Cultures and Organizations:

Software of the Mind

By Geert Hofstede
Presented by:
Natalie Balaziuk, Beth Roszkowski,
Michelle Yeager
Hofstede’s Background
 Born in Netherlands in 1928
 Founded and managed the
Personnel Research
Department of IBM Europe
 Co-founder of IRIC
(Institute for Research on
Intercultural Cooperation
 Most cited non-American in
the field of Management in
the US Social Sciences
Citation Index
Software of the Mind 101
 Hofstede’s intent
 Mental Programs: Software of the Mind
 Three levels of Mental Programs
 What does this mean?
 Memory and Forgetting (Knowledge
Structures)
Studies
IBM Study IRIC Study
 Conducted in 1974  Conducted 1985-
 IBM employees-50 1987
countries and 3  20 organizational
multicountry regions units in 2 countries
 National Cultures  Organizational
 Dimensions Culture
 Dimensions
Dimensions of National
Culture
 Power Distance
 Individualism vs. Collectivism
 Masculinity vs. Femininity
 Uncertainty Avoidance
 Confucian Dynamism (Long-term
orientation vs. Short-term orientation)
Power Distance
Large Power Distance Small Power Distance
 Employees afraid of  Approach and

bosses challenge bosses

 Depend on their  Bosses consult with

bosses staff
 Large emotional  Small emotional

distance distance
Individualism vs. Collectivism
Individualism Collectivism
 Interests of the  Interests of the
individual outweigh group outweigh the
the interests of the
interests of the
group
individual
 Individual is
independent
 Group is one’s
 One must look after identity
himself/herself  Group=protection
 Individualism vs. Collectivism
(Ranking)

Individualism Collectivism
 Personal time  Training
 Freedom  Physical conditions
 Challenge  Use of skills
Masculinity vs. Femininity
Masculinity Femininity
 Social gender roles are  Social gender roles
defined overlap
 Men are assertive &  Men and women are
tough both modest &
 Women are modest & concerned with quality
concerned with quality of life
of life  Little difference
 High difference between genders
between the genders
 Masculinity vs. Femininity
(Ranking)
Masculinity Femininity
 Earnings  Manager
 Recognition  Cooperation
 Advancement  Living area
 Challenge  Employment security
Uncertainty Avoidance

 Strong uncertainty avoidance vs. Weak

uncertainty avoidance
 Uncertainty avoidance  Risk avoidance
 Unique coping mechanisms
 Stress among men and women
Confucian Dynamism
 AKA- long-term vs. short-term
orientation
 5th dimension revealed through another
study- Chinese value survey (CVS)
 Administered to 100 students in 23
countries
 Findings of study
 Related to economic growth
Confucian Dynamism
(Ratings)
Long-term orientation
 Persistence
 Ordering relationships
by status and observing
this order
 Thrift
 Having a sense of
shame
 =High economic growth
Short-term orientation
 Personal steadiness and
stability
 Protecting one’s “face”
 Respect for tradition
 Reciprocation of
greetings, favors, and
gifts
 =Less economic growth
IRIC Study
 IBM vs. IRIC
 National Values vs. Organizational
Practices
 Organizational Practices as
“Communities of Practice”
Dimensions of Organizational
Practice
 Process-Oriented vs. Results-Oriented
 Employee-Oriented vs. Job-Oriented
 Parochial vs. Professional
 Open System vs. Closed System
 Loose Control vs. Tight Control
 Pragmatic vs. Normative
 Practical Implications
of IRIC Findings
 Structural Changes
 Process Changes
 Personnel Changes
 Cultural Training
 Critiques
Positive Negative
 Well reviewed  Limits of study
 Hofstede succeeds  Sweeping
in his main goal generalizations
 Timely publication of  Western bias
Culture’s  IRIC study-criticisms
Consequences
Discussion
 Where do you think the United States ranks among
the five dimensions of national culture?
 Do you think national values can change over time?
 What are the practical implications of these findings?
 Do you think that increasing globalization and
advancements in technology will lead to a narrower
spectrum of national values?
 Is it possible for someone to identify with more than
one national culture?
Sources Consulted:
Bing, John W. (2004). Hofstede’s consequences: The impact of his work on
consulting and business practices. Academy of Management Executive, 18 (1),
80-87.
 
Hofstede, Geert. (1991). Cultures & organizations: Software of the mind:
Intercultural cooperation and its importance for survival. New York: McGraw-Hill.
 
Hofstede, Geert. Geert Hofstede about himself. (n.d.) Retrieved November 2004
from http://spitswww.uvt.nl/web/iric/hofstede/index.htm

Hoppe, Michael H. (2004). An interview with Geert Hofstede. Academy of

Management Executive, 18 (1), 75-79.
 
International Business Center. Geert Hofstede. (n.d.) Retrieve November 2004 from
http://geert-hofstede.international-business-center.com/
Sources Consulted (cont.):
Kieser, Alfred. (1994). Book reviews. Organization Studies, 15 (3), 457-461.
 
Mintu, Alma T. (1993). Cultures and organizations. Journal of International Business
Studies, 23 (2), 362-366.
 
Mumford, Alice. (1992). Cultures and organizations. Industrial & Commercial
Training, 24 (2), vi-vii.
 
Søndergaard, Mikael. (1994). Research note: Hofstede’s consequences: a study of
reviews, citations, and replications. Organization Studies, 15 (3), 447-456.
 
Torrington, Derek. (1992). Book reviews. Employee Relations, 14 (3), 71-72.
 
Triandis, Harry C. (1993). Reviews on cultural phenomena. Administrative Science
Quarterly, 38 (1), 132-135.