78 Module 3 Sociocultural Forces distance is similar to inequality, but defined from below, not from above, and suggests that a society’s level of inequality is endorsed by followers as well as by leaders. In largepower distance societies, seniority, age, rank, and title are important. People will want direction, and formality is emphasized. In small-power-distance environments, a consultative style of leadership predominates, informality tends to be the norm, and there is or there is thought to be equal distance among people. For example, from season ticket holders of box seats at major sporting events to minimum-wage fast-food workers, just about everyone in the United States, a low-power distance culture, self-identifies as middle class. Examples of large-power-distance cultures are Malaysia, Guatemala, Panama, Philippines, Arab countries, India, West African countries, and Singapore. Small-power-distance countries include Austria, Israel, Denmark, New Zealand, Republic of Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Canada, and Germany. Uncertainty Avoidance Uncertainty avoidance describes a society’s level of comfort with uncertainty. Hofstede points out that this dimension “ultimately refers to man’s search for Truth” because it describes the extent to which a culture programs its members to feel either uncomfortable or comfortable in unstructured situations. Cultures that avoid uncertainty try to minimize the possibility of unstructured situations by “strict laws and rules, safety and security measures.” Strong uncertainty avoidance cultures resist change, including career change and organizational change; they expect clear procedures and preserve the status quo. Weak uncertainty avoidance cultures see conflict as having positive aspects, expect innovation, encourage risk taking, and reward career change. Strong uncertainty avoidance cultures include Greece, Portugal, Guatemala, Uruguay, Japan, France, Spain, and South Korea. Examples of weak uncertainty avoidance cultures include Singapore, Jamaica, Denmark, Sweden, Hong Kong, United States, Canada, Norway, and Australia. Masculinity-Femininity The masculinity-femininity dimension describes the distribution of roles between the sexes. Hofstede’s data indicate that “women’s roles across cultures differ less than do men’s, and that men’s values among countries vary considerably, from very assertive and competitive and maximally different from women’s values on the one side, to modest and caring and similar to women’s values on the other.” The assertive pole is masculine, and the caring one feminine. “The women in feminine countries have the same modest, caring values as the men; in the masculine countries they are somewhat assertive and competitive, but not as much as the men, so that these countries show a gap between men’s values and women’s values.” Notice that this dimension is about the gap between men’s and women’s roles in the culture. In a feminine culture, there is relatively less variation between male and female roles, which suggests that leadership and decision-making roles are equally open to men and women. Also in a feminine culture, quality of work life is important; people work in order to live, and environmental issues matter from a business perspective. In a masculine culture, male roles are more likely to be task-focused and female roles relationship-focused, achievements are emphasized, economic growth is central, people live in order to work, and business performance is the primary goal. Examples of masculine cultures include Japan, Austria, Venezuela, Italy, Mexico, and the Philippines. Feminine cultures include Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, Costa Rica, and Finland. A word of caution is appropriate here. To think that feminine cultures are not concerned with production and business success is an error. Just think of all the globally successful Scandinavian firms: IKEA, Lego, Volvo, Ericsson, H&M, Bang & Olufson, and Carlsberg begin the list. Indulgence vs. Restraint The dimension of indulgence vs. restraint is about happiness and describes a culture’s tendency either to allow relatively free gratification of human
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