Cultural specific and organizational practices in the Western Romania

Alin Gavreliuc - 2006

Stake of research:

Assessment of cultural specificity impact over value, attitudinal and behavioral patterns in the Romanian organizational medium. (The Fifth Development Region).

Central concept

Cultural dimensions (Hofstede, 1980/2003) 1. Power-distance: expresses the symbolic and operational inequality between

superiors and subordinates in an organizations (PD high / low) ; 2. Uncertainty Avoidance : fear of change and need of formal rules or availability

concerning change (UA high / low); 3. Individualism - collectivism: the distribution of personal attention, resources

and commitment in task towards ones’ self or collectivity belonging, accent laid on self-achievement or on integration in social network perceived as relevant (I / C);

4. Masculinity- feminity: focusing on personal objectives (income, organizational ascension and assertiveness), opposed to the interpersonal ones (friendly atmosphere, cordial cooperation with authority, tolerance) (M / F);

5. Long / short term perspective: option for “now and here”, regressive reminisce / long term option in the achievement of personal in the organizational projects (LTP / STP).

Methodology

Preponderant quantitative: Psycho-sociological investigation by applying a

specific test (VSM 94) on a regional representative sample for an active population in the Fifth Development Region in Romania (Timiş, Arad, Caraş-Severin and Hunedoara counties): 1058 subjects.

Preponderant qualitative: 7 focus-groups in organizations of different sizes

(small, medium and multinational corporations).

Demographic characteristics of sample 1058 subjects (active populations, age:

18-65 / M, 18-60 / F).52 % man, 48 % women;Age average: 38,2 years.

Results obtained on VSM 94(conventional score)

CULTURAL DIMMENSION

PD Power-distance 51

I-C Individualism - collectivism

50

M/F Masculinity- feminity

25

AU Uncertainty Avoidance

69

L/STP Long / short term perspective

34

Map of cultural dimensions – cross-cultural assessment

V ROM

National cultures grouping depending on the UA and I-C specific scores In the bottom rigth corner lies the Latin group (increased power-

distance / high individualism) characterized briefly by G. Hofstede as dependent individualism. The opposite pattern, called independent collectivism is represented by Israel and Austria. The majority of the Third World countries is localized in the top right, described as a dependent collectivism. Most of “occidental” nations (post-industrialized) lie in the bottom left, expressing an independent individualism.

According to our researching results, the score on the Romanian sample position itself at the border between the area of dependent collectivism and that of dependent individualism.

Results comparative with other relevant researches / Romania / Balkans

Research referential / cultural dimensions

PD I/C M/F UA S/LTP

Gavreliuc (2006) – representative regional sample, The Fifth Development Region of Romania, 1058 subjects

51 50 25 69 34

Spector et al. (2001), Romania,, national sample, 455 subjects.

26 47 23 50 55

Luca (2005, I), representative national sample, 1076 subjects.

29 49 39 61 42

Luca, (2005, II), representative national sample, 1076 subjects.

33 49 39 61 42

Romania – G. Hofstede estimations

90 30 42 90 -

Bulgaria (2001) 55 41 48 64 33

Bulgaria – G. Hofstede estimations

70 30 40 85 -

Greece, former Iugoslavia Balkans – G. Hofstede estimations

76 27 21 88 -

Majority organizational portrait in the West of Romania achieved on the basis of cultural dimensions proposed by G. Hofstede Retractility and formalism in the relations with

the symbolic over-ordinate (great PD), Moderate collectivism or, as it has been

theorized as along the paper, a specific species of “autarchic individualism”,

Centering on relation to the detriment of organizational performance (strong F),

Fearing attitude towards change (high scores at UA),

Preponderant Short term orientation.

“Autarchic individualism”

Evidencing through turning to account the qualitative results from focus-groups investigations. Typical formulations of subjects in the register of self-

achievement = retractile and lack of commitment identitary description:

“anyway everything turns out as they want” (D. M., 34 years old); “it’s useless to come up with ideas in the firm, as whatever I’d do,

they don’t care” (A. R., 22 years old); “I’d like to be left alone with what I am” (S. T., 48 years old); “the best rule is how to avoid rules, because bosses, out of this,

have made up the rule” (A. G., 37 years old).

Psychometric proprieties of VSM 94 (Western Romania sample) At the limit of acceptability – 0.60 – in general, a modest internal

reliability.The need of re-elaborating a new test is suggested by conjugating the ethic and emic methodological perspective.

CULTURAL DIMENSION Alpha Crombach

PD (power distance) 0,57

I/C (individualism-collectivism) 0,60

M/F (masculinity-feminity) 0,58

UA (uncertainty avoidance) 0,52

S/LTO (short/long term orientation) 0,78

Conclusions

The dominant organizational culture in Romania expresses an axiological, attitudinal and behavioral pattern different from that of the majority national cultures that composed EU.

We can identify similarities in the scores obtained at the cultural dimensions between the research made in the Western part of Romania and those at national level, coordinated by Romanian and foreign specialists (I/C, M/F, UA, S/LTP), but can also identify significant differences (PD).

The managerial practices and the imported organizational interventions probes a modest operational efficiency, on condition they do not associate an emic perspective.

Cultural dimensions plays an important predictive role in generating of specific organizational behaviors, wherefrom the special importance of there knowledge and there turning to account.