Power Distance
1. The exploration of the Australian culture using the 6D model reveals the factors that drive the Australian culture in relation to other cultures. The drivers include power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation, and indulgence. I compare the Australian culture to that of China, a countries that I have visited before.
The first dimension, power distance, explains the attitude of people towards the difference in the social status of the members of the society. It is the extent to which the less powerful members of the society accept the situation and expect it as a result. In Australia this dimension scores 36 because the hierarchies exist for convenience purposes (Hofstede, 2017). The lenience is evident in the level of accessibility to the leaders and those below them (Kimmorley, 2017). Consultations and information flow between the managers and employees is the norm where the communication is direct, participative, and informal.
China scores an 80 as is evident in the way that hierarchy and the respect and fear of people in authority is held in high regard. Bureaucracy is also the norm as is evident in the Chinese social interactions, school cultures, and work cultures where the managers have absolute power over the employees and communication between superiors and those below them is not the norm (Yuan, 2014). In organizations, communication is easiest when it comes from up downwards. Most Chinese organizations do not recognize the down-up or up-down communication methods (Laulusa, 2008). The Confucian teachings and the adherence of the teachings by the political sector which still govern the Chinese culture are a great determinant of the score (Laulusa, 2008).
The second dimension is that of individualism-the extent of interdependence among the members of the society-where the members of the society define their self-image as a collective group of alone. Australia scores a 90 in this dimension and is described as an individualist society. It is loosely knit and every person looks after themselves and those close to them. The same applies to the work place where the employees are expected to display self-initiative and self-reliance. It is for the same reason that work place operations such as promotions are based on the individual performances of the employees. This is unlike the collective societies where the community is classified into groups that look out for each other for loyalty in exchange.
China calls itself the communist society with the same represented in the ruling political party, the communist party (Culture Mike, 2017). Individualism in China scores 20 which is a sharp contrast as compared to Australia.
The other dimension is masculinity in which Australia scores a 61. A masculine culture is one where the undertakings of people are driven by the desire to be the best whereas the feminine focuses on the satisfaction that comes with the engagement. It focuses on the quality of life as success rather than the winning. The workplace and school cultures are evidence of the masculinity of the Australian society where Australia is proud of its achievements and high ranking in the economical scale and the demand among job-seekers.
Individualism
The Chinese culture is seen in the education system where children are pushed to be the best in their class and education takes up all the time of the students, leaving little time for relaxation. Although expressed in different ways that Australia where students experience fulfilling school lives but strive for success in the work place and other dimensions of their lives, there is a narrow gap where China rans 66 in masculinity.
The other dimension is uncertainty avoidance. Uncertainty explains the extent of the perspective of the uncertainty of the future as a threat by the members of the society (PwC, 2011). Australia scores a 51 in uncertainty avoidance. China scores a 30 on the same.
The dimension of the long-term orientation is the element of association with the past in the dealings of the present and future. Australia scores a 21, showing the presence of a normative culture that where the people exercise independent, normative thinking models. They are concerned with the establishment of the absolute truth. Australians respect the traditions and focus on the achievement of prompt results. The members of the society also exhibit little propensity for making savings to cater for the future.
Unlike Australia, China shows a contrasting result in its long term orientation with a score of 87. The same is evident in the continual adherence to Confucianism and other political paradigms stipulated by ancient leaders such as Confucius (Laulusa, 2008). The Chinese culture pays homage to the Chinese history and adherence continues to be observed within families and the work place.
Australia scores a 71 in indulgence where the members of the society exhibit the willingness to engage in the realization of their impulses and desires. The indulgence is evident in their spending habits and their regard for leisure. China, on the other hand, in relation to factors such as long term orientation exhibit little indulgence in their lifestyles and in the work place (Kimmorley, 2017). Indulgence is viewed as unwise. China scores a 24 in indulgence.
Because of the presentation of the facts, the nature of their interactions in international settings, the design of their online platforms and the nature of interactions on social platforms.
2. The consideration of cultural factors is essential for the construction of the most suitable cultural design for a wide audience. As explained by Arno, (2010), the cultural backgrounds of different people make them have different tastes and references. The article by Arno (2010) gives an example of India and their preference for colour and animations on the advertisements on TV and in website content. Whereas the use of too many animations and colourful advertisements may be perceived as non-serious and unofficial in European countries, the reception is different in countries such as India.
Some of the factors that determine the effectiveness of the creation of a multi-cultural website include the presentation, colour and colour scheme, images, language, the type of website navigation and the navigation tools, tone, options of translation (especially for countries with many cultures and languages), and the ability to modify for the future trends without having frequent complete makeovers.
There are various factors to consider when making marketing decisions of the design required for the wider multicultural audience. It takes more than following the current trends to be an effective cross cultural web designer (Gonyea, 22017). The way that people process information is determined by their cultural backgrounds and level of exposure (Villa, 2017). The effective consideration of the multicultural audience in the creation of a website is evident in the McDonald’s websites in different countries.
The Indian website consists of a colourful website with animations and humour. In most cases, such are the representation of entertainment websites and children products websites in the UK. The website, however, gets good reception in India because of their cultural structure. The UK website of McDonald’s on the other hand, is the complete opposite with the information presented in simple fonts, the images presented precise, and the use of colours more concrete and solid. In the UK, that is the king of presentation that is considered official. For the accurate determination of the correct approach in the multicultural consideration web designs, consultations with natives is essential to ensure that an accurate picture of the culture is obtained for the correct application of the required tone, designs, and colour schemes (Kimmorley, 2017).
Conclusion
The breakthrough of intercultural interactions and business across different cultures that need a deep cultural understanding of the target communities include business relations, social interactions, formal interactions, and collaborations among others. The socialization of people determines their kinds of perceptions on different issues and the need for the modification of the presentation of information to such people to suit their cultural behaviours. Various companies usually have to modify their advertisements and website layouts for the same products across different countries to suit the target audience and trigger the desired emotions.
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