This document discusses Geert Hofstede's model of cultural dimensions which identifies six dimensions of national culture: power distance, individualism vs collectivism, masculinity vs femininity, uncertainty avoidance, long vs short-term orientation, and indulgence vs restraint. It provides examples of countries that rank high or low on each dimension based on Hofstede's study of employee values at IBM in over 50 countries. Key aspects of each dimension are defined to analyze how cultural differences can impact areas like communication, decision making, risk tolerance, and time orientation.

1. COMMUNICATION
& CULTURE

2. DIMENSIONS OF
CulturalVariability
Power Distance • Masculinity/Femininity •Tolerance of Uncertainty
• Individualism/Collectivism • Long/Short-term Orientation
• Indulgence/Restraint • High/Low Context
Degrees of difference

3. HOFSTEDE’S STUDY
• Social psychologist
• Surveyed employees of IBM: How does
culture influence workplace values?
• Offices in 50 countries
• Published in 1983 in International Studies of
Management & Organization
• Original study: 4 dimensions
www.hofstede-insights.com

4. POWER DISTANCE
High Power:
Respect for authority; reliance on
symbols of power; rank & status
are important
Mexico (#45), Brazil (#39), India
(#42), Philippines (#47)
Low Power:
Power more evenly distributed;
minimize power differentials
Austria (#1), Denmark (#3), Sweden
(#6-7), New Zealand (#4), U.S. (#16)
Extent to which you expect power to be distributed unequally

5. “Holy crumpets”
“Michelle Obama dares to hug
the queen”
“stirs controversy”
“breaks protocol”
POWER DISTANCE
Faux Pas

6. POWER DISTANCE
1. I think my boss makes decisions in an autocratic
or paternalistic way
2. I think employees in general are afraid to disagree
with superiors
3. I do not prefer a boss who makes decision in a
consultative way, but I prefer a boss who decides
either autocratically or paternalistically

7. PLANE CRASHES
Can Cultural Issues Cause
The case of Korean Air Flight 801Crash in Guam in1997

8. Crashes are significantly more likely to
occur when the more-experienced
captain is flying the plane, as opposed to
the subordinate first officer.
- Malcolm Gladwell,The Outliers
How could Hofstede’s dimensions
of cultural variability explain this
?

9. HIGH POWER DISTANCE CULTURES
The Problem of expressing disagreement with superiors in

10. CONFRONTING SUPERIORS
1. Command
2. Crew obligation statement
3. Crew suggestion
4. Query
5. Preference
6. Hint
most mitigated
least mitigated
When you know they are wrong
(I think we need to deviate)
(Let’s go around)
(Which direction would you like to deviate)
(I would go around)
(That storm looks mean)
(turn 30 degrees)

11. WHAT WOULD YOU DO
to get subordinates from high power distance cultures to speak up
2 minutes

12. ROLES DICTATED BY CULTURE
Language as a means to step outside the
What they were struggling with was a cultural
legacy, that Korean culture is hierarchical.You
are obliged to be deferential toward your
elders and superiors in a way that would be
unimaginable in the U.S.
But Boeing and Airbus design modern, complex
airplanes to be flown by two equals.That works
beautifully in low-power-distance cultures. But in
cultures that have high power distance, it’s very
difficult.
“
“
- Malcolm Gladwell

13. Asiana Airlines crash in San Francisco, July 6, 2013.
Two of the pilots opted against voicing critical concerns or grabbing the controls because
they were subordinate to the instructor [...] But when asked whether he considered
aborting the landing and circling around, he said such a "go-around" maneuver should be
done only by the captain or an instructor pilot. "That is very hard to explain; that is our
culture," investigators quoted him saying.

14. FEMININE
MASCULINE CULTURES
vs.
Masculine Cultures:
Emphasis on assertiveness, ambition, competition
Confront conflict directly
Example: Japan (#50),Austria (#49), U.S. (#36)
Feminine Cultures:
Emphasis on quality of life
People socialized to be modest, emphasize personal relationships
Example: Sweden (#1), Norway (#2)

15. Feminine Cultures:
Lower depression levels
Why?

16. INDIVIDUALISTIC
COLLECTIVIST CULTURES
vs.
Individualistic:
Members Responsible for Self and Family
See themselves as independent
Example: U.S. (#50),Australia (#49)
Collectivist:
Members Responsible for Entire Group
See themselves as interdependent
Example: Guatemala (#1), Equador (#2)

17. Suicidal Chinese man pushed off bridge by passerby
for shutting down traffic & inconveniencing everyone

18. UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE
LOW UA
• Not threatened by unknown
• Accept Uncertainty
• Low anxiety
• Singapore (#1), Hong Kong (#4-5), Denmark (#3),
Sweden (#4-5), Great Britain (#6-7), India (#9),
USA (#11)
HIGH UA
• Threatened by unknown
• Avoid uncertainty
• Anxiety about the unknown
• Greece (#50), Portugal (#49), Guatemala (#48)

19. TOLERANCE OF AMBIGUITY
1. How often do you feel nervous or tense at work?
2. Company rules should not be broken, even when
the employee thinks it is in the company’s best
interest
3. How long do you think you will continue to work
for this company?

20. Current pain in exchange for future pleasure (ex.: saving)
Current pleasure in exchange for future pain (ex.: smoking)
LONG/SHORT-TERM ORIENTATION
Long-term:
Focus on importance of future
rewards, save for future, see old age
as a happy time.
South Korea,Taiwan, Japan, China,
Ukraine, Germany
Short-term:
Spend resources for the present,
see old age as unpleasant.
Puerto Rico, Ghana, Egypt,Trinidad,
Nigeria.

21. Languages without a concept for the future — "It rain tomorrow," instead of "It will rain tomorrow" —
correlate strongly with high savings rates.

22. INDULGENCE/RESTRAINT
High Indulgent:
Focus on gratification of desires,
on having fun and enjoying life.
Having lots of friends is seen as
important.
Venezuela, Mexico, Puerto Rico, El
Salvador, Nigeria
High Restraint:
Try to curb gratification, not as
happy, higher death rates from
cardiovascular disease. Place less
importance on friendships.
Pakistan, Egypt, Latvia, Ukraine

23. High Context
Low Context
Low-Context:
High-Context:
Information is implicit in the context
Previous communication establishes context
Information is explicitly stated in verbal message

24. Stage 1 -The Honeymoon
Stage 2 -The Crisis
Stage 3 -The Recovery
Stage 4 -The Adjustment
STAGES OF CULTURE SHOCK

25. What stage are the Lost Boys of Sudan in?

26. Equality
view different customs
& ways of behaving as
equal to your own
Sensitivity
want to decrease
distance between
yourself & others
Indifference
prefer to interact in
world of similar
“others”
Avoidance
avoid comm. with
interculturally different
ones
Disparagement
view different customs
& ways of behaving as
inferior to your own
High
DEGREES OF ETHNOCENTRISM
Low
Cultural
Relativism
Cultural
Evolution

27. Write down examples of:
• Acculturation/enculturation
• Power distance
• Collectivism/individualism
• Masculinity/femininity
• Uncertainty avoidance
• Long/short-term orientation
• Indulgence/restraint
• High/low context communication
FEAR AND TREMBLING
www.hofstede-insights.com

28. Learning Objective:
Demonstrate your understanding of key intercultural
communication concepts discussed in class and
critically analyze how they play out in the movie.
In-Class Activity
Will need to bring the notes you took while watching
the movie.
We’ll look up how Japan & Belgium rank on
Hofstede’s dimensions of cultural variability, so bring
your laptop/tablet.