Executive Summary

Geert Hofstede developed a framework for cross-cultural communication.

This framework is known as Hofstedes cultural dimensions theory. Geert
Hofstede, a Dutch, is a social psychologist and anthropologist. He has studied
the interactions between cultures. He is famous for his work all over the world
and has also received a number of awards for his intellectual research work.
Cultural Dimensions Theory is one of his many remarkable accomplishments.
It is a systematic framework and helps access the differences between
nations and cultures. This assignment includes an interview with Mona
Chowdhury, a Human Resource Executive at Nestle Bangladesh Ltd. She
mentioned about the organization and its employees. She further mentioned
about the coordination of the employees with their employer. Also she talked
about the business environment within the organization. In the introduction, I
have discussed about Nestle Bangladesh Ltd. We then move on to discuss
cultural dimensions theory in accordance with the organization. I have used
several models and tools to help explain Hofstedes cultural dimensions
theory. Then I discussed the questions that I asked Mona Chowdhury. I
discussed each and every question and further analyzed them. There are six
cultural dimensions in the framework developed by Hofstede. In this
assignment, I have discussed all six of these dimensions from the perspective
of the Nestle Bangladesh Ltd. This tells us a lot about the kind of organization
Nestle is. Finally, I wrote a conclusion and added some recommendations for
the organization on how to manage the organizations culture even more
effectively.

Introduction
Henri Nestle, a chemist from Frankfurt, is the founder of the organization
Nestle. It was founded in the year 1866. The organization is undoubtedly the
worlds leading health, nutrition and wellness company. The organizations
headquarters is located at Switzerland. Nestle has more than 280,000 people
currently working for the organization. The organization prefers people who
have leadership qualities. They also look for people who can work as a team.
The organization wants to recruit people who can motivate others in the
organization and also are realistic and confident. The organization further
commits to organize the talents of the people working for it and help manage
careers of the employees in the long run.
Nestle Global produces a range of goods all over the world. Some of the
products produced by Nestle are Maggi, KitKat, Gerber, Toll House, Milo,
Nestle Pure Life, Nescafe, Coffee-Mate, Nespresso, Friskies, Purina, Buitoni,
Nescafe Dolce Gusto, Herta, Stouffers, Nestle Ice Cream, Nido, Dreyers,

Lean Cuisine, Carnation, S. Pellegrino.

In about 1994, Nestle started its operations in Bangladesh. The organization
has its factories in Sreepur, Gazipur. Products that Nestle widely sells in
Bangladesh are Nido, Nescafe, Maggi noodles and soup, Maggi Shad-e-Magic,
breakfast cereals such as Corn Flakes and Koko Crunch, Coffee-Mate, Munch
rolls and many more. Nestle is present all around the globe.
The organization operates its operations in all the continents. People in more
than 84 counties are working for the organization and have 466 factories.
Nestle being the worlds largest food group and covers every field of nutrition
infant formula, mineral water, frozen ready-made meals, culinary products,
ice-cream, instant coffee, chocolate and confectionary, and milk products.
The organization is people and product-oriented. It is committed to create
value to the organizations shareholders. The managers of the organization
opt to make long-term successful business development plans. Nestle
Bangladesh Ltd. makes use of project teams and task forces in order to get
their tasks done in time. The company also encourages networking among
the people of the organization and also outside the firm. Horizontal
communication is enabled within the organization. This makes it easier for
the employees working in different levels to communicate with each other.
However, communication at the horizontal level doesnt blur the
responsibilities of the manager of the organization. Hence, the authority of
the managers in the organization is yet effective. Working methods in Nestle
Bangladesh Ltd. is flexible and efficient and doesnt undermine basic
hierarchy. The organization has clear levels of responsibility.

Literature Review
Nestle Bangladesh Ltd. is not in the favor of making short-term profits, rather
the organization plans for the future. The organization makes long-term
strategic plans to obtain long-term strategic goals. However, the organization
makes sure that it doesnt earn below a certain level. The organization is as
decentralized as it could be. The managers are always encouraging
continuous improvement within the organization. They tend to avoid dramatic
one-time changes. Nestle Bangladesh Ltd. claims to be a flat organization.
The company has few levels of management and broad spans of control.
The organization uses production concept. The products are all affordable by
the targeted market segments of Nestle Bangladesh Ltd. The products are
not too expensive and the targeted market segment of the organization the
middle class. The products of the organization are readily available in any
grocery or retail shop. The most sold products of Nestle in Bangladesh are

Maggie, Nescafe, Nido, and KitKat.

Nestle Bangladesh Ltd. uses upward line stretching for products with high
values, such as kitkat and crunch ice creams. Also downward line stretching
is used to fulfill market gap, such as for products as low cost baby foods. The
organization uses differentiated marketing for differentiated market
segments. Also separate offers are designed for the different segments. The
company means to increase the sales and make its position stronger in the
market. The organization also uses demographic factor to position its goods
in the market, such as ages, family size, income, occupation. The company
also works to retain customer loyalty, which is very important for the
organization to sustain in the market.
Nestle Bangladesh Ltd. has a number of competitors in the market. Some of
the biggest competitors of the organization are Unilever NV (UN), GROUPE
DANONE (DA), Hershey Foods (HSY), Kraft Foods (KFT), Cadbury Schweppes
(CSG), etc. Constant improvement in the products of Nestle Bangladesh Ltd.
is necessary in order to keep up with the quality of the products of their
competitors.
Power-Distance Index:
According to Geert Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions Theory, power distance
means that the members of any organization or institution accept the fact
that power is not equally distributed. However, it does not measure the
distribution of power in any culture. It analyzes the way people feel about the
unequal distribution of people among the people within an organization or
institution. Nestle Bangladesh Ltd. has a culture with low power-distance. This
means that power relations in the organization are democratic. Also this
explains that all the employees in the organization are treat as equals. That
explains that Nestle Bangladesh Ltd. is a flat organization and there are few
levels of management levels.
Individualism vs. Collectivism:
The organization has a collective culture. The employees in the organization
all tend to work in groups. Group work is more preferred in the organization.
They work more as a whole to obtain than the goals of the groups, rather
than working towards individual goals. Hence, the well being of the group is
valued more than the well being of individuals.
Uncertainty-Avoidance Index:
Nestle Bangladesh Ltd. does not believe in making dramatic one-time
changes. The organization rather believes in continuous improvement.
Continuous improvement is improvement to survive in the market over the

years. The employees of the firm reacts little to changes made in the
organization. It is good for the organization because the organization doesnt
have to worry before making changes and advancing with the emergence of
new and advanced technology.
Masculinity vs. Femininity:
This part tells us if the organization stereotypically assets masculine values
on the culture of the organization. Nestle Bangladesh Ltd. doesnt employ
more males than females. They look for talent in their employees and they
are not biased towards any particular sex. This type of culture is very
motivating towards both the sexes and makes sure that there is no unfairness
towards any sex in particular.
Long-term Orientation vs. Short-term Orientation:
The organization doesnt believe in making short-term profit and increasing
shareholders wealth. They make long-term strategic plans and want to grow
over the years. They plan for the future to obtain long-term strategic goals for
the organization.
Indulgence vs. Restraint:
Nestle Bangladesh Ltd. provides its employees with recreation facilities. The
company does not follow strict social norms. The company is more open to
the immediate needs and personal desires of its employees.

Discussion and Analysis

I interviewed Mona Chowdhury. She is a Human Resource Executive Manager
at Nestle Bangladesh Ltd. She told us a lot about the organization she is
working for. This helped me to understand the culture of the organization
even better.
I prepared a set of 10 questions and asked her to answer them. All of these
questions were closed ended. She was kind enough to answer all of my
questions.
I have analyzed all her answers to my questions below:

Question 1:
First I asked about the number of employees working in her organization. I
asked her that question because it is very important for me to know how big

her organization is before I could start working on it. For the first question,
she selected the option d, which means there are more than 100 employees
in her organization. Nestle Bangladesh Ltd. is a pretty big organization.

Question 2:
Our second question was to ask her if the culture in her organization is
individualistic or collectivistic. Mona Chowdhury told me that the culture in
her organization is collectivistic. He chose oprion b. In a collectivistic culture,
employees think more about the organization as a whole than thinking about
themselves. Employees in a collectivistic culture tend to be more generous,
helpful, dependable, and attentive than those in than individualistic culture.

Question 3:
When I asked her if her organization is male-biased, she told me that Nestle
Bangladesh Ltd. is not male-biased. She chose option b. In societies that are
more masculine there are different rules for men and women. However, in
feminine societies there is more equality between men and women. Nestle
Bangladesh, Ltd. is not male-biased. This means that there is more equality
between the male and female employees in the organization.

Question 4:
My next question to her was if more men work in Nestle Bangladesh Ltd. than
women. However, she chose option b, which means that men and women
work in equal ratio in the organization. This is important for an organizations
success because if more men worked in an organization than women, the
organization will tend to be biased towards men.

Question 5:
Next, I asked her how the employees in her organization react to change.
There is newness in the way of operating a business everyday. It is necessary
that employees react positively to these changes. Mona Chowdhury told me
that the employees in the organization reacted little to the changes in the
organization. She chose option b. This means that the employees working in
her organization react positively and can adapt to changes quickly. This helps
Nestle Bangladesh Ltd. to be more innovative, without any hassle to worry
about their employees not being able to adapt to new ideas or technologies.

Question 6:
When I asked if the employees in her organization are comfortable with the
chain of command within the organization, she mentioned that the
employees are very satisfied with their superiors and they obey them. She
chose option a. This means that the chain of command within the
organization is pretty effective. People within the organization respect the
ones who in the higher positions and they work together in order to get
better results. This helps the organization to be more effective and also there
are fewer conflicts between the different workforce levels.

Question 7:
My next question was to ask her if there is any conflict between the employer
and the employees. She told me that it not often that there are conflicts, but
sometimes conflicts do take place between the employees and the employer.
Her chose option a for this question, which sometimes conflicts do take
place between the employees and the employer in Nestle Bangladesh Ltd.
Such conflicts may effect the organization negatively. This is a disadvantage
for the organization. Employees working in the organization may have
conflicts with their employer for a several different seasons. It is important
that the employees can connect to the ideal of the employer they are
working for.

Question 8:
Then I asked her if her organization believes more in long-term perspective,
planning for future, perseverance value, or short-term past and present
oriented. She chose option b. She told me that Nestle Bangladesh Ltd. is
more into working for a long-term perspective. The organization makes longterm strategic plans. The plans are made so that the organization can sustain
over a longer period of time in the market. This strategy is followed because
in a competitive market like that of Bangladesh it is necessary to plan ahead
and keep track of the market and competition. Otherwise, it will be difficult
for an organization to survive in the market in the long run.

Question 9:
I also asked her if Nestle Bangladesh Ltd. regulated through strict norms. She

chose option b. Mona Chowdhury told me that the organization didnt follow
strict norms. This makes the organization very flexible.

Question 10:
My final question to her was if her organization provided any recreation
facilities to its employees. She chose option a. She told me that Nestle
Bangladesh Ltd. actually provided recreation facilities to its employees. This
means that the organization has take initiatives to provide the employees
with recreation facilities.

Below is the list of all the questions I asked Mona Chowdhury:

Please answer the following questions:

1)

How many people work in your organization?

a)

10

b)

50

c)

100

d)

More

2)

Your organization has a(n):

a)

Individualistic culture

b)

Collectivistic culture

3)

Is your organization male-biased?

a)

Yes

b)

No

4)

Do more men work in your organization than women?

a)

Yes

b)

No

5)

How do the employees in your organization react to changes?

a)

They dont react at all

b)

Little

c)

Poorly, they are not open to changes

6)
Are the employees in your organization comfortable with the chain of
command?
a)

Yes

b)

No

7)
How often do you find conflicts between the employer and the
employees perspectives?
a)

Sometimes

b)

Never

8)

Does your organization believe more in:

a)

Long-term perspective, planning for future, perseverance values

b)

Short-term past and present oriented

9)

Does your organization regulate through strict social norms?

a)

Yes

b)

No

10)

Do you provide recreation facilities to the employees in your

organization?
a)

Yes

b)

No

Conclusion
Geert Hofstedes cultural dimensions framework are used to help understand
the cultural of an organization. After analyzing the culture of Nestle
Bangladesh Ltd., we have come to a conclusion that the organization is open
to new ideas and believes in continuous improvement. Also it is a flat
organization and there are very few levels of management within the
organization. The interview with Mona Chowdhury, the HR Executive of Nestle
Bangladesh Ltd., has made it evident that the organization provides facilities
to its employees and doesnt always follow social rules and norms.

Recommendation
The organization sells a wide range of products. However, some of the
products sell more in the market than others. Therefore, the organization
should work to make the weaker products sell more in the market, which is
growing more competitive every moment.
Nestle earns a lot of money from sales of Nestle cerelac and other baby food
products. These products are the companys cash cows. However, Nestle
should try to turn these products into stars. Nestles star products are Nestle
beverages, but Nestle baby foods also has the potential to be star products.
Therefore, Nestle should pay more attention to make these products its star
products. Nestles pharmaceutical products are its dog products and the
company should initiatives to make that situation better and improve that
situation.
Although the employees and the employer within the organization have few
conflicts these conflicts should be handled carefully. These conflicts need to
be carefully treated because they may turn into something violent in the near
future and might get out of control. Therefore, conflicts should not be
encouraged within any organization because they are not healthy for any
organization.