Columbia Under Hofstede’s Cultural Analysis Essay

Introduction

Hofstede’s analysis generally presupposes four stable parameters, according to which the state is analyzed. These parameters include the following:

• Individuality-Collectivity
• Distance from the governing spheres
• Masculinity – Femininity
• Uncertainty avoidance (the grade of people’s readiness for uncertainty)

Colombia, one of the state that had been analyzed according to this methodology, and moreover it is in the epicenter of the world community as probable participant of the approaching war. The journalists of the newspapers and services have directed their views to this country, and attentively follow the unfold of the occasions. First of all it would be necessary to give the results of Hofstede’s analysis on Colombia.

According to this Colombia is:

• High level of collectivity
• Huge power distance
• Comparatively high uncertainty avoidance
• Comparatively high masculinity level

All these parameters may be observed in the actions of the government, and forecast probable reaction of the citizens.

News analysis

WorldPoliticsReview informs that Venezuela mobilizes its troops for the military actions on the boundary with Colombia.

The specter of war looming over Colombia and Venezuela following the recent killing of a Colombian rebel leader comes amid an ongoing and significant increase in Venezuela’s military spending in recent years. Venezuela’s military buildup and continuing concerns about its government’s ties to left-wing rebels provide a worrying context for Venezuela’s recent troop mobilization, though most analysts still believe the chances are slim that the current crisis will spark a military conflict. (Gentile, 2008)

The conflict has aroused after Colombia defeated Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on the territory of Ecuador (March 1, 2008). After that Ecuador broke the diplomatic relations with Colombia, and Hugo Chaves repatriated Colombian diplomats. The given information can not give the full imagination on Hosfede’s analysis, but to analyze the following events, this piece of information is essential.

Colombian government had already announced that it is not intending to lead war against Venezuela and Ecuador even inspite of the fact that Colombian troops are larger (250 thousand) than Venezuelan and Ecuadorian together (172 thousand). Additionally, the USA had already offered the help to solve the conflict.

The United States has provided Colombia with billions of dollars in military equipment and training over the last several years, with the aim of taking on FARC and other guerilla groups, who traffic in drugs and carry out kidnappings to fund their army. (Gentile, 2008)

This characterizes Colombia as the state of individuality, as it is fully determined to solve the conflict peacefully by diplomatic channels. It gives an opportunity to estimate masculinity – femininity parameter: inspite that according to the researches Colombia obtains more masculinity features, the taken decision is more associated with femininity features. This is neither good nor bad, as any parameter requires some central level for steady development in the real world and in the context of relations with partners and neighbors.

Colombian powers are attempting to eliminate the guerilla leftist movements , and FARC is one of the largest. According to various data it encounters six to eighteen thousand of participants, and controls up to 20 percent of Colombian territory. The struggle with the movements is lead with the help of the USA, and gives the reason for Hugo Chaves and Rafael Correa state that Colombian president Alvaro Uribe takes pro-USA position, which is really worrying Venezuelan leader.

As for the captured documents and data after bombing the rebel camp, Colombia has promised to provide these documents for the special conference of Organization American States (OAS), which was convened at March 4 for settling the conflict. The aim of the conference is to demonstrate that Venezuela and Ecuador support the FARC, that Bogota and Washington consider to be terroristic grouping, which is engaged in coca farming, and drug trafficking.

Taking into account the mentioned above polemics on masculinity of Colombia, the following fact adds to the discussion:

Colombia’s police chief, Gen. Oscar Naranjo, said documents recovered from a slain rebel leader’s computer indicate Chavez recently sent $300 million to Colombian guerrillas. He said another document indicates the rebels sent money to Chavez when he was a jailed coup leader more than a decade ago.

Naranjo said the files were recovered from a laptop owned by the rebel known as Raul Reyes, who was killed Saturday in a Colombian commando raid on a camp just across the border in Ecuador. (James, 2008)

At first glance it may seem, that the given information in no way relates to the Hofstede’s analysis, but deeper glance permits to realize that Colombia is ruled by the key principle of masculinity “The bigger – the better”. As it may be judged, military forces not just eliminated the core of the guerilla group, but also, after air attack, captured the documents and data storages with necessary information. Moreover, Colombia now has additional arguments to accuse Hugo Chaves in maintenance and financing of world terrorism, which is considered to be the crime against humanity in civilized world.

Getting back to the latest events, and regarding the mobilization processes, Venezuela is about to apply land-, air forces ad navy. According to the words by Minister of defense of Venezuela Gustavo Rangel this measure is in no way directed against Colombian people, but claimed to resist “imperial expansionist plans” (By the USA), (AFP, 2008)

Minister also added, that ten tank squadrons (approximately 9 thousand people), directed to Colombian boundary will soon be in the defined point. Ecuador had already also gathered about 3.5 thousand soldiers near the boundary with Colombia. (Albor, 2008).

Colombian government, in its turn, inspite of the tough talk in an address to the Venezuelan powers is not intended to start the war. President of Colombia Alvaro Uribe announced that he did not start the mobilization.

Alongside with the flourishing conflict OPEC oil exporters and leftist allies Venezuela and Ecuador reacted by cutting off diplomatic relations, moving troops to their borders with Colombia and criticizing Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, who receives billions of dollars in military aid from the United States. (Romero, 2008)

This passage from the world review gives essential grounds to subject Hofstede’s model to critics, as it shows, that even states with high individuality level strive to collectivity, as there is safety in numbers in the contemporary world, and individualist-maverick will never survive in the epoch of multipolar world. The given piece also reveals the fact that discovers another side of the whole affair. Venezuela is one of the largest oil exporters, and OPEC is seriously anxious with the probability, that it would restrict the supplies. Thus, world community will probably try to persuade Venezuela collectively not to get involved in the military settling of the conflict, and not impose restrictions on oil export, and also not to be subjected to international embargo.

Cross cultural communication

Cross-cultural communication happens when an individual from one culture sends a message to an individual from another one. But if the receiver can not get the sent message on any reason, it is regarded as cross-cultural miscommunication, and the bigger the difference between the cultures, the bigger chance of cross cultural miscommunication occurs.

Communication does not essentially result in accepting. Cross-cultural communication repeatedly comprises misinterpretation reasoned by mis-discernment, misconception, and misevaluation. When the sender of a note originates from one culture and the recipient from another, the possibilities of precisely broadcasting a note are low. Outsiders observe, construe, and assess objects and subjects in a different way, and as a result act upon them in their own way.

In imminent cross-cultural circumstances, one should as a result take for granted dissimilarity until parallel is verified. It is also significant to distinguish that all behavior makes sense through the eyes of someone behaving and that logic and foundation are ethnically comparative. In cross-cultural circumstances, labeling behavior as weird usually reproduces ethnically grounded misperception, misunderstanding, and misevaluation; rarely does it reflect deliberate cruelty or pathologically aggravated actions. Unwritten regulations reflect a culture’s explanation of its neighboring.

Taking into account the current events, it is quite possibly to mention, that cross cultural communication is highly developed in Colombia, as its government can easily address the world community to help with settling the occurred conflict, and it is guaranteed, that the state will necessarily get the help, as community is more sympathetic with Colombia, than Ecuador and Venezuela. , and it is also closely linked with the negative reputation of Hugo Chaves as an authoritarian leader, and concealed aggressor.

Thus, misunderstanding between Colombia and Venezuela is obvious. These two states, inspite of geographical and historical closeness have chosen different ways of further development. Thus, the cross-cultural communication is interrupted, as two leaders chase dissimilar goals.

Any two nationalized collections see the planet in precisely the same way. Sensitivity is the procedure by which each personality chooses, arranges, and estimates stimulus from the outside surroundings to provide significant practices for oneself. For instance, when Mexican children at the same time viewed pictures of a bullfight and a baseball, they just memorized observing the bullfight. Looking through the same pictures, American children only memorized observing the baseball. Likewise, adult card players, when they were shown unusual cards, failed to note black diamonds and hearts, or red spades and clubs.

Why could not children note both pictures? Why did the grown persons fail to note the unpredicted playing card colors? The reply lies in the origin of discernment. Perceptual prototypes are neither inborn nor complete. They are discerning, studied, ethnically defined, reliable, and imprecise.

• Perception is discerning. There are lots of stimulus in the surrounding world simultaneously. Therefore, we monitor most of what we observe, hear, feel, and sense. We monitor the surplus and permit only chosen data through our perceptual monitor to our conscious mentality.
• Perceptual prototypes are educationally grounded. It is our practice educates us to distinguish the world in confident ways.
• Perception is ethnically originated. We study to observe the world in a particular way grounded on our ethnic backdrop.
• Perception has tendency s to stay stable. Once we see something in a meticulous way, and we go on to see it that way.
• We therefore see objects that do not subsist, and do not see objects that exist. Our concentrations, estimations, and background act as strains and lead us to deform, obstruct, and even create what we select to observe and hear. We distinguish what we anticipate to perceive. We identify objects in accordance to what we have been educated to see, in accordance to our cultural “guide book”.

Applying these principles of cross-cultural miscommunication to the regarded conflict, it becomes clearly understood, why the same values are estimated and treated differently. The same is on stereotyping.

Stereotypes, like further types of categories, can be supportive or injurious dependent on how they are applied. Effective stereotyping allows people to understand and act appropriately in new situations. A stereotype can be helpful when it is

• Consciously held.
• Descriptive rather than evaluative.
• Accurate.

Applicability of Hofstede’s study

Generally Speaking, Colombia is comparable to many Latin American states when analyzing Hofstede’s Aspect s. Colombia’s highest Hofstede Dimension is Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI) at 80, representative the community’s low level of broadmindedness for indecision. Trying to reduce or reduce this rank of indecision, strict regulations, laws, strategies, and rules are accepted and applied. The eventual goal of this population is to control everything with the intention to eradicate or evade the unexpected. Consequently of this high Uncertainty Avoidance features, the community does not willingly admit transform and is very risk unfavorable.

Colombia has a low Individualism (IDV) rank (13), exactly like most Latin stages (average 21). The achieve on this Dimension designates the civilization is Collectivist as evaluated to Individualist. This is obvious in a close long-term promise to the member ‘group’, be that a family, enlarged family, or extensive relations. Devotion in a socialist culture is supreme, and over-rides most other communal regulations. The community promotes brawny relations where everybody takes accountability for fellow affiliates of their group

The Power Distance (PDI) rank of 67 depicts a level of dissimilarity of power and wealth within the community.

Colombia has one of the higher masculinity ranks in Latin America (64). This designates the country skills a higher degree of gender segregation of roles. The male controls an important portion of the community and power arrangement.

Conclusion

Dr. Geert Hofstede performed probably the most wide-ranging study of how assessments in the workplace are powered by background. From 1967 to 1973, while working at IBM as a psychologist, he gathered and studied data from over 100,000 persons from forty states. From those outline, and later addings, Hofstede enhanced a model that clarifies four primary measurements to distinguish cultures.

As with any widespread research, the results may or may not be appropriate to precise personalities or events. Moreover, although the Hofstede’s outlines are featured by state, often there is more than one ethnic group in that state. In these circumstances there may be important divergence from the research result. An instance is Canada, where the preponderance of English speaking inhabitants and the minority French speaking in Quebec has reasonable cultural dissimilarities.

Geert Hofstede’s measurements analysis can support the business individual or traveler in better realization the intercultural dissimilarities within districts and between states.

What are the sensible submissions for Geert Hofstede’s research on educational dissimilarities? For those who work in international commerce, it is occasionally remarkable how various people in other ethnicities behave. People tend to enjoy a human instinct that “profoundly inside” all people are the same – but they are not. Therefore, if we go into another country and make decisions based on how we activate in our own home state – the possibilities are people would make some very bad conclusions.

Geert Hofstede’s investigate offers insights into other ethnicities so that the researches and communications could be more effectual when interacting with people in other countries. If realized and used properly, this data should decrease the level of aggravation, nervousness, and anxiety.

References

Gentile, Carmen. Venezuela Mobilization Comes Amid Continuing Concerns About Military Spending, Rebel Ties World Politics Review Exclusive. Web.

Flores, Victor. Ecuador demands stronger condemnation of Colombia Agence Fance-Presse, 2008.

Hofstede, G. Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind (The Successful Strategist) Profile Business 1994.

James, Ian. Venezuela, Ecuador threaten Colombia Yahoo News. 2008. Web.

James, Ian. Chavez calls Colombia raid a ‘war crime’ Yahoo News. 2008. Web.

Romero, Simon. Regional Bloc Criticizes Colombia Raid in Ecuador. The New York Times. 2008. Web.

Ruiz, Albor. Paramilitary share blame in conflict. The NY Daily News. 2008. Web.