Cross Cultural Differences and Similarities

Now let’s turn our attention to differences and similarities in behavior across cultures. Culture is the set of shared values, often taken for granted, that help people in a group, organization, or society understand which actions are considered acceptable and which are deemed unacceptable.

Geert Hofstede, a Dutch researcher, studied workers and managers in 60 countries and found that specific attitudes and behaviors differed significantly because of the values and beliefs that characterized those countries.

The two primary dimensions that Hofstede found are the individualism/collectivism continuum and power distance. Individualism exists to the extent that people in a culture define themselves primarily as individuals rather than as part of one or more groups or organizations. Collectivism, on the other hand, is characterized by tight social frameworks in which people tend to base their identities on the group or organization to which they belong.

Power distance, which might also be called orientation to authority, is the extent to which people accept as normal an unequal distribution of power. Uncertainty avoidance, which might also be called preference for stability, is the extent to which people feel threatened by unknown situations and prefer to be in clear and unambiguous situations.

Masculinity, which might be more accurately called assertiveness or materialism, is the extent to which the dominant values in a society emphasize aggressiveness and the acquisition of money and other possessions as opposed to concern for people, relationships among people, and overall quality of life.

The important issue to remember at this point is that people from diverse cultures value things differently from each other and that people need to take these differences into account as they work.