Cross-Cultural Analysis Case Study: Namibia vs. Germany Culture

This case study delves into a cross-cultural analysis comparing Namibia and Germany, focusing on how cultural differences impact business operations. The central issue involves unofficial leaves taken by bank staff in Namibia, prompting a need to understand the underlying cultural factors. The report suggests using Hofstede's model to analyze dimensions like power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation, and indulgence. By comparing the cultural scores of both countries, recommendations are made for Marcus to adapt his management style to better suit the Namibian context, including strategies for fostering better communication, cultural awareness, and adherence to leave policies. Ultimately, the goal is to improve productivity by bridging the cultural gap and promoting a more understanding work environment. Desklib provides students with access to similar solved assignments and study tools.

Case Study

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
Culture refers to a term which includes the social behaviour and norms which are found
in human societies as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities and habits
of the individuals in these groups (Dandeker, 2021). Thus, it becomes quite important that a
thorough analysis of the culture can be made for the particular purpose of ensuring that the
different types of right actions and decisions can be taken which can be quite useful and helpful.
This report will focus on a Case Study. In this report, a specific and detailed discussion will be
made on the analysis of the culture of the countries.
MAIN BODY
The development of a proper understanding about the culture is quite important for the
people so that they are able to make sure that they can take the right decisions which will be
quite helpful and beneficial (Lowenthal, 2020).
 Marcus is required to make sure that a proper understanding of this cross-cultural
problem can be done by analysing and understanding the culture of Namibia and
comparing it with the culture of Germany. This will therefore be quite useful and helpful
in ensuring that Marcus is able to identify the appropriate actions which are required to
be taken for the attainment of goals and objectives in the future (Ng, 2020).
The problem is arising due to the unofficial leaves which are being taken by the staff members of
the Bank in Namibia. This is so because of the various types of reasons which have been
mentioned by them. Therefore, in this way it can be stated that this is creating an impact on the
overall level of productivity of the Bank.
It is quite important for Marcus to make sure that he has a conversation with the staff members
of the Bank which will thereby be quite helpful for him as he will be able to make sure that he
can help in managing out the particular level of needs and requirements quite appropriately.
Thus, it is necessary for him to understand the culture of Namibia first and then assess the reason
of this type of absence of the staff members. This will be quite helpful in ensuring that the
appropriate steps can be taken for solving this particular problem.
It is necessary that the counselling of the staff members is done by Marcus. This will thus be
quite useful for the purpose of ensuring that they can be advised about taking leaves in a proper
manner so that the overall level of productivity of the Bank is not impacted. Thus, in this way it
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can be stated that the right decisions can be taken quite effectively and efficiently. Namibian
culture has to be understood and the specific reasons due to which staff takes frequent leaves has
to be analysed which will thus be quite helpful in ensuring that the right actions can be taken in
quite a proper manner.
Thus, Marcus is recommended that he is able to identify the specific ways through which he will
able to sort out this issue so that the staff does not takes frequent leaves which will thus help in
boosting the overall level of productivity of the Bank Staff.
 Hofstede Model is a framework which can be used in order to make sure that the
appropriate parameters are considered so that the analysis of the culture can be done
(Pinney, 2020). The analysis can be done on the basis of the following dimensions-
Power Distance- It is a dimension which states that all the individuals in the society are not
equal. Germany has a low score here which means that it is a country where there is a higher-
level of equality between people in the society. Namibia has a high score here which means that
it is a country where there is a higher-level of inequality among the people.
Individualism- It is a dimension in which the individuals either give priority just to their
individual interests or to national interests. Therefore, Germany has a high score here which
means that the German people are highly individualistic in nature and give a higher-level of
priority to their own goals and objectives. Namibia has a low score here which therefore means
that it is a society where the people focus on the attainment of collective goals and objectives.
Masculinity- It is a dimension in which identifies the way in which the society has its outlook.
Germany has a high score here which means that it is a Masculine society driven by competition,
achievement and success. Namibia has a low score here which means that it is a Feminine
society where the focus is on caring for others and quality of life.
Uncertainty Avoidance- It is a dimension which identifies the way in which the society
members are able to deal with uncertainty. Germany has a high score here which means that the
people in the country are keen on avoiding of uncertainty. Namibia has an intermediate score
here which does not indicate any particular preference of the country for this dimension.
Long-Term Orientation- This dimension is related with the way in which society maintains
links with the past while dealing with the challenges of the future. Germany has a high score here
which means that the people there have a pragmatic dimension. Namibia has a low score here
which means that the country has a normative culture.
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Indulgence- This dimension is related with degree to which the small children are socialized.
Germany has a low score here which means that it is a restrained society which focuses on
restraining its people. There is no score for Namibia here and therefore nothing can be said about
this aspect and its relation Namibian society.
Therefore, it can be stated that from the comparison of German and Namibian culture that
there is vast difference between the culture of both the countries and therefore it is quite
important that the required adjustments are made by Marcus for the purpose of making the
essential adjustments here effectively and efficiently (Szydło and Grześ-Bukłaho, 2020).
 The advice which can be provided to Marcus is that it is quite important that the right and
appropriate steps are taken by him for the purpose of understanding the culture of
Namibia which will be quite helpful in ensuring that the right decisions can be taken.
Therefore, it can be recommended to Marcus that the assessment of the culture of
Namibia can be done so that the proper actions can be taken.
The cultural problems of Namibia are required to be assessed and thus it is highly
necessary that the actions can be taken so that a solution to these particular problems can be
found. This will therefore be quite helpful in ensuring that the understanding of the culture can
be developed so that Marcus is able to manage the needs and requirements in a right way
(Tierney, 2020).
Marcus is also required to make sure that the adjustments can be made according to the
Namibian culture. This will be highly helpful for the purpose of ensuring that he is able to
effectively and efficiently make sure that the attainment of the goals and objectives can be done.
The staff members are required to be instructed about avoiding unofficial leaves and
therefore this will help in ensuring that the work can be done highly productively. This will
therefore be quite helpful in ensuring that the appropriate actions can be taken in a proper
manner (Vann, 2020). Therefore, it is quite important that the following steps can be taken for
this particular purpose-
Get training for global citizenship- This will help in building of cultural knowledge so
that the future needs and requirements can be met quite effectively and efficiently.
Bridging the cultural gap- It should be done so that the gap can be removed which will
help in ensuring a proper communication.
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Practice good manners- It is highly essential so that the communication can be done in a
right way so that the conversation can be done with the different types of people.
Celebration of traditional holidays, holidays and food- It is needed for the purpose of
getting to know about the culture of a country.
Observing and listening to foreign customers and colleagues- It is quite important and
should be done for the particular purpose of becoming aware about the culture of a particular
country.
Paying attention to differences in culture- It is necessary that this can be done so that
the right actions can be taken for this purpose.
Be aware of different time zones- It is also important so that the work can be managed
in the right way.
Thus, in this way Marcus will be able to make sure that a better understanding of the
Namibian Culture is developed which will be quite helpful in taking the appropriate decisions.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that Culture refers to an umbrella term which
includes social behaviour and norms found in human societies as well as the knowledge, beliefs,
arts, laws, customs, capabilities and habits of the individuals in these societies. Therefore, in this
way this is quite important that the development of a thorough understanding of culture can be
done which will therefore help a lot in taking of right decisions.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Dandeker, C., 2021. On ‘the need to be different’: recent trends in military culture. The British
Army, manpower and society into the twenty-first century. pp.173-187.
Lowenthal, L., 2020. Historical perspectives on popular culture. In Critical Theory and Society A
Reader (pp. 184-198). Routledge.
Ng, E., 2020. No grand pronouncements here...: Reflections on cancel culture and digital media
participation. Television & New Media. 21(6). pp.621-627.
Pinney, C., 2020. Visual culture. In The material culture reader (pp. 81-103). Routledge.
Szydło, J. and Grześ-Bukłaho, J., 2020. Relations between National and Organisational Culture
—Case Study. Sustainability. 12(4). p.1522.
Tierney, K., 2020. Culture and the Production of Risk. In The Social Roots of Risk (pp. 50-81).
Stanford University Press.
Vann, E. F., 2020. Culture. In The handbook of sociocultural anthropology (pp. 30-48).
Routledge.
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