Dimensions

of culture
(Arab World)
 Hofstede’s approach
–1-Power Distance Index (PDI)

The Arab world scores high on this dimension (United Arab Emirates made a score of 90) which means that people accept an

- Score: 80 out o 100

order in which everybody has a place and which needs no further justification and subordinates expect to be told what to do
and the ideal boss is a benevolent autocrat, a high level of inequality of power and wealth within the society. These
populations have an expectation and acceptance that leaders will separate themselves from the group and this condition is
not necessarily subverted upon the population, but rather accepted by the society as their cultural heritage.
 2- Individualism (IDV)

-Arab countries are collectivists :

-score o 38/100
-positive associations with traditions
- Long term commitement to family
–The United Arab Emirates, with a score of 25 is
considered a collectivistic society. This is manifest in a
close long-term commitment to the member ‘group’, be
that a family, extended family, or extended relationships,
3- Masculinity (MAS)

-Score: 52 out o 100

-women are limited in their rights
-absence of equality between
men and women
– Arab Emirates scores 50 on this dimension and can be
considered to be neither Masculine or Feminine.
– this would indicate that while women in the Arab World are
limited in their rights
4- Uncertainty Avoidance
Index (UAI)

-Score: 68 out of 100

-low level of tolerance
– Arab Emirates scores 80 on this dimension and thus has a
high preference for avoiding uncertainty. Countries exhibiting
high Uncertainty Avoidance maintain rigid codes of belief and
behaviour and are intolerant,
5- Long Term Orientation
(LTO)

– Short term orientation

– Arab organizations have a short-term orientation, they
focus on the past and on quick results
6- Indulgence vs restraint

After many researches, arab countries were classified as restraint

countries:

– People feel less happy and less healthy

– What happens to me is not my doing
– Pessimism
– More introverted personalities
– Having friends is less important
– Less sports participation
– Stricter moral discipline
– Stricter sexual mores
 IDV PDI UAI MAS LTO
Arab world* 38 80 68 52 -
* : countries included Egypt, iraq,kuwait,lebanon, saudi arabia,
Trompenaar’s dimensions

1- Universalism vs. Particularism

Arab world is believed to be a particularist:
- People place a high importance on relationships rather
than laws, value and obligations,
- Their response depends on the situation
2- Individualism Versus
Communitarianism

– Arab world is a communitarianist world where people believe

that the group is the most important unit,
– The group provides help in exchange for loyalty,
3- Specific versus Diffuse

– Arab world is classifiesd in the Diffuse part :

Arabs see an overlap between their work and personal life,
4- Neutral versus
Emotional
– Arabs don’t make an effort to control their emotions, they
always want to find ways to express their emotions even at
work,
5- Acheivement versus
ascription
– Arab people believe that you should be valued on who you
are, your power, your title ….
– They don’t value people based on their worth, their
performance…
6- Sequential time versus
Synchronous time

– Arab wold  Synchronous time

Arabs see the past, present, and future as interwoven
periods. They often work on sevaral projects at once, and
view plans as flexible.
They don’t place a high value on punctuality, planning and
staying on schedule.
7- Internal direction
versus Outer diretion
– Arab world has an Outer direction vision:

People rely on nature or environment to acheive goals.

Not like those with an internal direction vision who believe
that they can control nature or their environment to acheive
goals.
References:
– Ali, A., 1995. Cultural discontinuity and Arab management
thought. International Studies of Management and
Organization 25 (3), 7-30.
– Bjerke, B., Al-Meer, A., 1993. Culture's consequences:
Management in Saudi Arabia. Leadership and Organization
Development Journal 14 (2), 30-35
– Chiang, F., 2005. A critical examination of Hofstede's thesis
and its application to international reward management.
International Journal of Human Resource Management 16
(9), 1545-1563