Cultural dimensions Flashcards
Culture
A cumulative set of knowledge, experiences, beliefs and behaviours shared by a group.
Cultural norms
Shared and integrated patterns of beliefs and practices that characterise a cultural group. They are transmitted across generations and regulate behaviour in accordance with the group’s unique system.
Cultural dimensions
Distinct value constructs that serve to distinguish one culture from another.
Individualism vs collectivism
The fundamental issue addressed by this dimension is the degree of interdependence a society maintains among its members. It has to do with whether people ́s self-image is defined in terms of ‘I’ or ‘We’.
Masculinity vs feminism
A high score (Masculine) on this dimension indicates that the
society will be driven by competition, achievement and success, with success being defined by the winner/best in field, a value system that starts in school and continues throughout organisational life. A low score (Feminine) on the dimension means that the dominant values in society are caring for others and quality of life. A Feminine society is one where quality of life is the sign of success and standing out from the crowd is not admirable. The fundamental issue here is what motivates people, wanting to be the best or liking what you do.
Power distance
This dimension deals with the fact that all individuals in societies are not equal – it expresses the attitude of the culture towards these inequalities amongst us.
Uncertainty avoidance
The dimension Uncertainty Avoidance has to do with the way that a society deals with the fact that the future can never be known: should we try to control the future or just let it happen? The extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations and have created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid these is reflected in the score on Uncertainty Avoidance.
Long-term orientation
This dimension describes how every society has to maintain some links with its own past while dealing with the challenges of the present and future. Low-scoring countries prefer to maintain traditions whilst high-scoring countries prefer to progress.
Indulgence vs self-restraint
The extent to which people try to control their desires and impulses, based on the way they were raised. Relatively weak control is called ‘Indulgence’ and relatively strong control is called ‘Restraint’.
