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
Understanding the differences and similarities inherent in other cultures may provide opportunities when working with individuals (or groups) who may have different cultural values, beliefs, and/or norms. There are multiple ways to explore different cultures. One way is through Hofstede’s (2017) cultural dimension; which are currently made up of six broad categories, including high-low power distance, individualism-collectivism, masculinity-femininity, uncertainty avoidance, long-short term orientation, and indulgence-restraint. It is beyond the scope of this paper to explore all these cultural dimensions in great detail; however, it is important to understand some of the implications of these scores. The scores for both the US and China can be seen in Table 1, along with the differences between each score.
Individualism-> when you value the freedom and worth of the individual, sometimes over the security and harmony of the group or a belief in the importance of the individual and the virtue of self-reliance and personal independence
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.
“Masculinity (MAS) focuses on the degree the society reinforces or does not reinforce, the traditional masculine work role model of male achievement, control, and power.” (Murdoch, 2006). Masculinity represents a preference in society for achievement, heroism, assertiveness and material rewards for success. (Hofstede Centre, n.d).
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.
Individualism vs collectivism: This dimension deals with how personal goals are taken into consideration versus how goals of a group are taken into consideration. People in individualist societies take great inspiration from personal success while people collectivist societies work best with people who they know.
Culture and the environment affect a business in many ways. Culture is not simply a different language, a different shade of skin, or different styles of food. Culture, and the environment in which you are a part of, affect the running of day to day business operations of all companies’ day in and day out. This paper will assess how Linda Myers, from the article, “The would-be pioneer,” (Green, S., 2011) was affected by the huge culture shock of working for a global conglomerate from Seoul, South Korea. We will discuss what went wrong with Ms. Myers approach to business, Hofstede’s five dimensions of culture as it
This essay aimed to evaluate and critique the paper written by Geoffrey Williams and John Zinkin. It was divided into seven parts. First of all, I would brief introduce what the essay is about, followed by giving the description of the paper being evaluated. Then, theory and literature would be evaluated, with highlighting the theoretical frameworks used by the authors in developing the paper. Research design and approach would come to the fourth part, in which I would explore the research design and methods and discuss the benefits and limitations. Afterwards, benefits and limitations of the research design and approach would be given, and finally comes the suggestions of alternative research strategies/method and the
In countries with a high Power Distance Index (PDI) the population seems to accept that there is a high inequality of power distribution. The use of that power is not necessarily abussive. The
Power Distance Index (PDI): The principle issue here is the means by which a general public handles disparities among individuals. Power Distance is the degree to which the least capable individuals from associations and establishments (like the family) acknowledge and it is the extent to which power is to be expected that it is dispersed unequally.
Individualism and collectivism. In individualistic cultures people focus on their individual goals. Everyone looks after himself or herself. Every individual think about his or her own success and happiness. Every individual makes his or her choice. But it is the opposite in collectivist cultures. Individuals view themselves as the members of groups and think about their group, community and family needs and goals. For example we have a group assignment in our university. If someone does not work on assignment, student from individualistic culture would tell it to professor that he or she doesn’t do anything, doesn’t work on assignment. Because for him or for her individual goals and rights are more important. But in collectivist culture if one of the students doesn’t work on assignment, the group would support him or her. They would not tell it to professor because for the group members group goals are more important. Another example. In individualistic countries a person chooses his future wife. No one can tell anything to him because of his choice. But in collectivist countries parents choose or advice wifes for their children and that individuals agree with it because they believe it is the best way
anthropology research in the late 1970s and early 1980s – the scores are general comparisons of
Based on Geert Hofstede book titled Long-term Orientation (LTO) Cultures and Organizations: Software for the Mind, Third Edition, There are five dimensions of National Culture. Before, it was just a four dimensions but research by Michael Bond and colleagues among students in 23 countries led him in 1991 to adding a fifth dimension.
Power distance (PDI), which has to do with the acceptance of a hierarchical or unequal power structure.
The world is an ever-changing place. Advances in technology are being made everyday. How people are communicating is evolving everyday. More companies and organizations develop globally everyday. Now that so much of the work force is global how are people suppose to deal with different cultures? By studying actions of different countries Geert Hofstede has developed five dimensions of culture. The five dimensions are; power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, and pragmatism (MindTools, n.d). By utilizing the five dimensions people can have a better understanding of why cultures do things one way. Also, people can figure out the best way to interact with other cultures. Australia and Spain are opposite but, also similar in the five dimensions.