INDEPENDENT UNIVERSITY, BANGLADESH

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

MBA PROGRAM

AUTUMN– 2020

COURSE: MBA 514 (INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS)

ASSIGNMENT ON

CULTURAL DIMENSIONS

SUBMITTED BY

SAIF AHMED KAOWSER

ID-1921338

SUBMITTED TO

DR. MOHAMMAD ABDULLAH MAHFUZ

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

JANUARY 7, 2021

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTENTS

BANGLADESH?...........................................................................................................................................4
POWER DISTANCE...........................................................................................................................4
INDIVIDUALISM..............................................................................................................................5
MASCULINITY..................................................................................................................................5
UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE........................................................................................................6
LONG TERM ORIENTATION..........................................................................................................7
INDULGENCE...................................................................................................................................7
ROMANIA?................................................................................................................................................8
................................................................................................................................................................. 8
POWER DISTANCE...........................................................................................................................8
INDIVIDUALISM..............................................................................................................................8
MASCULINITY..................................................................................................................................9
UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE........................................................................................................9
LONG TERM ORIENTATION........................................................................................................10
INDULGENCE.................................................................................................................................10
SUGGESTIONS…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………11

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Introduction

This assignment based on Geert Hofstedes six cultural dimensions, by the help of these six
dimensions I’m going to differentiate between two countries (Bangladesh & Romania).

The dimensions briefed by Hofstede illustrate the effect of a society or business’ culture on its
members’ values and moreover how these values link to behavior. He initially made research on
more than 35 countries and then extended it to around 55 countries and more than 2 different
regions (IBM 2012).

He identified and analyzed that there are systematic differences in different national cultures
based on six dimensions of culture. These dimensions are power distance,
individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, uncertain avoidance, long term orientation
and indulgence.

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 Comparison between Bangladesh & Romania

BANGLADESH?
If we explore the Bangladesh culture through the lens of the 6-D Model©, we can get a good
overview of the deep drivers of its culture relative to other world cultures.

POWER DISTANCE

This dimension deals with the fact that all individuals in societies are not equal – it expresses the
attitude of the culture towards these inequalities amongst us. Power Distance is defined as the
extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country
expect and accept that power is distributed unequally.

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Bangladesh scores high on this dimension (score of 80) which means that people accept a
hierarchical order in which everybody has a place and which needs no further justification.
Hierarchy in an organization is seen as reflecting inherent inequalities, centralization is popular,
subordinates expect to be told what to do and the ideal boss is a benevolent autocrat.

INDIVIDUALISM

The fundamental issue addressed by this dimension is the degree of interdependence a society
maintains among its members. It has to do with whether people´s self-image is defined in terms
of “I” or “We”. In Individualist societies people are supposed to look after themselves and their
direct family only. In Collectivist society’s people belong to ‘in groups’ that take care of them in
exchange for loyalty.

Bangladesh, with a score of 20 is considered a collectivistic society. This is manifest in a close

long-term commitment to the member ‘group’, be that a family, extended family, or extended
relationships. Loyalty in a collectivist culture is paramount, and over-rides most other societal
rules and regulations. The society fosters strong relationships where everyone takes
responsibility for fellow members of their group. In collectivist societies offence leads to shame
and loss of face, employer/employee relationships are perceived in moral terms (like a family
link), hiring and promotion decisions take account of the employee’s in-group, management is
the management of groups.

MASCULINITY

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A high score (Masculine) on this dimension indicates that the society will be driven by
competition, achievement and success, with success being defined by the winner / best in
field – a value system that starts in school and continues throughout organizational life.
A low score (Feminine) on the dimension means that the dominant values in society are caring
for others and quality of life. A Feminine society is one where quality of life is the sign of
success and standing out from the crowd is not admirable. The fundamental issue here is what
motivates people, wanting to be the best (Masculine) or liking what you do (Feminine).

Bangladesh scores 55 on this dimension and can be considered a Masculine society. In

Masculine countries people “live in order to work”, managers are expected to be
decisive and assertive, the emphasis is on equity, competition and performance and
conflicts are resolved by fighting them out.

UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE

The dimension Uncertainty Avoidance has to do with the way that a society deals with the fact
that the future can never be known: should we try to control the future or just let it happen? This
ambiguity brings with it anxiety and different cultures have learnt to deal with this anxiety in
different ways. The extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous or
unknown situations and have created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid these is reflected
in the score on Uncertainty Avoidance.

Bangladesh scores 60 on this dimension and thus has a high score. Countries exhibiting high
Uncertainty Avoidance maintain rigid codes of belief and behavior and are intolerant of
unorthodox behavior and ideas. In these cultures there is an emotional need for rules (even if the
rules never seem to work) time is money, people have an inner urge to be busy and work hard,
precision and punctuality are the norm, innovation may be resisted, security is an important
element in individual motivation.

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LONG TERM ORIENTATION

This dimension describes  how every society has to maintain some links with its own past while
dealing with the challenges of the present and future, and societies priorities these two
existential goals differently. Normative societies. Which score low on this dimension, for
example, prefer to maintain time-honored traditions and norms while viewing societal change
with suspicion. Those with a culture which scores high, on the other hand, take a more pragmatic
approach: they encourage thrift and efforts in modern education as a way to prepare for the
future.

Bangladesh has an intermediate score at 47, this does not indicate a strong preference in either
direction.

INDULGENCE

One challenge that confronts humanity, now and in the past, is the degree to which small
children are socialized. Without socialization we do not become “human”. This dimension is
defined as the extent to which people try to control their desires and impulses, based on the
way they were raised. Relatively weak control is called “Indulgence” and relatively strong
control is called “Restraint”. Cultures can, therefore, be described as Indulgent or Restrained.

Bangladesh has a very low Indulgence score of 20. This makes it a restrained country. Societies
with a low score in this dimension have a tendency to cynicism and pessimism. Also, in contrast
to Indulgent societies, restrained societies do not put much emphasis on leisure time and control

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the gratification of their desires. People with this orientation have the perception that their
actions are restrained by social norms and feel that indulging themselves is somewhat wrong.

ROMANIA?
If we explore the Romanian culture through the lens of the 6-D Model©, we can get a good
overview of the deep drivers of the Romanian culture relative to other world cultures.

POWER DISTANCE

This dimension deals with the fact that all individuals in societies are not equal – it expresses the
attitude of the culture towards these inequalities amongst us. Power Distance is defined as the
extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country
expect and accept that power is distributed in equally.

Romania scores high on this dimension (score of 90) which means that people accept a
hierarchical order in which everybody has a place and which needs no further justification.
Hierarchy in an organization is seen as reflecting inherent inequalities, centralization is popular,
subordinates expect to be told what to do and the ideal boss is a benevolent autocrat.

INDIVIDUALISM

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The fundamental issue addressed by this dimension is the degree of interdependence a society
maintains among its members. It has to do with whether people´s self-image is defined in terms
of “I” or “We”. In Individualist societies people are supposed to look after themselves and their
direct family only. In Collectivist society’s people belong to ‘in groups’ that take care of them in
exchange for loyalty.

Romania, with a score of 30 is considered a collectivistic society. This is manifest in a close

long-term commitment to the member ‘group’, be that a family, extended family, or extended
relationships. Loyalty in a collectivist culture is paramount, and over-rides most other societal
rules and regulations. The society fosters strong relationships where everyone takes
responsibility for fellow members of their group. In collectivist societies offence leads to shame
and loss of face, employer/employee relationships are perceived in moral terms (like a family
link), hiring and promotion decisions take account of the employee’s in-group, management is
the management of groups.

MASCULINITY

A high score (Masculine) on this dimension indicates that the society will be driven by
competition, achievement and success, with success being defined by the winner / best in field –
a value system that starts in school and continues throughout organizational life.

A low score (Feminine) on the dimension means that the dominant values in society are caring
for others and quality of life. A Feminine society is one where quality of life is the sign of
success and standing out from the crowd is not admirable. The fundamental issue here is what
motivates people, wanting to be the best (Masculine) or liking what you do (Feminine).

Romania scores 42 on this dimension and is thus considered a relatively Feminine society. In
Feminine countries the focus is on “working in order to live”, managers strive for consensus,
people value equality, solidarity and quality in their working lives. Conflicts are resolved by

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compromise and negotiation. Incentives such as free time and flexibility are favored. Focus is on
well-being, status is not shown.

UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE

The dimension Uncertainty Avoidance has to do with the way that a society deals with the fact
that the future can never be known: should we try to control the future or just let it happen? This
ambiguity brings with it anxiety and different cultures have learnt to deal with this anxiety in
different ways. The extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous or
unknown situations and have created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid these is reflected
in the score on Uncertainty Avoidance.

Romania scores 90 on this dimension and thus has a very high preference for avoiding
uncertainty. Countries exhibiting high Uncertainty Avoidance maintain rigid codes of belief and
behavior and are intolerant of unorthodox behavior and ideas. In these cultures there is an
emotional need for rules (even if the rules never seem to work) time is money, people have an
inner urge to be busy and work hard, precision and punctuality are the norm, innovation may be
resisted, security is an important element in individual motivation.

LONG TERM ORIENTATION

This dimension describes how every society has to maintain some links with its own past while
dealing with the challenges of the present and future, and societies priorities these two
existential goals differently. Normative societies. Which score low on this dimension, for
example, prefer to maintain time-honored traditions and norms while viewing societal change
with suspicion. Those with a culture which scores high, on the other hand, take a more pragmatic
approach: they encourage thrift and efforts in modern education as a way to prepare for the
future.

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Romania has an intermediate score of 52 on this dimension.

INDULGENCE

One challenge that confronts humanity, now and in the past, is the degree to which small
children are socialized. Without socialization we do not become “human”. This dimension is
defined as the extent to which people try to control their desires and impulses, based on the way
they were raised. Relatively weak control is called “Indulgence” and relatively strong control is
called “Restraint”. Cultures can, therefore, be described as Indulgent or Restrained.

With a very low score of 20, Romanian culture is one of Restraint. Societies with a low score in
this dimension have a tendency to cynicism and pessimism. Also, in contrast to Indulgent
societies, restrained societies do not put much emphasis on leisure time and control the
gratification of their desires. People with this orientation have the perception that their actions
are restrained by social norms and feel that indulging themselves is somewhat wrong.

Suggestions

Power Distance: In his circumstance justice is not equal for everyone because of high power
distance rate people of such countries not only expect also accepts that the power is distributed
unequally.
Bangladesh: Bangladesh scores high on this dimension score is 80, this score need to be lower
in order to develop cultural practices in country.
Romania: In Romania score of this dimension is higher than Bangladesh, their score is 90 which
means they also need to lower their scores for this particular dimension in order to develop
cultural practices in their country.

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Individualism: In Individualist societies people are supposed to look after themselves and their
direct family only. In Collectivist society’s people belong to ‘in groups’ that take care of them in
exchange for loyalty.
Bangladesh: Bangladesh, with a score of 20 is considered a collectivistic society. I think
collectivistic society is good for any society because, in collectivistic cultures, people are
considered "good" if they are generous, helpful, dependable, and attentive to the needs of others.
Romania: Romania, with a score of 30 is considered a collectivistic society. I think collectivistic
society is good for any society because, in collectivistic cultures, people are considered "good" if
they are generous, helpful, dependable, and attentive to the needs of others.

Masculinity: Masculinity also called manhood or manliness is a set of attributes, behaviors, and
roles associated with boys and men.
Bangladesh: Bangladesh scores 55 on this dimension that means society of this country is a
masculine society that also means Bangladesh having low scores in feminine on this dimension.
For reason of scoring 55 on this dimension, I think it’s neither good nor bad for this country but
it needs to be lower.
Romania: Romania, with a score of 30 is considered a collectivistic society. Collectivism refers
to a society where social and individual ties are strong and I prefer masculine society is better
than collectivism, so my recommendation is for this country is they need to move toward
masculine.

Uncertainty Avoidance: The uncertainty avoidance dimension relates to the degree to which
individuals of a specific society are comfortable with uncertainty and the unknown.
Bangladesh: Bangladesh scores 60 on this dimension, this means people of this country have
higher stress and anxiety level. On this particular I think this country needs to lower their score
for this dimension. The people who have feel low anxiety and stress are more capable of taking
good decisions.
Romania: Romania scores 90 on this dimension and thus has a very high preference for
avoiding uncertainty. When things go as planned, we feel in control. But when its not, it can
leave us feeling anxious and stressed. Future is always unexpected no one have the power to

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change it, but for this purpose they might practice some steps such as developing new skills, seek
support from others, trying to take own decisions.

Long term orientation: Long-term orientation is when you are focused on the future. You are
willing to delay short-term material or social success or even short-term emotional gratification
in order to prepare for the future.
Bangladesh: Bangladesh has an intermediate score at 47, this does not indicate a strong
preference in either direction.
Romania: Romania has an intermediate score of 52 on this dimension.

Indulgence: This dimension is defined as the extent to which people try to control their desires
and impulses, based on the way they were raised. Relatively weak control is called “Indulgence”
and relatively strong control is called “Restraint”. Cultures can, therefore, be described as
Indulgent or Restrained.
Bangladesh: Bangladesh has a very low Indulgence score of 20. This makes it a restrained
country. Societies with a low score in this dimension have a tendency to cynicism and pessimism
which is not a good thing and for this reason Bangladesh needs to move toward Indulgence.
Romania: Romania has a very low Indulgence score of 20. This makes it a restrained country.
Societies with a low score in this dimension have a tendency to cynicism and pessimism which is
not a good thing and for this reason Like Bangladesh Romania also needs to move toward
Indulgence.

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