Hofstede dimension theoryGeert Hofstede is a Dutch organization psychologist he is known of his ‘five-dimension model’. He has created five dimension that serve as a gauge for cultural differences. This model will help to separate the differences between the cultures.
Geert Hofstede thought about the next five dimensions;- Individualism;- Masculinity;- Uncertainty avoidance;- Long term orientation;- Indulgence.He formulated dimensions of a culture to compare them with each other. Hofstede developed his culture model in response to research within the multinational IBM in the sixties of the last century: a survey among 116,000 employees in 64 countries, set up as a major international attitude research. However, that did not yield much. However, it turned out to offer interesting outcomes at national level. Reason for Geert Hofstede to use the database for research into cultural differences between countries all over the world.The meaning of the dimensions Power distance The power distance dimension indicates the power distance or inequality in the culture.
This can have different perspectives for example; parent and child, boss and employee and or husband and wife. The whole society is often set to this degree of power distance. You can find a large power distance among others, Asia, Arabic and Latin America countries. A small power distance can be found in among others, the Netherlands, Belgium and France.
France scores of 100. This is a high score on power distance. The way that the children are raised is to be emotionally dependent on the parents.
They fair degree of inequality is accepted. Power is not only centralised in companies and government, but also geographically. All the roads in France, leads to the capital city Paris.
Individualism versus socialismindividualism The height/low of the dimension indicates the extent to which individuals are integrated into groups and how they move about in their action.The number of individualism scores high for example in companies in which the ties between are generally quite loos. In this companies the employees are expected to take care of themselves and stand up for themselves. This is one of the most important values. The characteristics of individualism, the information below.
– The content is more important than the relationship;- When you express your own opinion, they will appreciate it. Even when this will lead to a conflict;- The status you have, will determined by your own performance;- You will be responsible for your own behavior.- The communication between the people is explicit, direct, business, honest and verbal communication.For example The United Kingdom (UK) has a score of 89 of 100. The children from UK are always taught from an early age to think for themselves.
It is important to find out what their purpose is in in life. How they can contribute to society. The route to happiness is through personal fulfillment. As the the affluence of Britains has increased throughout the last decade, with wealth also ‘spreading North’, a much discussed phenomenon in the reris of what has been seen as rampant consumerism and a strengthening of the ‘me’ culture.SocialismIn collectivist societies, the people who have been living from birth already live with a strong and close-knit group. This is often the family that will support and protect them lifelong and unconditionally in exchange for your unconditional loyalty to them. The group goes for the individual.
The characteristics of socialism see information below;- The people will avoid conflicts;- Unconditional trust;- The relationship is a priority than the content;- Shared responsibility;- The communication between the people is implicit, indirect, with socially desirable answers and criticism is quickly understood in person.Masculinity versus femininity Masculinity is the opposite of femininity. Together they form one of the dimension. The masculinity society the sex roles are separated. Men are supposed to be hard and assertive.
The focus in live is to be successful they are focused on material successes. The women on the other hand should be modest and tender in this society they are focused on quality of life. Feminism stand for a society in which social gender roles overlap, man and women are considered to be modest and tender and focused on the quality of life. One of the important this is that man and women are equal.
At 100 Slovakia is a strongly masculine society. On this dimension indicates that the society will be driven by competition, achievement and success. You will defined by being a winner.
This systems starts from a you age when you are at school. For example in countries like Slovakia, Ireland and Hungary. When the score is low, the dimension means that the dominant values in society are caring for others and quality of life. A feminine society (countries like The Netherlands, Germany and Belgium) is one where quality of life is the sign of success and standing out from the crowd is not admirable. The fundamental issue here is what motivates people, want to be the best (masculine) or liking what you do (Feminine)Uncertainty avoidance To the partner of fear that members in a society do.
With high scores, uncertainties are avoided through control (rules and order). One searches for the collective truth expectancy coupled with a certain degree of certainty. With low scores, a lot of new events and initiatives are enjoyed. Men are informal to each other, change and taking risks is accepted.If there is a dimension that defines Portugal very clearly, it is Uncertainty Avoidance. Portugal scores 99 on this dimension and thus has a very high preference for avoiding uncertainty. Countries exhibiting high Uncertainty Avoidance maintain rigid codes of belief and behaviour and are intolerant of unorthodox behaviour and ideas.
In these cultures there is an emotional need for rules (even if the rules never seem to work) time is money, people have an inner urge to be busy and work hard, precision and punctuality are the norm, innovation may be resisted, security is an important element in individual motivation.Long or short term orientationThis dimension focuses on community values that are based on traditions and age-old values.These apply to both short-term and long-term.With a high score, the following characteristics are observable: family is the basis of society, high appreciation for education and training and older people and men have more authority than young people and women.This is especially noticeable in Asian countries.
With a low score, it is a high degree of creativity and individualism.They treat each other equally and help each other to carry out the most innovative plans and ideas.With a very high score of 82, Belgium scores as a decidedly pragmatic culture. In societies with a pragmatic orientation, people believe that truth depends very much on situation, context and time. They show an ability to adapt traditions easily to changed conditions, a strong propensity to save and invest, thriftiness, and perseverance in achieving results.Indulgence A high score of 69 indicates that the British culture is one that is classified as Indulgent.
People in societies classified by a high score in Indulgence generally exhibit a willingness to realise their impulses and desires with regard to enjoying life and having fun. They possess a positive attitude and have a tendency towards optimism. In addition, they place a higher degree of importance on leisure time, act as they please and spend money as they wish.
