Paper Summary:

The paper addresses the significant gaps in how cross-cultural teams perceive each other. The paper examines Hofstede's five cultural dimensions model that shows how variations between cultures can be quantified and analyzed to determine the best possible strategies for enabling greater dialogue and communication. The paper also points out the need to nurture trust over time in order to overcome ethnocentrism.

Outline:
Introduction
Setting the Foundation for Intercultural Dialogue
Dialogue and Trust
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"The second cultural dimension, Individualism (IDV) measures a cultures' propensity to form tight groups or have a strong collectivism mindset, relative to a strong individualist approach of loosely defined connections throughout a group. Strong individualist societies including the United States focus on ensuring the immediate family is taken care of; collectivist societies are more focused on the entire group or extended family. In terms of dialogue and the ability to attain levels of trust across cultures, knowing a given country's level of individualism versus collectivism is vitally important. The defining of the cultural context of individualism versus collectivism is critically important for defining the context of a dialogue and discussion. Creating empathy and a shared sense of observation, perception and perspective is critically important for dialogues across cultures to be successful (Yankelovich, 2007). Additional cultural dimensions include how roles within a culture are assigned by gender, or the delineation of Masculinity (MAS) versus femininity. Analysis of the MAS index value shows that women have a higher level of congruity over perceptions of role-based values versus men, who have significantly different perceptions of their roles, even amongst themselves within a given culture (Hofstede, 1998). Imagine having to create a multinational team that allows for men to have leadership locally in a culture with a high MAS score yet be subordinate to a woman in the U.S."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bernoff, J., & Li, C. (2008). Harnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Web. MIT Sloan Management Review, 49(3), 36-42.
• Ross A Hammond, & Robert Axelrod. (2006). The Evolution of Ethnocentrism. The Journal of Conflict Resolution, 50(6), 926-936.
• Geert Hofstede. (1998). Identifying organizational subcultures: An empirical approach. The Journal of Management Studies, 35(1), 1-12.
• Marques, J., Dhiman, S., & King, R. (2009). What Really Matters at Work in Turbulent Times. Business Renaissance Quarterly, 4(1), 13-29.
• Nam, S. (2009). Cultural Influence on Loyalty Behaviors. The Business Review, Cambridge, 12(2), 212-219.

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