14/5/24

Hofstede’s
theory of
cultural
dimensions
between Mexico
and Poland

Alan Greg Reyes Veloz

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
FACULTY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND JOURNALISM
ADAM MICKIEWICZ UNIVERSITY
 Hofstede’s cultural dimensions between Mexico and Poland

First, I would like to give a brief description about what Hofstede's

theory is and how this theory helps us understand the cultural differences
that some countries may have, thanks to six main dimensions that I will
explain to you.
The first dimension is about power distance, in this dimension we can
emphasize seeing how the society of a country is unequal and how power
is distributed in the same country, some countries tend to be respectful of
authority and to have a generally middle-class life without so much social
difference, while in other countries there is an enormous gap of inequality.
The second dimension is about individualism-collectivism, here it refers to
how society relates to itself, if there is a culture where the “I” is
predominant and in which it is very individual, or if collectivity is the basis
of society where family and community are particularly important.
The third point talks about masculinity and femininity among societies and
what kind of traits are shared, for example, in masculine culture there is
more tendency towards competitiveness and ambition whereas in
femininity collaboration and quality of life are prioritized.
The fourth dimension is about uncertainty avoidance, here we can explore
how culture manages changes if culture is flexible or rigid.
The fifth point is about long-term orientation versus short-term orientation,
here it helps us understand if cultures tend to be perseverant and adapt to
change, or on the contrary, if culture is of low orientation, it tends more
towards stability and respect for the traditions of society.
And finally, we talk about Indulgence vs Restraint, and this dimension helps
us to know if society prefers to satisfy its desires immediately or if it prefers
to live moderately and regulate its desires through social norms.

With this brief introduction, I would like to start comparing the

countries of Mexico and Poland, and I can give a detailed explanation,
because I have been immersed in Polish culture for these two years that I
have lived here.

1. Power distance: In Mexico, power and inequality are very

difficult topics to explain, because my country has a great inequality among
the population, there is a large number of people living in extreme poverty,
the middle class is very small, and the upper class only politicians or people
with a lot of money can be in this position. Most of the habitants in Mexico
live in the lower-high) class, and in terms of power, politics in Mexico is a
joke, where people without knowledge have control of the population
based on deception and populist support to get the votes of the poorest
people in exchange for economic support. In Poland, what I have been able
to appreciate is that most Poles live in the middle class, inequality is not as
noticeable as when I lived in Mexico, currently there is a crisis in Poland
due to other global problems, inflation, etc. But you can live in a modest and
comfortable way, in terms of power in Poland, Poles participate more in the
elections of the country, and it is always sought to promote equality among
people, although there are some conservative politicians who have not
been able to leave aside their support for the Catholic church, which still
exists a gap in Poland to promote equality among foreigners and also about
the LGBTQ community.

2. Individualism-Collectivism: In Mexico we tend to be a very

collectivist country where the most important thing is to be hospitable to
other people, we always seek to support others, whether close friends or
strangers, Mexican culture tends to always support others, even if we do
not live in a difficult economic time, there will always be an offer of food
and sharing will always be the best for our culture. In Poland, I have had
interactions with many Poles in my two years here, also with my
girlfriend's family, and here the Poles are people who follow collectivism,
they are hospitable and kind people with the people they know, it is a
culture a little afraid to open the door to a stranger, but when you have their
friendship you are part of their family, I cannot say that Polish culture is
individualistic if the historical context of the wars and invasions that they
had thanks to their neighbors from the east and west is not analyzed.

3. Masculinity-Femininity: In Mexico we have a mostly

patriarchal culture, where people seek to be competitive, we seek material
things, but I cannot say that we are totally in masculinity, because we also
seek collaboration among others, we support each other to have a better
quality of life, Mexican society lives divided by opportunities, we seek to
fight and compete to have a better quality of life, but also people who live
with a lower quality of life are very collaborative and modest. In Poland, I
could say that they are somewhat similar to the culture in Mexico, but it
tends to be mostly feminine, because here teamwork and quality of life are
prioritized, but there are also certain social groups that prefer collectivity
and ambition to a higher quality of life regardless of whether they harm
others to achieve it.

4. Uncertainty avoidance: In Mexico my culture is a culture that

always lives with uncertainty, you work to live day by day, you don't know
what will happen tomorrow, so I can say that we are a culture with low
uncertainty avoidance because we are more flexible to changes, and we
tend to always look for solutions to our problems and not give up and look
for options to survive (not to live because it is complicated). In Poland, I
could say that most Poles tend to be rigid and avoid unknown situations,
most Poles I have known are people who overthink things too much, they
are not so open to different ideas, they are a little fearful, but also the way
in which they live rigidly and with clear rules has helped them to live in a
more prosperous country.

5. Long-term orientation versus short-term orientation: In

Mexico, the culture tends to be more oriented towards the short term, most
Mexicans only think about today, not tomorrow, so it is a little complicated
to create plans for the future that can help improve the quality of life. In
Poland what I have learned is that here they live more towards a long-term
orientation, where they are oriented more towards the future for fear of
uncertainty, also as I mentioned earlier Poles tend to overthink a lot of
situations and that is why they prefer to think about the future.

6. Restraint - Indulgence. In Mexico we tend to be a very indulgent

society where money is spent to have more luxuries and fun, or also to buy
alcohol, make parties and live in the present. In Poland it is the opposite,
most Polish families prefer to save money, they are a culture where they
seek to focus on basic needs and having that money saved, they can plan to
have some leisure trip and / or use it to buy some new car or apartment.

In conclusion, I could say that Mexican and Polish cultures are very
similar. I must also mention that in Mexico, we appreciate the Pope Jan
Pawel II, we are a Catholic nation, and we share some cultural celebrations
with the Poles. I could say that Poland and Mexico have a great similarity in
terms of culture and society, regarding collectivism and the family being the
important foundation of this society, where unity is always sought and
being together is a regular occurrence, spending weekends together and
spending time together on important occasions such as birthdays or
Christmas dinner. In these two years, I have learned a lot about Polish
culture because most of my friends are Polish, I have worked with Poles,
and it is more the influence of this country that has allowed me to adapt to
this society. I also mention that I can speak Polish in a communicative way,
and this has helped me a lot in personal relationships with my Polish
friends and my partner.