Specific Cultural Dimensions Research Articles

Cultural Roots Of Corruption - The Case Of Western Balkans

Corruption is the biggest obstacle to equality of market opportunities and it is generated by great power of the state administration, lack of transparency, lack of control authority mechanisms and uncontrolled power of individuals within the state authorities. Such conditions for corruption are created by the authoritarian systems, including various forms of individual, military or ideological tyranny. This is a significant economic, political and ethical issue. In order to be better understood and effectively eradicated, it is necessary to understand how different cultures accept corruption and the relationship between corruption and specific dimensions of culture. In this paper attention is focused on the relationship of specific aspects of culture and corruption, relying on existing experimental studies. The purpose of this paper is to check the belief expressed in the literature on the example of the Western Balkans that high power distance culture is the key cultural element which creates the conditions for the emergence and acceptance of corruption in a society. The dimensions of culture identified by Geerd Hofstede are used in the analysis and power distance is identified as the most important dimension for generating corruption in society. Using comparative analysis of power distance index and corruption index possible connections between them can be identified. This leads us to the conclusion that power distance as one of the key cultural dimensions influence the level of corruption in society. As basic research limitations the following have been identified: the complexity of the phenomenon of culture of which power distance is only one element, and the fact that corruption is a complex social phenomenon, on which, apart from culture, other important factors have influence. This implies that in the activities intended for eradiction of corruption it is practically necessary to thake into account the need to change culture, which is a slow and difficulty process, but not impossible one. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n22p467

United Nations Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5: Augmenting the role of health professional associations

The present study aimed to assess changes in the organizational capacity of health professional associations (HPAs) before and after a structured capacity building intervention, which included strategic investment of resources at institutional and technical levels. Self-assessments of organizational capacity were conducted by seven HPAs from low-resource countries involved in the FIGO Leadership in Obstetrics and Gynecology for Impact and Change (LOGIC) Initiative in Maternal and Newborn Health. The self-assessment tool comprised a questionnaire focusing on five core organizational dimensions, completed through a participatory and externally facilitated process. Differences were assessed using the two-sided sign test. All seven HPAs made improvements, with gains in an overall index (P=0.017) and in the specific dimensions of culture (P=0.016), operational capacity (P=0.016), performance (P=0.03), and functions (P=0.016). Increased capacity contributed to the ability of each HPA to enhance their credibility and assume leadership in national efforts to improve maternal and newborn health.

Cultural Roots Of Corruption - The Case Of Western Balkans

Corruption is the biggest obstacle to equality of market opportunities and it is generated by great power of the state administration, lack of transparency, lack of control authority mechanisms and uncontrolled power of individuals within the state authorities. Such conditions for corruption are created by the authoritarian systems, including various forms of individual, military or ideological tyranny. This is a significant economic, political and ethical issue. In order to be better understood and effectively eradicated, it is necessary to understand how different cultures accept corruption and the relationship between corruption and specific dimensions of culture. In this paper attention is focused on the relationship of specific aspects of culture and corruption, relying on existing experimental studies. The purpose of this paper is to check the belief expressed in the literature on the example of the Western Balkans that high power distance culture is the key cultural element which creates the conditions for the emergence and acceptance of corruption in a society. The dimensions of culture identified by Geerd Hofstede are used in the analysis and power distance is identified as the most important dimension for generating corruption in society. Using comparative analysis of power distance index and corruption index possible connections between them can be identified. This leads us to the conclusion that power distance as one of the key cultural dimensions influence the level of corruption in society. As basic research limitations the following have been identified: the complexity of the phenomenon of culture of which power distance is only one element, and the fact that corruption is a complex social phenomenon, on which, apart from culture, other important factors have influence. This implies that in the activities intended for eradiction of corruption it is practically necessary to thake into account the need to change culture, which is a slow and difficulty process, but not impossible one. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n22p467

Child Socialization Goals in East Asian versus Western Nations from 1989 to 2010: Evidence for Social Change in Parenting

SYNOPSISObjective. This study examines East Asian versus Western parents’ valuation of child socialization goals and aims to shed light on the contributions of social change and sociodemographic factors to child socialization. Design. Using global surveys of values in three waves from 1989 to 2010, we examined East Asian and Western parents’ endorsement of 10 socialization goals. Results. Contrary to the widespread individualist-collectivist dichotomy, East Asian parents were more likely than Western parents to prize canonical individualist socialization goals (e.g., independence), and Western parents were relatively higher than East Asian parents in their endorsement of obedience, unselfishness, and tolerance/respect as valued child qualities. Additionally, parents were more likely to endorse individualist socialization and less likely to value collectivist socialization if they were born in later birth cohorts, had higher education and income, and used more information/technology. The findings were similar across mothers and fathers. Conclusions. Our study challenges stereotypical assumptions about East Asian versus Western parents. It advocates for the consideration of specific cultural dimensions as well as social class and generational differences in understanding child socialization cross-culturally.

Singapore Sling: How Coercion May Cure the Hangover in Financial Benchmark Governance

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has formalized a set of principles designed to restore confidence in a range of systemically important financial benchmarks. The alacrity with which IOSCO has moved and its endorsement by the G20 is notable. It is far from clear, however, whether the principles provide a basis for sustainable reform. This derives from diametrically conflicting views within IOSCO as to whether benchmarks based on hypothetical submissions can be reformed or must be replaced by systems anchored in observed transactions. As a consequence the principles paper over rather than resolve core ethical deficiencies exposed in a still metastasizing scandal. The paper examines how and why the IOSCO process has privileged symbolism over substance. It then evaluates an alternative approach. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has developed an innovative solution whereby contributing banks to the Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (Sibor) are mandated to privilege the integrity of the benchmark over individual institutional reputational or litigation risk. This regulatory re-engineering of risk management integrates rules, principles and social norms to forge restraint. The paper concludes that this holistic approach, once calibrated to the specific political, economic and cultural dimensions of specific markets, is more likely to embed ethical decision-making, reduce the risk of institutional corruption and achieve socially beneficial outcomes.

Testing a theory of organizational culture, climate and youth outcomes in child welfare systems: A United States national study

Theories of organizational culture and climate (OCC) applied to child welfare systems hypothesize that strategic dimensions of organizational culture influence organizational climate and that OCC explains system variance in youth outcomes. This study provides the first structural test of the direct and indirect effects of culture and climate on youth outcomes in a national sample of child welfare systems and isolates specific culture and climate dimensions most associated with youth outcomes. The study applies multilevel path analysis (ML-PA) to a U.S. nationwide sample of 2,380 youth in 73 child welfare systems participating in the second National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being. Youths were selected in a national, two-stage, stratified random sample design. Youths’ psychosocial functioning was assessed by caregivers’ responses to the Child Behavior Checklist at intake and at 18-month follow-up. OCC was assessed by front-line caseworkers’ (N=1,740) aggregated responses to the Organizational Social Context measure. Comparison of the a priori and subsequent trimmed models confirmed a reduced model that excluded rigid organizational culture and explained 70% of the system variance in youth outcomes. Controlling for youth- and system-level covariates, systems with more proficient and less resistant organizational cultures exhibited more functional, more engaged, and less stressful climates. Systems with more proficient cultures and more engaged, more functional, and more stressful climates exhibited superior youth outcomes. Findings suggest child welfare administrators can support service effectiveness with interventions that improve specific dimensions of culture and climate.

Workplace bullying across cultures

Workplace bullying has increasingly become of interest to scholars and practicing managers due to its creation of dysfunctional intraorganizational conflict and its negative effects on employees and the workplace. Although studies have explored bullying in different cultural contexts, little research exists that provides a comparison of bullying behaviors across cultural dimensions. This article describes a new research agenda that analyzes the impact of specific cultural dimensions—assertiveness, in-group collectivism, and power distance—on organizational bullying. An expanded categorization of bullying prevalence and form is also proposed, with implications for both future research and organizational practice provided.

The interaction between axes of inequality in studies on discrimination, stigma and HIV/AIDS: Contributions to the recent international literature

This study aimed to conduct a systematic literature review in order to identify how recent studies have addressed the interaction between social inequality and the processes of exclusion and marginalisation related to HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination. The review was conducted using PubMed and Scopus databases and included publications from 2008 to 2011. Of 497 summaries found in the review, 42 were selected and classified based on topic, population, axes of inequality employed, conceptualisation of stigma and relationship between stigma and vulnerability. Results demonstrated that there is a predominance of research on stigma and discrimination towards people living with HIV/AIDS, sexual and racial/ethnic minorities and migrants. The axes of inequality examined in the literature were linked to specific cultural and socio-economic dimensions and analysed as factors that behave synergistically to increase social groups' vulnerability to HIV. Half of the 42 articles viewed expression of stigma/discrimination to be the result of power dynamics that reinforce the processes of social exclusion. The other half of the articles tended to describe stigma as intrinsic to social interaction. Some researchers are making a visible effort to devise consistent theoretical and methodological approaches in order to understand stigma as a complex social process produced at the intersection of different axes of inequality. These efforts provide vital information that can inform how best to address HIV/AIDS stigma.

CNE Article: Safety Culture In Australian Intensive Care Units: Establishing A Baseline For Quality Improvement

Workplace safety culture is a crucial ingredient in patients' outcomes and is increasingly being explored as a guide for quality improvement efforts. To establish a baseline understanding of the safety culture in Australian intensive care units. In a nationwide study of physicians and nurses in 10 Australian intensive care units, the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire intensive care unit version was used to measure safety culture. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the mean scores for the 6 subscales of the questionnaire, and generalized-estimation-equations models were used to test the hypotheses that safety culture differed between physicians and nurses and between nurse leaders and bedside nurses. A total of 672 responses (50.6% response rate) were received: 513 (76.3%) from nurses, 89 (13.2%) from physicians, and 70 (10.4%) from respondents who did not specify their professional group. Ratings were highest for teamwork climate and lowest for perceptions of hospital management and working conditions. Four subscales, job satisfaction, teamwork climate, safety climate, and working conditions, were rated significantly higher by physicians than by nurses. Two subscales, working conditions and perceptions of hospital management, were rated significantly lower by nurse leaders than by bedside nurses. Measuring the baseline safety culture of an intensive care unit allows leaders to implement targeted strategies to improve specific dimensions of safety culture. These strategies ultimately may improve the working conditions of staff and the care that patients receive.

"Past experience, cultural intelligence, and satisfaction with international business studies"

Despite significant increases in international business education, and cultural competence in particular, in U.S. classrooms we still know relatively little about the roles of specific cultural intelligence dimensions relative to how students affectively respond to such education. This article examines the relationship between prior international experience, cultural intelligence, and satisfaction with international business studies in U.S. college students. Using path analysis, our data indicate that prior international experience relates positively to all dimensions of cultural intelligence and that only metacognitive cultural intelligence and motivational cultural intelligence relate to increased satisfaction with the study of international business.

Past Experience, Cultural Intelligence, and Satisfaction With International Business Studies

Despite significant increases in international business education, and cultural competence in particular, in U.S. classrooms we still know relatively little about the roles of specific cultural intelligence dimensions relative to how students affectively respond to such education. This article examines the relationship between prior international experience, cultural intelligence, and satisfaction with international business studies in U.S. college students. Using path analysis, our data indicate that prior international experience relates positively to all dimensions of cultural intelligence and that only metacognitive cultural intelligence and motivational cultural intelligence relate to increased satisfaction with the study of international business.

Rebuilding Hope on Josina Machel Island: Towards a Culturally Mediated Model of Psychotherapeutic Intervention

ABSTRACTAided by the growing interest in the cultural dimensions of psychology, the experiences of psychologists working with communities under wartime duress and in the immediate post‐war context have forced us to re‐think our understanding of trauma and psychotherapeutic intervention. Recognizing the role of culture has allowed us to rethink trauma‐in‐context, how people and communities understand trauma, and how to explore the most effective psychotherapeutic treatments in these post‐war cultural contexts. Dawes and Honwana (Children, culture and mental health: Interventions in Conditions of War. In B. Efraime Jr, P. Riedesser, J. Walter, H. Adam, & P. Steudtner (Eds), Children, war and persecution – rebuilding hope. Maputo: Rebuilding Hope, 1998) suggest a holistic view of the individual‐in‐context in order to fully understand the meaning an individual brings and gives to a stressful experience. This perspective allows also for an understanding of the healing resources within a community available to the individual, and the psychologist, dealing with a traumatic event.By exploring both the universal and specific cultural dimensions of trauma, while working with former child soldiers on Josina Machel Island, Mozambique, the authors seek to illuminate how these cultural dimensions, and wealth of healing resources, shaped their understanding of culture in the treatment process and the creation of treatment teams. A comprehensive cultural understanding also allowed the author to use and integrate important cultural dimensions of understanding in to the treatment process to aid in the elaboration of traumatic events associated with being a child soldier. These treatment methods are described via a case example, which represents much of the work carried out with the community of Josina Machel. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The impact of organizational culture and social desirability on Australian CEO leadership

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine empirically the effect of cultural and social acceptance on CEO leadership.Design/methodology/approachSeveral instruments were used to capture key concepts (i.e. Organisational Culture Profile, Marlowe‐Crowne Social Desirability Scale, Transformational Leadership Inventory, and Leader Reward and Punishment Questionnaire), which were examined using confirmatory factor analysis. Data were collected from 635 Australian CEOs.FindingsThe results of hierarchical multi‐regression analysis clarified the importance of self‐deception and impression management as influential context factors, and how both operate at the pinnacle of organisations. The study also identifies that transformational and transactional leadership behaviours were uniquely influenced by specific cultural dimensions, and suggests that CEOs use combinations of these behaviours to respond to four cultural dimensions (i.e. emphasis on rewards, performance orientation, innovation, and stability) in order to produce competitive advantages.Research limitations/implicationsThe study highlights how CEOs are still vulnerable to conforming to the social norms of their organisation and also how CEOs use a repertoire of leadership behaviours, in response to the importance of different cultural dimensions.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the leadership literature by directly addressing how context impacts on CEO leadership in three specific areas: social acceptance needs, demographics and culture. Further, the study investigates CEO transformational and transactional leadership behaviours rather than global constructs, and directly addresses the common method variance issue.

E‐learning in India: the role of national culture and strategic implications

PurposeThe primary purpose of this research paper is to understand the role of national cultural dimensions on e‐learning practices in India. India is considered a major player in the world economy today. US multinationals are significantly increasing their presence in India and understanding cultural preferences will help global companies transition better.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual paper uses the national cultural dimensions of the global leadership and organizational behavior effectiveness project, which is identified as the most topical theoretical framework on culture. The national cultural scores are used to develop hypotheses for specific cultural dimensions. Examples from the literature are also used to strengthen the proposed hypotheses.FindingsThis research proposes that national cultural dimensions of power distance, uncertainty avoidance, in‐group collectivism, and future‐orientation influence e‐learning practices. This study distinguishes between synchronous and asynchronous methods of e‐learning and the role of culture on the same. Future research can definitely empirically test the hypotheses proposed.Practical implicationsThis study provides strategic implications for multinationals with a guide sheet identifying the role of the various cultural dimensions on e‐learning. The suggested strategies can be implemented by multinationals in other countries with similar national cultural dimensions also.Originality/valueThis research also proposes a theoretical e‐learning model identifying the impact of national cultural dimensions on e‐learning practices. This research also provides practitioners a strategic implications model that could be implemented for e‐learning initiatives in multinationals.

Lost in Translation: Cultural Interpretations of Performance Pay

No pay system should be put into practice unless it is congruent with the values of the people it will affect. Cross-cultural research suggests performance pay is a poor fit for some cultures, although its actual use is rising throughout these very same cultures. This seeming contradiction is investigated through an exploratory, qualitative analysis to understand how performance pay translates across cultures. Findings call for (a) appropriate level of cultural aggregation, (b) focus on pay equity construal rather than preference and (c) attention to specific dimensions of culture identified as potentially most predictive of equity construal.

The challenges of Social Work education in Europe

In my presentation I will explore the situation of social work education in Europe, looking at the challenges of the XXI Century, underlining the effects and the demands arising from the application of the Bologna process and stressing the importance of developing innovative experiences in training, that focus more on competences and on an international dimension in education. Social work education initially grew in Europe at different stages from the beginning of XX th century till the end of the second world war, but also had a new and important “rebirth” after the crash of the communist regime in the central eastern part of Europe. In the last two decades the creation or re-opening of social work education in eastern European countries has been of considerable significance. What does ‘social work’ mean today and what currently are the social professions being referred to in different European countries? Authors like Lyons, Lawrence (eds.2006) and Lorenz (2006), among others, deal with the topic of social professions in Europe, with a particular focus on the role covered by education in preparing social workers. Education in social work is worthy of such a sustained focus, because of its unique nature in reflecting specific cultural and contextual dimensions. Historical backgrounds, social policy trends, pedagogical and disciplinary relationships and ‘politics’ all have implications for the way in which training in social work has been established in different countries. Local factors and European policy developments are all important elements in determining in what way social work education is evolving in terms of structure, curricula and pedagogical issues.

Associations of Culture and Personality With McClelland’s Motives: A Cross-Cultural Study of Managers in 24 Countries

Using a cross-cultural sample of 17,538 managers from 24 countries, this study explores the interrelationships between McClelland’s motives and specific aggregate-level cultural dimensions and personality factors. The results reveal significant relationships between the Achievement, Affiliation, and Power Motives, and the cultural dimensions of Performance Orientation, Humane Orientation, and Power Distance, respectively. Support for posited relationships between the managers’ motives and aggregate-level personality, as measured by the Big Five factors, was also obtained. Finally, the results demonstrate that the relationships between McClelland’s motives and managers’ aggregate-level Big Five factors are moderated by the cultural dimensions of Performance Orientation, Humane Orientation, and Power Distance.

Quality management effectiveness in Asia: The influence of culture

AbstractGlobalization forces managers to utilize manufacturing capabilities from countries with different cultures than their own, particularly from Asia. Yet quality problems in China have raised concerns among managers and researchers as to how to assure product quality from Asian facilities. Implementing quality management practices may accomplish this, but such practices assume specific cultural values exist in certain Asian cultures. Using global manufacturing and cultural data, this study examines if cultural values in Asian and non‐Asian countries moderate how effective quality management practices are at improving quality performance. Through the use of multilevel modeling, differences in quality management effectiveness are found among the East Asian cultures of China, South Korea, and Taiwan. Moreover, this study finds that specific cultural dimensions are statistically related to quality management effectiveness. The results of this study will assist managers in devising plans to assure higher quality from East Asian facilities and in predicting where problems may occur in other countries around the world.

Ethnopsychiatry in the elderly

Ethnopsychiatry is defined as an approach aimed to understand the ethnic and cultural dimensions of mental illnesses. The triple interest of cross-cultural approach in psychiatry in the elderly is highlighted by a review of the literature and five clinical vignettes. The first interest is to help the diagnosis of mental disorders in aged immigrants. The second is to take into account the ethnopsychogeriatric specificities by the sanitary and social systems. The third involves some aspects of psychiatry in the elderly in Sub-Saharan Africa. With aging, the immigrant has to reinvent, successfully or not, new rationalizations of his/her presence. Moreover, he/she often presents a premature physical over-deterioration linked to difficult existing conditions. Caring for the elderly from an ethnopsychiatric approach supposes firstly, to grant him correct life and physical health conditions; secondly, training of professionals to consider their specific cultural dimensions and at last, adapting the care and help services. Ethnopsychiatry or cultural psychiatry in the elderly must take into account the social and cultural representations of the diseases. Presently, depression among the elderly is common in Africa and dementia is not rare.

Customization Decisions Regarding Performance Management Systems of Multinational Companies

Performance management (PM) is an important human resource (HR) process for the global organization. There is yet no theoretical framework for identifying the factors that affect customization decisions to standardize or localize PM systems of multinational companies (MNCs). Our purpose is to ascertain the extent of customization of PM systems in MNCs and identify factors that influence customization decisions. We hypothesized that customization of a PM system is a function of global integration, cultural distance and the upstream/downstream nature of PM activities moderated by contextual enterprise variables. A survey was conducted among senior HR practitioners working for the 100 largest companies (by number of employees) in Bulgaria and Romania. Results from a response sample of 97 Bulgarian and Romanian companies indicate that MNCs are already aware of the need for cultural localization of their PM systems and that global integration strategy and specific cultural dimensions — power distance and masculinity — matter more in customization decisions than does overall cultural distance.