Cross-Cultural Management Analysis

1. National Culture Values (Hofstede’s Dimensions)

In my opinion, all of the national culture values, such as those of Vietnam, U.S. and Peru, should be contributing to the issues at Saxton Instruments.

It was observed that during lunch, both Vietnamese and Peruvian groups sat apart and spoke in their native languages; and at the annual company summer picnic and winter holiday party, both groups also sat separately. Vietnamese assemblers selected data from what they observed and added meaning into the observation. They drew a conclusion that their Peruvian supervisors did not respect any of the ten Vietnamese assemblers. So Vietnamese were very upset about the treatment that they had been receiving from their first-line Latino supervisors. They even didn't know what's wrong with them. Accordingly, they made the judgment: Peruvian supervisors were intentionally mean and rude to them and that spoke negatively about them in Spanish and behind their back. They attributed the situation to the mean nature of the Peruvian supervisors. However, Minh (one of the Vietnamese assemblers) didn’t provide any examples of specific behaviors exhibited by the supervisors which led him to his conclusion. And any of them could hardly understand Spanish. The behind-back speech and negative speaking were just based on their perception.

First, according to the graphs provided with this assignment, Vietnamese and Peruvian are considered very high in Collectivism, especially as compared to American. Collectivism is a basic cultural element that exists as the reverse of individualism in human nature, and stresses the priority of group goals over individual goals and the importance of cohesion within social groups. Both of these two cultures consider themselves part of the larger collective, general centered on the family or the clan. According to the article, individual needs are considered subordinate to those of their family or organization. Conformity to familial and social norms is an important goal. Loyalty is the most important factor which over-rides most other societal rules and regulations. In our case, it turned out that Peruvian and Vietnamese just preferred to stay with their fellow folk who shared the same cultural value. If any of them showed their kindness to another group, they might be regarded as a traitor. So it would be safer to stay in their own group.

Secondly, according to the graphs, the Peru is considered high in Uncertainty Avoidance Index, especially as compared to Vietnam and the United States. In cultures that score high on uncertainty avoidance, people have an increased level of anxiety about uncertainty and ambiguity. Such cultures tend to emphasis laws, regulations, and controls that are designed to reduce uncertainty. In countries with high uncertainty avoidance index employees prefer formal rules to be created and avoid actions