Organizational Culture And Values

Taking into account the cultural dimensions of Geert Hofstede's cultural dimensions and the Shahani-sponsored study on the strengths and weaknesses of the Filipinos, It could be drawn that us Filipinos possess cultural traits that hinder, slow down, or hinder our productivity.

The Philippines' raw score (2003) in Geert Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions are as follows:

Country PDI IDV MAS UAI LTO

Philippines

94 32 64 44 19

Source: www.geert-hofstede.com

It indicates that the Philippines has a high Power Distance Index (PDI) score of 94. The PDI is the extent to which less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. This represents inequality defined from below, not from above. It suggests that a society's level of inequality is endorsed by the followers as much as by the leaders.

Another Cultrual Dimension high score (64) of the Philippines is Masculinity which refers to the distribution of roles between genders where although women are somewhat assertive and competitive, they are not as that of the men so that there is a gap between men's values and women's values.

The weaknesses of the Filipino Character according to the study sponsored by Sen. Leticia Shahani are: extreme personalism, extreme family centeredness, lack of discipline, 'kanya-kanya' syndome, colonial mentality, passivity/lack of initiative, and lack of self-analysis/reflection.

Considering the Philippine's raw scores in the Geert Hofstede Cultural Dimension and the findings of the study on the weaknesses of the Filipino trait, we as a culture can improve and be more productive if we can learn how to:

1. be more objective / separate personal and emotional attachments from objective tasks

2. leave personal / family business at home when going to work and vise versa, leave work / business concerns in the office when going home

3. finish tasks or job / be more patient

4. be more competitive but not to the point of being cut-throat

5. love our heritage

6. be more focused and forward looking

7. recognize the role of women as co-developer and accept that they play a pivotal role in modern business

8. treat your