IM & PO

Power Distance  Uncertainty Avoidance  Individualism / Collectivism  Masculinity / Femininity  Long term Orientation  Indulgence / Restraint 

well arranged, sophisticadet methodology. provides concrete data, large body of add infos, widely known, applied in practice, base for other empirical studies, replica studies produced similar results 

original study is restricted to one company (IBM) restricted to the level of values BUT symbol systems and basic assumptions are not considered  validity is doubtful original study is old  considers countries rather than cultures, corporate cultures and community culture is not considered !! BUT really important 

consits of three dimensions of culture  1) context  2) time orientation  3) space 

Low-context cultures - focus on what is said (on the content of the message) - everything is said explicitly - good communication has to be precise, simple, clear - messages are expressed and understood at face value - comfortable challenging or contradicting other’s idea - e.g. coffee mugs in the US are marked with „caution - hot“ - e.g. Germany, Switzerland, USA  High context culture  - focus on who says what, when, where and how (on the context of the message) - large part of information is included in the relations between the communicators (age, location, time, standing) - good communication is nuanced, sophisticated, and layered - it is more important to preserve harmony and save face - e.g. concept of „face“ - e.g. Japan, China, Saudi Arabia 

Low-context cultures - focus on what is said (on the content of the message) - everything is said explicitly - good communication has to be precise, simple, clear - messages are expressed and understood at face value - comfortable challenging or contradicting other’s idea - e.g. coffee mugs in the US are marked with „caution - hot“ - e.g. Germany, Switzerland, USA  High context culture  - focus on who says what, when, where and how (on the context of the message) - large part of information is included in the relations between the communicators (age, location, time, standing) - good communication is nuanced, sophisticated, and layered - it is more important to preserve harmony and save face - e.g. concept of „face“ - e.g. Japan, China, Saudi Arabia 

Monochronic cultures - do one thing at a time - strict plans - people are concerned about not disturbing others - following rules of privacy and consideration - importance of punctuality & fixed agendas - linear thinking - e.g. Germany, Japan, USA  Polychronic cultures  - do many things at once - committed to people and human relations, less focus on strict plans - people are more concerned with those who are closely related than with privacy - value loose scheduling & flexible agendas - cyclic thinking - e.g. Argentina, Brasil, India, Saudi Arabia 

- actual physical, but also metaphorical distance - in each culture there are these different spaces, but the concepts that are being included in the different spaces differ from culture to culture - intimate & personal space can be considered as invisible areas which other people should not enter without permission - most people feel uncomfortable when their personal space is invaded - social space is used for conversations with friends, chats with associates and for group discussions - public space is for strangers, newly formed groups and new acquaintances - cultures with wide & high importance of personal space: Germany, Switzerland - cultures with small & low importance of personal space: Argentina, Brasil, Saudi Arabia