Hofstede’s Dimensions of National Culture
Hofstede’s dimensions of national culture
Hofstede distinguished five dimensions of national culture: Power Distance (PDI), Individualism/Collectivism (IDV), Masculinity/Femininity (MAS), Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI), and Long-Term versus Short-Term Orientation (LTO). For those readers who are unfamiliar with his dimensional model, a short description follows. The dimensions are measured on index scales from 0 to 100, although some countries may have scores above 100 on certain dimensions because they were measured after the original scale was developed. Hofstede’s original data were derived from matched populations of employees from national subsidiaries of one multinational firm, IBM. More than 116,000 questionnaires were administered in 72 countries and in 20 languages between 1967 and 1973. The results were originally validated against some 40 cross-cultural studies from a variety of disciplines and have been extended by Hofstede (2001).
Power distance
Power Distance is the extent to which less powerful members of a society accept the fact that power is distributed unequally. In cultures with large power distance, everybody has his/her rightful place in society, there is respect for old age, and status is important to show power. In cultures with small power distance, people try to look younger than they are and powerful people try to look less powerful. Malaysia scores highest on power distance at 104, Mexico scores 81, the United States scores 40, and Sweden scores 31.
Individualism versus collectivism
In individualist cultures, people look after themselves and their immediate family only. In collectivist cultures, people belong to groups that look after them in exchange for loyalty. In individualist cultures, the identity is in the person; in collectivist cultures, identity is based in the social network to which one belongs. In individualist cultures there is more explicit, verbal communication; in collectivist cultures communication is more
Hofstede distinguished five dimensions of national culture: Power Distance (PDI), Individualism/Collectivism (IDV), Masculinity/Femininity (MAS), Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI), and Long-Term versus Short-Term Orientation (LTO). For those readers who are unfamiliar with his dimensional model, a short description follows. The dimensions are measured on index scales from 0 to 100, although some countries may have scores above 100 on certain dimensions because they were measured after the original scale was developed. Hofstede’s original data were derived from matched populations of employees from national subsidiaries of one multinational firm, IBM. More than 116,000 questionnaires were administered in 72 countries and in 20 languages between 1967 and 1973. The results were originally validated against some 40 cross-cultural studies from a variety of disciplines and have been extended by Hofstede (2001).
Power distance
Power Distance is the extent to which less powerful members of a society accept the fact that power is distributed unequally. In cultures with large power distance, everybody has his/her rightful place in society, there is respect for old age, and status is important to show power. In cultures with small power distance, people try to look younger than they are and powerful people try to look less powerful. Malaysia scores highest on power distance at 104, Mexico scores 81, the United States scores 40, and Sweden scores 31.
Individualism versus collectivism
In individualist cultures, people look after themselves and their immediate family only. In collectivist cultures, people belong to groups that look after them in exchange for loyalty. In individualist cultures, the identity is in the person; in collectivist cultures, identity is based in the social network to which one belongs. In individualist cultures there is more explicit, verbal communication; in collectivist cultures communication is more