Given the latest political paradigm shift in the United States coupled with technological advances and the trend of globalization, I couldn’t help but wonder if the scores on Hofstede’s National Culture Scale fluctuate. Adding to this was the date of the published scales in the text (1984), Managing Cultural Differences, being over 30 years ago (Moran 2014), with Hofstede’s research being conducted well before that (Beugelsdiik, Sjoerd 2015). If there are changes, how much fluctuation is there and what are the primary causes? Potential score fluctuations in the US can be attributed to political climate change amongst other things, and similar cases can be made for the other nations represented in Hofstede’s research. But also of interest is the effect the US has on other cultures and what this effect can potentially do to create fluctuations in their scores. Finally, the presence of ever-changing subcultures can serve to change Hofstede’s national scores as well.
Starting with our own domestic political changes, the popularity of Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders suggests that there is a subcultural shift away from Hofstede’s Individualism score in the United States from 40th (the most individualist country in the sample (Moran 2014)) to a lower number, one which favors collectivism and socialism. In tandem would be a drop in the Masculinity score as well, with collectivism favoring a much more socialist versus capitalist-brand of economic policy. Enforcing this view is the fact that Sanders’ voters are largely made up of youth, representing a younger generation and potential “movement” (Washington Post 2016). Another example representing a shift from individualism to collectivism was the popularity of the Affordable Health Care Act, driven and implemented by former President Obama. Many individuals in our country feel that this was a prime example of collectivism, where the US government, in essence, forced the people to buy a product (The Freedom Articles 2017), and thus represented a shift away from historical economic individualism.
Globalization of culture, brought about through technological advances, also has the potential to affect Hoftstede’s national culture scores. One of the biggest culprits is the media. It is a largely shared view that the globalization of culture is one where the entire world has been molded in the image of Western, mainly American, culture (Kraidy 2002). Citing examples, BigMacs are on the menu at McDonalds in Asia, Latin America, India and numerous other countries, while TV shows like the Kardashians and Modern Family are aired overseas (Adalian 2015). Media technologies such as satellite television and the internet have created a steady flow of transnational images that connect audiences worldwide (Kraidy 2002) and in the process, can cause cultural hybridization with the infusion of Western ideals. As this pertains to Hofstede, it could potentially tip the rating scale of other countries to be more in line with ours, particularly in the areas of Power Distance, Individualism and Masculinity, the latter in line with traditional American capitalism. It explains why there is media/internet censorship in select countries such as China, but in my opinion technology will eventually overcome any government-imposed boundary.
Finally, the strength of subcultures plays a part in Hofstede’s scoring system and fluctuation therein. For example, there is a much greater Hispanic population in California now than in 1984. In 2014, there were 55.3 million Hispanics compared to 14.8 million in 1980, representing 17.3% of the total US population versus just 6.5% respectively (Brown and Stepler 2016). The infusion of Latin culture and the inherent values can create changes in the 1984 national score in almost all categories, if not to lean towards the scores of their countries of origin. The same argument can be made for other migration variants over time in the United States.
Furthermore, the birth of new subcultures has become more of a global phenomenon since the introduction of the internet, with some being exclusively based online (Reference.com 2017). The more additional subcultures there are, the greater the potential to deviate from Hoftstede’s original 1984 scores. This is even more so when subcultures are often, but not always, formed because of disillusion with wider society (Reference.com 2017).
In conclusion, depending on the size of the paradigm shifts within a country, it appears that there will always be fluctuations in the measurement of National Culture. Subcultures and globalization can exacerbate this effect, especially when society can exchange information so rapidly with the internet, both within its own borders and internationally. Also, cultural hybridization and homogenization can occur through the diffusion of cultural values by media, especially with the exponential advancements in communication technology.
References:
Adalian, Joseph The Most Popular TV Shows in 18 Countries Around the World Vulture.com 2015 Retrieved from: http://www.vulture.com/2015/12/most-popular-us-tv-shows-around-the-world.html
Beugelsdiik, Sjoerd Are Scores on Hofstede’s Dimensions of National Culture Stable over Time? A Cohort Analysis Global Strategy Journal 5 (August 2015)
Brown, Anna and Stepler, Renee Statistical Portrait of Hispanics in the United States Pew Research Center- Hispanic Trends (April 2016) Retrieved from: http://www.pewhispanic.org/2016/04/19/statistical-portrait-of-hispanics-in-the-united-states-key-charts/
Heuval, Katrina The Sanders Movement is only Just Beginning Washington Post (August 2016) Retrieved from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-sanders-movement-is-only-just-beginning/2016/08/09/228b8744-5d87-11e6-9d2f-b1a3564181a1_story.html?utm_term=.f41272db6327
Kraidy, Marwan M. Globalization of Culture through the Media (2002) University of Pennsylvania Retrieved from: http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1333&context=asc_papers
Moran, R., Abramson, N., and Moran, S. (2014). Managing cultural differences. (9th ed.). New York, NY
Olsen, Jody Cultural Gaffes Beyond Your Borders 2010 Retrieved from http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/multime…
Reference.com 2017 Retrieved from: https://www.reference.com/world-view/examples-american-subcultures-e6a3330d5caa2eae
The Freedom Articles (January 2017) Obamacare: Collectivist Medicine at the Point of a Gun Retrieved from: http://freedom-articles.toolsforfreedom.com/obamacare-collectivist-medicine-at-gunpoint/
The Pennsylvania State University World Campus. (2017). Lesson 2: Introduction to Leadership in a Global Context Retrieved from: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1826457/modules/items/21654087
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.