Session 3: Disciplines

and dimensions of
culture

PhD Valeria Puga Álvarez

Discliplines: Social anthropology
One important hypothesis underlying much research into culture is the stability of a
culture’s characteristics.

Kluckholn and Strodtbeck (1961) devised a model based on responses to questions

concerning the human condition. 

Th is model, drawn from the fi eld of social anthropology, suggests that a particular
cultural grouping will display a certain orientation to the world in response to certain
questions. 
Variations in value orientations
Basic questions​ Range of responses​

What is the character of human nature? ​ Good​ A mixture of good and evil​ Evil​

What is man’s relationship to nature? ​ Man dominates​ Harmony between man and na Nature 

ture​ dominates​
What is the time focus of human activity? ​ Past ​ Present ​ Future​

What is the modality of human activity?​ Spontaneous  All-round  Achieving

expression of  development of self​ measurable 
desires ​ goals​

What is the relationship of man to man? ​ Hierarchical​ Collectivist​ Individualist​

Hofstede's national cultural dimensions
Geert Hofstede’s research in the area of culture and management is known
worldwide. 

He conducted extensive studies into national cultural differences, the first

being across employees working in subsidiaries of a multinational corporation
(IBM) in 64 countries. 

Hofstede used the results of his research to produce a comparison between

cultures on four and eventually six dimensions.
 Hofstede's six dimensions
Individual versus group orientation:
Power distance (high/low) : attitudes to ● Uncertainty avoidance (high/low):
independence and interdependence, the
authority, the distance the degree of tolerance for uncertainty
loyalty towards oneself and towards a
between individuals in a hierarchy.  or instability. 
group. 

Indulgence versus restraint: This

dimension is defined as the extent to
Masculine versus feminine
Short-term versus long-term which people try to control their desires
orientation: importance of work
orientation: fostering virtues related to and impulses, based on the way
goals (earnings, advancement) compared
the past and present or virtues related to they were raised. Relatively weak
with personal goals (co-operation,
the future.  control is called “Indulgence” and
relationships). 
relatively strong control is
called “Restraint”.
Power distance 
‘Power distance’
refers to the extent to
which members of a
culture expect and
accept that power is
unequally distributed
in society. 
Power distance in
business
• In high power distance cultures, effective managers are
essentially benevolent autocrats who are focused on the
task. 
• They are inaccessible and enjoy privileges their power
gives them.
• If things go wrong, the subordinates – who are dependent
on their superiors – are usually to blame.
 • In low power distance cultures,
Power distance in on the other hand, effective
managers are more oriented

business
towards the people in an
organisation and allow them to
participate more in making
decisions.
• The relations between
subordinates and superiors are
more horizontal than vertical:
superiors are accessible and try to
make out they are less powerful
than they are.
• If anything goes wrong, the system
is more to blame rather than the
individuals involved. 
 Relationship between the individual and
Individualism vs. the group.

collectivism
In Business, some cultures tend to be more
competitive than others.
Masculinity vs. Feminity Certain societies could be characterised as
being either assertive and competitive

(the taboo dimension) (masculine in nature), or more caring and

therefore more feminine.
Masculinity vs.
Feminity in business

• Highly masculine cultures see work as a challenge. 
• Highly feminine cultures give more attention to 
the broader picture, particularly to relationships wit
h others in the workplace.
Uncertainty avoidance
To what extent do
they prefer
predictability in their
lives, clearly
prescribed rules and
procedures in their
work? 
Resistance to
innovation or not.
Uncertainty avoidance Managers in uncertainty-avoiding
cultures would be expected to

in business maintain the rules and regulations of

an organisation, to have precise
answers to questions and to give
exact instructions.
 Managers in cultures with low
uncertainty avoidance would be
expected to uphold rules only as
absolutely necessary; managers
cannot possibly be the source of all
wisdom and may need to draw
others into their decision-making
who are more competent. 
Short-term versus long- Hofstede added the fifth dimension
on the basis of the Chinese Value

term orientation Survey developed by Michael Bond

and associates in 1987. 
He gave it the label of short-term
versus long-term orientation since
the majority of the countries are
‘unfamiliar with Confucius’s
teachings. 
Those values deemed short-term in
nature are oriented towards the past
and present and are more static; those
deemed to be long-term are oriented
towards the future and are more
dynamic.
Short-term
versus long-term
orientation
Indulgence vs.
Indulgence stands for a society that
allows relatively free gratification of
basic and natural human drives

restraint related to enjoying life and having

fun. 
Restraint stands for a society that
suppresses gratification of needs
and regulates it by means of strict
social norms.
According to Hofstede (2011), this
extra dimension was included to
cover aspects not covered by the
other five and is one known from
‘happiness research’
 Indulgence vs. restraint
Indulgent society Restrained society

Higher percentage of happy people Low percentage of happy people

A perception of personal life control A perception of helplessness
High importance of leisure Low importance of leisure
High importance of having friends Low importance of having friends
Saving is not very important  Saving is important
Less moral discipline Moral discipline
Equal sharing of household tasks Inequal sharing of household tasks
Loosely prescribed gender roles Strictly prescribed gender roles
In wealthy countries less strict sexual norms In wealthy countries, stricter sexual norms
Smiling as a norm Smiling as a suspect
Maintaining order in the nation is unimportant Maintaining order in the nation is important
China compared to US on power distance
Subordinate
If working in a
country with a
higher PDI...
Colleague
If working in a
country with a
higher PDI...
Superior
If working in a
country with a
higher PDI...
Activity in groups
Visit the Hofstede's country comparison database 
[Link]
2) Choose two countries to compare
3) What could you conclude from the results obtained through this
database about your selected countries?
4) You have 10 minutes to do this task
 Critics on the
•
Hofstede's Model
Against surveys? Culture manifests itself in so many different ways, the use
of a single method approach cannot be
considered to be a valid basis for inferring the values of respondents. 
• Representative nature of the respondents.
• Can these six dimensions really encapsulate all the complexities of a national
culture?
• Are the Hofstede’s dimensions totally independent? Or do they interact? For
example, Sinha et al. (2001), demonstrated how collectivism co-exists with
individualism in India 
• According to Fang (2003), the Chinese do not consider long-term/short-term
orientation as being opposite in nature, but instead as being ‘rather closely
interrelated with one another’ 
• There is the problem of characterising cultures which are territorially bound .
 Hofstede's response: "Candidates
are welcome to apply"

• He agrees that nations are not always appropriate units

of analysis, but they are the only sort of unit available.
• Hofstede’s reaction is, basically: if others can find
more dimensions that are independent of those he has
devised and which can be validated – fine! As he puts
it: ‘Candidates are welcome to apply’ (Hofstede, 2001:
73).