Cultural Assessment of Thailand

Cultural assessment of Thailand

International management

Todd A Holloway

MT 6580

William Creamer

September 13, 2014

The Hofstede model of cultural assessment states that the values that that make up the cultures in different countries can be put into four groups. These groups could then be used as a barometer to gain valuable insight as to how the people in different countries act and behave. The four groups are power distance, individualism vs collectivism, masculinity vs femininity and uncertainty avoidance.

In applying the 6-D model to Thailand, the research will give better insight to the culture and the economic drivers.

Power distance

        In taking a look at the power distance, which can be defined as the extent that people that are not in power view and accept how power is distributed unequally. Thailand scored a 64 in this group which translates that the people in the country are accepting of the inequalities and are comfortable with how the chain of command is set up. The power distance score also points to the Thailand people are comfortable with being managed in a paternalist way (Migliore 2011).

Individualism vs Collectivist

        The basic issue of this dimension deals with a certain level of is interdependence that member need to maintain within their society.  Individualism is centered around the “me” mentality and primarily look out for those that are close to the individuals family. With a Collectivist society the will tend to look out for one another loyalty is a huge part of collectivists. The Thailand people scored a 20 in this group which translates into the country being mostly collectivist. The society promotes healthy relationship where the whole group assumes responsibility for each other. This practice takes precedence over many rules and regulations that the society has in place (Alkalani & Athamneh 2012)

Masculinity vs Femininity

        A high score in this group will be more favorable for men. This would indicate that the society is led by competition, personal achievement and being the best. In comparison to having a low score would lean toward the society being more geared toward women, which would mean that the values would center around the self-satisfaction of what a person does and liking what they do. Thailand’s score was a 34 in this group making it a feminine oriented society. Thailand’s score was one of the lowest of all Asian countries in Masculinity. With averages of 53 and 50. The score would indicate that as a society, the people lack assertiveness and are not very competitive (Ward 2000).