Assignment Sample on M31738 Management Development
Introduction
This essay will be focusing on an ethical issue or dilemma that is faced by various people around the world and the issues will be explored through Hofstede’s cultural dimensional model. Ethical dilemmas are also known as ethical paradoxes that create conflicts in terms of moral requirements for an individual. Discrimination is the most prevalent ethical issue or dilemmas faced by people of different cultured. It is commonly being faced at the workplace and in other instances within a society. This ethical issue not only affects the lives of an individual but also disturbs the whole workplace culture. In this respect, the current essay will be analysing the ethical issue of discrimination among various cultured people further highlighting different dimensions of Hofstede’s cultural model for its mitigation.
Thesis statement of the essay: Setting the values presented by Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions will help mitigate ethical dilemmas.
Discussion
Firstly, it can be analysed that ethical issues create a high impact on the lives of the individual alongside the culture of a place. As illustrated from the thoughts of Manžuch (2017), ethical issues create a moral dilemma within an individual that tends to affect the performance within the society or a business domain. In addition to this, it also impacts the lifestyle of an individual. Besides, as stated by Lo, Waters & Christensen (2017), ethical issues within a business domain tend to impact the organisational credibility, it also hampers the cultural environment within a domain and thus the organisation fails to accomplish a proper work culture.
Secondly, discrimination as stated above is one of the biggest prevailing ethical dilemmas faced by individuals within a society or in a business environment. As per Beugelsdijk, Kostova & Roth (2017), discrimination within the workplace is likely to impact the owner of the business the most that the individual itself. It is because, as a result of discrimination, the organisation will fail to achieve proper credibility within the market, this further results in low productivity within the domain and a disturbing workplace. Discrimination within a workplace or society is being faced for several reasons. These include age, disability, equal pay, gender, race, religion, pregnancy and others. It impacts the morale of an individual adversely and creates difficulty for survival within the domain.
Furthermore, the values provided by Hofstede’s cultural dimension theory are inspired by the religions of fifty different countries. As mentioned by Vollero et al. (2020), the analysis of the cultural statistics through Hofstede’s theory can be attributed to the national differences alongside minimising the impact of the culture within an organisational domain. The first dimension of Hofstede’s theory indicates the Power Distance Index (PDI). High PDI reflects the unequal distribution of power among the hierarchies further indicating a complex structure alongside large caps in the aspects of compensation and respect towards the employees. On the other hand, as argued by Huang & Crotts (2019), low PDI reflects proper organisations with equal distribution of power among the hierarchies and individuals. Based on this analysis, it can be stated that low PDI among the organisations or society can be effective in mitigating discrimination further providing equal chances to the different cultured people.
Besides, the second and third of Hofstede’s cultural dimension theory indicates Individualism versus Collectivism (IDV) and Masculinity versus Femininity (MAS) respectively Kristjánsdóttir et al. (2017). A high IDV indicates a high value for the people’s time alongside respect for privacy. This indicates a weak interpersonal connection between individuals. On the other hand, low IDV emphasis the skills of building and maintaining a proper harmony and relationship with the other members within a domain. As a result of this, maintaining low IDV can create a positive relationship and the chances of discrimination can be decreased. Moreover, the MAS dimension of this theory indicates the distribution of the roles among the male and female within a society. High MAS is characterised by string ego between the mentioned group alongside the importance of achievement and money while low MAS indicates relationship-focused and equal chances between the groups. However, as argued by Bissessar (2018), women within the society are always discriminated against by men and not provided with an equal opportunity as the male population. Therefore, maintaining a low MAS index as per the theory will help in bringing equality among men and women and mitigate discrimination of gender.
Lastly, the fourth, fifth and sixth index of the theory reflects the Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI), Long term versus short term orientation and Indulgence versus Restraint (IVR). As depicted by Beugelsdijk & Welzel (2018), high UAI indicates a conservative and rigid society while low UAI indicates a more open and inclusive society with change of change management. This indicates that society having low UAI is likely to gain a new perspective and maybe against discrimination. Besides, countries that are long term oriented are not reserved towards religious value and are open-minded revealing fewer chances of discrimination while the countries with short term orientation are typically reserved and hence discrimination takes place more in these countries. Besides, high indulge is likely to focus on personal happiness and are optimistic. Hence, implementing proper dimensions such as high indulgence, low PDI, low IDV, low MAS, low UAI and values of long term orientation can be effective in mitigating discrimination from the society or the business domain.
Conclusion
From the above essay, it can be concluded that discrimination among the different cultured people serves as the largest ethical issues faced in the current world. Discrimination is not characterised by a different culture, it also includes differences in age, gender, unequal pay and many other aspects. Commonly, discriminations are faced within the business domains. However, the dimensions provided in Hofstede’s cultural dimension theory can be effective in mitigating the ethical issue of discrimination from society. These include the value of long term orientation and high indulgence for a more inclusive, optimistic and open-minded culture assisting to reduce discrimination. Besides, low UAI, low MAS and low PDI can be effective in implementing equality among the people further providing equal power and respect within the domain. Hence, the thesis statement of the essay setting the values presented by Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions will help mitigate ethical dilemmas is justified.
Reference list
Beugelsdijk, S. & Welzel, C. (2018). Dimensions and dynamics of national culture: Synthesizing Hofstede with Inglehart. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 49(10), 1469-1505. Retrieved on 20 February 2021, from: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0022022118798505
Beugelsdijk, S., Kostova, T., & Roth, K. (2017). An overview of Hofstede-inspired country-level culture research in international business since 2006. Journal of International Business Studies, 48(1), 30-47. Retrieved on 20 February 2021, from: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41267-016-0038-8
Bissessar, C. (2018). An application of Hofstede’s cultural dimension among female educational leaders. Education sciences, 8(2), 77. Retrieved on 20 February 2021, from: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/8/2/77/pdf
Huang, S. S., & Crotts, J. (2019). Relationships between Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and tourist satisfaction: A cross-country cross-sample examination. Tourism Management, 72, 232-241. Retrieved on 20 February 2021, from: https://123project.ir/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Relationships-between-Hofstedes-cultural-dimensions-and-tourist-satisfaction-A-cross-country-cross-sample-examination.pdf
Kristjánsdóttir, H., Guðlaugsson, Þ. Ö., Guðmundsdóttir, S., & Aðalsteinsson, G. D. (2017). Hofstede national culture and international trade. Applied Economics, 49(57), 5792-5801. Retrieved on 20 February 2021, from: https://www.academia.edu/download/62052173/2017_Kristjansdottir_et-al-Applied-Economics20200210-85121-11555t0.pdf
Lo, K.D., Waters, R.D. & Christensen, N. (2017). Assessing the applicability of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions for Global 500 corporations’ Facebook profiles and content. Journal of Communication Management, 48(1), 30-47. Retrieved on 20 February 2021, from: https://repository.usfca.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1021&context=olc
Vollero, A., Siano, A., Palazzo, M., & Amabile, S. (2020). Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and corporate social responsibility in online communication: Are they independent constructs?.Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 27(1), 53-64. Retrieved on 20 February 2021, from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/csr.1773
