Power Distance

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.

Communication involves more than exchanging words between people. Gestures, postures, facial expressions and even eye contacts are important during communication. Both verbal and nonverbal cues are important during communication and can help a person understand the speaker or listener’s emotions, attitudes or status. Understanding the existence of various cultures is necessary since different cultures have varying ways of communication (Lustig & Koester, 2012). Therefore, a communication style that is perceived as bad by a culture may be good in another culture. Besides, characteristics that may be essential for a particular culture may be quite irrelevant for another. In line with this dissimilarity, individuals need to adapt carefully and understand communication preferences and desires among cultures.

Geert Hofstede is an influential Dutch researcher in the fields of organizational studies and more concretely organizational culture, also cultural economics and management. He is a well-known pioneer in his research of cross-cultural groups and organizations and played a major role in developing a systematic framework for assessing and differentiating national cultures and organizational cultures. His studies demonstrated that there are national and regional cultural groups that influence behavior of societies and organizations.

There are eight key forms of nonverbal communications used on a daily basis. These forms can affect the way people view another person; however, without understanding the forms of nonverbal communication there is certain to be a lot of misinterpretations. Cultural and language differences are a common reason for miscommunication. When communicating with people in different cultures, a person should be extremely aware of the hand gestures and nonverbal communication tools they are using. Many of the hand gestures used in the United States that mean good things, mean offensive and profane things to other cultures. Nonverbal communication is described as body language, hand gestures, and facial expressions. It is known that people reveal more information through nonverbal communication, than words alone to get a point across. There will always be some interaction between two or more people that everyone’s

Power Distance dimension according to Hofstede (2010) shows the degree of less or more accepts of inequalities within a culture; Canada was 94 while the Philippines was 32 clearly difference; therefore, showing one culture accept power inequalities more than the other. Power distance lower ranking is showing a culture expect and accept relationship that are more democratic. On the other hand, higher ranking accepts hierarchical. This cultural may believe that who every holds the power is right. On the Power Distance Index Hallale find that individuals have a solid dislike with saying "no'! especially in Asian nations. Saying no may be seen as form of disrespect Hallale (2013). I lived in the Philippines when President Ferdinand E. Marcos was President and the assassination of opposition leader Benigno Aquino. At that time, I was unaware of a hierarchical society but thinking back; I can now see how 32 power distance scale ranking is believable because social positions and statuses have more prestige in their culture. While working, and traveling to Canada; I was able to see human equality especially with respect to socials issues; rules are used to determine what is right; for example, health care. all

"Power distance" is among one of five cultural methods that were found by Hofstede. It’s the degree to which the less powerful group of people in an establishment and organizations agree to anticipate that power is distributed unequally. In other words, some cultures agree to receive a higher degree of unequally distributed power than what other peoples of other cultures. In America we are considered to be low power distance because society feels that they are entitled to a certain amount of power. In other countries they practice or have a higher power distance because people feel they are given little power or none due to people that have much higher positions. Some peoples from different culture’s that have a low power distance assume and

First, power distance is the first dimension in Hofstede’s six cultural dimensions. Power distance is the “extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organisations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally.” (Hofstede, 2017). When comparing China and the United States, China had twice as high power distance score than the United States. The high-power distance score in China shows that it is acceptable to have inequalities in their society, and that the people accept and expect power is distributed unequally.

The IBM study of employees from the 70 countries was the basis for the dimensions and has been critized since there was only one company in the data set however, Hofstede’s belief was that using just one company would better reveal the national differences. According to the authors Phatak, Bhagat, and Kashalk (2009), he believed this because the IBM employees were the same in other respects like type of work, job descriptions, and education. This study has been stated to be the most comprehensive study of how values are influenced in the workplace (Itim International, 2012). Itim International, (2012) noted that Hofstede’s work established a paradigm in international economics, communication, and cooperation, from which Hofstede developed the first emphirical model of “dimensions” for national organizational culutre.

Hofstede defined the culture as “the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group from that another”. His five types of cultural dimensions are the most popular in many cultural area studies, include: (1) power distance; (2) individualism vs. collectivism; (3) uncertainty avoidance; (4) masculinity vs. femininity; and (5) long-term vs. short-term orientation. These dimensions offer an insight towards behaviors and standards in the cultural context which are useful for many motivators to explore the people in different culture. The text suggested that countries with high uncertainty avoidance will lead to more job security, whereas people with low uncertainty avoidance (for example, U.S.) are motivated by new ideas and innovation. People with high power distance are motivated by relationships between subordinates and their boss, while people with low power distance are motivated by team work and relationships with their peers. On the other hand, individuals from high individualism are motivated by opportunities and autonomy; collectivism (for example, Japan) suggests that motivation should be done with group goals and support. Individuals from high masculine culture are comfortable with the tradition and division of works and roles; in a feminine culture, the motivators help people through flexible roles and work

One insight I learned was that most cultures that are of Anglo-Saxon origin tend to have lower power distance score and higher scores for individualism. Also, countries

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.

When a business decides to venture internationally into different countries with its products, services, and operations, it is very important that the company gains an understanding of how the culture of the different societies affects the values found in those societies. Geert Hofstede conducted one of the most famous and most used studies on how culture relates to values. Hofstede study enabled him to compare dimensions of culture across 40 countries. He originally isolated four dimensions of what he claimed summarized different cultures — power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism versus collectivism, and masculinity versus femininity (Hill, 2013, p.110). To cover aspects of values not discussed in the original paradigm Hofstede has since added two more dimensions — Confucianism or long-term orientation and indulgence versus self-restraint (Hofstede, n.d.). Because of the way Hofstede’s cultural dimensions are given an index score from 0-100, it is easy for a company to get a general comparison between the cultures they are expanding into and the culture they are already in.

Lian Liao is 29 years old and has been traveling in Vietnam for 2 weeks. As other foreign people, she loves culture, cuisine, and people in Vietnam. During the trip in Vietnam with her French friend, she may get trouble with Vietnamese language and traffic so she suggested some solutions by providing easier transportation, English information, and speaking more English.

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:

Created by Geert Hofstede the five dimensions describe the effect of a society’s culture on the values of its members. Hofstede developed his original model as a result of using factor analysis to examine the results of a world-wide survey of employee values by IBM between 1967 and 1973. Hofstede found that managers and employees vary on five values of dimensions of national culture which are power distance, individualism versus collectivism, quantity of life versus quality of life, uncertainty avoidance and long-term versus short orientation. Power Distance is defined as the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept power that is distributed unequally. The Hofstede Center states that “With a score of 68, France scores fairly high on Power Distance. It is, therefore, a society in which a fair degree of inequality is accepted” (pg.1). Studies have shown that there is a wide gap or emotional distance which is perceived to exist among people at different levels of the hierarchy. Most French companies have normally one or two hierarchical levels, top managers have more privileges than others. Chief executive officers of larger companies are referred to as Mr. PDG (President Director General). Simply calling individuals Mr. PDG gives them more power than others. Moving towards the individualism versus collectivism aspect of