The long term orientation dimension is closely related to the teachings of Confucius and can be interpreted as dealing with society’s search for virtue, the extent to which a society shows a pragmatic future-oriented perspective rather than a conventional historical short-term point of view.
At 25 the UK scores as a short term oriented society which drives a great respect for history and tradition as well as a focus on quick results in the future. As mentioned above, planning horizons tend to be short and business particularly is very focused on short term quarterly goals and quick results. The notion of giving up something today for the promise of something bigger in the future is not a widely held notion, more usual is the belief that ‘a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush’.
The structure of the London Stock Exchange further perpetuates this pattern – its relentless focus on quarterly results to drive stock valuations exacerbates the culture of focus on short term results. This culture is much discussed in the press with many companies complaining that the LSE drives a culture that gets in the way of genuine longer term relationship building and long term investment projects. The London Stock Exchange is of course a product of British culture!
2.1.2. Hall’s Cultural Dimensions model
An attention to the identification of the basic dimension for cultural comparison is found in the works of anthropologist Edward Hall. In his works Hall has always stressed the close relationship between culture and communication. On this ground he defined cultures as a “system” to provide, send, store information. Hall argued that “communication is culture and culture is communication”. The communication process is determined by context. He has defined the 4 dimensions of context:
1. High context vs. low context cultures
2. Monochromic and polychromic cultures
3. Space
4. Information flow
Edward Hall developed a useful way to understand culture by identifying their social framework as low or high context. Low context culture plays less emphasis on the context of the communication (such as implied meaning or non verbal messages). They rely on explicit verbal messages. Great Britain is low context culture. A person from a low context culture usually:
a. Relies on explicit or lateral communication
LCC prefer that messages be explicitly stated rather than simply understood by the parties involved. The following example illustrated the preference for explicit communication in the Am. Midwest as opposed to the higher context of the Am. Southeast.
Suzy Shuffled was district manager for the National wholesale shoes company. After becoming district manager of the SE region she was surprised that the company wanted to transfer her to the Midwest. Suzy who has lived all her life in the Southeast, knew that the move would be difficult and expressed her concerns to a customer who owned a chain of children’s shoes stores in Alabama. Tom Womeldorff had lived in Illinois most of his life and talked about the adjustment he and his family had to make when they set up shop in the South. “At first I was to direct but I learnt by listening to my customers how they expected me to communicate. You are a good listener so it won’t take you long to figure our Midwesterners. The people up there say what they mean and mean what they say”.
b. Emphasizes verbal communication over non-verbal communication
The phrases “what you mean” and “what you say” is often repeated to children from LCC as they are growing up. Parents pay far less emphasis on communicating indirectly or non-verbally and ask their children to “speak up”. So, by the time they enter business, people from LCC have learnt to rely on words to convey exactly what they mean.
c. Separates job tasks from relationships
People from LCC usually prefer to keep their job tasks separated from their relationships. Indeed, relationships are seen as outside the trust rather than an integral part of it. Even if a key person on a project leaves the company, another person can easily take his / her place, since the business transactions are considered to be between companies and not learned on relationships between people.
d. Emphasizes individual initiative and decision making
Those whose cultures are low in the context tend to value individual initiative, decision making and achievement making, etc. American proverb states “Look out for number one”. Even when they work in groups individuals from LCC try to think of ways to distinguish themselves as individuals. In business a group award is valuable and desired but an individual award is more highly prized.
e. Views employer or employee relationship as mechanistic
In LCC the view of employer or employee relationship tends to be more mechanistic (The term originates from the belief that the business can be run like a “well-oiled” machine). Indeed employees tend to view themselves as a marketable commodity, and will make decisions to change jobs if they can improve their circumstances. Employers can terminate an employee because of negative performance reviews. Likewise, employees feel justified in leaving a job for a better paying one even when they really like their managers and colleagues.
f. Relies on facts, statistics and other details as supporting evidence
People from low context culture tend to require facts, statistics and other reliable data in a business presentation. They trust numbers over intuition as in American proverb “Numbers never lie”. There presentations will be heavy with charts, graphs from experts in their particular field and they will often expect the same level of detailed statistical analysis from others.
g. Uses direct style in writing and speaking
People from LCC prefer to get right to the point of their message. Doing so will help them stay on their time schedule and accomplish the task. Therefore those from low context cultures usually state the reason for the call, letter, e-mail or face-to-face meeting at the beginning and then follow with details of asked.
h. Prefers linier reasoning
Business people from LCC usually prefer a straight line of reasoning. For example, they may start with reasons a particular account is unprofitable and follow to the outcome or effect that the account should be recognized. They also expect that those with whom they do business, will follow the same linier logic. In fact many people are surprised to find that there exist other kinds of logic. For example, in low context cultures the phrase “he used circular reasoning to come to that conclusion” is usually not considered a compliment.
i. Adheres to the letter of the law
People from LCC-s rarely do business on just a handshake. Even if they have excellent report with a business associate, the deal is not considered final until attorneys have written a document that he was agreed to and signed by all the decision makers.
Great Britain is monochronic culture, it means doing one thing at a time. It assumes careful planning and scheduling and is a familiar Western approach that appears in disciplines such as 'time management'. Monochronic people tend also to be low context.
In a monochronic culture, people tend to place a high value on timeliness and schedules. They focus on the value of time, and therefore tend to have a very rigid interpretation of how to organize their schedules. Monochronic people generally prefer to do one thing at a time and to devote their full concentration to the task at hand, whether it be completing an assignment for work or school or having coffee with a friend.
Hall was concerned about space and our relationships within it. He called the study of such space Proxemics. We have concerns about space in many situations, from personal body space to space in the office, parking space, space at home.
The need for space
Some people need more space in all areas. People who encroach into that space are seen as a threat. Personal space is an example of a mobile form of territory and people need less or greater distances between them and others.
British people are more territorial than others with greater concern for ownership. They seek to mark out the areas which are theirs and perhaps having boundary wars with neighbors.
This happens right down to desk-level, where co-workers may do battle over a piece of paper which overlaps from one person's area to another. At national level, many wars have been fought over boundaries.
Territoriality also extends to anything that is 'mine' and ownership concerns extend to material things. Security thus becomes a subject of great concern for people with a high need for ownership. People high territoriality tend also to be low context.
2.1.3. R.Lewis’s Model of Culture
Richard D. Lewis is a British linguist, cross-cultural communication consultant, and author. He has developed a model that puts cultures on three dimensions: linear-active, multi-active, and reactive. Lewis’ model is relatively comprehensive and good for an initial overview of where cultures fall on each axis. Unlike Hofstede and the GLOBE model, it does not require reading of multiple uncorrelated dimensions. It has most applicability in understanding cross-cultural communications, but limited usefulness in other areas. Being high-level, it is some what restrictive, which stops it from providing the full spectrum cross-cultural factors, and it may be too limited to help provide useful business optimization insight.
The United Kingdom is very close to linear-active culture. Leaders in linear-active cultures generally demonstrate task orientation. People look for technical competence, place facts beforesentiment, logic before emotion; they are deal-orientated, focusing their own attention and that of their staff on immediate achievements and results. They are orderly, stick to agendas and inspire staff with their careful planning.
Linear-active behaviour is an Anglo-Germanic phenomenon originating in north-western Europe and rolling out through colonisation to North America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Among non-Germanic peoples, only Finns have joined this category and even they are partly reactive. Two continents – North America (minus Mexico) and Australasia – are completely linear-active. The strikingly different destinies of North and South America (the latter colonized by multi-active Spaniards and Portuguese) are an indication of the yawning behavioural gap between the two categories. How history would have been different if Columbus had continued on a north-westerly course to Florida or if the Pilgrim Fathers had been blown off course (like Cabral) and settled North-eastern Brazil!
It is important to note that, through a quirk of fate or historical accident, the Anglo-Germanic bloc from the 18th century onwards began to regard itself as superior in efficiency, both in commerce and ability to rule, than other cultural categories. This conviction of superiority, with its accompanying drive, may have had its roots in cold climate competence and energy, Protestant reforming zeal or German thoroughness. It certainly blossomed subsequent to the English Industrial Revolution, the rapid development of British and American manufacturing (fuelled by abundance of coal) and the continuous existence of democratic institutions in the Anglo and Nordic communities. However this may be, the linear-active “powers” leading up to and after the two world wars, emerged with de facto world leadership based on military might and, even more significantly, over 50% of global GDP.
This sense of pre-eminence, particularly in the English-speaking world, but also shared in no small measure by Germans, Dutch, Swiss and Nordics, has not yet subsided. The BRIC quartet are showing rapid gains in manufacturing, technology, financial muscle, access to commodities, and market share (China the star performer), but Western complacency has not yet been eroded. There is still a lingering notion among the linear-active countries that our systems of governance, our concepts of justice, our attitude to human rights, our intellectually vibrant societies, our cocktail of work and leisure, our right to lead and instruct others, our business methods and our ability to maintain our levels of production and high living standards are viable in the future. We may be right about everything but the last two or three. We are content with our way of life and world view. We feel we have got it right, the others not yet.
2.1.4. Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck’s Model of Culture
Kluckholn and Strodtbeck (1961) identified six dimensions of culture.
