Question

1. Brenda recently moved from Canada to Japan. She is having difficulty adapting to the Japanese culture. Using Hofstede’s cultural value framework, describe what is hindering Brenda in this case.

Answer 1

Hofstede's cultural value theory is a framework for cross-cultural communication, developed by Geert Hofstede. It shows the effects of a society's culture on the values of its members, and how these values relate to behavior, using a structure derived from factor analysis. The dimensions that Hofstede defined as cultural value theory are:

• Power distance index (PDI)
• Individualism vs. collectivism (IDV)
• Uncertainty avoidance (UAI)
• Masculinity vs. femininity (MAS)
• Long-term orientation vs. short-term orientation (LTO)
• Indulgence vs. restraint (IND)

In this case, Brenda is affected by the Long-term orientation vs. short-term orientation(LTO), which is the dimension that associates the connection of the past with the current and future actions/challenges. Brenda has a lower degree of this index(short-term) as she is finding it difficult to adjust to the Japanese Culture.