COM 340 Lecture 8 Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions and National Culture

COM  National level  Regional / Ethnic / Religious / Linguistic affiliation level  Gender level  Generation level  Social Class level  Organizational / Corporate level Levels of Culture

COM  Geert Hofstede (Dutch) - Well known for his work on “Four Dimensions of Cultural Variability.”  These include: Uncertainty Avoidance Power-Distance Masculinity-Femininity Individualism-Collectivism Quantity vs. Quality of Life Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Overview

COM  The extent to which a society feels threatened or is comfortable by uncertain and ambiguous situations.  STRONG Uncertainty Avoidance  WEAK Uncertainty Avoidance Uncertainty Avoidance

COM Uncertainty Avoidance Dimension

COM  STRONG Uncertainty Avoidance Cultures Greece (1) Japan Chili PortugalPeruSpain Belgium FranceArgentina  Weak Uncertainty Avoidance Cultures Singapore (53)Hong Kong India Denmarkthe PhilippinesIreland Sweden Great BritainMalaysia United States (43) Uncertainty Avoidance (con’t)

COM  The extent to which the less powerful members of a society accept the fact that power in institutions and organizations is distributed unequally.  HIGH Power-Distance  LOW Power-Distance Power-Distance

COM Power Distance Dimension

COM  HIGH Power-Distance cultures Malaysia (1)PhilippinesHong Kong MexicoSingaporeIndia VenezuelaFranceColumbia  LOW Power-Distance cultures Austria (53)NorwayNew Zealand IsraelIrelandFinland Denmark SwedenSwitzerland United States ranked 38 out of 53 countries. Power-Distance (con’t)

COM  The extent to which gender roles in a culture are expected and clearly defined.  “Masculine”  “Feminine” Masculinity-Femininity

COM  Masculine Cultures Japan (1)Mexico Great Britain Ireland Germany Switzerland Venezuela  Feminine Cultures Sweden (53)Finland the Netherlands Norway Chile Thailand DenmarkPortugal United States ranked 15 out of 53 countries. Masculinity-Femininity (con’t)

COM  The extent to which a society is loosely or tightly knit.  INDIVIDUALISTIC Emphasis on self versus social group  COLLECTIVISTIC Emphasis on social group Individualism-Collectivism

COM Individualism Dimension

COM  INDIVIDUALISTIC cultures United States (1) Canada Italy Australia the Netherlands Belgium Great Britain New Zealand Denmark  COLLECTIVISTIC cultures Guatemala (53)ColumbiaSingapore Peru Taiwan Hong Kong Pakistan ThailandIndonesia Korea Japan ranked 22 out of 53 countries. Individualism-Collectivism (con’t)

COM Quantity/Quality of Life  Emphasis on assertiveness & materialism versus relationships and leisure time

COM Quality vs Quantity of Life Dimension (Masculinity vs Femininity)

COM Cultural Dimensions Scores for 10 Countries

COM Cultural Dimension Ratings a A weak quantity-of-life score is equivalent to a high quality-of-life score.

COM The Position of 40 Countries on the Power Distance and Uncertainty Avoidance Scales

COM The Position of 40 Countries on the Power Distance and Individualism Scales