Culture Dimensions: Hofstede

Transcription

1 Culture Dimensions: Hofstede 1. Hofstede study Objective: Evaluate work values, as he was an HRM person with IBM. 116,000 questionnaires 60,000 respondents (employees in IBM subsidiaries) 70 countries 40 countries used for further analysis ( for reasons of stability of the data ) IBM offices in the original data collection, o All IBM = same organizational policies and culture o Any variations would represent country or cultural differences. Hofstede uses Nationality to reflect culture o Hofstede argues that this is acceptable. o Members of a nation share similar language, religion, history, institutional systems, identity. Created 5 dimensions assigned on relative indexes o Hofstede took the responses by a nation and computed a mean score for each country. o He used these national mean scores for research at the individual/group level research. Table 1 Hofstede s Four Cultural Dimensions: Power Distance Extent to which power is distributed unequally and accepted among members. High measure on Power Distance Index (PDI) means large separation in superior/subordinate relationships, no room for questioning. Follows orders of superior. Individualism vs. Collectivist cultures show high need to belong Collectivism Works harmoniously with the group/team (immediate family concern). Shows respect for way things are done. Collectivist societies expect loyalty from the group In return, individual looks after the family ( Uncertainty Avoidance Masculinity vs. Femininity protecting it, upholding its values and way of doing things. How much a society wants to control risk of failure. High UAI o Willingness to accept dealing with new, novel unknown situations. Societies that score high show a need for social norms and order. Comfort results from formal rules and procedures. Societies that score high on masculinity show very clearly distinct gender roles. Men are assertive, tough, and focused on material goals, fight it out. Femininity refers to softer approach, based on relationships helping others. Femininity also refers to societies in which the gender roles overlap. Hofstede Hofstede, Geert (1991). Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, London: McGraw-Hill International (UK) Limited.

2 Power Distance Questions Power Distance Extent to which power is distributed equally among members. High measure on Power Distance Index (PDI) means large separation in superior/subordinate relationships, No room for questioning. Follows orders of superior. 1. How frequently, in your experience, does the following problem occur: employees being afraid to express disagreement with their managers? 1- None of these 2- Very Seldom 3- Seldom 4- Frequently 5- Very Frequently Mean score on a scale from Subordinates perception of their boss s actual decision-making style. 1- None of these 2- Very Paternalistic 3- Paternalistic 4- Autocratic 5- Very Autocratic Percentage choosing one of the above. 3. Subordinates preference for their boss s decision-making style a. Paternalistic b. Autocratic Percentage preferring an autocratic or a paternalistic style, or, on the contrary, a style based on majority vote, but not a consultative style. Individualism vs. Collectivism Questions Individualism vs. Collectivism Collectivist cultures show high need to belong Works harmoniously with the group/team (immediate family concern). Shows respect for way things are done. Collectivist societies expect loyalty from the group In return, individual looks after the family ( protecting it, upholding its values and way of doing things. Hofstede asked 14 work goals questions. He asked:..how important is it to you to followed by 14 items, each scored on a 1 5 scale (1=utmost importance to me). Hofstede found the Individualism vs. collectivism dimension to be most strongly associated with the relative importance attached to the following work goal items. For the individualist pole: 1. Personal time: Have a job, which leaves you sufficient time for your personal or family life. 2. Freedom: Have considerable freedom to adopt your own approach to the job. 3. Challenge: Have challenging work do to work from which you can achieve a personal sense of accomplishment. If the IBM employees in a country scored work goal (1) as relatively important, they generally also scored (2) and (3) as important, but (4), (5), and (6) as unimportant. Such a country was considered individualist. For the opposite, collectivist pole: 4. Training: Have training opportunities (to improve your skills or learn new skills). 5. Physical conditions: Have good physical working conditions (good ventilation and lighting, adequate work space, etc.). 6. Use of skills: Fully use your skills and abilities on the job. (4), (5), and (6) were scored as relatively more important, when. (1) was scored as relatively unimportant, and the same for (2) and (3), Such a country was considered collectivist. (p. 52)

3 Uncertainty Avoidance Uncertainty Avoidance How much a society wants to control risk of failure. High UAI o Willingness to accept dealing with new, novel unknown situations. Societies that score high show a need for social norms and order. Comfort results from formal rules and procedures. Hofstede asked various questions about job stress. 1. Job stress, as described above (mean score on the 1-5 scale) 2. Rule Orientation: Agreement with the statement: Company rules should not be broken even when the employee thinks it is in the company s best interest Mean score on a 1-5 scale. 3. Percentage of employees expressing their intent to stay with the company for a long-term career. The question was: How long do you think you will continue working for IBM? a. Two years at the most. b. From two to five years. c. More than five years (but I probably will leave before I retire). d. Until I retire. The percentage in a country answering (3) or (4) is correlated with the mean answers on questions (1) and (2). Masculinity Index Masculinity vs. Femininity Societies that score high on masculinity show very clearly distinct gender roles. Men are assertive, tough, and focused on material goals, fight it out. Femininity refers to softer approach, based on relationships helping others. Femininity also refers to societies in which the gender roles overlap. Hofstede asked a set of 14 work goals in the IBM questionnaire: Try to think of those factors that would be important to you in an ideal job; disregard the extent to which they are contained in your present job. The analysis of the answers to the 14 work goals items produced two underlying dimensions. One was individualism versus collectivism: the important of personal time, freedom, and challenge stood for individualism, the importance of training, physical conditions, and use of skills stood for collectivism. The second dimension came to be labeled masculinity vs. femininity. It was associated most strongly with the importance attached to: For the masculine pole: 1. Earnings: Have an opportunity for high earnings. 2. Recognition: Get the recognition you deserve when you do a good job. 3. Advancement: Have an opportunity for advancement to higher-level jobs. 4. Challenge: Have challenging work do to work from which you can get a personal sense of accomplishment. For the Opposite, Feminine pole: 5. Manager: Have a good working relationship with your direct superior. 6. Cooperation: Work with people who cooperate well with one another. 7. Living area: Live in an area desirable to you and your family 8. Employment Have the security that you will be able to work for your company as long as Security you want to.

4 Individualism Index

5 Power Distance Index

6 Masculinity Index

7 Uncertainty Avoidance