Hofstede Case Study

Geert Hofstede is a professor who came up with a theory after researching how people from different background/ countries interact with each other, he based this on six different types of dimensions. Which were, power distance, individualism vs collectivism, masculinity vs femininity, uncertainty avoidance and long and short term orientation. This theory was created so that society could come into terms with issues that needs to be organized. Geert Hofstede theory has become more important as society is continuing to become an integrated global economy.

24. How do you view yourself in terms of Hofstede’s six dimensions (Fig. 8.8)? For each dimension, place and “X” on one of the globes to indicate your own cultural preference. Do your preferences show the influence of your cultural background? Explain. Page 233

Hofstede’s five dimensions of culture are power distance, individualism v collectivism, masculinity v femininity, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term v short-term time orientation. In the film the five dimensions are present, in the dimension of power distance it clear with the powerful positions that all the characters have within their professional lives. The way they live and own lavish houses leads to believe that they don’t believe they are equals to everyone else because of their status. Most of the couples demand respect and expect not to be question in their motives, which is a higher power context. Next is individualism versus collectivism, in

The measurements of Geert Hofstede that are going to be examined are power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity/femininity, individualism/ collectivism and long term orientation. Power distance in a culture is the degree to which people accept unequal distribution of power. In high power distance societies people feel dependent on those in power and expect direction from them. It is important to understand this when

Question 1. How might the troubles with the tourism company be explained by Hofstede’s dimension of culture. Make sure to look at both Japanese and American cultures.

It is this gap in cultural understanding and increase in globalization that makes cultural models, such as Hofstede’s, that much more important to learn and apply during business relations. Many companies that try to expand beyond their current borders end up failing due to refusing to recognize the differences between cultures. An American company that expands into foreign markets, yet tries to run their operations and marketing as they would in America, is going to have a difficult time. Products and well as company practices need to be adapted to suit the country’s business culture, current market climate, taste/preferences of the citizens, etc.

7. What are the shortcomings of Hoftsede’s criteria for assessing differences on a global basis? Do you consider that his fifth factor adequately caters for the underlying differences between Asian and Western cultural values?

Hofstede’s first dimension is individualism vs collectivism. An individualist culture emphasizes the individual over the group, thus individual goals trump the group’s objectives. While a collectivist culture promotes interdependence amongst the group, individualism expects one to be independent and self-sufficient. As a result of individualism in cultures, individual rights and needs are a major focus of all decisions. Inferring from the characteristics explained above, an individualist culture is remarkably inwardly-directed with a sharp focus on one’s self. On the other hand, a collectivist culture correlates to one’s self sourcing identity in the group. Individualist and collectivist cultures have stark differences between each other, and people from each respective culture often clash in regards to identity and self.

Dr. Hofstede performed a comprehensive study of how values in the workplace are influenced by culture. In the 1970’s, as a Dutch researcher Dr. Geert Hofstede, collected and analyzed data from 116,000 surveys taken from IBM employees in forty different countries around the world. From those results, Hofstede developed a model that identifies four primary dimensions of differentiate cultures. These include: Uncertainty Avoidance (UA), Masculinity-Femininity (MAS), Individualism-Collectivism (IND), Power and Distance (PD). After a further study of the Asian culture by researcher Michael Bond in 1991, Hofstede added a fifth dimension in his theory, Long- and Short-term time orientation (LTO), also referred to as the Confucian Dynamism. His research has framed how cultural differences can be used in professional business transactions. Geert Hofstede 's dimensions analysis can assist the business person in better understanding the intercultural differences within regions and between countries.

Geert Hofstede developed the widely applied Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, which mainly focuses on how different countries with different cultural backgrounds handle different anthropological problems that occur in cross-cultural communication (Hofstede 1980). The first five Hofstede’s dimensions will be discussed in following paragraphs. It should be clear that there is no good and bad between two elements in each dimension since every culture has its unique features and ways to function.

For example, if a company based in the United States were going to expand into France, the company could use Hofstede’s 6 cultural dimensions to get a general look at the differences between the two. Then out of those differences, the company could see what approaches may or may not work, or what they may need to change,

It describes the effects of a society's culture on the values of its members, and how these values relate to behavior.

and present virtue. In other words, Hofstede’s last dimension can be seen as an indicator

Understanding the influence of culture in business practices and managerial decision-making requires explaining the differences between cultures. This is why, Hofstede (appendix 1) presents a well-known model based on four dimensions of culture:

Hofstede consider culture as “the collective programming of the mind”, which makes it necessary to look at the attitudes, beliefs, and values. Explain the element of Hofstede typology.