Divergences: A quantitative study on the cultural dimensions of four subgroups from two cultures

Abstract

"One of the world’s most significant problems” is intercultural relations (Hall, 1992 as cited in Rogers, Hart, & Miike, 2002, p. 3). Intercultural differences exist even among sub groups of the same culture. With globalization, however, members of various subgroups from different cultures are compelled to interact and work with one another. These subgroups may have different perceptions of the same thing hence making it difficult to ascertain which course of action should be taken when dealing with people from various cultures. In order to compare the cultural dimensions of the foreign respondents with the cultural dimensions of their counterparts in the host culture, the cultural dimensions that are given more prominence by the respondents and the equivalence of the cultural dimensions of the respondents were sought. The data was obtained from four groups of respondents purposively chosen from two nationalities: two groups were composed of students while the other two were composed of employees. The responses were measured using the Values Survey Module 1994 Questionnaire and the results were compared with the results from Hofstede’s study in 1980. Power distance was given the least prominence among the cultural dimensions by the four groups of respondents whereas three groups of respondents found individualism as the most important cultural dimension. The comparison of the responses from the Chinese and Filipino students revealed that this cluster have similar values for the cultural dimensions. The responses from the employees cluster, likewise, have yielded similar values. It is recommended to the participating organizations to promote intercultural competence to their members by conducting seminars which would increase the knowledge of their members regarding the other cultures that are present in the organization and by holding team building activities and cultural expositions within the organization to foster the interpersonal and intercultural relations among the culturally diversified members. For future researchers who wish to replicate the study, increasing the number of respondents is recommended doing so would produce a more conclusive result The homogeneity of the respondents, however, should still be observed.