dumplings) to Tsukimi (Moon-Viewing) Burgers

The purpose of this essay is to present how Japanese eating habits have changed in the context of globalization. We start from the premise that eating is not merely about meeting a basic need, but about creating a relationship with nature. It can be regarded as a ritual practice because it reveals a culture and its people’s beliefs, values and mind-sets. As Geert Hofstede et al. note, life in Japan is highly ritualized and there are a lot of ceremonies (192). Starting from the idea that food consumption is based on rituals too, we intend to explain the relationship between eating habits and lifestyle change in contemporary Japan. Considering that the Japanese diet is based on whole or minimally processed foods, we ask ourselves how Western food habits ended up being adopted and adapted so quickly in the Japanese society. With this purpose in mind, we intend to describe some of the most important festivals and celebrations in Japan, focusing on the relationship between special occasions and food. In other words, we aim to explain the cultural significance of food and eating and to see if and how these habits have changed in time.

Enhancing Business Students’ Cross-Cultural Skills

Considering the present-day international context, with the increasing workforce mobility and the global exchange of knowledge and best practices, most companies expect their workers to be able to communicate effectively across cultures. Thus, since cross-cultural competence in today’s multicultural globalised world is an absolute prerequisite, we argue that students – as candidates in the global job market – need to acquire not only linguistic skills, but also cross-cultural competence. Consequently, drawing on a number of theories put forward by Melanie Moll (2012), Geert Hofstede (1980, 1991), E.T. Hall (1976), or Paul Verluyten (1999), this paper will look into the cultural frameworks that account for people’s behaviour, with a view to identify the students’ perception of the cultural issues likely to occur in cross-cultural encounters. More precisely, we will explore ways in which we can build and expand the students’ intercultural awareness and cross-cultural communicative competence, with a focus on the students enrolled at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, within the “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași, Romania.

Der lange Schatten der Hyperinflation

Zusammenfassung Deutschland weist im Umgang mit finanziellen Fragen einige Besonderheiten auf. Dazu gehören die geringen Erträge der umfangreichen internationalen Anlagen dieser exportorientierten Volkswirtschaft, die auch Jahrzehnte nach dem ersten Befund unzureichende Bereitstellung von Risikokapital und die im Vergleich mit vielen vergleichbar entwickelten Volkswirtschaften sehr restriktive Regulierung öffentlicher Kreditaufnahme. Die drei Aspekte haben insofern ein gemeinsames Muster, als sie auf eine mangelnde Bereitschaft deuten, auf künftiges Wachstum zu setzen und damit auch eine Risikoakzeptanz deutlich zu machen. Wie kann diese hohe Präferenz für Sicherheit erklärt werden? Dafür wird in der Tradition von Geert Hofstede nach den prägenden kulturellen Haltungen gefragt und als historischer Hintergrund für Deutschland die zweifache Hyperinflationserfahrungen im 20. Jahrhundert identifiziert. Welche wirtschaftspolitischen Handlungsmöglichkeiten es trotz habitueller Fixierungen gibt, wird abschließend erörtert. Die Antwort liegt in einer Mobilisierung staatlicher Investitionen, einer Innovationsinfrastruktur und einem positiven Unternehmerbild.