Learning Task 1

Team 2

Authors: Oleksandra Voronchykhina

Thorben Juffer
Andreea Lupu
Cem Sinan
Martijn Bakker

Group: Team 2

Class: ITVK1
Date: 10-10-2018
TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3
2. Method ......................................................................................................................................................... 4
3. The Companies .............................................................................................................................................. 5
3.1. RDW .............................................................................................................................................................5
3.2. HTG...............................................................................................................................................................7
3.3. IBM (Client) Innovation Center Benelux ......................................................................................................8
4. The Departmental Cultures ........................................................................................................................... 9
4.1. RDW .............................................................................................................................................................9
4.1.1. Hofstede’s Dimensions.................................................................................................................................9
4.1.2. Schein’s Model ...........................................................................................................................................11
4.2. HTG.............................................................................................................................................................12
4.2.1. Hofstede’s Dimensions...............................................................................................................................12
4.2.2. Schein’s Model ...........................................................................................................................................13
4.3. IBM Innovation Center ...............................................................................................................................14
4.3.1. Hofstede’s Dimensions...............................................................................................................................14
4.3.2. Schein’s Model ...........................................................................................................................................16
4.4. Iceberg Model ............................................................................................................................................17
5. Departmental Cooperation.......................................................................................................................... 18
5.1. RDW ...........................................................................................................................................................18
5.2. HTG.............................................................................................................................................................19
5.3. IBM Innovation Center ...............................................................................................................................19
6. Conclusions ................................................................................................................................................. 20
7. Advice ......................................................................................................................................................... 22
8. References .................................................................................................................................................. 23
1. INTRODUCTION

Culture may be defined as the set of shared attitudes, values, goals and practices that
characterizes an organization and it influences a lot of aspects regarding a company’s working
environment.

Multiculturality can facilitate the business with different perspectives due to its employees’
backgrounds, but it can also be a barrier for communication. That is because every culture has
its particular aspects that may not be well understood by outsiders. Therefore, the
identification and understanding of cultural differences plays an important role within a
company, that also being the aim of this report.

Social and cultural standards have an intensive impact in the mechanics and interpersonal
connections at work. People usually tend to take their norms of behavior and cultural
background for granted until they face a multicultural environment where everybody acts
accordingly to the culture they're anchored in.

Since nowadays there are a lot of IT functions within international companies, the aim of this
report is to analyze how different IT expertise families work together within the organization. In
order to achieve this, the research on three companies, Holland Trading Group, RDW, and IBM
Innovation Center, is conducted, using such methods as Hofstede’s Dimensions and Schein's
Model of Organizational Culture. The general information about each organization is collected
(e.g. type of the company, field of operation, number of employees). Additionally, the report
explains what IT functions exist in these companies, how they are managed and how
organizational culture influences them.

Moreover, the report aims at comparing the organizational cultures and to mention the aspects
which stands out. Based on it, the best practices, which were learned, should be defined and
divided into two categories. The first one concerns with the best practices in general, while the
second one deals with the best practices in specific situations.

Page 3
2. METHOD
To assess what IT functions exist within the companies, HTG, RDW, IBM Innovation Center Benelux, how
they are organized and what are their key cultural aspects, the presentation was held by each
company’s representative, followed by a Q&A session.

During the presentation, general information about the company was collected (e.g. field of expertise,
mission statement, core values). Moreover, to obtain the additional information, the companies’
websites were used. Based on the collected data, the questions for the Q&A session were modified, if
needed, to make them more specific for each company.

As for the Q&A session, the main goal was to get more insights into the departmental culture. In order
to do so, about 15 questions were prepared in advance. The questions were mainly connected either to
Hofstede’s dimensions or to Schein’s model of organizational culture and aimed at filling in these two
models. These two methods are aimed at assessing the companies’ structure from diverse perspectives,
which helps to gain the in-depth understanding of IT management.

Speaking about Hofstede dimensions which were analyzed, there are 6 of them:

 masculinity vs. femininity (task orientation versus person-orientation);

 power distance (strength of social hierarchy);
 individualism vs. collectivism (measures if employees tend to accomplish tasks alone or in the
group);
 uncertainty avoidance (measures a society's tolerance for ambiguity);
 indulgence vs. restraint (measures if leisure time is valued);
 long-term vs. short-term orientation (Mindtools.com, 2018).

When it comes to the Schein’s model of organizational culture, this includes:

 basic underlying assumptions which are usually hard to be seen (the foundations on which
culture is based);
 espoused values (public statements about what the organizational values are about);
 artifacts (the visible signs of an organization’s culture) (tutor2u, 2018).

Each company was analyzed using all Hofstede’s dimensions and all components of the Schein’s model
of organizational culture. In addition, Iceberg model was used to complement Schein’s model by
identifying symbols, heroes, rituals and values.

The conclusion is based on the comparison of the companies’ organizational culture and pros and cons
of each organizational culture. Based on it, the best practices were pointed out and explained.

Page 4
3. THE COMPANIES

3.1. RDW
The RDW is the Dutch road traffic department, which acts as an administrator of cars and roads,
specifically the admission and removal of vehicles and their underlying parts. The RDW has a testing
facility for executing approval requests. To achieve the mission statement, the safety and environmental
impact of vehicles are considered. With many offices abroad, the IT department has 300 employees
alone.

RDW mission statement is presented in Dutch, which roughly translates to:

“De RDW staat voor veiligheid, duurzaamheid en rechtszekerheid in mobiliteit”

The RDW stands for safety, sustainability and legal certainty in mobility.

Core Vision: Everyone should be safe on the road,

Core Values: Serviceable, professional and collected
Core Qualities: Excellent service, Professional, Cooperation and Decisiveness

Furthermore, RDW specializes in automobile registration, the provisioning of license plates and the
issuing of driving licenses.

RDW Department Structure

Every Department has a manager, the manager will communicate and coordinate with other
departments. Departments with an active project will have a present product owner, who deals with
satisfying the stakeholders. The acting Scrum Masters’ goal is to maintain the stakeholder vision and the
value of the end product and finally, the delivery team that does the specific jobs. It gets more difficult
the larger the team. RDW prides itself on how tasks are dealt with in groups, however if the team gets
too large action will be taken.

While teams of 7 or so people are completely manageable, groups with 10 or more people need to be
split into smaller groups.

Page 5
The IT Department is divided into smaller segments;

1. Registration and Maintenance platform.

The team segment maintains the platforms.

2. Platform Delivery
This team focuses on web hosting and applications such as Digital Service Platform.

3. Agile Team
The Agile team delivers storage, network and database infrastructure.

RDW Department Structure

Page 6
3.2. HTG
HTG is a recently public company that specializes in import and export. It supplies retailers and
wholesalers with various liquor, health and beauty products. HTG has autonomous warehouses in order
to bring customers efficient and competitive prices. It has a vast assortment of brands available which
was tributed through a network of warehouses globally. HTG has many notable partners such as AXE,
DOVE, Gucci and Smirnoff to name a few. HTG is continuously looking for ways to expand their
portfolios, partners and markets to penetrate.

The mission statement:

“We source, We serve, We supply”

HTG Departmental Structure

The IT department consists of 60 people over 3 locations, the work environment is fairly casual with the
exception of dress code. The teams are young and have HBO level degrees and normally have additional
work experience. One of the sub department is an innovation department that occupies its time with
trying out new technology, for example; Hololens and Google Smart assist.

HTG administers Autostore, a innovative autonomous storage system which carefully organizes the
inventory. Further the company makes use of BiT, a modern ERP Platform for effective inventory and
customer management.

The company and IT department are flat, this implies that the management provides employees with
much autonomy and it shows in the company’s culture; Willingness to innovate, individualism and an
open company where disagreements can be openly discussed regardless of hierarchy. However,
departments do have a Department Manager which coordinates with other managers.

Page 7
3.3. IBM (CLIENT) INNOVATION CENTER BENELUX
The IBM Innovation Center is one of the two centers located in the Benelux. The center exercises many
projects and goals ranging from IOS software development, UX design to cognitive and enterprise
solutions. Not only from one aspect but as a whole package; Design, back-end and front-end.

The center also has interest in early blockchain technology and how it can be implemented in real work
situations. Currently they are working with a supplier in delivering a new ERP system that makes use of
blockchain.

While part of IBM-- they have their own management and culture-- the management does report to IBM
parent for larger projects and funding.

IBM Innovation Center Values;

“Agile, continuous improvement

Design first, Focus on the end user
Holistic, From ideation to production
Quality, Solutions we can be proud of”

IBM innovation Center Department structure

The center contains 275 employees; 30 of which are experienced employees in their respective fields
and 70 young graduates with fresh ideas, 40 of which specialize in ICT. The center practices a casualing
working environment with a flat departmental structure. Since everyone works in one large open space,
departments and communicated with each other on the fly.

Working groups have many roles, with a Project Manager, Product owner and Lead Architect at the top.
However the Product owner will be the one who communicates with client Architects and Specialists.

Page 8
4. THE DEPARTMENTAL CULTURES

4.1. RDW
4.1.1. HOFSTEDE’S DIMENSIONS
Based on Hofstede’s six dimension, the IT departments of RDW can be put in the next categories:

Dimension RDW

RDW is more on the feminine side and that can also be due to the fact that is a
public, typical Dutch organization. They don’t live for money and people are not
Masculinity vs. interested into making career, but more to keep their work/life in balance. Also, the
Femininity employees value safety for their customers and quality in their working lives. This
can also be seen in their mission statement: Everybody safe and trusted on the road
which means that the customers’ safety is the most important goal for them.

The organization has a low power distance, having a flat, decentralized structure
where employees can openly talk to their boss and have open spaces in their office.
This is characterized by a small number of supervisors (each team has Product
Owner) and by the fact that the superiors are accessible to the newcomers and train
Power Distance them in order to meet their needs. Also, subordinates are not afraid of
disagreement with the superiors.

Even though they are a Dutch organization and Netherlands is characterized as an

individualistic country by Hofstede, RDW “is all about the group”, tending to be
more of a collectivistic company. They value the performance of the team, seniors
help the new employees with their training, just like in a family. Based on
Westrum’s Organization Model, the employees agreed that their cooperation is
good, and bridging is highly tolerated. Also, interesting work is as important as
Individualism vs.
payment, this being one of the reasons Mr. Wiersema left his job (he wasn’t
Collectivism
satisfied with his work). Nevertheless, the individual opinions are encouraged, and
communications are straightforward, Mr. Wiersema said, which is an individualistic
trait.

Page 9
 Even though RDW is implementing and testing a lot of developments in mobility
such as smart software’s, autonomous cars, intelligent transport systems, trying to
accelerate innovation in technology, their uncertainty avoidance is somehow
strong. They would never risk the safety of the company or their customers for such
a project. Also, they would never outsource 100% of a critical project, their “people
don’t like to make mistakes” and based on Westrum’s Organization Model they are
Uncertainty
a bureaucratic, rule-oriented organization, where failure/disobeying of rules leads
Avoidance
not to justice but to inquiry. RDW has a few weak uncertainty avoidance traits as
people have no fear of leaving their jobs if they don’t feel satisfied with it (as Mr.
Wiersema did) and the organization is trying to implement novelty rather than
dismiss it. Also, a problem of their org would be that it is not good at improving
itself and it doesn’t have a culture of innovation, but in the same time it is willing to
make changes if they are explained honestly and they produce benefits.

RDW can easily be classified as an indulgent organization as people admit they are
satisfied with their work hours and vacation days. The company is informal,
Indulgence vs. adopting a casual dress-code and making time for one day of fun per week which,
Restraint according to Mr. Wiersema, it brings energy to the team. The employees also go out
with colleagues from the same department every now and then, so leisure time is
also valued.

RDW has a long-term orientation and it is encouraging their employees’ education

through trainings, guest lectures, tech days etc. in order to keep them updated with
Long-Term vs. the company’s needs. It highly values education and training, a LT-orientation trait.
Short-Term Also, the organization’s goal is to accelerate innovation in technology, but it also
Orientation strives for relentless improvement and a better way of solving problems.

Page 10
4.1.2. SCHEIN’S MODEL

Artefacts Their logo is orange (color of the king) and consists of a highway and a parking lot
representation. Dress code is business casual, language is not excessive formal. The
Team leader, team member and manager can talk openly and correct to each other.
Their slogan is “Everybody safe and trusted on the road.”

Espoused RDW is a governmental company, which means its values are mostly ethical rules. They
values can be summarized as not accepting bribe, and not sabotage consciously. However,
the company also has social codes, such as no gossiping or being kind. If someone
breaks these codes, he or she will not get fired but socially isolated. New ideas and
enthusiasm are encouraged; employees are willing to take risks in new projects. They
like to have events in the company (e.g.social gatherings, team buildings, Innovation
Friday). One of
their main values is trustworthiness.

Underlying The managers value efforts more than the outcome. Meetings are held on a weekly
Assumptions basis, where both professional situations and social situations are discussed. Since the
work style does not require constantly upgrading, the organization is more flexible
than the companies whose work style is constantly upgrading. The employees are
using informal language, and they can criticize their superiors. RDW values their
customers’ safety and wants to be trusted by them.

Page 11
4.2. HTG
4.2.1. HOFSTEDE’S DIMENSIONS

Dimension HTG

Masculinity vs Since HTG is a private company, it has to have competition against other
Femininity companies and that is why there are masculine parts in it. The company must
win the competitions to survive in its field. Reference to Hofstede’s country
results, Netherlands has very low masculinity points (14). As the company has
been founded in this environment, it also has a feminine side characterized by
low competition between employees and low hierarchy. Decisions are made
based on intuition rather than facts; also, there is no competition between
departments, they all work towards the same goal.In conclusion, HTG
balances those two.

Power Distance The employees can warn/correct their superiors, “the bosses’ door is always
open”. There is no hierarchy in the organization which is a flat model. The
dress code is not as free as in RDW, thus there is no need to wear formal
clothing. The employees call their teammates by their first name. Power
distance is very low in the company.

Individualism vs HTG is situated somewhere in the middle as the employees work by

Collectivism themselves, everyone has a specialization, but for projects, teams of three
people are made. Also, HTG adopts an individual reward system by setting
some tasks that need to be done at the beginning of each year and whoever
completes them gets an extra bonus.
However, according to M. Hazelhoff, everybody in the company works to
achieve the same goal, not in their own interest which leads to a quite
collectivistic company. In addition, company was founded in Dutch cultural
environment, which is a highly individualist society.

Indulgence vs HTG can be categorized as an indulgent company, they value their leisure time
Restraint and balance work/private life really well as they have social gatherings after
work, team buildings etc. In the company it is acceptable to stay overtime if
the employees don’t finish their tasks for that day, but they can show up late
at work the next day without this being a problem.

Uncertainty HTG likes taking risks. The company started a project without knowing if it was
Avoidance going to work out or not, that being AutoStore, a fully automated storage
system. The project turned out well as they reduced their storage space by
75% as well as their energy consumption and maintenance costs. (AutoStore)
Besides that, HTG doesn’t follow a strict rules and invests in new technologies
while also striving to take over new companies in order to deliver the best
value to their customers. In conclusion, HTG has a low uncertainty avoidance.

Page 12
 Long term vs As any other successful business, HTG has a long-term orientation, the
Short term company strives to make 10 billion by the next year, to take over new
Orientation companies and the IT departments focuses on investing in their people’s
education. HTG also has an Innovation Department whose role is to look after
new technologies and even an Innovation Day. HTG looks towards the future in
terms of business technologies.

4.2.2. SCHEIN’S MODEL

Artefacts The surface of the organization, visible and recognizable by everyone can be seen in
their formal dress-code, in their logo which consists of the Greek God’s Hermes
silhouette on a blue background, in their completely digitalized warehouse, but also in
the simple and typical Dutch architecture of their office in Delfzijl.

Their mission, We
source, We serve, We supply. is
putting emphasis on the company as a group by using “We” and on their goals.

Espoused Much less visible than the artefacts they can be found in the speech of the two
values speakers, Ronald Wierenga and Matthias Hazelhoff, who stated that HTG value
services and the quality they provide to their customers, which can also be seen in
their mission statement. Besides that, HTG values proactivity and encourages new
projects. Another value is cooperation as the employees work in teams for the same
goal. The IT department’s long-term goal is to invest in people, so HTG values its
employees and the work they are providing for the company. The company is relying
on intuition when hiring someone, and value not only the education but also the
personal achievements and the personality of the candidates.

Underlying Almost invisible but from the speaker’s speech, one can assume HTG considers
Assumptions important the time spent in a group as they have social gatherings after work and a lot
of team buildings. The company also tries to improve its communication with the
Romanian team of developers by inviting them to Netherlands and the IT department
is not really proud of its male: female ratio as it only has one woman in it.

Page 13
4.3. IBM INNOVATION CENTER
4.3.1. HOFSTEDE’S DIMENSIONS

IBM Client Innovation Center doesn’t focus on material success, because everything
Masculinity vs. the company earns goes back into the system and contributes to further
Femininity innovation. The quality of the work life is more important than the earnings which
definitely situates the organization more on the feminine side. For the employees,
success means how quickly they’re growing and developing.

IBM Client Innovation Center has a visibly low power distance, being a flat
Power Distance organization with only two managers and all the other employees being treated as
equals. The Benelux office doesn’t look like a traditional one as they have open
spaces and even a tree house which allows a better cooperation between all
personnel. The employees are friends with their manager, and they even have a
work counselor which can objectively listen to their complaints if there are any.
Their decision-making style can be both centralized (if it affects the whole
company) and decentralized, depending on the decision.

Though, hiring and promotions are based on individual skills, their reward system is
Individualism vs. both for individuals and for groups, consisting in recognition not money, so the
Collectivism company is situated somewhere in the middle of this dimension. The Client
Innovation Center still needs to report to IBM, as it doesn’t have an own sales
system, but it still has a lot of freedom (“We make stuff, IBM sales it.”). Also,
individual weaknesses are not punished and if an employee has a low performance,
they work to improve it. Even though the employees work in teams for projects, the
working environment is an agile one, and everybody uses their individual traits for
delivering a valuable product.

With their main focus on innovation and describing their culture as a “culture of
Uncertainty innovation”, the company has a low uncertainty avoidance. The organization
Avoidance embraces change and works in an agile environment, not following a plan when
implementing a project and having 15 minutes meetings everyday with the team
involved in a project. The employees are willing to take risks and are encouraged to
come up with ideas and then put them into practice to see how they would work.
Their manager is also a “rebel” as Aman Sharma described him.

Page 14
 IBM Client Innovation Center can be easily categorized as an indulgent company as
Indulgence vs. freedom of speech and leisure time are viewed as important. The employees have
Restraint flexible working hours and dress-code. Also, they can even work for home as long
as they successfully meet their deadlines and attend the weekly meetings. The
company even invites clients to their center to get them out of their corporate
workplace and have Design Thinking Workshops while also hosting a lot of events
where the employees can socialize like game committees etc. “It’s not only about
the work, we make time for having fun” Aman Sharmen states.

IBMIC is always involved in a project which might be long-term or short-term

Long-Term vs. oriented. However, because its goal is to be the innovative part of IBM
Short-Term international, it tends to have more of a long-term orientation. Future is very
Orientation important for it as it wants to be on the market even in 20 years from now. It also
has a culture of saving and investing, because everything goes back into the system
for further projects and it places high value on education and training for its
employees. IBMIC also plans to triple the size of its team in the next 6 months and
10 times in a year.

Page 15
4.3.2. SCHEIN’S MODEL

Artefacts These may be seen in IBMIC’s alternative working space which is very friendly and
looks like a playground where the employees even have a treehouse. Also, its casual,
relaxed dress-code and its colorful logo design which is a splash of orange and yellow
colors with the slogan: Experience. Create. Inspire. are also some of its artifacts. IBM
Client Innovation Center Benelux surely doesn’t look like a traditional office building,
because even the working space is supposed to increase the employees’ creativity and
motivation.

Espoused As stated by Aman Sharman IBIMIC’s values are agility,

values which is necessary for embracing change and for innovating in order to adapt
quickly to the market; holism
which states that “the whole is greater than its parts” and facilitates
collaboration between employees and a higher motivation, design first and quality.
All of these values confirm their agile
working environment and their attitude towards work in general.

Underlying IBMIC is considered the creative “child” of IBM and it always one step ahead, keen on
Assumptions trying and implementing the newest technologies. Its multicultural young team (over
32 nationalities) with people whose main expertise is not IT gives the company distinct
perspectives. IBMIC is also an example of how so many different individuals with
unalike backgrounds can work together effectively towards the same goal.

Page 16
4.4. ICEBERG MODEL
Based on Schein’s model, a more detailed model called Iceberg can be deducted with four concepts
which influence corporate culture.

SYMBOLS HEROES RITUALS VALUES

RDW -orange logo -someone that’s in every -Tech Day -safety

-casual dress-code complex project(someone that -SoupBox -
-The RDW stands for “knows how the stuff works”) sessions trustworthiness
safety, sustainability and -cooperation
legal certainty in mobility

HTG -formal dress-code -Willem Blijdrop Jacht -Innovation -trust

-Greek God Hermes Friday -quality of
logo(blue) -team services
-digitalized warehouse buildings -
-We source, We serve, We - social professionalism
supply. gatherings
after work

IBM -colorful logo -the manager -Dutch -agility

-Experience. Create. Blockchain -good design
Inspire. Hackathon -holism
-atypical office -Design -quality of
-flexible dress-code Thinking services
-Nuchter beer Workshop -creativity
-team
buildings
-game
comittees

Page 17
5. DEPARTMENTAL COOPERATION

5.1. RDW

RDW is a governmental organization and because of that, is a non-profit organization. This has a considerable
impact on the culture within the organization. In RDW reigns a typical north-western European company culture
and structure. But because of it being a non-profit organization, employees have generally a more relaxed
impression of the organization.

Every department is seen as a separate entity. Depending on the size of the department and situation this results
in cultural differences when comparing departments within RDW. These separate departments communicate with
each other through their own department manager(s) (heads). The business department (the one that delivers
solutions) and the department that delivers platforms (host websites) are very well interconnected and have a
good communication. Communication within the infrastructure department could be improved, as Mr. Wiersema
stated.

When working on a project involving multiple departments, a project manager typically is the central
communication point for the other departments and product owner(s).To successfully complete bigger projects
streamlined work division is very important. To achieve this, RDW prioritize tasks within the project based upon
the Minimal Viable Product and the Weightiest Shortest Job First. These variables are based upon the Cost of Delay
and the Job Duration. When working on smaller projects, the team with the biggest knowledge about the project
coordinates the other teams. To facilitate daily operations only reactive communication takes place in the form of
meetings. These meetings only take place when needed.

RDW facilitates collaboration by employing soapbox sessions where employees present what they have been doing
and what is going to happen in the next few months. All this gathered information is being visualized by the use of
a Obeya room, so all employees know what is going on within the organization. This leads to improved focus and
efficiency.

To further improve collaboration and the constructing of a friendly working environment between team members,
heads of teams (or departments) usually take their team members out for a social activity in their spare time.

Page 18
5.2. HTG

HTG (B&S Group) is a profit organization with shareholders. Comparing HTG cultural wise with a non-profit
organization, results in HTG being it very business oriented like.

Within HTG reigns a typical north-western European company culture and structure. Every department is seen as a
separate entity, although there is no competition between departments and they work together towards the same
goal (the goal set by HTG). These separate departments communicate with each other through their own
department manager(s) (heads). When working on a project involving multiple departments a project manager is
the central communication point for communicating with other departments and product owner(s). Team sizes for
project teams tend to be very small, around 3 people.

To facilitate daily operations a very proactive attitude is taken as standard managers from each department have
to attend a weekly meeting at a central geographical location. This meeting is used to talk about what is going on
within the company. Contact with important external partners happens daily in the form of skype calls. To improve
communication with its abroad employees from Romania, HTG invites them to the Netherlands for face-to-face
communication.

To facilitate and improve cooperation between its departments HTG holds a lot of team buildings and even social
gatherings after work. For a continuously improving environment HTG hosts Innovation Friday where its
employees can learn about the newest tech-discoveries.

5.3. IBM INNOVATION CENTER

IBM Innovation Center (IBMIC) is a profit organization and is placed next to IBM as a small independent (child)
organization. IBMIC being independent from the larger organization IBM has a couple of advantages. Firstly, it is
easier to change a smaller organization then a very large organization like IBM. This results in high innovativeness
which is also the goal of IBMIC.

Employees have the freedom to determine their own work hours and the offices are all open which leads to good
cooperation between employees. There are no predetermined spots for employees to work, they have the
freedom to sit and work anywhere (even at home), but they need to make sure they attend their weekly meetings.
Also, IBMIC uses Scrum Framework so the team members responsible for every project have 15 minutes team
meets every day which results in a very high efficiency. Due to Scrum, IBMIC doesn’t have departments but multi-
disciplinary teams (which consists of Product Owner, Scrum Master and the team itself) that work for different
projects which leads to a better cooperation as everybody knows what the others are doing.

To facilitate and improve cooperation and a friendly working environment IBMIC has a lot of activities at work such
as game committees, parties etc. Its employees also participated at the Dutch Blockchain Hackathon, an activity
that brought motivation among them. They always celebrate someone’s birthday at work and they are a young
team, so the work environment is really relaxed which improves cooperation.

Page 19
6. CONCLUSIONS

Masculinity vs. HTG stood out as a pretty masculine company that is driven by competition and
Feminity their male: female ratio was the lowest. All of the three companies share both
masculine and feminine traits, but RDW and IBM are better categorized by the
feminine side as male and females play the same role and their decisions are based
more on intuition rather than facts. In conclusion, both of these sides should be
balanced within a company as masculinity promotes a challenging and ambitious
working environment while feminity emphasizes cooperation and good
relationships at work.

Power Distance All three companies have low power distance which is typical also for Netherlands.
This empowers the employees as they are seen as equals leading to a more efficient
teamwork and motivation within the companies. Employees have the freedom to
express their opinions and don’t feel threatened by their boss, the relationship with
the boss being in top 10 motivators for people’s jobs.

Individualism vs. All three companies adopt a transformational leadership style which, based on a
Collectivism study (by Jung and Avolio (1999)) is more prone within collectivist cultures. This is
also related to the low power distance within the organizations as the leaders
inspire and motivate their employees to achieve their goal through their vision,
values and caring about their personal needs (This can be justified as the
spokesperson from every company, when asked what their “hero” was, pointed
towards their CEO).

Uncertainty All three companies have a pretty low uncertainty avoidance index, which is
Avoidance beneficial because a company needs to be willing to take risks and to embrace
change if it wants to remain in the market. RDW stood out, because, even though it
is trying to embrace change, it does it only by assuring that there is no risk for the
company and for its customers as it doesn’t want to risk the safety of any of those
two. The other ones, are more experimental, they are facing new projects,
technologies and innovative ideas with enthusiasms and they implement them even
though they aren’t really sure of what they will lead to.

Page 20
 Indulgence vs. The three companies are indulgent, but that mustn’t be seen as leisure
Restraint time or over work but as leisure time after the work is done and it’s a
characteristic that contributes to
the overall atmosphere of the workplace and to the satisfaction of the
employees.

Long-Term vs. The long-term orientation is crucial for a company that wants to last over the years
Short-Term and that needs to be agile, in order to adapt quickly to the forever changing market.
Orientation All three companies share the long-term orientation dimension which is beneficial
for their overall functions, helping them to focus on innovation and setting long-
term goals according to their visions, missions and values.

Among these differences, there are many unseen ones, like underlying assumptions and particular
values that every company considers important. As no society is homogenous, there are going to be
deviations from Hofstede’s dimension, but the certain fact is that they all share a common sense and a
‘culture of innovation’ that helps them survive in the forever changing world of business.

Page 21
7. ADVICE

There is the list with the best practices which are applied by companies and which have influence on the
Hofstede’s dimensions, and therefore, the organizational structure in general.

1. Low power distance should be encouraged within the organization because then employees feel more
comfortable to speak up and assess top management’s decisions from a critical point of view which eventually
brings more ideas. All three companies have a low power distance. They achieved it by respective attitude towards
all employees and social gatherings where all company members are invited.

2. Even though each company tends to be either more individualistic (e.g. IBM) or collectivistic (e.g. RDW) it is
important to find the right balance between these two extremes. Based on the companies’ examples, it can be
concluded that providing bonuses to the best employees is a step towards individualistic company structure. While
reminding employees about the company’s values and goals and facilitating their group work can improve
collectivistic dimension. On the one hand, the employees should be motivated to have high performance and
freedom of speech. On the other hand, they should not forget that at the end of the day, they all work on the
common goal.

3. Nowadays everything is changing very fast, so companies should be ready constantly to adapt to changes.
Low uncertainty avoidance index (e.g. as in IBM) is important because it encourages workers to think out of the
box and be open to innovations. For example, IBM’s employees are constantly working on innovating projects but
if they do not, the employees still get the salary and are not afraid to lose the job.

4. Companies should pay attention to the employees’ balance between work and leisure. All three companies
are indulgent, so their workers do not feel pressure at work and can enjoy their free time. It provides them with
extra energy and inspiration to achieve higher results. For example, RDW’s employees go on trips with the whole
department which improves a lot not only leisure-work balance but relationship within the departments, as well.

5. The companies should state very clear their missions, visions and goals. Not only it gives them an identity and
the customer can relate better to them, but it also empower their employees to work in order to fulfill them.

Page 22
it

8. REFERENCES

Mindtools.com. (2018). Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions ― Understanding Different Countries. [online] Available at:
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_66.htm [Accessed 2 Oct. 2018].

Tutor2u.net (2018). Models of Organizational Culture – Schein. Tutor2u Business [online]. Available at
https://www.tutor2u.net/business/reference/models-of-organisational-culture-schein [Accessed 2 Oct.2018].

Hofstede, G. (2011). Dimensionalizing Cultures: The Hofstede Model in Context. Online Readings in Psychology and
Culture, 2(1).

https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1014&context=orpc

Page 23