In: Operations Management
If a country such as Malaysia scores much higher than the United States on Power Distance (one of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions), how can this information help a manager who plans to operate in both countries? State one area of management that differences in Power Distance is likely to be relevant
Power distance related to how people in a specific culture perceive power as and how the employees in culture accept the power distribution. In a high power distance country, people expect and accept an inequality between the top management and the lower-level employees.
Here, Malaysia has a high power distance compared to the USA. The one area of management this information can help is human resources management. The manager would find the information helpful and will know what needs to be done to maximize productivity and efficiency in the respective countries. For example, in Malaysia, a rigid hierarchy will be better for increasing the overall productivity as the people accept a strict autorcratci and centralized decison-making system.
This can help the manager in implementing the best organizational system for the company in the ocutnry.