Global Economics

Global Economics

Introduction

The purpose of this study is to expand the boundaries of our knowledge by exploring some relevant facts and figures relating to political, economic and cultural aspects of Cameroon. In this paper, we will disuss the characterisitcs by referring to geert-hofstede model of cultural dimensions. We will also exmiane the aspects of political and market stability in Cameroon. Current trends and issues will also be discussed.

Cultural Characteristics

In order to analyze the cultural aspects of Cameroon, we will refer to geert-hofstede model of cultural dimensions. We are going to explore the cultural aspects in Cameroon through the analysis of five dimension model.

Power distance

Power distance refers to the degree to which less powerful members of a culture expect and accept that power in the culture is distributed unequally. In this dimension, Cameroon has a low score (45), which means that suggests that in Cameroon, followers as much as the leaders endorse a society's level of inequality. Power and inequality, of course, are extremely fundamental facts of any society, and anybody with some international experience will be aware that all societies are unequal, but some are more unequal than others (Hofstede, 2001).

Individualism

This dimension of cultural variability is not absolute; rather, it is relative. No culture is purely and absolutely individualistic or collectivistic (or small or larger power distance, etc.). Cameroon, with a score of 39 is considered a collectivistic society. Collectivistic people see themselves as interdependent with others: Responsibility is shared and accountability is collective.

Masculinity/Femininity

Cameroon scores 68 on this dimension and is thus a masculine society. In masculine countries people “live in order to work”, managers are expected to be decisive and assertive, the emphasis is on equity, competition and performance and conflicts are resolved by fighting them out.

Uncertainty avoidance

In this dimension Cameroon has a low score of 13 which means uncertainty avoidance are typified by subjective feelings of well-being, strong achievement motivation, calmness, and risk taking, and tend to be less emotional, less aggressive, more relaxed, more accepting of personal risks, and relatively tolerant (Hofstede, 2001). Consequently, store owners in weak uncertainty-avoidant cultures do not mind if customers try out merchandise, handle it, or even break things (they will call someone to clean up the mess), and may even not charge people for breaking the merchandise that they handle (Hofstede, 2001). Uncertainty avoidance is an important predictor for understanding national differences. Studies of cultural dimensions such as uncertainty avoidance tend to focus on the differences between societies. Such studies help bring into focus the workings of the global world.

Long term orientation

So far Cameroon does not have any score in Long or short term orientation.

Political Stability

Cameroon is facing problems regarding the development of policies related to successful economic governance and fight against corruption. The country is ranked 146th out of 180 countries surveyed, which indicates that there is widespread corruption. Government has taken several initiatives to fight against this growing problem of corruption. In August 2010, the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) has again appealed to international community to ...