Post Five: Some Things to Note When Setting Up a Business in Norway

Once again, the session last week has left me not just surprised, but fascinated and yearning to find out more ... =)

After flipping through my notes and straining my eyes on what I've scribbled (almost illegibly) during class, I decided to find out more on Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions. Googling his name will find you his official website (mind you, his last name is trademarked!) topping the search list. If in class, Dr Deng mentioned that Hofstede has not gotten his PhD, he is now an Emeritus Professor at Maastricht University.

The aim of the Hofstede Score basically functions to compare countries, societies or cultures in terms of their cultural behaviour. This includes:

PDI: Power Distance Index

IDV: Individualism

MAS: Masculinity

UAI: Uncertainty Avoidance Index

LTO: Long-Term Orientation

I didn't quite understand why there's a need to have such scoring systems but after perusing through the website, I discovered that the main aim of assessing different societies is to give insights to people who would like to do business in other countries, especially in another part of the world. Let's take for example, Singapore's score chart:

Assuming a Singaporean entrepreneur wants to do business in Norway. Let's now take a look at Norway's score chart:

After comparing these two charts, it's quite obvious that these two countries are total opposites! So what should this entrepreneur do?

As mentioned in class, PDI is generally very low in Scandinivian countries unlike in Singapore, where hierarchy at the workplace is very prominent. So the Singaporean must expect a lack of distance and 'respect' from his workers.

Next, Individualism in Norway is typical of Western societies. Just as much as Singapore seems to be teeming with individualistic yuppies, we are still widely practising collectivism. Hence, when in Norway, a Singaporean should know what is appropriate and what is not in setting up his/her company's policy.

Thirdly, Masculinity wise, it is rather surprising that Singapore is more masculine. Masculine in a sense, it is more assertive. Whereas Norway is expected to be more modest and caring. Hence the index somewhat measures the gender distrbution and in the execution of their roles. It is expected that Singapore to have a greater gap between men's values and women's values. This is probably because of our still-prevalent traditionalisticAsian culture, which practises gender-differentiation in almost every aspect of our lives. Norway, on the other hand, is more egalitarian i.e. roles men and women are not the typical male-breadwinner and female-homemaker template. Hence, when hiring workers or dealing his/her Norwegian counterparts, it is wise that the entrepreneur knows more about this gender differentiation so as not to be caught by surprise.

Based on the Uncertainty Avoidance Index, we can sense that Norwegians are not so much of risk-takers like Singaporeans. They are less receptive to ambiguities in life. Singaporeans, on the other hand, scores high on the Uncertainty Acceptance index. It is said that countries like Singapore are more receptive of novel ideas, and not just stick to the norm. This is possibly due to the nature of our multi-cultural society. As a result, they are not expected to show emotions. (I guess this is why people are becoming more an dmore desensitised to one another's feelings)

Lastly, the index that fascinates me most is LTO. Apparently, LTO is typically analysed in countries which practices Confucian teachings. This includes Singapore. This is so because the questionnaire was designed by Chinese scholars. Long-term values include thrift and perseverance whereas short-term values inclide respect for tradition and fulfilling social obligations. However, this is not restricted to Asian countries only. It is also applicable to European countries. So, do not be surprised if Norwegians are not thrifty and not seen as hardworking.

After laying out the comparisons between these two countries, are you still conviced that learning just the language alone will suffice? My advice: think again. =)

And to see if you've been paying attention, can you find Singapore and Norway in the plot below?