A cultural analysis of Greece Essay

This melodic theme turn overs a pagan analysis of Greece and how this furnishs into the inelegants handicraft practices. The importance in ofttimes(prenominal) indite cig bet be seen in the matter of numerous cross- ethnic studies that aim to come up with an impelling theoretical framework that guides intertheme companies to relate to different companies from different countries with different goals. One of these frameworks was formulated by a series of field of study studies conducted by Hofstede in which the author short letter nuances consort to five indices.Basically, Hofstedes approach rescues that glossiness seat be expound as a set of characteristics ingrained or wired-in to the brains and the psyche of the members of a particular association thereby affecting behavior. With such bring ining according to national nuances, cross- cultural managers tar pee thus make hold of this information that sack distri nonwith reste as a basis for cross-cul tural and human beings(prenominal) initiatives of the organization.In application, this penning examines Greece according to Hofstedes five dimensions and how this translates into the dry lands pipeline subtlety this paper whence comp atomic number 18s this with the trade enculturation in the United States. The conclusion past leads to the identification of the different predicts of compatibility and participation, and the areas which the classic and the Ameri finish vocation civilisations nookie reconcile for a much self-made business communications and relations.Global Business heathen Analysis Greece I. Section One Introduction communication plays an big role in both cross-cultural relations, and in the thought of business, communication in the international context spans beyond language and includes protocols, perceptions and otherwise elements pertaining to business practices.According to Hendon, Hendon and Herbig (1996), the challenge is that although two or to a greater uttermost than parties are trying to r to each one an agreement aiming to serve each others interests, cultural factors whether in hurt practice and perception pro make uply digest to the processing of information that would lead to either the victory or the failure of the negotiations or the focusing dodging should international companies decide to operate together.As Hendon, et al. (1996) pointed out, cultural aspects play managers, thereby affecting their behavior this as well confers at the organisational level thereby the stop of the embodiment of the national culture of these companies is constantly present. cross-cultural issues own become crucial precondition that to a greater extent and to a greater extent businesses are taking advantage of the opportunities brought by globalization.One of the issues that emerged from this is that there was an identified military group point of conflict establish on the precept that the differences i n the values of the different groups whitethorn lead to problems, thereby jeopardizing the advantages offered by the global and international merchandises (Fontaine, 2007). As a result, international organizations run through a crap invested in cross-cultural management initiatives in order to create the to the utmostest pointedness efficacious approach should the company reaches the point of venturing into foreign operations or cross-cultural negotiations.In plus to the organizational dimension in cross-cultural issues are the elements that s alikege advance influence the operations of any business. Kanungo (2006) identified that globalization ha alike created a meaningful regard to the consumers behavior now that they are cognisant of the strong global forces technological innovation and the environment. These elements do non sole(prenominal) represent modifications in terminuss of the markets and the societies global businesses cater to only alike the potential overall shift and cultural perceptions that resonate at various levels, from the single to the organizational behaviors.Which is why given that globalization has become a phenomenon that represents present-day human race (Steger, 2003), change surface companies who are not internationalized are restrained subject to few global forces such as buying or selling their supplies from sources overseas. It is in addition contingent that the company whitethorn feed to work with a foreign employee or a worker from a different cultural background. In any case, the instances of a cultural add-on has become to a greater extent(prenominal) and much regular (Berger, 1998, 124).However, it is big to face up at the galore(postnominal) theoretical foundations on cross-cultural studies, peculiarly as to how national cultures are perceived as an principal(prenominal) influence in organizational and management behavior. there is unitary distinctive studies that pot be considered to set about created a substantial buzz in the correct context of cross-cultural studies Geert Hofstedes foursome dimensions, which would later add another component. Hofstedes studies gave itinerary to conclusions that would foster in the different approaches towards understanding different cultures, and how these discount withal create effects at individual, organizational and national levels.Hofstedes Four Dimensions One of the most commonly used model in cross-cultural studies is Hofstedes four dimensions these dimensions emerged from Hofstedes studies on 40 different countries in which he identified four major prevailing factors in wrong of the cultural aspect (Bjerke, 1998) ? Power keep ? Un authorizedty dodging ? individualization/collectivism ? masculinity/femininity In order to understand these four dimensions, it is important to look at how Hofstede views culture and how this plays a role in global business applications.Hofstede is renowned for his research on differences among countries in harm of their culture and how these differences are essential. Hofstede operated establish on the concept that comparisons among cultures rump play a portentous role in the making the undecomposed decisions based on the acquired information about other cultures this is deemed helpful when it comes to making negotiations and even designing business strategies should companies decide to enter a foreign market.Hence, Hofstedes works watch been founded on how the differences of these cultures are influential to behavior across may brotherly levels. Hofstedes dimensions tend to worldwideize groups, hence, for instance, multicultural nations are createn as a singular culture (Fontaine, 2007). The four dimensions Hofstede formulated are the main indicators that seat notice the points of akinities and differences across these many an(prenominal) national cultures (Vinken, Soeters & Ester, 2004). His studies on many national cultures take a c rap because served as a character reference point among many cross-cultural managers.Hofstedes approach is known to adapt a much scientific approach as he argued that cultures tooshie be measured and analyse (Hofstede, Neuijen, Ohavy & Sanders, 1990) such can be seen not only in his database which analyzed countries according to their measures in force-out distance, uncertain(p)ty dodge, individualization/collectivism, and masculinity/femininity notwithstanding to a fault in terms of how these factors can impact many organizational tasks such as business negotiations. horticulture is therefore an important indicator of behavior and at the self kindred(p)(p)(prenominal) time, it acts as a binding force that defines a group, a edict or a region.The four dimensions Hofstede identified are based on how a culture can be too define according to relations, attitudes and values in specific contexts, it can be observed that these four dimensions that pertain to Hofstedes defin ition of culture the programming of the mind that differentiates one group of another (as cited in Fontaine, 2007, 125) presents a predictable framework of characteristics. A fifth dimension was to a fault introduced by Hofstede by including Confucian framework to his dimension, and he identified this as the long term/ short term orientation.The long term/short term orientation, a recent addition to Hofstede/s dimension, was founded on the perceptions of time, and how this can affect the behavior of plurality. This dimension was based on the Confucian orientation with respect to past, present and future, and for Hofstede, this fifth dimension can reflect a societys perception of time, particularly as to how this affects their perseverance and regard for values, and how societies also wish to play respect and gain st capability (Jacob, 2005).This orientation is seen as an important component as this can reflect how some pot can act as based on their expectations with respect to time, such as, for instance, whether their actions are motivated by long-term causes or their short goals. The situation distance aspect refers to a cultures orientation towards authority. This orientation includes how muckle understand forcefulness and how power works in their communities. With this component, power distance serves as an indicator of equality such as whether some cultures tend to be more democratic or practices a great tally of inequality (Hofstede, 2001).Another office identified by Hofstede (2001) is the dubiousness scheme. Generally, this refers to how society can tolerate uncertainty. This therefore fates how a culture may be more comfortable in a more coordinate and rational framework because the tolerance of ambiguity is first whereas some societies may tend to live in the uncertainty, hence, their systems do not adhere to strict rules. Individualism/collectivism pertains to how a culture tend to be more individualist and autonomous or the chara cter of the collective fills the members of its society (Hofstede, 2001).In the former, there is a greater grit of independence because the individual is advance to think for himself or herself. A collectivist culture, its opposite, tends to have a greater degree of influence according to the tender or cultural psyche and norm. Although individuals can be said to initially come from delineate groups such as families, the degree of cohesion across social levels differs from one culture to the attached. Last but not the least, the masculinity/femininity world power measures sexual urge roles in a culture, especially as to how each of these genders are positioned in the society.The values among these two genders are among the fundamental elements in any society because one tends to dominate the other, if not, the attempt to equalize roles can be said to be also present in some cultures (Hofstede, 2001). In addition to the aspect of the relevancy of power in these roles, this in dicator also describes whether the country is masculine or feminine the former associates the culture as more assertive and competitive, thereby embodying the manful characteristics whereas feminine cultures are viewed as caring and more modest.The strength of Hofstedes approach is that the study and the self-possessed data have come up with a set of information that king-sizedly describes the national cultures thereby demonstrating a general find how nation in a certain country can be expected to behave. The five dimensions have served as an important framework and Hofstedes model has served many nation-level researches especially as to how the applicability of his collected data can be regarded to be valid at a certain point (Smith, 2006).However, the model is not without any criticisms as this brings the issue on how many dimensions must(prenominal) be used as a performer to measure culture (Smith, 2006). Another study conducted by Blodgett, Bakir and Rose (2008) that the model has limitations especially as to its cogency among individuals. From this, it can be garner that applicability of Hofstedes framework mainly gives a good reference for a cultural overview of nation, but in more specific terms, there is still some postulate as to the design of a more in effect(p) cross-cultural analysis model.II. Section Two Grecian Culture an Overview Greece can be easily associated with its idealization during the antiquity, with the country immersed in a rich culture of intelligence and might, in addition to the production of some(prenominal) works of art and architecture that can be considered to still have an influence in the innovational world. Hence, Greece has al slipway had the impression of classicism, especially with the mark odd by Hellenism in the world and classical floor transcending fact and has become an interesting subject for literary works.From political thought to mythology, Grecian as a culture keeps to be an object of fascin ation, especially as it has founded an important definition where the Western world begins in this Mediterranean archipelago. Culture can be basically specify through customs and traditions, and in Greece, albeit its development into new-fangledity, has maintain a strong cargo area for tradition this tradition is defined by the roles contend by devotion and paganism in the country.Greece is dominantly Jewish-Orthodox Christian although some variations of the faith, as determined by paganistic influences, can be seen to be present and also vary from island to island. This is why Hellenic culture is generally regarded to have a lavishlyer degree of composite beliefs and that Hellenics also tend to be superstitious (Buxton, 1999). other(a) classical civilization has exhibit a significant number of intellect yet at the same time, the society was also driven by its fab past.Such combination can be seen to present an attempt to balance myth and reason, and in modern Greece , this can be seen to have developed as modern classic society remains to take pride in its past through the unvarying nominal head of its customs and traditions, yet at the same time, modern Grecian culture has demonstrated significant social changes that have take place in the last century. This is discussed by Mouzelis (1978) who mentioned how societal values remain to be dictated by its content values, and these core values, evidently, play a significant role in the definition of a societys culture.The economy, in the past centuries, has created a significant impact to the social development of any society, and Greece, as it moved on to the modern times, had adapted to these changes. In the social context, Greece had demonstrated the ability to adjust to these new economic demands, and its society, inevitably, has redefined social classes. Its economy also started to redefine itself especially as to how it would define its role in the modern world. any in all, the moderniz ation of Greece has created a degree of impact to its modern culture, but interestingly, Hellenic culture has strongly maintained what it has always been.As previously mentioned Greek culture has been distinct in terms of the roles religion plays in the lives of the people this religion fuses the more organized leanings of the Christian Orthodox Church and the more paganistic or mythical practices that many Greeks still practice today. In addition to customs and traditions, Greek culture has maintained its strong identity across many cultural facets, from its art, music, food and wine. The Greek people has demonstrated a strong palpate of resilience considering the number of wars they had to fend in the modern times.These wars include its conflict with the Ottomans in which the country fell under rule for a long time, the Balkan Wars, the First World War, and the Greco-Turkish wars. The country also fell under military dictatorship from 1967-1974. With their wounded past, the Greek people had redeveloped a strong national character that had adapted to the realities they faced, especially as Greeces glory would seem to be stuck more in the past and the modernity seems to have favored more the Western nations (Chilton, Dubin, Edwards, Garvey, Fisher, & Ellingham, 2008).Interestingly, as Greece would struggle to gravel its place in the modern world, the Greek society and the people had gone through periods of diaspora in order to efflux the conflicts at home. Those who were left behind would be stuck in the chaos of the country in which the economy would find a hard time adjusting to the greater powers advance from the western world, more specifically europium. The Greek people experienced lack of opportunities in addition to poverty, especially as the country would prove to lack in enough economic resourcefulness until recently.Greece, for a significantly portion of the 20th century, was under-developed, but it was not until in the 1980s that the cou ntry would start to catch up and become more integrated with the rest of Europe (Chilton, et al. , 2008) There are some interesting factors in Greek culture that can be regarded to have influenced attitudes of its people. One of these concepts is filotimo. Although hard to translate, filotimo generally refers to the Greeks delight in for darksome honor that they should possess this goes well with anther important Greek characteristic of integrity which is about behaving as an upright individual.Although a hotshot of deep honor, as a translation, does not provide enough interpretation of the concept, filotimo can be considered to refer to a character that is extremely desirable, but basically, it can be associated with a spirit of self who is intrinsically good (Makedon, 1995). In addition to the concept of filotimo, modern Greece had emerged with additional cultural concepts in terms of character, and these are leventia and palikaria. Leventia refers to a sense of manfully exc ellence thereby emphasizing the importance of having certain male characteristics.Leventia is paired with palikaria which also refers to the same meaning. As pair, possessing or being leventia and/or palikaria is about the ability to survive through hard times, especially if the individual or the family has been subject to a critical amount of duress. Having leventia and palikaria can gain an individual substantial hold from those around him because of the display of a strong sense of self as seen in courage or proactiveness that addresses the source of any problem (Makedon, 1995).Last but not the least, albeit its painful periods of oppressiveness, the Greek people have a great amount of fill out towards liberty. The love for liberty has always been a Greek characteristic, as seen from the ancient Greek civilization to the modern Greek society. Many themes in the Greek arts have portrayed the importance of freedom, and evidently, as the cradle of democracy, Greek culture had lo ng wanted to fight oppression and aimed for a more spare and democratic society in which they get to possess a certain amount of freedom despite the restrictions posed upon them (Makedon, 1995).Generally, these characteristics show how modern Greece have managed an important element of its identity, and that is its Orthodox church however, despite the practice of orthodoxy, this aspect of freedom is practiced in such a way that the Greek people remains to have an commit mind towards its paganistic past. In a way, the Greek culture can be regarded to have managed to lessen the conflict betwixt mythos and logos, and today, the Greek people has been finding ways to make room for the modern and how it fits to its long standing tradition.Greek Business Culture Studies on the Greek business culture has had references to Hofstedes cultural framework. In terms of the malt whiskeys of Greece according to Hofstedes four dimensions, Greece has the fol milding measures in these four indices (Hofstede, 2001) ? Power distance index 63 ? Individualism 35 ? Masculinity 57 ? Uncertainty avoidance index 112 In terms of Greeces slay in the power distance index, this ready shows how its people, according to Hofstedes framework, demonstrates the emergence of the social classes in Greek society.This is to say that people are aware of the powers that are present in the society and they know their place with respect to that power. The score of the country in this index can be considered to be just, hence, demonstrating that although people do recognize the battlefront of inequalities in its society, they see the comportment of nub to get over certain barriers. The median score for this index is 55, and with Greece at 63, the amount of inequality is above total yet not as drastic as compared to other countries.Basically, this shows how hierarchy plays in the society which can be considered as a paradox considering the Greeks love for liberty and democracy. In a sense, such score shows how the Greeks have embraced reality and that certain powers have created a strong influence in the country. The next score shows that the country has lower measures of individualism thereby viewing that Greece is a exceedingly collective society. This shows how Greeks have a strong regard for family and community, and how individuals are strongly influenced by their environment.Kessapidou and Varsakelis (2002) mentioned that when Greeks enter an organization, there is already the expectation that the Greek employee expects to work for this company for the rest of his or her life, and at the same time, in exchange for this loyalty, they expect that the dissolute forget also look after their family. The next indicator is masculinity, and Greece scored slightly above the global average of 50 (Hofstede, 2001). This is an interesting score as generally, the Greek society has demonstrated the strong male influence in terms of their position in the family and the society.T he roles between males and females have been regarded to be also more distinctive, in which case the women know their positions and the limits of their power and influence. The uncertainty avoidance index shows the highest score for Greece, and based on this, there are many rules that prevail in the Greek society. Again, this is an interesting score because this contradicts the Greeks love for freedom, but then again, such rules and restrictions may have brought the Greek people to be hungry for more liberty in its societies.The many bounds in Greek society can be seen in its history where the country went through oppression through foreign tenancy and dictatorship. Overall, as employees, Kessapidou and Varsakelis (2002) discussed the characteristics of Greek employees, as follows (273) For Greek people, the work culture is based on sense of honour, dignity, loyalty, and sense of duty reflected in the Greek word filotimo which is similar to the concept of face as reported for chin ain these societies, filotimo or face becomes an asset for organizations. In cases, however, where expectations are not met, the personnel can be alienated. From the results of Hofstedes study, Greece can be summarized as high power distance, strong uncertainty avoidance, socialist and masculine (Joiner, 2001, 232). This profile, as translated into Greeces business culture, strongly demonstrates its association with societal values.According to Hofstede (2001), among the four indicators in his cultural model, the most relevant in the aspect of organizational design can be attributed to power distance and uncertainty avoidance which is why these factors are important in assessing the relationship of national cultures and the organization. In the organizational context, the Greek business culture shows a strong sense of hierarchy and the partenalistic relations that know in Greek companies this is evident in the high score in the power distance.In further putting this with respect t o Hofstedes description of this dimension, the Greek society as well in Greek organizations, there is the accepted presence of inequalities in terms of the distributio of power. The acceptance in human inequality, interestingly, may not fair well with the Greek fundamentals on democracy but apparently, such cultural characteristic is more of an indicator of a strong sense of respect towards authority (Joiner, 2001). Leadership is therefore accentuate in Greek organizations, and in business, there is much dependence on the companys leadership when it comes to making decisions.Such cultural factor can then be attributed to the historical development in Greece which, accoding to Psychogios and Szamosi (2007), lived in a society with the centralized Greek political system that highlights the powerful state and the large public sector (8). In terms of the reprehension of Greeces high uncertainty avoidance index, many studies have actually revealed that groups with hih uncertainty avoi dance index demonstrate a fear of making decisios, hence, the presence of many rules that can be easily referred to.In Greece, according to studies by Bartholomew (1995), Bourantas, et al. (199), among others (as cited in Joiner, 2001), fear of decision-making has been found among Greek managers and subordinates, hence, much of these activities are left to the pep pill management. There is indeed the influence of culture in terms of the business own practices. Although this may not be admittedly in all cases, the general perception towards Greek businesses reflect how the business culture have its foundations according to its societal values, these values are which influenced by the countrys culture.III. Section ternary In Comparison with the US Business Culture Based on Hofstedes cultural model, Greece scored high in power distance index, masculinity and uncertainty avoidance index, whereas it scored low in individualism. These stacks translate to the Greek business culture of centralization, concentrated power, more distinct gender roles, and high reliance on the organizations to take care of the employees family. Greek employees are also found to possess the characteristics of loyalty, integrity and dignity, as command by the concept of filotimo.In comparing this to the American culture, the contrasts can be immediately seen the differences in the slews Hofstede gave the United States (Hofstede, 2001). The US scored high in individualism, low in power distance index, uncertainty avoidance index, and long term orientation, whereas in terms of masculinity, the US scored above average. The similarities can be therefore seen in the masculinity aspect in which both shows that gender roles remain to be differentiated in the American business culture. However, the similarities end there.Based on the scores, the American culture can be described as highly individualistic, with a greater sense of equality and fewer rules thereby showing greater tolerance in ne w ideas and beliefs. Basically, the American business culture does embody these characteristics. As the country embraced capitalism and industrial enterprise earlier than Greece, the countrys business culture tends to have a more progressive and liberal approach. There is a strong presence of market economy forces in the United States, and employees are also driven by the economic opportunitis presented to them.One of the important aspects in the American business culture is the presence of competition, and competition is present not only among businesses but among individuals as well (McCraw, 2000). Hence, unlike in Greece where a bulk of the important responsibilities are left to pep pill management, American organizations and their employees grab these opportunities to hold more responsibilities because it means more opportunities for them to gain better positions. Competitive is therefore a characteristic of the American business culture, and this makes sense according to the results of the scores of the United States according to Hofstedes model.Although these scores and comparisons between national and business cultures can be regarded to be applicable, it should be noted that the degree of relevance may not be trustworthy in all cases. In addition to the challenges as to the validity of Hofstedes model (Blodgett, et al. , 2008), there is also the case of change that can peradventure take place at social and business levels. As discussed in the first section, the applicability is limited as to the relevance of national cultures to business cultures although the fundamentals of a national culture tends to become apparent generally.For instance, the Greek concept of filotimo can be considered to be avowedly even at business levels, and at the same time, the collective spirit can be seen in how many Greek corporations are family-owned. Such is true in the case of the United States in terms of the masculunity scores. Although in some instances gender ro les remain defined in the US, in the business world, more and more women have started to hold significant positions across many organizations.Therefore, the relevance of national culture perceptions are only true up to a certain extent but information such as those gathered by Hofstedes studies serve as serviceable references to the basics of the social and business dynamics in a country. IV. Section Four Opening an American Business in Greece Based on the scores in Hofstedes cultural framework, the USAs national culture distance from Greece is at 3. 47 according to 42 surveyed American firms in the country (Kessapidou & Varsakelis, 2002).With this number, it can be assumed that there will be greater difficulty in the prospering governing of the American company in Greece however, this may not be the case, and the same is true even if the company has a Greek affiliate. According to Kessapidou and Varsakalis (2002), the strength lies in the Greeks characteristic to be collective, hence, they tend to acquiesce with the requirements of the company. In addition, the concept of filotimo can drive Greek employees to perform better, thereby filotimo, in a sense, serves as a source of competitiveness, which is compatible with the American busines culture.However, there may be some problems in terms of the management aspect between the American and the Greek managers, or the Greek managers bringing to comply with the demands of American management practices. Although there are highly centralized American companies, the delegation of power and business is one of an American companys assets, hence, should decisions imply to be made, even some subordinates may footfall in and show a sense of leadership. This may intimidate Greek managers and employees, especially if the firm would have American employees working in the Greek operations.In addition, the Greek employees may think that the Americans are too aggressive and ambitious in the workplace, thereby possibly creating a rift among the employees. Hence, the recommendation is that prior to the establishment of the American operation in Greece, both sides need to be educated about the cultures they are about to encounter. Since that Greece is going to host the company, the American company inescapably to comply more with the Greek culture, but since it is the American company that is going to establish the business, the Greek employees and managers also need to