A model of the organizational culture in

intercultural circumstances

Associate professor Ştefania Bumbuc, PhD

“Nicolae Bălcescu” Land Forces Academy,
Sibiu, Romania
 Defining the concepts

Culture is the collective programming of the mind

distinguishing the members of one group or category of
people from others.

Organizational culture is the system of ideas, values, symbols

and beliefs, shared tacitly by the members of organization,
which distinguishes an organization from another.
 Layers of culture

 At national level (country of affiliation)

 At regional level (ethnically, religiously, linguistically)
 At gender level (men, women)
 At generational level (children, parents, grandparents)
 At social class level (income, education, profession)
 At organizational level
 Components of organizational culture

pra
cti simbols
ces
heroes
rituals
values
 Components of organizational culture

• Language, gestures, images, objects (flags,

Simbols slogans, clothing etc.)

• People (alive or death, real or imaginary)

Heroes which are role models

• Collective activities that do not directly

Rituals serve the goals of the group, but are
socially essential (greetings, speeches,
ceremonies etc.)
Practices are visible on the outside, but their cultural
significance is meaningful only for insiders.
 Components of organizational culture

- general tendencies to prefer certain situations to others

Values

 good – evil
 allowed – forbidden
 decent – indecent
 beautiful – ugly
 normal – abnormal
 secure – dangerous
 change vs. stability

Practices
Values
Simbols Heroes Rituals
 The Geert Hofstede’s model of the
cultural dimensions
Studies on a sample of 120 000 of IBM employers, from 40
countries
“Culture's Consequences” (1980, 2001)

“Exploring Culture: Exercises, Stories and

Synthetic Cultures” (2002)

“Cultures and Organizations: Software of

the Mind” (1997, 2005, 2010)
 The dimensions of national culture

1. Power distance
 how a society handles inequalities among people
 the degree to which the less powerful members of a society
accept and expect that power is distributed unequally
 people accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has a
place and which needs no further justification / people
strive to equalize the distribution of power and demand
justification for inequalities of power
 more coercive power is used / more reward and legitimate
power is used
 subordinates will / will not readily give suggestions and
feedback to their superiors
 The dimensions of national culture

2. Uncertainty avoidance
 how 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?
 the degree to which the members of a society feel
uncomfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity
 people are comfortable with taking risks, ready to change the
way they work or live / people prefer the known systems,
procedures, rules
 The dimensions of national culture

3. Individualism / Collectivism
 people are expected to take care of only themselves and their
immediate families / people can expect their relatives or
members of a particular in-group to look after them in
exchange for unquestioning loyalty
 people’s self-image is defined in terms of “I” or “we”
 how personal needs and goals are prioritized vs. the needs
and goals of the group/clan/organization
 The dimensions of national culture

4. Masculinity / Feminity
 preference in society for competition, achievement,
heroism, material rewards for success / preference for
cooperation, modesty, caring for the weak and quality of
life
 masculine societies are more competitive / feminine
societies are more consensus-oriented
 masculine societies have different rules for men and
women, less so in feminine cultures
 The dimensions of national culture

5. Long-term / Short-term orientation

 acceptance of future rewards (future oriented) / immediate
fulfillment of wishes (present oriented)
 maintaining the traditions and norms, encouraging thrift,
moderation and the spiritual approach of life, respect for
elders / opening to changes, encouraging the pragmatic
approach of life and modernity
 The dimensions of national culture

6. Indulgence / Restraint
 a society that allows relatively free gratification of basic
and natural human drives related to enjoying life and
having fun / a society that suppresses gratification of
needs and regulates it by means of strict social norms
 how people view the relative importance of happiness and
freedom of expression and how much control they feel
they have on their own life
 Applications

 The cultural dimensions are relevant in the

functioning of multinational organizations
 People have very different views on "what is a good

boss", or on ”how teams should be led”

 There is no "one way" to lead

 The preparation and implementation of

organizational change is highly culturally sensitive