Indulgence vs Restraint Indulgence is the last dimension in Hofstede’s cultural model. It refers to the degree to which a culture allows human nature to direct its behavior. Indulgence is related to basic needs. It indicates the extent to which a society pays attention to these drives. If a society highly values…
Read MoreCultural Differences: Business Etiquette Part 2 Cultural differences affect business communications and define business etiquette according to social rules and norms within a certain culture. On the other hand, globalization has brought cultures closer, blurring the borders between cultural norms. Instead, people now have to understand the environment in which they word…
Read MoreCultural Differences: Business Etiquette part 1 Cultural differences become heightened when people from different nations or even organizations come together to do business, making business etiquette an essential knowledge. National cultures usually dominate business environment, unless their environment involves international interactions. Multinational organizations employ people from different countries. On the other hand,…
Read MoreBasic psychological needs In his book, Choice Theory, William Glasser introduces four basic psychological needs and explains how people make choices to meet one or more of these needs. He also elaborates on how the degree of these needs can affect behavior and in turn relationships. His work can help us better…
Read MoreHofstede’s long term orientation Long term orientation is the fifth dimension in Hofstede’s cultural model. It is defined as the extent to which a society looks forward to the future rather than resorting to the past to solve the problems in the present or the future. Making decisions based on past experiences…
Read Moreuncertainty avoidance and culture The fourth component in Hofstede’s cultural dimensions refers to how cultures deal with uncertainty. The uncertainty avoidance index ranges from uncertainty tolerant to cultures avoiding under certainty. The more a society welcomes uncertainty and is able to tolerate it, the more uncertainty tolerant it is. This dimension shows…
Read MoreMasculinity and Culture As an aspect of a culture, masculinity indicates the degree to which a society leans towards masculine characteristics. Masculinity is a dimension in Hofstede’s cultural model, which can help us better understand cultures. A high score on this dimension indicates the adoption of more masculine traits than feminine ones.…
Read MoreIndividualism vs Collectivism National cultures direct and affect the behaviors of their members, especially in terms of their level of individualism. According to Hofstede’s cultural model, a national culture may encourage individualism or emphasize collectivism. This, clarifies society’s values and priorities with regards to personal vs group needs and wishes. Individualism refers…
Read MorePower Distance Index Power distance index is a dimension in culture that explains the degree of acceptability of uneven distribution of power in the society or the organization in Geert Hofstede’s cultural model. The continuum forms a range from low to high power distance index, with scores from zero to 120. As…
Read MoreHofstede’s Cultural Dimensions In order to better understand cultural differences, I decided to introduce Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. As we set foot in the business world, we immediately notice cultural differences while others seem to be closer to home. In some cases, countries of the same region tend to show similarities in culture…
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