Usefulness of Hofstedes National Culture model Essay

Usefulness of Hofstedes National Culture model - Essay Example The main categories include masculinity versus femininity, individualism versus collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, and power distance. Globalization, which is a concept of free trade, has made the world an increasingly intimate place. Intimacy, in this sense, refers to mutual interdependence that countries possess in both cultural and business terms. The 17th and the 18th century trade made businesspersons realize the different potential and benefits that various countries possessed. Furthermore, the ideas of people such as Adam Smith and David Ricardo quantified the prospects of free trade and globalization. However, besides the raw economic benefit of world trade, businesses realized the essence of culture in understanding the behavior of employees and given market. Culture could act either as an impediment or a propeller of business. The Geert Hofstede model is helpful to business organizations in numerous ways. To begin with, the model may help a business organization comprehend the power structures of a society towards designing a corresponding administrative model. In many business organizations, employees constantly question what makes up a good leader. Unfortunately, Geert Hofstede uncovers that there is no particular way of leading a group. Despite the developments of knowledge documents on management, existing cultural conditions influence the attitudes towards power. The concept of power distance helps an organization comprehend the tolerance of a given society towards power inequality. Large power distance societies manifest a greater tolerance towards power inequality in institutions. In this sense, affected organizations should develop administrative structures that possess clear separation of powers (Piepenburg 2011, p. 178). The managers, thus, should acquire considerable power over the employees, w ho are expected to be utterly subordinate to the seniors. Such a culture, therefore,