The Importance Of French Culture

Decent Essays
The French seem to have a reputation that precedes them: sophisticated, eloquent, and maybe even a little pompous. While the stereotype itself may not be so interesting, the reasoning behind the stereotype has always sparked curiosity. Why do particular cultures develop these stereotypes and are there any truth behind them? With Hofstede’s dimensions we are able to objectively study a culture and draw our own conclusions as to why it is perceived a certain way and how it came to be. At about 58 million people and 250,000 square miles, France is a small but dense country, and so it may come as a surprise that it scored so high on individualism. According to Hofstede’s research, however, France has a score of 71. The high score indicates that …show more content…
On the contrary, France has a score of 68 in terms of power distance index, essentially the same as its score for individualism. This is strange only because the score reflects a culture in which there is heavy emphasis on the dependence of superiors. In other words social hierarchy is widely accepted. For example, the French government offers healthcare, education, and jobs for their citizens. Education is especially important because it reflects the focus on individuals desires, clearly a value in this culture. Coincidentally, I was able to speak with a native of the country regarding some of the aspects of the culture. In my discussion I learned that although the individual is valued in their culture, immediate familial relationships are of even greater value. Immediate families are very emotionally involved which coincides with the high power index score Hofstede gives …show more content…
Contrary to popular belief, however, France has a very average score of 48 (according to Hofstede’s indulgence dimension). It would seem that the French are less indulgent than mainstream media and popular opinion lead on. Furthermore, given their high uncertainty avoidance it would make sense for the indulgence to be lower. Those who are highly concerned with consequences and outcomes are generally not indulging as often as cultures who are not. I think the reflection of a very average indulgence score in French culture would be the citizens themselves. According to my research, formal and informal, the French tend to dress less gaudy or flashy, and in more neutral tones than those with higher indulgence scores. This reflects not only a low indulgence score because of the simplicity, but ties in with the low masculinity score as

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