Service Journal: Question 13 of 15

Imagine that your focal service organization is going to expand into a country which has a very different culture from the home company. Identify that country and a few significant cultural differences between the home and expansion countries. For each difference listed, indicate how the service process may differ between countries.

IHC has seen the opportunity to expand to France. The main cultural differences between the two countries, based on the Hoffstede-Bond model, is their uncertainty avoidance and power distance ratios. Their cultural elements (ceremonies, rites, rituals, stories, myths, heroes, symbols, and laguage) also play an important role in shaping culture. Americans are high in low in both uncertainty avoidance and power distance, whereas, France is high. Uncertainty avoidance measures a cultures focus on conflict aviodance. Cultures that score high prefuer to aviod competition, aggression, and conflict. Thus service given in the states would be unagreeable to the French in that it would seem up in their face, and in their way. Power distance is the way i chich status and social position is accorded and percieved. Americans give little heed to power distance thus an individual is awarded status according to their personal abilies, where as, the french may attribute status dependant on race, sex, or metier (job).

Given the French are high on unceartainty avoidance service of these individuals would adapt touch points that are more aloof than american processes. Understanding power distance would help with scheduling of patients. If for example a pregnant woman was scheduled for an appointment and then made to wait for others would make those that go before her uneasy and make the pregnant woman extremely affronted.