Overview of Hofstede’s “Four Dimensions of National Culture”
Hofstede’s four dimensions of national culture or the cultural dimensions theory refer to the framework developed by Geert Hofstede. Hofstede completed one of the most researches relevant to the effects of the culture of a nation or society on its members. The four dimensions of national culture comprise the specific dimensions or traits that provide differentiations among various cultures. The research conducted by Hofstede provided several aspects of the effects of culture on individuals belonging to different societies in the workplace. Hofstede analyzed and evaluated the data collected from the employee database of IBM from 1967 to 1973. The database comprised information relevant to more than 70 countries. Hofstede concluded that the values or factors that provided distinctions among cultures comprised four separate dimensions or categories. He devised the four dimensions of national culture comprising Power Distance (PI), Masculinity versus Femininity (MAS), Individualism versus Collectivism (IDV), and Uncertainty Avoidance (UA).
Power distance (PI) refers to the extent that les powerful members of the culture or an organization accept that power distribution is not equal in their respective culture. Societies that have higher power distribution are not equally distributed. Masculinity vs. Femininity refers to the fact that how much distribution takes place between the emotional roles of genders. In cultures where both the genders have equal role them this ratio remains more or less the same. Individualism vs. collectivism focuses on the fact that how much individuals integrate within a certain group. In individual societies, an individual is responsible for his or her own deed that is why they disregard the collective family culture. Finally, Uncertainty avoidance (UI) refers to the fact that how much uncertain or ambiguous a society is with respective to different scenarios prevalent in a culture.
Work Cited
Peng, M. Global business. Mason: Cengage Learning, 2013.
