Hofstede’s dimensions

Hofstede’s dimensions refer to a well-known study of five dimensions of international cultural differences in workrelated values. The five dimensions, first published in 1980, include uncertainty avoidance, power distance, masculinity-femininity, individualism-collectivism, and Confucian dynamism. Using existing survey data (sample size of 116,000) collected from a MULTINATIONAL CORPORATION, Hofstede, an IBM psychologist, developed a score for each dimension for employees from 40 different countries. Uncertainty avoidance refers to the levels of people’s comfort with ambiguity. Cultures with high uncertainty avoidance prefer formal rules and relationships, reducing uncertainty and anxiety, while cultures with low uncertainty avoidance are more comfortable with lack of structure in an organization. In countries with a high level of uncertainty avoidance (such as Greece and Japan), business environments tend to have formal rules and procedures, and managers more often choose low-risk alternatives. In countries with lower levels of uncertainty avoidance (such as Denmark and Great Britain), business activities are less structured and managers tend to take greater risks. The United States ranks moderately low on Hofstede’s uncertainty avoidance scale. Power distance refers to the extent to which less powerful members of institutions accept and expect that power will be distributed unequally. In a workplace, inequality of power is normal, as evidenced in hierarchical bosssubordinate relationships. In Hofstede’s study, Mexican and Malaysian work environments had high power distance, employees acknowledging the manager’s authority and seldom bypassing the chain of command. Austrian, Israeli, and Danish workplaces exhibited lower power distance, while the United States ranked in the middle. Masculinity-femininity refers to the extent to which society values assertiveness (masculinity) versus caring (called femininity by Hofstede). In this dimension, Hofstede evaluated expected gender roles in a culture. “Masculine” cultures tend to have distinct expectations for males and females, while “feminine” cultures have less-defined gender roles. Japan and Austria rated high in masculinity, while Denmark and Chile rated low. The United States ranked in the middle on the masculinity-femininity scale. Individualism-collectivism refers to the degree to which ties among individuals are normally loose rather than close. In more individualistic cultures, all members of society are expected to look after themselves and their immediate families. Collectivist cultures have stronger bonds beyond immediate families. The United States and Australia are considered individualistic, while Indonesia and Pakistan are considered collectivist cultures. Confucian dynamism refers to the degree a culture promotes ethics found in Confucian teachings, including thrift, perseverance, a sense of shame, in addition to how it follows a hierarchy. According to Hofstede, rapid ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT in Asian countries is in part attributable to this workplace cultural dimension.