hofstedes cultural dimensions

With reference to Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions Theory, on this page we discuss weather in the UK, being an individualist culture, management or leadership teams can create a long-term collective team within their business or organisation, is it impossible?

Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions Theory and Leadership

Hofstedes Cultural Theory and Leadership

As an individualist culture (the UK) can we build a collectivist team? And do we want to?

I heard something the other day, I think it was on the radio, that got me thinking about leadership training within companies and organisations across the UK and in fact leadership and management in general and whether or not it’s possible, in our culture, to completely develop a person as a leader who managers and a manager who leads.

In the UK our collectivism vs individualism ranking is 89/100 which means we are a very individualistic culture and place a greater importance on attaining personal goals, so if this is true can we go against the grain (in the long-term) and put aside our personal goals to develop others and the team before we chase after our dreams?

A very successful person once told me that a successful leader builds other people first and in turn becomes successful themselves, which is what I have always tried to do. And on that note, in 25 years of consulting with managers and leadership teams throughout the world, I have never observed self-serving leaders positively impact “the big three”:

(Adrian Close)

The Big Three

1. Employee engagement

2. Customer service

3. Results and profits.

These leaders might get short term results, but over the long term, each of the big three are negatively impacted. Simon Sinek talks about similar in his book the Infinite Game.

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As we know leaders set the vision and live in the future and managers live in the present and set the steps for the team to reach - to achieve the vision. In my experience of managing and leading large teams the most effective of Daniel Goleman’s leadership styles (that will steer the team and business to the vision) are visionary, coaching, affiliative and democratic which logically are more suited to a society that promote a collectivist culture. Which is not us in the UK

So, I did a little research on the web about the ideology of collectivism vs individualism and found Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions Theory, not heard of this before and below are my findings.

Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions Theory

Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Theory, developed by Geert Hofstede, is a framework used to understand the differences in culture across countries and can be used to recognise the ways that businesses, organisations, and team are done and work.

Hofstede identified six categories that define culture

Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions Theory six categories UK ranking/100

1. Power distance index 35

2. Collectivism vs. Individualism 89

3. Uncertainty avoidance index 35

4. Femininity vs. Masculinity 66

5. Short-term vs. Long-term orientation 51

6. Restraint vs. Indulgence 69

(Above figures from www.hofstede-insights.com)

1. The Power Distance Index (Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions Theory)

The power distance index considers the extent to which inequality and power are tolerated. In this category, inequality and power are viewed from the viewpoint of the team members supporting the leader who sets the vision (the staff).

A high power distance index (PDI) indicates that a culture accepts inequity and power differences, encourages bureaucracy, and shows high respect for rank and authority. China (for example) has a PDI ranking of 80 which is high. They are a society that believes that inequalities amongst people are acceptable. People should not have aspirations beyond their rank.

A low power distance index indicates that a culture encourages organisational structures that are flat and feature decentralised decision-making responsibility, a participative style of management, and they place emphasis on power distribution. The UK has a PDI ranking of 35 which is low. We are a society that believes that inequalities amongst people should be minimised. A sense of fair play drives a belief that people should be treated in some way as equals. Could this explain why more than half of the UK’s workforce are dissatisfied with the working lives? (Source: www.thehrdirector.com)

A report I found in the Guardian (March 2017) makes for interesting reading

“Women’s presence in the boardroom has grown over the past four years, according to our research at the Directory of Social Change, their positions tend to be non-executive and it’s still a rare company that has a female chair or CEO.

By looking at company corporate social responsibility policies and annual reports we were able to determine the ratio between women and men for 399 corporate boards. Analysis of the data shows that the overall percentage of women on boards was around 22%”.

So, if we are a society in the UK that believes that inequalities amongst people should be minimised how and why does gender inequality exist, why are the majority of UK company directors still “Male and Pale”?

Interestingly a different report in the HR Magazine shows that Lithuania (which has a PDI of 42) has 44% of their top executives are female.

2. Individualism Vs Collectivism (Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions Theory)

The individualism vs. collectivism index considers the degree to which societies are integrated into groups and their perceived obligations and dependence on groups.

Individualism indicates that there is a greater importance placed on attaining personal goals. A person’s self-image in this category is defined as “I.” At a score of 89 the UK is amongst the highest of the Individualist scores, beaten only by Australia and the USA. The British are a highly Individualist and private people. Children are taught from an early age to think for themselves and to find out what their unique purpose in life is and how they uniquely can contribute to society. The route to happiness is through personal fulfilment.

Collectivism indicates that there is a greater importance placed on the goals and well-being of the group. A person’s self-image in this category is defined as “We”. We’ll use China again as an example. At a score of 20 China is a highly collectivist culture where people act in the interests of the group and not necessarily of themselves. Personal relationships prevail over task and company.

Just from the first two indexes we can see that we already have a potential issue when it comes to developing managers and leadership teams. We believe that inequalities amongst people should be minimised a there should be a participative style of management and yet we are individualists which surely goes against participative style. We are more interested in ourselves as team members, mangers and leaders.

I’ll ask you a question that I ask leadership teams, what is the common word in the English Language. The answer is “I”. We are primarily interested in ourselves. Don’t believe me? If I take a photo of you and your team and display big on the wall, who do you look for first?

3. Uncertainty Avoidance Index (Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions Theory)

A high uncertainty avoidance index indicates a low tolerance for uncertainty, ambiguity, and risk-taking. The unknown is minimised through strict rules, regulations, etc. At 85, South Korea is one of the most uncertainty avoiding countries in the world. Countries exhibiting high Uncertainty Avoidance maintain rigid codes of belief and behaviour and are intolerant of unorthodox behaviour and ideas. In these cultures there is an emotional need for rules (even if the rules never seem to work) time is money, people have an inner urge to be busy and work hard, precision and punctuality are the norm, innovation may be resisted, security is an important element in individual motivation.

A low uncertainty avoidance index indicates a high tolerance for uncertainty, ambiguity, and risk-taking. The unknown is more openly accepted, and there are lax rules, regulations, etc. At 35 the UK has a low score on uncertainty avoidance which means that as a nation we are quite happy to wake up not knowing what the day brings and are happy to ‘make it up as we go along’. As a low UAI country the British are comfortable in ambiguous situations – the term ‘muddling through’ is a very British way of expressing this. There are generally not too many rules in British society, but those that are there are adhered to (the most famous of which of course is the British love of queuing which has also to do with the values of fair play).

Leadership is about having a vision and management is about creating the steps to reach that vision. I think that our low UAI in the UK is the reason that the company or organisations vision statement is not taken as seriously as it should be.

4. Masculinity Vs Femininity (Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions Theory)

The masculinity vs. femininity dimension is also referred to as “tough vs. tender,” and considers the preference of society for achievement, attitude towards sexuality equality, behaviour etc.

Masculinity comes with the following characteristics: distinct gender roles, assertive, and concentrated on material achievements and wealth-building.

At 66, Britain is a Masculine society – highly success oriented and driven. A key point of confusion for the foreigner lies in the apparent contradiction between the British culture of modesty and understatement which is at odds with the underlying success driven value system in the culture. Critical to understanding the British is being able to ‘’read between the lines’’ What is said is not always what is meant. In comparison to Feminine cultures such as the Scandinavian countries, people in the UK live in order to work and have a clear performance ambition.

Femininity comes with the following characteristics: fluid gender roles, modest, nurturing, and concerned with the quality of life. Sweden scores 5 on this dimension and is therefore a Feminine society. In Feminine countries it is important to keep the life/work balance and you make sure that all are included. An effective manager is supportive to his/her people, and decision making is achieved through involvement. Managers strive for consensus and people value equality, solidarity, and quality in their working lives. Conflicts are resolved by compromise and negotiation and Swedes are known for their long discussions until consensus has been reached. Incentives such as free time and flexible work hours and place are favoured. The whole culture is based around ‘lagom’, which means something like not too much, not too little, not too noticeable, everything in moderation. Lagom ensures that everybody has enough and nobody goes without. Lagom is enforced in society by “Jante Law” which should keep people “in place” at all times. It is a fictional law and a Scandinavian concept which counsels’ people not to boast or try to lift themselves above others. In recent years I’ve heard loads of managers in our masculine society strive for feminine values with respect to working conditions. In the UK we say work/life balance, in Sweden they say life/work balance. I suggest to my clients that they come up with their own “Jante Laws”. We had one in my company and the team reminded each other and the management team if the “rules” (Lagom) were ever broken. Rules like keeping the promise to train the team and meet one to one monthly, a feminist approach in a masculine society and the team loved it.

5. Long-Term Orientation Vs Short-Term Orientation (Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions Theory)

The long-term orientation vs. short-term orientation dimension considers the extent to which society views its time horizon.

With an intermediate score of 51 in this dimension, a dominant preference in British culture cannot be determined.

Long-term orientation shows focus on the future and involves delaying short-term success or gratification in order to achieve long-term success. Long-term orientation emphasises persistence, perseverance, and long-term growth. Germany’s high score of 83 indicates that it is a pragmatic country. In societies with a pragmatic orientation, people believe that truth depends very much on situation, context and time. They show an ability to adapt traditions easily to changed conditions, a strong propensity to save and invest, thriftiness, and perseverance in achieving results.

Short-term orientation shows focus on the near future, involves delivering short-term success or gratification, and places a stronger emphasis on the present than the future. Short-term orientation emphasises quick results and respect for tradition. Americans are prone to analyse new information to check whether it is true. Thus, the culture doesn’t make most Americans pragmatic, but this should not be confused with the fact that Americans are very practical, being reflected by their “can-do” mentality. American businesses measure their performance on a short-term basis, with profit and loss statements being issued on a quarterly basis. This also drives individuals to strive for quick results within the workplace.

So, the UK is in the middle which could be argued that’s a good thing. To me it means that we struggle with change, perhaps a short-term gain to get back to up speed for example. I think it also means that we aren’t vision orientated, we struggle with setting long term goals in business and life and in business this can be devastating.

6. Indulgence Vs Restraint (Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions Theory)

The indulgence vs. restraint dimension considers the extent and tendency for a society to fulfil its desires. In other words, this dimension revolves around how societies can control their impulses and desires.

Indulgence indicates that a society allows relatively free gratification related to enjoying life and having fun. A high score of 69 indicates that the British culture is one that is classified as Indulgent. People in societies classified by a high score in Indulgence generally exhibit a willingness to realise their impulses and desires with regard to enjoying life and having fun. They possess a positive attitude and have a tendency towards optimism. In addition, they place a higher degree of importance on leisure time, act as they please and spend money as they wish.

Restraint indicates that a society suppresses gratification of needs and regulates it through social norms. China is a Restrained society as can be seen in its low score of 24 in this dimension (and Russia scores 20). Societies with a low score in this dimension have a tendency to cynicism and pessimism. Also, in contrast to Indulgent societies, Restrained societies do not put much emphasis on leisure time and control the gratification of their desires. People with this orientation have the perception that their actions are Restrained by social norms and feel that indulging themselves is somewhat wrong.

So according to this we are not generally a pessimistic country? But we do like to moan. I heard the average person moans about 70 times a day, but what do they have to moan about. Their freedom to choose, freedom to go out (pandemic permitting?!) and freedom to work pretty much where they like.

Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions Theory

So, the question is, as an individualist culture (the UK) can we build a collectivist team?

I think we can but for managers and leadership teams to be able to build a collectivist environment in the work place they need to be trained with ongoing action focused training (once per month) program with a systematic approach to accountability for the skills learnt in the sessions and the goals set and achieved between the sessions by the learners.

Traditional one day training works well but a 12-month action focused leadership training program works better. I know, I have delivered them for a few years now to companies all over the UK and have even ventured to mainland Europe. We either deliver the training sessions for you or we sell the complete program to you (under license because they are developed every year with new information and techniques) for your training team to deliver to your team, and it's not as expensive as you might think.

A third option is for us to deliver the program to your senior leadership team and your trainers and for your trainers to deliver the sessions a week or so later to the rest of the team whilst it's fresh in their mind.

Lucky for us no one is born a leader, that's a myth. Leadership is a skill we learn, develop and nurture over time and something we never stop learning. I think it would be prudent for any manager or leadership team to take the above and use it to develop the team to beat the competition.

Contact us to arrange a call back to discuss the action focused training program and one of our experienced trainers who specialise in this field will be in touch to explain how it will help your team

Adrian Close (Learning and Development Director)

Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions Theory

As well as lots of smaller businesses and organisations, below are examples of some larger organisations who have received training from our director of learning at Ultimate Leadership Training:

Please contact us to discuss any training requirements you have, we either deliver for you or sell you the course for your trainers to deliver to your team

Thanks for visiting our Hofstedes cultural dimensions theory page here's a link to our homepage. Here's a link to the infinite game by Simon Sinek

Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions Theory

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