Culture (Term Paper Sample)

Managing in the Global Context Name Course Tutor Date Chinese Culture vs. UK Culture Culture fascinates many people some of whom travel across the globe to experience different cuisines, languages, and people. China, for instance, a land renowned for its antique tapestry and livelihood, receives tourists in numerous numbers every year who come to witness the culture’s uniqueness. Many people find Chinese culture captivating because of its rich cultural history spanning over 5,000 years. This essay analyses the Chinese culture against that of the United Kingdom in light of Hofstede’s cultural framework. Compared to the UK, China is a strongly collectivist society, with a low uncertainty avoidance and a high long-term orientation, placing the country among leading industrialists due to high-risk taking, responsibility, and accountability. Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Theory Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory is arguably the most popular theory that explains different countries' cultures. Culture refers to a community of people’s characteristics and awareness, including language, faith, cuisine, social activities, music, and the arts (Yu, 2016). Different countries have unique cultures which can best be analysed using Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Theory. The framework was founded by Geert Hofstede in 1980 and explains that culture is defined by six dimensions, namely the power distance index, collectivism vs. individualism, uncertainty avoidance index, femininity vs. masculinity, and short-term vs. long-term orientation (Mulders, 2019). The following is an analysis of some of those dimensions as applicable to the culture of China and the United Kingdom. Collectivism vs. individualism The individual-collectivism dimension relates to the degree of interdependence that society retains among its members. In individualistic cultures, the connection between people is loose, and individuals are expected to care for themselves (Triandis, 2018). On the other hand, individuals in a collectivist society are integrated into strong, unified communities, including extended families (Triandis, 2018). According to a study by Zhang (2020) China’s individualism score is 20/100, which indicates that China ranks low as an individualistic country and high as a collectivist society. Thus, Chinese people behave in the group’s best interests rather than their own. In contrast, the UK is a highly individualistic society with a score of 89/100, only beaten by Australia and the United States (Triandis, 2018). That implies that UK children are encouraged to think for themselves from an early age, to discover their special role in life and how they can contribute to society. However, Chinese children are brought up in close-knit families where they are expected to show responsibility and accountability to the family and community rather than to themselves (Zhang, 2020). Also, while UK people mainly have the ‘I’ consciousness, Chinese people have the ‘we’ consciousness. Consequently, UK people will show high priority for individual tasks and put their work over relationships, while Chinese people will prioritise relationships over tasks. Uncertainty avoidance   Uncertainty Avoidance is a dimension that describes how a culture deals with the fact that the future can never be determined. According to Shirokova et al. (2016), the score on Uncertainty Avoidance reflects the degree to which members of a society feel threatened by unclear or unknown circumstances and have developed values and institutions to prevent them. With a relatively low Uncertainty Avoidance score of 30 (Shirokova et al., 2016), China is at ease with ambiguity and accepts situations as they come. Besides, Chinese people are adaptable and enterprising and experience low levels of anxiety and stress. Similarly, The United Kingdom has a low Uncertainty Avoidance score of 35, which, although slightly higher than that of China, indicates that its people also welcome each day as it comes. That similarity between China and the UK also means that individuals from those two countries will have minimal negotiations since they will exhibit the same behaviors when working together. For instance, both will take big risks because they are comfortable with whatever outcome, unlike a person with high uncertainty avoidance who will avoid huge losses caused by an uncertain future. Long-short term orientation This dimension explains how every society has to maintain some associations with its past while dealing with present and future encounters, and societies rank these two existential objectives differently. Long-term orientation encourages values focused on the future, such as perseverance and thrift, and ranking relationships by status (Block, 2009). A short-term perspective enables values relevant to the past and present, such as reverence for tradition, maintaining one’s face, and maintaining personal steadiness and stability (Block, 2009). China scores an 87 on this scale, indicating a pragmatic and long-term-oriented society (Block, 2009). Chinese people assume that reality is highly dependent on circumstance, meaning, and time. They also tend to wait patiently for long-term benefits rather than short-term ones. Besides, they demonstrate an ability to adjust customs to changing circumstances quickly, a deep propensity to save, thriftiness, and tenacity in achieving goals. On the contrary, with an average score of 51, a general preference for UK culture cannot be ascertained. That means that UK people show average orientation in terms of long-term and short-term. Thus, when negotiating, people from the two cultures will have average issues with understanding one another. Differences between Chinese and British culture in terms of artifacts, values, and beliefs One of the elements of culture is artifacts. These are visible components of the culture of a given community that are easily identifiable by even those who are not part of the community (Weinberg, 2003). On the one hand, the Chinese artifacts include Chinese opera, which grew out of zuju and continues to exist in 368 different versions; Chinese music, which is usually solo rather than choral and is performed in a thin, nonreasoning voice; and Chinese clothing, which include Hanfu, Zhongshan suit, Tang suit, and cheongsam. On the other hand, British music contains classical music, popular commercial music, folk, and sub-national music. Currently, there is no official dress as mostly suits and bowler hats are worn. Values are another aspect of culture. According to Weinberg (2003), cultural values are the community’s defined standards and codes of conduct. Members of the group use this method to introduce themselves and the community to newcomers. Harmony, benevolence, justice, courtesy, wisdom, integrity, fidelity, and filial piety are all Chinese virtues. According to Weinberg (2003), British values, on the other hand, include equality, individual rights, and mutual respect and tolerance towards people of various faiths and beliefs. The third element of culture is beliefs. According to Weinberg (2003), beliefs are profoundly ingrained, taken-for-granted behaviors that, while ordinarily unconscious, are at the heart of culture (Weinberg, 2003). These assumptions are often so deeply embedded in the community’s dynamic that they are difficult to spot from the inside. In China, the state recognises five religions, including Buddhism, Catholicism, Daoism, and Protestantism. In the United Kingdom, the official religion is Christianity. Other religions include Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism, and Buddhism. Similarities between the two cultures The main similarity between China’s culture and British culture is based on uncertainty avoidance. Both countries have low uncertainty, which means that they hardly anticipate losses, especially when investing in a business. Therefore, their people will show dislike for rules because they prefer working based on each situation and day as it comes. The UK and Chinese people will also be more likely to change their jobs or move from one neighbourhood to another without fear of starting again or facing new risks. Also, due to low fear of risk and failure, the two cultures are driven by a high desire to achieve success (S...