How The 5 Cultural Dimensions Can Help Expatriates

Are you an American considering to develop your business in Europe or Asia? Or maybe a manager recently expatriated to the USA? No matter where you come from and where you go, expatriation always relies on long adaptation phases to your new environment.

Because time is money, organizations usually try to give you all the resources they can think of to help you when it comes to your business activities. Your ability to perform rapidly in your new environment is critical to them. The expatriate toolbox mostly relies on welcoming meetings organized by relocation companies, videos presenting your destination, and eventually classes to learn the language or understand basic culture.

I have had the chance in the past to attend a cross-cultural training designed specifically for international sales people. One of the very good tools presented was Geert Hofstede^TM Cultural Dimensions, which gives you a precise “map” of cultural gaps between two given countries (yours and the one you are targeting). As a new expatriate I was expecting to see this tool again in one of the meetings/training sessions I was attending. But I never did!

I am convinced this tool can help us be more prepared to the big shock we, expatriates, experience in the first six months in a new country. So if you feel that intercultural relations between foreign and local people are complex, you may want to take a look at Geert Hofstede^TM Cultural Dimensions. This system can help you better understand one another’s psychology and behavior, and avoid the misunderstandings and miscommunications that can occur on daily transactions in international business.

The Professor’s system is based on five cultural dimensions :

• Power distance index
• Individualism
• Masculinity
• Uncertainty Avoidance Index
• Long Term Orientation

If you go to the website http://www.geert-hofstede.com , you just have to pick your country of origin and the one you are or will soon be living in, to see how you compare. You will find charts, figures, and countries descriptions. This data is priceless but access to it is free. Enjoy!

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