Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions

International Economic Relations Department

N Batryn
 Gerard Hendrik (Geert) Hofstede

(2 October 1928 – 12 February 2020)

•a Dutch psychologist
• Professor Emeritus of Organizational Anthropology
and International Management at Maastricht University
in the Netherlands
•well known for his pioneering research on cross-
cultural groups and organizations
 Gerard Hendrik (Geert) Hofstede

• Geert Hofstede came up with six basic issues that

society needs to come to term with in order to
organize itself. These are called dimensions of
culture. Each of them has been expressed on a scale
that runs roughly from 0 to 100
 Individualism

• Individualism is the extent to which people

feel independent, as opposed to being
interdependent as members of larger wholes
 Individualism

Individualism does not mean egoism. It means that

individual choices and decisions are expected.
Collectivism does not mean closeness. It means that one
"knows one's place" in life, which is determined
socially. With a metaphor from physics, people in an
individualistic society are more like atoms flying
around in a gas while those in collectivist societies are
more like atoms fixed in a crystal.
 Power Distance

• Power Distance is the extent to which the less

powerful members of organizations and institutions
(like the family) accept and expect that power is
distributed unequally
 Power Distance

• People in societies exhibiting a large degree of Power Distance

accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has a place and
which needs no further justification. In societies with low Power
Distance, people strive to equalise the distribution of power and
demand justification for inequalities of power. China and Saudi
Arabia are countries with a high Power Distance index.
 Masculinity

• The Masculine side represents a preference in society for

achievement, heroism, assertiveness and material rewards
for success. Femininity, stands for a preference for
cooperation, modesty, caring for the weak and quality of
life. Masculinity versus Femininity is sometimes also
related to as “tough versus tender” cultures. Japan is
considered to be a very masculine country, whereas
Scandinavian countries such as Norway and Sweden are
considered highly feminine.
 Uncertainty Avoidance

• Uncertainty avoidance deals with a society’s

tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity

• The dimension expresses the degree to which the members of

a society feel uncomfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity.
The fundamental issue here is how a society deals with the
fact that the future can never be known: should we try to
control the future or just let it happen? Countries exhibiting a
high Uncertainty Avoidance often need many rules to
constrain uncertainty. South American countries such as
Chile, Peru and Argentina are highly uncertainty avoiding
countries.
 Long-term orientation

• Long-term orientation deals with change

• Every society has to maintain some links with its own past
while dealing with the challenges of the present and the future.
Long-term oriented countries prefer to maintain traditions and
norms while viewing societal change with suspicion. They are
past and present oriented and value traditions and social
obligations. Short-term oriented are future oriented. Asian
countries such as China and Japan are known for their long
term orientation. Morocco is a short term oriented country.
 Indulgence

• Indulgence dimension is defined as the extent to which people try

to control their desires and impulses.

• Relatively weak control is called Indulgence and relatively strong

control is called Restraint. Cultures can be described as Indulgent
or Restrained. Indulgence stands for a society that allows relatively
free gratification of basic and natural human drives related to
enjoying life and having fun. Restraint stands for a society that
suppresses gratification of needs and regulates it by means of strict
social norms.
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 Thank you!

• https://geerthofstede.com/culture-geert-hof
stede-gert-jan-hofstede/6d-model-of-natio
nal-culture/

• https://www.business-to-you.com/
hofstedes-cultural-dimensions/
Thank you!