Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Theory: A Framework For Cross-Cultural Communication

Hofstede 's cultural dimensions’ theory is a framework for cross-cultural communication, developed by Geert Hofstede. It describes the effects of a society 's culture on the values of its members, and how these values relate to behavior, using a structure derived from factor analysis. [1]
In 1965 Hofstede founded the personnel research department of IBM Europe (which he managed until 1971). Between 1967 and 1973, he executed a large survey study regarding national values differences across the worldwide subsidiaries of this multinational corporation: he compared the answers of 117,000 IBM matched employees’ samples on the same attitude survey in different countries. He first focused his research on the 40 largest countries, and then extended it to 50 countries and 3 regions, "at that time probably the largest matched-sample cross-national database available anywhere." [2]
As you know we are in a competitive world, to be competitive in the global market business should give priority for diversity in demography and culture. Diversity in the work place a key for any business success. AS we have seen in the example IBM corporation a pioneer valuing and appreciating its diversity workforce. So company needs
Femininity index. Masculinity vs. femininity (MAS): In this dimension, masculinity is defined as “a preference in society for achievement, heroism, assertiveness and material rewards for success.” Its counterpart represents “a preference for cooperation, modesty, caring for the weak and quality of life.” Women in the respective societies tend to display different values. In feminine societies, they share modest and caring views equally with men. In more masculine societies, women are more emphatic and competitive, but notably less emphatic than the men. In other words, they still recognize a gap between male and female values. This dimension is frequently viewed as taboo in highly masculine societies.