Hofstede Model of Organizational Behavior - Essay Example

Examples of individualistic cultures are USA Australia Great Britain. The countries which have low scores of individualistic features are Panama Ecuador Guatemala. Collectivism refers to the pattern, representing cultures “in which people from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, which throughout people’s lifetime continue to protect them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty” (Hofstede, 1980, p. 51).

Power distance means the extent to which power inequality is accepted. Power distance is high in Malaysia Guatemala and Panama. It is low in Denmark Israel Austria. For individuals in high-distance cultures, power is the main issue of society, and stresses coercive power. In low-distance communities, people suppose that power should be only used when it is legitimate (Collins and Porras, 2004).

Uncertainty avoidance means the extent to which people feel threatened and respond by setting up rules. Uncertainty avoidance is high in Greece Portugal Guatemala and is low in Denmark Jamaica Singapore.

The dimension of Masculinity versus Femininity determines gender relations in society and the extent to which values of achievement, money power, etc are more important than nurturing & community. Masculine features are dominant in such countries as Japan Austria Venezuela. Feminine cultures are Netherlands Norway Sweden.

Confucian dynamism determines the differences between two parts of the world, East and West. The cultures with high scores in this dimension are China Hong Kong Taiwan. Countries with low scores are the Philippines Nigeria Pakistan.

The uniqueness of individualists is that they have:
- personal goals,
- feel autonomous,
- emphasize the ‘I’,
- people detach themselves from family,
- they change friends and marital partners.

Power distance influences:
- dominant norms of inequality,
- the degree of respect,
- deference is given to those in superior positions.

Uncertainty avoidance relates to planning and stability in the organizational behavior process. In societies with high uncertainty avoidance, there is a desire for consensus, and deviant behavior is intolerable. In high uncertainty avoidance cultures, people do not judge inter-group interactions.

In organizations, masculinity, and feminine factors determines:
- achievement and interpersonal harmony,
- the social implications of being male or female,
- stress quality of life, nurturance, close personal relationships,
- sex roles.