Ch. 7: Dimensions of Culture

1. Ch. 7: Dimensions of Culture How to compare cultures Case Study: Japanese Culture Sustainability values

2. Hofstede’s Value Dimensions • Dutch management researcher Geert Hofstede surveyed over 100,000 employees of IBM in 40 countries. • The results of his survey are used to describe culture. • Hofstede identified four dimensions -individualism, masculinity, power distance, and uncertainty avoidance.

3. Hofstede’s Value Dimensions-2 • A fifth dimension was found in 1984, a Confucian dynamism labeled long-term orientation versus short-term orientation to life. • This dimension describes cultures that range from short-term values respecting tradition & reciprocity in social relationships to valuing persistence and ordering relationships by status.

4. Things to consider when exploring cultural dimensions • Statistics reveal an average of responses. NOT everyone in a culture will exhibit these traits. • Be wary of using the dimensions to stereotype. • The goal of the dimensions is to point out how culture shapes communication and vice versa.

5. Focus on Theory • Knowledge about what makes a culture individual or collective helps inform our understanding in the study of numerous fields. • Individualism/collectivism(Kim, 2005) and high/low context (Hall, 1976) are complementary theories. • Refers to how people define themselves in relationship to others.

6. Individualism • The interests of the individual takes priority over those of others. • Ties between individuals are loose. • People look after themselves and their immediate families. • Goals take self & possibly immediate family into consideration. • The United States ranks highest in individualism (pg. 171).

7. Individualism • Cultures high in individuality have wealthier citizens. • Countries with moderate and colder climates. • Self-sufficient. • Birth rates are lower.

8. Collectivism • The interests of the group are given priority. • People belong to strong, cohesive, in-groups that protects and support in exchange to group loyalty. • Goals are set taking the group into account. • Highly integrated.

9. Collectivism • Countries with higher birth rates tend towards collectivism • Confucian cultures are highly collective. • Associated with indirect forms of communication.

10. Case Study:Japan as a homogeneous culture • History • Religion • Cultural Patterns • Sports (see insert)

11. Masculinity and Femininity • Hofstede found women’s social roles vary less from culture to culture than men’s. • Cultures that highly value assertiveness, competition, and material wealth are masculine and emphasize the differences. • Feminine cultures are those that allow for more overlap between gender roles. • These cultures also emphasis quality of life, relationships, and care.

12. Masculinity and Femininity • Remember that both men and women express the value characteristics of their culture. • Both men and women in masculine cultures exhibit ambition. • Both men women in feminine cultures learn to be modest and seek cohesion. • Feminine cultures allow more cross-over between roles.

13. High and Low Power Distance • The way cultures deal with inequalities, i.e. money, power, status, birth. • Power distance is learned in families. • Cultures with high power distance have power concentrated in the hands of the few rather than distributed throughout the population. • What about the U.S. • http://www.aflcio.org/Corporate-Watch/CEO-Pay-and-the-99

14. Uncertainty Avoidance • This identifies the extent that people feel threatened by uncertainty or the unknown in the culture. • Hallmarks of cultures high in uncertainty avoidance include: strict codes of behavior and beliefs in absolute truths. • People with high needs for certainty are often characterized as active, aggressive, emotional, compulsive, and intolerant.

15. Uncertainty Avoidance-2 • Those with low needs for certainty are characterized as contemplative, unemotional, relaxed, accepting of personal risk, and relatively tolerant. • Hofstede looked at the relationship between religion and power distance and history. • Greece is ranked highest in this dimension (see table. 7.6).

16. Long-Term vs. Short-Term Orientation • Called “Confucian work dynamism” at first, now we refer to it as long and short term orientation to LIFE. • This dimension includes such values as thrift, persistence, having a sense of shame, and ordering relationships. • This value is present in cultures that show high degrees of responsibility, motivation, dedication and belief in education (see table 7.7).

17. Environmental Sustainability • Sustainability is “development which meets the needs of the present w/o compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs” p. 190. • Husted (2005) & Hofstede conclude: Low power distance, high individualism, low masculinity support “sustainable” values. • See table 7.8. Env. Perf. Index

18. Focus on Theory: Criticism of Hofstede’s Value Dimensions • Nations are not the best units to study. • Survey sample data is small. • Survey data is old and outdated. • Data drawn from only one company that cannot provide information about entire national cultures. • Four or five dimensions limits insight into cultures.