Cultural Dimensions: A Comparison of Sweden and Japan

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

1CULTURAL DIMENSIONS
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.

2CULTURAL DIMENSIONS
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

3CULTURAL DIMENSIONS
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.