TROMPENAARS' MODEL

The Seven Dimensions of Culture were identified by management consultants Fons Trompenaars and
Charles Hampden-Turner, and the model was published in their 1997 book, "Riding the Waves of Culture."
Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner developed the model after spending 10 years researching the
preferences and values of people in dozens of cultures around the world. As part of this, they sent
questionnaires to more than 46,000 managers in 40 countries.

They found that people from different cultures aren't just randomly different from one another; they differ
in very specific, even predictable, ways. This is because each culture has its own way of thinking, its own
values and beliefs, and different preferences placed on a variety of different factors.

1. Universalism Versus Particularism

(Rules Versus Relationships)
RULES ARE IMPORTANT: ORDER, EQUALITY MATTERS: ALL MEN ARE ALL EQUAL.
Universalism: People place a high importance on laws, rules, values, and obligations. They try to deal
fairly with people based on these rules, but rules come before relationships.
-- the U.S., Canada, the U.K, the Netherlands, Germany, Scandinavia, New Zealand, Australia, and
Switzerland.
Particularism: People believe that each circumstance, and each relationship, dictates the rules that they
live by. Their response to a situation may change, based on what's happening in the moment, and who's
involved.
-- Russia, Latin-America, and China.

2. Individualism Versus Communitarianism

(The Individual Versus The Group)

Individualism: People believe in personal freedom and achievement. They believe that you make your
own decisions, and that you must take care of yourself.
-- the U.S., Canada, the U.K, Scandinavia, New Zealand, Australia, and Switzerland.

Communitarianism: People believe that the group is more important than the individual. The group
provides help and safety, in exchange for loyalty. The group always comes before the individual.
-- Latin-America, Africa, and Japan.
3. Specific Versus Diffuse
(How Far People Get Involved)

Specific: People keep work and personal lives separate. As a result, they believe that relationships don't
have much of an impact on work objectives, and, although good relationships are important, they believe
that people can work together without having a good relationship.

-- U.S., the U.K., Switzerland, Germany, Scandinavia, and the Netherlands.

Diffuse: People see an overlap between their work and personal life. They believe that good relationships
are vital to meeting business objectives, and that their relationships with others will be the same, whether
they are at work or meeting socially. People spend time outside work hours with colleagues and clients.
-- Argentina, Spain, Russia, India, and China.

4. Neutral Versus Emotional

(How People Express Emotions)

Neutral: People make a great effort to control their emotions. Reason influences their actions far more
than their feelings. People don't reveal what they're thinking or how they're feeling.
-- U.K., Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, and Germany.

Emotional: People want to find ways to express their emotions, even spontaneously, at work. In these
cultures, it's welcome and accepted to show emotion.

-- Italy, France, Spain, and countries in Latin-America.

5. Achievement Versus Ascription

(How People View Status)

Achievement: People believe that you are what you do, and they base your worth accordingly. These
cultures value performance, no matter who you are.
-- the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Scandinavia.

Ascription: People believe that you should be valued for who you are. Power, title, and position matter in
these cultures, and these roles define behavior.
-- France, Italy, Japan, and Saudi Arabia.
6. Sequential Time Versus Synchronous Time
(How People Manage Time)

Sequential Time: People like events to happen in order. They place a high value on punctuality, planning
(and sticking to your plans), and staying on schedule. In this culture, "time is money," and people don't
appreciate it when their schedule is thrown off.

-- Germany, the U.K., and the U.S.

Synchronous Time: People see the past, present, and future as interwoven periods. They often work on
several projects at once, and view plans and commitments as flexible.
-- Japan, Argentina, and Mexico.

7. Internal Direction Versus Outer Direction

(How People Relate to Their Environment)

Internal Direction: People believe that they can control nature or their environment to achieve goals.
This includes how they work with teams and within organizations.
-- Israel, the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, and the U.K.
Outer Direction: People believe that nature, or their environment, controls them; they must work with
their environment to achieve goals. At work or in relationships, they focus their actions on others, and they
avoid conflict where possible. People often need reassurance that they're doing a good job.
-- China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia.
THE LEWIS MODEL
Backrgound
Up to the 20th century, the scrutiny, analysis and comparative studies of the world’s cultures were largely
matters for academicians. Some knowledge of the subject was helpful in our travels abroad or when
welcoming foreign guests to our shores.
Since we are now going global in the business world, there has been a call of cultural differences to be
addressed that is important to leaders. Because there are so many complexities in cultures and
compromised by the nation-traits of the people involved, questions arise when outlining things inside the
oragnization.
Thus, this model gained recognition in the 1900s. He visited 135 countries and working in more than 20 of
them.

Predecessor Models
1. Edward Hall - he proposed classification as monochronic (one thing at a time) or polychronic (multi-
tasking), high or low context and past or future-oriented.

2. Kluckholn - proposed five (5) dimensions: attitude, time, Nature, nature of man, form of activity and
reaction to comrades.
3. Hofstede - 4D Model, power distance, collectivism vs. individualism, femininity vs. masculinity and
uncertainty avoidance. Later he added long-term vs. short-term orientation.
4. Trompenaars - his dimensions came out as universalist vs. particularist, individualist vs. collectivist,
specific vs. diffuse, achievement-oriented vs. ascriptive and neutral vs. emotional or affective.
5. Tönnies - dwelt on Gemeinschaft vs. Geselleschaft cultures.
The Model
Lewis divided three clear categories, that is based on behavior. These are Linear-active, Multi-active and
Reactive. He stated that there would be risk of creating confusion for those who seek clarity and
conciseness. He also pointed out that the previous models missed Asian mindset.

A. LINEAR-ACTIVE. Task-oriented, highly-organized planners, who complete action chains by doing

one thing at a time, preferably in accordance with a linear agenda.
-- It comprises: the English-speaking world – North America, Britain, Australia and New Zealand,
and Northern Europe, including Scandinavia and Germanic countries.

B. MULTI-ACTIVE. Emotional, loquacious and impulsive people who attach great importance to
family, feelings, relationships, people in general. They like to do many things at the same time and are
poor followers of agendas.

-- More scattered: Southern Europe, Mediterranean countries, South America, sub-Saharan Africa,
Arab and other cultures in the Middle East, India and Pakistan and most of the Slavs. Though
diverse, these fall under the same behavior or patterns and traits such as emotion, rhetoric,
importance of creed, etc.

C. REACTIVE. Good listeners, who rarely initiate action or discussion, preferring first to listen to and
establish the other’s position, then react to it and form their own opinion.
-- All major countries in Asia, except the Indian sub-continent, which is hybrid.

While the three types are distinctive, each possesses behavioral elements from the other two categories.
It is a question of which one is dominant. Many individuals deviate from the national type in a work situation
e.g. engineers and accountants tend to be Linear, sales people Multi-active, lawyers and doctors Reactive.