Trompenaars 7 Cultural Dimensions

hello and welcome to today's lesson where we're looking at trumpnar's seven cultural dimensions also known as the seven dimensions of culture now business is becoming ever more global and as a result of this teams are becoming more diverse so you're likely to need to work with people from other cultures and other countries now most of the time things will go well when you do this but when things don't and then trumpnar's misunders dimensions model can help now the model works by differentiating cultures based on their preferences in the seven dimensions you can see here so we have universalism versus particularism individualism versus communitarianism specific versus diffuse neutral versus effective achievement versus description sequential time versus synchronous time and finally internal direction versus external direction now the big thing to know about this model is that it won't help you learn cultural etiquette but its real advantage is that it helps you step outside of your own biases and your own stereotypes and in doing that you can see how another culture might approach a problem and that can then prompt you with ideas to resolve any misunderstanding so let's take a look at each of the dimensions in turn so first we have universalism versus particularism now this dimension can be summarized by asking what matters more rules or relationships cultures based on universalism try to treat all cases the same even if they involve friends or loved ones so the focus is more on the rules than the relationship universalist cultures include canada the us the uk and australia for example alternatively cultures based on particularism will find relationships more important than rules you can bend the rules for family members close friends or important people each case has to be examined in the light of its special merits and particularist cultures includes latin america korea china and russia for example now some tips for working with universalist cultures so firstly keep your promises be consistent and finally explain the logic behind why you have made a certain decision and some tips for working with particularist cultures so invest in building relationships so that you can understand the particular needs of others secondly respect people's needs as much as possible in your decision making and finally you know take the time to call out specific important rules that must be followed so the next dimension is individualism versus communitarianism and this dimension can be summarized by asking do you work as a team or as an individual now do people desire recognition for their individual achievements or do they want to belong to a group individualistic cultures believe that your outcomes in life are the result of your choices and in these cultures decision makers make decisions and they don't need to consult others to do so so thus decision makers can make decisions at speed and in these cultures it's your responsibility to look after your own happiness and fulfillment these type of cultures include countries like canada the us the uk alternatively cultures based on communitarianism believe your quality of life is better when we help each other so thus these cultures organize themselves around groups there's a strong sense of loyalty within the group and as a result of this group tenancy decision making is slower as everybody gives input job turnover will be lower though because there's high group loyalty and finally the group gets rewarded for high performance rather than the individual communitarian cultures include countries like japan much of africa china and latin america so some tips for working with individualistic cultures so firstly reward and issue praise based on a person's individual performance secondly encourage people to use their own initiative and finally align the individual's need with those of the organization and some tips for working with communitarian cultures so firstly reward the group for high performance secondly praise the group in public but praise individuals for their contribution in private and finally try to include the whole team in the decision-making process the third dimension is specific versus diffuse and this dimension can be summarized by asking how separate is your personal and professional life in specific culture people tend to keep their personal and work life separate so these cultures don't see overlap between the two spheres and they tend to be schedule focused and direct and to the point in their communications they focus more on the goal than on the relationship so examples of these types of cultures include germany the netherlands the us now alternatively we have diffusive culture and here people tend to see their work life and personal life as interconnected and these cultures believe that objectives can be better achieved when relationships are strong so as such in these cultures work colleagues socialize with each other outside of work more these cultures are courteous and respect age status and background more so examples include china india argentina and spain so some tips for working with specific cultures so firstly create agendas for your meetings secondly stick to your agenda as best you can and thirdly focus first on setting objectives for people and secondly on your relationships and some tips for working with diffusive cultures build your relationships before you start setting objectives secondly expect invitations to more social occasions from colleagues and commit to attending them and finally expect to discuss business in social situations and personal matters inside of the workplace so the fourth dimension is neutral versus effective and this dimension can be simply summarized by asking do you show your emotions now in a neutral culture people tend not to share their emotions emotions are of course felt by the individual but they're kept in check and controlled observing these people you would consider them cool and rational neutral cultures include germany the netherlands the uk alternatively have effective culture where people tend to share their emotions even in the workplace in an effective culture it's considered normal that people share their emotions so examples of these countries include italy spain and again latin america so some tips for working with neutral cultures keep your emotions both what you say and what your face says in check secondly remember that people are less likely to express their true emotions so try to read between the lines and thirdly after initial chit chat stay on topic during meetings and some tips for working with effective cultures use emotion to communicate what you want in your goals share how you feel to strengthen your workplace relationships and finally learn some specific techniques to defuse situations where emotions are running really high so the next dimension is achievement versus a scription and this can be summarized by asking do we prove ourselves to get status or is status given to us so in an achievement culture you earn status through knowledge or skill job titles are earned and reflect this knowledge and skill anybody can challenge a decision if they have a logical argument so examples of achievement cultures include the us the uk scandinavian countries alternatively in a description culture you're given status based on who you are this could be because of your social status your education or even your age you earn respect in these cultures because of your commitment to the organization not your abilities so a decision will only be challenged by someone with a higher authority so examples of ascription cultures include japan italy and france now some tips for working with achievement cultures so firstly issue praise to an individual in front of their peers secondly try to avoid using titles and finally reward individual performance and some tips for working with description cultures too use titles to refer to peers if you wish to challenge a decision of a superior then you need to handle this really delicately and finally pay extra care to show respect to your superiors now the next dimension is sequential time versus synchronous time and this can be summarized by asking do things get done one at a time or the many things happen at once in a sequential time culture time is very important people like projects to be completed in stages time is money and so it's important that each stage is finished on time it's rude to be late or it's considered rude to be late for meetings and examples of sequential time cultures include the us the uk and germany now in a synchronous time culture then people see the past the present and the future as interwoven and because of this people do several things at once as time is interchangeable now this results in plans and deadlines being flexible it also explains why punctuality is less important and examples of synchronous time cultures include japan india and mexico now some tips for working with sequential time cultures keep two deadlines and commitments try not to deviate from the set schedule and remember to always show up on time to meetings and some tips for working with synchronous time cultures allow people some autonomy within the schedule you're trying to hit allow time for people to arrive late for meetings and be explicit calling out any deadlines that are not flexible and you people really have to hit so the final dimension is internal direction versus external direction and this can be summarized by asking do we control our environment or are we controlled by it so in an internal direction culture people believe that they can control their environment to achieve their goals so the focus is selfish it's about you know oneself one's team and one's organization now winning is important in these cultures and aggressive personalities are thus prevalent so examples of these cultures include the us australia and the united kingdom alternatively in an external direction culture people believe that they must work with their environment to achieve their goals so in these cultures winning isn't as important as maintaining strong relationships they focus on environmental factors so for example making strong relationships to achieve their goals so examples of these type of cultures include china russia and even saudi arabia so some tips for working with internal direction cultures allow people to set their own learning development plans allow a degree of constructive criticism and make sure to set really clear goals and objectives and some tips for working with external direction cultures so rather than setting goals give feedback so people can correct their course on route and finally allow people autonomy to use their relationships to achieve results so we've just covered all of the seven dimensions but how do you actually use the model well unfortunately the model has no clear and consistent way to use it but here's a very simple process you can use to start making use of the model so first self evaluate that any misunderstanding is at its root caused by cultural differences and you might want to use a tool like the five wise to do this i'll include a link to that video that we have on that below this video so secondly you know you want to score the person not the country they're from against each of the seven dimensions and thirdly you want to examine those dimensions with the biggest score and from this you know select the tips provided earlier in this video for that dimension to attempt to resolve the problem now note that there's a reason why we score the person and not the country they're from and that's because within individual countries there are cultural difference from one region to the next so we score the individual to avoid over generalization so in summary most of the time when working with different cultures things are going to go fine but when they don't then tromponar's cultural dimensions model or the seven dimensions of culture can help you to understand why and once you understand the root of the problem then it's possible to generate ideas to resolve it now the model won't help you learn cultural etiquette but its real advantage is that it allows you to step outside of your own biases and stereotypes and in doing that you can see how another culture might approach a problem or might be approaching the problem you're facing and that can then prompt you with ideas to resolve any misunderstanding that exists so that's it for this lesson really hope you enjoyed it and i look forward to speaking to you again soon