MBA HRM-OB STUDY by Geert Hofstede on four dimensions of National Culture

1. Hofstede’s Six Dimensions of National Culture
Geert Hofstede, a Dutch social psychologist and anthropologist conducted one of the most comprehensive studies
of how values in the workplace are influenced by culture. He defines culture as “the collective programming of the
mind distinguishing the members of one group or category of people from others”. The six dimensions of national
culture are based on the extensive research results of a world-wide survey of employee values by IBM between
1967 and 1973. This theory is a framework for cross-cultural communication that describes the effects of a
society's culture on the values of its members, and how these values relate to behavior, using a structure derived
from factor analysis.
The theory is based on the idea that value can be placed upon six cultural dimensions. These are power (equality
versus inequality), collectivism (versus individualism), uncertainty avoidance (versus uncertainty tolerance),
masculinity (versus femininity),temporal orientation, and indulgence (versus restraint). Hofstede gathered most of
his data on world cultural values through surveys conducted by IBM, a US-based technology and consulting firm.
He then proposed a scoring system using a scale from 1 to 120.
Power-Distance index: According to Hofstede, “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
dimension does not measure the level of power distribution in a given culture, but rather analyzes the way people
feel about it. Low power-distance scores mean that a culture expects and accepts that power relations are
democratic and members are viewed as equals. High power-distance scores mean that less powerful members of
the society accept their place and realize the existence of formal hierarchical positions.
Individualism vs. Collectivism: “The degree to which individuals are integrated into groups.” This dimension has no
political connotation and refers to the group rather than the individual. Cultures that are individualistic place
importance on attainingpersonal goals.In collectivistsocieties,the goals of the group and its wellbeing are valued
over those of the individual.
Uncertainty-Avoidance index: “A society’s tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity.” This is a dimension that
measures the way a society deals with unknown situations, unexpected events, and the stress of change. Cultures
that score high on this index are less tolerant of change and tend to minimize the anxiety of the unknown by
implementing rigid rules,regulations, and/or laws. Societies that score low on this index are more open to change
and have fewer rules and laws and more loose guidelines.
Masculinity vs. Femininity: “The distribution of emotional roles between the genders.” This dimension measures
the level of importance a culture places on stereotypically masculine values such as assertiveness, ambition,
power, and materialism as well as stereotypically feminine values such as an emphasis on human relationships.
Cultures that are high on the masculinity scale generally have more prominent differences between genders and
tend to be more competitive and ambitious. Those that score low on this dimension have fewer differences
between genders and place a higher value on relationship building.
Long-term Orientation vs. Short-term Orientation: This dimension describes a society’s time horizon. Short-term
oriented cultures value traditional methods, take a considerable amount of time to build relationships, and in
general view time as circular. This means the past and the present are interconnected and that which cannot be
done today can be done tomorrow. The opposite of this is long-term orientation, which sees time as linear and
looks to the future rather than the present or the past. It is goal-oriented and values rewards.
Indulgence vs. Restraint: This dimension measures a culture’s ability to satisfy the immediate needs and personal
desires of its members. Those that value restraint have strict social rules and norms under which satisfaction of
drives is regulated and discouraged.
Hofstede stresses that the cultural dimensionsare only a framework to help assess a given culture and thus better
guide decision making. There are other factors to take into consideration such as personality, family history, and
personal wealth. The proposed dimensions cannot predict individual behaviors and do not take into account
individual personalities.

2. Dimension scores are relative
The countryscores on these dimensions are relative - societiesare comparedto other societies. These relative scoreshave
been proven to be quite stable over decades. The forces that cause culturesto shift tendto be globalor continent-wide -
theyaffect manycountries at the same time, so that if their cultures shift, theyshift together, and their relative positions
remain the same.
Scores around the world
Power distance scores are highfor Latin, Asian and Africancountriesand smaller for Anglo and Germanic countries.
Uncertaintyavoidance scores are higher inLatincountries, in Japan, andinGermanspeaking countries, lower in Anglo,
Nordic, andChinese culture countries. Individualism prevailsindevelopedandWestern countries, while collectivism
prevails in lessdeveloped and Easterncountries;Japantakes a middle positiononthis dimension. Masculinityis highin
Japan, in some European countries like Germany, Austria and Switzerland, andmoderatelyhighinAnglo countries;it is low
in Nordic countries and in the Netherlands andmoderatelylow insome LatinandAsian countries like France, Spain and
Thailand. Long-termorientation scoresare highest inEast Asia, moderate in EasternandWestern Europe, and lowinthe
Anglo world, the Muslim world, LatinAmerica and Africa. Indulgence scores are highest in LatinAmerica, parts of Africa,
the AngloworldandNordic Europe; restraint is mostlyfoundin East Asia, EasternEurope andthe Muslim world.
Ancient roots of culture
The groupingof countryscores points to some ofthe roots ofcultural differences. These shouldbe sought inthe common
historyof similarlyscoring countries. All Latin countries, for example, score relativelyhigh onboth power distance and
uncertaintyavoidance. Latincountries (those today speakinga Romance language i.e. Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian
or Romanian)have inherited at least part of their civilizationfromthe Roman empire. The Romanempire inits days was
characterizedbythe existence of a central authorityinRome, and a system oflawapplicable to citizens anywhere. This
established inits citizens'minds the value complex whichwe still recognize today:centralizationfosteredlarge power
distance anda stresson laws fosteredstrong uncertaintyavoidance. The Chinese empire alsoknew centralization, but it
lackeda fixedsystem oflaws:it was governedbymenrather thanbylaws. Inthe present-daycountries once under
Chinese rule, the mindset fostered bythe empire is reflectedinlarge power distance but mediumto weakuncertainty
avoidance. The Germanic part of Europe, including Great Britain, never succeededin establishinganenduring common
central authorityandcountrieswhichinheritedits civilizations show smaller power distance. Assumptions about historical
roots of cultural differencesalways remainspeculative but inthe givenexamples theyare plausible. In other cases they
remain hiddeninthe course of history.
Correlations
The countryscores on the six dimensions are statisticallycorrelatedwitha multitude of other data about the countries. For
example, power distance is correlated withthe use ofviolence in domestic politics and withincome inequalityin a country.
Uncertaintyavoidance is associatedwith Roman Catholicism andwiththe legal obligation indeveloped countries for
citizens to carryidentitycards. Individualism is correlatedwith nationalwealth andwith mobilitybetweensocialclasses
from one generationto the next. Masculinityis correlated negativelywith the percent of women in democraticallyelected
governments. Long-term orientationis correlatedwithschool results in international comparisons. Indulgence is correlated
with sexual freedom anda callfor humanrights like free expressionof opinions.
Dimensions are widely used
The Hofstede model of dimensions of national culture hasbeen appliedinthe practice of manydomains of human social
life, from the interpersonal to the national, inpublic domains andinbusiness, ineducation andin healthcare. According
to the Web of Science, in2008 more than800 peer-reviewedarticles in scientific journalscitedone or more of Geert
Hofstede's publications.
Of particular interest are the applications inthe fieldof marketing, advertising andconsumer behaviour, inwhich Dutch
scholar Marieke de Mooijplays a keyrole
From 1985 to 1987, Hofstede's institute IRIC(Institute for ResearchonIntercultural Cooperation) hasconducteda separate
researchproject inorder to studyorganizational culture. Including20 organizationalunits intwo countries (Denmark andthe
Netherlands), six different dimensions of practices, or communities ofpractice have been identified:
 Process-Orientedvs. Results-Oriented
 Employee-Orientedvs. Job-Oriented
 Parochial vs. Professional
 Open Systemvs. Closed System
 Loose Control vs. Tight Control
 Pragmatic vs. Normative
Managinginternationalorganizations involves understanding bothnational andorganizational cultures. Communities of
practice across borders are significant for multinationals inorder to holdthe companytogether.