[ Blog assignment 2 ] Hofstede Insights

Hofstede defined the tendency of society by setting six dimensions for classification in his cultural dimension theory : individualism-collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, masculinity-feminity, short term-long term, indulgence-self restraint.

First of all, I wanted to compare the difference between the six scales of hoistede by continent, so I chose Korea in Asia, France in Europe, and the United States in North America. 

Power Distance 

Power distance refers extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions accept that power is distributed unequally. It presupposes that individuals in all societies are not the same. In this regard, France scored the highest with 68 points, followed by South Korea with 60 points.  In France, where the degree of power distance is high, power is concentrated on the upper level. The characteristics of high degree countries are also shown in the appearance of children and parents, which shows that power is concentrated on their parents. Power is also concentrated in the government, businesses, and the capital, Paris. South Korea also similar to France. The United States has a low figure compared to the two countries.

Individualism

this dimension means degree to which people in a society are integrated into groups. There was a stark difference in the individualism part, which shows that South Korea has very low degree compared to the two countries. In South Korea, Society creates a strong relationship in which everyone is responsible for fellow members of the group. Education in Korea tends to emphasize community spirit and value others. On the contrary, the U.S. which has premise of "liberty and justice for all." respects individuals and values their freedom very much. France, which received 71 points, is also a society that pursues individualism.

Masculinity

In this dimension, masculinity is classified as task-orientation, and femininity is classified as person-orientation. On masculinity, France and South Korea showed almost equal figures. Their low score means that France and South Korea have feminine culture. One of the reasons that France got a low score is their welfare system, 35-hour working focused on quality of life. In South Korea, Because they attach importance to equality, solidarity and quality in their working, South Korea is considered a femininity society. Finally, the U.S. got higher score than other two countries. Americans are tend to focus on success. They display and talk freely about their successes and achievements. 

Uncertainty Avoidance 

It means a society's tolerance for ambiguity. Society deals with the fact "future can never be known" : try to control the future or just let it happen? A country with a high degree of uncertainty avoidance maintains strict beliefs and norms of conduct and does not tolerate unorthodox behavior and ideas, such as France and South Korea. Americans do not require many rules, they are more tolerant of everyone's opinions and allow freedom of expression. This can be analyzed as one of the reasons why the U.S. got low score in Uncertainty Avoidance category.

Long term Orientation

South Korea is the country that showed the highest number in terms of long-term orientation and short-term orientation. South Korea's score is 100, the highest among long-term-oriented countries. The trend in South Korea, which prefers civil servants, can also be seen as one of the long term-oriented features. France is also a long-term-oriented country, so it is more practical than short term oriented countries. The United States has the most short-term orientation among the three countries. American companies say they measure performance in the short term through quarterly profit-and-loss statements to help individuals perform faster in the workplace. 

Indulgence

This dimension is measure of happiness. It refers extent to which people try to control their desires and impulses, based on the way they were raised. The highest score among three countries is the United States. And France recorded middle score,48. South Korea is classified as a self-restraint society because it scored 29 points in this area. Unlike an indulgence society, a self-restraint society controls the satisfaction of desire without much emphasis on leisure time.