Cultural Dimensions of Alizee Airlines †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Cultural Dimensions of Alizee Airlines. Answer: Introduction The Global Leadership and Organisational Behaviour Effectiveness (GLOBE) study on cultural dimensions is one of the most important analysis for companies which are considering entering foreign markets that are markedly different form theirs in terms of culture. The research program was brought about by Robert J. House of Wharton in 1991 and by 2004 to 2007 a comprehensive volume based on 951 companies and middle managers was published on the same.The first step to gauge effectiveness in an organisation and further to leaders GLOBE came up with nine cultural dimensions that make it possible to comprehend the similarities and differences in norms, values, beliefs, and practices among societies. They came up with the findings based by Hofstede (1980), Schwartz (1994), Smith (1995), Inglehart (1994) among others. They include; power distance which clearly illustrates the level which power is distributed to a collective individual equally. Future focus refers to the level of intensity of how people in a group will procrastinate their immediate gratification by planning and investing in the future. Performance orientation is how a collective is rewarded for excellent performance and improvements by group members. Human orientation illustrates how individuals are rewarded and encouraged by a collective for being altruistic, generous, and caring to others. Uncertainty Avoidance is the degree which a society enterprise or group will depend on a social standards, rules and procedure to reduce unpredictability of the future events. Collectivism I (Institutional) this is how institutions practice reward and encourage collective distribution of resources. Collectivism II (in-group) The level which individuals will take pride in their accomplishments, loyalty, and cohesiveness in their organisations. The eighth dimension is Assertiveness will definitely relate to relationships among individuals and their level of aggressiveness, confrontational and assertive dynamics they di splay in the organisation. Lastly, Gender fairness/egalitarianism which is the degree which minimizes gender inequality. Alizee Airlines looks to enter the Brazilian and Malaysian markets, as well as the USA. These three countries are radically different in many ways. For instance, they all have different perspectives towards collectivism, competition, and religion. At the same time, they have different levels of political organization and perception of good governance, and the degree to which the system is fair to all its citizens. The countries are also differentiated by their levels of economic development (Moura, 2013). In this paper, the importance, advantages and disadvantages of these cultural attributes to prospective business endeavours will be discussed, so that Alizee can make the right strategic adjustments to ensure that it succeeds in each of the markets listed above (Hofstede, 2011). Cultural similarities and differences between Brazil, Malaysia and USA Power distance Brazil has a higher power distance index than the USA, which has an index of 40. However, Malaysia has an index of 100. Power distance refers to the extent to which people in a country believe that hierarchy should be respected, and that unequal power distribution among citizens is acceptable. While all three countries have a remarkably higher power distance index, it is higher in Malaysia in part due to its religious and cultural views. According to Hofstedes research, Muslim majority countries are more likely to have a higher power distance than others, due to Quranic decrees for people to obey authority. The country is also a monarchy, albeit constitutional but one which still holds a lot of sway over the countrys political and social dynamics (Moura, 2013). Brazil was until recently under a military dictatorship, which was responsible for the unequal power distribution that persists to this day. The country is also regarded as one of the major economic powers in the Americas. The rapid economic growth has led to a wider gap between the rich and the poor, thereby enhancing the power distance index (Nobles, 2013). For the United States, there is more belief that power is evenly distributed. However, its legacy of institutionalised racism still has residual effects, which mean that the country has among the highest PDIs in the Western developed world (Peter, 2011). Collectivism I Collectivism II Brazil and Malaysia have relatively lower levels of individualism at 38 and 26 respectively, in comparison to the United States, at 91. The Level of individualism is referred to as the level of interdependence which a society has between its members. The opposite of individualism is collectivism. The United States is a thoroughly capitalistic country, in which the people expect justice and liberty for all. Hierarchy is a matter of convenience, rather than an established cultural norm. For Brazil however, people have a strong affinity to groups, and strongly identify with them. They are supposed to take care of each other. This is the same case in Malaysia (Shi Wang, 2011). In Malaysia, as is the case with Brazil, individuals at the work place place a strong importance on their relationships with fellow employees. This is different in the US, where the individuals are keener on their jobs, rather than on how well they relate with each other. They are also unlikely to refer to each other by their last names, as a means of finding out more about the social ties of each other (Shi Wang, 2011). Perfomance Orientation In the three countries, the index for masculinity is high, with the scores for Brazil, the US and Malaysia being 49, 62 and 50 respectively. Masculinity refers to the acceptability of competition in society. In all three countries, being a winner is an important part of measuring success. This measure is ingrained throughout the school system. It is worth nothing that as the three countries has capitalistic forms of government; their countries have a high level of competitiveness (Hofstede, 2011). The quality of life is also important. However, people are not necessarily seen as successful in society due to their ability to care for their fellow countrymen. They are seen as successful by being the richest the most popular, the most intelligent, among other measures. Uncertainty Avoidance Brazil has the highest levels of uncertainty avoidance, with an index of 76. It is followed by the US which has 46, with Malaysia having 36 as the uncertainty avoidance index. Uncertainty avoidance refers to the way in which a society tries to work with the fact that the future is not known. Sometimes, countries may try to control the future (Nobles, 2013). In other instances, the countries may just be prepared for whatever happens. Brazilians try to control the way the future will unfold. They therefore have highly bureaucratic society, in which the observance of laws is very high. Though uncertainty avoidance is low in the United States, the society is preoccupied with mitigating uncertainty caused by terrorism and immigration, thereby coming up with stricter laws to help control these uncertainties (Shi Wang, 2011). Malaysia is alike other South Asian countries, which have a low uncertainty avoidance index. It does not have the same aspirations to control the future and uncertainty as the US and Brazil would want to. This is well represented in the actions of its people, whereby Brazilians are the most expressive, and Malaysians being the last (Moura, 2013). Future Focus Future Focus is below average in all three countries. It is lowest in the United States at 26, followed at 41 by Malaysia, and Brazil at 44. This index refers to the extent to which a society maintains links with its past while dealing with present and future challenges and gratification. In Brazil there is a higher emphasis on the past as a means of changing the present and future. At the same time, people in the country are suspicious about change, though not to the extent seen on countries which have an above average index (Peter, 2011). All three countries are in a perpetual process of change. While they have strong traditions, they have successfully formed modern societies. They have also been able to draw on their pasts to build strong modern countries in, and are likely to continue doing so in future. Assertiveness, Human Orientation and Gender Equality All the three countries are similar with regard to these dimensions. They both have strong degrees of which they encourage and reward their individuals with regard to their kindness, fairness and generosity to others in the society. Assertiveness is more in the United States as compared to Brazil and Malaysia. Individuals in the US are likely to be aggressive and dynamic in their relations to others at work place as well as in the society and this is further affected by religion and culture. Malaysia and United States are stronger with gender equality as opposed to Brazil. Cultural analysis The cultural similarities and differences highlighted in the discussion above suggest that different approaches must be taken to ensure the company succeeds in attracting customers by way of enhancing their experiences. The first among these is the power distance index. In the US and Brazil, it will be of critical importance for the company to provide as much information and a high quality customer service to its customers. The individuals will be looking for a well defined offering, since they may not be deferential to the company and ignore quality in determining whether to sign up for it (Kooyers, 2015). In terms of future focus, the US will call for a different approach to Brazil and Malaysia. In the US, the customers will focus more on what the company can do for them, in terms of the services offered. For the Malaysians and Brazilians however, the people serving in the company are as important. They will require the companies to have a local touch, meaning that they may need to have employees who are well versed in local cultures so that they can help the customers identify more closely with it. Information in the websites should be geared towards providing as much information as possible, since they are less likely than Americans to ask for this information directly (Kooyers, 2015). All three countries are masculine, meaning that in terms of what Alizee Airlines doe to them in terms of product offering must be of a higher level than competitors. This will be more in line with the above aspects of individualism and PDI. Masculinity for the three countries mans that the company needs to pride itself as the best in what it does, rather than appealing to customers through its concern for social responsibility, environmental conservation and other noble causes, which do not depict masculinity (Nobles, 2013). Uncertainty avoidance should be a concern for all three countries in the report. For instance, the Brazilians will prefer a website which has well detailed information that makes allowances for failure, and what to do in such instances. It should also have a well documented schedule of rules that the company agrees to abide b, and what it expects from the customers. While the other two countries markets will need this as well, the emphasis should not be too much. The countries will be more concerned about the quality of service they get, since they either expect the future to be taken care of by the company, or it to be too complicated to handle (Hofstede, 2011). For all countries, there should be a distinct reference to the countries glorious pasts. These countries all have a long and proud history, that people are generally proud of, and which they see as the reason they are making their current progress. To appeal to their sense of social belonging and nationality, it may be important for Alizee airlines to carefully customise the website for this. It should be clear that the website belongs to the individual country, rather than the reproduction of the page for another country. The pride with which these countries hold their societies also means that the language choices should by English and Spanish for the US, Portuguese for Brazil and Malay for Malaysia (Hofstede, 2011). Conclusion The United States, Brazil and Malaysia all share similarities that can be used to further the business interests of Alizee Airlines. The three countries have open market economies, have a democratic system of government, and are close allies. However, they have marked cultural differences, which mean that the approach of the organization to them needs to be different. Recommendations The issues that occasion these differences are rooted in tradition religion, and past history. The military rule in Brazil, political crises in Malaysia, as well as the 9/11 attacks in the US have for instance shaped how some of these countries individuals react to some of the measures in the GLOBE research. It is therefore imperative for the organization to adopt the model and the recommendations contained herein so that it can succeed in different cultures. References Moura, E. (2013). CONTRADICTING HOFSTEDE:Are Brazilian and American Cultures Really Different? The Global Journal of Finance and Economics, 10(1), 75-85. Nobles, G. (2013). Culture and Ethics: A comparison Between Japan the USA. Cambridge Business and Economics Conference, vol. 2, no.3: 1-23. Peter, R. (2011). Exiting China: Procedures to Ensure the Orderly Liquidation of a Business.Houston Journal of International Law, vol. 33, no.3: 9-43. Shi, X., Wang, J. (2011). Interpreting Hofstede Model and GLOBE Model: Which Way to Go for Cross-Cultural Research? International Journal of Business and Management, 6(5), 93-99. Hofstede, G. (2011). Dimensionalizing Cultures: The Hofstede Model in Context.Online readings in Psychology and Culture, 2(8):3-89 Kooyers, J. (2015). The United States and Spain: A Comparison of Cultural Values and Behaviors and Their Implications for the Multi-Cultural Workplace. Honors papers, 399. Schwartz, S. H., U. Kim et al. (1994). "Beyond Individualism/Collectivism: New Cultural Dimensions of Values." In Individualism and Collectivism: Theory, Methods, and Applications. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage,