I’ve always found Europe somewhat fascinating and maybe a bit mystical in some ways. I suppose it’s because my descendants on both sides of my family are from countries within Europe. My mother’s father was Polish, both parents were from Poland and her mother’s family was from England and Ireland. My father’s mother was Italian and my father’s father was Irish. So you can see that our familial lineage originates from Europe which adds to my intrigue. In 2018, I got married to a man who’s mother and father are both immigrants from Ireland and because most of his mother’s family still live there (all 10 brothers and sisters, nieces, nephews, great nieces/nephews, etc.) we had a second wedding in Ireland. We stayed for 10 days to visit family and friends and also had some time to sight see which was really spectacular. Being in Ireland where my family descended really gave me another lens to look through since everything, including structures, was so old and dated back hundreds of years.
The prior year, in 2017, I had the opportunity to travel to our regional offices in the Netherlands, England and Poland so by the time I travelled to Ireland, my curiosity about other cultures in Europe really started to peak. I remember when I arrived in Poland feeling really uncomfortable. I’m pretty sure I felt unsettled because I couldn’t speak or understand the language but I do remember thinking that the country looked a lot like New Jersey where I’ve lived my whole life. That connection made me feel a bit better and the thought that my great-grandparent lived there gave me a sense of nostalgia. My great-grandparents came to the US in the late 1800’s and I began to wonder why. What were they looking for when they came to a strange and foreign country? I remember my grandfather telling me that they had no money what so ever and that they were very poor. I imaging that they came to the US seeking opportunity because at that time, the US was expanding west, albeit, they never left, New Jersey. It’s this nostalgic feeling of wonder that gave rise my Blog this week. Since I don’t know much about the culture in Poland, I thought I’d compare a couple of traits between the US and Poland from Hofstede’s cultural dimensions (Moran, Abramson & Moran, 2014).
I thought I’d look at Power Distance and Individualism. Recall that Power Distance is “the extent to which a society accepts that power in institutions and organizations is distributed unequally” such as hierarchical authority at the workplace (Moran, Abramson & Moran, 2014, pg. 19). Individualism is “loosely knit social framework in a society in which people are supposed to take care of themselves and of their immediate families only” (Moran, Abramson & Moran, 2014, pg. 19). In other words, Individualists are concerned with setting and achieving their own goals and objectives, versus the goals and objectives of a group or community which would be considered Collectivism. Keep in mind that this is not an essay but a blog so my analysis will be cursory but informative. At least, informative enough to satisfy my curiosity. Hopefully, it will interest you as well.
After doing some exploring on Google Scholar, there seems to be an abundance of research on Hofstede’s cultural dimensions especially in comparison to the United States. I wasn’t sure if I’d find anything on Poland, but I did find a few articles so I was pleasantly surprised. As we know by now, the United States is an Individualistic society and the studies that have been conducted over the years support this claim (Probst et al. , 2000). In fact, the United States is arguably “the prototype of individualism” (Probst et al. , 2000, np.) We have our own agendas, we tend to seek to satisfy our individual desires, as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else. Poland on the other hand, is a split between Individualism and collectivism. Their collectivism comes from “over 40 years of functioning under the communist rule of the USSR and the dominance of values implemented by the Catholic Church” which is something that I hadn’t considered, but it makes sense (Gajda & Oie, 2017). In communist societies, everyone is equal. However, Poland shifted towards the Individualistic trait after the end of communism in the USSR in the 1980’s where they began to adopt Western values (Gajda & Oie, 2017). On the Power Distance scale, the United States falls in the low category which means that we are all empowered to make decisions versus a high category which draws clear lines between authority and subordinates (Probst, et al., 2000). Poland falls in the higher side of Power Distance where “Polish managers to be relatively autocratic in leadership style” (Probst et al. , 2000, np.). Perhaps as Poland continues to adopt more Western styles, their Power Distance will start to shift like their Collectivism did in the 1980’s (Gajda & Oie, 2017).
So there you have it. You learn something new every day. I had no idea that Poland was influenced by their communist neighbors in the USSR and they are high on the Power Distance scale. I feel like having this background will better help me connect with my colleagues in Lodz where we have our regional office.
Gajda, A., & Oie, M. (2017). Between Individualism and Collectivism: Perception and Profiles of Creativity in Poland and Japan, Creativity. Theories – Research – Applications, 4(2), 198-217. doi: https://doi.org/10.1515/ctra-2017-0011
Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (9th ed.). Oxford: Routledge. ISBN: 9780415717359
Robert, C., Probst, T. M., Martocchio, J. J., Drasgow, F., & Lawler, J. J. (2000). Empowerment and continuous improvement in the united states, mexico, poland, and india: Predicting fit on the basis of the dimensions of power distance and individualism. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(5), 643-658. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1037/0021-9010.85.5.643
Robert, C., Probst, T. M., Martocchio, J. J., Drasgow, F., & Lawler, J. J. (2000). Empowerment and continuous improvement in the united states, mexico, poland, and india: Predicting fit on the basis of the dimensions of power distance and individualism. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(5), 643-658. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1037/0021-9010.85.5.643