Culture is an extremely important part of our everyday lives. Culture can be recognized traits and actions but it can also be underlying or unintentional acts of beliefs. Part of our culture can be the way you react to certain things and you may not even know that your culture had such an effect on those reactions. Hofstede defines six dimensions of culture in order to compare countries and societies on a collective scale. I will use these six dimensions to show the differences of business culture between the United States of America and China but first it is necessary to define these six dimensions and show how they each affect cultural traits.
The Six Dimensions of Culture Hofstede initially defined four different dimensions of culture …show more content…
Femininity. This dimension emphasizes the “characteristics that are often associated with masculinity, such as assertiveness, dominance, and independence” (Hofstede, G. 2001), and how they are to be defined and used. A higher scoring country will have a more visible and tangible difference between the tasks and responsibilities between men and women. A higher scoring country will also put much more emphasis on the expectation of men being leaders and women following instructions. A lower scoring country will have more focus on the equality between men and women. This dimension directly relates to the point I made about cultures evolving and changing because certain countries still have the beliefs that men are stronger leaders than women and can take on much more responsibility. This dimension has seen much change in the past 50 years even in the US.
The third dimension is Individualism vs. Collectivism. Higher scoring countries will have the beliefs that success is and individual task and an individual reward. They believe that “people are most productive when working alone.” (Hofstede, G. 2001) Lower scoring countries adopt a more collective style of thinking and believe that the success of the group is more important. Generally, these lower scoring countries will make more sacrifices and the needs of the group are more important than the …show more content…
2001) A higher scoring country will respect traditions and be more forward thinking. A lower scoring country is more likely to change and adapt for whatever reason needed. The sixth and final dimension is Indulgence and Restraint. This can be described as the level of control that a society has over an individual. A higher scoring country will “value instant gratification, and relate to enjoying life and having fun.” (Hofstede, G. 2001) A lower scoring country will value restraint and have strict cultural and social norms.
USA vs.
The Six Dimensions of Culture Hofstede initially defined four different dimensions of culture …show more content…
Femininity. This dimension emphasizes the “characteristics that are often associated with masculinity, such as assertiveness, dominance, and independence” (Hofstede, G. 2001), and how they are to be defined and used. A higher scoring country will have a more visible and tangible difference between the tasks and responsibilities between men and women. A higher scoring country will also put much more emphasis on the expectation of men being leaders and women following instructions. A lower scoring country will have more focus on the equality between men and women. This dimension directly relates to the point I made about cultures evolving and changing because certain countries still have the beliefs that men are stronger leaders than women and can take on much more responsibility. This dimension has seen much change in the past 50 years even in the US.
The third dimension is Individualism vs. Collectivism. Higher scoring countries will have the beliefs that success is and individual task and an individual reward. They believe that “people are most productive when working alone.” (Hofstede, G. 2001) Lower scoring countries adopt a more collective style of thinking and believe that the success of the group is more important. Generally, these lower scoring countries will make more sacrifices and the needs of the group are more important than the …show more content…
2001) A higher scoring country will respect traditions and be more forward thinking. A lower scoring country is more likely to change and adapt for whatever reason needed. The sixth and final dimension is Indulgence and Restraint. This can be described as the level of control that a society has over an individual. A higher scoring country will “value instant gratification, and relate to enjoying life and having fun.” (Hofstede, G. 2001) A lower scoring country will value restraint and have strict cultural and social norms.
USA vs.