Hofstede and GLOBE Models of Cultural Dimensions

Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Theory

• Individualism vs. Collectivism: Refers to how personal needs and goals are prioritized compared to the needs and goals of the group or organization.
• Masculinity vs. Femininity: Masculine societies tend to have more distinct social gender roles compared to feminine cultures.
• Uncertainty Avoidance: Indicates how comfortable people are with ambiguity and change. Low avoidance means comfort with change; high avoidance means preference for known systems.
• Power Distance: The degree to which people accept and expect unequal power distribution in society and are comfortable with influencing upwards.
• Time Perspective (Long-Term Orientation): Focuses on long-term planning for the future versus short-term perspectives.
• Indulgence vs. Restraint: Concerns allowing gratification of basic human drives related to enjoying life and having fun, versus regulating it through strict social norms.

The GLOBE Study's Cultural Dimensions

• Uncertainty Avoidance: The extent to which a society, organization, or group relies on established norms, rituals, and procedures to avoid uncertainty.
• Power Distance: The degree to which members of a group expect and agree that power should be shared unequally.
• Institutional Collectivism: The degree to which organizational and societal institutional practices encourage and reward collective distribution of resources and collective action.
• In-Group Collectivism: The degree to which individuals express pride, loyalty, and cohesiveness in their organizations or families.
• Gender Egalitarianism: The degree to which an organization or society minimizes gender role differences and promotes gender equality.
• Assertiveness: The degree to which people in a culture are determined, assertive, confrontational, and aggressive in their social relationships.
• Future Orientation: The extent to which people engage in future-oriented behaviors such as planning, investing in the future, and delaying gratification.
• Performance Orientation: The extent to which an organization or society encourages and rewards group members for performance improvement and excellence.
• Humane Orientation: The degree to which a culture encourages and rewards individuals for being fair, altruistic, generous, caring, and kind to others.