IKEA AND HOFSTEDEAKA. the cultural relativity of organizational practices and theories and what
it has to do with the chair you are probably sitting on
by Artem Bielorozov and Adam Kecskeméti
Geert Hofstede’s research• His goals: develop a commonly acceptable terminology
to describe cultures and to use systematically collected (scientific) data about cultures
• Between 1967 and 1978 then repeated 1971 to 1973
• From a large multinational corporation, wide array of employees
• 116 000 questionnaires collected
• 50 coutries
4 cultural dimensions
• Individualism vs Collectivism
• Large or Small Power Distance
• Strong or Weak Uncertainty Avoidance
• Masculinity versus Feminity
Individualism vs. Collectivism
• Relation between an individual and his fellow individuals
• Closely related to the countries wealth
• Most thoroughly investigated
Individualism vs. Collectivism
Individualism:
• Self-interest
• Large freedom to individuals in the society
• Autonomy
• Individual achievements
Collectivism:
• Interest of the (in)group
• Ingroup offers protection
• Tightly integrated society
Power distance
• How society deals with unequality
• All societies are unequal but some are more unequal than others
• Rooted in the mindset of the people
• Acceptance of power differences
Power distance
Large power distance
• Ease in following authority
• Centralized command
• Hierarchy with many layers
• Power of rank
Small power distance
• Decentralized
• Less power of authority figure
• Fewer layers
• Authority can be challenged
Uncertainty avoidance
• Way how societies deal with the risk of the future
• How individuals cope with anxiety
• Tends to be rooted in culture and less in mindset
Uncertainty avoidance
Weak uncertainty avoidance
• Tolerant
• Hardly working
• Risks taking
• No real respect for rules and procedures or hierarchy
Strong uncertainty avoidance
• Beating the future
• Higher level of anxiety
• Institutions to create safety against unpredictable
• Technology
• Law (and experts)
• Religion (and ideologies)
• Absolute truths desireable
Masculinity vs. Feminity
• How society deals with the fact that there are men and women
• Gender roles
• Rather social division than biological
Masculinity vs. Feminity
Masculine
• Visible values matter
• „Big is beautiful”
• Men have dominant and assertive roles
• Women have service-oriented and caretaker roles
• Public heroes, the superman is favored
Feminine
• Smaller sex role division
• Relationships before profit
• Helping others and preserving the environment
• „Small is beautiful”
• Individual brilliance, the underdog is favored
Purpose and goal
• Raising awareness that not all theories and methods apply everywhere
• Setting a need for „management/organizational anthropology”
• Helping managers better understand multinational corporations’ employees’ behavior
„The convergence of management will never come. What we can bring about is an understanding of how the culture in which we grew up and which is dear to us affects our thinking differently from other peoples' thinking, and what this means for the transfer of management practices and theories.” ! - Geert Hofstede
Changes begin at home
Russia 14 stores
Europe 227 storesNorth America 49
stores
IKEA Group year 2012
Asia 17 stores
Australia 5 stores
• Unique design capabilities • Unique sourcing • Tightly controlled logistics
INGVAR
KAMPRAD
ELMTARYD
AGUNNARYD
Ingvar Kamprad 17 years old
The showroom in Almhult – the heart of furniture empire
The first IKEA store
IKEA mission is to offer a wide range of home
furnishing items of good design and function,
at prices so low that the majority of people
can afford to buy them
The balance and complementariness of:
Strategic Sourcing and the Marketing Mix
IKEA management style
To be close to co-workers
IKEA employees
Opinion, questions
Thank you very much for your attention!
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