Globalization is nowadays evidential in nearly every aspect of life. It can be shortly described “as the world is getting smaller”[1]. “The term describes the growing political, social, cultural, economic and technological interconnectedness and interdependence of the world today. As communication technologies advance, cultures continue to overlap and influence each other.”[2] What are the differences especially in cultural dimensions in countries like Germany and the United States? Geert Hofstede, Professor for Organizational Anthropology and International Management[3], already tried to define cultural difference in the 1970s with a survey among IBM employees. The interesting thing about that was that the survey was not answered by IBM employees but by the citizens of the country. This experiment let Hofstede to the conclusion that cultural differences can be defined in four different cultural dimensions: Power Distance, Masculinity vs. Feminism, Individualism vs. Collectivism and Uncertainty Avoidance.
Power Distance describes the gap between bosses and subordinates; Masculinity refers to the difference between emotions and facts, the third dimension deals with the behavior in groups and as individualists and finally the culture of avoiding uncertainty which can result in strict rules and many laws of a country.
The Research paper on Cultural Differences Literature Review
Cultural differences between John and Ahmad are a source of conflict between the two parties; the misunderstanding arises from the individual perspectives on their culture. Based on the case study, the ability of John and Ahmad to apologize to each other yields the bargaining power between the parties involved, and enable them to come to an agreement. Appreciating the cultural diversity between ...
Can this survey of Hofstede also be applied nowadays? Is his approach to cultural differences still up to date? This assignment chapter tries to identify Hofstede’s cultural dimensions in today’s situation as the new jobholder in the United States and try to apply them on the contents of them.
Differences between Germany and United States
As on Hofstede´s homepage stated the biggest difference between the German and the United States culture are Power Individualism (IDV) and uncertainty avoidance (UAI) as seen in the charts below.
The analysis for the United States is very comparable to other countries that have their inheritance founded in Europe with strong ties to the British Isles like Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Individualism ranks highest and is a significant factor in the life of U.S. Americans. The low ranking of Long-term Orientation reflects a freedom in the culture from long-term traditional commitments, which allows greater flexibility and the freedom to react quickly to new opportunities. More or less are only seven countries in the Geert Hofstede research that have Individualism (IDV) as their highest Dimension there are USA (91), Australia (90), United Kingdom (89), Netherlands and Canada (80), and Italy (76).
The high Individualism (IDV) ranking for the United States indicates a society with a more individualistic attitude and relatively loose bonds with others. The populace is more self-reliant and looks out for themselves and their close family members. The United States and Germany can both be regarded as individualistic countries.
However the index of the United States is much higher than of Germany, meaning that the Americans are more open for new things than German. The next highest Hofstede Dimension is Masculinity (MAS) with a ranking of 62, compared to Germany with of 66. This indicates the country experiences a higher degree of gender differentiation of roles. The male dominates a significant portion of the society and power structure. This situation generates a female population that becomes more assertive and competitive, with women shifting toward the male role model and away from their female role. The United States was included in the group of countries that had the Long Term Orientation (LTO) Dimension added.
The Term Paper on Should All Higher Education Be Government Funded As In Many Countries In Europe
Should all Higher Education be Government Funded as in Many Countries in Europe? Education plays a very important role in our lives. Everyone is getting educated since the day he/she is born. There is a rapidly growing demand for a higher education in the world today. Although a higher education is difficult to receive, the rewards of self-improvement, job insurance, a development of character, ...
The LTO is the lowest Dimension for the US at 29, compared to Germany of 31. This low LTO ranking is indicative of the societies’ belief in meeting its obligations and tends in both countries to reflect an appreciation for cultural traditions. The next lowest ranking Dimension for the United States is Power Distance (PDI) at 41, compared to the lowest in Germany of 35. This is indicative of a greater equality between societal levels, including government, organizations, and even within families. This orientation reinforces a cooperative interaction across power levels and creates a more stable cultural environment. The last Geert Hofstede Dimension for the United States is Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI), with a ranking of 46, compared to Germany of 65. A low ranking in the Uncertainty Avoidance Dimension is indicative of a society that has fewer rules and does not attempt to control all outcomes and results. Germany scores 65 on a scale from 0-100 on uncertainty avoidance is pretty high compared to the United States score of 46. Although Germans for example do a vast amount of investing, they do so with a great deal of caution and particularly have stayed away from the hedge market.
How should we compare the US and Germany as a whole?
People immigrate to the USA to join the American dream. They can retain their cultural identities, but within that one dream. They are subject to essentially one legal and political system and whilst there are differences between the two coasts, the mid west, and many other parts of the United States, there is certain homogeneity of beliefs and systems across the country the Starbucks universe, one assumes.
By contrast, it is rather remarkable that Germany especially Bavaria is full of pride. They have a history of war going back centuries. Germany all passionately guard their own unique and the only way to make that all work is with clear rules of engagement.
Is Hofstede still applicable nowadays?
EU enlargement, globalization, the deregulation of employment laws, the technological advances in communication, have, indeed, rapidly increased the multicultural character of many countries, adding to the number of languages and religious, ethnic and cultural backgrounds found on the continent.
The Essay on Hofstede’s Five Dimensions And Leadership
Geert Hofstede examined IBM the company for over thirty years and developed a theory about cultural differences. His theory is widely used to compare differences in culture, and also in leadership. There were initially four dimensions of values that he measured; uncertainty avoidance, individualism, power distance and masculinity. Later a fifth dimension, long term orientation was added in 1991. ...
Hofstede´s cultural approaches have a lot of truth in them. Even though they have sometimes some stereotypes in their dimensions it is always some truth in it. There are indeed differences between Germany and the USA. But it seems that there are often more telling differences inside Europe. Germany and parts of Southern Europe are indeed measurably different to the North, which is in fact often more in tune with the US.
As shown on the pages of these countries the cultural dimensions that Hofstede disposed in the 1970s is still applicable nowadays. For sure in some years these difference will vanish a bit and become not as obvious as there are now.
List of Liturate:
Hofstede, Geert, Culture´s consequences, Beverly Hills u.a., Sage, 1984
Hofstede, Geert, Lokales Denken, globales Handeln, München, Dt. Taschenbuch-Verlag, 2006
Holden, Nigel J., Cross-cultural management, Harlow, Pearson Education u.a., 2002
http://feweb.uvt.nl/center/hofstede/page8.htm
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_66.htm
http://www.geert-hofstede.com/
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/04/international/europe/04brussels.html?pagewanted=all
Table of Figures:
Comparison of Hofstede´s dimensions of Germany and United States: http://www.geert-hofstede.com/hofstede_dimensions.php?culture1=34&culture2=95
[1] http://www.globalenvision.org/library/25/1618
[2] http://www.globalenvision.org/library/25/1618
[3] http://feweb.uvt.nl/center/hofstede/page8.htm
[4] http://www.geert-hofstede.com/hofstede_dimensions.php?culture1=34&culture2=70 [5] http://www.kultur-macht-europa.eu/47.html?&no_cache=1&L=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=245&cHash=a3e301c78b
