Presentation slide of Hofstede six culture dimensions by team 1.

1. Hofstede
cultural dimensions
Made by: Elena Bezborodova, Eleonora Viktoria Horbenko, Lam Hue
Thanh, Lena Gerding, Jenni Korhonen, Foong Hwee Li, Riina
29.09.14 Saarenpää 1

2. Introduction
• Gerard Hendrik (Geert) Hofstede
(born 2 October 1928 in Haarlem)
– Dutch social psychologist,
former IBM employee, and
Professor Emeritus of
Organizational Anthropology and
International Management at
Maastricht University in the
Netherlands
• For his cultural dimensions study
he interviewed 117,000 IBM
employees in 23 countries
initially
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3. Table of contents
1. Power Distance
2. Individualism / Collectivism
3. Masculinity
4. Uncertainty avoidance
5. Long term orientation
6. Indulgence / Restraint
7. Video
8. Conclusion
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4. Power Distance (PD)
Hofstede 1st Dimension
This refers to the degree of inequality that exists
and is accepted among people with and without
power
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5. Comparison
High PD Low PD
• Centralized companies
• Strong hierarchies
• Large gaps in
compensation, authority,
and respect
• Flatter organizations
• Supervisors and
employees are
considered almost as
equals
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6. Example
Finland?
Malaysia?
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7. Finland (33) Malaysia (100)
• Equal rights
• Superiors accessible
• Power is decentralized
• Managers count on the
experience of their team
members
• Attitude towards managers
are informal and on first
name basis
• People accept a hierarchical
order
• Power is centralized
• Subordinates expect to be
told what to do
• The ideal boss is a respected
autocrat
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8. Challenges as an international manager
• Finnish manager has
Solutions:
marketing project with
•Finnish manager should
a CEO from Malaysia
learn in details about
Finnish manager
company’s hierarchy,
receives less respect
responsibilities of each
than top managers
department beforehand
from the same
•Finnish manager should
company
show great respect to
Malaysian CEO refused
Malaysian CEO despite
to provide any answers
any misunderstandings
on marketing field
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9. Individualism &
Collectivism (IND)
Hofstede 2nd Dimension
This dimension focuses on the relationship
between the individual and larger social
groups. The way in which people define
themselves and their relationship to others.
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10. Comparison
Individualist
• Individual is most
important
• Independence over
dependence
• Rewards individual
achievement
• Values uniqueness of
individual
Collectivist
• Views of group most
important
• High obligation to the group
• Self is defined in relation to
others
• Cooperation, not
competition
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11. Example
USA?
South Korea?
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12. United States (90)
• People taking care of themselves
• Identity based on individual
• Decisions based on individual
needs
• Emphasis on individual initiative
and achievement
• Everyone has a right to a private
life
South Korea (18)
• Expect absolute loyalty to group
• Decisions based on group
• Identity based on social system
• High dependence on organization
and institutions
• Emphasis on belonging
• Private life “invaded” by institution
and organizations
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13. Masculinity (MAS)
Hofstede’s 3rd Dimension
The degree of masculinity indicates
whether a society leans more
towards masculine values, or
towards feminine ones.

14. Comparison
Masculinity values
• a high importance of
achievement
• material gain
• competition
success is being the best
Expect women to have
different roles than men
Femininity values
• relationship building
• equality
• a good quality of life
success is enjoying what
you do
Societies differentiate less
between genders

15. Example
Sweden?
Japan?

16. Sweden (5)
• the manager should support the employees
• managers strive for consensus, conflicts are
solved by compromising
• people value equality & solidarity
• incentives : free time & flexible working hours
• important to include everyone
• no sense of superiority

17. Japan (95)
• long working hours, extremely hard working
(hard for women to participate)
• life is a constant competition
• people are motivated if they are fighting with
a winning team
• drive for excellence and perfection

18. Challenges as an international manager
• The Japanese want to work longer hours than the
Swedish ones
a lack of motivation among Japanese
felt pressure and lack of motivation among Swedish
• Solution:
– show Japanese the company is successful anyway
– draw up work schedule to reduce pressure of staying
longer

19. Uncertainty avoidance
index (UAI)
Hofstede 4th Dimension

20. Uncertainty Avoidance Index
• The degree of anxiety that society members feel
when in uncertain or unknown situations
• Focuses on the level of tolerance for uncertainty and
ambiguity within the society.
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21. Comparison
High uncertainty
• Very formal business
conduct with lots of rules
and policies
• Need and expect structure
• Sense of nervousness
spurns high levels of emotion
and expression
Low uncertainty
• Informal business attitude
• More concern with long
term strategy than what is
happening on a daily basis
• Accepting of change and
risk
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22. Example
USA?
Japan?

23. USA (46)
• Acceptance for new ideas and innovation
• Do not require many rules
• High trust in the state
• Thoughts are shared with colleagues / boss
• Feedback and criticism are accepted
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24. Japan (92)
• Japanese taught to prepare for any uncertain
situation  avoid any risk
• Ceremonies for all aspects of life
• Much emphasis on etiquette
• It is not accepted to have a disagreement with
your employer
• Questions only answered if the answer is
absolutely certain
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25. Challenges as an international
manager
• International team, US team members express an idea
for innovation
US team members want to go ahead immediately
Japanese team members wish to take their time to make
absolutely sure that all details are known
Solution: Create a detailed project plan which is efficient
but also has relatively low risk
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26. Long term orientation
versus
short term normative
(LTO)
Hofstede 5th Dimension

27. Long Term Orientation & Short Term
Normative
• 5th dimension
• Added in 1990s
• Confucian philosophy
• Different culture different decision
• Society  long term orientation / short term
normative.
• Long term orientation also defined as pragmatism.

28. Comparison
Long Term Orientation
• Prepare for the future
• Thrift and effort is
largely encouraged
• Ability to adapt
traditions in changed
condition
• Perseverance in
achieving result
Short Term Normative
• Tradition and norms are
more important
• View the societal change
with suspicion
• Focus on achieving quick
results instead of long
term benefit

29. Example
South
Korea？
Egypt？

30. South Korea (100)
• Society is more pragmatic and long term
orientated
• Almighty God is not familiar to South Koreans
• People guided by virtues and practical good
examples
• Serve the durability of the companies.
• Serve the stakeholders and society at large for
many generations to come.

31. Egypt (7)
• Indicates that the society is very normative
• Strong concern with establishing the absolute
Truth
• Normative in their thinking
• Exhibit great respect for traditions
• Small propensity to save for the future
• Focus on achieving quick results

32. Challenges as an international manager
• Challenges
• Egypt company Profit in three months
• South Korea company Increase in market share
after three years
• Cooperation fail  No same objective
• Understand the culture and come up with an win-win
proposal to satisfy both objective is important.

33. Indulgence vs. Restraint (IVR)
Hofstede 6th Dimension
•Added as sixth dimension in 2010.
•Less data, fewer countries.
•Not yet fully adopted within the intercultural training
and management.
•Is the data valid? (Asking participants ”how happy are
you?”.)
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34. Comparison
Indulgence
•Free gratification
•Individual happiness and
leisure time are important
•Higher % of people
declaring themselves very
happy
•Positive emotions freely
expressed and
remembered
•Loose gender roles
Restraint
•Strict social norms
•Lower % of happy people
•Positive emotions not freely
expressed
•A perception of
helplessness: what happens
to me is not my own doing
•Leisure time not given much
importance
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35. Sweden?
South Korea?

36. Sweden (78)
• Employees cannot easily be motivated with material
rewards
• Enjoying the moment rather than use time to compare to
others
• No need for status objects
• Employees encouraged to speak up
• Incentives like free time, flexible work hours and places
are effective

37. South Korea (29)
• Material reward is expected
• Employees easily feel treated unfairly
• Status objects are important
• Very hierarchical working environment, lower employees do
not voice their own opinions
• People live to work, employees are expected to work as late
as the boss
• Indulging and using too much money on yourself is thought
of as wrong

38. Challenges as an international manager
• South Korean organization in Sweden expects
employees to work overtime frequently for
higher pay
 High employee turnover rate
• Solution:
– Hire more employees so that overtime is not
necessary  flexible working hours and free time
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39. Video
Presentation of Hofstede's dimensions
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40. Conclusion
• Cultural norms play a large part in the mechanics and
interpersonal relationships of the workplace.
• Hofstede study has general approach, not individual one
• As a international manager, we need to know the culture that
adopt by the society where the company located.
• This allow us exercise our decision more easily and other will
be more willing to accept and recognized us as a manager
when the decision we made is synchronized with their
culture.
A country comparison tool can be found at the Hofstede Center.
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41. References
• http://geert-hofstede.com/dimensions.html
• http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_66.htm
• http://geert-hofstede.com/countries.html
• http://www.communicaid.com/cross-cultural-training/blog/indulgence-vs-
restraint-6th-dimension/#.VCQmNk0riUk
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42. Thank you!
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