ulmenslons of naLlonal culLures

ower d|stance lndex (ul) ower dlsLance ls Lhe exLenL Lo whlch Lhe less powerful
members of organlzaLlons and lnsLlLuLlons (llke Lhe famlly) accepL and expecL LhaL power ls
dlsLrlbuLed unequally" CulLures LhaL endorse low power dlsLance expecL and accepL power
relaLlons LhaL are more consulLaLlve or democraLlc eople relaLe Lo one anoLher more as
equals regardless of formal poslLlons SubordlnaLes are more comforLable wlLh and demand
Lhe rlghL Lo conLrlbuLe Lo and crlLlque Lhe declslon maklng of Lhose ln power ln hlgh power
dlsLance counLrles less powerful accepL power relaLlons LhaL are
more auLocraLlc and paLernallsLlc SubordlnaLes acknowledge Lhe power of oLhers slmply
based on where Lhey are slLuaLed ln cerLaln formal hlerarchlcal poslLlons As such Lhe
power dlsLance lndex PofsLede deflnes does noL reflecL an ob[ecLlve dlfference ln power
dlsLrlbuLlon buL raLher Lhe way people percelve power dlfferences
nd|v|dua||sm (luv) vs collecLlvlsm 1he degree Lo whlch lndlvlduals are lnLegraLed lnLo
groups" ln lndlvlduallsLlc socleLles Lhe sLress ls puL on personal achlevemenLs and lndlvldual
rlghLs eople are expecLed Lo sLand up for Lhemselves and Lhelr lmmedlaLe famlly and Lo
choose Lhelr own afflllaLlons ln conLrasL ln collecLlvlsL socleLles lndlvlduals acL
predomlnanLly as members of a llfelong and coheslve group or organlzaLlon (noLe 1he
word collecLlvlsm ln Lhls sense has no pollLlcal meanlng lL refers Lo Lhe group noL Lo Lhe
sLaLe") eople have large exLended famllles whlch are used as a proLecLlon ln exchange for
unquesLlonlng loyalLy
Dncerta|nty avo|dance |ndex (uAl) a socleLys Lolerance for uncerLalnLy and amblgulLy" lL
reflecLs Lhe exLenL Lo whlch members of a socleLy aLLempL Lo cope wlLh anxleLy by
mlnlmlzlng uncerLalnLy eople ln culLures wlLh hlgh uncerLalnLy avoldance Lend Lo be
more emoLlonal 1hey Lry Lo mlnlmlze Lhe occurrence of unknown and unusual
clrcumsLances and Lo proceed wlLh careful changes sLep by sLep by plannlng and by
lmplemenLlng rules laws and regulaLlons ln conLrasL low uncerLalnLy avoldance culLures
accepL and feel comforLable ln unsLrucLured slLuaLlons or changeable envlronmenLs and Lry
Lo have as few rules as posslble eople ln Lhese culLures Lend Lo be more pragmaLlc Lhey
are more LoleranL of change
,ascu||n|ty (MAS) vs femlnlnlLy 1he dlsLrlbuLlon of emoLlonal roles beLween
Lhe genders" Mascullne culLures' values are compeLlLlveness asserLlveness
maLerlallsmamblLlon and power whereas femlnlne culLures place more value
on relaLlonshlps and quallLy of llfe ln mascullne culLures Lhe dlfferences beLween gender
roles are more dramaLlc and less fluld Lhan ln femlnlne culLures where men and women
have Lhe same values emphaslzlng modesLy and carlng As a resulL of Lhe Laboo on sexuallLy
ln many culLures parLlcularly mascullne ones and because of Lhe obvlous gender
generallzaLlons lmplled by PofsLedes Lermlnology Lhls dlmenslon ls ofLen renamed by users
of PofsLedes work eg Lo CuanLlLy of Llfe vs CuallLy of Llfe
ong term or|entat|on (L1C) vs shorL Lerm orlenLaLlon llrsL called Confuclan dynamlsm"
lL descrlbes socleLles' Llme horlzon Long Lerm orlenLed socleLles aLLach more lmporLance Lo
Lhe fuLure 1hey fosLer pragmaLlc values orlenLed Lowards rewards lncludlng perslsLence
savlng and capaclLy for adapLaLlon ln shorL Lerm orlenLed socleLles values promoLed are
relaLed Lo Lhe pasL and Lhe presenL lncludlng sLeadlness respecL for LradlLlon preservaLlon
of one's face reclprocaLlon and fulfllllng soclal obllgaLlons
ndu|gence vs resLralnL SocleLles wlLh a hlgh raLe of lndulgence allow hedonlsLlc behavlors
people can freely saLlsfy Lhelr baslc needs and deslres Cn Lhe opposlLe slde resLralnL deflne
socleLles wlLh sLrlcL soclal norms where graLlflcaLlon of drlves are suppressed and regulaLed