Preferences in Learning Between American

¶ … Preferences in Learning between American and French Learners in a Multinational Corporate Setting

The way training is delivered in a corporate environment has a tremendous effect on results. This study investigates the role of culture in the learning styles of adult French and American students enrolled in online training programs at an international university. Using Kolb's learning style inventory, the learning style preferences of respondents in both cultural groups will be classified as divergers, convergers, accommodators, and assimilators, reflecting their general tendencies toward learning environments as conceptualized by Kolb (1985). The assumption is that Americans prefer to learn from action-oriented methods and are more comfortable learning from activities that are not job related, such as role plays and games, than do their French counterparts who prefer to learn from job-related activities based on solid research. These preferences will then be examined in light of learners' responses to Hofstede's Culture in the Workplace questionnaire, which examines cultural tendencies towards collectivism/individualism, power orientation, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, and long/short-term orientation (Hofstede, 1980). The sample population will be composed of 150 American and 150 French trainees. They are all employed in multinationals and hold jobs that require them to attend corporate training and travel around the world. Conclusions will be drawn which compare French and American cultural differences in learning style preferences and the extent to which these preferences are mediated by cultural orientations as conceptualized by Hofstede (1980). Results will assist multinational corporations in understanding the role of culture in their training scenarios as they seek to provide more effective training for their increasingly cultural diverse learner populations which can provide some proof that they will be successful in using the new skills.

Chapter 1: Introduction

Today's research is very extensive on both learning styles and cultural differences. Both topics have been and still are explored in great detail as they appeal to a great number of people, namely in a time where globalization and continuous education are enhanced. However, it is interesting to observe that there is very little research devoted to the interaction and the relationship between the two. Knowing how to train an individual depending on his or her learning style preference affects the retention of the information and of the skill that is supposed to result from the session. Findings about learning styles have been helping many teachers and trainers in their approach. Likewise, students and trainees have been reassured that their learning styles will not cause a problem as they only reflect a preference. Yet, lack of understanding of a person's preference can affect the outcome of a training session and lead to frustration, rather than learning.

Regarding the cultural topic, there has been a great amount of research, models and theories developed. But while a lot has been written about culture, the focus systematically goes on behavior differences between populations and not on how each population learns. Both learning styles and cultural differences are nowadays taken into account in the human resource environment, but there is a lack of empirical studies to show what is most effective in a given context and with a given population. When a company asks for training, objectives are set and a target population is defined. Yet, no assessment is given on the new skills acquisition processes.

This study will further research in this area to help large international companies and multinationals seeking to offer the same training to their employees around the world and look to adapt to different cultures. If training is given in the same way to anyone, as it is commonly the case, there will be a different impact on each individual as a consequence. A great number of training materials are delivered in the same way all over the world without any adaptation. The result is the unequal impact of the same training leads to a great loss of time and money. Currently, the responsibility is given to the trainers or to the methodology applied, but the fact is that to obtain the best results there needs to be an understanding on how different learners prefer to learn.

International training providers offer expensive sessions and certify their own trainers and consultants to deliver consistent programs around the world. This researcher has been working in this field for 20 years delivering nearly 1000 sessions to more than 10,000 individuals and has observed that the result is often knowledge but not skill. And where companies invest in training, it is not for only acquiring new information, but to increase performance and effectiveness. Therefore, it is important to adapt training and style to each population, but also to be aware that how one group of trainees is composed will have an impact on each individual results.

Research on Kolb's Learning Styles shows that trainers tend to adopt the style that corresponds to their own preference instead of adapting to their audience. Also, research shows that if an individual learns in his or her preferred style will retain more quickly the skill and will most likely be motivated to apply it in real life. When dealing with cultural differences there is a very extensive research on the need to adapt to culture to increase one's impact, though not necessarily on the learning aspects.

In order to explore the relationship between learning styles and culture, this study will focus on the differences between the Americans and the French learners as they have, according to research (Hofstede, 1979), opposite cultural dimensions. Also, access to these cultures is feasible in a rather short time frame and within the researcher's professional environment and geographic location. The purpose of this research is twofold: on one hand it aims at creating a framework that would provide companies and trainers criteria to take into account when organizing and delivering training sessions. On the other hand, the same framework will give training designers the necessary basis to adapt the contents and styles of their materials to different types of audiences. Today we see training manuals that are translated into several languages and delivered exactly the same way. In the future, we need to see training materials containing activities to appeal to and satisfy all learning styles and possible alternatives to fit different cultures. For example, there could be appendixes per culture where adapted activities are listed. The multicultural manual would then be used as a toolbox where in each culture every trainer and every company chooses what is most relevant and compatible in their context.

Background to the Study

The link between culture and training

Before discussing how culture effects training and development, it is appropriate to define what culture is. Peterson (1997:64) quotes Kluckhohn (1951), who defines culture as "patterned ways of thinking, feeling, and reacting that are acquired and transmitted mainly by symbols and that constitute the distinctive achievement of a human group."

Johnson (1991) provides an example of a lack of "fit" of western management strategies in the third world countries. He stated that most third world countries do not support individualism. Their cultures are collectivist in nature. He suggests that though collectivism does not preclude leadership, it does suggest that training programme for third world countries need to be designed within the collectivist philosophy. Hofstede (1980), quoted in Weir (1996:399), observe that "Arab countries are mid-way between the highly westernised countries which rate strongly on individualism, and the Latin Americans societies which rank at the other extreme."

Huang (1996) support the view that culture has to be taken into consideration when designing training programmes. He remarks that although human nature and the human brain operate in the same way the world over, people from other cultures speak different language and behave differently. Each country has its own values, beliefs, ideas, and views of the world. If the trainer does not understand the characteristics of trainee's culture, history, and socio-economic background, even the best programme will not be effective.

Schermerhorn (1994) carried out an interview with Asma Abdullah, a corporate trainer in inter-cultural management. Although she conducted training programmes in Malaysia, her finding are applicable to training programmes in other countries as well. Asma Abdullah emphasises that training programmes must start with understanding of values at the individual as well of the culture levels. The influence of ethnic values is very important in making employees acquire the appropriate skills on the job. It has to start with self-appreciation and only then can employees find meaning on what they do. To her, effective training will only occur when the person's personal and cultural values have been identified and taken into consideration. When this area is ignored, training will not be successful when only foreign elements are being introduced.

Corporate trainer Asma Abdullah was asked about the best approach to take for training in a foreign environment. She stated that the value of the participants must be affirmed; specially those which are part of their cultural heritage and are the basis of their shared practices. Once these values are indentified, then one can begin to look for gaps in performance and create an awareness of what is needed. The trainer will then focus on the steps to be taken to develop new skills. For example, if the trainer wants to talk about motivating, leading, negotiating, selling or speaking, it is best to start with what the learners do well before showing some chart on Maslow's theory, Posner's leadership practices, or selling skills from some standard package that has been develop elsewhere. Many foreign trainers make grave errors because they do not consider the values and beliefs of the trainee's culture. Training must make a fit with the culture of those being trained, including the material being taught, as well as the methods being used (Schermerhorn, 1994).

Abu-Doleh (1996) reports that Al-Faleh (1987), in his study of the culture influences on management development, asserts that "a country's culture has a great influence on the individual and managerial climate, on organizational behaviour, and ultimately on the types of management development programmes offered." Furthermore, he argues that culture has its roots in a long history of traditions, in religion, and in past and present philosophical, or economic ideology.

Alabdlohab (1987) indicates that cultural factors cannot be ignored in training programmes. To ignore these factors can make the difference between success and failure. Although Arab countries want to develop economically and modernise their cities, most do not such progress to have a negative effect on their culture and way of life that they have lived for hundreds of years. Managers and workers should not be forced to conform to Western way of doing business even though they may have to deal with them perhaps on a daily basis. The first step in developing training programmes is understanding the culture and those factors within the culture that have an influence on the life and work of the people. The second step is to recognize the fact that these countries are in the process of economic development and modernization, and that these are to be achieved without changing the culture or significantly changing the way of their daily life. Culture values, religion, tribal customs, and tradition, all play a major role not on a daily life but also in the way which business is conducted. The third step is the designing of training programmes that will not compromise these values while at the same time, assist people in the development of business and industry that will promote economic growth and development within the country and give it a greater participation in the international marketplace.

The link between learning styles and training

Learning is considered to make an attempt of creating a memory that lasts. For example, if you have to learn some dance steps or any foreign language, your brain requires storing some information. In other words, learning takes place when a person studies and acquires knowledge or any other skill, as mentioned in the English Oxford Dictionary. Our learning depends on the type of learning style we have. There is no end for learning. It takes place on a daily basis. However, people practising to learn at personal level enjoy having increased self-confidence and knowledge. Moreover, your sense of world and how things are being worked out is widened even more. Learning makes you understand the ambitions you have in your life, for example, gaining a foundation degree.

There is a prominent difference between learning at personal and professional level. Our learning can be reflected through many ways. These ways include attending the staff meetings or appraisals. However, in order to increase your learning or to have a better understanding, one can attend training courses. As a result, a person's professional knowledge and skills are enhanced.

Every person follows a different learning style. It is now quite acceptable that everyone doesn't feel comfortable with a same style of learning. However, if one tries to learn and understand our learning style, it results in effective learning. So, the basic point behind the theory of learning is that every person adopts a different style of learning. This is why learning can never be defined through a single way of learning. Therefore, learning can be defined as unique behaviour that indicates how an individual learns as well as adjust to his/her environment, and offer signs as to how an individual's mind function (Gregorc, 1979).

Some people learn through reading or listening. On the other hand, some people might learn through their personal experiences. An extensive research has been carried out on these different styles of learning, along with many theories as well (Honey and Mumford, 1992; Kolb, 1984). It accepted everywhere that all individuals adopt different styles of learning or absorbing data or information.

In the same way, it is also accepted that all these differences are considered to be significant and have different consequences on the success of people. Allinson and Haynes (1988) have highlighted that a person's educational attainment completely depends on the style of learning he or she has adopted. On the other hand, Honey and Mumford (1992) describe learning in these words: "a description of the attitudes and behaviour which determine an individual's preferred way of learning."

Kolb (1984) has described learning as "The process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience." The concept of learning described by Kolb is related to the theory of experiential learning. This theory, as stated by him, serves as a foundation of acquiring education, being a process that lasts for a lifetime. Also, this process of learning is based on social psychology, philosophy and cognitive psychology (Kolb, 1984). This raises another argument of experiential learning theory being a basis of the idea of adult learning being grounded in reality (Sadler-Smith and Smith, 2004).

On the other hand, according to Honey and Mumford, people have always adopted different styles of learning according to different situations they face and how much experienced they have. As a result, they end up experiencing the four modes of learning. When looking deep into experimental learning theories of Kolb, it was found that at least four learning styles and modules exist. First is active experimenting, which involves energetic learners. Second approach is based on observation, like reflective thinking; whereas, third is abstract conceptualization involving pure theoretical exercises. The fourth learning style is concrete experience involving experimenting fresh theories.

As per this learning theory, it was found that it was more like a cycle, where a person goes through the sense of feeling, observation, thinking exercises and practice as the following diagram shows. It cannot be said that a given part of learning cycle is more important or effective than the other as all of them are equally important and effective at its respective place (Sadler-Smith & Smith, 2004).

To identify the respective learning style of an individual, Kolb came up with the idea of Learning Styles Inventory in 1976. In this exercise, participants are asked to come up with answers to 12 complete sentences that describe their learning pattern. To identify their respective style, all of these 12 sentences have four possible option; which describe a particular scenario. The respondent is required to come up with the most suitable click on the option, describing his learning pattern.

Problem Statement

Multinationals are training their employees and managers to become more effective communicators and leaders. In order to achieve their objective they hire trainers to deliver training sessions. Trainers are expected to deliver the same contents across cultures and obtain the same results. As reality shows that this does not happen, and for the same training with the same trainer some participants will have reactions that are opposite to others', it is necessary to identify cultural differences in how people learn, and what training stimuli are more effective in one culture as opposed to another and why. While there is extensive research in the field of learning styles and the field of cultural differences, there is a gap in the identification of culturally-based preferences in training stimuli. Also, research tends to be more focused on the school and university setting while there is a lack of empirical knowledge of the corporate learning needs. To focus this research on specific cultures, American and French learners in the corporate setting will be the subjects.

Research on cultural differences (Hofstede, 1980), reveals that the American and French cultures differ on most dimensions. Dimensions refer to how people respond to hierarchy, communication styles, uncertainty, vision, rules and values. American and French adult learners in a corporate training setting do not learn in the same way and react differently to what they are asked to do in their work environment. For example, while Americans will perform role plays and try skills learned in their work place following the advice of trainers, the French will be reluctant to do role plays feeling silly and will not feel comfortable practicing communication skills such as paraphrasing in their work place fearing to sound awkward. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to draw a cultural profile of French learners and of American learners to reflect the different reactions of each group to the same communication effectiveness training stimuli.

Purpose of the study

The manner in which corporate training is presented has tremendous impact on the quality of results. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of culture in the learning process of French and American adult students enrolled in an international university's online learning program. Utilizing the Kolb's learning module, we came up with preferences of adult respondents in both cultural groups that is further classified as divergers, convergers, accommodators, and assimilators, which reflects their personal inclinations towards a particular learning environment, as proposed by Kolb (1985).

Through past studies, we assume that students belonging to United States prefer learning from the activities that are unrelated to the job like role playing games while French students prefer learning through job specific and related activities based on research. These preferences will get further endorsement once gone through the Hofstede's Culture in the Workplace questionnaire filling exercise. This exercise analyzes their cultural preferences in terms of individualism/collectivism, power orientation, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance and long-term/short-term orientation (Hofstede, 1980).

In this study, the sample size is 300, (150 American & 150 French) trainees. All of them are working with multinational corporations in a role which requires extensive traveling and corporate trainings. The objective is to draw a conclusion about social learning styles and cultural preferences of French and American students on the scale of concepts presented by Hofstede (1980). This study will be of great value to MNCs in knowing more about the role of culture in effective learning exercises in the diverse workforce and dynamic working environment.

Research Questions

The research questions seek to identify to what extent French and American learners differ in their preferences for learning styles (Kolb), and to what extent these differences are related to their tendencies across the cultural dimensions of power, collectivism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientation (Hofstede). This study will be based on the following research questions:

Question 1: Do French and American learners differ in terms of their learning style?

Question 2: Are Kolb's learning styles reflected in respondents' cultural dimensions (Hofstede) of power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, collectivism, and long-term orientation?

RQ 2a: Do Learning styles differ in terms of power distance ?

RQ 2b: Do Learning styles differ in terms of collectivism ?

RQ c: Do Learning styles differ in terms of masculinity ?

RQ d: Do Learning styles differ in terms of uncertainty avoidance ?

RQ e: Do Learning styles differ in terms of long -- term orientation?

Question 3: Do French and American differ in terms of learning styles after controlling for the cultural dimensions and demographic variables?

Definition of terms

French and American:

For the purpose of this study, French and American learners are defined as adults whose nationality is respectively French and American, and who have completed their education and lived the majority of their life in their home country. Although a certain cultural influence may be inherent to their experience abroad if any, whether for a short expatriation period or study exchange will not be taken into account, it will be assumed that the cultural dimensions as seen in Hofstede's (1976) research will be valid for the two populations.

Globalization:

Globalization is a broad-based term that is used to describe a movement that has contributed to significant change throughout the world in nearly every sector of life. Experts disagree on a strict definition of globalization but all agree that it is occurring. In general, globalization refers to the expansion of global connections in socio-economic, political, and cultural activities (Hill, 2005). This expansion has affected not only individuals but also groups and entire societies. Of importance, is the fact Hofstede's theory was formulated in the years before globalization became the phenomena that it is, currently. The cultural dimensions were developed before the introduction of the internet, the proliferation of the personal computer, and before cell phones. Each of these improvements in communication has contributed to the expansion of globalization. Hofstede's dimensions were formulated without benefit of these technologies and he had no knowledge of how these technologies would change the world landscape.

Culture:

Culture serves as shared values, norms, beliefs, motives, identities, and interpretations of an individual or significant event that arise from common experiences of members of groups and are conveyed across generations (Hofstede, 1980). Quoting G.J. Hofstede (1984) specifically, he identified culture as, "Culture is the collective programming of the human mind that distinguishes the members of one human group from those of another. Culture in this sense is a system of collectively held values"

National Culture:

National culture reflects the culture represented by the majority of members of a particular society. Some nations are more culturally homogenous than others with most cultural characteristics originating at the subconscious level. National culture differs due to the values, norms, motives, beliefs, and identities of individuals located within a specific geographical location. Hofstede believed that most cultural values are acquired in childhood and that, as a result, they remain stable over the course of time and that it requires generations for any significant cultural changes to occur (Hofstede, 1980).

Global Migration:

In this study, global migration will be defined as the movement of persons from one country or locality to another or a group of people migrating together, especially during a given period (Hill, 2005). Such migration is generally in an effort to find work with most movement occurring from developing countries to developed ones (Shrestha and Heisler, 2011).

Limitations and Delimitations

The sample will be limited to individuals in the 2 countries, namely United States of America and France. All participants will be U.S. And French citizens, or residents, or the study will include all individuals over 18 years of age from all socio economic and educational background. This delimitation will represent a gap in the research; however, it will not interfere with the identification of a cultural shift in either U.S. Or French society. Significant differences can or should be expected in responses by different nationals.

Strength of the Research

Since the end of the Second World War, the cultural influence of the United States on the rest of the world has been considerable. This influence has been the subject of many studies as researchers have attempted to measure how other nations are affected as they attempt to manage globalization.

Now, however, there is some thought that the cultures that had formally been subject to the influences of the United States including Western Europe are now beginning to do the influencing. These nations, including France, which are largely collectivist style societies, have been involved in an extensive global migration process and it is the purpose of this study to determine whether such migration has caused an observable shift in the national cultures of the United States and France (Hofstede, 2005). United States has been a society heavily oriented toward individualistic learning style and France has been a society heavily oriented toward collectivistic learning style and it is likely that any change caused by time and global migration would reflect itself in this dimension of Hofstede's cultural theory and Kolb's learning style inventory. The importance of this study is its' attempt to examine the role of culture in the learning styles of adult French and American students enrolled in online training programs at an international university.

Theoretical Framework

Kolb's Learning Styles theory and Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions will be the two theories that this study will rely upon to answer the guiding research questions and confirm or refute the hypotheses. The independent variables correspond to Kolb's learning styles. According to Sternberg and Zhang (2001), Kolb's learning style inventory defines four basic types of learning styles: (a) converging, (b) diverging, (c) assimilating, and (c) accommodating which are discussed and described further in the literature review section below.

Hofstede's (1980) work has inspired much of the cross-cultural research done in the last 30 years. There are few, if any, publications from any discipline including business, law history, anthropology, economics, etc., that does not make mention of Hofstede's work (Blodgett, Bakir, & Rose, 2008).

Hofstede's dimensions of National Culture were constructed at the national level. The dimensions were designed to be used across nations, not across individuals or organizations. Hofstede's original cultural framework had only four dimensions: Individualism/collectivism, Uncertainty Avoidance, Masculinity/Femininity, and Power Distance (Hofstede, 1980).

Hofstede's cultural framework has been applied to a wide variety of context across all behavioral science disciplines. Hofstede's framework has been used in the field of business and management to examine cross-cultural differences in attitudes and behaviors in marketing, organizational behaviors, advertising, branding and ethical decision making to name a few (Blodgett et al., 2008).

Hofstede (1991) believed that his dimensions are stable and reflected national differences. While there continues to be criticism that his data is old, he continues to maintain the premise, that even if cultures do evolve, they tend to move in the same cultural direction as the dominant culture.

Hofstede's cultural dimensions will provide the framework for the hypotheses. Hofstede's renowned work in classifying cultures as individualist/collectivistic, high/low power, high/low uncertainty avoidance, high/low masculinity, and long/short-term orientation shows each culture's preferences for information processing, social interaction, and approaches to routine life events. Hofstede's body of research further indicates marked distinctions between mainstream French and American cultures across these dimensions, suggesting an impact on learning situations and tendencies as explained by Kolb, leading researchers to suppose an intuitive relationship between overall learning style preferences and cultural orientation. A comparison of Hofstede's analysis of U.S. And French cultural dimensions is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 - Comparison of U.S. And French cultural dimensions according to Hofstede

Source: Hofstede, 2010 at http://www.geert-hofstede.com/hofstede_dimensions.php?culture1 =95&culture2=33

Countries that are characterized by a significant uncertainty avoidance dimension such as France generally have a set of norms, values, and beliefs in place that consider conflict as being unnecessary and something that requires avoiding whenever possible. Based on their strong uncertainty avoidance rating, Hofstede maintains that individuals living in countries such as France prefer people who are cautious rather than risk-takers, in most cases. Likewise, in countries with high levels of uncertainty avoidance, rules and regulations are regarded as being highly important and, based on this assertion most French people would believe rules and regulations should also be complied with whenever possible. Furthermore, the role played by experts and others in authoritative positions is viewed as being highly important in countries with high uncertainty avoidance levels, and their positions are widely regarded as being the correct ones. According to Kamoche, in countries with a high uncertainty avoidance rating such as France, "Consensus making is considered vital for the health of society. The respect for experts would sit well with the idea of learning and the learning organization; however, whether this is applied for the benefit of organization is a matter of debate" (p. 115).

American and French learners

Research on American and French learning styles is quite limited today and mainly focused on language learning and school / university educational programs. University learners have different objectives and stakes than learners in a corporate setting. The assumption is therefore that there is a need for research specific in the corporate setting, and namely in the multinational corporation. Roach et al. (2005) have conducted a study on learning patterns between American and French university students using Hofstede's cultural dimensions as a framework. They found significant differences between the two groups in the way they respond to instructional and evaluation methods. While the French for example are used to vertical hierarchical levels, they expect more direction coming from the teachers while the Americans, more based on delegation prefer to learn in a self-directed style. Terence (1995) demonstrated a correlation between Kolb's learning styles and cultural factors in the university setting. He namely identified strong preferences between practical and theoretical approaches in different cultural groups.

Looking at the high uncertainty avoidant cultures, students expect from their teachers to be experts, to give facts and truths (Hofstede, 2001). A structure is needed in learning (and teaching) with clear objectives, well-stated assignments and evaluation grids. Low uncertainty avoidant cultures accept that a teacher may not know, and will take more initiative in their own learning. The teacher becomes more of a facilitator than a "giver" of knowledge. Structure is perceived as a limitation to learning and evaluation is based on originality (Hofstede, 2001).

Hofstede (1987) tested the five dimensions in over fifty countries and when we look at the results for France and the U.S.A., we can see that they score on opposite dimensions for all five (figure 1). This supports the origin of the research questions, where French and American trainees have been observed to have different reactions in a training context.

Sources of Research

Resources for the study will involve primary and secondary data collection through the Internet and various databases, as well as statistics collected from the U.S. And French Government. The other sources used are listed in the bibliography. The other criteria for collecting the sources for the study will involve data and information from 1980 to 2013.

Structure of Study

The study will be divided into five chapters: introduction, literature review, methodology, analysis and discussion, and conclusion and recommendations. The introduction will contain a brief overview of the study and the literature review will establish a foundation for the research problem. In Chapter Three, the data collection process will be detailed while Chapter Four will provide the analysis. The final chapter will contain the conclusions and recommendations based on the data analysis.

Anticipated Significance of Study

This study will attempt to measure whether there is any linkage between culture and learning styles in the United States and France. Cultural differentiation affects how decisions are made, as what is a proper course of action in one culture may be very inappropriate in another. Studies have shown how these cultural differences may affect the decision-making process (Javidan, Stahl, Brodbeck, & Wilderom 2005).

Hofstede's conclusions will provide the foundation for this study. His study tends to identify cultural differentiation and behavioral responses, and his concepts, when clearly understood and applied, will provide a way to interpret and translate the expected outcomes in various situations.

National culture significantly influences behavior and, due to the influence of globalization, business organizations are exploring ways to mitigate cultural discrimination toward employees and to avoid ethnocentrism (Lonner, Berry, & Hofstede, 1980). Understanding national cultures will help to identify the decision-making process utilized by individuals of different nationalities (Blodgett, Bakir, & Rose 2008). Further, it could help to identify how these individuals would respond to changing global scenarios and identify them as unique market segments. This study could also help identify how different nationalities (French and U.S.) respond to the various marketing tactics, both individually and as a family (Blodgett et al., 2008).

There is a school of thought that believes that a business organization's cultural diversification positively contributes to the firms' performance (Gomez-Mejia & Palich, 1997). Therefore, the results of this study of cultural differentiation can provide a platform for a company to gauge its performance and economic success (Higgs, 1996). This study could also benefit business management teams in promoting cross-cultural diversity.

Lastly, scholarly research on the role of culture in the learning styles of adult French and American students has not been carried out. Studies on effectiveness of learning styles and cultural influence have been carried out individually but with limited scope and have produced mixed results. In most researches done recently, no work has been done in measuring the role of culture in the learning styles of adult French and American students. Therefore, this research aims to look into the role of culture in the learning styles of adult French and American students enrolled in online training programs at an international university. This research will broaden the horizon of the role of culture and learning styles by measuring the effects via survey questionnaire.

Overview of Study

The manner in which corporate training is presented has tremendous impact on the quality of results. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of culture in the learning process of French and American adult students enrolled in an international university's online learning program. Utilizing the Kolb's learning module, we came up with preferences of adult respondents in both cultural groups that is further classified as divergers, convergers, accommodators, and assimilators, which reflects their personal inclinations towards a particular learning environment, as proposed by Kolb (1985). The objective is to draw a conclusion about social learning styles and cultural preferences of French and American students on the scale of concepts presented by Hofstede (1980). This study will be of great value to MNCs in knowing more about the role of culture in effective learning exercises in the diverse workforce and dynamic working environment. The study will be divided into five chapters: introduction, literature review, methodology, analysis and discussion, and conclusion and recommendations. The introduction will contain a brief overview of the study and the literature review will establish a foundation for the research problem. In Chapter Three, the data collection process will be detailed while Chapter Four will provide the analysis. The final chapter will contain the conclusions and recommendations based on the data analysis.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

The literature review is divided into several sections. The first section deals with the link between culture and learning styles. Section two deals with the significance of training and development in the current era of globalization. Section three deals with Hofstede's cultural dimension and also with globalization and its impact on culture. Section four deals with Kolb's theory on learning and his learning style inventory. The last section deals with presenting a conceptual framework and hypotheses for this study.

Section 1: the link between culture and learning styles

Multinational corporations invest a great deal of time and money to train their managers to be as effective as possible in their various key roles, namely leadership and sales. A plethora of training courses are offered to improve their impact. As the cost of such training can be very high, multinationals tend to adopt more and more training packages that can be delivered by several certified trainers around the world. Yet, the impact and the reactions are not the same as we deliver sessions in different geographic areas. So, is this approach valid? Do adult learners in a corporate setting gain the same know-how from the same stimuli regardless on their geographic location and cultural background? If we take two cultures that can be defined as being opposite on cultural dimensions as defined by Hofstede (1980), American learners seem to respond more positively to some training stimuli while French learners will respond more positively to others. Individual learning styles affect how one learns, but is there a link between learning styles and culture?

This purpose of this study is to draw a cultural profile of French learners and of American learners to reflect the different reactions of each group to the same communication effectiveness training stimuli. As an outcome trainers can adopt different tools and styles to achieve a similar impact in both cultures.

An international workforce may be hard to train. Companies run the risk of individual country organizations finding the best practice while their sister organizations abroad fail to use this valuable resource. Information remains localized and is not readily transplanted. ISS, an international support-service provider which operates in 36 countries, believes it has found a solution, and a way of uniting an international philosophy with training needs. According to ISS, effective training is effective communication. The first step is to have a strong corporate philosophy that is relevant and realizable in all the international divisions (Anonymous, 2002).

In order for communication to be effective, though, the difference of cultures needs to be taken into account. If a trainer wants to provide highly effective communication training in an international environment, he or she will need to be aware of different learning styles and different cultural aspects affecting learner's ability to decode the message as it has been encoded by the trainer.

When multinational corporations invest time and money in training, they expect results. Kirpatrick's model for summative evaluation is a widely used model that provides a framework for evaluation in 4 levels, Reaction, Learning, Behavior, .Results.

Level 1: Learner's Reaction

This is the most common type of evaluation. The learner is asked at the end of the session to assess the relevance of the learning in their environment, the personal satisfaction and if objectives were met.

Level 2: Learning Results

This level measures what participants have learnt from a learning program. It seeks to quantify the extent to which participants' knowledge, skills and other attributes have changed. This type of evaluation is not as common as level 1 but many training companies for example ask participants to assess themselves before they start the session and afterwards. The increase in perceived knowledge is also used as a marketing tool as it is a "proof" of learning.

Level 3: Behavior in the Workplace

The level of satisfaction of a training session is not necessarily a guarantee of behavior change in the workplace. If participants attend a communication skills training session they may be very satisfied, learned a lot of new techniques but eventually not apply the skills once they leave the training room. Such data are more difficult to obtain as the measurement of behavior change is not simple and determining if behavior change is due to training difficult to assess.

Level 4: Business Results

The fourth level seeks to evaluate the business impact that results from learning. Companies ultimately seek a performance improvement whether it is in terms of sales, or work effectiveness. Also difficult to measure, this level is rarely applied.

While surveys consistently show that more than 80 per cent of training managers use Level 1 forms of evaluations and up to 30 per cent Level 2 approaches, less than 20 per cent use Level 3 and less than 5 per cent deploy Level 4 forms of evaluation (LDPride.net, 2001).

Learning Styles

Learning styles have been studied for the past five decades (Cassidy, 2004; Coffield et al., 2004). But there is very little research on the relationship between learning styles and culture (Barron and Arcodia, 2002; DeVita, 2001; Hill et al., 2000; Kember and Gow, 1991; Ramburuth and McCormick, 2001). This study will rely on the David Kolb's Experiential Learning Model (ELM) where a learner can be experiencing, reflecting, thinking and doing. The original Learning Style Inventory created by Kolb (1971) consisting of 12 multiple choice questions will be used in this study.

Learning occurs in a cultural context (Beck & Campbell, 2006). Educators and anthropologists started to evaluate educational systems within their cultural context in the 50's. David Kolb (1984) proposed a theory of experiential learning based on structures of social knowledge and preferred learning styles. Anthropologist Sherwood Lingenfelter (1996) modified a model-based to evaluate different institutions in their society. Kolb based his research on the principle that all knowledge is learned; therefore, there must be different ways of doing so. He observed that there are similarities between the structures of social knowledge and the structure of the learning process (Beck & Campbell, 2006). Knowing that in each culture as its own educational system, it is safe to assume that we learn to learn and that our learning process as adults is affected by how we were taught.

An examination of the French educational system shows that young adolescents are put under strong pressure while in middle school when they have to pass an exam (brevet) and choose an orientation for their high school (scientific, literary, technical). Reaching for the best schools requires high grades, but it is also necessary to then access the best universities (grandes ecoles). Fowler (2001) points out that a major difference between the French and the American education systems is the requirement of the "bac" for the French. The bac is the comprehensive exam required in France for all high schools seniors. Students are tested on all subjects in a 15-day period. If they fail they need to repeat the entire senior year. According to Fowler (2001) this seriously distorts the last three years of French education by filling students with anxiety. In the United States youngsters can still change major while in college without losing time. Credits earned can count towards electives. American students are allowed to explore. French students are asked to choose at age 14. And when they are in university all classes are in their major. If one changes major he or she will have to start from freshman year again.

As our learning style is shaped by culture, the teacher/trainer needs to be familiar with such differences and adapt the style and the tools. If we look at Table 1, we see three different cultural ways of looking at colors. We would think that blue is blue and yellow is yellow. We make a distinction between purple and blue, and between orange and red. But Bassa and Shona languages show another way of describing colors Terpestra, 1985). In Bassa language only two colors exist: the group the cold (purple, blue and green) and warm (yellow, orange, red) colors as we define them in the Western world. In Shona language there are four main colors, purple and blue are grouped with the word Cipswuka and orange and red are grouped with the word Cipwuka. With this example we see that different cultures looking at the same input will go through a different learning process. It is not the tool itself, but how it is acquired that shapes perception.

Table 1 -- Colors in English, Shona and Bassa languages

English

Purple

Blue

Green

Yellow

Orange

Red

Shona

Cipswuka

Citema

Cicena

Cipwuka

Bassa

Hui

Ziza

Source: Terpestra, 1985, p. 19

Section two: Training and development for corporate success

Training is not what it used to be as organizations continue to change so as the field of training and development of employees. Employees are essential tool of the organization in moving forward towards competitive advantage and the HR needs to follow through by providing the necessary programs to enhance the skills and knowledge of the employees. Organizations as observed in the past years continue to eliminate hierarchical chains of command and management is flattened out. With this, power is dispersed giving the employees a chance to hold power over critical decisions, however they should be prepared to handle such power for the organization to benefit. This is where training and development comes in, to help employees prepare themselves in the coming changes and equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge to be able to handle new responsibilities brought about by change.

Orientations in Training: Since training should cast away from traditional thinking any organization that wanted to have competitive advantage through its people will need to focus on the following factors and should be integrated in their training and development program.

Strategic Orientation: Training should be carefully designed in accordance with the mission, business strategy, tools and culture of the organization. This is to make sure that the training is at par with what is happening within the organization. It should be in line with the overall business strategy and is designed to follow the same direction as the company. It must answer the needs of the employees as well as of the upper management and must be compatible with the type of employees the organization has. Once employees undergo the training, the program aims to make them more efficient, adaptable, accommodating and motivated. If the training module is designed in accordance with the business strategies, it becomes a strategic tool for the organization to mold its employees to the direction it wants to take (Sims, 1998).

In addition to considering the internal situations within the company, HR should also be concerned with external or environmental situations to make the module more comprehensive. Through this way HR could achieve the needed flexibility from the employees (Sims, 1998). They are not only skilled in dealing with internal issues of the organization but are also skilled in adapting to external factors. To take this strategic approach, the Training department or HR department should conduct the following activities (a) identify existing training being executed and assess whether they are still needed; (b) examine within the training programs which modules can be removed; (c) remaining training modules should be re-evaluated on how these can more aligned with the business strategy and reinforce the mission and vision of the organization; and (d) identify new modules that can be added to strengthen the training program. The underlying principle in this orientation is that a training that is aligned with the existing strategies and future direction of the organization can greatly increase performance (Sims, 1998).

Customer Orientation: For training to be fully encompassing and effective, some organizations take time to involve their customers in the design of training programs. This is just logical since the customers are the first persons to experience the benefits of training. Take for example a sales representative that just received training about the store's product, etiquette and conduct. This employee will surely be able to answer all the questions of the customer about the product he is interested and it is also possible that the sales representative could offer additional information that the customer might not know about the product (Sims, 1998). And since etiquette and conduct was included, the representative will be more cordial and accommodating to the customer. This could result to a sure sale plus a satisfied customer. Thus, is important to hear out what the customer thinks about the company's service or product to be able to know the areas that need further improvement. Their feedback should be taken into consideration since they know first-hand what works for them and what does not. Acquiring their feedback can be done through surveys, commentaries, interviews and letters or e-mails. With the advancement of technology, there are various ways this could be done. Taking this step signals to the customer that they are valued and that the organization cares about what they think (Sims 1998).

Performance Improvement Orientation: Employees should be assisted by training to enable them to reach high levels of performance so that the organization can correspondingly reach its goals with a high level success. Training can do this by (1) helping employees do their current job right now by giving them training programs and modules that are actually needed at the moment. These should be given at the right time and at the right frequencies; and (2) providing assistance to future requirements of the job as the demands change. This may be done through designing a learning model that can help the workforce and organization learn and grow with the change. The double responsibility of training can be achieved by focusing on the key skills and knowledge that the workforce needs at the moment and in the future. The Training Department will need to identify these key skills and knowledge and then build the training program around it. Trainers and training managers could make use of practices that are found to be successful to a related organization. As mentioned above the organization does not need to copy it as is, but try to learn from their success and failure of similar others to be able to develop a unique practice suitable to their own requirements (Sims, 1998).

Accountability Orientation: When a company is faced with a recession, most will think twice about spending on unnecessary investments and sometimes training is sacrificed in favor of other investments. Training personnel are then responsible for making sure that training programs are not seen as such by designing these as cost-effective, flexible, relevant, and as possible, and for which they have clear accountability. The Training department should make sure that the contents of the training are relevant and is needed by the organization. Moreover, they should make use of the available resources the organization as to offer; therefore, the design should be flexible enough so that it can adjust to unexpected situations. Options should be available on how the training could be delivered to the employees, and there should be a system of assessment to ensure that the training program was able to reach its aims (Sims, 1998).

Section three: Hofstede's Contributions to the study of culture

Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions came about from his work in the personnel offices of IBM in Europe. Hofstede had been appointed as the manager of this office in 1965 and shortly thereafter began a six-year survey of national value differences of IBM employees throughout the world (Hofstede, 1980). His survey incorporated the answers of over 100,000 IBM employees and matched responses from 50 different countries. At the time that Hofstede published his findings in his book, Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values, in 1980 his work was the largest matched-sample cross-national database available (Hofstede, 1980)

Hofstede's (1980), initial analysis contained only four dimensions in his attempt to identify cultural differences. The original four dimensions: power distance (PDI), individualism (IDV), uncertainty avoidance (UAI), and masculinity (MAS) were used by Hofstede to explain how different cultures handle life experiences. Responding to criticism from various circles, Hofstede modified his study and added survey data from a broader range of cultures. As a result of these additional surveys, Hofstede amended his original four dimensions to include scores from an additional 26 nations and he also included a new dimension. This new dimension, based on Hofstede's collaboration with Michael Harris Bond, is identified as long-term orientation (LTO) and it measures the preferences of a culture for a long-term and traditional view of time. Recently, a sixth dimension has been added but this dimension is not afforded consideration in this study. This new dimension arose from the research of Ipek (2007) and is identified as indulgence vs. restraint.

Hofstede's interest in cultural dimensions arose out of his concern over building relationships between different cultures and nations. Hofstede, by virtue of his position with IBM, which at the time of his work was one of the world's most powerful corporations', was exposed to a variety of different cultures and he foresaw the advantages of understanding different cultures in an effort to motivate employees, structure projects within the organization, and developing corporate strategy. Hofstede (1980) recognized that what worked in one business location might not work elsewhere. Because of his work with IBM he had experience with different cultures and knew how cultural norms played a significant role in the mechanics and interpersonal relationships at work. In developing his cultural dimensions, Hofstede was attempting to develop a system that could provide business executives and others immersed in day-to-day contact with different cultures a starting point for evaluating an approach for making decisions and actions depending on the society and culture at hand (Hofstede, 1980).

Although Hofstede's work has been widely discussed and cited by both professionals in the field of cultural study and business practitioners, it has also been highly controversial. Hofstede has his supporters and his detractors and a consensus as to the validity of his findings has not been reached, although his research is still highly respected (Blodgett et al., 2008).

Antagonists of Hofstede's conclusions base their criticisms on a variety of factors ranging from the age of the study (Hofstede, 1991), the source of the data (Schwartz, 1999), and the possibility of bias (Newman & Nollen, 1996; Soondergard, 1994). More recently, there has been concern raised regarding the generality of the sample, the level of analysis, the comparison of political boundaries to culture, and the validity of the instrument (Smith, 2006). Still others have challenged the assumption of the homogeneity of each culture studied (Sivakumar & Nakata, 2001).

Despite the criticisms, Hofstede's study has remained as a viable research tool in the field of cultural study and remains the most popular approach to cultural assessment. Debate within the field of cultural research is an expected part of the process of theory development in any segment of modern science. Hofstede's achievement is that his work has become to be the standard against which all others doing research in the area of cultural studies must make reference. Any serious study related to examining cultural influences must address Hofstede's work in order to be taken seriously (Sivakumar & Nakata, 2001).

Culture

The backdrop for this entire study is the concept of culture. Culture and its impact upon behavior was the focal point of Hofstede's research and it is the focal point of this study as well. Accordingly, some understanding of what is meant by culture within the confines of this study is necessary.

Although a clear definition of culture would be helpful in understanding not only Hofstede's conclusions and the results of this study, culture is one of those concepts that defy a clear definition. Thousands of researchers engaged in the field of cultural studies have attempted to define it and yet the concept continues to mean different things to different people (Doney, Cannon, & Mullen, 1998). Scholars have provided various definitions for culture. Some have defined culture as a system of information that is composed of creating, sending, storing, and processing information in its various forms (Doney, Cannon, & Mullen, 1998). Culture also reflects the system of values and norms of individuals that is shared collectively among different groups and collectively designs the living process of individuals (Doney et al., 1998). Culture can also be defined as the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes members of different groupings (Doney et al., 1998). This programming has been operating since individuals were born.

For purposes of this study, culture will be defined as a sharing of a set of values that influence societal perceptions, preferences, and responses. These values are obtained through living with others in a community setting (Belot & Ederveen, 2005) and they are shared and transmitted from one generation to another through the process of learning and modeling (Bandura, 1986). The process begins at birth and as the individual progresses through life culture is ingrained through influences from family, school, religion, workplace, friends, television, newspaper and books, and a plethora of other sources. These patterned behaviors differ among various social groups. Culture sometimes refers to the usual manner of doing and saying and represents the ways of living (Belot & Ederveen, 2005). Culture portrays a complex matrix of individual behaviors and is more subjective than objective (Belot & Ederveen, 2005).

Together cultural values comprise the cultural system, which is a system of ideas that provides a design for living to the individuals (Weber as cited by Doney et al. 1998, p. 607). Culture is based on the ideology that every ethnic identity represents specific characteristics. In some cases, culture has been identified as an innate process, but most research has proved that it is learned through social and environmental interactions (Hofstede and Hofstede, 2005).

Culture is observed as a collective phenomenon and is comprised of unstated rules (Hofstede, 1991). Simply, culture is a system that distinguishes between in and out groups of individuals. In the literature, scholars have identified approximately 160 definitions of culture (Doney et al., 1998). In the era of technological advancements and globalization, researchers are interested in studying rationales for the variations among cultures and exploring the values, logic, and aesthetics involved, as well as the ontology and epistemology of this concept.

What is National Culture?

The existence of a national culture is the backbone of Hofstede's conclusions. His entire set of cultural dimensions is set up to evaluate nations based on his four central and, as he claims, largely independent bi-polar dimensions. It is how nations score on four, now five, dimensions that determine their national culture. National culture can be defined as the culture represented by the significant members of a society located within a specific geographical location, which makes these individuals separable from individuals of other cultures forms (Doney et al., 1998, p. 608). National cultures are comprised of the beliefs and values an individual encounters in early childhood that distinguish one group of people from another (Beck & Moore as cited by Newman & Nollen, 1996, p. 754; Hofstede as cited by Newman & Nollen, 1996).

Hofstede (2005) further defines national culture as the national character of an individual that reflects observer biases and stereotyping. Speaking generally, all individuals have similar common problems but are disparate in terms of their thought processes (Hofstede, 1991). The influence of national culture deeply affects day-to-day activities, thus reflecting obvious resistance to change in terms of behavior. The influence of national cultural values on an individual is strong, and it is possible to identify the nationality of an individual through his or her values and practices (Hofstede and Hofstede, 2005), or so Hofstede argues.

Wherever individuals live, they are interpreted and analyzed according to the values of their current cultural framework (G. J. Hofstede, Pedersen, & G. Hofstede, 2002). Migration to various countries due to globalization has caused significant interactions between different nations, thus providing the opportunity to acknowledge the cultural values of different cultures, tracing, and tracking the responses of nationals.

Hofstede's Study of Culture

In reviewing the literature on culture, Hofstede's conclusions on Cultural Dimensions are undoubtedly one of the most widely accepted and frequently cited theories (Hofstede, 1983). In his various studies, Hofstede studied the cultural framework of almost 200 countries (Hofstede, 1980, 1991, 2005). As defined by Hofstede, culture is a mental programming process, the similarity and synchronization of which leads to peaceful situations; differentiation develops conflicts. On a national level, cultural differences can generate irritation and could lead to disastrous conditions (Hofstede, 1983).

Scope of Hofstede's Framework

Hofstede's framework of culture was designed for studying cultures at the national level (Blodgett et al., 2008). The framework has been extensively used in consumer marketing, as well as advertising, to develop global brand strategies; to observe complaint behavior; to observe service quality, consumer innovativeness, persuasion, acceptance of new products, and impulsive buying behaviors; and to study consumer product expectations and organizational ethical decision-making processes (Blodgett et al., 2008). Hofstede's framework also provided the base for cross-cultural marketing and consumer behavior research.

Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions

Initially Hofstede presented four major cultural dimensions in his cultural framework (Blodgett et al., 2008). The first four primary dimensions: power distance, individualism, masculinity, and uncertainty avoidance were developed by Hofstede from his study of the IBM survey data. The fifth dimension, long-term orientation, was introduced later. His initial study was criticized for what some experts believed was its western bias so Hofstede teamed with M.H. Bond and conducted a survey that was based on Confucian theory and arose from a study of a database of Chinese employees (Hofstede, 1987). The framework was underpinned with the concept that all individuals are driven by their beliefs, morals, norms, customs, attitudes, and ethical standards (Blodgett et al., 2008). From the review of this new data Hofstede expanded his dimensions so that there are now five dimensions: Individualism/Collectivism (IDV), Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI), Masculinity/Femininity (MAS), Power Distance (PDI), and Long-Term vs. Short-Term Orientation (LTO).

Individualism/Collectivism: This dimension defines the degree of contrast between individualism and collectivism. In individualistic societies, individuals are expected to look after themselves and their immediate family, whereas in collectivistic societies, individuals assume a broader approach and are more concerned about society in general (Blodgett et al., 2008). Individualistic societies primarily value personal interest and achievement, along with self-expression and independence, rather than recognizing themselves as members of an extended family, focusing on group achievements, and respecting traditions and customs (Blodgett et al., 2008). In collectivist societies, identity is based on group association and losing face is important because when one does something wrong it reflects not only on one's self but also on the group to which one belongs. Unlike individualistic societies where individual achievement is emphasized, collectivist societies emphasize group goals, needs, and views. The IDV dimension of Hofstede's cultural framework helps in identifying the leadership behavior of an individual (Doney et al., 1998, p. 607). It was identified that those cultures that reflect wealthy economic development depict individualism rather than collectivism.

Uncertainty avoidance: Uncertainty avoidance is the measurement of how individuals respond to uncertainty, ambiguity, and threats from others and the environment. Different societies develop different belief systems to comfort their members (Blodgett et al., 2008). Hofstede's (1983) study assesses the degree to which the culture avoids the uncertain and ambiguous situations and issues. High UAI scores indicate a low tolerance for uncertainties. Therefore, cultures with high UAI scores tend to adopt formal values and strict rules and individuals with such societies take fewer risks. Financial and social security are afforded high priority. These societies tend to show greater consensus and need for rule and regulation in written form and do not allow deviations from norms (Blodgett et al., 2008).

At the opposite end of the spectrum, societies with low UA scores are less concerned with rules and norms and more apt to take risks. Such societies are adverse to the use of rigid rules and the development of formal hierarchies. These types of societies are highly dynamic (Blodgett et al., 2008).

Masculinity/Femininity: The MAS dimension is defined as the degree to which a society accepts male or female value and defines gender roles in society. Masculine society embraces values such as success, money, and personal accomplishments with characteristics like aggressiveness, ambition, and competition, whereas a feminine society stresses care for others and quality of life, depicting attributes like humility, modesty, and nurturing (Blodgett et al., 2008). Members of a masculine cultural society believe in self-achievement, exert male power, and have variable male sex roles. Feminine societies are service oriented where the importance of size and strength are minimized. Obtaining consensus on important issues is deemed important and the quality of life is considered far more important than the accumulation of materials and wealth. Masculine societies admire the strong while feminine societies sympathize with the weak and oppressed.

Power Distance: The PDI dimension defines the degree to which power is disparate within a society. The more a society demonstrates power distance, the more formalized its code of conduct and the greater the gap between employee and employer (Blodgett et al., 2008). PDI also reflects the degree to which the culture of a country accepts institutional power and the decisions of institutions and organizations. Hofstede (1983) found a negative relationship between power difference and individualism. Societies inclined toward power distance also show larger status differentiation and countries with large populations tend to practice greater power distance. Hofstede also noted that power distance increases with unequal distribution of wealth, and consequently, in such societies there is greater distance between personal and professional relations.

Long-term vs. short-term orientation: This dimension was added subsequent to the publication of Hofstede's original work in response to criticism that his four dimensions were biased toward western values and standards. Also known as Confucian Dynamism, LTO was developed to explain Asian countries' economic development. This dimension deals with virtue, rather than dependency on the truth, and refers to the long-term cultural propensity for the adoption of social and cultural values (Ryu, 2005). It refers to the promotion of specific set of activities for the economic development of a country through Confucian teachings, which include factors such as saving face, a sense of embarrassment, and following levels in a hierarchy.

In other terms, LTO could be defined as the societal pragmatic approach toward future orientation instead of a short-term, conservative perspective. Cultures that have low tendency toward long-term orientation exhibit shorter relationships and engagement than those with high long-term orientation scores. Generally, orientation score shows individuals' ability for gratification (Boeree, 2007). Many industrialized Western countries scored relatively low in terms of LTO (Ryu, 2005).

Hofstede's Cultural Index for the United States

Hofstede's Cultural Index defined the type of cultural values in a society. Hofstede (1983) measured the scores of various countries. LTO is a newly added cultural dimension and therefore, was not calculated in Hofstede's original cultural dimensions (see Tables 1 and 2) and, therefore, does not appear in the following tables. Hofstede added the LTO dimension in 1988.

Table 1

Hofstede's U.S. Cultural Index Values and Rankings on Four Dimensions

Dimension

Value

Ranking

40

16

UAI

46

11

91

50

MAS

62

36

Note. Adapted from "National Cultures in Four Dimensions: A Research-Based Theory of Cultural Differences Among Nations," by G. Hofstede, 1983, International Studies of Management & Organization, 13(1/2), 46 -- 74. Copyright 1983 by M.E. Sharpe Inc. Adapted with permission.

Table 2

Hofstede's U.S. Cultural Index Values and Rankings on Five Dimensions

Dimension

Value

40

UAI

46

91

MAS

62

LTO

29

Note. Adapted from "National Cultures in Four Dimensions: A Research-Based Theory of Cultural Differences Among Nations," by G. Hofstede, 1983, International Studies of Management & Organization, 13(1/2), 46 -- 74. Copyright 1983 by M.E. Sharpe Inc. Adapted with permission.

Interpretation of Scores

The U.S. score for PDI is significantly low, showing that U.S. society encourages equal cooperation, coordination, and lesser power distance though equality and sharing between societal levels including families and governmental and public organizations. Hofstede's U.S. Cultural Index shows that the highest score of any dimension (91) was given for the IDV scale. This score indicates that the U.S. society is a highly individualistic one where individual achievement is admired but the bonds among communities are loose, and individuals desire to be self-reliant and independent.

The MAS dimension also shows a high score (62), depicting U.S. society as having a high degree of gender differentiation. Society is mostly dominated by males with respect to power, thus suppressing the role of women in society. The UAI score is low, showing that individuals in U.S. society do not follow rules, and thus, outcomes cannot be controlled. U.S. society also demonstrates tolerance for beliefs, norms, and values of different cultures. Finally, the LTO score is very low, showing that Americans believe in meeting cultural obligations and appreciates the values and norms of various cultures (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. A five-dimension model for Hofstede's U.S. Culture Index.

Summarizing Hofstede's Five Cultural Dimensions

Hofstede (1980) defined culture as the collective programming of the mind, which distinguishes the members of one group or society from those of another. Additionally, people's minds can be programmed differently according to their experiences in life. This is an important element when it comes to taking into account the cultural side of management that tries to understand the functioning of work organisations and the people within them.

Thornhill (1993) explains that the concept of culture derives from social anthropology and refers to a community's shared way of life. Culture is learned from others and leads to shared beliefs "the way we think about things around here" and shared behavior, "the way we do things around here." Williams, Dobson and Walters (1989) demonstrate how we learn these attributes without being aware of it by preferring to refer to "commonly held beliefs, attitudes and values rather than shared (ones) [because] individuals within a given culture have not been able to discuss and reach a consensus on how to think and behave in a given situation. Nevertheless they will still tend to think and behave similarly." Such statement illustrates the intangible nature and yet powerful influence of culture.

What is also important is that commonly held beliefs and values will vary between different societies and countries leading to the idea of specific national cultures and national cultural differences. In his book, Culture's Consequences, which is still today considered the primary reference in the field, Hofstede (1980) added "dimensions" to Hall's (1976) concepts of "time and communication context." Statistical analysis of his data suggested that four dimensions could describe the more important differences among the cultures in the study. These dimensions are areas of behavior that differ one culture from another, namely power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, and masculinity. These four dimensions, along which all the countries could be positioned, were also found in subsequent studies in different environments by other researchers. A fifth dimension was later added (Hofstede, 1987, 1988) which is Confucian Dynamism and refers to time orientation (long or short-term references). He later used the term "long-term orientation." This dimension was added by Hofstede after conducting extensive research in China in the early 90's. He observed that the Chinese would not easily buy by credit, they would plan for future generations more than for their own, they would be patient and fatalist on future events and they consider older people as guides and holders of wisdom. Families would take good care of the elderly and respect them for their contributions. Coming from the Western civilization that does the opposite, this fifth dimension became another essential component in the process of understanding cultural difference. When looking at each dimension we realize that they relate to a tendency that may differentiate or bring people together. They are not to be used as stereotypes, but they can explain tendencies observed in different geographic areas and are also very practical for identifying differences and similarities between individuals. The five cultural dimensions are summed up in Table 2.

Table 2

Cultural Dimensions (Source: Hofstede, 1988, 1987, 1980)

Dimension

Explanation

Issue

1.Individualism

vs

Collectivism

Individualism: self-reliance.

Collectivism: in-group reliance.

Degree of interdependence

A society maintains among individuals.

2. Large vs.

Small

Power Distance

Power Distance: degree of acceptance of unequal power distribution in institutions and organizations.

Large Power Distance: no justification required for a set hierarchy.

Small Power Distance: justification required and strive for power equalization.

Handling of inequalities.

3. Strong vs.

Weak

Uncertainty

Avoidance

Uncertainty Avoidance: degree to which the members of a society feel uncomfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity.

Strong Uncertainty Avoidance: rigid codes of belief and behaviour and intolerance towards deviance.

Weak Uncertainty Avoidance: practice counts more than principles, plus tolerance toward deviance.

Society's attitude toward the future.

4. Masculinity

vs. Femininity Masculinity: achievement, heroism, assertiveness and material success.

Femininity: relationships, modesty, caring for the weak and quality of life.

Allocation of social roles to the genders.

5. Long-term orientation

Strong: long-term orientation, planning for future generations;

Weak: short-term orientation, quick return on action sought.

Degree of planning and vision.

Later research by other authors has furthered Hofstede's dimensions (Schwartz and Bilsky, 1987, 1990, Trompenaars, 1993, Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars, 1994) and introduced new dimensions and theories (Triandis, 1997, Hall, 1976, 1983, 1989, Schwartz, 1992, Schwartz and Bilsky, 1987, 1990, Trompenaars, 1996). For instance, Trompenaars (1996) presented a dimension about the role people assign to their natural environment. According to him, some societies are inner-directed; that is, they believe they can and should control nature by imposing their will upon it. Others are outer-directed; they tend to see themselves as itself a product of nature. This study is based only on Hofstede's dimensions because they are the original ones and other dimensions added in more recent research can easily be included or explained by the original five.

Stability of Hofstede's Study

Within the literature, there is little consensus regarding the stability or instability of culture. Therefore, it is unclear whether time and global mobility have had any significant effect on the U.S. national culture. This study will attempt to measure this effect and because the present literature has not been able to clarify this matter, this study takes on increased importance. If Hofstede's conclusions regarding the slow nature of change in a nation's culture are accurate, the analysis of data from this study should indicate little or no change in the national culture of the United States as a result of time and/or global migration. Hofstede believed and argued that the values representing the preferred states of societal culture are slow to change (G. Hofstede & G.J. Hofstede, 2005). If the statistical analysis done through this study indicates that the U.S. national culture has changed little since 1980, the date of Hofstede's initial study, then the stability of Hofstede's conclusions can be confirmed.

Globalization

With the increasing population of the world and the rapid interaction among various countries, the term globalization was introduced in the 20th century. Since 1980, it has been frequently used to describe the process of industrial revolution in developed and developing countries. Proponents of globalization argue that the process promotes material prosperity while opponents argue that it comes with a high price. One of these costs is the perceived destruction or compromising of the world's distinctive cultures, which many fear, may result in a world that becomes one large, sterilized marketplace (Barber, 1996). In other words, globalization is defined as the integration of economies through unreserved trading, cash flows, knowledge, and technology sharing. Although a global village has been formed, it has many disparate quarters (G. J. Hofstede et al., 2002).

Mostert (2003) defined globalization as rising assimilation among goods, services, and capital markets. Globalization has variable impacts on the domestic and international phenomena of each country. Globalization also has various pros and cons. It influences national economies and has intensified competition and economies in terms of mutual dependence. Moreover, it has reduced cultural differences, improved communication, improved standards of living, and decreased labor costs (Goyal, 2006).

Globalization also has been blamed for income inequality in developing countries in the 1980s and 1990s (Goldberg & Pavcnik, 2007). The major challenges that arose from globalization in the 1980s and 1990s were (a) the decline observed in low-skilled labor cost in total production due to emerging competitive companies (from 25% in the 1970s to 5% -- 10% today) and (b) the emerging concept of global localization to reinforce a flexible production process (Oman, 1994).

Globalization's Impact on National Culture

Although there are many economic advantages associated with globalization as it has shrunk the world to a global village, it has had various negative impacts on the national culture of countries. Due to widespread migration, the cultural values of new countries are being absorbed by migrating populations to create a hybrid of various cultures (Oman, 1994). These hybrids are replacing or completely changing previously existing national cultures (Oman, 1994).

Because the term globalization may be defined as the diffusion of communities around the world, it has a widespread impact on everyday life. It has reduced communication gaps through more interaction and better communication. It also has provided societies in different parts of the world with opportunities to know the cultures of different nations (Hill, 2005). Globalization has helped nations to value and respect other nations' norms and values, leading to mitigation of racial discrimination and legislation. Thus, rapid globalization and economic integration have affected the cultural boundaries between the nations, making them vague and indistinct (Hill, 2005).

Global Migration's Influence on National Culture

Research has identified that global migration plays a critical role in affecting the national culture of a country. Migration affects national cultures and can generate a positive impact on national culture unless immigrants realize that they are economically and politically dependent on the country but not culturally dependent on the society (Kaube, 2003). Migration also has given rise to significant cultural issues as globalization has successively generated consequences for individuals' migration (Serra, 2004). In this respect, countries like the United States, Argentina, and Brazil have been identified to contain a large population of immigrants.

According to Levin Institute (2010), many nationalist politicians have ridden the antiglobal sentiment, including Pat Buchanan from the United States, Jean-Marie Le Pen from France, and Vladimir Zhirinovsky from Russia. Jean-Marie Le Pen stated that the immigrant's entry into a country leads to submersion of the country, its people, and its civilization. Measures were taken to mitigate new nation states that form due to globalization. Therefore, national culture not only shows the significant features associated with a country or individual, but also the culture of a large population that shares similar groundings and values (Levin Institute, 2010).

Collectivism vs. Individualism

Individuals from cultures that depict individualism have freedom of speech and the power to make decisions. Checks and balances, suggestions, and opinions are welcomed in these cultures. Discrepancies associated with extreme individualistic culture are that individuals may become self-centered (Hofstede, 2009). Advantages of a collectivist culture are revealed through teamwork, associations among community members through collaborations, and fewer conflicts and confrontations (Hofstede, 2009).

Section four: Kolb's Learning Styles theory

How people learn and develop new skills is the key idea behind the ELT theory which offers multi-dimensional approach and perfect learning model particularly in cross cultural environment. Theory is called experiential learning because past and present experiences play the most important role in identification of key cultural preferences. ELT is somehow different from cognitive learning theory because former leads with behavioral learning while later deals with cognition. Hence, the role of subjective experience in learning is denied in mere cognitive modules (Kolb, 1984).

There is another reason behind calling it experiential because the core concepts of the theory have been taken from experiential studies of Dewey, Lewin, and Piaget. Taken together, Dewey's philosophical pragmatism, Lewin's social psychology, and Piaget's cognitive-developmental genetic epistemology; where all of them collectively come up with a unique perspective of learning (Kolb, 1984).

According to the Experiential Learning Model and the Learning Styles Experiential learning theory, learning is defined as a certain procedure or process in which the creation of knowledge takes place through transforming experience. It is a result of combining what experiences are grasped and how they are transformed (Kolb 1984, p. 41). For grasping experiences, 2 modes have been presented by the ELT model. These are the Abstract Conceptualization (AC) and the Concrete Experience (CE). These two are related to each other modes for transforming experiences that are the Active Experimentation (AE) and the Reflective Observation (RO). As shown in Figure 1. Immediate experiences are usually used as the base for reflections and observations. The assimilation of these reflections takes place and then the distilling occurs into a certain abstract concept through which new ways of acting are deduced. The implications that are deduced are tested actively and also serve as a guide in a creation of a new particular experience (Kolb, 1984).

When the learning model of ELT is further examined, one can deduce that the learning that occurs needs certain polar opposite abilities from which the learners decide what will be used for a particular context or a situation for learning. When we grasp experiences, we usually tend to perceive any additional or previously unknown information through experiencing the tangible and concrete via our senses. We thus led to the immersion of ourselves in tangible reality. However, on the other hand, many others would grasp any previously unknown information through representation of a symbol or the conceptualization of anything abstract. They would think, analyze, and even plan systematically rather than entirely being dependent on their sensations. Thus, while we transform and process experiences, many of us tend to look carefully other actors involved in that particular experience while many others believe in taking action and start being involved themselves. The watchers are considered to prefer reflective observation while the ones stepping into action are considered to strongly prefer active experimentation (Kolb, 1984).

Each and every dimension in this learning process leads to certain choices. For instance, as it impossible virtually to both drive a (Concrete Experience) as well as carry out the analysis of the manual regarding the functioning of the vehicle (Abstract Conceptualization), the issue is thus resolved through making a definite choice. Due to the processes that we have from heritage, our current environment, and our experiences in life, a certain method of choosing or making choices is preferred. The resolving of the conflict occurs through abstract or concrete, or amongst reflective or active in certain patterned ways. The patterns that are used are referred to as the "learning styles (Kolb, 1984)."

The Learning Style Inventory (LSI) was developed by David Kolb in 1971 for assessing the styles of learning of various individuals. While there are many patterns for determining the cumulative scores of each person on the test, research further carried out on the LSI has led to the identification of four dominant styles of learning. These are Accommodating, Converging, Assimilating, and Diverging (Figure 1). Research as well as clinical observations regarding LSI scoring patterns has been used as the basis for the summaries that are presented below (Kolb, 1984, 1999a, 1999b).

Diverging. In the Diverging style of learning, the prevalent learning abilities use CE and RO. People who use this learning style tend to view from various angles any form of concrete situation. The word 'Diverging' is used because such individuals perform extremely well in environments where there is a requirement for generating ideas, for instance brainstorming sessions. Furthermore, they share wide cultural interests and like collecting information. They find people to be interesting and are usually emotional and imaginative. Art is one of their specializations. For many formal occasions of learning, groups are preferred by such individuals and they tend to actively listen with a clear mind to receive feedback (Kolb, 1984).

Reflective Observation (RO) and Abstract Conceptualization (AC) are the two main learning abilities of assimilating style. The people who possess this learning style are very quick in understanding vast amount of information and can format that data very logically and concisely. Those people having assimilating style are mostly interested in abstract and innovative ideas. They evaluate the theory in a logical way rather than focusing on its practical value. While learning people having this style does prefer lectures, evaluation of analytical procedures, readings and spend time in thinking for in-depth knowledge. Therefore, this style is important for the people interested in science career and also for effectiveness of data available (Kolb, 1984).

The two main learning abilities of converging style are the Active Experimentation (AE) and the Abstract Conceptualization (AC). People having this style of learning are mostly interested in practical values of new ideas and concepts. These people are capable of making decisions and solving the problems on the basis of practical solutions of those problems. People having Converging style of learning are not focused on social or interpersonal issues but they prefer to do technical tasks and try to solve the problems technically. People who go for technical careers and specialization usually have converging style of learning. While, learning they like to experiment innovative ideas, laboratory assignments, practical applications and simulation (Kolb, 1984).

Active Experimentation AE) and Concrete Experience (CE) are the two main learning abilities of Accommodating style. People having accommodating style of learning are capable of learning from the starting "hand-on" experience. These people like to make effective plans and get them engaged in innovative and challenging experiences. The people with this style go for their internal 'gut' feeling for the solution rather than their logical reasons. While, solving the problems these people rely on the information gathered from the people and do not follow their personal technical analysis (Kolb, 1984).

For the progressive move in the career where a job is completely based on producing accomplishments, such approach of development is more successful. Individuals prefer to work in teams where they have got certain goals to achieve and to meet those goals in their set patterns they are more inclined to work in prescribed patters of learning and development (Kolb, 1984).

Factors that Shape and Influence Learning Styles

At the different stages of behavior, above stated examples interlinked with the behavior styles are displayed time and again. Over the period of thirty years, researchers have found the enormous features of learning styles on a ladder of five different stages. These can be categorized as personal traits, education and its earliness, profession, job description and capability to get used to circumstances (Kolb, 1984).

Personality Types. ELT chases Carl Jung while understating the approaches of learning that it is derived from one's way of how he prefers to take things around him. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) combines the study of ELT by utilizing the Jung's Extraversion/Introversion parlance aspects and LSI. MBTI associates the one's way of thinking to the LSI's experience and element of conception. At the same time MBTI aptitude is correlated to the learning style of getting accommodated, perceptive form and assimilating style. Approaches of getting a feeler in MBTI keep up a correspondence to the thinking categories of LSI (Kolb, 1984).

Discussion above concludes that the learning approach of accommodating is another type of extraverted sensing while congregating style is the extraverted type of thinking. Diverging style develops a relationship with the feelings which are introvert whereas assimilating develops a connection with intuitive personality consisted of introvert aspects. Myers (1962) has presented numerous details in MBTI which are in close coordination with the learning styles of LSI as stated by the ELT (can be examined through Kolb, 1984, pp: 83-85). Educational Specialization. Familiarity with the initial stages of education creates the way of learning for an individual to move on by developing positivity for the accomplishments and understanding how to adapt it. Even the early education is consisted of generic studies and gets in a specialised version when move to the higher level and gets more aggressive when enters to the college time. This set of specialized course of action covered in the knowledge being gained from society enforces to learn, grow and make relations between what is learnt and what is to be done in a particular discipline. Students who prefer to study subjects like History, English, Political science (Kolb, 1984), Arts and Psychology are expected to get into learning styles which are more diverge in nature. In comparison students of engineering and Physical Sciences get into the completely opposite learning style which converges in nature. The ones who have got early education in managerial and business studies have the accommodating and assimilating style of learning with studies of sciences, mathematics, chemistry, economics and sociology. The third stage where the there is professional learning helps to shape up the learning of an individual. Selection of a specific field in professional profile represents the interest of a person to the surroundings he is used to with. At the same time it also shows how an individual responds to certain set of situation that appears in different shapes. An individual joins the group of people sharing same interests and mental approach of taking things along. This is how one's professional point of reference figures out the practices in professional life and confident enough to handle the stress and anxiety (Kolb, 1984).

Research being done in many years has represented the social service in the various fields like hospitality, nursing, welfare activities line of work where communication is an integral part like media, education and creativity; learners are inclined to be diverging in learning standards. Assimilating styles of learning are associated to those who show interest in studying science subjects like mathematics, physical sciences and biology or the ones who go for the research-based work like law and research education etc. Learning styles which are convergent in nature are more influential in areas like information technology, medical sciences, computer studies, economics and environmental sciences etc. Accommodating learning styles differentiate the professionals in business management, financial sector, administrative tasks and advertising and promotional activities (Kolb, 1984).

Current Job Role. The fourth stage of learning style where the job and its functionalities are more involved compared to rest of other elements. It shows how and when the stress at work reflects ones adaptability pattern. A generic management style needs the solid empowerment and the decision making authority needs the accommodating style of learning (Kolb, 1984).

Job responsibilities where there are interaction and administrative tasks are more involved need to be backed by diverging learning style. Research-based works that have need of getting the data gathered from different resources and the concept realization have the assimilating learning style. Jobs with the production management and engineering-based experience are mostly required and where the technical side is on top priority convergent learning style works out (Kolb, 1984).

Adaptive competencies. Capability of adapting certain situation is fifth level of learning style which encompasses the explicit assignment or the situation on the top line. Every situation needs to be dealt with certain skills set to get the desired outcome. When the situation and the required knowledge are met it makes out a perfect level of addictiveness. A set of skills where leadership traits, an initiative approach, and the action plan is involved, accommodative learning style takes place in the best possible manner. The Diverging learning style has a relevant association with valuing skills. These include focusing on relationships and trying to help other people. On the other hand, the learning style of Assimilating has a relation with skills related to thinking. These include gathering of information, analysis of that information, and then the building of theories based on that information. The learning style of Converging related with the skills for making decisions, such as the usage of technology, setting of goals, and quantitative analyses (Kolb, 1984).

Section five: Conceptual Framework

Kolb's Learning Styles and Hofstede's cultural dimensions will be used to identifying the factors affecting the impact of each training stimulus on each population (U.S. And French). Stimuli will be identified according to Kolb's learning styles and reactions to these stimuli will be categorized according to Hofstede's cultural dimensions and by nationality.

The independent variables are:

Nationalities (French and American) for hypothesis 1 and 3

Cultural dimensions for hypothesis 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e

The dependent variables are:

Learning Styles (diverger, converger, assimilator, accommodator) for hypothesis 1, 2 and 3

The covariates are (only for hypothesis 3):

Age

Gender

Education background

Profession

Cultural Dimension

A graphical representation of the conceptual framework of the relationships between the foregoing variables to be used in the proposed study is provided in Figure 2 below.

Figure 2 - Conceptual framework

The study will seek to understand the possible relationship between nationality (American vs. French), cultural dimensions and learning styles. Additionally, the study will also seek to understand if respondent demographics and their cultural dimensions influence the relationship between nationality and learning style. Subsequently, through semi-structured interviews, a relationship will be sought between the nationality and the preferred training style.

Hypotheses

The proposed study will seek to confirm or refute the following hypotheses based on statistically significant findings that emerge from the administration of the two survey instruments described further in the Data Collection Tools section. Research Question 1 will be addressed with Hypothesis testing 1, and Research Question 2 will be addressed with the results of Hypotheses 2 and 3.

H1: French and American learners differ in terms of learning styles. French learners prefer the learning styles (Kolb) of assimilators and divergers whereas American learners prefer the learning styles of convergers and accommodators.

Ho1: French and American learners do not differ in terms of learning styles

H2: Learning styles differ based on cultural dimension of the respondents.

Ho2: Learning styles do not differ based on cultural dimension of the respondents.

H2a: learning styles differ in terms of power distance (PDI) scores.

Ho2a: learning styles do not differ in terms of power distance (PDI) scores

H2b: learning styles differ in terms of masculinity (MAS) scores.

Ho2b: learning styles do not differ in terms of power distance (PDI) scores.

H2c: learning styles differ in terms of uncertainty avoidance (UAI) scores.

Ho2c: learning styles do not differ in terms of power distance (PDI) scores

H2d: learning styles differ in terms of individualism (IND) scores.

Ho2d: learning styles do not differ in terms of power distance (PDI) scores

H2e: learning styles differ in terms of long-term orientation (LTO) scores.

Ho2e: learning styles do not differ in terms of power distance (PDI) scores

H3: French and Americans differ in terms of learning styles after controlling for the cultural dimensions and demographic variables.

Ho3: French and Americans do not differ in terms of learning styles after controlling for the cultural dimensions and demographic variables.

Chapter 3: Methodology

The research process

This chapter aids two chief aims; primarily it will focus the methodology being used in this research study; furthermore, explanations for selecting this kind of methodology will be given. This section is divided into subsequent eight subparts;

1. Research design;

2. Research philosophy;

3. Research approach;

4. Research Strategy;

5. Validity

a. Validity -- generalized

6. Reliability

a. Reliability -- generalized

7. Data collection;

a. primary research

b. secondary research

8. Research Population and Sample Description;

a. Population

b. Sample

c. Sample Selection

d. Sampling Technique

e. Collection Technique in an Electronic Environment

f. Independent Variables

g. Dependent Variables

h. Determination of Sample Size

i. Power Analysis

j. Statistical Analysis

k. Instrumentation Used for the Study

9. Threats to Validity;

10. Time Horizons and Research Type;

11. Permission for Use of Hofstede's VSM 08 Survey

12. Conclusion for the chapter

The aim of dividing the methodology section into these significant subparts is to highlight the goal and purpose of the research that needs to be targeted in order to make this research pragmatic and easy to carry out. Other than that the general purpose can be categorized into an investigative and practically doable topic (Cohen, Manion and Morrison, 2004).

Research Design

In line with Trochim (2006), there are two fundamental approaches towards research: the first is deductive and the second is inductive. Deductive reasoning, also referred as the "top-down" tactic, works from the more wide-ranging purpose to the more specialized aim. The inductive reasoning also referred to as the "bottom-up" tactic, works the opposite way i.e. It starts off from having specialized aims or hypotheses and then expands them into generalized as well as widespread practices and notions. In order to achieve the aims of this study: the researcher utilized the deductive approach.

A quantitative research approach is the most important mode of data inquiry for the social sciences and applied research (Marshall & Rossman, 2010). In quantitative research, a hypothesis is developed prior to the investigation. The hypothesis involves certain assumptions regarding the area of study and is tested through facts and findings achieved through the process of primary data collection. The analysis and interpretation of the collected data leads to generalized findings.

In a quantitative approach, numerical measurements generally are analyzed in terms of testing the hypotheses, identifying numerical differences between groups, and studying the extent of relationships. A quantitative study is undertaken in a closed system (or controlled experiment) by keeping variables under control or applying limitations while collecting the data. Objectivity of the research is claimed. Quantitative data involves quantifiable, measurable values for the data collected (Goddard & Melville, 2004). Thus, in the quantitative research method, data are analyzed through a statistical tool such as SPSS to generalize findings through prediction, accurate measurement, and explanation of data.

In this study, the design approach will be based on random assignment to the groups being sampled, which will eliminate the need for a control or multiple measures. The randomized approach is best in establishing a cause-effect relationship

Research Philosophy

Trochim (2006) in his study revealed that most of the researches are based on the idea that the accomplishment of the research aims will support the academia in logically comprehending the world around us: simultaneously, also figuring out the diverse viewpoints that might exist in numerous societies. This notion has been driven by two primary theoretical schools of thought. The first is Positivism, which means rebuking metaphysics: these researchers assert that all research studies ought to be rooted in the explanation of experiences). The second is Post-Positivism, which is classified as constructivist viewpoint, i.e. individual perceptions make us believe that the world and the organisms in it behave in a certain way). Both of these are particularly important in the sphere of traditional research studies.

Science, in line with a positivist, would help researchers achieve the real truth and logic of the world so that one can direct his/her actions in it better way. A positivist will always rely on determining the natural laws through direct examination and management. Most of the positivist argues that the issue of objectivity was an instilled characteristic of an individual who utilized scientific approaches. At the same time, the post-positivist argues that no individual could ever truly sustain to be objective in their viewpoint of an experience: and as a result, they believe that all personal points-of-view are subjective and biased to an extent. They classify unbiased-ness as a social experience only (Trochim, 2006).

When conducting quantitative research, a positivist philosophy is normally adopted (Sinha, 1969). A positivist research philosophy is based on facts, figures, and logical rationale of data collected in order to avoid speculation (Marshall & Rossman, 2010; Sinha, 1969). A positivist approach to a research problem involves results that are verified through factual findings and, hence, proved by logical interpretation.

Research Strategy

The chief elements of this research study scheme are explicating the methodology used in the study which will culminate into achieving the target of the researcher, identifying the resources and backup that will be needed in the analysis, interpretation and collection of data (Saunders et al., 2003). Survey method seemingly is the most suitable method used to conduct this form of research where both, induction and deduction methods are used. Therefore, the method has been proven as the most effective method. Thus, it provides the primary objective and goal of achieving useful information from the focused/target audience by asking related questions. It offers two chief methods to the researcher to choose the best among them depending on their kind of research being conducted. (1) Interview and (2) Questionnaires according to Trochim (2006) are two ways in which survey can be conducted. Trochim (2006) asserts that the survey is the best way to conduct this kind of research because it has the quality of adapting the range from open ended answers to face-to-face interview which makes it significantly an effective method. The standardized and exploratory format put forward by Hofstede in his early studies (1967, 1973) will be the format of questionnaire used in this study.

Research Approach

The application of quantitative research methodology for the current study involves the deductive approach. A deductive approach involves bottom-to-top data analysis (Marshall & Rossman, 2010). The approach according to which an observation-based theory is tested leads to generalized findings. For most quantitative research, a deductive approach is used. In a deductive approach, objectivity of the research problem and data are the major concerns. The quantitative approach utilizes a large number of respondents to gather data for the study (Sinha 1969).

Validity

This study will be contrasted with the study originally conducted by Hofstede between the years of 1967 and 1973. Obviously, duplicating Hofstede's study is impossible but for purposes of determining the validity of this study and the validity of Hofstede's study, the parameters of Hofstede's study must be understood. Hofstede's primary data was drawn from 116,000 surveys completed by 88,000 IBM employees living in 72 countries. Hofstede later reduced his study to only 40 countries due to the fact that 32 of the countries had fewer than 50 responses. Hofstede felt that the sample size for these countries was too minimal to be statistical significant. The data that Hofstede originally used in his study was pre-existing, that is, he did not create either the survey or administer its application (Hofstede, 1980). He simply did the analysis on data that was in existence when he became employed at IBM. There is no indication that the original data was done at more than one office in each country or that he examined the demographic profile of each office that was tested (Hofstede, 1991). As a safeguard, however, Hofstede did conduct a subsequent survey under his direction that tested the findings that he extrapolated from the original data. When his second study confirmed the results of his original study it lent support to the validity of his Cultural Dimensions.

As indicated earlier, the parameters of Hofstede's initial IBM study cannot be duplicated and, therefore, must be taken at their face value. However, his subsequent study, which validated his first study and created the Cultural Dimensions of national culture, can be replicated. The purpose of this study is to examine the stability of one aspect of Hofstede's theory and that is whether time and changing demographics have caused a shift in the cultural dimensions of the U.S. national culture and, therefore, whether Hofstede's claim that national culture is static remains a valid assertion.

Validity -- generalized

The authenticity or validity of a study is what lies behind its failure or success. Even the smallest level of illegitimacy can create the whole research a drowned effort. For any kind of data the validity lays in the depth, integrity and capacity of the information collected along with the targeted sample and the impartial strategy employed by the researcher. In this study, the researcher utilized the survey method (questionnaire and semi-structured interviews) with the same process for all subjects in the sample. This ensured that the dissimilarities present in the responses are personal genuine: hence the methodology will not be disapproved for being subjective or impartial in any way (Trochim, 2006).

Reliability

As country-level correlations differ from individual-level correlations, answers on questions used to measure a country-level dimension do not necessarily correlate across individuals. A reliability test like Cronbach's alpha on country mean scores. The IBM database (Hofstede, 1980) allows computing of Cronbach alphas for the first four dimensions across 40 countries (39 for UAI, 33 for PDI because of missing data). The values, based on standardized items, are:

Power Distance Index (3 items):

Alpha = .842

Individualism Index (6 items):

Alpha = .770

Masculinity Index (8 items):

Alpha = .760

Uncertainty Avoidance Index (3 items)

Alpha = .715

The rule of thumb for test reliability is a value over .700.

Reliability -- generalized

Reliability can be classified as the probability of other researches studies arriving at the same inference when computing with similar devices and using similar methods. In reality, issues of reliability demonstrate dilemmas and problems in both precision and accuracy of the measuring/calculating device being used in the study (Bouma, 2004).

Adhering to this point-of-view, Saunders et al. (2012) reveals the issues of bias, which is linked with reliability and can be classified into two types. The first is the researcher bias where observations, tone as well as body language of the researcher may produce bias and the subject may react different to the questions (Saunders et al., 2012). In this study, focus will be given to both planning and designing of the questionnaire so that they will not impose the researcher's viewpoint and beliefs. Moreover, the researcher will make efforts to build his trust wit the subjects so that reliability and validity doubts can be minimized.

The second type of bias is classified as the respondent's bias which is mainly triggered by views about the researcher (Saunders et al., 2012). In this research study, despite the fact that the researcher will make efforts to build trust prior to giving questionnaire, but it is obvious that the subjects will be aware about the delicate nature of certain questions and may decide not to reveal and answer certain questions. In addition, it can also be argued the subjects do not answer the questions with precision and accuracy and attempt to exaggerate their answers and give a positive picture.