Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions

• Individualism-collectivism

• Masculinity-femininity

• Power distance

• Uncertainty avoidance

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

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 UncertaintyAvoidance• 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

Culture Map for Power

Distance and

Individualism

Uncertainty Avoidance & Masculinity-Femininity

• Achievement oriented-weak uncertainty avoidance & masculine values

• Security Motivation-high uncertainty avoidance & masculinity

• Social Motivation-feminine values & high uncertainty avoidance

Culture Map for

Uncertainty Avoidance

and Masculinity-Femininity

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

Culture Map for Power

Distance and

Uncertainty

Orientation

Limitation of Hofstede’s Dimensions

• Missing countries– Estimates values

• Ignores differences within clusters

Trompenaars’s Alternative Dimensions

• Focus on values and relationships

• Survey of – 15,000 managers – Over 10-year period– From 28 countries

• Bipolar cultural dimensions

Trompenaars’s Alternative Dimensions (cont’d)

• Outer-directed—Inner-directed

• Universalism—Particularism

• Neutral—Emotional

• Specific—Diffuse

• Achievement—Ascription

• Individualism—Communitarianism