Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Us vs. India
January 19, 2013
Abstract
This article acknowledges the six dimensions of Hofstede’s theory of cultural dimensions, and defines five of them for a comparison between the United States and India. This article shows for the most part, the definitions of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions are correct, but the article did identify some ambiguities while making the comparisons. Finally, future areas of possible research were identified that would assist in the removal of the ambiguities.
Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions US vs. India
Geert Hofstede’s theory of cultural dimensions was a result of an analysis of a world-wide survey of employee values by IBM in the 1960’s and 1970’s. This theory describes the effects of a society’s culture on the values of that culture’s members and how those values relate to behavior. This is accomplished by using a structure resulting from factor analysis (Hofstede, 2011). This theory has been used as an example for several fields, particularly in cross-cultural psychology (Hofstede, 2011).
Geert Hofstede’s original cultural dimensions theory had four dimensions from which cultural values could be analyzed. These four dimensions were: (a) individualism versus collectivism (IDV); (b) uncertainty avoidance (UAI); (c) power distance (PDI); (d) masculinity versus femininity (MAS). While Hofstede was performing research in Hong Kong he added the fifth dimension, long-term orientation (LTO). In 2010, Hofstede and co-author Michael Minkov wrote “Cultures and Organizations Software of the Mind.” As a result of Minkov’s analysis from the World Value Survey, Hofstede added a sixth dimension, indulgence versus self-restraint (IVR).
In the five dimension model, a scale exists for 50 countries and 3 regions for each dimension. See Appendix A. This was later updated to 93 countries. The scale ranges approximately from 0 to 100 with each country having a position on each scale relative to the other countries (Hofstede, 2011). Using the first five
Abstract
This article acknowledges the six dimensions of Hofstede’s theory of cultural dimensions, and defines five of them for a comparison between the United States and India. This article shows for the most part, the definitions of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions are correct, but the article did identify some ambiguities while making the comparisons. Finally, future areas of possible research were identified that would assist in the removal of the ambiguities.
Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions US vs. India
Geert Hofstede’s theory of cultural dimensions was a result of an analysis of a world-wide survey of employee values by IBM in the 1960’s and 1970’s. This theory describes the effects of a society’s culture on the values of that culture’s members and how those values relate to behavior. This is accomplished by using a structure resulting from factor analysis (Hofstede, 2011). This theory has been used as an example for several fields, particularly in cross-cultural psychology (Hofstede, 2011).
Geert Hofstede’s original cultural dimensions theory had four dimensions from which cultural values could be analyzed. These four dimensions were: (a) individualism versus collectivism (IDV); (b) uncertainty avoidance (UAI); (c) power distance (PDI); (d) masculinity versus femininity (MAS). While Hofstede was performing research in Hong Kong he added the fifth dimension, long-term orientation (LTO). In 2010, Hofstede and co-author Michael Minkov wrote “Cultures and Organizations Software of the Mind.” As a result of Minkov’s analysis from the World Value Survey, Hofstede added a sixth dimension, indulgence versus self-restraint (IVR).
In the five dimension model, a scale exists for 50 countries and 3 regions for each dimension. See Appendix A. This was later updated to 93 countries. The scale ranges approximately from 0 to 100 with each country having a position on each scale relative to the other countries (Hofstede, 2011). Using the first five
References: Basabe N. & Ros M. (2005, April 4). Cultural dimensions and social behavior correlates: Individualism-Collectivism and Power Distance. Retrieved from http://www.ehu.es/pswparod/pdf/articulos/Basabe1801.pdf Hofstede G Hofstede G. (2013). THE HOFSTEDE CENTRE. Retrieved from http://geert-hofstede.com/the-hofstede-centre.html Ivancevich, J Hofstede G. (2013). THE HOFSTEDE CENTRE. Retrieved from http://geert-hofstede.com/the-hofstede-centre.html Appendix A Hofstede 5 Dimension Definitions Individualism versus collectivism is “related to the integration of individuals into primary groups” (Hofstede, 2011)