Cultural Differences

Case 3

Frank Thien

Australia and New Zealand

1. Australia and New Zealand have different cultures than the others in Asia and it's shown in GLOBE's Humane-Orientation. New Zealand falls in the "Medium Humane-Oriented" category but other Asian countries are listed in the "most Human-Oriented" category. Looking at Hofstede and Masculinity in countries it shows Japan as high masculinity and New Zealand is low. In Asian countries they usually are more relationship oriented where Australia is the complete opposite. Another example is Australia is high in individualism and China and Japan are the opposite, they are collectivistic.

2. The Indonesian archipelago is unique in terms of extent and diversity. It has volcanic soils, yet other parts of the country contain resources like oil, natural gasses and coal. Indonesian countries are diverse in their weather also, some parts have heavy rains and monsoons while other parts have droughts that lead to famines. There's a large imbalance of population distribution, 60% of Indonesians live on the main island called Java.

3. A characteristic of the Indonesian workplace profile is that Indonesian managers place value on harmony, understanding and mutual respect. Indonesian workers expect their supervisors to look after their interests like parents would and to be very accepting of this role. Bad news may be kept secret from the boss in the work place due to trying to save face and employees may simply ignore situations that they may find to be too much for them.

4. The social stratification in Indonesia varies greatly, there are superiorly wealthy individuals followed by a slim middle class, under them are the impoverished majority.

5. Some business opportunities for foreign direct investment in Indonesia include agribusiness, the automotive industry, financial services, construction, technology, infrastructure, education, health and medicine, food and beverages, fresh produce, oil drilling, transport and storage and scientific technology.