‘Individualism’ and ‘Uncertainty Avoidance’ are the two dimensions proposed by Hofstede which are mentioned in the text as influential factors in international collaboration. The text gives the ‘scores’

of the UK, USA, Germany and Japan on these dimensions to illustrate the differences.

a) Look up the scores of these same countries on the remaining cultural dimensions on www.geert-hofstede.com

b) How could score differences on these other dimensions also influence collaboration between the four cultures mentioned? Give concrete examples, if possible.

Masters of collaboration By Tom Lester Read the article below and answer the questions Ants, those masters of collaboration, have made their species some of the most successful on the planet.
In contrast, tigers walk alone, and are in grave danger of extinction. The message for business is this: in the modern world, we must collaborate or die.
Too often, however, in many UK companies, successful collaboration – both internal and external – happens by accident rather than design, contrasting vividly with many overseas rivals.
There are good reasons why effective collaboration is growing rapidly. Business operations are becoming steadily more flexible at every level of the organization. Non-core activities are outsourced, and procurement has become a worldwide activity centred on China. Satisfying customers at home demands an unprecedented level of co-operation unimpeded by rigid hierarchies and departmental boundaries.
Flatter organizations depend not on authority but on teamwork for effective action, and networks of individuals may stretch halfway round the globe and connect only electronically. The truly multinational executive, able to work effectively anywhere in the world with any nationality, remains a rare beast, and ordinary staff therefore need to understand and learn from different cultures to achieve the right level of collaboration.
A foreign joint venture or alliance, for example, may be agreed in Mumbai with great enthusiasm at board level, but the hoped-for results will only materialize if operating staff at all levels in Birmingham are ready and able to work with their opposite numbers.
Nationality, religion or corporate culture may be the big hurdle, but it is important to also realize that even within the same organization wider cultural gaps can exist between, say, R&D and finance as between the R&D teams of two partners. Wherever it occurs, the failure to understand can be disastrous. Rover is a tragic example.
Back in the 1980s, when shop-floor collaboration in the UK car industry was near zero, Rover nonetheless managed to form a partnership with the Japanese group Honda to fill its vital new model programme.
But the arrogance of the Rover managers and the lack of a learning culture prevented them from obtaining the real benefits of the relationship, according to Professor Lord Bhattacharyya, head of the Warwick Manufacturing Group. Later, in 1992, when BMW bought the Rover business, communication with the German managers was even worse (exacerbated by political infighting on the German side).