Hofstede Theory

Psychology research papers on Hofstede look at his Culture Dimensions Theory. Our writers can explain the theory clearly for you. Have a custom written project that explains that Geert Hofstede developed the Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Theory, which looks at how a society impacts a persons behavior. While working for IBM Europe, Hofsted surveyed employees across the company and looked at the impact of national values on employees. Based on the survey results, Hofstede identified four different dimensions that appear across different cultures.

Explaining Hofstede's Theory

Prof. Geert Hofstede is an Emeritus Professor at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. An expert in the field of international business, Professor Hofstede has conducted one of the most extensive studies of how culture affects workplace values. Since 1967, the professor has analyzed an enormous database of employee values scores that had been collected by IBM. From this exhaustive analysis, Prof. Hofstede has created a model that identifies five primary Dimensions to aid international business people in understanding foreign cultures and the way these alien cultures affect the workplace.

1. The first dimension is the Power Distance Index (PDI). The PDI looks at the identification of a hierarch in a society. The power of the hierarchy comes from the followers or lower level citizens.
2. The second dimension is Individualism vs. collectivism (IDV). This dimension is defined as "the degree to which people in a society are integrated into groups." This dimension is about looking at the "I" vs. "me" attitude in a society.
3. The third dimension is the Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI). The UAI looks at how a society deals with unknown or ambiguity.
4. The fourth dimension is Masculinity vs. Femininity (MAS). A society can lean toward being masculine or feminine based on the value system of the culture.
5. The fifth dimension is Long-term orientation vs. short-term orientation (LTO). This dimension looks at how a culture views the past and the future. A society that scores high in this dimension easily adapt while those that score lower tend to have lower development.
6. Finally, the last dimension is Indulgence vs. Restraint (IND). This dimension looks at happiness within a culture.

This theory is important for people to be aware of when they are communicating across different cultures. Awareness can be beneficial in international negotiations, international management, and international marketing.

While Prof. Hofstede is generally optimistic in regards to international business, he nevertheless stresses that cultures can be greatly different from one another. Moreover, refusing to acknowledge these great differences can have disastrous consequences for international business people. For example, American businessmen who do not research the customs of Japan - a distinctly different nation from the U.S. - place themselves at great risk. Being ignorant of a culture can result in lost business. It can also hurt feelings and offend the sensibilities of people who could otherwise have become loyal trading partners.