Five Cultural Dimensions

Organisational cultures, unlike societal cultures, tend to be relatively visible and conscious. Such cultures can be deciphered solely through practices in the organisational setting. In contrast, societal cultures are deeper rooted and tend to have underlying values and assumptions, (Hofstede, 2011). With this in mind, it can be said that organisational cultures are ‘learned’ or ‘picked up’ as we become part of an organisation rather than being acquired in early childhood. In order to examine the impact of cultural dimensions on managerial practice of Austria, we will employ the six dimensions of culture, as described by Hofstede et al (2010). Using the Geert Hofstede website, we can obtain a score out of 100 for all six of the dimensions,

For this dimension, Austria was given a score of 55, meaning there exists an individualistic culture within organisations of Austria. Motivation will stem mostly from the individual themselves or from the immediate family. It is noted that wealthy western European countries, such as Austria, will combine individualistic characteristics with a small power distance, (Hofstede, 1983). In terms of leadership, Austria has a very small ‘power distance’ but also a relatively high score on ‘individualism’. This combination indicates participative leadership, where, although the final decision is taken by management, employees are able to challenge or their own ideas into such organisational decisions. Dimension four is ‘Masculinity vs Feminism’, detailing the division of roles within organisations in relation to gender. Obtaining a score of 79 out of 100, Austria is a country which exhibits high levels of masculinity, (Geert Hofstede Website, 2012). It is noted that other German-speaking nations such as Switzerland and Germany also show high levels of masculinity. There are several characteristics shown by countries which scored a highly in this dimension, including how the urge to achieve, succeed and compete acts as motivation for individuals within the organisation, (Hofstede, 1983). According to the European Youth Portal (2013), compulsory schooling in Austria ends at the age of 15. The adolescents, even at such a young age, must make a vital decision on what to study or what career to pursue. Every student understands that the sole key to ultimate success is being the best in the field. This inner desire to compete against each other is instilled at school during childhood and continues through organisational life in later years. A high degree of significance is placed on performance, both within school and also within organisations