Hofstede Cultures and Organizations

1
Hofstede -- Cultures and Organizations

• Chapter 1
• Levels of Culture
• Part A

2
Hofstedes Assumptions

• All human societies share some basic problems or
  issues, including . . .
• (In)equality
• Group solidarity
• Gender roles
• Uncertainty
• Need gratification

3
Hofstedes Assumptions

• Different societies -- different approaches to
  these common problems
• To insiders their approach seems natural,
  rational, and morally right (p. xii, 1st ed.).
• To outsiders may seem unnatural,
  irrational, perhaps immoral?

4
Hofstedes Assumptions

• Whatever approach a society has developed to
  these issues, that approach serves as collective
  programming or cultural software of the mind
  for individuals born and/or socialized into that
  group.

5
Culture as Mental Programming

• Every person carries within him or herself
  patterns of thinking, feeling, and potential
  acting which were learned throughout their
  lifetime. Much of it has been acquired in early
  childhood . . .
• As soon as certain patterns of thinking feeling
  and acting have established themselves within a
  persons mind, (s)he must unlearn these before
  being able to learn something different and
  unlearning is more difficult than learning for
  the first time. (p. 4).

6
Culture as Mental Programming

• Using the analogy of the way in which computers
  are programmed this book will call such patterns
  of thinking feeling and acting mental programs
  or as the sub-title goes "software of the
  mind".
• This does not mean, of course, that people are
  programmed the way computers are. A persons
  behavior is only partially predetermined by her
  or his mental programs (s)he has a basic ability
  to deviate from them, and to react in was which
  are new, creative, destructive, unexpected. (p.
  4)

7
Culture as Mental Programming

• Culture is always a collective phenomenon,
  because it is at least partly shared with people
  who live or lived within the same social
  environment, which is where it was learned. It is
  the collective programming of the mind which
  distinguishes the members of one group or
  category of people from another. (p. 5)

8
Concept of CULTURE

• Related to cultivation
• Every child living in society is enculturated
  (or civilized) through careful nurturing,
  education, training
• They are programmed with that societys
  collective programming of the mind
• African societies a person becomes human
  through interaction with other humans in society
• In English we talk about becoming a man/lady or
  being humane

9
Culture and Humanity

• If our human potential takes actual shape only
  through culture, then
• . . . our sense of humanity is largely dependent
  on our cultural values.
• Letting go of culture feels like letting go of
  human nature!
• Possibility hold more lightly, grow, change . . .

10
Hofstedes Distinctions in Human Mental
Programming

• Human nature (biological)
• Universal level of mental software (why not
  hardware too?) Operating System
• Inherited genetically
• Culture
• Specific mental software
• Downloaded from ones society
• Personality
• Unique combination of individual biology,
  culture, experiences

11
Personality and Culture

• Each person uniquely understands and manifests
  collective culture
• Keesings definition of culture an
  individuals theory of what his or her fellows
  know, believe, and mean, his theory of the code
  being followed, the game being played, in the
  society into which he was born (1974)

12
Layers of Culture
13
Layers of Culture

• According to Hofstede . . . Which
  level is deepest/most enduring? Shallowest/least
  enduring?
• Do you agree?
• Which layer is Hofstedes main concern?
• Uncovering values U.S. heroes and proverbs
  (class exercises)

14
Another way to look at layers

• Cultural artifacts (physical objects/behaviors)
• ----------------------------------------
• Verbal and Nonverbal Symbols
• Symbolic Meanings (worldview)
• Beliefs
• Behavioral norms
• Attitudes/values
• ---------------------------------------------
• Universal Human Needs

15
For 2 weeks from now

• Read Hofstedes Consequences by John W. Bing
  (up to, but not including, Appendix). Access via
  EBSCO database.
• Read handout from Exploring Cultures
• Read CO preface and chapter 1
• Then read CO chapters 2-3
• Jot down 3-5 questions your reading provokes.
• Next time Well explore first 2 dimensions