There’s no time like the present….. in the series: intercultural teamwork

…. ie.: Don’t put it off until tomorrow.

What is important in your culture: looking at the here and now or looking to the future?

This article on Hofstede’s sixth and final cultural dimension is about precisely that: the temporal focus of a culture.

Is it more on today or the future? What values do you and others associate with the respective focus?

This article on Hofstede’s sixth and final cultural dimension is about precisely that: the temporal focus of a culture. Is it more on today or the future? What values do you and others associate with the respective focus?

This is a contrast that can lead to conflicts, particularly in cooperation between cultures at the poles of this dimension – long-term orientation and short-term orientation. Specifically, long-term orientation refers to the focus on future rewards for current efforts.

Short-term orientation is more about experiencing the here and now, or perhaps even the past. Traditions, especially in the family, are also important here.

In cultures with a long-term orientation, you will find the following characteristics:

• Perseverance and thrift are important social values.
• People are willing to subordinate themselves to others if the purpose justifies it.
• Pre-school children are more likely to be cared for by mothers.
• Old age’ is seen as a happy time and, relatively speaking, starts early.

In the world of work, long-term orientation has the following effects:

• The values of learning, honesty, adaptability, responsibility and self-discipline are particularly important.
• The long-term development of profits is more important than this year’s “bottom line”.
• Personal networks are cultivated for a lifetime.
• Ambiguous situations are seen as normal. (“If A is right, the opposite of A, i.e. B, can also be right.”)

In contrast, the following characteristics tend to characterize cultures with a short-term orientation:

• ‘Quick wins’, i.e. quick rewards for efforts are expected.
• Socially, there is more pressure to spend money than to save.
• Children receive gifts out of love and for fun.
• Modesty is primarily associated with female read people.

In the world of work, the short-term orientation has the following effects:

• The values of freedom, rights, achievement and independent thinking are held high.
• The financial focus is on the current “bottom line”.
• Networks and loyalties vary according to the circumstances of the business.
• Morally, there are universally accepted assumptions about what is good and what is bad.

To make the whole thing more visual, imagine that a project manager and their boss meet.

Let’s say the project manager is from Asia and the boss is from North America. The project’s monthly targets are not met. The boss has just realized this and confronts the project manager. What could be the two people’s key points for this conversation?

The boss is certainly interested in turning things around, understanding the reason for the development and defusing it, and above all, taking action right away. The project manager is most likely aware of why there is a problem. They have certainly already initiated countermeasures, but these may be more long-term in nature. If the problem has to do with the project team, they will certainly want to solve it as a team.

You have probably already guessed that there is no “one size fits all” solution here (a suitable solution for all situations), but knowing the sensitivities and values that usually control the behavior of these interlocutors completely unconsciously is the best basis for bringing the issue to a mutually satisfactory solution.

And with that – and an insight into why ‘World Savings Day’ exists in Austria and Germany, for example, but not in the USA – I wish you ‘happy intercultural teamworking’!

Under the links you will find the previous articles on

• masculinity
• indulgence
• individualism and collectivism
• uncertainty avoidance
• power distance
• Hofstede
• cultural misunderstandings

As business coach and trainer, I use my expertise and experience to support leaders and teams in strengthening your intercultural teamwork and benefit from cultural diversity .Get in touch!

See you soon,

Cary Langer-Donohoe