The three countries chosen for this paper are Jordan, Japan, and Germany. These three countries were chosen because they are among the most developed in their own specific regions. Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions helped establish a positive framework for cross-cultural communications; in fact, part of his theories are implemented in every major international business course in the world. Hofstede’s model is based on six dimensions: the power-distance index, individualism vs collectivism, the uncertainty avoidance index, masculinity vs femininity, long-term orientation vs short-term orientation, and indulgence vs restraint. Each country and each culture has very different levels of these dimensions; understanding this is vital when seeking to understand communication between different cultures.
The power dimension refers to the degree in which less powerful members of society accept that power is distributed unequally; in addition, it shows the expectation of unequal power within society. In Jordan, the power-distance dimension is rated at seventy (Geert Hofstede Centre, 2010 C). In Germany, the level is at thirty-five; Japan is at fifty-four. The higher the power-distance dimension, the more hierarchal the society. Middle Eastern societies are often considered to be increasingly hierarchal, which makes sense in this case. Japan is not as hierarchal as other countries in Asia, though they are still considerate of hierarchical social cues. Lower power-distance dimensions are typical of cultures where power/control is disliked, which is consistent with German culture.
The second dimension is the battle between individualism and collectivism. The lower the score, the more collective the society is. Collective means that individuals think more in terms of “we” than “I”. Jordan has a score of thirty, making it very collective. In this society , all individuals work together to promote the common good. Germany, on the other hand, scores a sixty-seven in this dimension. Here, the focus is on the parent-child relationship rather than the relationship between the child and the entire extended family. In addition, individualistic cultures value self-actualization highly. Japan scores a forty-six (Geert Hofstede Centre, 2010 B), which is more individualistic than other Asian cultures. There are various reasons for this difference, notably that Japanese society is paternalistic.
The third dimension is the masculinity index. A high score means a society is more masculine, which means competition is highly encouraged within the society. These societies value success and achievement. A low score, or a feminine society, values nurturing and caring qualities. Japan has an exceedingly high masculinity at ninety-five points, but its competition is primarily group based, such as companies. Jordan has a relatively low score of forty-five (Geert Hofstede Centre, 2010 C), reflecting its need for consensus throughout society. Germany’s score is sixty-five, and from an early age, German children are taught to seek success through the school system. Status is proudly shown in this society.
Moving on, the fourth dimension is uncertainty avoidance. Not every culture values risk in the same way as others, which is perhaps one of the most interesting aspect of international management and cross-cultural communication. This dimension measures the extent that members of a society feel uncomfortable with not being able to predict the future. Germany has a higher score of sixty-five, which marks it as a country that prefers to avoid uncertainty. Germans compensate for low levels of uncertainty by cooperation and relying on previous experience to make decisions. Japan has a massive score of ninety-two, making it one of the most uncertainty avoidant countries in the world. Some attribute this to the high volume of natural disasters that Japan faces, but Japanese society is highly dependent upon rituals, making it clear that this is a societal value. Finally, Jordan has a score of sixty-five, making it very similar to Germany in this aspect (Geert Hofstede Centre, 2010 A).
The fifth dimension is long-term orientation vs short-term orientation. This describes how well society maintains its links with the past while dealing with the uncertainty of the future. Jordan has a very low score of sixteen (Geert Hofstede Centre, 2010 C), meaning that the country has a very strong normative culture. This means that the country’s people depends largely on traditions and respects those traditions. Germany has a score of eighty-three, making it fairly pragmatic in its approach. Germans therefore are expected to change depending upon the situation. Japanese society has a rating of eighty-eight. This reflects their long-term thinking, as many Japanese see themselves as only a short part of the history of the world. Even corporations see themselves as making a better world in the long-term, reflecting this mentality.
The final dimension is indulgence. This is the extent to which people try to control their impulses and desires based on the way that they were raised. Weak control is referred to as indulgence, which strong control is called restraint in this dimension. Japan has a score of forty-two, making it a culture of restraint. This is reflected in Japan’s long history of ritualized traditions, making it a symptom of culture. German culture scores a forty, also making it a restrained culture. This is reflected in the German attitude of time and efficiency, and also in their focus on organization. Jordan has a score of forty-three (Geert Hofstede Centre, 2010 C), making all three countries similar in this aspect.
No country shares a close similarity with the United States. The US is very indulgent, has a short-term orientation, does not seek to avoid uncertainty, is relatively masculine, highly individualistic, and has a low power distance. The US therefore shares relatively little aspects in common with any of the countries, but the one that is most similar is likely to be Germany, followed by Japan as a result of the power distance aspects. The differences of the US in its indulgence and individualistic dimension are absolutely striking and perhaps show the greatest difference in culture of all.
References:
Geert Hofstede Centre. (2010, JuneA). Germany - Geert Hofstede. Retrieved January 30, 2017, from https://geert-hofstede.com/germany.html
Geert Hosftede Centre. (2010, JuneB). Japan - Geert Hofstede. Retrieved January 30, 2017, from https://geert-hofstede.com/japan.html
Geert Hofstede Centre. (2010, JuneC). Jordan - Geert Hofstede. Retrieved January 30, 2017, from https://geert-hofstede.com/jordan.html
