10 Key Dimensions of Culture

Also posted at http://www.overcomethebarrier.com/2013/05/29/10-key-dimensions-of-culture/

Our workplaces are becoming more and more globalized. It is now a reality that in our daily work our staff will encounter someone from another culture. The key to success in business is to train your staff to deal with someone who has different values and beliefs than they do. Knowing these 10 key differences between cultures will certainly help your staff work better with international clientele.

There are many differences between cultures. The following table, adapted from The Managing Diversity Survival Guide, Gardenswartz & Rowe (IRWIN.1994) by Deborah Hall of the Immigrant Welcome Centre (www.immigrantwelcome.ca), summarizes the10 Key Dimensions of Culture.

Dimensions of Culture	Western Culture	Non-Western Cultures
Sense of self and space	Informal Handshake	Formal Hugs, bows, handshakes
Communication & language	Explicit, direct communication Emphasis on content Meaning found in words	Implicit, indirect communication Emphasis on context Meaning found around words
Dress & appearance	"Dress for success" ideal Wide range in accepted dress	Dress seen as a sign of position, wealth, prestige Religious rules
Food and eating habits	Eating as necessity	Dining as a social experience Religious rules
Times & time consciousness	Linear and exact time Consciousness Value on promptness Time = money	Elastic and relative time Consciousness Time spent on enjoyment of Relationships
Relationships, family, friends	Focus on nuclear family Responsibility for self Value on youth, age seen as handicap	Focus on extended family Loyalty & responsibility to family Age given status and respect
Values and Norms	Individual orientation Independence Preference for direct Confrontation of conflict	Group orientation Conformity Preference of harmony
Beliefs and attitudes	Self directed Challenging of authority Individuals control their Destiny Gender equity	Hierarchical Respect for authority and social order Individuals accept their destiny Different roles for men and women
Mental processes and learning style	Linear, logical and sequential Problem-solving focus	Lateral, holistic, simultaneous Accepting of life's difficulties
Work habits and practices	Emphasis on tasks Rewards based on individual achievement Work has intrinsic value	Emphasis on relationships Rewards based on seniority, relationships Work is a necessity of life

Awareness of different values, beliefs and attitudes is the first step in becoming more effective at dealing with different cultures.

The second step is to have staff become aware of their own preferences and habits, as well as become aware of what habits they have a hard time dealing with. Any number of assessments can be conducted, from simply going through the above list and selecting preferences, to psychological testing (e.g. see https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/ ), to enrolling in cross-cultural training programs. Understanding our own beliefs and attitudes gives us a place to start from.

The third step is to adapt individual beliefs, attitudes and behaviors to more effective ones. This step, however, is highly dependent upon your staff's willingness and motivation to change. Certainly your staff have the option of doing nothing about themselves and demanding that their business partners adapt to their styles. In the current marketplace, however, this attitude is not likely to lead to business success.

Knowing the 10 Key Dimensions of Culture prepares your staff to be successful in the global marketplace. Different strategies can be taken to encourage staff to be interested in changing their perceptions. Regardless of the strategy that's taken, they key is to get individual buy-in. Tolerance of other cultures can't effectively be "faked" and it certainly can't be forced. However, by increasing your staff's awareness of cultural differences they will be in a better position to work in this global world.