Components of national culture: Russia essay
Humanities
Select your own country of nationality to do this assignment. You are to write an essay analyzing your own culture from the perspective of its components studied in class and from the business culture view.
Part A: Components of national culture.
As you have learned in this course, the culture of a country is made up of several layers, such as artifacts, symbols, language, rituals, norms/customs/traditions, values and beliefs. You are to reflectively think of your own culture and describe how each of the components mentioned above is actionable within your culture (i.e. give specific examples). This assignment is personal (not to worry- it is confidential), because I want you to express who you really are/belief in and what aspect of what you do reflect your own culture. I want you to be original and authentic in your answer. Make sure you clearly specify and cover each component.
Part B:
Discuss the national culture dimensions of your country using Hofstede’s framework . Compare Countries (Links to an external site.) by entering your country of nationality in the Type a country search. A graph with the six dimensions for your country will be displayed; cut and paste the image into part B.
Tap on “Read More about chosen country”. For each of the six dimensions presented you will see some interpretation of what it generally means for the country. Take at least three of these descriptions (cut and paste it), and with a concrete example of your own, support the assertion being made in the description.
For example:
Uncertainty Avoidance Assessment for country XXXX:
“At 80, XXXX has a high score on Uncertainty Avoidance which means that as a nation they are seeking mechanisms to avoid ambiguity. Emotions are openly expressed; there are (extensive) rules for everything and social conservatism enjoys quite a following. This is also reflected in religion, which is respected, followed by many and conservative. Rules are not necessarily followed, however: this depends on the in-group’s opinion, on whether the group feels the rules are applicable to their members and it depends, ultimately, on the decision of power holders, who make their own rules. In work terms this results in detailed planning that may not necessarily be followed in practice”
My own concrete example to support this assertion:
Life is hard in my country because of …….. Therefore, people stopped worrying about the future, or even planning for it. Instead they ……. There are laws about everything but……
Note: If your country of nationality is not on the list, choose a nearby country or one you are familiar with.
Part C:
Share a specific, concrete story where any of the topics above can be seen in action. In other words, recount a situation or anecdote either from personal experience or from that of friends/relatives where the theory studied so far comes alive and is illustrated. The anecdote can be an observation, a funny situation, or a cultural blunder/pitfall where you learned a lesson which made you understand different orientations, values or points of view.
