Cultural Dimensions: A Comparison of Sweden and Japan

The report highlights and contrasts the difference in culture between Sweden and Japan using the seven dimensional model of Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner.

Running head: CULTURAL DIMENSIONS
CULTURAL DIMENSIONS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Executive Summary
The organizational culture plays a key role in any business enterprise. With the advent of
technology, the business domain has changed considerably and due to this globalization has
become a popular phenomenon. These days various businesses are required to attract with one
another in order to engage in successful business. Hence, the knowledge of different cultures
belonging to different countries is crucial. The report highlights and contrasts the difference in
culture between Sweden and Japan using the seven dimensional model.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
A brief culture about two countries.................................................................................................3
The seven dimensions of Culture- Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner model........4
Universalism versus particularism...............................................................................................4
Individualism versus communitarianism.....................................................................................5
Specific versus diffuse.................................................................................................................5
Neutral versus emotional.............................................................................................................6
Achievement versus ascription....................................................................................................6
Sequential time versus synchronous time....................................................................................7
Internal direction versus outer direction......................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
Culture can be defined as the social behavior or the norms which are prevalent in the
human society (Valmohammadi and Roshanzamir 2015). The culture of a place is taken to be the
central concept in anthropology which tends to encompass the phenomena of social learning in
the society. Culture represents aspects like social practices, the behaviour of the different people,
expressive forms like music, dance, art, religion and other technologies (Trompenaars and
Hampden-Turner 2004). If conducting business with people belonging to different cultures, it
becomes primarily important for the managers to have knowledge about the culture of another
company to ensure that effective communication can take place and there exists cultural
understanding between the two different countries (Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars 2002).
The report will be using the framework of Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner's two compare the
cultures of two chosen countries named Sweden and Japan.
A brief culture about two countries
Japan is an island nation located in the Pacific Ocean. The nation has dense cities,
national parks and various shrines as well as temples. The main islands of Kyushu, Honshu and
Hokkaido are connected by the Shinkansen bullet trains. The capital of the nation is Tokyo
which is popularly known for its skyscrapers, pop culture and shopping activities.
On the other hand, Sweden is a Scandinavian nation which has a large number of coastal
islands and inland lakes. The primary city in the nation is Stockholm which is built on 14 islands.
There is a charm of ancient town in the country with many royal palaces and museums.

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The seven dimensions of Culture- Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner model
The given dimensions of culture was formed by the two management consultants named,
Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner. The model was prepared after analyzing the
cultures of different people all around the globe (Valmohammadi and Roshanzamir 2015).
According to their study, the people belonging to the different cultures tend to differ from one
another in certain specific aspects and these aspects are predictable in nature (Hampden-Turner
and Trompenaars 1997). This can be largely contributed to the fact that each culture has a
specific way of thinking, values, beliefs and preferences which is based on various factors. The
seven dimensions are given below:
1. Universalism versus particularism.
2. Individualism versus communitarianism.
3. Specific versus diffuse.
4. Neutral versus emotional (Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars 2002).
5. Achievement versus ascription.
6. Sequential time versus synchronous time.
7. Internal direction versus outer direction (Valmohammadi and Roshanzamir 2015).
Universalism versus particularism
The universalism aspect tends to measure the importance which people in the country
tend to place on law, values and different obligations. In Japan, the rules hold utmost importance.
The people in the organizations understand the work beliefs and values, take proper decision
making and keep the promises (Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars 2002). Hence, the work in
organizations is more efficient.

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On the other hand particularism is based on the belief that each circumstance and
relationship has to dictate the rules that they live by. Sweden can be stated to be a Universalist
country where the stress lays on the rules and regulations which govern the people and even
Japan has an upper middle degree of universalism (Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars 1997). In
this aspect, it can be stated to be similar to Sweden. At Sweden, the people working in an
organization are quite particular about the policies and well defined frameworks. It can be stated
that in both the countries, ruled dominate the relationships.
Individualism versus communitarianism
The individualist cultures tend to believe that the individual person is more important
than that of the whole group. Individuals in Organizations with high individualist cultures tend to
like personal freedom and make individual decisions. On the other hand, a communitarian
culture can be considered to be group oriented culture (Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars
2002). Sweden as a country is highly individualist where the different individuals in an
organization give utmost importance to themselves frost and their tasks and the country Japan
can be stated to be highly communitarianism country. The people working in Japanese
organizations are more concerned with working in different groups together (McLuhan 2015).
Hence, the organizations in Sweden have a flat structure whereas organizations in Japan have a
hierarchical structure
Specific versus diffuse
According to Trompenaars, a specific culture can be described as one in which the
different people have a greater space where others are allowed to enter and the specific group
which is private in nature is quite small comparatively. However, this is not the case in diffuse
culture where the public and private space are of the same size (Hampden-Turner and

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Trompenaars 1997). Different individuals tend to guard their space effectively because an
entrance into public might mean an entrance into the private as well. Sweden is stated to have a
highly specific culture and space where their public life and provide one is quite separate
(Marouf 2016). The individuals working in organizations in the country tend to talk in a friendly
manner to all colleagues but they have their own private groups as well. On the other hand, Japan
has diffused culture (Valmohammadi and Roshanzamir 2015). The office culture is guided
accordingly in a manner that the Japanese treat all their colleagues in a respectful manner and
include them in different celebrations.
Neutral versus emotional
In a culture which is highly neutral the people generally do not inhibit their emotions in
front of others. The different people hide their feelings to act socially and maintain their
composure. Japan can be stated to be a highly neutral culture where the people remain composed
most of the time. There are specific etiquettes which are required to be maintained in these
organizations. On the other hand an emotional culture can be described as one where the
emotions are expressed openly. The different people in this kind of a culture, talk more, smile
regularly and are excited (Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars 1997). Sweden has an emotional
culture where people are expressive and appear happy on the outside which makes them highly
approachable. The organizations are communicative and a good are where creativity fosters. In
the business domain, neutralism is often taken to be boredom or attitude but in reality it is not the
case. This affects the organizational relationships (Ching-Hwang 2013).
Achievement versus ascription
The given dimension tends to focus on the aspects that render status to the different
people. In case of the achievement oriented cultures, the people are considered to be given status

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based on the manner in which they perform in their functions (Valmohammadi and Roshanzamir
2015). Whereas, in the ascribed cultures they are given status based on the identity of an
individual and who he is.
In Sweden, status is given to the high achievers whereas in Japan the ascription cultures
highly prevail. At Japanese organizations, management provides status on gender, social
connections whereas, in Sweden the management gives acclamation to high performers
(Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars 1997). The promotions which are given to the employees,
take place based on this aspect.
Sequential time versus synchronous time
This dimension tends to concentrate on the manner in which people tend to deal with the
concept of time. The sequential aspect states that the predominant individuals tend to take up one
activity at a time whereas in the synchronous approaches, people tend to do more than one job at
one time, they tend to keep work before self (Azanza, Moriano and Molero 2013). People
working in organizations in Sweden are more inclined towards the sequential time approach
whereas in Japan they concentrate on synchronous time approach
(Conferinta.management.ase.ro. 2018). Organizations in Sweden do not pressure employs
whereas in Japan they are required to work overtime as the work needs to be complete
irrespective of how late one gets for their family commitments.
Internal direction versus outer direction
The last dimension relates to the manner in which individuals tend to deal with the
environment. It can be defined by their approach to whether the like to control the factors in the
external environment or they are find with the way in which the things take place in the external
environment (Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars 1997). Those who like to take control will take

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the first option whereas those who do not opt for the second. The organizations in Japan believe
in going with the flow and do not need any control whereas the organizations and management in
Sweden like to take control over the things in the external environment (Ijceronline.com 2018).
Conclusion
Therefore, from the given analysis it can be stated that the culture of Sweden tends to
differ from the culture of Japan in various aspects. The culture of Sweden is more independent,
controlling and expressive in nature. These people give importance to self needs and lead a
happy life. On the other hand people in Japan tend to lead a subtle life and like the things to take
place on their own. They do not express their feelings explicitly. Hence, the leadership in these
countries may take place accordingly in context to the different organizations. The report
explained the seven dimensions and identified the differences between the two countries using
organizational contexts.

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References
Azanza, G., Moriano, J.A. and Molero, F., 2013. Authentic leadership and organizational culture
as drivers of employees’ job satisfaction. Revista de Psicología del Trabajo y de las
Organizaciones, 29(2).
Ching-Hwang, Y., 2013. Ethnic Chinese business in Asia: History, culture and business
enterprise. World Scientific.
Conferinta.management.ase.ro., 2018. [online] Available at:
http://conferinta.management.ase.ro/archives/2013/pdf/11.pdf [Accessed 7 Jul. 2018].
Hampden-Turner, C. and Trompenaars, F., 1997. Response to Geert Hofstede. International
Journal of Intercultural Relations, 21(1), pp.149-159.
Hampden-Turner, C. and Trompenaars, F., 1997. Riding the waves of culture. London: Nicholas
Brealey.
Hampden-Turner, C. and Trompenaars, F., 1997. The seven cultures of capitalism: Value system
for creating wealth in the United States, Britain, Japan, Germany, France, Sweden and the
Netherlands. London: Piatkus.
Hampden-Turner, C. and Trompenaars, F., 1997. Mastering the infinite game: How East Asian
values are transforming business practices. Oxford: Capstone.
Hampden-Turner, C.M. and Trompenaars, F., 2002. A mirror-image world: doing business in
Asia. Managing across cultures: Issues and perspectives, p.284.
Ijceronline.com. ,2018. [online] Available at:
http://www.ijceronline.com/papers/Vol7_issue8/E07082735.pdf [Accessed 7 Jul. 2018].

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Marouf, L., 2016. The role of knowledge sharing culture in business performance. VINE Journal
of Information and Knowledge Management Systems, 46(2), pp.154-174.
McLuhan, M., 2015. Culture is our business. Wipf and Stock Publishers.
Trompenaars, F. and Hampden-Turner, C., 2004. Managing people across cultures. Chichester:
Capstone.
Valmohammadi, C. and Roshanzamir, S., 2015. The guidelines of improvement: Relations
among organizational culture, TQM and performance. International Journal of Production
Economics, 164, pp.167-178.