Running head: ANALYSIS OF CULTURAL DIMENSIONS 1

Analysis of the Cultural Dimensions in Hungary and the

Czech Republic versus the United States

Alexandra Heim and Heather Wong

Bryant University
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Abstract

This paper explores the cultural dimensions of femininity/masculinity and

individualism/collectivism in society of Hungary and the Czech Republic. Based off of the

experiences in both countries, a decision was made on what part of both cultural dimensions

better suited the culture. Political, social and economical encounters were processed to better

understand the standard of living in both countries. A comparison and contrast was then

deducted from encounters in both countries in reference to personal experiences in the United

States. Articles discussing collectivism and individualism was used in reference to quality of life

whereas femininity and masculinity articles were used to explore the business aspect of Hungary

and the Czech Republic.

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Cultural awareness is not something many people are born with, it is something they

learn to develop over time. As two students who have never traveled outside of the United States,

we were unsure of what we had gotten ourselves into. It was a new experience for us, and with

fresh eyes we were about to immerse ourselves into a culture we knew very little about. In eleven

days, we were able to recognize differences between not only our culture and the cultures of each

city, but we were also able to compare and contrast the cultures among both Prague and

Budapest. We were assigned to look at specific cultural dimensions, and experience firsthand the

cultural differences that Hungary and the Czech Republic had to offer. These dimensions

included feminine versus masculine society and collectivistic versus individualistic culture. With

reference to Hofstede’s cultural dimensions scale, we were able to identify what we believed

reflected cultural dimensions we were studying based off of our own experiences while abroad.

The cultural dimensions we looked at included masculinity/femininity and

individualistic/collectivistic cultures. According to Hofstede, both the Czech Republic and

Hungary rank fairly evenly in a masculine and individualistic culture; moreover, the scores of the

Czech Republic are lower than Hungary’s but the scores of both cultures are almost the same.

With this in mind we were to expect a culture in which power was predominant, and people took

comfort in taking care of themselves and their own identity. However, we were pleasantly

surprised that the cold culture towards tourists we were expecting was not what we were given.

There was a friendly and understanding culture present throughout shops and restaurants and

even the hotel we stayed in. Upon arriving in Budapest, we immediately encountered impeccable

architecture and rich history that showed through the buildings and infrastructure. We felt as if

the city itself was completely modernized, while it still carried a historical atmosphere compared
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to cities we are used to. There was a friendly and understanding culture present throughout shops

and restaurants and even the hotel we stayed in. Typically, locals would be found walking alone

on the streets, or accompanied by only one or two people. There were occasions where people

from our travel group had gotten lost and needed directions back to the hotel and local people

riding the subway were kind enough to get them to where they were trying to go. In a place like

New York City, there would be no chance of anyone putting a stop to their day to help a tourist

get where they have to go. In this situation, if a tourist was not able to speak English well then

they most definitely would not be able to find help.

As seen in the major cities in the United States, we are an extremely individualistic

society that is expected to look after themselves and their immediate family. Both of the cities

mentioned above are heavily populated with tourists, so the culture in itself becomes slightly

different as well. The Hungarians working in shops or restaurants in these tourist areas must be

able to adapt to the needs of many people from an array of countries who come to visit their city.

People in the service industry get the brunt of it because there’s only so many things you can do

when ordering food or trying to pay for the check. An example of this was when we had gone to

a restaurant and two of our classmates had tried to apply their Hungarian knowledge and

language by trying to say thank you when we were given our drinks. The waitress had taken this

as a sign of disrespect and mockery and had provide us with horrible service preceding the

engagement. Upon receiving the check, she apologized for being so rude and explained that she

was having a bad day. In contrast, when we had went out another time our waiter had helped us

with the Hungarian forint and how to pay in the easiest way. Going hand-in-hand with our

experience, Lim argues that Koreans were much more holistic rather than collective and
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Americans were significantly more individualistic (Lim). Countries outside of North America are

much more collective and work towards a common goal compared to the competitive world that

we live in. We can further conclude that the United States is extremely individualistic in

comparison to a vast amount of countries in the world and although Hungary falls on this scale

as well, the individualistic culture has less dominant of an impact on Hungary.

Similarly, the Hungarian society is predominantly considered a feminine culture. In

typical feminine societies, there is not much of a role separation, the culture is more focused on

the quality of life. There is sympathy for the weak, and both genders can cry but conflict should

be limited. Some of these traits were displayed when we had visited the companies under

Publicus and Audi. At the companies we visited, there was a common trend of work being an

acceptable excuse to neglect family. Both companies had referred to everyone as colleagues no

matter what department and what region of the world the individual worked in. Everyone was

found to be working towards the same goal. They also expressed that since the United States is

so fast paced, there is no real time to love the work you do. In Hungary, companies want you to

be able to work for them in good physical, mental, and emotional health. Publicus was able to

tell us that they genuinely care about the wellbeing of their employees and will give them the

necessary time they need in order to effectively perform their job. Additionally throughout our

stay in Hungary we had several tour guides. All of our tour guides were very polite,

straightforward, and able to help us in having the best time during our trip. They cared about the

questions and how fascinated we were in their beloved city.

The Czech Republic, in contrast to Hungary, has more of a masculine culture. One of the

key elements of a masculine society is a distribution of power among certain individuals. We

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witnessed this on the tour of Amazon. As our tour guide told us about the jobs workers carried

out she explained that there was a sense of equality schedule wise, but it left an imbalance effort

wise. She explained that every four weeks workers would change from the morning shift to the

night shift, but remain working on the same days they are usually scheduled for. We were

shocked when we heard this, because we are used to a more lenient way of making scheduling

for work conducive to our availability. Then, the tour guide followed that by telling us that no

matter the effort put in by someone, whether it be minimum or maximum effort, he or she is

given the same treatment and pay. She continued to explain that it was to keep everyone satisfied

and considered equal. However, those were underlying tones of the Communist business model.

This is present in Amazon’s regiment because work is what employees live for. Other

experiences, on a more social level, included the amount of older men we experienced staring

and cat calling us. The focus on a masculine society is that of “strong male individuals” as these

men commented on our appearances, making us feel small and objectified (Törnquist-Plewa).

When men were in a position to stare or make comments regarding the way we looked, they had

no problem vocalizing it while we were present. A final experience of masculinity in the Czech

Republic’s society was the sense of distrust shop owners had when we entered their stores.

Immediately when we began entering, employees would stand near us to see what we were

looking at and what we were doing. In measuring the masculinity level of the Czech Republic, it

was noted that respondents of the analysis tended to disagree with the statement “most people

can be trusted," meaning that it was built into the culture of The Czech Republic and its people

that it is difficult to trust anyone (Kolman). It led us to believe that they were watching us within

a close proximity due to their culture, which causes them to distrust almost anyone. The position
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of power was held by the people who deem themselves important in the given situation and

exercised their control on individuals such as ourselves who enter their communities.

Like Hungary, the Czech Republic was a very individualistic city. Comfort and style was

in mind in the makeup of all restaurants, and it was obvious that most places were used for

leisure of those who came to enjoy them. In restaurants, workers expected us to seat ourselves,

something we learned only after a few times of going out to dinner. When we usually walk into

restaurants in the United States, we must wait at the entrance until a hostess comes to seat us;

however, when we would arrive at the front of a restaurant in Hungary and the Czech Republic,

workers would be confused on why we stood there and pointed at all the empty tables in their

place of work. Thus we expected the service to be sensitive to us whereas we should have been

expectant on seating ourselves (Laroche). Another experience of individualism is the use of third

parties and determining their own fates. Our tour guide in Prague spoke of a group of individuals

who disagreed with the role of government and wished to eradicate the Prime Minister from his

position of power. Although we did not see the group firsthand we did notice many of their

insignias spread around Old Town and signs that displayed their messages of disappointment

towards the government regime. This group seeks to place an emphasis on the need to change

who holds the majority of political power, in order to restore what they believe to be a more fair

and just government. In an individualistic society, subgroups tend to take control and feel that it

is their own power which will give them the future they think they deserve (Laroche). Finally,

individualistic societies revolve around people being focused on improving their own lives. As

we walked Wenceslas Square, there was a multitude of individuals who performed on the street

for money. Although some of them were not from Prague, they catered to the peoples’ idea of
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entertainment, while maintaining an individual effort of earning a living. We watched a man

perform acrobatics, constantly reminding us that this was the only way he was earning revenue

as a self proclaimed entrepreneur. As he carried out his stunts he appealed to humor from the

crowd and evoked a sense of pity in order to receive heavy compensation for his show. He

focused on identifying with the group watching him and used verbal pathos to allow them to see

his own personal experiences (Marshall). The focus on an “I” identity was prevalent in the

culture of the Czech Republic and how people maintained an image of themselves in a public

setting. Like the United States, subgroups who wish to improve quality of life as well as earn

themselves a living are a prominent identification for many people. They are able to relate to an

identity in which they serve themselves and the comfortability they wish to attain in their

lifetime.

Overall this experience was one not to forget. We allowed ourselves to be immersed in a

culture not to far from our own and experience the differences and similarities among Europe

and North America. We concluded that all three countries identified as strong individualistic

nations, developing an “I” identity through the many subgroups within each country and the need

for enjoyable and efficient services outside of their own homes. Furthermore, the United States

and Czech Republic were strongly masculine societies, but with a steady move of feminism in

America it could potentially become more involved in a feminine society with the idea of people

being put before their work. We were able to accomplish a feat that we never would have

expected, and learned more about the culture of communication within a place foreign to our

home. The trip itself was eye opening and taught us to look deeper into the meaning of how

others communicate their actions and feelings in their environments.

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Works Cited

Kolman, L., Noorderhaven, N. G., Hofstede, G., & Dienes, E. (2003). Cross-cultural differences

in central europe. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 18(1), 76-88.

doi:http://dx.doi.org.bryant.idm.oclc.org/10.1108/02683940310459600

Laroche, M., Kalamas, M., & Cleveland, M. (2005). "I" versus "we": How individualists and

collectivists use information sources to formulate their service expectations. International

Marketing Review, 22(3), 279-308. Retrieved from

http://bryant.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.bryant.idm.oclc.org/doc

view/224308535?accountid=36823

Lim, Tae-Seop, et al. “Holism: A Missing Link in Individualism-Collectivism Research.”

Journal of Intercultural Communication Research,​ vol. 40, no. 1, Mar. 2011, pp. 21–38.

EBSCOhost​, doi:10.1080/17475759.2011.558317.

Marshall, Robin. “In Praise of Long Weekends.” ​Budapest Business Journal,​ vol. 26, no. 9, May

2018, p. 2. ​EBSCOhost​,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=129763490&site=ehost-live.

Törnquist-Plewa, B., & Stala, K. (Eds.). (2011). Cultural transformations after communism :

Central and eastern europe in focus. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com