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National Culture of Malaysia

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National Culture of Malaysia
NATIONAL CULTURE OF MALAYSIA Professor Geert Hofstede conducted one of the most comprehensive studies of how values in workplace are influenced by culture. He defines these dimensions as follows: Power Distance: 'the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) expect and accept that power is distributed unequally'. Uncertainty Avoidance: 'intolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity'. Individualism versus Collectivism: 'the extent to which individuals are integrated into groups'. Masculinity versus Femininity: 'assertiveness and competitiveness versus modesty and caring'.

Figure 1 Figure 1 shows the statistic of national culture in Malaysia through the lens of the 5-D Models. From the graph, we can get a deep overview of Malaysia culture relative to other world culture. 1) Power Distance: Malaysia has a high power distance because of the hierarchy system among people. The hierarchy is referred to the rank (Tan Sri, Datuk, Puan Sri), the level of knowledge (Professor, Doctor) or the seniority (grandpa, grandma, brother, sister). The value of the high power distance is respect and humble. It is ethically when employee give respect to their manager.

2) Individualism: Malaysia is categorized as collectivism because Malaysia emphasizes the good of the group, community, or society over and above individual gain. Three difference races (Chinese, Indian and Malay) are working together to develop the economy of Malaysia and increasing the quality of life. The value of collectivism is support and unity to gain equal advantages. It is non-ethical if these difference races do not respect each other and have racial bias.

3) Masculinity: Masculine cultures are described as being dominated by money and power relationships and often are results-oriented while feminine cultures are more connected with interpersonal relationship and process-oriented. From figure 1, Malaysia possesses masculinity and femininity culture. The

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