Comparative Analysis of Portugal and Australia Culture Essay

Comparative Analysis of Portugal and Australia Culture - Essay Example Comparative Analysis of Portugal and Australia Culture For an individual, it is imperative to comprehend the multicultural values especially in the business environment to successfully perform the assigned activities. With this concern, in order to ascertain cultural distinctiveness of the host or target country i.e. Australia, a person working in the corporate sector in the nation was interviewed. Subsequently, a number of critical facets have been derived that would enable to meet the ensuing challenges in a diverse culture. The objective of the study is to determine the various cultural dimensions which differentiate the business and cultural environment of Australia from Portugal. The behavioral dimension, work purpose, time and human nature among factors are evaluated. The cultural environment of Australia differs from that of Portugal on the basis of certain grounds. From the conversation with the designated individual and from revealed researches, it has been ascertained that the culture of Australia gives much significance to ascertaining harmony of the country which influences the workplace. The harmony is valued to bring cohesiveness and promote diversity in Australia which supports the work culture to a great extent. Australia renders more significance to the individualistic culture, which makes the society loosely knit. This characteristic is displayed in the business environment where the employees are estimated to be self-reliant and exhibit initiative. The people of Australia are modest, val ue authenticity, sincerity and give more importance to the business. The hiring and the promotion of the people in Australia depend on the merit of the individuals. Conversely, in Portugal, the importance is given to the moral and relationship factor. The cohesiveness of the people in Australia makes it a better place for business than in Portugal. The Portugal culture gives more importance to personal relation than business. The commitment among the people is more in Portugal as they follow the collective approach, which gives more importance to the group member than an individual (ITIM, â€Å"What about Australia†; ITIM, â€Å"What about Portugal†). UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE The rules and procedures are flexible in Australia as it follows the pragmatic culture for avoiding uncertainty. With reference to Hofstede’s cultural dimension, it is observed that the score of Australia is 51 as compared to 104 of Portugal which signifies that the Australian culture gives em phasis on idea generation, innovation and has a risk taking approach to help the work environment to flourish amid the changing uncertainties. Whereas, the Portuguese culture states that they follow rigid rules and procedures which help them to avoid uncertainty better than Australia. The people do not focus on emotions much and emphasize planning to make the business grow. The culture emphasizes more emotions, beliefs and have a risk-averse behavior (ITIM, â€Å"What about Australia†; ITIM, â€Å"What about Portugal†). SOURCES OF TRUTH In the Australian organizational culture, the managers are easily accessible due to a flexible hierarchical system. The communication system is informal in Australia which gives scope for both the management and the employees to have a free interaction. Thus, employee for any query or in search of truth