Report on Employee

Attributes and
Globalization
Essay II
Alejandro Lopez
10/4/2010

Global Business 3304 | CRN 13011

Introduction
Given our line of business, selling refurbished smartphones, it’s an impetus for us to establish
operations in the Nordic country Sweden, which possesses all the ideal characteristics that will
surely put us at the top. Based on Hofstede’s four dimensions, Sweden exemplifies relatively
high power distance (PDI), high individualism (IDV), low uncertainty avoidance (UAI), and low
masculinity (MAS).

Such country that is founded on these ideals will allow us to hire employees that embody these
same characteristics and will surely bring success to our company by establishing just the right
organizational climate we want and need.

High Power Distance

Although Sweden does not have a very high PDI, hiring employees with this virtue would be
optimal for the business for various reasons: greater centralization with top management in
control, class-consciousness within the organization, and payroll cost effectiveness.

Having superiors in charge will allow the well-seasoned management team that understand the
big picture and the business vision to make the important decisions without opposition from the
localized, narrow perspectives of employees.

Furthermore, employees will not be stepping on toes given that class-consciousness within the
organization will be fomented. Employees would understand and accept their position in the
company, acknowledge the leader’s power, and cede the authority to those who know the
business best. Optimistically, this should even abate the number of union problems.

Lastly, employees would mainly comprise of salespersons, which is a low qualification position
and save the company money on payroll expenses. In fact, their salary potential would be based
on commissions which would be directly related to the amount of effort they put in.
Individualism will play a big role on this as later explained.

Low Uncertainty Avoidance

Sweden is considered a country with low uncertainty avoidance, which reflects the high extent
this society tolerates uncertainty and ambiguity. The workforce we should employ is precisely
one of low UAI measures for three main reasons: more ambitious employees, quality tolerance
zone, and predisposition for novelties and changes.

We want our salespersons to be ambitious and to express curiosity by trying new things and not
be restricted by rules. These characteristics illustrates employees who are open-minded, do not
panic at the sight of change, are willing to take risks, and make quick decisions to meet their goal
effectively despite the absence of abundant information.

“In a study involving German, Spanish, and Swedish customers, the authors found that people
from cultures with a high degree of uncertainty avoidance were less satisfied when their service
expectations were not met.”1 Therefore, our employees would be more satisfied with the
1
"Prof. Ulrich Lüenemann." Sacramento State. Web. 02 Oct. 2010.
<http://www.csus.edu/indiv/l/luenemannu/>.
2|Page
products they provide if they are conscientious that refurbished products are not perfect and
returns will happen. So, we want employees to focus on bring value to the customer and not
expend all efforts in perfecting a product and neglecting other essential aspects. Employees who
do not believe in the concept would be undesirable.

Lastly, employees need to be “less rule-oriented and more readily to accept change.”2 Just as
Sweden citizens welcome change and novelties, as a business in this country, we need to be
flexible enough to adapt and correctly serve our market. “Hofstede (2001) notes that low
uncertainty avoidance cultures make better use of a new media technological innovation than do
high uncertainty avoidance cultures.”3 This plus the fact that the technology industry is
continually evolving, we need to be able to depend on employees that won’t mind the high
turnover rate of novelty products and will effectively assimilate fluctuating roles.

High Individualism
“Swedes are the opposite of collectivists: they are deeply individualistic.”4 This is invaluable in
employees. We need high individualism because the nature of our business benefits from
employees’ high quality of life which directly impacts their performance and individualistic
employees can better address the low-context communication culture of Swedes.

Salespersons are paid on commission, so promoting individualism and making their success fall
upon their effort and desire will yield to more profitability. The company doesn’t lose if the
employee is mediocre, but wins if the employee excels. “Swedes are, in fact, true individualists
to an extent unimaginable even in the US”5 Conveniently, the company doesn’t need to hold
employees’ hand all the time. They are given plenty of liberty through loose rules, so leadership
is ideal; a virtue found in individualistic employees.

Because employees are not looked after from cradle-to-grave, the company wants employees
who will look after their immediate family and care for them. Quality of life is important in their
lives and it directly impacts their ability as a salesperson, so we want them to have that strong
motivation behind them. As a byproduct, the company ends up winning from this extra effort to
win more money. The more sales they make the more they will bring to their immediately family
and as a result a happier employee who’s willing to endorse the important decisions to top
management.

Another positive aspect is that the Swedes are a low context communication culture wherein
individuals prefer information to be stated directly and exhibit a preference for quantifiable
detail. With our power distance, we need salesmen to obtain concrete information/facts that will

2
University of New Jersey, 2007, http://www.uri.edu/iaics/content/2007v16n1/02%20Yi-Fan
%20Chen.pdf
3
University of New Jersey, 2007, http://www.uri.edu/iaics/content/2007v16n1/02%20Yi-Fan
%20Chen.pdf
4
New York Times. The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia.13
November 2010. Web. 02 Oct. 2010.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/13/world/europe/13iht-swedes.3512334.html?_r=1
5
Columbia University,
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/swedish/events/spring07/Traegardh_speaker.pdf
3|Page
be relayed to top management. Information needs to be explicit and unscathed by emotional
noise and misinterpretations.

Low Masculinity
The relationship between masculinity and hard physical labor is embedded in the history of the
human race, but times are changing. For Swedes, in perhaps the most striking example of social
engineering, a new definition of masculinity is emerging.6 Jobs have shifted towards service jobs
—as our company has—and to adequately serve our market, our employee structure needs to be
low masculinity.

Low masculinity would add another perspective to business. “Research has shown that men tend
to do well at mental rotation of objects and spatial perception, whereas women tend to be better
at verbal memory and fluency.”7 Interestingly, the most essential value in the strategic
management of a firm is communication.8 Evidently, women add an invaluable perspective to
business management.

Being high on individualism, employees will demand universalism and expect fairness across the
board, in other words, equality between the sexes. Our salespersons are both men and women,
so, as a country largely defined as the most “feminine,”9 our company would possess that
feminine touch, which allows for a better connection between the customer and the
salesperson/company.

Lastly, and perhaps more significantly, having low masculinity would lend for an organizational
climate with lower job stress. The feminine touch to a company adds a nurturing, caring role for
the company through patience, a pleasant demeanor, deference to the customer, and the ability to
empathize and connect.10 It establishes that people and the environment are important, and
thereby gives a good public image to the company, as well as reassures employees that one
works in order to live, and that if a quality life is maintained, performance at work will come
naturally.

6
Bennhold, Katrin. "The New York Times Log In." The New York Times - Breaking News,
World News & Multimedia.9 June 2010. Web. 02 Oct. 2010.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/10/world/europe/10iht-sweden.html>.
7
Thompson, Andrea. "Brains Wired Differently in Men vs. Women | LiveScience." LiveScience
| Science, Technology, Health & Environmental News. 8 Sept. 2008. Web. 02 Oct. 2010.
<http://www.livescience.com/health/080905-synapse-gap.html>.
8
David, Fred R. “Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases.” 13th Ed. Pg. 35
9
"Geert Hofstede Summary | BookRags.com." BookRags.com | Study Guides, Lesson Plans,
Book Summaries and More. Web. 02 Oct. 2010.
<http://www.bookrags.com/wiki/Geert_Hofstede>.
10
Wente, Margaret. "We Are Witnessing the Passing of Working-class Masculinity - The Globe
and Mail." Home - The Globe and Mail. 3 June 2009. Web. 02 Oct. 2010.
<http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/we-are-witnessing-the-passing-of-working-
class-masculinity/article1150054/>.
4|Page