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Power distance -

This dimension measures how people accept and expect a distance in power from their bosses and politicians. For instance, the American dream adheres to values of low power distance. Cast systems would score high in this category.

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Power distance - If you open an office in Japan, you should recognize you are operating in a hierarchical, deferential, and traditionally patriarchal society.

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Power distance -

Latin American and Asian countries show very high in the dimension of power distance. By contrast, in Germanic countries, generally, the score is low.

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Power distance -

Malaysia scores the highest in power distance. According to the model, team members in Malaysia will not initiate action and instead expect to be guided and directed to complete work tasks. If the person in power doesn’t take charge, it’s assumed that the job is unimportant.

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Masculinity vs. femininity -

Masculinity represents values such as assertiveness, competition, and achievement. Femininity represents values such as co-operation, sensitivity, and empathy.

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Masculinity vs. femininity -

Masculinity is very low in Nordic countries, with Norway scoring eight and Sweden scoring five out of 100. The UK scores relatively high (65), and Japan scores exceptionally high (95).

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Masculinity vs. femininity -

Latin American countries differ in this dimension. For example, Venezuela scores 73, and Chile scores 28 in Masculinity.

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Individualism vs. collectivism -

This is a dimension that receives a lot of attention due to its political nature.

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Individualism vs. collectivism -

This dimension measures how people are expected to take care of themselves as opposed to taking care of other members of society.

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Individualism vs. collectivism -

For example, in countries scoring low in individualism, a marketing campaign that emphasizes benefits to the community would likely be understood and well-received.

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Individualism vs. collectivism -

China is a collective society. In China, there is a win-win culture of doing business. You would never negotiate in your first business meeting. Business there is based on relationships where both parties benefit. The term given to this practice is Guanxi.

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Individualism vs. collectivism -

On the other hand, countries like Portugal, Serbia, and Malaysia score low and are considered to be collectivist.

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Individualism vs. collectivism -

The US scores the highest in the individualism dimension (91), while Australia scores second-highest (90), followed by the UK (89).

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Long-term vs. short-term orientation -

A high score suggests a societal value of norms and tradition, along with societal change being viewed with suspicion.

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Long-term vs. short-term orientation -

High long-term orientation scores are typically attributed to countries throughout East Asia, with South Korea having the highest possible score (100).

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Long-term vs. short-term orientation -

In business in high scoring countries regarding long-term orientation, the idea is not to make profits quarterly but to serve stakeholders and society for generations.

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Long-term vs. short-term orientation -

Societies that score low in this dimension are open to changes, young people are respected, and originality is significantly valued. Jamaica and Singapore score low in this dimension. Japan and France score the highest in this dimension.

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Long-term vs. short-term orientation -

The US scores low in long-term orientation. This is reflected in the importance of short-term gains and quick results (profit and loss statements are quarterly, for example).

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Uncertainty avoidance -

This dimension is a measurement of how society feels comfortable with uncertainty. Societies with high scores in this dimension are less tolerant of individuals who engage in risky behavior such as gambling.

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Uncertainty avoidance -

In the dimension of uncertainty avoidance, Germany and Belgium score high, and neighboring countries Sweden and Denmark score low, despite geographical closeness.

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Uncertainty avoidance -

In schools in Germany, for example, classes are rigidly planned. In the lower-scoring countries, teachers are not seen as all-knowing and learning is a more open process.

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Indulgence vs. restraint -

Latin American countries, African countries, and Northern European countries score high in the dimension known as indulgence. Restraint is associated with East Asia, Eastern Europe, and Russia.

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Indulgence vs. restraint -

Hofstede argues that in countries characterized by a restrained culture, there is a tendency towards pessimism. People also put less emphasis on leisure time.

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Catholic countries -

On average, predominantly Catholic countries score very high in uncertainty avoidance, score relatively high in power distance, score moderate in masculinity, and relatively low individualism.

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Atheist countries -

Predominantly atheist countries have low uncertainty avoidance, moderate masculinity, and are less individualistic than Catholic counties. Fun fact: the Czech Republic has the highest number of atheists in the world.

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Taken with a pinch of salt -

It should be noted that the majority of people that were originally surveyed for this study in 1967 were privileged males working as engineers or sales personnel in one of the world’s most elite organizations.

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It's not perfect, but it's the best we've got -

Studies have continued in this field for the past 50 years, and now the literature is much more balanced to include women and minorities, for example. The index is far from perfect, but it's still the most comprehensive cross-cultural theory.

Sources: (Hofstede Insights)(Mind Tools)

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