Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance and Satisfaction: Evidence from Northern Cyprus Universities

Abstract:

Understanding the needs, wants, and desires of university students in multi-cultural educational system is a critical issue for any university administration. The development of an efficient system of delivering a culturally sensitive curriculum requires the development of skills to understand how to satisfy students under the care of the university. Part of this understanding is to take into account the cultural differences between students. This research seeks to examine how Hofstede’s cultural dimensions namely power distance and uncertainty avoidance can be related to students’ satisfaction. This was examined by applying factor analysis and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression. Overall, the finding of the research will be used to determine how the students, professors and university management can coexist for a better education in North Cyprus. The research used a questionnaire as the main tool for gathering data. A sample of 637 students from the eight universities in North Cyprus was selected using the random sample procedure.