Hofstede Analysis

Section 1

Analysis of Results

How do the dimensions of management culture of the 3 foreign nations differ from each other?

Out of the three countries, Croatia appears to be the outlier. Which can be somewhat understandable due to the proximity of the Netherlands and Denmark and their distance from Croatia. The influence provides the diversification aligning the Dutch and the Danes with a more Western European alignment and Croatia more comparable to Eastern Europe influence. Consider power distance as a sample and Denmark and Netherlands model a lower score identifying that leaders know their people, whereas Croatia appears to have a more significant distance between leaders and members. There is also a gap in the dimensions of individualism, with the Western countries placing more emphasis on task and masculinity than Croatia. At first glance these seems odd but could likely be attributed to the intent of teams being more decentralized and effective on an individual basis whereas Croatia may be a bit more centralized from a management perspective.

How do the dimensions of management culture of the 3 foreign nations differ from the USA?

Overall Croatia continues to stand alone when looking for differences as compared to the US. The largest spread occurs in the collectivism / individualism dimension where the US is a strong collectivism culture and Croatia is (within this study) the most individualistic culture. Beyond that dimension the differences are minimal. The only other notable difference comes from a lack of data from Netherlands and Denmark in their long / short term orientation dimension. Beyond that the comparable are more aligned and will be addressed in subsequent comments below.

How are the dimensions of management culture of the 3 foreign nations similar to each other?

As mentioned above, Denmark and Netherlands have similar results in most categories, even to the point where there is no data available for short / long term orientation. This again is likely due to the more similar cultures and cohesion amongst the Wester European countries. The only area where all three countries aligned is uncertainty avoidance dimension. In this dimension all three are middle of the road indicating that in the face of uncertainty they may or may not develop anxiety and have some semblance of rituals and consistency when capable. This appears to be an ability to remain flexible and go with the flow when needed, yet a slight preference to routine. From time spent in Croatia and the Netherlands, I can understand this first hand. I’ve partnered with security professionals from both countries and they have an understanding of keeping things routine but seemed unphased by changes regardless of the notice or impact. Many would think that all security professionals would operate in this manner, but experience says different. It was culturally evident that these countries have a sense of calm, even in the face of uncertainty.

How are the dimensions of management culture of the 3 foreign nations similar to the USA?

Again, consistency rules in this study with the Dutch, and Danes aligning in a few categories with the US. The power distance dimensions are identical across the three countries. This isn’t hard to assume or understand given the influence of those countries on our culture in business. I would tend to believe this may shift given the emerging global economy for all businesses not just large corporations. The next closest dimension was uncertainty avoidance where the 3 foreign countries were aligned, and the US was slightly more tolerant to uncertainty. From here the discrepancies grew and are addressed in the appropriate sections.