Trompenaar's Cultural Dimension

differentiating cultures based on their preferences in the following 7 dimensions

Achievement vs Ascriptions

Individualism vs Communitarianism

Internal Direction vs External Direction

Specific vs Diffuse

Sequential Time vs Synchronous Time

Universalism vs Particularism

Neutral vs Affective

this dimension can be summarized by asking what matters the most, rules or relationship ?

cultures based on universalism try to treat all cases the same, even if they involve friends or loved ones.

TIPS FOR WORKING WITH UNIVERSALIST CULTURES

  1. Keep your promises
  1. Be consistent
  1. Explain the logic behind why you have made a certain decision

cultures based on particularism will find relationship more important than rules.

you can bend the rules for family members, close friends or important people.

TIPS FOR WORKING WITH APRTICULARIST CULTURES

1.Invest in building relationships so you can understand the particular needs of others.

  1. Respect these needs as much as possible in your decision making.
  1. Call out specific important rules that must be followed

individualistic cultures believe that your outcomes in life are the result of your choices

this dimension can be summarized by asking do we work as a team or as individuals ?

in these cultures, decision-makers make decision and they don't need to consult to do so

TIPS FOR WORKING WITH INDIVIDUALISTIC CULTURES

  1. Reward and issue praise based on a person's individual performance.
  1. Encourage people to use their own initiative
  1. Align the individual's need with those of the organization.

cultures based on communitarianism believe your quality of life is better when we help each other.

these cultures organize themselves around around groups and have a strong sense of loyalty within the group.

TIPS FOR WORKING WITH COMMUNITARIAN CULTURES

  1. Reward the group for high performance.
  1. Praise the group in public but praise individuals for their contribution in private.
  1. Include the whole team in decision making.

this dimension can be summarized by asking do we show our emotions ?

in a neutral culture, people tend not to share their emotions.

emotions are of course felt by the individual but they are kept in check and controlled

TIPS FOR WORKING WITH NEUTRAL CULTURES

  1. Keep your emotions, both what you say and what your face says, in check
  1. Try to read between the lines of what people are telling because people are less likely to express their true emotions.
  1. After initial chit-chat, stay on topic in meetings.

in an effective culture, people tend to share their emotions, even in the workplace.

it still considered normal that people share their emotions.

TIPS FOR WORKING WITH AFFECTIVE CULTURES

  1. Use emotion to communicate what you want and your goals.
  1. Share how you feel to strengthen your workplace relationsips.
  1. Learn some techniques to diffuse situations where emotions run high.

in a specific culture, people tend to keep their personal work life separate

this dimension can summarized by asking how separate is our personal and professional life ?

these cultures don't see an overlap between the two spheres

TIPS FOR WORKING WITH SPECIFIC CULTURES

  1. Organize agendas for your meetings.
  1. Stick to your agenda as best as you can.
  1. Focus first on setting objectives for people, relationships comes later.

in a diffusive culture, people tend to see their personal and work life as interconnected.

these cultures believe that objectives can be better achieved when relationships are strong.

TIPS FOR WORKING WITH DIFFUSIVE CULTURES

  1. Build your relationships before you starting setting objectives.
  1. Expect invitations to more social occasions from colleagues
  1. Expect to discuss business in social situations and personal matters in the workplace.

in an ascription status, you are given status based on who you are

this dimension can be summarized by asking do we prove ourselves to get status or is it given to us ?

in an achievement culture, you earn status through knowledge or skills

job titles are earned and reflect this knowledge and skills

TIPS FOR WORKING ACHIEVEMENT CULTURES

  1. Issue praise to an individual in front of their peers.
  1. Avoid using titles.
  1. Reward individual performance.

this could be because of your social status, education or age

you will earn respect because of your commitment to the organization, not your abilities

TIPS FOR WORKING WITH ASCRIPTION CULTURES

  1. Use titles to refer to peers.
  1. Pay extra care to show respect to your superiors.

this dimension can be summarized by asking do things get done one at a time or do many things get done at once ?

in a sequential time culture, time is very important.

people like projects to be completed in stages.

time is money and so it is important that each stage is finished on time.

TIPS FOR WORKING WITH SEQUENTIAL TIME CULTURES

  1. Keep to deadlines and commitments.
  1. Try not to deviate from the set schedule.
  1. Show up on time.

in a synchronous time culture, people see the past, present and future as interwoven.

this type of people do several things at once, as time is interchangeable.

TIPS FOR WORKING WITH SYNCHRONOUS TIME CULTURES

  1. Allow people some autonomy within the schedule.
  1. Allow time for people to arrive late to meetings.
  1. Be explicit, calling out any deadlines that are not flexible and must be reached.

this dimension can be summarized by asking do we control our environment or are we controlled by it ?

in an internal direction culture, people believe that they can control their environment to achieve their goals.

the focus is selfish (one's self, one's team and one's organization)

TIPS FOR WORKING WITH INTERNAL DIRECTION CULTURES

  1. Allow people to set their own learning development plans.
  1. Allow a degree of constructive criticism.
  1. Set clear goals and objectives.

in an external direction culture, people believe that they must work with their environment to achieve their goals.

in these cultures, winning is not as important as maintaining a strong relationship.

TIPS FOR WORKING WITH EXTERNAL DIRECTION CULTURES

  1. Rather than set goals, give feedback so as people can correct their mistake.
  1. Allow people autonomy to use their relationships to achieve results.

How To Use The Model

  1. Self-evaluate that any misunderstanding is at root caused by cultural differences.
  1. Score the person against each of the 7 dimensions.
  1. Examine those dimensions with the biggest score. Select from the tips provided for that dimension to attempt resolve the problems.

MUHAMMAD NAIM BIN ROSLI 2019257398 / KBA2463A