Which of the following according to Hofstede is a characteristic of societies with high power distance?
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Geert Hofstede, in his pioneer study looking at differences in culture across modern nations, identified four dimensions of cultural values: individualism-collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity-femininity. Working with researcher Michael Bond, Hofstede later added a fifth dimension with called dynamic Confucianism, or long-term orientation. According to Hofstede’s research, people, in individualistic societies, are expected to care for themselves and their immediate families only; while in collectivist cultures, people view themselves as members of larger groups, including extended family members, and are expected to take responsibility in caring for each other. With regards to power distance, different countries have varying levels of accepting the distribution of unequal power. Uncertainty avoidance takes into consideration that the “extent to which a society feels threatened by uncertain and ambiguous situations.” Then, masculinity-femininity examines the dominant values of a culture and determines where these values land on a spectrum in which “masculine” is associated with assertiveness, the acquisition of money and things, as well as not caring for others. Finally, long-term orientation looks at the extent to which a society considers respect for tradition and fulfilling social obligations; some future-oriented values are persistence and thrift. Hofstede’s cultural dimensions have formed a fundamental framework for viewing others. International business people, psychologists, communications researchers, and diplomats all benefit from Hofstede’s work, as well as everyone else. Utilizing these interpretative frameworks leads to a greater understanding of ourselves and others. To see differences across cultures more clearly, we compiled a list of illustrations of Hofstede’s concepts in action.
“Sierra Leone” by Annie Spratt. Public Domain via Unsplash.
“Xi’an Bell Tower, Xi’an, China” by Lin Qiang. Public Domain via Unsplash.
Featured image credit: “Mexico, Puebla, Cuetzalan” by CrismarPerez. Public Domain via Pixabay. Cassandra Gill is a marketing coordinator for Oxford University Press. Information for this post was sourced from Meina Liu’s article, “Verbal Communication Styles and Culture” in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication. Our Privacy Policy sets out how Oxford University Press handles your personal information, and your rights to object to your personal information being used for marketing to you or being processed as part of our business activities. We will only use your personal information to register you for OUPblog articles. Or subscribe to articles in the subject area by email or RSS What are some of the characteristics that societies with achievement orientation value most?Achievement-oriented societies value assertiveness, performance, and success and are results-oriented.
Is the term used by Hofstede to describe a situation in which the dominant values in society are caring for others and the quality of life?Masculinity is defined as “a situation in which the dominant values in society are success, money, things and femininity as a situation in which the dominant values in society are caring for others and the quality of life” (Hofstede 1980).
What dimension of national culture measures the degree to which people believe that authority is not distributed equally?Power distance is one of five cultural dimensions developed by Geert Hofstede. It basically measures how a culture views power relationships between people. Cultures demonstrating high power distance view power as distributed unevenly, according to a hierarchy of authority.
What kind of structure reflects the traditional system of relationships established between people and groups in a society?Social structure refers to the pattern of social relationships in a society. Such structure regulates the interactions among members of the society, providing guidelines within the cultural norms for achieving the goals defined by cultural values.
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