Leadership and Hofstede 's Six Dimensions
Maneuvering through the sea of cultural differences in the workplace in today’s business can be tricky. As companies become more global, and employ people from different cultures, leaders must learn to adapt to differences among these cultures if they wish to succeed. Leading the same across cultures may not have positive outcomes. In this writing, I will discuss Hofstede’s six cultural dimensions and how they relate to leadership. I will then explain what combinations of these dimensions, I feel, make the most effective leader. First, let’s discuss the six dimensions of leadership.
Six Dimensions and Leadership
Between 1967 and 1973, IBM collected data of employee value scores. (Hofstede,
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Participative leadership style would be used in this case, giving followers the ability to be a part of decision making.
Individualism Versus Collectivism (IDV)
This dimension measures how “tight or loose-knit” the “social framework” is among people. (Hofstede, 2001, para. 5). Countries that measure on the higher side of this scale have more “individualism,” meaning they look out for themselves and their immediate families. On the opposite end of this scale, collectivism; people look at the better good of the group keeping all interests in mind. The leadership for individualism is based more on one-on-one types of interactions, focusing on strengths of the individual. (Ori, n.d.). In a collectivism environment, the leader will focus on the betterment of the group, possibly utilizing a laissez-faire style of leadership.
Masculinity Versus Femininity (MAS)
In the MAS dimension, societies that are high in masculinity focus more on achievements and are more competitive. On opposite end of this dimension, society is focused more on caring for each other, worried more about the quality of life. The leadership style for a high masculinity dimension would be procedural, being more task orientated vs relationship based. ("Sides of Leadership," 2005). The style for a low masculinity or feminine side would be more of a “democratic,” or even transformational,
The most useful culture assessment tools available to organizational leaders is the leadership competency tools. Here’s why? These tools relate to diverse cultures in the areas of organizational performance, productivity, and unity. This form of assessment has the potential of uncovering possible deficits in the leaders' different cultures and give the manager an opportunity to overcome perceived shortcomings. The leaders may require additional cultural intelligence training to be more effective. However, Human resource officials select future global leaders because these leaders already have acquired job-related technical knowledge (Daher, 2015). Groups at times often overlook interpersonal skills and cultural knowledge. For these reasons, initial cultural assessments are essential for new leaders.
Managers in today’s world are important assets to the multicultural organisations. Leadership styles of managers are highly important in terms of managing the team of followers, which has a correlation to the productivity and results that the team would achieve in the future. By having good management, it contributes to the success of the organisation. Hence, it is vital to identify the different leadership styles especially in different cultures to suit the working environment and culture of the organization. In the present multicultural global business industry, cultural differences can come in the way of the success of project completion (Anbari, Khilkhanova, Romanova, & Umpleby , 2009) . It has been claimed that rigid leadership does not promote motivation and creativity, therefore, managers should lead by flexible leadership and be culturally sensitive, adapting to different cultures, for the team to be able to move forward and reach their goals (Anabri et al. 2009). The way a manager’s leadership takes place also affect’s the experience of the employees at work and the relationship between the manager and the employee. Jariya (2012, p66) states that ‘different cultures differ in the values they endorse, people from these cultures often interpret the same managerial practices
The Hofstede six dimension model 's a study or theory, put forth by Professor Geer Hofstede, on how values in the work place are influenced by cultural differences around the world. The Model analyzes different countries on a scale from one to a hundred in six of the different categories. The categories in the model include; Power Distance Index, Individualism versus Collectivism, Masculinity versus Femininity, Uncertainty Avoidance Index, Long Term Orientation versus Short Term Normative Orientation, and lastly Indulgence versus Restraint. Effective leaders can use this cultural six dimension/model to allow themselves to adapt their leadership qualities based on certain cultural factors in the workplace making the individual a better , more effective leader.
This dimension is described by Hofstede (1980, 2001) as the framework where society decides if they are closely related to their group or if they are more individualistic. Does the individual come first? Or does the team? In more individualist countries, focus is on the individuals interest and needs, value is placed on the person specifically, individuals are awarded for their efforts (i.e. leaders take credit for
Cultural intelligence refers to a person's ability to use reasoning and observation skills to interpret unfamiliar gestures and situations and devise appropriate behavioral responses. Cultural intelligence entails three components that are essential for it to work that includes cognitive, emotional, and physical. In order for a leader to properly implement cultural intelligence they must be flexible, adaptive, and open minded. The reason that it's important for today's leaders to develop cultural intelligence is because it allows the leader to adapt to an unfamiliar situation, act quickly, and respond in a way that is appropriate to the culture in question. As organizations continue to expand on a global market and become partners with foreign organizations, it's essential that one continues to develop and improve their cultural
“Culture is to a human collectivity is what personality is to an individual” (Hofstede, 2001). By this, Hofstede means that culture aids in identifying a people group in the same way that a personality identifies a person. This means that in the same way that people with differing personalities but similar values can be servant leaders, unique cultures with the same foundational emphasis on service and leadership can practice servant leadership. This is important to remember when evaluating servant leadership in various cultural
This literature review will make use of four pieces of academic work to discuss how the concept of culture can intrinsically affect leadership. The literature finds that the link between culture and leadership is an important, yet complicated relationship. I will begin by discussing and defining the central concepts of culture and leadership. I will then explain and analyse the significance of culture upon leadership. Finally I will review Hofstede’s cultural framework to assess its significance and relevance to the topic at hand.
In my experience, working in a team environment not only means working together collaboratively, but also means being sensitive to cultural differences and outlooks within the team. Dr. Geert Hofstede, a Dutch social phycologist, devised a way to recognize these cultural differences in five distinct dimensions (Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions, n.d.). This essay will discuss these five dimensions and how they relate to leadership, as well as presenting arguments on which combination of these dimensions makes the most
The degree to which personalities are integrated into crowds. This measurement has no political meaning and mentions to the group rather than the individual. Cultures that are original place importance on reaching personal goals. In syndicalist societies, the aims of the group and its happiness are valued over those of the individual.
Understanding cultural differences can enable leaders to more effectively support and manage their followers. Realizing that a leadership style that works in one culture may not result in the same outcome in another country is paramount to foster strong work relationships. This essay will review the cultural dimension scores provided by Geert Hofstede for the United States and Sweden and explore how these differences impact workplace relationships and leadership strategy.
Infusing a specific culture(s) into one’s leadership, by far, is one of leadership’s greatest challenges. It could be said that culture dictates how leaders lead. In the culture of leadership itself, a leader must understand the context of what is happening around them and how information flows from one audience to the next (Barrett, 2014). Time, language, power, spirituality, tradition, and whether or not a specific culture is driven by collectivism or individualism are also to be considered within that culture of leadership (Barrett, 2014). Understanding these concepts drives how we lead, do business, and communicate with others within the melting pot of our own country and people of foreign lands. Culture shapes the leader’s ideals, personality traits, work values, and to a point, determines the pattern of leadership towards a specific culture (Wibbeke, 2014). It is by knowing other cultures that allows leaders to effectively lead and to connect the dots of differences that impact strategy (Soo, 2012, para. 2).
In times of rapid globalisation and economic development growth, the environment of business has become more and more complicated as a huge number of firms want to globally expand their businesses. Subsequently, the managerial implications of cross-cultural management is the challenge of this development. As Abbe (2007) states, cross-cultural leadership has developed as a way to understand leaders who work in the global markets. Culture is the “software of mind” that can influence people’s patterns of thinking and behaving.
Professor Hofstede has studies that show how values in the workplace are influenced by culture. Today’s leaders often encounter employees and peers that come from different cultures. Looking into these studies helps find valuable information that can be used for effective leadership. Recognizing, accepting, and altering leadership styles based on these differences will make everyone’s job easier and mostly importantly the company will thrive.
Hofstede 's cultural dimensions theory is a framework for cross-cultural communication, developed by Geert Hofstede. It describes the effects of a society 's culture on the values of its members, and how these values relate to behavior, using a structure derived from factor analysis.
which each person respects the group to which he or she belongs (Rees & Edwards, 2011). Countries such as USA, UK, and Australia are more to individualism. This is because they are only focus on themselves and their immediate family; prefer to have privacy, favour to have personal opinion and so on. On the contrary, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, and Venezuela are some of the countries that used collectivism. There are always relying on each other and focus on group’s welfare.