According to E. Adamsom Hoebel, culture is 'an integrated system of learned behavior patterns which are characteristic of the members of a society and which are not a result of biological inheritance'. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the word culture came to refer to the common references of whole peoples and was often connected to national aspirations and ideals. So how do different countries compare on a cultural scale?

Between 1967 and 1973, Geert Hofstede, founder of the personnel research department at IBM, carried out a survey of 117,000 IBM employees across 50 countries in order to try and determine the effects of a society's culture on the values of its members and how these related to behaviour. He identified 4 initial 'dimensions' on which cultures could be compared:

1. Power Distance Index: The extent to which less powerful members of organisations accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. Latin, Asian, certain African areas and the Arab world scored highly on this index indicating that these societies accept hierarchies in which everyone has a place without the need for justification. Societies with low PD (Anglo and Germanic countries) seek to have equal distribution of power.

2. Individualism vs collectivism: The degree to which individuals are integrated into groups. In individualistic societies such a North American and Europe, the emphasis is on personal achievements and individual rights. In collectivist societies (Asia, Africa, Latin America), individuals act as members of a lifelong and cohesive group.

3. Uncertainty Avoidance Index: Cultures with high UA (Latin America, South and Eastern Europe, Japan) tend to be more emotional, they minimise uncertainty by implementing rules and laws. Low UA cultures (Anglo, Nordic and Chinese) accept and feel comfortable in unstructured situations, they tend to be more pragmatic and tolerant of change.

4. Masculinity vs femininity (renamed Quantity vs Quality of Life): Masculine cultures' values (high in Japan and European countries influenced by German culture) are competitiveness, assertiveness, materialism, ambition and power. In feminine cultures (mainly Nordic countries) men and women have the same values emphasizing modesty and caring. 

So how do these cross-cultural dimensions manifest themselves in a work environment? Erin Meyer helps us translate the Power Distance Index into office culture...

In an egalitarian culture (low PDI):

"...Italian punctuality, German humour and English wine" (Sir Peter Ustinov).

There is much to be said about cultural stereotypes, however seeing your culture through someone else's eyes can often be quite enlightening (or frightening!). So we asked some of our suitie spies (who have worked in the UK and abroad) to share some of their cross-cultural observations (note: these are also specific to the culture within any specific organisation):

"In London, people (clients, bosses, co-workers) place more value on life outside of work and have more respect for holiday and personal time." (USA)

"In Australia everyone who walks past your desk on you first morning will say "Hi, you must be new here I am Bruce, where have you joined us from?", whilst in London you'll get a "sorry, that's someone elses seat" or a grunt and a 'Hi'." (Australia)

"The majority of the people working in [our organisation] in Romania are predominantly women or very young - this may stem from the fact that the business as we know it started in Romania in the late nineties." (Romania)

"In the office in the UK, you need more of a sense of humour and the ability to talk about the weather... a lot. In Germany, people might not take you seriously if you make jokes and don't get straight to the point." (Germany)

"I noticed a big difference in eating habits - Romanians have sandwiches only for breakfast. I am truly amazed to see people eat a sandwich, crisps and have a coke for lunch every day of the week!" (Romania)

"In Australia they'll generally be better dressed (there's no pullovers to avoid ironing your shirts, Gentlemen). They're louder, less formal when addressing senior staff and swear a whole lot more, yet this enables them to create connections with their colleagues and clients better and faster." (Australia)