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The Australian company is represented by a highly professional and young woman, whereas the Saudi Arabian company is being represented by one of their directors (twice the age of the Australian representative). Due to numerous cultural differences, the business negotiations may be jeopardized. According to Hofstede's framework, the Saudi representative would expect his Australian negotiator to follow his lead for two reasons: he is older and he is a man. But the Australian representative would consider her Saudi negotiator her equal because she grew up in a low power distance society and rejects old masculine gender ideas. How can potential conflicts be avoided in this scenario?
If the negotiations do not succeed in this scenario, Hofstede's basic assumptions would be validated. But the conflict here can be avoided by building upon Hofstede's model and using it in a smart way. The Saudi representative should understand the realities of global business and also understand the cultural differences between the two countries. If he knows that, he will not expect the Australian representative to be a subordinate of his. He will treat her as an equal partner because he knows that in Australia it is normal for young managers to challenge the superiors openly. The oil company's top leadership, realizing the realities of contemporary global business, should also instruct their representative to be sensitive to Australian cultural values. Likewise, the Australian representative, despite her feminist convictions, should understand that she is dealing with a traditional and an older man from a conservative society (with high levels of power distance) and treat him accordingly. The Australian company's top leadership should instruct her to be sensitive with the Saudi values and use the art of cross-cultural communications for the benefit of successful business negotiations. If these communication methods are followed, potential conflicts due to cultural differences may be avoided.
As is clear from the literature review and the scenario discussed here, Hofstede's cultural dimensions framework is flawed since it is a bit outdated and too general on some dimensions. His basic suggestions nevertheless may be valid and in some instances may be helpful by enriching...
By using constructive criticisms of Hofstede's framework, we can better solve potential cross-cultural conflicts. As the discussion of the scenario involving Saudi and Australian business representatives suggest, differences due to power distance between the two countries can be minimized, which requires that both sides understand the cultural dimensions of each other. Therefore, Hofstede's framework is still relevant.
References
Blodgett, J., Bakir, a., & Rose, G. (2008). A Test of the Validity of Hofstede's Cultural Framework. Advances in Consumer Research - North American Conference Proceedings, 35762-763.
BU, Z. (2008). Thinking along the Cultural Line: A Cross-Cultural Inquiry of Ethical Decision Making among U.S. And Chinese Journalism Students. Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, 63(2), 110-126.
Hofstede, G. (1984). The Cultural Relativity of the Quality of Life Concept. Academy of Management Review, 9(3), 389-398. doi:10.5465/AMR.1984.4279653
Hofstede, G. (2006). What did GLOBE really measure? Researchers' minds vs. respondents' minds. Journal of International Business Studies, 37(6), 882-896.
Milner, M., Fodness, D., Speece, M.W. (1993) Hofstede's research on cross-cultural work-related values: implications for consumer behavior. European Advances in Consumer Research Volume, 1: 70-76. Retrieved 7 March 2012, from http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/display.asp?id=11610
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