Practical Coach: Management Skills for Everyday Life, The

Dimensions of Culture

It has been said that people are 95 percent the same and 5 percent different, but that the 5 percent makes a big difference. Consequently, managers not only must understand and manage the similarities human beings from all cultures share, but the relevant cultural differences as well. This section summarizes several of these differences. I will discuss several dimensions on which cultures differ (such as preferences for independence or interdependence). This list of dimensions is not exhaustive. Rather, it focuses on cultural dimensions that have been particularly well researched, that have implications for behavior at work, and that are likely to influence your work performance in multicultural organizations if not understood ...