1. Critically examine the scores the website shows you.

Keeping in mind that the scores

represent a statistical average, to what degree do the scores represent what your experience
is with that particular country? You may think about regional differences, generational
differences, differences between social groups, organizations, etc. Support your claims with
your own observations from life, school, politics, etc., evidence from the media, science etc.

I live in a small country in the Balkans called Albania. It has seen a lot of wars, kings, emperors,
occupations, and fights for freedom, which have shaped the country into what it is today. When I
see Albania’s scores in Hofstede’s study, I think it represents to some degree what my experience is
with the country. When it comes to power distance, it has one of the highest, with a score of 90.
Society, school, family, workplace is very hierarchical. I grew up with the ideology that elders should
be respected, teachers can’t be questioned, and parents are always right. The same experience
goes with some of the other dimensions as well, like the low score in Individualism and high score in
Uncertainty Avoidance. But with some of the scores, I have a different experience. For example,
long-term orientation, which Albania has a score of 62. In my experience, I think they should have a
lower score. Albanians are highly patriotic, enjoying the present, and not really talking about the
future. They even have invented a word: “Kismet” which is said when someone is making plans for
the future, so they don’t really plan for it, but just leave it to fate. I think my different experiences
are because of mostly generational and regional differences. The new generation has different
thoughts and ideas, and seeing as I live in the capital and most developed city in the country, I can
see how it can differ due to developmental changes between the people.

2. The website's scores are using data from 2003. Think about generation Y and Z (people
currently attending university): to what degree do you think these scores reflect the culture of
those generations compared to the 2003 scores? Has there been a shift on one of the
dimensions since then? Pick at least one dimension you think generation Y and Z might score
different on and explain, using examples.

I think that these scores are rooted in deep history and cultural factors that have been around for
decades. While generations Y and Z are changing the way of thought and are creating a whole
different society, the influence of the elders is still strong and keeping the younger generation back.
But even with the obstacles, I can see the dimensions changing little by little. I think the dimension
that has had the biggest shift is the masculinity index. While the man has always been held up to a
high standard, to achieve the highest, to be the best, women have always settled for less, just being
wives and mothers. But with this new generation, things are changing. I can see a society that is
being influenced by women in power, or women that have a voice. It’s shifting from people that
can never show weakness and always have to be strong, to a society that is more gentle, more
caring and more open to showing their soft side. For example, I can see in schools, compared to
older generations, that winning and being best in class is not that important anymore, but
cooperation and helping each-other has become a priority
3. The website's data was collected on a study population of IBM employees – that is, not
necessarily a representative sample. When you consider the entire population of your chosen
country, how do you think the scores might be skewed? Hint: think about what a typical IBM
employee must have been like (age, sex, socioeconomic status, political views etc.).

When I think of the time when the study was done, I believe that the type of employees
that worked for IBM were probably older males, since old age was associated with
experience at the time, so they got the best jobs, and women were still not working much,
especially corporate jobs. Also, these employees were probably of a high socioeconomic
status. I think this might have influenced the scores, because I think the ones who voted
were the older, higher class males, which see the world much differently than the other
groups. If women or younger people would have been included, the high power index
would probably be lower, the masculinity would be lower and I think the indulgence would
be higher (since in the study was so low, 15). But, in some ways I think there wouldn’t be
much of a difference. Masculinity or High Power index might be lower, but still high
compared to others, the Individualism would be the same and the Uncertainty Avoidance
would definitely be the same. This is because they are rooted in the culture of everybody,
not just a specific group.