Hofstede's cultural dimension case study

Aim to examine the results of a world-wide survey of employee values by IBM in the 1960s and 1970s.

Procedure Between 1967 and 1973, he executed a large survey study regarding national values differences across the worldwide subsidiaries of this multinational corporation: he compared the answers of 117,000 IBM matched employees samples on the same attitude survey in different countries. He first focused his research on the 40 largest countries, and then extended it to 50 countries and 3 regions, "at that time probably the largest matched-sample cross- national database available anywhere

Findings: 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 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) High value on autonomy Individual achievement Privacy Collectivism High value on group Family, clan, organization Loyalty Devotion Conformity

Masculinity-Femininity Describes Importance of Achievement versus Relationships Success Assertive acquisition of money/power achievement Equality of genders Caring for disadvantaged harmony

Power Distance Acceptance of differences in power High-Power Distance Accept position Follow authority Concentrated & centralized authority Hierarchical Low-Power Distance Avoid concentration of authority Decentralized Fewer layers of management

Uncertainty Avoidance Reaction to ambiguous events Low Uncertainty Avoidance 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

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

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