Resolving International Conflict: Culture and Business Strategy

To minimise conflict between cultures, you must first analyse ‐ measure even ‐ the differences between them. That is the starting point for the third 1996 Stockton Lecture, reproduced here. The author identifies seven dimensions by which cultures can be distinguished from each otherwhich he defines as: Universalism versus Particularism; Collectivism versus Individualism; Affective versus Neutral relationships; Specificity versus Diffuseness; Achievement versus Ascription; Orientation towards Time; and Internal versus External Control. According to Dr Trompenaars, “Culture is the manner in which these dilemmas are reconciled, since every nation seeks a different and winding path to its own ideals of integrity.” Not only will conflict be reduced by this reconciliation, he argues, but businesses “will succeed to the extent that this reconciliation occurs.”