The Organizational Behaviour at an Internaional Level
As globalization keeps on altering the characteristics of the commercial transactions in the global scene, there is a need to understand the variation in job satisfaction and the different factors that influence the motivation of the workers. This paper aims to differentiatet how these factors influence the United States and some of its main trading partners such as Canada and China. This activity will be regulated by Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. As soon as the different discoveries have been drawn, the paper is going to examine the way with which different dynamics of a job impact or influence the levels of satisfaction in the various cultures. Lastly, a summary of the research and significant findings concerning the implications of cross-cultural factors for international organizational behaviorists in promoting job satisfaction and motivation are presented in the conclusion.
Review and Discussion
While it is reasonable to suggest that the overwhelming majority of people in the world work to earn a living, making pay and benefits among the most important predictors of job satisfaction and motivation, it is also reasonable to suggest that there are other factors involved that differ from culture to culture. Clearly, these are important issues for multinational corporations that may have operations in dozens of different countries. Currently, the two main trading partners with the United States are China and Canada (U.S. economy, 2015), and growing numbers of American corporations have established operations in these countries in recent years. Some indication of the level of congruence between the cultures in these three countries can be discerned from an application of Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions as Highlighted in Table 1 visually demonstrated through a graph labeled Figure 1 below.
Table 1
Comparison of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions: U.S., Canada, and China
|
Country |
Power Distance |
Individualism |
Masculinity |
Uncertainty Avoidance |
Long-Term Orientation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
U.S. |
40 |
91 |
62 |
46 |
26 |
|
Canada |
39 |
80 |
52 |
48 |
36 |
|
China |
80 |
20 |
66 |
30 |
87 |
Source: Hofstede (2015) at http://geert-hofstede.com/united-states.html
Figure 1.Comparison of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions:U.S., Canada, and China
Source: http://geert-hofstede.com/united-states.html
As can be seen from the data in Table 1 and Figure 1 above, the U.S. and Canada are almost mirror images of each other from Hofstede's perspective, but both of these countries differ significantly from China in every cultural dimension except masculinity. Power distance (PDI) is one of the factors that tremendously influence job satisfaction and employee motivation. It is defined as the degree which the subordinate (having lesser power) members of an organization within a given state acknowledge that power is unevenly distributed (Rau & Liu, 2013).
The significant differences between the U.S./Canada and China in this dimension suggest that employees in the former prefer opportunities to participate in the decision-making process, especially as it affects their jobs, while Chinese employees would expect (and prefer) higher-ranking managers making decisions on their behalf if they are autocratic and paternalistic in nature (Rau & Liu, 2013). Like their Western counterparts, though, Chinese employees are also motivated by timely developmental feedback from superiors, but developmental feedback, in particular, has been shown to have a significant positive effect on Chinese employees' intrinsic motivation compared to Western workers, also reflecting the significant differences in the PDI dimension (Guo & Liao, 2014).
Conclusion
While it is reasonable to conclude that any modern leadership style can be effective to some extent in any organizational setting if leaders are sufficiently charismatic, it is also reasonable to conclude that it is important to take the cross-cultural similarities and differences that exist between the U.S. and other countries into account when formulating strategies that are intended to motivate employees and improve their level of job satisfaction. The research was consistent in showing that Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions provide a useful framework in which to analyze these differences in ways that can facilitate the process.
References
Guo, Y. & Liao, J. (2014). The mediating role of intrinsic motivation on the relationship between developmental feedback and employee job performance. Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal, 42(5), 731-733.
Rau, P-L & Liu, J. (2013). Fostering job satisfaction and motivation through power distance: A study of German expatriates' leadership in China. Global Business and Management Research: An International Journal, 5(4), 161-164.
U.S. economy. (2015). CIA world factbook. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html.
Academic levels
Skills
Paper formats
Urgency types
Assignment types
Prices that are easy on your wallet
Our experts are ready to do an excellent job starting at $14.99 per page
We at GrabMyEssay.com
work according to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which means you have the control over your personal data. All payment transactions go through a secure online payment system, thus your Billing information is not stored, saved or available to the Company in any way. Additionally, we guarantee confidentiality and anonymity all throughout your cooperation with our Company.