Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Collectivism and individualism theory
Write a summary of Geert Hofstede's Cultural Dimension
Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Collectivism and individualism theory
Culture Dimensions
Cultural dimensions are developed by the Dutch social psychologist Geert Hofstede. The framework aims for a better understanding of cultures and the values and behavior of its members. The theory is based on large surveys within IBM in the 1970s and studies how values in the workplace are influenced by culture. Hofstede found clear patterns of similarity with people from the same country and differences between different countries which can be arranged in following dimensions:
Individualism versus Collectivism (IDV)
This refers to the strength of the ties people have to others within the community. People in individualist cultures focus primarily on themselves and their direct relatives. Membership in groups is optional an is not seen as essential to one's identity or success. People in collectivist cultures represent a preference for a tightly-knit framework of group memberships. The sense of oneself comes from membership and role in a group, such as one's family, tribe or team. Group members are relatively close but distant toward non-group members. This dimension reflects whether people’s self-image is defined primarily in terms of ‘I’ or ‘We’.
Power Distance Index (PDI)
This dimension expresses the accepted and expected distribution of power. In cultures with low power distance, people expect to take part in the process of decision-making. The decisions of leaders are more democratic and power and responsibility is shared among people. Decisions of the boss can be questioned and discussed. Cultures with high power distance accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has a place that needs no further justification. People accept centralized decisions of their leaders and tend not to question or discus...
... middle of paper ...
...es most people have great respect for social conventions and traditions as a absolute truth and a strong desire to seek for personal stability and quick social rewards. With pragmatic orientation, people accept that it is impossible to understand the full complexity of life and seek more for virtues but absolute truth. In pragmatic societies people accept contradictions, adapt according to the circumstances and have a turn to save and invest and have persistence when achieving results.
Indulgence versus Restraint (IVR)
This dimension describes the pursuit for happiness and hedonistic behaviors. Indulgence stands for a society that allows relatively free gratification of desires and human needs related and allows to enjoy life and having fun in a hedonistic manner. Restraint stands for societies where gratifications are regulated by status and strict social norms.
I never even thought about this word “individualism” before I came to America. Instead of collective, normal is the way I considered as my culture, and for American culture, I would say they are selfish and unkindly sometimes back then. However, after my 2-year study here and all the research I’ve been read for this paper, now I say that neither individualism nor collectivism is purely bad or good.
A culture’s tendency to be individualistic or collectivistic can be found at the root of
Geert Hofstede performed the most lauded research on The Dimensions of Culture theory. His findings and the model that he created were outlined in his 1980 book “Cultures Consequences.” The work was met with both acclaim and disregard from fellow academics. Hofstede’s work is generally quoted and cited without any hesitation even today and his model is still widely used the main guideline for dealing with human resources from a cultural perspective.
Geert Hofstede, Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations Across Nations. Second Edition, Thousand Oaks CA: Sage Publications, 2001
The first basic issue confronting all societies is to define the nature of the relation between the individual and the group. This dimension is frequently labeled as individualism versus collectivism (Hofstede, 1980, 1991). In cultures at the Conservatism pole of the dimension, Schwartz (1994) noted that the person is viewed as embedded in a collectivity, finding meaning in life largely through social relationships, through identifying with the group and participating in its shared way of life. Schwartz (1999) noted that this value type emphasizes maintenance of the status quo, propriety, and restraint of actions or inclinations that might disrupt the solitary group or the traditional order. Exemplary specific values are social order, respect
Comparing the past to the present, one of the things that have not changed in the economy is the people’s love for money. Lots of money. There have been many attempts to further increase the amount of money that an economy or an individual can gain. Whether this is through ideas like welfare state where the government supports its people by providing things such as financial support or individualistic ideas like pursuing your own self-interest. The source provided wants all of us to believe that by supporting the ideologies of collectivism through welfare state, it will only result with us depending on the government instead of striving for our own success. The statement from the source, “The welfare state arose out of a misguided desire to
Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.
In contrast to my culture’s social norm of Individualism, our host culture displays the social norm of Collectivism, where identity is found solely in one’s family group. I first observed Collectivist culture from the families in the grocery shop on Monday. They made most of the decisions together as a group, even allowing the small children to have a say in what was bought. On Tuesday, while on our first house visit, the mother spoke often of her children and husband, stating how much she detested being apart from her husband while she healed from an injury. A similar sentiment was expressed by the family at our second house visit on Wednesday, when they spoke of the struggle to reunite as a family once they were all in America, and how they continue to send help to family members who are not in the States yet. During the Pakistani church service on Sunday afternoon, I noticed many families sitting together as a large group, allowing the children to interact with each other. The group speaker on Tuesday spoke of his attachment to his family, mainly to his younger
The next communication gap concerns with the individualism- collectivism dimension, which is the degree an individual is integrated into groups in a society (Hofstede, 2001). Individualistic cultures like the U.S put a strong emphasis on individual autonomy and independence, whereas collectivist cultures like Vietnam believe in belonging, obligation
In the article, Cultural constraints in management theories, Geert Hofstede examines business management around the globe from a cultural perspective. He explains how he believes there are no universal practices when it comes to management and offers examples from the US, Germany, France, Japan, Holland, China and Russia. He demonstrates how business management theories and practices are very much subject to cultural norms and values and by understanding these differences, it can give managers an advantage in global business practices.
Cultural Differences in Hofstede’s Six Dimensions According to Professor Geert Hofstede, dimensionalizing a culture requires a complex analysis of a multitude of categories including differing nations, regions, ethnic groups, religions, organizations, and genders. Hofstede defines culture as "the collective programming of the mind distinguishing the members of one group or category of people from another". Throughout his many years of contribution as a social scientist, he has conducted arguably the most comprehensive study of how values in the workplace are influenced by culture, leading to the establishment of the Six Dimensions of National Culture. From this research model, the dimensions of Power Distance, Individualism, Masculinity, Uncertainty Avoidance, Long Term Orientation, and Indulgence are defined according to their implication on individual countries, which when comparatively examined provide a broad understanding of cultural diversity as it relates to the workplace. Identification and Definition of the Six Dimensions In initially defining each of Hofstede's dimensions, a foundational understanding of the six categories is established, from which a greater understanding of different cultures can be built off of.
“Altruism — the sacrifice of self to others. This tied man irrevocably to other men and left him nothing but a choice of pain: his own pain borne for the sake of others or pain inflicted upon others for the sake of self.” This dramatic definition of altruism, from The Soul of an Individualist by Ayn Rand, provides a backdrop for similar ideologies. Along the same philosophical vein, one can examine the principles of collectivism, a way of life that puts priority on a group instead of a single member. Individualism, on the other hand, is the complete rejection of these two ideas and a way of thinking that stresses living on one’s own terms instead of being dictated to by a group. As shown
The first dimension, power distance index (PDI), refers to the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. In a society, an individual exhibiting a high degree of power distance accept hierarchies where everyone has a place without the need for justification. Societies with low power distance however, seek the equal distribution of power. In organization
According to Robbins, DeCenzo, and Coulter (2011) “motivation is the process by which a person’s efforts are energized, directed, and sustained toward attaining a goal” (p. 267). Organizations are always looking for new ways to motivate employees. In a global economy it is important to understand that cultural differences can impact how an organization can motivate its employees. Geert Hofstede (as cited in Sledge, Miles, & Coppage, 2008) believed there are five dimensions of culture. These five dimensions are power distance, individualism versus collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity versus femininity, and Confucian dynamism (p. 1670). This paper will discuss each dimension of culture and how they could effect employee motivation.
...lture are more independent, there is a need to have a low-context culture. Individualism creates more subjectivity which leads to different meanings within a situation. In order to remove ambiguity, those in this society have to explicitly verbalize all the details unlike in a collectivistic society. In the beginning of meeting new members this would be beneficial however overtime it will become repetitive and unnecessary.