-------------- BHARGAVI NIKITHA

Equivocal Definitions of culture by Hofstede A collective programming of the mind which distinguishes one group from another Mental programming patterns of thinking and feeling and potential acting

CULTURE INCLUDES:
Learning values (dominant beliefs

and attitudes), Partaking of rituals (collective activities), Modeling against heroes (role models), and Understanding symbols (myths, legends, dress, jargon, lingo)

Power Distance Individualism/Collectivism Uncertainty Avoidance Masculinity/ Feminity

The study comprised 116,000 questionnaires, from which over 60,000 people responded from over 50 countries. Hofstede worked with IBM. From this he identified four bipolar dimensions

 Introduced a fifth element Confucian Dynamism or Long/Short Term Orientation, which was an attempt to fit the uncertainty avoidance dimension into the Asian culture

Definition Problems Methodological Simplicity Equivalency

four dimensions: functional, conceptual, instrument and measurement equivalence

1.
2. 3. 4.

5.

Power Distance Individualism vs. Collectivism Masculinity vs. Femininity Uncertainty Avoidance Long Term Orientation

...the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally.

Individualist societies: ties are loose and everyone looks out for himself or herself Collectivist societies: people integrated into strong, cohesive groups; protection is exchanged for loyalty

Centrality of work Ways of managing & decision making Fem: equality, solidarity, quality of work life Mas: equity, compete, performance Conflict resolution

the extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations. NOT the same as risk avoidance Presence of rules

Short-term orientation Social pressure to keep up with the Joneses small savings expect quick results concern with possessing Truth

Long-term orientation Thrift: being sparing with resources large savings perseverance toward slow results concern with respecting the demands of Virtue

Relevancy Cultural Homogeneity National Divisions Political Influences One Company Approach Out-dated Too Few Dimensions Statistical integrity

 Relevance Rigour Relative

Accuracy

 Power

Distance; Individualism/Collectivism; Masculinity/ Feminity Uncertainty Avoidance;

To conclude, more research is needed to capture the shifting cultural maps which are influenced by, and influence, globalization and technology, however this is difficult to achieve and may have temporal value. As a result the work of Hofstede will continue to have value now and into the future