Page 440 - Cultures and Organizations

Intercultural Encounters 405

■ Public sympathy and legislation on behalf of economically and
socially weak members of society are more likely in low-MAS
countries.
■ Public sympathy and both government and private funding for aid to
economically weak countries and for disaster relief anywhere in the

world will be stronger in affluent low-MAS countries than in affl uent
high-MAS countries.
■ Public sympathy and legislation on behalf of environmental conserva-
tion and maintaining the quality of life are more likely in low-PDI,
low-MAS countries.

In world business there is a growing tendency for tariff and technolog-
ical advantages to wear off, which automatically shifts competition, besides
toward economic factors, toward cultural advantages or disadvantages.
On at least the fi rst five dimensions of national culture, any position of a

country offers potential competitive advantages as well as disadvantages;
these are summarized in Table 11.1.
Table 11.1 serves to show that no country can be good at everything;
cultural strengths imply cultural weaknesses. Chapter 10 arrived at a simi-

TABLE 11.1 Competitive Advantages of Different Cultural Profi les in
International Competition

Power Distance (small) Power Distance (large)
Acceptance of responsibility Discipline
Uncertainty Avoidance (weak) Uncertainty Avoidance (strong)
Basic innovations Precision

Collectivism Individualism

Employee commitment Management mobility
Femininity Masculinity
Personal service Mass production
Custom-made products Effi ciency
Agriculture Heavy industry
Food Chemistry
Biochemistry Bulk chemistry
Short-Term Orientation Long-Term Orientation
Fast adaptation Developing new markets