Culture dimensions:
National cultures can be
described according to the analysis of Geert Hofstede. These ideas were first
based on a large research project into national culture differences across
subsidiaries of a multinational corporation (IBM) in 64 countries. Subsequent
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. Together these studies identified
and validated four independent dimensions of national culture differences, with
a fifth dimension added later.
Power distance
Hofstede’s Power distance Index
measures 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.
For example, Germany has a 35 on
the cultural scale of Hofstede’s analysis. Compared to Arab countries where the
power distance is very high (80) and Austria where it very low (11), Germany is
somewhat in the middle. Germany does not have a large gap between the wealthy
and the poor, but have a strong belief in equality for each citizen. Germans
have the opportunity to rise in society.
On the other hand, the power distance
in the United States scores a 40 on the cultural scale. The United States
exhibits a more unequal distribution of wealth compared to German society. As
the years go by it seems that the distance between the ‘have’ and ‘have-nots’
grows larger and larger.
Power distance in Turkey is: 66
Individualism
Individualism is 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.
For example, Germany can be
considered as individualistic with a relatively high score (67) on the scale of
Hofstede compared to a country like Guatemala where they have strong
collectivism (6 on the scale).
In Germany people stress on
personal achievements and individual rights. Germans expect from each other to
fulfil their own needs. Group work is important, but everybody has the right of
his own opinion and is expected to reflect those. In an individual country like
Germany people tend to have more loose relationships than countries where there
is collectivism where people have large extended families.
The United States can clearly
been seen as individualistic (scoring a 91). The “American dream” is clearly a
representation of this. This is the Americans’ hope for a better quality of
life and a higher standard of living than their parents’. This belief is that
anyone, regardless of their status can ‘pull up their boot straps’ and raise
themselves from poverty.
Turkey: 37
Masculinity
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’.
For example, Germany has a
masculine culture with a 66 on the scale of Hofstede (Netherlands 14).
Masculine traits include assertiveness, materialism/material success,
self-centeredness, power, strength, and individual achievements. The United
States scored a 62 on Hofstede’s scale. So these two cultures share, in terms
of masculinity, similar values.
Uncertainty Avoidance
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, and 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’.
For example, in Germany there is a
reasonable high uncertainty avoidance (65) compared to countries as Singapore
(8) and neighbouring country Denmark (23). Germans are not to keen on
uncertainty, by planning everything carefully they try to avoid the uncertainty.
In Germany there is a society that relies on rules, laws and regulations.
Germany wants to reduce its risks to the minimum and proceed with changes step
by step.
The United States scores a 46
compared to the 65 of the German culture. Uncertainty avoidance in the US is
relatively low, which can clearly be viewed through the national cultures.
Turkey: 85
Long-Term Orientation
Long-Term Orientation is the
fifth dimension of Hofstede which was added after the original four to try to
distinguish the difference in thinking between the East and West. From the
original IBM studies, this difference was something that could not be deduced.
Therefore, Hofstede created a Chinese value survey which was distributed across
23 countries. From these results, and with an understanding of the influence of
the teaching of Confucius on the East, long term vs. short term orientation
became the fifth cultural dimension.
Below are some characteristics of
the two opposing sides of this dimension:
Long term orientation
-persistence
-ordering relationships by status
and observing this order
-thrift
-having a sense of shame
Short term orientation
-personal steadiness and
stability
-protecting your ‘face’
-respect or tradition
-reciprocation of greetings,
favors, and gifts
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