The Chapter is Presented By:
Sabina Yasmin
Outline of this ChapterDimensions of National Culture
National Values and the Teaching of Confucius
Two poles of Confucius values
Definition of Long- and Short-Term-Oriented
National Cultures
Key Differences between Short- and Long-Term
Orientation Societies: General Norm
Key Differences between Short- and Long-Term
Orientation Societies: Family
Key Differences between Short- and Long-Term
Orientation Societies: School
Key Differences between Short- and Long-Term
Orientation Societies: Work, and Business
Long- and Short-Term Orientation and Economic
Growth
Long- and Short-Term Orientation and Rates of
Impoverishment
Key Differences between Short- and Long-Term
Orientation Societies: Religion, and Ways of
Thinking
Fundamentalisms as Short-Term Orientation
The Future of Long- and Short-Term Orientation
Own View
Concluding Remarks
In this world different people, groups, nations who think, feel and
act differently. So, different countries have different cultures
which have been found in their family structures, school systems,
work and business system, religious communities, and ways of
thinking, institutions, governments, laws and legal system etc.
The book ‘Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind’
is about all these issues.
Power Distance
Individualism vs. Collectivism
Masculinity vs. Femininity
Uncertainty Avoidance
Confucian Dynamism (Long-term orientation vs.
Short-term orientation)
Hofstede’s Fifth Dimension
In Chapter-6 the author has given depth analysis of CVS
(Chinese Value Survey) fifth dimension. Hofstede added
this fifth dimension in the 1990s after finding that Asian
countries with a strong link to Confucian philosophy
acted differently from western cultures.
The stability of society is based on unequal relationships
between people.
The family is the prototype of all social organizations.
Virtuous behavior toward others consists of not treating
others as one would not like to be treated oneself.
virtue with regard to one’s tasks in life consists of trying to
acquire skills and education, working hard, not spending more
than necessary, being patient and persevering.
Two Poles of Confucius Values
Positive Poles Negative Poles
Positive pole
(persistence/perseverance, thrift,
ordering relationships by status and
having a sense of shame) that
expresses a dynamic orientation
toward the future.
Negative pole (reciprocation of
greetings, favors and gifts, respect
for tradition, protecting one’s
“face”, personal steadiness and
stability) that stands for a static
orientation toward the past and
present.
Long- and Short-Term-Oriented National
Cultures
A definition of the Hofstede’s fifth dimension is as follows :-
Long-Term Orientation (LTO) stands for the fostering of
virtues orientation toward future rewards-in particular,
perseverance, thrift.
On the other hand, its opposite pole, Short-Term Orientation
(STO) stands for the fostering of virtues related to the past and
present-in particular, respect for tradition, preservation of
“face”, and fulfilling social obligations.
Long-Term vs. Short-Term Orientation
This dimension was first identified in a survey among students
in 23 countries around the world, using a questionnaire
designed by Chinese scholars. As all countries with a history
of Confucianism scored near one pole which could be associated
with hard work, the study’s first author Michael Harris Bond
labeled the dimension Confucian Work Dynamism. The
dimension turned out to be strongly correlated with recent
economic growth. But none of the four IBM dimensions was
linked to economic growth. The dimension is ‘Long- Term
versus Short-Term Orientation’ and the long-term pole
corresponds to Bond’s Confucian Work Dynamism.
Long-Term Orientation Index (LTO) Values for 39 Countries and Regions
Country/Region Score RankChina 118 1
Hong Kong 96 2
Taiwan 87 3
Japan 80 4-5
Vietnam 80 4-5
Korea (South) 75 6
Brazil 65 7
India 61 8
Thailand 56 9
Hungary 50 11
Singapore 48 12
Netherlands 44 13-14
Norway 44 13-14
Ireland 43 15
Finland 41 16
Bangladesh 40 17-18
Switzerland 40 17-18
France 39 19
Belgium total 38 20-21
Slovakia 38 20-21
Italy 34 22
Sweden 33 23
Poland 32 24
Australia 31 25-27
Germany 31 25-27
Canada Quebec 23 25-27
New Zealand 30 28-30
Portugal 30 28-30
United States 29 28-30
Great Britain 25 31
Zimbabwe 25 32-33
Canada 23 34
Philippines 1 35-36
Spain 19 37
Nigeria 16 37
Czech Republic 13 38
Pakistan 0 39
The countries which have the longest term orientation tend to be
the countries of East Asia: China, Japan, Korea, but interestingly,
also Brazil and India. The five Eastern economic dragons (Hong
Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore) are in the top
10.
Also, the index across all 23 countries strongly correlated with the
economic growth. While China is on the top of the chart, but is not
the top economic nation, is because it started close to the bottom
economically, but its growth rate of 5 percent was leading at the
time.
CONTINUE……………………..
On the other hand, Bangladesh scoring medium (40) and
Pakistan extremely short. Besides, in short-term side, USA
and Britain is found, who start a war without thinking what
will happen the day afterwards. We also find the African
countries and the Muslim countries, which tend to be geared
towards the past rather than the future. They try to derive
from yesterday what they should do tomorrow.
The dimension of “LTO verses STO” can be
explained through (family, school, work, business,
economic growth, politics, rates of imprisonment,
religion and ways of thinking) where some
inconsistency have been found between LTO and
STO in various countries.
Dimensions of “LTO verses STO”
Key Differences Between Short- and Long-Term
Orientation Societies: General Norm
Short-term orientation Long-term orientation
Efforts should produce quick
result
Social pressure toward
spending
Respect for tradition
Concern with personal stability
Concern with social and status
obligations
Concern with ‘face’
Perseverance, sustained efforts
toward slow results
Thrift, being sparing with
resources
Respect for circumstances
Concern with personal
adaptiveness
Willingness to subordinate
oneself for a purpose
Having a sense of shame
Key Differences Between Short- and Long-Term Orientation
Societies: Family
Short-Term Orientation Long-Term Orientation
Marriage is a moral arrangement
Living within-laws is a source of
trouble
Young women associate affection
with a boyfriend
Humility is for women only
Old age is an unhappy period but it
Starts late
Marriage is a pragmatic
arrangement
Living within-laws is normal
Young women associate affection
with a husband
Humility is for men and women
Old age is an happy period but it
Starts early
Key Differences Between Short- and Long-Term Orientation
Societies: School
Short-Term Orientation Long-Term Orientation
Preschool children can be cared for by
others
Children get gift for fun and love
Children should learn tolerance and
respect for others
Birth order is not a matter of status
Students attribute success and failure to
luck
Talent for theoretical, abstract science
Less good at mathematics and at solving
formal problems
Mother should have time for their preschool
children
Children get gift for education and
development
Children should learn how to be thrifty
Older children in the family have authority
over younger children
Students attribute success to effort and
failure to lack of it
Talent for applied, concrete sciences
Good at mathematics and at solving formal
problems
Key Differences Between Short- and Long-Term Orientation
Societies: Business and Economics
Short-Term Orientation Long-Term Orientation
Main work values include freedom
rights, achievement, and thinking for
oneself
Leisure time is important
Focus is on bottom line
Importance of this year’s profits
Managers and workers are
psychologically in two camps
Main work values include learning,
honesty, adaptiveness, accountability and
Self discipline
Leisure time is not important
Focus is on market position
Importance of profits 10 year’s from now
Owner managers and workers share the
same aspirations
CONTINUE……………..
Short-Term Orientation Long-Term Orientation
Meritocracy, reward by abilities
Personal loyalties vary with business
need
There was slow or no economic growth
between 1970 and 2000
Small savings quote, little money for
investment
Investment in mutual fund
Wide social and economic differences are
undesirable
Investment in life-long personal networks
There was fast economic growth between
1970 and 2000
Large savings quote, funds are available
for investment
Investment in real estate
In the last three decades of the twentieth century economic growth is strongly
correlated with LTO. LTO is the first external variable found that relates to
economic growth. The correlation between economic growth and LTO indicates
that the various Confucian values were associated with economic growth: thrift
and persistence. The Japanese and overseas Chinese were known to value thrift
and perseverance long before their boom started. On the other hand, East Asian
countries have shown a remarkable ability to break with traditions in the interest
of modernization. People in high-LTO countries invested more in real estate,
which is a long-term commitment. While people in low-LTO countries invested
more in mutual fund.
One striking difference among modern nations is their rate of imprisonment.
The rate of imprisonment is large in the United States with an imprisonment
rate of 690 per100, 000 inhabitants in 2002. And among thirty-one nations the
lowest was Japan, with an imprisonment rate of 4s per 100,000 inhabitants. The
rate of imprisonment were strongly influenced by three factors: ‘Wealth’ and
‘the Purpose of punishment’ and ‘Individualism’. The short-term solution
practiced in the United States and to a lesser extent in Britain, is to protect
society by locking criminals away. This leads to long prison sentences. The
long-term solution is to reform criminals and recycle them into productive
citizens, leading to shorter sentences and lower rates of imprisonment.
Key Differences Between Short- and Long-Term Orientation
Societies: Religion and Ways of Thinking
Short-Term Orientation Long-Term Orientation
Concern with possessing the truth
There are universal guidelines about what is
good and evil
Dissatisfaction with own contributions to daily
human relations and to correcting injustice
Matter and sprit are separated
If A is true, its opposite B must be false
Priority given to abstract rationality
There is a need for cognitive consistency
Analytical thinking
Concern with respecting the demands of virtue
what is good and evil depends upon
circumstances
Satisfaction with own contributions to daily
human relations and to correcting injustice
Matter and sprit are integrated
If A is true, its opposite B can also be true
Priority given to common sense
Disagreement does not hurt
Synthetic thinking
Fundamentalisms are unable to cope with the problems of the modern world.
Because-----------:
Religious fundamentalism : It represent the extreme short-term pole of the
long-term verses short-term dimension. It indicates that decisions are not based
on what works today but on an interpretation of what has been written in the
old holy books.
Political fundamentalism : Politically influential fundamentalisms that
represent a threat to world peace and prosperity exit within all three western
religions.
So, it can be said that fundamentalism is aggressive enemies of long term
thinking.
Responsible thinking about the long term is must in now a days. Religious,
political, economical fundamentalisms are aggressive enemies of long-term
thinking. They are based on the past but tend to escape their share of
responsibility for the future, putting it in the hands of God or the market.
For example, in many parts of the world an immediate threat for peace, health
and justice is human overpopulation. Adequate methods of family planning
exists, but religious and economic fundamentalists in a remarkable consensus
try to resist making it widely accessible.
On the other hand, the economic importance of East Asia in this twenty-first
century is likely to increase. One precious gift the wise men and women from
the East can bring the others would be a shift toward global long-term thinking.
Own View Confucius values
In this chapter it is referred that two poles of the dimension contain Confucius values but a
number of very confusion values are not related to the dimension, for example-filial, piety etc.
LTO score
Some non-Confucian countries like Brazil and India also scored quite high on LTO. According
to the ranking of LTO score United States is included in STO because thrift and persistence
values are absent.
Sustain economic success
From this chapter review it is found that although five Dragon countries attain economic
success although their labor unions are weak but I think it can’t bring sustain economic
success.
Threat for original religion
Adopting of different elements from different religions may be a threat for one country’s
original religion.
Religious fundamentalism
Religious fundamentalism argue that decisions are not based on what works today but on an
interpretation of what has been written in the old holy books.
Guidelines of good and evil
On the other hand, in case of ways of thinking short term oriented culture believe that there are
some universal guidelines about what is good and evil but is not acceptable in all cases
because what is good and evil sometimes depends upon circumstances.
Finally, it can be included that this fifth dimension
itself has an importance in understanding the culture
of various nations. Each country may adopt adequate
methods and technique for its overall development
whether it is long-term or short-term oriented. The
most important thing of East Asia including
Bangladesh is that here the economic growth is likely
to be increasing.
END OF THE SLIDEPRESENTATION
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