Measuring Culture
Hofstede’s Cultural Indices
Hofstede studied over 90,000 people in 66 countries
and found that cultures differ along five dimensions:
1.Individualism/Collective Index (IDV)
2.Power Distance Index (PDI)
3.Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI)
4.Masculinity/Femininity Index (MAS)
5.Long-Term Orientation Index (LTO)
Individualism/Collectivism
• Identity focuses on the degree the
society reinforces individual or
collective achievement and
interpersonal relationships.
Power Distance
Power distance focuses on the
degree of equality or inequality
between people in the country or
society.
Masculinity/Femininity
Gender focuses on the degree of
traditional gender roles of
achievement, control, and power.
Long-Term Orientation
Time focuses on the degree the
society embraces long- or short-term
devotion to traditional forward
thinking values.
Uncertainty Avoidance
Uncertainty focuses on the level of
avoidance or tolerance for
uncertainty and ambiguity within the
society.
Summary
Culture One Extreme The Other Extreme
Dimension
Identity Individualism Collectivism
Power High Power Distance Low Power Distance
Gender Masculinity Femininity
Time Long-Term Orientation Short-Term Orientation
Uncertainty Uncertainty Avoidance Uncertainty Tolerance
Criticism of Hofstede’s Study
• Assumes one-to-one correspondence
between culture and nation-state, while
countries have more than one culture
• Researchers were either Europeans or
Americans
• Limited to single industry
• Cultures are dynamic
Hofstede’s Spain
Spain and Canada
Edward T. Hall
High vs Low Context Cultures
• The way that individuals react to each
other in their daily lives
• High Context
– Close connections over a period of time
• Low Context
– Superficial relationships of short duration
Characteristics of Low/High Context
Low Context High Context
Crucial for Explicit information, External environment,
Communication blunt communication, situation, and nonverbal
little reliance on communication is
nonverbal important
communication
Relationships Short duration Long duration,
personal, mutual
involvement
Agreements Written, final, litigious Spoken, flexible,
changing
Insiders vs. Difficult to identify; Easy to identify
Outsiders outsiders can
relatively easily
become insiders
Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner
Specific vs Diffuse Cultures
• Specific Cultures
– Low Context
– Tasks and roles are limited to the context
• Diffuse Cultures
– High Context
– Tasks and roles extend into all contexts
Specific vs Diffuse Cultures
Specific vs Diffuse Cultures
Monochronic vs Polychronic
• Monochronic
– Time is sequential (straight line)
– Tasks are completed one at a time
– Schedules are structured and rigid
• Polychronic
– Several activities occur at the same time
– Easily distracted
– Schedules are not important
THE END