Discussion 1 Org Beha
1. After reading Hofstede 's dimensions of cultural differences in Chapter 2 (pages 40-44) and looking up and reviewing near the bottom of Geert Hofstede 's web page (http://www.geert-hofstede.com/), describe a significant difference between cultures that you have witnessed. Use the Geert Hofstede comparison tool (at the link below) to compare the two cultures in your example and describe the relative merits of the different approaches in an organizational situation.
During my time in the Marine Corps I got to travel to different part of the world and see many different cultures in other countries. For example, many countries outside of the United States their cultures recognize the hard work of their elders. Now what this means is that families (usually the oldest) will take in their parents as they get older and cannot take care of themselves. Now when these cultures come to the United States they still hold their beliefs, you will find the oldest taking care of their parents/grandparents. The culture in America is not like that. We as a culture stem to think that once our parents get to a certain age that the next step is a nursing home or some sort of assisted living facility. I know this to be true for the simple fact that 8 years ago my father brought down my grandmother from Maine and moved her to Florida when she was diagnosed with dementia. Well, for the sake of arguments, my dad also has some medical issues; he was going into kidney failure, then had his kidney removed and is now on dialysis 3 days a week. So really he wasn’t in a lace, health wise, to take care of her. So for my comparison I chose to do Japan and the United States. When I visited Japan families lived with each other. They ate together, played together and so forth. The only huge difference I saw where the United States was towering over japan was in individualism. We as a culture have proven that whether it is in the workplace or in our personal lives we like to be individuals. We like
During my time in the Marine Corps I got to travel to different part of the world and see many different cultures in other countries. For example, many countries outside of the United States their cultures recognize the hard work of their elders. Now what this means is that families (usually the oldest) will take in their parents as they get older and cannot take care of themselves. Now when these cultures come to the United States they still hold their beliefs, you will find the oldest taking care of their parents/grandparents. The culture in America is not like that. We as a culture stem to think that once our parents get to a certain age that the next step is a nursing home or some sort of assisted living facility. I know this to be true for the simple fact that 8 years ago my father brought down my grandmother from Maine and moved her to Florida when she was diagnosed with dementia. Well, for the sake of arguments, my dad also has some medical issues; he was going into kidney failure, then had his kidney removed and is now on dialysis 3 days a week. So really he wasn’t in a lace, health wise, to take care of her. So for my comparison I chose to do Japan and the United States. When I visited Japan families lived with each other. They ate together, played together and so forth. The only huge difference I saw where the United States was towering over japan was in individualism. We as a culture have proven that whether it is in the workplace or in our personal lives we like to be individuals. We like
References: The Hofstede Centre. (n.d.). Retrieved March 2, 2015, from http://geert- hofstede.com/japan.html Argenti, P. A. (2013). Corporate communication (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Nelson, D. L. & Quick, J. C. (2013). Organizational behavior: Science, the real world, and you (8th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. ISBN-13: 978-1-111-825867