Managing Across Cultures Russia and Germany Free Essay Example, 4500 words

Diversity in the workplace and organizational culture also affect expatriate s work because people are likely to face problems of gender, marital status, conversations at the workplace, use of non-verbal communication in both Germany and Russia. Furthermore, expatriates should consider the negotiation styles of the two countries. This report, therefore, focuses on dimensions of culture, workplace diversity, communication and negotiation styles of the two countries. The Hofstede s model provides six dimensions of culture: power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, pragmatism, and indulgence. Different countries have different scores in terms of each Hofstede s dimension of culture. In other words, people in different countries have different values and beliefs. These differences cause significant challenges to expatriates in their international assignments. Power distance is concerned with the fact that individuals in different the society cannot be equal. Acc ording to the Hofstede Centre (2014), power distance refers to the level in which members of the society with less power in organizations or institutions expect and accept that power is not distributed equally. Russia has a high score in terms of power distance. This indicates that power is very distant in the society. We will write a custom essay sample on Managing Across Cultures: Russia and Germany or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now This is also demonstrated by the fact that Russia has one of the most centralized systems in which 2/3 of all investments are concentrated in Moscow (Bodin et al 2013, p. The great difference between the less powerful and the more powerful indicates that status symbols are treated with great importance in Russia. Behavior in the region should also represent status roles in various interactions in the society. For instance, interactions in business organizations should be top-down and provide clear roles for each task. On the other hand, the score of Germany on power distance is low. The country is characterized by a strongly decentralized system and mainly occupied by the middle class (The Hofstede Centre 2014). In organizations and institutions of Germany, co-determination rights are taken into account quite extensively.