A Conversation with Geert Hofstede Article Review

Cultural differences between different countries and regions are nothing new. Every country, and different regions within countries, have been formed and shaped throughout history by traditions, people, geography, and religion. Therefore, logic dictates that businesses in different countries have their share of differences based upon the same factors. However, there are similarities as well which can be found. Some may even say that it is one’s differences which truly show one’s similarities.

Geert Hofstede, a leader in organizational anthropology, has “identified four dimensions for defining values associated with national cultures: behavior towards people higher or lower in rank (power distance), behavior towards the group (individualism/collectivism), behavior according to gender (masculinity/femininity), and uncertainty avoidance” and has more recently added a fifth dimension, “long-term orientations v. short-term orientation” (Hodgetts, 1993). Hofstede has conducted surveys throughout dozens of countries to gather his information and construct the dimensions, however he points out that each dimension is not concrete, rather an analytical tool. The survey group similar countries together, such as Denmark and the Netherlands, and allows one to see patterns of national cultures. “The sole purpose of the dimension is to add some structure to a mass of cultural information that otherwise is too complex to grasp” (Hofstede, 1993).

The difference between organizational culture and national culture is that national culture is deeply ingrained in region while the organizational culture is superficial. This means that the national culture always affects a business, whether the business is aware of this factor or not. For example, an American company will most likely operate in an “American” way, while a Japanese company will operate in a “Japanese” way; this is just the nature of the beast. “So, if you can say