Greet Hofstede is a famous Dutch social psychologist, who published the 6 dimensions model of national culture. In the following, those 6 dimensions will be explained and adapted to the UK.
POWER DISTANCE
Is the extent to which a culture accepts that power in organizations is distributed unequally among the people (Rugman & Collins). Therefore, countries with a large degree of power distance have a steep hierarchy, employees accept the power and authority of their superiors and bosses without questioning them (Wall & Rees, 2004). Executives and upper Management receive extra recognition and privileges (Wild, Wild, & Han, 2010). In countries with a low power distance, the subordinates can approach their bosses straight away to get consultation. The authority and power of supervisors and bosses is not as dominant as in countries with a strong power distance (Wall & Rees, 2004). The rewards and prestige in a company are shared more equally and not only depending on their position. Power and Authority has to be earned in those countries and is because of that considerate more legitimate than in countries with a large degree of power (Wild, Wild, & Han, 2010)
INDIVIDUALISM VERSUS COLLECTIVISM
The preference of the culture to either being seen as an individual or as a group (Wild, Wild, & Han, 2010). Countries which are higher up on the scale are more individualist cultures. Those cultures support innovative thinking and hard work, the individual in responsible for themselves and they tend to take greater risk. The downside of this is when something is going wrong there is just one person to blame and they have to carry all the consequences alone (Wild, Wild, & Han, 2010). The people in high individualist cultures have a high degree of self-respect and it is harder to convince them that their opinion is flawed. Those cultures are very competitive (Wall & Rees, 2004). The countries which are on the lower part of the scale are more collectivism, which means they prefer to be in groups. For people in those cultures the group comes first and they put it ahead of their personal interests (Wall & Rees, 2004). Conflict and tension in the groups is to be avoided. The people work towards the goals of the group and not their own but the responsibility is also carried by the whole group (Wild, Wild, & Han, 2010).
MASCULINITY VERSUS FEMININITY
A masculine culture is driven by competition, achievement and success. This value system accompanies people through their whole live, starting in school and continuing in their workplace (Hofstede Insight, 2019). In those cultures, people have to be more assertive and acquisitive than in the feminine ones and they are also more money and materialistic driven (Wall & Rees, 2004). The feminine cultures are more focused on maintaining relationships, modesty, caring and the quality of live (Rugman & Collins). A sign of success is the quality of life someone has. (Hofstede Insight, 2019) “The fundamental issue here is what motivates people, wanting to be the best (Masculine) or liking what you do (Feminine).” (Hofstede Insight, 2019)
UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE
It is the degree to which members of a society feel comfortable with risk and uncertainty (Rugman & Collins). A culture with a large uncertainty avoidance places a high priority on rituals, routines and procedures they already know and are familiar with (Rugman & Collins). Those cultures have a lower employee turnover rate, more formal rules and are not very comfortable with change (Wild, Wild, & Han, 2010). They think that the decision making should rely on experts (Wall & Rees, 2004). Cultures which have a low uncertainty avoidance are open for new ideas and innovations. People are less fearful of change and the countries do have a higher employee turnover rate (Wild, Wild, & Han, 2010). The people in those countries also believe that a subordinate has influence in the actions of their authorities (Wall & Rees, 2004).
LONG TERM ORIENTATION VERSUS SHORT TERM NORMATIVE ORIENTATION
This dimension shows how much the culture is focused on the future (Wild, Wild, & Han, 2010) but also how much it values its past. A culture which is very high on the scale is long-term oriented and respects traditions, thrift, preservice and sense of personal shame. People expect long-term rewards for their daily work (Wild, Wild, & Han, 2010). Countries with a short-term normative orientation are more focused on the present (Wall & Rees, 2004) and how they can achieve the goal, which they have right now. Those countries tend to change more frequently, because they do not value the past as much (Wild, Wild, & Han, 2010).
INDULGENCE VERSUS RESTRAINT
This dimension is mainly related to the subjective happiness or unhappiness and the control of someone’s own life or opposite (Hofstede, 2015). Indulgence is when the culture has a relatively free gravitation of basic of natural human desires leading to enjoying live and having fun. The people in those cultures tend to feel healthier and happier, also they feel as if they have control over their own life. They have a more optimistic and positive attitude and are quite extroverted (Hofstede, 2015). Cultures with a restrict society have a more suppressed gratification of needs and are regulated by strict social norms. They tend to be less happy and are feeling less healthy even though the objective health is the same in both. They think what they are doing is not because they want to, but because they are supposed to do it and they have a strong work ethic. People of this culture have a more pessimistic cynical attitude and are introverted (Hofstede, 2015).
References:
- Hofstede, G. (2015, 03 07). 10 minutes with Geert Hofstede on Indulgence versus Restraint 01032015. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=292&v=V0YgGdzmFtA&feature=emb_title
- Hofstede, G. (n.d.). geerthofstede.com. Retrieved 12 01, 2019, from https://geerthofstede.com/culturegeert-hofstede-gert-jan-hofstede/definition-culture/
- Hofstede Insight. (2019). Hofstede Insight. Retrieved 11 26, 2019, from https://www.hofstedeinsights.com/country-comparison/the-uk/
- Rugman, A. M., & Collins, S. (n.d.). International Business
- Wall, S., & Rees, B. (2004). International Business. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.
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