As the MA.IB program is a truly international master’s program we did a lot of intercultural activities, especially in form of teamwork, presentations and discussions.
Hence, I would like to focus on cross-cultural management as the main topic of my reflection paper. First of all, I am going to introduce briefly the Hofstede model and the Globe study. Another important theory, which is connected to cross-cultural management is emotional intelligence, which became popular with Daniel Goleman.
Therefore, I also want to include a short part about emotional intelligence.
After the theoretical part I am going to talk about my personal experiences, combining them with my learnings and also discussing my future goals.
Due to the globalization process …show more content…
I already tackled the Hofstede model in my bachelor’s degree, so I was familiar with the model and its different cultural dimensions.
For me it was very interesting to compare the theoretical analysis of Hofstede to my experiences. In order to visualize this, I would like to insert the following diagram:
In accordance with my experiences in the university and the business world, the Colombian culture has a huge power distance, which can be explained by a strict hierarchical order. In addition, it is not an individualistic society, like for example the German society. Colombia, like most of Latin American countries, prefers a collectivistic society, where the unity and the inclusion in networks counts more.
An individual is always surrounded by others, for example it is very common having lunch or some drinks in a group together.
Another cultural dimension is the short-term orientation of Colombia. As a result of instability and daily changes, Colombians are used to live in the present, whereas in Germany we love to scheme plans, which are long-term …show more content…
As the majority of us expects to work later on in an international environment, which consists in multicultural teams, it is essential to develop and work on intercultural skills. For my own individual experience the teamwork during the class has been very beneficial, especially as I worked together with students from Eastern Europe and not from Latin America. The course offered the opportunity to get in touch with new cultures, which are completely different to the German culture. Moreover, it was very interesting to exchange opinions with other students during discussions in class, for example when we talked about a Brazilian or Russian company our “experts” loved to share their experiences and perspectives with us. In summary, it can be stated that the lecture helped me to widen my own perspective and to improve my intercultural
Hence, I would like to focus on cross-cultural management as the main topic of my reflection paper. First of all, I am going to introduce briefly the Hofstede model and the Globe study. Another important theory, which is connected to cross-cultural management is emotional intelligence, which became popular with Daniel Goleman.
Therefore, I also want to include a short part about emotional intelligence.
After the theoretical part I am going to talk about my personal experiences, combining them with my learnings and also discussing my future goals.
Due to the globalization process …show more content…
I already tackled the Hofstede model in my bachelor’s degree, so I was familiar with the model and its different cultural dimensions.
For me it was very interesting to compare the theoretical analysis of Hofstede to my experiences. In order to visualize this, I would like to insert the following diagram:
In accordance with my experiences in the university and the business world, the Colombian culture has a huge power distance, which can be explained by a strict hierarchical order. In addition, it is not an individualistic society, like for example the German society. Colombia, like most of Latin American countries, prefers a collectivistic society, where the unity and the inclusion in networks counts more.
An individual is always surrounded by others, for example it is very common having lunch or some drinks in a group together.
Another cultural dimension is the short-term orientation of Colombia. As a result of instability and daily changes, Colombians are used to live in the present, whereas in Germany we love to scheme plans, which are long-term …show more content…
As the majority of us expects to work later on in an international environment, which consists in multicultural teams, it is essential to develop and work on intercultural skills. For my own individual experience the teamwork during the class has been very beneficial, especially as I worked together with students from Eastern Europe and not from Latin America. The course offered the opportunity to get in touch with new cultures, which are completely different to the German culture. Moreover, it was very interesting to exchange opinions with other students during discussions in class, for example when we talked about a Brazilian or Russian company our “experts” loved to share their experiences and perspectives with us. In summary, it can be stated that the lecture helped me to widen my own perspective and to improve my intercultural