Repost from October 2013

For all the non-EPA guys and gals among my readers, Hofstede is a famous TU Delft graduate who popularized a dimensional approach for the study of cultures. Please refer to the little note at the end for more context.

Two weeks ago, I took some of my hard-earned cash and spent it on... measuring my personal scores according to Hofstede's cultural dimensions. I know, nothing beats the feeling of receiving a personalized email that you have paid real money for!

Now the fun begins!

If "Donna" were a country of one, then compared to China:

I am more individualistic than the typical Chinese, more "feminine", prefer lower power distance, more risk averse and not as long-term oriented (sounds about right…).

Compared to Canada:

I am about as individualistic as the average Canadian, have the same power distance preference, somewhat more "feminine", slightly less avoidant of uncertainties and much more long term oriented.

If I represent China's scores and Canada's scores along the five dimensions as shapes, then the relationship between us three is roughly as follows:

In the geometry of cultures, as a bicultural kid, you take some and leave some.

Compared to the Netherlands:

MMMmmm I am about as Dutch as I am Canadian. You know, only more masculine.

The personal recommendations that I have received with regard to interacting with the Dutch is as follows:

— you may be surprised by the strong reaction of the people around you when you tell them that most people in your country don't believe that there exists just one God;

— you may think that having invested a lot of time and energy in building up relationships with the locals you have increased your network considerably until the time that you ask them for favors. Many among them get then very upset and stop the relationship all together;

— you may start looking down on people around you who are frolicking too much by which it will be hard to build up good relationships with them;

— you may not be aware that most people around you will unconsciously check whether what you tell them is true. If what you tell them is not consistent you will lose all credibility;

— you may wonder why nobody will disclose their long term intentions as if they assume that you are spying on them ;

— you may wonder why most people around you don't respect your emotions and feelings;

— you may get surprised if not annoyed that so many people around you make themselves smaller than they are while buttering people up with whom they want to create a relationship;

Hofstede's main achievement is in deriving quantitative scores for different nations in several dimensions, based on mass surveys that he initially conducted among the employees of IBM's various regional branches (>50 countries) back in the 1970s.

According to him, a cultural dimension is a key problem area, of interest to all human societies, in which different societies have evolved different coping methods, which are manifested in the form of different values and practices. In the most updated version of his theory, there are six cultural dimensions, but five are more commonly used because of they have been established earlier:

Power Distance (PDI)- The extent to which the less powerful members of society accept that power is distributed unequally

Individualism versus Collectivism (IDV)- Relationship between individual and society (closeness within and size of in-groups)

Masculinity versus Femininity (MAS)- Dominance of achievement, success and competition as core values Vs. focus on caring, equality and quality of life.

Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI)-The extent to which people feel threatened by uncertainty and ambiguity and try to avoid such situations.

Long Term Orientation (LTO)-The extent to which a society shows a pragmatic future-oriented perspective rather than a conventional historical or short-term point of view

The scores of a given national culture in those dimensions are relative rather than absolute; it is always necessary to speak of one country in relation to another one, instead of treating it as a stand-alone value.

Now I present you with the case of China Vs. Canada VS. the Netherlands. This set of three countries is of interest to yours truly, because of my personal background: Chinese-Canadian expat living in Holland.

Long story short: my birth country, China, is significantly different from the other two on every single dimension, while as Canada resembles the Netherlands on all dimensions except for two: Masculinity-vs-Femininity and Long Term-Orientation.

Individualism - Collectivism: China is much more collectivistic, while Canada and the Netherlands exhibits similar level of individualism.
Power Distance: As above, China has high power distance, while Canada and Netherlands are both low-power distance countries.
Masculinity - Femininity: China and Canada are both significantly more masculine than the Netherlands, with China leading the pack.
Uncertainty Avoidance: Opposite trend from above, which is a bit surprising, with China being the least avoidant of uncertainties.
Long Term Orientation: The Chinese are waaaaay more long term oriented than the two other countries. Actually, they are the global leader in this dimension, according to a ranking list which has been passed around my class room.