Geert Hofstede. His study used IBM employees across 50 different countries. Cultural Dimensions His survey consisted of 126 questions which resulted in a creation of 5 broad independent dimensions which could be used to measure culture variability. Subsequent verification studies by others covered students in 23 countries, elites in 19 countries, commercial airline pilots in 23 countries, up-market consumers in 15 countries, and civil service managers in 14 countries

Cultural Dimensions: Individualism/Collectivism Uncertainty Avoidance: High vs. Low Power Distance : High vs. Low Masculinity/Femininity Long vs. Short term Orientation

Individualism vs. Collectivism Individualism refers “ to a society in which the ties between individuals are loose; everyone is expected to look after himself or herself and his or her immediate family only. Individual needs and goals take precedence over the needs of others ”.

Collectivism ( Low Individualism) refers to a society in which from birth onwards are integrated into a strong, cohesive in-groups, which throughout people ’ s lifetime continue to protect them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty. individual needs are sacrificed to satisfy the group Individualism vs. Collectivism

Hofstede’s Description Individualism on the one side versus its opposite, collectivism, that is the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups. On the individualist side we find societies in which the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look after him/herself and his/her immediate family. On the collectivist side, we find societies in which people from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, often extended families (with uncles, aunts and grandparents) which continue protecting them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty. The word 'collectivism' in this sense has no political meaning: it refers to the group, not to the state. Again, the issue addressed by this dimension is an extremely fundamental one, regarding all societies in the world

Individualistic Country Summary See overhead

Are all Individualists/Collectivists? Triandis: Within every culture there are people who are: Idiocentric- think feel, behave like people with individualistic tendencies AND Allocentric- think, feel, behave like people with collectivist tendencies Collectivist cultures: 0-35% Idiocentric Individualistic cultures:0-35% allocentric

Idiocentrics vs. Allocentrics Idiocentrics (Ind) Allocentrics (Coll) –High in expressivenessHigh on accommodating –DominanceAvoidance of arguments –Initiation of action Shift opinions easily –Logical argumentsEmotional arguments –Strong opinions

Implications For a Cross Cultural Manager Performance Appraisals Training Methods Hiring Practices

Work Trait Summary: Collectivist Employees act in the interest of their in-group, not necessarily of themselves Hiring and promotion decisions take employees’ in-group into account Relatives of employer and employees preferred in hiring Employer/employee relationship is basically moral/ like a family link Poor performance reason for other tasks Employees perform best in in-groups Training most effective focused at group level Relationship with colleagues cooperative for in-groups, hostile for out-groups Incentives to be given to in-groups Direct appraisal of performance is threat to harmony

Work Trait Summary: Individualist Employees supposed to act as economic men Hiring and promotion should be based on skills and rules only Family relationships seen as a disadvantage in hiring Employer/employee relationship is founded in ‘labor market’ Poor performance reason for dismissal Employees perform best as individuals Training most effective focused at individual level Relationship with colleagues do not depend on their group identity Preferred reward allocation based on equity for all Incentives to be given to individuals Direct appraisal of performance improves productivity

Power Distance Power Distance is the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that POWER is distributed unequally. High Power Distance- high acceptance of inequality Low Power Distance- low acceptance of inequality

Hofstede’s Description: Power Distance is the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. This represents inequality (more versus less), but defined from below, not from above. It suggests that a society's level of inequality is endorsed by the followers as much as by the leaders. Power and inequality, of course, are extremely fundamental facts of any society and anybody with some international experience will be aware that 'all societies are unequal, but some are more unequal than others'.

Country Summary /Power Distance See Overhead

Implications For a Cross Cultural Manager Tall organization structures (concentration of power) Authority as a right or rank Preferred Manager Job Satisfaction and Supervision

Management Implications Low Power Distance Decentralized organization tendencies Flatter organization structures Equal power among subordinates Access to information Smaller proportion of supervisory personnel Lower strata of the workforce often consists of highly qualified people Accessibilty to CEO

Management Implications High Power Distance Centralized organization tendencies Taller organization structures Unequal power among subordinates Limited access to information (information is key to power retention) Larger proportion of supervisory personnel Inaccessible to CEO

Uncertainty Avoidance Uncertainty Avoidance is the extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations High Uncertainty Avoidance – uncomfortable with uncertainty Low Uncertainty Avoidance – accept uncertainty

Hofstede’s Description : Uncertainty avoidance deals with a society's tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity; it ultimately refers to man's search for Truth. It indicates to what extent a culture programs its members to feel either uncomfortable or comfortable in unstructured situations. Unstructured situations are novel, unknown, surprising, different from usual. Uncertainty avoiding cultures try to minimize the possibility of such situations by strict laws and rules, safety and security measures, and on the philosophical and religious level by a belief in absolute Truth; 'there can only be one Truth and we have it'. People in uncertainty avoiding countries are also more emotional, and motivated by inner nervous energy. The opposite type, uncertainty accepting cultures, are more tolerant of opinions different from what they are used to; they try to have as few rules as possible, and on the philosophical and religious level they are relativist and allow many currents to flow side by side. People within these cultures are more phlegmatic and contemplative, and not expected by their environment to express emotions.

Uncertainty Avoidance Country Summary See Overhead

Uncertainty Avoidance Trait Summary Low UA Weak loyalty to employer: short average duration of employment and higher turnover Preference for smaller organizations Tolerance for ambiguity in structures and procedures Belief in generalists and common sense Organizations encourage employees to use their own initiative More risk taking by managers

Uncertainty Avoidance Trait Summary High UA Preference for tasks with sure outcomes, no risks, and following instructions Strong loyalty to employer: long average duration of employment and low turnover Preference for larger organizations High formalized conception of management Belief in specialists and expertise Organizations less encouraging for employees to use their Own initiative Less risk taking by managers Emphasis on career stability

Uncertainty Avoidance Test Compare your level of UA with two other country averages naire.htm

Masculinity/Femininity Stands for a society in which social gender roles are clearly distinct. Masculinity: Men- supposed to be assertive, tough, and focused on material success, expectation of women to play a more domestic role Femininity: Women- supposed to be more modest, concerned with quality of life, understanding

Hofstede’s Description Masculinity versus its opposite, femininity, refers to the distribution of roles between the genders which is another fundamental issue for any society to which a range of solutions are found. The IBM studies revealed that (a) women's values differ less among societies than men's values; (b) men's values from one country to another contain a dimension from very assertive and competitive and maximally different from women's values on the one side, to modest and caring and similar to women's values on the other. The assertive pole has been called 'masculine' and the modest, caring pole 'feminine'. The women in feminine countries have the same modest, caring values as the men; in the masculine countries they are somewhat assertive and competitive, but not as much as the men, so that these countries show a gap between men's values and women's values.

Masculinity Country Summary See Overhead

Masculinity Trait: Management Effect Live in order to work Managers are expected to be decisive, firm, assertive, aggressive, competitive and just Successful managers are seen as having solely male characteristics Fewer women in management Career ambitions are compulsory for men, optional for women Managers are more prepared to uproot their family career reasons Resolution of conflicts through denying them or fighting until ‘ the best man wins’ Less sickness absence Higher job stress Competitive advantage in manufacturing industries, price competition, heavy products, and bulk chemicals

Femininity Trait: Management Effect Work in order to live Managers are expected to use intuition, deal with feelings and seek consensus Successful managers are seen as having both male and female characteristics More women in management Career ambitions are optional for women and men Managers are less prepared to uproot their family career reasons Resolution of conflicts through problem solving, compromise and negotiation More sickness absence Less job stress: less burnout Competitive advantage in service industries, consulting, live products and biochemistry

Video: Masculinity in Japan Watch the video and consider the values underlying the behavior seen in highly masculine oriented cultures.

Long/Short Term Orientation (Confucian Dynamism) Chinese Values Survey: 1988 by Hofstede and Bond Result of the cultural bias in original survey University students from 22 countries-5 th dimension Confucian Dynamism Index (CDI)-High –Long-term oriented in their thinking –More receptive to many truths and are pragmatic more able to accept changes in their life –High perseverance –Value thrift in their investments –Need to plan and anticipate

This long term orientation or future oriented aspect of Hofstede’s Confucian dynamism is rather close to what the Master in his Analects stated –“If a man has no worries about what is far off, he will assuredly have troubles that are near at hand”

Confucian Dynamism Index (CDI) LOWHIGH Absolute Truth Conventional/Traditional Short Term Orientation Concern for Stability Quick Results Expected Spending for Today Many Truths (Time/Context ) Pragmatic Long Term Orientation Acceptance of Change Perseverance Thrift for Investment

Importance Of CDI Persistence and Perseverance Ordering relationships by status and observing this order Thrift Emphasis on long term planning Emphasis on group centered decision making

Subcultures Residents of the country only conform to the national character to a certain degree Could be from ethnic, geographic, or other variables Good managers treat people as individuals and they avoid any form of stereotyping