Geert Hofstede has conducted some very valuable work in regards to understanding the 6 cultural differences he perceived to exist: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, long-term/short-term orientation, and indulgence/restraint. (Penn State, 2018) But once you truly take an intentional dive into his concept on a specific country, the results are quite fascinating and can offer much insight.
Choosing to remain with a culture I have interactions with daily, I visited Hofstede Insights website and first narrowed my search to India. The score card ranking India on the 6 differences appeared, and I sat back to take a closer look to see what I could learn. Hofstede provided the following grades in his 6 differences: power distance – 77, uncertainty avoidance – 40, individualism/collectivism – 48, masculinity/femininity – 56, long-term/short-term orientation – 51, and indulgence/restraint 26. (Hofstede, n.d.)
This first segment that stood out to me was the power difference. “India scores high on this dimension, 77, indicating an appreciation for hierarchy and a top-down structure in society and organizations.” “Employees expect to be directed clearly as to their functions and what is expected of them.” (Hofstede, n.d.) I can acknowledge that I have found myself frustrated at times as it appeared that several of my India based counterparts seemed to lack initiative to think ahead and be proactive on their own in projects. Now, I understand that it may not entirely be because they lack the want, but they instead may have been culturally taught to not move forward without specific provided direction from their leadership. This little nugget is extremely helpful, and I plan to put it to use as soon as tomorrow when there are perceived hiccups in the teams operations. Rather than grow frustrated, I as the leader will need to be cognizant of this cultural difference and modify my expectations and delivery of them back to my team. This big yet small point of personal development on my part, may help to contribute to an even greater success at the team level.
Long term orientation also caught my eye as Hofstede discussed their faith and their sense of timeliness which I wrote of in my discussion topic last week. “Countries like India have a great tolerance for religious views from all over the world. Hinduism is often considered a philosophy more than even a religion; an amalgamation of ideas, views, practices and esoteric beliefs.” (Hofstede, n.d.) My executive team is Hindu and I have been grateful to be included in several of their holidays and blessings.
Most recently, we moved to a new office location. I was fortunate to be onsite that day, as normally I work remote, when my female CIO stopped by and asked me to come along. I was politely instructed to remove my shoes outside of our main conference room and to proceed inside. There, a small group had gathered and were lighting a candle and for lack of a better term, chanting a prayer. The President of the company turned, caught my eye and smiled as he and his wife (the CIO) continued with the lighting of candle while they prayed. At the conclusion of the blessing, my CIO came over to explain what they had done and why. It was a fantastic moment of really learning the nature of their religion. This simple observation of a blessing then led into me being able to ask a few questions of her regarding her Hinduism. It was a fantastic few moments to really learn just how very open and accepting Hinduism is. More so, I learned that even though I am Christian, my denomination did not cause them to preclude me, and rather to warmly include me.
As interesting and educational as I find Hofstede’s cultural differences. it also makes me cognizant to avoid using his ratings or explanations as an all-inclusive definition for the given culture. For instance, despite several team members displaying the definition Hofstede presented regarding power differences, I have one member of my team who is very much a forward thinker and doer. He needs little, sometimes if any, direction to see the full picture, know what the next step is, and effectively move to it without instruction to do so. In moments like these, I must be sure to not use Hofstede’s work to incorrectly lump all people of the same culture into the same pot per se. Instead, as an effective leader, I will recognize these differences amongst the participants and modify my interactions with each in order to ensure the best outcome and success for all.
Hofstede, G. (n.d.). Hofstede Insights. Retrieved from https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/india/
Pennsylvania State University (2018). Leadership in global context–OLEAD 410. Penn State World Campus, The Pennsylvania State University.
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