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Hofstede 's Six Dimensions Of Culture Essay

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The United States and China boast the two largest economies in the world but, despite this fact, these two countries have very little in common. At first glance, this may seem very obvious to most people but, what exactly is it that makes these two countries so different? How is it that such different perspectives and approaches can both lead to great success? Hofstede’s six dimensions of culture are an attempt to answer these questions and more. Dr. Geert Hofstede, studied employees of the computer firm IBM in over fifty different countries. When he examined his findings he found “clear patterns of similarity and difference along the four dimensions” (Manktelow, Jackson Edwards, Eyre, Cook and Khan, n.d.). The fact that he focused his research on solely IBM employees allowed him to eliminate company culture as a differentiating factor and “attribute those patterns to national and social differences” (n.d.). He used his findings to originally identify four dimensions, later expanded to six, that could “distinguish one culture from another” (n.d.). The six dimensions all on a scale from 0 to 100 are:
1. Power distance index (PDI): The degree to which the less powerful members of a society accept and expect that power is distributed unequally.
2. Individualism vs. collectivism (IDV): The extent to which a society is based on the needs of the individual as opposed to the needs of the group.
3. Masculinity vs. Femininity (MAS): The extent to which a society places

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