This refers to the article “Across cultural boundaries” (October 10) in The Strategist. Indeed, cross-cultural management has become an important component of today’s business. So much so that even business schools are recognising its importance by introducing courses that sensitise students to not just deeper strategic issues involving cross-border business deals, but also lessons in softer skills such as dinner etiquette and gift giving. IIM Lucknow, for instance, is organising a three-part etiquette workshop that is based on Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions model. The model lists five parameters that business managers and leaders must keep in mind when dealing with counterparts from other countries. These are Power Distance (the extent to which hierarchy is respected in society), Individualism (the extent to which individual advancement as superior to group advancement is accepted), Masculinity (how identified with gender certain roles in society are), Uncertainty Avoidance (unwillingness to assume risk) and Long-Term Orientation (willingness to overlook short-term benefits for long-term success).
Every country has a different score on each of the five indices (the US, for instance, scores high on Individuality and low on Uncertainty Avoidance) and a sharper understanding of these differences can go a long way in driving business goals.
Vikram Johari, Lucknow
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