Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions

• Individualism-collectivism

• Masculinity-femininity

• Power distance

• Uncertainty avoidance

Geert Hofstede: Culture & the Workplace

Hofstede, G., 1980. Cultures Consequences: International Differences in Work-related

Values, Sage

Hofstede, G., 1984. Cultures Consequences: International Differences in Work-related Values, abridged edn, Sage,

Beverly Hills

Hofstede, G., 1991. Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind,

McGraw-Hill

Hofstede’s Model

•power distance – the distance between individuals at different levels of a hierarchy in an organization.

•uncertainty avoidance – more or less need to avoid uncertainties about the future

•individualism vs collectivism – the relations between the individual and his / her fellows

•masculinity vs femininity – the division of roles and values in society.

Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions (cont’d)

• Work-related value dimensions

• Most influential effort to group by cultural values

• Surveyed over 116,000 employees in more than 70 countries

• Created maps of pairs of dimensions

Hofstede’s ModelStrengths• most practical to management

problems • comparisons between national

cultures possible

• highly relevant

Individualism-Collectivism

• Self-perception as individual or part of a group

• Most widely studied

• Most complex

• Dimensions different across cultures– i.e., Asian vs Latin American collectivism

Individualism-Collectivism (cont’d)

Individualism

• High value on autonomy

• Individual achievement

• Privacy

Collectivism

• High value on group– Family, clan,

organization

• Loyalty

• Devotion

• Conformity

Masculinity-FemininityDescribes Importance of

Achievement versus Relationships

• Success

• Assertive acquisition of money/power

• achievement

• Equality of genders

• Caring for disadvantaged

• harmony

Power DistanceAcceptance of differences in

powerHigh-Power Distance

• Accept position

• Follow authority

• Concentrated & centralized authority

• Hierarchical

Low-Power Distance

• Avoid concentration of authority

• Decentralized

• Fewer layers of management

Low UncertaintyAvoidance

• Embrace unpredictable

• Less adherence to rules, procedures, or hierarchies

• Risk taking desirable

High Uncertainty

Avoidance

• Threatened by ambiguity

• Need stable & predictable workplace

• Reliance on rules

Uncertainty AvoidanceReaction to ambiguous events

Cultural Maps

• Individualism-Collectivism & Power Distance

• Uncertainty Avoidance & Masculinity-Femininity

• Uncertainty Avoidance & Power Distance

Individualism-Collectivism & Power Distance

• Large power distance and collectivism– Asia and Latin America

• Small power distance and individualism– Northern Europe and Anglo countries

Uncertainty Avoidance & Masculinity-Femininity

• Achievement oriented-weak uncertainty avoidance & masculine values

• Security Motivation-high uncertainty avoidance & masculinity

• Social Motivation-feminine values & high uncertainty avoidance

Uncertainty Avoidance & Power Distance

• Family-large power distance & weak uncertainty avoidance

• Pyramid of People-large power distance & strong uncertainty avoidance

• Well-Oiled Machine-small power distance & strong uncertainty avoidance

• Village Market-small power distance & low uncertainty avoidance

Limitation of Hofstede’s Dimensions

• Missing countries– Estimates values

• Ignores differences within clusters