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Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions

1. Power distance2. Uncertainty avoidance3. Individualism/

collectivism4. Masculinity/femininity5. Long term / Short term


Power distance is ‘the extent to which the less powerful members of the organizations and institutions accept and expect that power is distributed unequally’.

Power distance is the degree of inequality among people that a culture considers normal.

• Flatter, decentralized structures, smaller ratio of supervisor to employee.

• People expect and accept power relations that are more consultative or democratic.

• The hierarchies are flat with a decentralized organization and a small number of supervisors who are expected to be accessible for their subordinates.

• The degree for unequal treatment is reduced to a low level.

• There is a interdependence between employer and employee

• Example: Australia, Austria, Finland & Ireland.

Low Power DistanceSuperior treat subordinate with respectBlame are shared by everybodyManager socialized with subordinatesSocieties are more toward egalitarianism

(equal to all)

High Power DistanceSocieties with high power distance are more

comfortable with taller, centralized organization structures with a large proportion of supervisory & employees blindly obey superiors.

The relation between boss and subordinate is strictly ruled and dependent on the decisions of the boss.

Centralized organization - subordinates expect to be told what to do from their superiors because they consider each other as unequal.

Inequalities are normally expected and privileges are seen as desirable by superiors.

Example: Malaysia, Guatemala, Panama, Philippines, Mexico, Venezuela, Arab countries, Equador, Indonesia, India, China, West Africa.

High Power DistanceEmployee fear to express disagreement to their bossBoss more on autocratic decision making style Inequalities are expected and desired – class divisions are acceptedSubordinate very dependence on leader/supervisor – expected to be

directedRelationship between boss and subordinate is rarely close or personalSubordinate are expected to take the blame

for things that go wrong/failureprivileges and status symbols are

expected and popular


Uncertainty avoidance: -To what extent people feel threatened by ambiguous situations ; create beliefs/institutions to avoid such situations.- It also reflects the level of tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity within the society and the extent to which people avoid uncertainty by creating laws, rules, regulations and controls in order to reduce the amount of uncertainty.

High uncertainty avoidance countries:

High need for security, strong belief in experts and their knowledge; structure organizational activities, more written rules, less managerial risk taking.

Employees tend to remain longer with their present employer.

Example: Germany, Japan, Spain, Mexico, France, Argentina

High uncertainty avoidancePrefer formal rules – try to minimize uncertainty through

strict law and regulationsHave more written rulesMotivation for work comes from securityMore emotional Typically manager take less riskLow turnover

Low uncertainty avoidance countries:

• People more willing to accept risks of the unknown, less structured organizational activities, fewer written rules, more managerial risk taking, higher employee turnover, more ambitious employees .

• Example: Denmark, Great Britain, China, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Philippines, USA.

Low uncertainty avoidanceMore tolerant of different opinionTry to minimize rules as possibleLow UAI people don’t easily express their emotionRisk taker and may choose strategy that offer high rewardComfort with ambiguity and curious about differencesWork hard only when necessary, tolerate, innovation and

motivate by achievement, esteem and belongliness

Some implication of Country Uncertainty Avoidance

LOW Uncertainty Avoidance Index

High Uncertainty Avoidance Index

Emotions Controlled Normal (More emotion)

Change Work Less hesitation (High Turnover)

More hesitation (Low Turnover)

Rules Can be broken No

Seniority as criteria for selection

Yes No

http://www.ling.gu.se/~natasha/Overview.pdf


Individualism VS Collectivism: -The extent to which people feel they are supposed to look after themselves, immediate family or organizations they belong to.

- Focuses on the degree the society reinforces individual or collective in term of achievement or interpersonal relationship

Hofstede’s Cultural DimensionsHigh individualism countries: Wealthier, greater individual initiative, promotions based on market value (e.g., U.S, Canada, Sweden)

A high IDV score indicates a loose connection with people.

In countries with a high IDV score there is a lack of interpersonal connection and little sharing of responsibility, beyond family and perhaps a few close friends.

High individualismConcept of ‘I’Wealthy countries are tend to be more individualisticUsually practiced by low context countryPeople more to self respect Individual right are stress within societyTies between individual are loose (looser relationship)Everyone is expected to look after him/herself and his/her

immediate family onlyPrivacy and self actualization is more importantHiring are based on skills and rulesPromotions based on performance, ability and skills.

Hofstede’s Cultural DimensionsHigh collectivism countries: Poorer, less individual initiative, promotions based on seniority (e.g., Indonesia, Pakistan).

Have strong group cohesion, and there would be a large amount of loyalty and respect for members of the group. The group itself is also larger and people take more responsibility for each other's well being.

High collectivismConcept of ‘WE’Poor countries tend to be collectivistStands for a society who are integrated into strong,

cohesive in-groupClose ties between individual Responsibility and care extended to all people – larger

group and familiesHarmony and consensus are ultimate goals

Hofstede’s Cultural DimensionsHigh IDV Low IDV

Individual is most important unit

Collectivist cultures believe group is most important unit

People taking care of themselves

They encourage: Primary loyalty to group (nuclear family, extended family, caste, organization)

Making decision based on individual needs

Decision-making based on what is best for the group

People speak out, question, confrontational & direct

People blend in, avoidance conflict, use intermediaries


Masculinity-Femininity: Indicates the degree to which a culture values such behavior as assertiveness, achievement, acquisition of wealth or caring for others, social supports & the quality of life.

Masculinity: Dominant social values are success, money, and things.


High masculine countries: Stress earnings, recognition, advancement, challenge, wealth; high job stress (e.g. Germanic countries).

Value competitiveness, assertiveness, ambition & accumulation of wealth/material possession.

Have very distinct expectation of male & female roles in society.

Japan is highly, whereas Sweden has the lowest measured value. According to Hofstede's analysis, if you were to open an office in Japan, you might have greater success if you appointed a male employee to lead the team and had a strong male contingent on the team.

High masculinityPriorities are achievement, wealth and expansionAcceptable to settle conflict through aggressive meansWomen and men have different role in society (gender role

clearly distinct)Women are subordinated to male leadershipFailing is disasterValue high earning, recognition for a good job,

advancement and challenge to have personal accomplishment

Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions High feminine countries: Emphasize caring for

others and quality of life; cooperation, friendly atmosphere, employment security, group decision making; low job stress (e.g. Norway).

Prefer equality between male and female & less perspective role behaviors associated with genders.

* Masculine cultures believe that man should be

assertive, tough & focus on material success; women should be more modest, tender and concerned with quality of life.

Low Masculinity (Feminine)Value relationship and quality of lifeValue interdependence, empathy and emotional opennessPrefer equality between male and femaleMen and women can be gentle, both can express weakness

and fighting are minimizedSympathy for weaknesses consider failing as accident resolve conflict by compromise and negotiationWork to liveManager use intuition Strive for consensus

Hofstede’s Cultural DimensionsLong term vs short term

-This refers to how much society values long-standing - as opposed to short term - traditions and values. -This is the fifth dimension that Hofstede added in the 1990s after finding that Asian countries with a strong link to Confucian philosophy acted differently from western cultures.

Hofstede’s Cultural DimensionsLong Term Orientation- People value actions and attitudes that affect

the future: persistence/perseverance, thrift and shame.

- Have strong work ethic and respect for a hierarchy of the status. (e.g China, Japan, India)

Short Term Orientation- People value actions and attitudes that are

affected by the past or the present: normative statements, immediate stability, protecting one’s own face, respect for tradition and reciprocation of greetings favors and gifts.(UK,US, Germany)

Short Term OrientationValue action and attitudeAffected by the pastRespect the traditionNormative statementImmediate stabilityProtecting one’s own face

Hofstede’s Cultural DimensionsAccording to Hofstede's analysis, people

in the United States and United Kingdom have low LTO scores. This suggests that you can pretty much expect anything in this culture in terms of creative expression and novel ideas. The model implies that people in the US and UK don't value tradition as much as many others, and are therefore likely to be willing to help you execute the most innovative plans as long as they get to participate fully.

Below are the scores of the 20 countries samples for the LONG-TERM orientation:

China - 118 Hong Kong - 96 Taiwan - 87 Japan - 80 South Korea - 75 India - 61 Thailand - 56 Singapore - 48 Bangladesh - 40 Sweden - 33 Poland - 32 Germany FR - 31 Australia 31 New Zealand - 30 USA - 29 Great Britain - 25 Zimbabwe – 25 Philippines - 19 Nigeria - 16 Pakistan - 00

Geert Hofstede Cultural Dimensions

USA World Average

HOFSTEDE THEORYHOFSTEDE THEORY

Dimensions:PDI = Power distanceIDV = Individualism versus collectivismMAS = Masculinity versus femininityUAI = Uncertainty avoidanceLTO = Long term versus short term orientation

Sources from: http://moodle.metropolia.fi/file.php/221/Materials_on_crosscultural_communication/Cultural_dimensions_by_Geert_Hofstede.pdf


Country Power Distance

Uncertainty Avoidance

Individualism

Masculinity

Arab 80 68 38 52

France 68 86 71 43

India 77 40 48 56

Indonesia 78 48 14 46

Japan 54 92 46 95

Malaysia 104 36 26 50

South Africa 49 49 65 63

Thailand 64 64 20 34

USA 40 46 91 62

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/3542579/hofstedes-theory

CLASS EXERCISEWrite a one page proposal on how to improve

relationship between Malaysian students and students from other cultures in UUM.

hofstede dimension dlatest_ - copy

Business

managerial

high idv score

short term

short term

promotions

group

uncertainty

individual