Basics about CultureGuest lecture in course

“Culture and Economic Behaviour”Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen

22th November 2012Geert Hofstede

Three meanings of “culture”

1. Literally: tilling the soil, cultivation2. Training or refining of the mind:

civilization3. Collective ways of acting, thinking, and

feeling: “collective programming of the mind distinguishing the members of one group or category* of people from another”

*) nation, region, occupation, organization, gender

But: “Culture” (3) does not exist

“Culture” (3) is a construct, that is a product of our imagination. We have defined it into existence

“A construct is not directly accessible to observation but inferable from verbal statements and other behaviors and useful in predicting still other observable and measurable verbal and nonverbal behavior”

T. Levitin, 1973

Levels of mental programming

symbols

heroes

rituals

practicesvisible

valuesinvisible

practices

• Symbols: words, gestures and objects whose meaning has to be learned. They include language and jargon. The easiest to acquire and fastest changing level of culture

• Heroes: persons, alive or dead, real or imaginary, who serve as models for behavior. More difficult for an outsider to recognize

• Rituals: shared activities that are technically superfluous but socially essential. Can be learned given enough effort; can be changed

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values

• Core of our mental programming. Mostly unconscious : in our guts, not in our heads

• Values are strong emotions with a - and a + such as: evil-good, abnormal-normal, ugly-beautiful, dangerous-safe, immoral-moral, indecent-decent, unnatural-natural, dirty-clean, paradoxical-logical, irrational-rational

• What is rational is a matter of values

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Unconscious values are acquiredearly in our lives

• We humans are born incompletely programmed• During the first 10 years of our lives we have a

physiologically determined ability for absorbing complex information: additional programming

• This programming is provided by our social environment and includes all our basic values

• It also includes learning languages accent-free• After age 10, basic values don’t change – not even

if we migrate to another country• And if we learn new languages, we keep an accent

Practices are learned and unlearned throughout life, nearly always conscious

• Similar practices (symbols, heroes and rituals) can be learned by persons with very different values

• Practice learning is also provided by our social environment

• Working together means sharing practices, not necessarily sharing values

Acquiring mental programming

unconscious,unchangeablevalues

conscious, changeable practices

age

0

10

20

place

family

school

work

pre-puberty

post-puberty

National versus organizational culturesa definition

• National cultures oppose otherwise similar individuals, institutions and organizations across countries. Example: different national subsidiaries of same company

• Organizational (or corporate) cultures oppose different organizations within the same countries. Example: different companies within one country

National versus organizational cultures• National culture differences are rooted in

values learned before age 10• They pass from parents to children• For management, they are given facts• For academics, they belong to anthropology

• Organizational cultures are rooted in practices learned on the job

• Given enough management effort, they can be monitored and changed

• For academics, they belong to sociology• International organizations function through

shared practices, rarely shared values

Which culture is transferred when

values

practices

age

0

10

20+

culture levelgender, national

social class, occupation

business, organization

The dimension concept in studyingthe social world

• Dimensions are a conceptual way of unpackaging complex realities into separate basic elements

• Dimensions are found empirically and statistically• Dimensional models differ by level of analysis, e.g.

society, organization, or individual• Like “culture”, “dimensions” do not exist. They are

constructs. We have defined them into existence• Their usefulness can only be proven by validation:

their ability to predict measurable behaviour• Different applications may need different models

Dimensions of national cultures(Hofstede, Hofstede & Minkov 2010)

6 dimensions of societal values:6 dimensions of societal values:

• Power Distance large vs. small• Uncertainty Avoidance strong vs. weak• Individualism vs. Collectivism • Masculinity vs. Femininity • Long vs. Short term orientation• Indulgence vs. Restraint

National culture dimensionPower Distance

• Extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations expect and accept that power is distributed unequally

• Transferred to children by parents and other elders

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National culture dimension Uncertainty Avoidance

• Extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous and unknown situations

• Not to be confused with risk avoidance: risk is to uncertainty as fear is to anxiety. Uncertainty and anxiety are diffuse feelings – anything may happen

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SMALLER PD, WEAKER UA LARGER PD, WEAKER UA

SMALLER PD, STRONGER UA LARGER PD, STRONGER UA

NORDIC CTRS

ANGLO CTRS, USA

NETHERLANDS

GERMAN SPEAKING CTRS

BALTIC STATES

HUNGARY

CHINA

INDIA

FRANCE, LATIN CTRS

POLAND, SE EUROPE

JAPAN, KOREA

Power Distance x Uncertainty Avoidance(first 4 dimension scores for 76 countries)

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National culture dimensionIndividualism vs. Collectivism

• Individualism: A society in which the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look after self and immediate family only

• Collectivism: A society in which individuals from birth onwards are part of strong in-groups that last a lifetime and oppose other in-groups

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National culture dimensionMasculinity vs. Femininity

• Masculinity: A society in which emotional gender roles are distinct: men should be assertive, tough and focused on material success, women on the quality of life

• Femininity: A society in which emotional gender roles overlap: both men and women are supposed to be modest, tender, and focused on the quality of life

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Individualism/Collectivism x Masculinity/Femininity(first 4 dimension scores for 76 countries)

National culture dimension Long-Term vs. Short-Term Orientation

• Long Term Orientation seeks future rewards through perseverance, thrift and adaptation

• Short Term Orientation respects tradition and social obligations and seeks immediate rewards

• Originally based on Chinese Value Survey scores for 23 countries

• New, revised scores based on 1995-2004 World Values Survey for 93 countries

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National culture dimension Indulgence vs. Restraint

• Indulgence allows relatively free gratificationof basic human drives leading to enjoying life

• Restraint curbs gratification and enjoying life and regulates it by strict social norms

• Scores for 93 countries based on 1995-2004 World Values Survey

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• Few restrictions on behavior

• People value freedom of expression

• People feel healthier and happier

• People are fatter• Leisure ethic• Loose sexual mores• Higher crime rates• Smaller police force

Restrained societies

• Restrictive regulations on behavior

• People value strong government

• People feel less happy and less healthy

• People are slimmer• Work ethic• Strict sexual mores• Lower crime rates• Larger police force

Indulgent societies

INDULGENT, SHORT-TERM INDULGENT, LONG TERM

RESTRAINED, SHORT-TERM RESTRAINED, LONG-TERM

NIGERIA, SOUTH AFRICA

SOUTH AMERICA

USA, CANADA, AUSTRALIA

SWEDEN, NETHERLANDS

AUSTRIA, SWITZERLAND

BELGIUM, FRANCE

POLAND, PORTUGAL

ZIMBABWE, BURKINA FASO

ISLAMIC COUNTRIES

ITALY, GERMANY

BALTICS, EASTERN EUROPE

CHINA, JAPAN, INDIA

Long/Short Term Orientation x Indulgence/Restraint (scores for 90 countries)

Validations of national culture dimension scores against data from other sources - examples

• Power distance: income inequality; respect for elders; polarization and violence in national politics

• Uncertainty avoidance: number of laws and rules; belief in experts; xenophobia; terrorism; faster driving

• Individualism: national wealth; faster walking; weaker family ties; frequency of using the word “I”

• Masculinity: fewer women elected; stress on growth Femininity: care for the weak and the environment

• Long Term Orientation: economic growth; savings rates; fewer prisoners; adapting to changed reality

• Indulgence: higher birthrates, fewer police, more active sports, more obesitas, more private internet

Dimensions of organizational cultures(Hofstede, Neuijen, Ohayv & Sanders 1990)

6 dimensions of organizational practices:6 dimensions of organizational practices:• Process vs. results oriented• Employee vs. job oriented• Parochial vs. professional• Open vs. closed system• Loose vs. tight control• Normative vs. pragmatic

Rooted in practices; based on comparative survey among members of different organizations in same countries; validated against characteristics of these organizations

Dimensions of individual personality(McCrae & John, 1992; Hofstede, 2007)

the “Big Five” with a Chinese sixth:the “Big Five” with a Chinese sixth:

• Openness to experience• Conscientiousness• Extraversion• Agreeableness• Neuroticism

• Dependence on others

Switching levels : differences in Big Five norms explained by national culture (Hofstede & McCrae, 2004)

Personality dimension

Culture dimension total % explained

Neuroticism 1. Uncertainty Avoidance

2. Masculinity

31

55

Extraversion 1. Individualism

2. Femininity

39

46

Openness to experience

1. Masculinity

2. Small Power Distance

3. Uncertainty Avoidance

13

29

36

Agreeableness 1. Weak Uncertainty

Avoidance

28

Conscientiousness 1. Power Distance 24

Summary: National cultures, organizational cultures and the role of management

1. “Culture” does not exist, it is a product of our imagination and only useful as far as it helps us understand and predict phenomena in the world

2. National cultures and organizational cultures are quite different things: national cultures belong to anthropology, organizational cultures to sociology

3. Management can never change a national culture It can only understand and use it. It can build and sometimes change an organizational culture

4. The concept of “culture” does not apply at the level of individuals. Individuals have personalities, influenced by the culture in which they grew up.

Academic book, 1980 and 2001 (600 pages, two columns)

General reader book 2010 (2005, 1991)

• Co-authors 3rd ed. Gert Jan Hofstede & Michael Minkov

• So far available in 6 languages; previous editions in 19 • Dutch version: Allemaal andersden- kenden: Omgaan met cultuurverschillen

• More on website www.geerthofstede.eu