 Culture is a set of beliefs or standards, shared
by a group of people, which help the
individual decide what is, what can be, how to
feel, what to do and how to go about doing it

 Language
 Nationality
 Sex
 Education
 Profession
 Ethnic group
 Religion
 Social class
 Corporate culture
 Family

 Hofstede’s studies of the interactions
between national cultures and organizational
cultures demonstrated that there are national
and regional cultural groupings that affect
the behaviors of societies and organizations,
and that are very persistent across time

 Low and High Power Distance
 Individual and collectivism
 Masculinity v/s Femininity
 Uncertainty avoidance
 Long and short term orientation

 Low vs High Power Distance:
The extent to which the less powerful
members of institutions and organizations
expect and accept that power is distributed
unequally Low PD (Austria, Israel, Denmark,
New Zealand) expect power relations which
are more consultative or democratic.A sense
of equality as human beings prevades High
PD (Malaysia): autocratic and paternalistic
structures. Power is centralized

 Individualism vs. Collectivism:
Refers to the extent to which people are expected to
stand up for themselves and to chose their own
affiliations, or alternatively act predominantly as a
member of a life-long group or organization
 In individual societies: people tend to be motivated
by personal preferences, needs and rights; personal
goals and rational analysis take precedence
 In collectivist societies: people tend to be motivated
by norms and duties imposed by the group; ingroup
goals and relational analysis takes precedence

 Masculinity vs. Femininity
Refers to the value placed on traditionally
male or female values
 Masculine cultures: competitiveness,
assertiveness, ambition, personal
achievement accumulation of wealth
 Feminine cultures: caring for others,
nurturing roles, quality of life.

 Uncertainty Avoidance:
The extent to which members of a society
attempt to cope with anxiety by minimizing
uncertainty.
 High UA societies: avoidance of ambiguous
situations, preference of known stable
situations, uncertainty-reducing rules and
procedures
 Low UA societies: ambiguity is more
accepted.Uncertainty = opportunity. People as
individualsare the engine of change

 Long vs. ShortTerm Orientation:
Describes a society’s “time horizon,” or the
importance attached to the future versus the
past and present
 LT societies: values include persistence,
ordering relationships by status, thrift, having a
sense of shame (China, Japan, Asian countries)
 ST societies: values include personal steadiness
and stability, normative statements, protecting
one’s face, respect for traditions, and
reciprocation of greetings, favors and gifts
(Western nations)