Comparing the United Kingdom and Kosovo national cultures
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Introduction
This essay will assess the cultural similarities as well as differences between the United Kingdom and Kosovo. The article will use Hofstede’s cultural dimensions to analyze the business culture in both the United Kingdom and Kosovo. Every cultural dimension will be analyzed independently and compared. Also, the Stoke City Football Club’s organizational culture will be evaluated to find out if there are any issues for firms from Kosovo that desire to invest in the United Kingdom or the stoke city football club. Furthermore, the paper will implement the cultural web framework to evaluate the organizational culture of the organization. Culture can be described in several ways by researchers. Hofstede (2003) viewed it as a set of shared values, traditions, and expected behaviors. Culture can also be defined as a set of measures that collectively rely on one another in several meaningful ways. Similarly, it is a pattern of behaviors or arrangements that have been adopted by a specific society or team.
Stoke City Football Club Company
According to Harzing et al. (2011), Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club in the United Kingdom-based in Stoke and plays in the English Premier League. The club was founded as Stoke Ramblers in the year 1863, and in 1925 it was renamed as Stoke City after the town Stoke on Trent was given city status. The club is the second oldest professional football club in the globe after Notts County, and it was among the football league founder members. Stoke City football club limited functions as a football club and manages a stadium that sells tickets through hosting tournaments. Similarly, the firm operates as a community trust focused on various sections such as participatiosocietyorts, health, and well-being of the people in the society. Currently, the club operates as a subsidiary of the bet365 group of companies.
Hofstede (1980)revealed that When evaluating the British culture through the Hofstede model, o good overview can be derived from the significant drivers of the United Kingdom culture compared to the culture in Kosovo. After that, we can foresee any difficulties that firms from Kosovo can face when they decide to invest in the ssociety’sety club.
Power distance
is the extent to which society’s less influential members of organizations accept and expect that power is unequally distributed. It evaluates the various attitudes of the national culture towards the inequalities.
The Unitsocietydom is ranked 35 in the power distance index. The society in the United Kingdom believes that differences should be significantly minimized in institutions(Hofstede,2010). The culture has a sense of fair play, which encourages the belief that individuals should be treated as equals in some way.
Individualism
Hofstede (2010) revealed that the critical element addressed through this dimension is the interdependence level maintained by a society among its members. Individualism defines people’s self-image in a collective or individualistic manner. Individualistic cultures encourage people to look after themselves and their families only (Hofstede, 2003). However, in collectivist societies such as Kosovo, people are part of groups that care for them in exchange for loyalty. The United Kingdom is ranked 89, which is among the highest individuality levels behind the United States and Australia(Hofstede, 2001). People in the United States are very Individualistic and private. From an early age, children are taught to think for them and determsocietyiSocietyse in life and how they can contribute to society.
Masculinity
High masculinity scores in the view of Harzing Et Al. (2011) indicate that the community is driven by achievement, completion, and success. Success, in this case, is evaluated by considering the best through a value system that begins in school and goes on in the life of the organization. Sisociety’sa low score of onSocietyimension describes that society’s current values include the quality of life and caring for other people. In feminine societies, the quality of life is considered to be a sign of success. Standing out from the rest is not admired (Mittal, 2010). The United Kingdom is ranked 66 in the masculinity index as most of the people are driven by success. When comparing the culture in tsocietyed Kingdom with the culture in Kosovo, unlike the society in Kosovo, individuals in the United Kingdom live to work, and they have a brilliant performance (Kuada, 2010).
Uncertainty Avoidance
Thisocietyty, according to Kuada (2010), deals with the way society handles the fact that the future is not known. Risk avoidance comes with anxiety, and thus various communities deal differently with the stress. It is the degree to which the community feels threatened by unknown situations and thus has developed beliefs as well as institutions that attempt to avoid the uncertainties(Mittal, 2010). The United Kingdom is ranked 35th in the uncertainty avoidance index. This means that the Society is excited to anticipate possibilities and change their plans as new formations are developed. This is reflected in the culture as few regulations are strictly adhered to. Kosovo has a high uncertainty index.
Problems that Kosovo firms wishing to invest in the United Kingdom or stock city football club can face.
Harzing Et Al. (2011) revealed that most business practices in the United Kingdom are inclined towards determining cultural believes that significantly determine the various attitudes that people have towards individualism, Change, workforce, and materialism. Thus forms from Kosovo will face problems if they fail to recognize the institutional legislation and attitudes regarding the behaviors of their employees and their expectations and workplace and employment relations (Engineering Management Journal, n.d).
Reflection on the skills learned.
A have benefited from the strategic management and the risk management model by gaining several skills related to this knowledge. The modules made it easy for me to understand various international business management concepts and cultures of different countries around the globe. For instance, this module has helped me understand that every nation contains critical values and attitudes that serve as its primary building blocks for developing an organizational culture in that specific country. Cultural attitudes, behaviors, and influences vary across various ethnicities. The culture in the United Kingdom and Kosovo could be described in different ways. The business culture in the United Kingdom can be described as independent and master planners in several respects. The culture also values time and planning as some of its fundamental elements. According to the Engineering Management Journal, Hofstede’s cultural dimension is the most appropriate theory that can be used to compare the business culture in the United Kingdom and Kosovo. It comprises of a structural framework that is established around cross-cultural communication. This dimension is used to describe the effect of cultural values in a society and explains how the values are associated with different behaviors through the factor analysis structure. The model is recognized as an essential factor in differentiating various cultures in the business field. With increasing globalization, most people are managing or working with individuals across different cultures.
Bibliography
Engineering Management Journal, 14(2), 53-60
Harzing Et Al. (2011) International Human Resource Management, (3rd Ed.), Sage Publications, India Pvt Ltd
Mittal, R. (2010)Cultural Congruence In Cross Border Alliances: A Multilevel Perspective, International Journal Of Business Research.
John Kuada, (2010) “Culture and Leadership in Africa: A Conceptual Model and Research Agenda,” African Journal of Economic and Management Studies, Vol. 1ss; 1, Pp9-24.
Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture’s Consequences, International Differences in Work-Related Values, Beverly Hills, CA: Sage
Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s Consequences,(2nd Ed.), Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications
Hofstede, G. (2010). The GLOBE Debate: Back to Relevance, Journal of International Business Studies, 41, 1339-46.
Hofstede, G. (2003). Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind. London: Profile Books Ltd, 2003.