國
立 政 治 大 學
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N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
Indulgence vs Restraint
This last one measures the amount of happiness, life control and leisure in the nation.
Countries or regions to score high on indulgence have a tendency to allow relatively free gratification of basic and natural human desires related to enjoying life and having fun. it’s opposite poles restraints reflects a conviction that such gratification needs to be curved and regulated by strict social norms.
2.6 Comparing Taiwan to the US and Belgium
The comparison is taken from data from Hofstede, 2010 from their website Hofstede-insights. I compared with both the US and Belgium, I chose Belgium because I am Belgian, and it would help explain my reaction to some of the observations in my case, and because Belgium is in the center of Europe, making it an excellent choice for comparing European standards. Although not every European country is the same. I also wanted to give the contrast with the US. I feel closer to the American way of negotiating, since I watched a lot of TV shows depicting the American negotiation style not only because it is one of the countries known for its Business culture and negotiations. I also wanted to show how different the US is from Europe.
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Figure 3: Country Comparison for the 6 Dimensions (Hofstede, 2018)
Power Distance:
Taiwan scores relatively high in Power distance. Having a high score on Power distance means there is generally no justification needed for accepting hierarchy.
It’s not surprising that the US has less power distance. But it is quite interesting how Belgium has a higher sense of hierarchy then Taiwan. Belgium has a score of 65, which means that it is a society in which inequalities are accepted. The attitude towards managers is more formal. Hierarchy is needed if not existential. For the US however, with a score of 40, their hierarchy is more for convenience. Communication is informal and direct.(Hofstede, 2018)
Country Comparison Hofstede's Culture Dimensions
Taiwan Belgium United States
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With a score of 17 it’s very obvious that Taiwan is a collectivistic society, in these kinds of societies, strong relationships are created, where everyone responsibility takes for fellow members in their group. Offence leads to shame and loss of face (Hofstede,2010), whereas Belgium and the US both are clearly individualistic countries. Belgium has a score of 75, this is obvious that is a more individual society, which means it favors individual and private opinions, they would rather take care of themselves and their immediate family rather than belonging to a group. Contradictory to their individualism, Belgians need hierarchy too, which creates a weird tension in the culture. The US with a score of 91 is not shy to seek their prospective counterpart in order to gather information. Employees are expected to be self-reliant and need to show initiative. Most of the business rewards come based off previous merits or accomplishments. (Hofstede, 2018)
Masculinity:
With a score of 45, Taiwan is a slightly feminine country, in these countries, people generally work in order to live. Conflicts are resolved by compromise and negotiation Belgium has a score of 54, which agrees that Belgians long for a mutual agreement in conflicts. The US scored relatively higher at 62 , which shows that Americans are much more likely to brag about their performances, and move along with every promotion, to be able to show others of their success.(Hofstede, 2018)
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Taiwan scores 69, thus having a high preference for avoiding uncertainty. Countries like these are intolerant of unorthodox behavior and ideas, security plays a major part in individual motivation. With a score of 94, Belgium has an even higher score, which would mean that Belgians require certainty and don’t deal well in unknown situations.
This makes it hard to negotiate new rules. The US has a relatively low score on uncertainty avoidance as they are more likely to try out new things and allow freedom of expression. They do not require a lot of rules and are less emotionally expressive.(Hofstede, 2018)
Long term Orientation:
Taiwan scores 93, making it a very clear long-term orientation culture. They are prone to save and invest, persevere in achieving results and have an overriding concern for respecting the demands of virtue. With a score of 82, Belgium is only a bit behind Taiwan. This means that they believe that truth depends on context and time. The US has a very low score on long term orientation, with a score of only 26, they are likely to verify whether all new given information is true. They also measure business performance with profit and loss statements (Hofstede, 2018)
Indulgence:
Taiwan has a very intermediate score of 49 which does not indicate a strong side to this dimension. Belgium has a score of 57, making it a slightly indulgent country, which makes them able to have a positive attitude towards life and enjoy leisure activities.
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立 政 治 大 學
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N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
The US scores higher on indulgence than Belgium, where it is clear that Americans love spending money, and even more so, love spending time with their friends, and have many leisure activities.(Hofstede, 2018)
Conclusion
What is most remarkable here is that Taiwan is very collectivistic in comparison to Belgium and the US, which are very individualistic. In the negotiations, this could play a large part. That they are collectivistic shows in their use of guanxi and the importance they put on maintaining face towards others.
‧ 國
立 政 治 大 學
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N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
3 Methodology
For the methodology in this research I will use a secondary source and a case study from my personal observations. For the secondary source I will use Hofstede’s culture dimensions to compare Taiwanese and American culture and see how they come into use during my observations. I will also use my observations to see if there are any discrepancies with the original resources.
Hofstede (2010) used questionnaires (Values Survey Modules) from International Business Machines (IBM) employees to compare data from 66 countries. In total there were 2 different questionnaires. The questionnaires were in the beginning only given to managers, later also to employees. The questionnaires were taken from 76 different countries and regions
This particular case speaks to cross-cultural negotiations, as I’m a foreigner trying to do business in Taiwan. My view in the negotiations is coming from a foreign point of view, also, my boss is also a foreigner, and he was also closely involved in this case.
This case might not be a successful case, but I still chose this case as I feel that there is more to be learned from cases where something goes wrong, as opposed of cases where everything goes right.