[Blog Project Assignment 2] Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory / Yang Ruixin

 

1、Power distance

Power distance is the degree of power and dictatorship of leadership in an organization, and the extent to which a society can accept the inequality of power distribution in an organization.

China's index is 80, and people generally agree that power inequality in organizations, the relationship between superiors and subordinates tends to be polarized, and subordinates can not resist the authority of their superiors, and subordinates are willing to be instructed and led. Actions beyond power are not advocated. This may be because of China's socialist system, the Communist Party of China in China is a one-party ruling, everyone has become accustomed to this system.

Australia's index is 36. In various organizations in Australia, hierarchies are established for convenience needs and superiors are approachable. Managers rely on the expertise and skills of employees and information and advice are often exchanged between superiors and subordinates. Communication forms are often informal, direct, and participatory.

The United States index is 40, higher than in Australia, and lower than China.

2、Individualism

What is defined here is the independence of the members of society. In a society with high independence index, everyone attaches importance to their own value needs and relies on personal efforts to seek benefits for themselves. A society with low individualism is a collectivist society, and members often believe that they have an obligation to be responsible for the collective.

China's index is 20, which is a high degree of collective culture and tends to strive for collective interests rather than individual interests. The core members of the group have priority. People are very cooperative with members of the group and indifferent or even hostile to people outside the group. The Chinese way of speaking is also a very euphemism, more inclined to take care of the feelings of others, which is not only influenced by the use of Confucianism for thousands of years but also depends on China is a socialist country.

91 in the United States and 90 in Australia, with a high degree of individualism culture. This may depend on the impact of the historical event, the Declaration of Independence, which attaches great importance to individual independence and freedom. Everyone must have seen American films that worship heroism. The image they create in the film is a person with superpowers. They often undertake the task of saving the world, the film to a certain extent reflects the general psychology of a country's people, admires heroes, has a deep psychological accumulation of hero worship. On the other hand, whether the government or collective, give ordinary people a wide voice, fully respect public opinion, they do not need to consider moral pressure to make choices. They firmly believe that personal influence and ability can master and change the world.

3、Masculinity

A highly masculine society is driven by competition, enterprising, and success, defined as the winner and the strongest in the field. It is worth mentioning that the higher the degree of masculinity, the greater the difference in values between men and women. Members of society with low masculinity tend to take care of each other and are more willing to consider the feelings of others. This society defines success as a quality of life and members are more inclined to engage in preferred careers.

China's index is 66, masculine society, achievement as the driving force. To ensure success, many Chinese will sacrifice the time to accompany their families and entertainment, giving priority to more time and energy to work. People in many industries, especially the service industry, work late. The time importance of entertainment and leisure is low. Two examples, the first is that farmers' unions go to distant cities to find jobs and leave their families in another city, and the second is that students care very much about their test scores and rankings because it is an important criterion for judging success.

Australia scored 61, masculine society. The common values of "striving to be the strongest" and "winning all" are reflected in all aspects of life. In the field of work, whether an individual is hired and promoted depends on his or her personal achievement and victory is a broad goal.

 In the United States, the index is 62, a masculine society. As an example, the Nordic country Denmark scores 16, a low-masculine society.

4.Uncertainty Avoidance

This dimension reflects the extent to which social members are worried and threatened by unknown, vague situations.

In this dimension, China scores 30. Reflected in the rules and even some laws are very flexible, cheating and plagiarism are common. Chinese people do not resent differences, China has 56 nationalities, all kinds of habits and cultures lead to the Chinese people are very tolerant of uncertainty, it is worth mentioning that, as we all know, Chinese is also a language full of differences, Chinese people often use wrong grammar, but no one will struggle with this, but because of understanding obstacles, foreigners learn Chinese is very difficult. The Chinese are very adaptable, and not afraid of risk, the courage to start a business, reflected in the majority of Chinese enterprises for the family-owned by small and medium-sized enterprises  Business.

The Australian index is 51, the United States is 46. Perhaps because each of them pays more attention to the individual, causing many Australians and Americans to feel insecure, because, in countries that advocate collectivism, focus on the common interests of the group, even if a person falls because of personal uncertainty, there is his family behind this person. Everyone in the family will help.

5.Long term orientation

This dimension describes the extent to which a society is connected to history in the face of modern and future challenges. Countries with low scores in this dimension tend to maintain old traditions and customs in the face of social change. In a high-scoring culture, people advocate pragmatism and encourage thrift and diligence.

China scores 87, has a high degree of pragmatism culture, people largely believe that truth depends on different situations, different times. They have a good ability to improve their traditions to adapt to new situations and are keen on saving, investing, and frugality. They persevere in order to achieve. This may be related to the influence of thousands of years of Confucian culture. Filial piety and love for children are the moral foundation that every Chinese must do, so everyone has a responsibility not only for themselves but also for the family behind them. A large part of their wealth is to give children and parents a better life.

Australia scored 21, and they were keen to establish standards and rules and actively follow them. They are quite respectful of tradition, have few savings habits, and focus on short-term goals. Because they just have to be responsible for themselves. Family pressure is far less than in China. The United States scored 26, slightly higher than in Australia.

6. Indulgence

This index defines the extent to which people control their original desires and nature, depending on the way they are raised. According to the strength of this control can be divided into "vertical culture" and "restraint culture ".China's index is 24, and people tend to control their emotions and feelings to build their own advantages. People do not value leisure and entertainment time and limit the satisfaction of the original desire. People are limited by conventional behavior and think that eating, drinking, and playing is an incorrect way of life, life should struggle. This may be related to the influence of the feudal rule era in ancient China. The ancient Chinese people had great servility, were under the control of others, and basically had no power of their own choice. Until now, China's social system was not very free. Although this may stifle creativity and imagination, austerity is more conducive to disaster avoidance and national stability.

Australia scores 71, vertical society, people tend to release their original desire and nature, enjoy the fun of life. They have an optimistic attitude and believe that entertainment time is important and emotional spending. The United States and Australia are basically the same, this dimension score is 68.

On the whole, none of the six dimensions of the United States and Australia are quite different, indicating that their culture is very similar, and they are similar to China in only one dimension, that is, the degree of masculinity. The other dimensions are very different.