Spain
Russia
Cultural profile
Power Distance
Hierarchical society
Subordinates expect to be told what to do
Needs no further justification
Ideal boss is a benevolent autocrat
Individualism
Collectivist (51%) and individualist (49%)
Loyalty "in Groups"
No need for strong motivation from management
Masculinity
Wanting to be the best
Liking what you do
Consensus
Avoid the dominant presence of just one winning party
Uncertainty Avoidance
Have rules for everything, changes cause stress
Confidence in the future
Confrotation is avoided
Long Term orientation
Normative country
Spanish people like to live in the moment ("fiesta")
Need for clear structures and well defined rules for more pragmatic and relaxed approaches to life,particularly, in the long term time
Indulgence
Tendency to cynicism and pessimism
Don't put much emphasis on leisure time and control the gratification of their desires
Indulding themselvves is somewhat wrong
Cultural profile
Power Distance
Power holders are very distant in society
The largest country in the world is extremely centralized: 2/3 of all foreghn investments go into Moscow where also 80% of all financial potential is concentrated
The huge discrepancy between the less and the more powerful people leads to a great importance of status symbols
Individualism
Colectivist societie ("We with friends")
Relationships are crucial in obtaining information, getting introduced or successful negotiations (the need to be personal, authentic and trustful)
Rather implict communication style
Masculinity
Dominant values in society are caring for others and quality of life
Quality of life is the sign of success
Standing out from the crowd is not admirable
Liking what you do
Russians understate their personal achievements, contributions or capacities
Russians talk modestly about themselves and scientists, researchers or doctors are most often expected to live on a very modest standard of living
Dominant behaviour might be accepted when it comes from the boss, but is not appreciated among peers
Uncertainty Avoidance
Russians feel very much threatened by ambiguous situations
As well as they have established one of the most complex bureaucracies in the world
Also detailed planning and briefing is very common
Russians prefer to have context and background information
As long as Russians interact with people considered to be strangers they appear very formal and distant
At the same time formality is used as a sign of respect
Long Term orientation
Russia is definitely a country with a pragmatic mindset
People believe that truth depends very much on situation, context and time
They show an ability to adapt traditions easily to changed conditions
Strong propensity to save and invest
Thriftiness and perseverance in achieving results
Indulgence
The restrained nature of Russian culture
Tendency to cynicism and pessimism
Don't put much emphasis on leisure time and control the graficitation of their desires
Russians have the perception that their actions are restrained by social norms and feel that indulding themselves is somwhat wrong
57%
51%
42%
86%
48%
44%
93%
DISSONANCE ZONE
39%
36%
95%
81%
20%
Russia is Collectivist. Relationships are crucial in obtaining information, getting introduced or successful negotiations.
Spain is Collectivist on 49%. On the other hand, teamwork is considered as something totally natural, employees tend to work in this way with no need for strong motivation from Management.
Russia, scoring 93, is a nation where power holders are very distant in society. This is underlined by the fact that the largest country in the world is extremely centralized. The huge discrepancy between the less and the more powerful people leads to a great importance of status symbols. Behaviour has to reflect and represent the status roles in all areas of business interactions.
Spain’s score on this dimension is a high score, which means that Spain has a hierarchical society. This means that people accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has a place and which needs no further justification. Hierarchy in an organisation is seen as reflecting inherent inequalities, centralisation is popular, subordinates expect to be told what to do and the ideal boss is a benevolent autocrat.
UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE in different cultures is almost at the same level. Russians feel very much threatened by ambiguous situations, as well as they have established one of the most complex bureaucracies in the world. Presentations are either not prepared, e.g. when negotiations are being started, and the focus is on the relationship building, or extremely detailed and well prepared. Also detailed planning and briefing are very common. Russians prefer to have context and background information. As long as Russians interact with people considered to be strangers they appear very formal and distant.
Spain also strives to avoid uncertainty by all means. In Spain, they are trying to regulate all actions for maximum predictability. In Spain, a lot of time and effort is spent on a feasibility study and calculation of all risk factors before starting a project. The high need for avoiding uncertainty is one of the reasons for the difficulty of introducing changes in the organization.
Both countries greatly limit their needs. Societies with a low score in this dimension have a tendency to cynicism and pessimism. Also, in contrast to Indulgent societies, Restrained societies do not put much emphasis on leisure time and control the gratification of their desires. People's actions are Restrained by social norms and people feel that indulging themselves is somewhat wrong.
RECOMMENDATIONS
INDIVIDUALISM:
We believe that Russia and Spain could have a successful cooperation, because:
in both countries, individualism is quite low
teamwork is considered as something totally natural
for Russian Relationships are crucial in obtaining information, getting introduced or successful negotiations. so Russians and Spaniards will be able to understand each other
INDULGENCE
The similarity in this indicator of both cultures facilitates the interaction of employees, as some will not condemn others to “indulge” the desires
However, this can cause a rather pessimistic and bleak atmosphere, so you need to dilute the work routine with some kind of encouraging rituals and corporate events
LONG TERM ORIENTATION
Since business is a long term:
there (in Spain) is a need for clear structures and well defined rules prevailing against more pragmatic and relaxed approaches to life, particularly, in the long term time.
POWER DISTANCE:
If a Spanish company starts a business in Russia:
such a reduced power distance may attract Russian employees as a more modern and advanced feature of the company
However, the excessive proximity of the boss to his subordinates can be interpreted as weakness and lack of real power.
Therefore, along with collective decision-making and close teamwork, it is necessary to use some formal symbols of power for the leader - a separate office, secretary, and a sounding position.
UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE:
As we can see, such an avoidance of uncertainty in both cultures can greatly complicate the implementation of some innovative projects and changes, but there are also positive aspects. For instance,
employees will be happy to support some corporate rituals
go to meetings
and in the detailed regulations and instructions to see the stability and reliability of the company