CulturalGPS: Helping Expats Navigate the World of Culture

Many who know me well know that I am an avid lover of all things Apple.  My iPhone is no exception. I love all of the amazing applications that allow me to stay connected, organized and informed - and even indulge in some silly fun!

One of these really cool applications I want to tell my fellow expat professionals and entrepreneurs who own iPhones about is CultureGPS. CultureGPS is a tool to help you to analyze behavior differences in intercultural encounters and to predict to a certain degree, which interactions evolve when people from different nationalities meet and work together.

The information provided in CultureGPS is based on the 5-D model developed by Professor Geert Hofstede, who, according to the Wall Street Journal ranking in 2008, is one of the top 20 most influential business thinkers.

It's a very handy tool that you can use when in various cross cultural settings and need to get a quick snapshot of how everyone's cultural identity could affect working together.

But in order to really benefit from using the tool, you need a decent understanding of what these different dimensions mean and how they translate into behaviour.

So I've asked a colleague of mine with whom I am working with to coach international MBA students at a top university here in Italy to answer a few questions.  Besides being a great guy and a lover of pasta, Jerry Vastano is certified by itim international, global experts on national and organizational culture, whose work is based on Hofstede's research.

So Jerry, first can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what led to you studying Hofstede's research and getting certified by itim?

Of course, and thanks for the opportunity to contribute to your blog, Megan.

In terms of education, I have a liberal arts background (BA in History/Political Science and an MA in non-Western History) from Trinity College in Hartford, CT.  Many of the courses had to do with the aspects that determine national cultures. 

My professional work experience is grounded in training and development, leadership, career management, coaching and organizational development – none of which is culturally neutral.  I became interested in intercultural management when I started to work in international settings. I have had the opportunity to live and work as an expat in Belgium for nearly nine years and I’ve conducted training sessions and delivered consulting services in some 36 different countries.

A number of years ago, I picked up and read a copy of Hofstede’s book out of curiosity.  Since then, I have attended some presentations made by him and I have met both Geert and his son Gert Jan who is also active in cross-cultural work.

I decided to obtain my itim certification in order to focus on a subject about which I am very passionate as well as to help others in their development.         

Would you begin by explaining how Hofstede defines “culture”? 

According to Hofstede, culture is “the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another.”  The key point in this definition is that “culture” is learned through nurturing as opposed to being inherited as part of human nature.  Clearly, cultural grounding affects how people think, solve problems and make decisions – all crucial factors for communicating and conducting business. 

Can you briefly explain each of the five dimensions that Hofstede has identified in studying culture?

The Hofstede model is based upon significant research that was conducted throughout IBM (offices located in 50 countries) during the 1970’s and has been validated repeatedly in a number of other replicated studies. An analysis of the research revealed common problems but with solutions differing from country to country in the following areas:

• Power Distance - the relationship with authority and social inequality
• Individualism/Collectivism - the relationship between the individual and the group
• Masculinity/Femininity - the social implications of having been born a boy or girl
• Uncertainty Avoidance - ways of dealing with ambiguity which is related to expressing emotions and controlling aggression
• Long-term orientation - the search for virtue and defining truth

These factors represent dimensions of cultures. A dimension is an aspect of a culture that can be measured relative to other cultures.

A key point to remember is that a particular dimension score is neither “good” nor “bad”.  Rather, the significant aspect of the cultural dimension scores is in relation to other country scores along the same dimension. A difference of 10 points or more on a particular scale is a “red flag” and indicates where there are likely to be cross-cultural difficulties or adjustments required.               

Some brief definitions of each dimension follow:

Power Distance (PDI) is defined as the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally.  Institutions in this case are the basic elements of society, such as the family, school, the community; organizations are where people work.

Individualism (IDV) pertains to societies in which the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look after himself or herself and his or her immediate family.  Collectivism as a polar opposite refers to societies in which people from birth onward are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, which throughout their lifetimes continue to protect them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty.

Of all the dimensions, the Masculinity (MAS) dimension is one of the most difficult to explain and grasp. According to Hofstede, a society is called masculine when emotional gender roles are clearly distinct: men are supposed to be assertive, tough, and focused on material success, whereas women are supposed to be more modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life. A society is called feminine when emotional gender roles overlap: both men and women are supposed to be modest, tender and concerned with the quality.

The fourth dimension – Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI) – has to do with the extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations.  This feeling is expressed through nervous stress and in a need for predictability by means of written and unwritten rules. 

For a high UAI culture, “different is dangerous”.  Another aspect of this dimension relates to expressing one’s emotions. In high-UAI cultures such as Italy, it is appropriate to express or display one’s emotions openly, such as in a business meeting or in public.  On the other hand, in low-UAI cultures, one does not openly display emotions (the British “stiff upper lip”, as an example.) 

The Long-term orientation (LTO) dimension represents the fostering of virtues oriented toward future rewards with a particular emphasis on perseverance and thrift. The opposite pole, short-term orientation, has to do with the fostering of virtues related to the past and present, such as the respect for tradition, preservation of “face”, and fulfilling social obligations. 

One of the great things about the Cultural GPS is that you can create a cultural profile for yourself. Why is it so important that we understand our own "cultural profile" when operating in a cross-cultural environment?

As the writer Anais Nin has observed, “we don’t see things as they are, we see things as we are.”  In a way, we are all prisoners of our own cultures.  Based on our mental programming, when we are dealing in a cross-cultural setting, we tend to approach others and expect that they act and behave in ways similar to our own culture.  When others fail to do so, the temptation is to think that there is something wrong with “those Germans” or “those Russians” and in frustration or with irritation we ask: “why can’t they just do it the way it is supposed be done?”

Consequently, it is important to know and understand one’s own cultural profile – it’s like a “default” setting on a computer.  While it can’t be changed, it can be re-set or used with the proper “interface” in order to relate with another person’s cultural setting.

Can you give us a few examples of how each of these dimensions can play out in a common cross-cultural working situation?

Here are three examples:

1) The PDI dimension has to do with Hierarchy.  In a low-PDI culture, a management hierarchy exists for convenience and superiors are accessible.  At the same time, when work is assigned, the task and responsibility are usually equal.  In a high-PDI culture, the management hierarchy represents existential “in-equality” and superiors are often not accessible.  When work is assigned, the power-holder tells the employee what needs to be done and specifies the actions to be taken or not to be taken.  Essentially, the employee waits until told what to do as a matter of course.

When a person of “rank” from a low-PDI culture is meeting with others from a high-PDI culture, s/he should dress and display with the proper degree of status in order to show “power distance.”  In other words, an executive from the US meeting with executives from France should not go into the meeting room in casual attire, displaying plastic pens from a Best Western or Holiday Inn hotel and carrying a canvas backpack.  Rather, the person should dress formally and display an expensive writing instrument which is taken out of a luxurious leather briefcase. Powerful people should try to look as powerful as possible in order to establish credibility.  Of course, an executive from a high-PDI culture would need to understand that it is not important to display status when venturing into a low-PDI culture.

2) The IDV dimension has to do with Identity. In high-IDV cultures, identity is based in the person or individual and s/he fulfills obligations to the “self”, i.e., self-interest, self-actualization.  In a low-IDV culture (or what has been termed “collectivist”), one’s identity is based in the social system and one fulfills obligations to family, the in-group and society.

For people in high-IDV cultures, the primary focus in conducting business is on Task; once the task is accomplished, one might make a superficial attempt at exchanging personal information or in establishing a connection.  In a low-IDV culture, the primary focus in conducting business is on Relationship. In other words, in a Collectivist culture, people do business with people, not companies.

3) The MAS dimension has to do with Gender and it focuses on tough versus tender roles in society.  In a high-MAS culture, the focus is on status, success and achievement. By contrast, countries that score lower on this dimension (Feminine) place more emphasis on the quality of life and serving others.  Those who are in a low-MAS culture “work to live” as opposed to their high-MAS “live to work” counterparts. 

In an interview situation, candidates from a high-MAS culture (US or UK) will tend to assert (perhaps overstate and overestimate is more accurate) their capabilities and past achievements.  This will come across as “bold, arrogant, and self-serving” to an interviewer from a low-MAS culture (Denmark or Norway.)  On the other hand, when candidates from low-MAS cultures interview, they tend to be very low-key and understate or underestimate their capabilities. To an American interviewer, they would come across as “passive, unmotivated and under-achieving.”

For someone who is just starting to explore how culture affects not only their working environment, but also their networking and job search, do you have some resources to recommend where they can learn more?

A good start would be to read Hoftede’s Culture and Organizations: Software of the Mind (2005) which provides extensive background on the dimensions and their applications.

At the very least, one could resort to the various short guides on country cultures available in bookstores or through Amazon.com. Examples are the Culture Smart series or the Xenophobe’s Guides.

The quick-guides to country cultures tend to be superficial but serve to help to make the reader aware of such things as exchanging business cards, what color flowers signify death, or whether to kiss, bow or shake hands – important things to know albeit somewhat shallow information about a culture. 

Ideally, it would be helpful for those interested in developing their cross-cultural competencies to attend one of the itim international training sessions.  The focus of these programs is on “learning how to learn” about cultures as opposed to simply giving or reciting a list of cultural “Do’s and Don’ts”.

If any of your readers have questions or would like additional information, they can send me an e-mail at: jerry@itim.org or visit the website at www.itim.org

Many thanks Jerry for taking the time to share your wisdom and experience here. I look forward to our next plate of pasta in Milano!

Thanks to you, Megan, for inviting me! It’s a pleasure both to know you and to work with you. A presto! 

YOUR EXPAT SUCCESS TIP: If you are an expat working abroad or an aspiring expatriate interested in an international career AND have an iPhone, visit the CulturalGPS website and consider downloading the application. There is a lite version which is free, and a professional version that costs 20 euro. It will help give you insight into how culture differences will play out in the workplace and affect aspects of the international job search.

If you choose not to, or you don't have an iPhone, then consider reading the book, When Cultures Collide: Living Across Cultures by Richard Lewis or visiting CultureActive, a multimedia Cultural Profiler based on the Lewis Model of Culture. These are resources I always recommend to help people get started learning about how to communicate across cultures.

Comments

[Sasha]

Interesting ideas! But does the mere fact of using an iPhone set you apart in many countries in an uncomfortable way? I'm planning to spend 6 months in Brazil and am trying to figure out my phone situation. Although I love all the convenience and amazing apps on the iPhone, I am thinking it would set me apart culturally too much and make me too much a theft target to use one. And I think it would be expensive. Do you use one in Europe? I'm curious if iPhones for expats are increasingly a norm.

[Megan]

Hi Sasha,

Thanks for your comment.

I don't believe that having an iPhone will set you apart in an uncomfortable way in many countries or settings - but of course it depends where you go.

In Brazil there are definitely parts that are known for its high level of crime, so being careful about showcasing anything you own that might be attractive to a thief would be a good idea.

But if you use common sense, I would think it would not be a problem.

Personally I know people that depend on their iPhone for running their businesses while traveling. Carrying an iPhone instead of a laptop is not only easier, but in a sense puts you at less risk for theft or damage of a very important piece of hardware!

As far as the popularity of iPhone, its being sold throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

I would recommend doing research on mobile phone service providers in Brazil so that you can be assured of the most cost effective option.

Have a great time in Brazil!

Megan

[Sasha]

Hi Megan,

Thanks for your thoughts on this! Also saw that you posted this question on Twitter and I'm curious about the response.

Yes, I need to find out how expensive it would be to purchase a Brazilian data and phone plan (using the US version seems too expensive for everyday use). I'm assuming that most expats sign up for a local service plan in the country where they are living.

My iPhone was just stolen actually in the US, and I'm planning to leave for Brazil in a few months, so it's decision time on whether to replace the iPhone or get a less conspicuous lo-fi phone. It's interesting that you say that many expats use their iPhone instead of a laptop. I was planning to look into netbooks since I will blog and write while I am away. I can't imagine doing serious writing on my iPhone, though always was taking notes on it!