Fourth Class

THE TWO MOST RELEVANT POINTS FOR ME 

1. Hofstede initial dimensions

• Power Distance, PDI:

To evaluate this dimension they asked the employees the tendency to disagree with the boss.

Power distance is the difference across occupations, education and income.  Its how high or low the power is distributed unequally within a society.

Countries with High PDI such as Russia, some Arab Countries, Japan, among others tend to have authoritarian values, tend to be real traditional, there is centralization at work, subordinates except to be told what to do and there is  a wide salary range between subordinates and managers, or people with a higher position within an enterprise.  In the other hand, countries with Low PDI such as Sweden, Austria or Denmark there is un-authoritatian values, inequality is minimized, superiors and subordinates are the same kind of people, there is a decentralization at work and there is a narrow salary range.

• Uncertainty Avoidance, UAI:

"The extend to which the members of a culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations"

Uncertainty Avoidance is  correlated to power distance with some countries. It correlates with age: the older you get, the most uncertain becomes an issue and the less tolerant you are.

Between countries with a high UAI we have Belguim, Switzerland and Germany.  These countries ten to have higher stress and anxiety, they express their emotions normal, are subjectively less happy, there is a more resistance to change, they need clarity and a structure, fear for failure, precision and punctuality comes naturally and they are task oriented (According to Erin Meyer, in countries that are task oriented work relationships are built and drop easily, and trust is built through business-realties activities).

Contrary with this, countries with a low UAI such as Colombia and many african countries tend to have lower stress and anxiety, emotions are controlled, we are subjectively happier, there is a less resistance to change, we are comfortable with ambiguity and chaos, there is a hope for success, precision and punctuality have to be learned and managed and we are relationship oriented (According to Erin Meyer, in relationship oriented countries, trust is built through sharing meals, evening drinks, and visits at the coffee machine and work relationships build up slowly over the long term).

• Individualism vs. Collectivism, IDV:

Individualism stands for a society in which the ties between individuals are loose and in collectivism, people from a specific society are more integrated to their own groups and to be more cooperative with others.

Individualist cultures such as United States and Western Europe, look after him/herself and emphasize personal achievement resulting in a  strong sense of competition.

• Masculinity and Femininity, MAS:

Masculanity stands for a society in which social gender roles are very distinct. men are supposed to be assertive, tough and focused on material success and woman are supposed to be more modest, tender and concerned with the quality of life.  Femininity, in the other hand, stands for a society in which social gender roles overlap, both men and woman are supposed to be modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life.

• Long vs Short Term Orientation, LTO

Long term orientation is when the fostering of virtues are oriented towards future rewards and short term orientation is the fostering of virtues related to the past and present, in particular respect for tradition, perseveration of face and fulfilling social obligations.

RESEARCH QUESTION

What is FACE? Is it important to have this concept into account?

"FACE" is a concept that means the reputation and image you have and its shown to others. It can be molded and shaped by the actions of others your own.   The concept of face or image we hold for the other person differ in importance from culture to culture. in cultures such as Chinese, loosing face in public is seemed as a very bad thing and can destroy a relationship for sure, however there are other cultures that loosing face in public is not semed as bad.