1. Group 2 K17A2

2. The GLOBE cultural taxonomy

3. Project GLOBE (Global Leadership and
Organizational Behavior Effectiveness)
An ongoing research effort, which was conducted by
Robert J.House and his team, study of differences in
cultural patterns
The team has collected information from nearly 20,000
middle managers in 61 cultures who were asked to
describe both the cultural practices and the cultural
values in their cultures
The GLOBE research program builds on Hofstede’s work
and on that of Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck

4. 9 dimensions are used to describe the dominant
patterns of a culture:
Power distance
 Uncertainty avoidance
 In-group collectivism based on the work of
 Institutional collectivism Hofstede
 Gender egalitarianism
 Assertiveness
 Performance orientation
 Future orientation based on the work of
Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck
 Humane orientation.

5. 1. Power distance
Definition: Refers to the degree to which cultures believe
that social and political power should be distributed
disproportionately, shared equally and concentrated
among a few top decision makers.
High power-distance cultures Low power-distance cultures
(In France, Argentina, Nigeria) (In Australia, Denmark, Albania)
•It’s very appropriate to have •It’s important to minimize or
differences among social classes eliminate social class differences
•Upward mobility ought to be •Upward mobility is high
limited
•The decisions of the powerful •Questioning and challenging the
authorities should be met with decisions of authorities is each
unchallenged acceptance person’s duty and responsibility

6. 2.Uncertainty Avoidance
Definition:
The extent to which
cultures feel threatened
by the unpredictability of
future and establish more
structure in the form of
rules, regulations, rituals
and mandatory practices.

7. High uncertainty avoidance cultures Low uncertainty avoidance cultures
(in Sweden, Switzerland and China) (in Russia, Bolivia and South Korea)
•Prefer to avoid uncertainty as cultural •Have a higher tolerance for uncertainty
value, desire or demand consensus and ambiguity
about societal goals
•Do not tolerate dissent or allow •Are much more comfortable with the
deviation in the behaviors of cultural unpredictability of life
members
=>Prefer to develop many ways to => Rules and regulations are kept to a
control people’s social behaviors:
minimum, dissent is tolerated and
Formal regulations, informal rules about deviance is regarded as peculiar or
acceptable conduct, elaborate rituals
eccentric rather than as threatening.
and religious practices.

8. 3.In-Group Collectivism express pride, loyalty
Reflects the degree to which people
and solidarity with their family or similar group.
High in-group collectivism cultures Low in-group collectivism cultures
(in Georgia, Morocco and Philippines) (in New Zealand, Finland and the Netherlands)
•Individuals take pride in and define •The independence and autonomy of
their sense of self in term of their the individual is an overriding feature.
family or similar group
•People’s identities within •People’s identities are separate from
collectivistic cultures are closely tied those of the group.
to their ingroups
•Strong Group membership are •Group membership is regarded as
required and desired voluntary and allegiance with one’s
ingroup is not expected to be strong.

9. 4.Institutional collectivism
Concerned with the basis upon which decisions are made
and the group's resources are allocated.
Represents the degree to which cultures support,
value, and prefer to distribute rewards based on group
versus individual interest

10. High institutional collectivism cultures Low institutional collectivism cultures
(in Qatar and Japan) (in Italy and Greece)
Decisions that juxtapose the benefits to Decisions are based on what is good for
the group with the benefits to the the individual, with little regard for the
individual nearly base the decision on group.
what is best for the group
=> Group activities are typically preferred => The person is the primary source of
to individual actions. motivation, individual autonomy and
actions tend to dominate.

11. 5.Gender Egalitarianism
According to Hofstede, masculinity-femininity dimension
have been separated into :
A belief in equality between women and men
A preference for forcefull assertiveness
Gender Egalitarianism
Definition: The extent to which a culture minimizes
differences ingender expectations for men vs women

12. Cultures at the midpoint of the Cultures low in gender egalitarianism
gender egalitarianism
(In Hungary and Poland ) (In Austria anh Egypt)
Gender quality is preferred Engage in unequal treatment of men and
women
•Men and women should be treated in •The differences between men and women
the same way require dissimilar expectations and
treatment
•Unequal treatment solely because of
one’s biological sex or gender •View the divergence in gender roles and
constitutes discrimination and should expectations as normal and natural.
not occur.

13. 6.Assertiveness
Requires every culture to find a solution, pertains to the
cultural preference for :
Dominance and forcefulness
Nurturance and social support
Describes the extent to which people value and prefer:
Tough aggressiveness
Tender non-aggressiveness

14. High-context cultures
Value strength, success and
taking the initiative
•Competition is good, winning is
desirable and rewards should go
to those who are victorious.
•People are encouraged
to be competitive, visible and
successful
•Representative cultures:
Germany and Hong Kong

15. Low-context
cultures
Value modesty, tenderness,
warm relationships and
cooperation
• Competition is bad, a win-lose
orientation is unacceptable and
rewards should be shared among
all.
• Nurturance and social support
are important, a sense of solidarity.
• Friendliness is much more
important than brilliance
• Typical cultures: Kuwait and
Thailand

16. 7.Performance
orientation
Definition
The degree to
which a culture
encourages and
rewards people
for their
accomplishments

17. The ways people are regarded as superior to others
Because of who they are: the “correct” family
background, age, gender, birth order, school.
Based on personal achievements: the amount of
education, success in business, physical strength,
occupation…

18. High performance-
oriented cultures
(In Canada and Singapore)
Status is based on what a
person has accomplished.
•Schooling and education are
critical to one’s success
•People are expected to
demonstrate some initiative in
work-related tasks and
expectations are high.

19. Low performance-
oriented cultures
Low performance-
(In Colombia and Guatemala)
oriented cultures
Status is based on who you
are.
Attending the “right” school is
important, as are family
connections, seniority, loyalty
and tradition.

20. People‘s preferred relationship to the
natural and spirit world
As Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck suggested:
Some cultures view nature as something to be
conquered and controlled.
Others view themselves as subjected to nature.

21. High performance - oriented cultures
• Assert their dominance over
nature and try to shape the
world to fit their needs
•Getting the job done is far more
important than maintaining
effective relationships
•What really matters is the task-
related results that show what
someone has accomplished
•People value competitiveness,
assertiveness and achievement.

22. Low performance-oriented cultures
•People feel more controlled
by nature and want to live
in harmony with the natural
and spiritual environment.
•Maintaining effective
relationships is more
important than is getting
the job done.
•What matters most are
cooperation, integrity and
loyalty.

23. Edward Hall’s concept
High performance - oriented cultures Low performance-oriented cultures
Tend to be low-context Tend to be high-context
•Prefer to use messages that are •Use high-context messages more
clear, explicit and direct often
•Have a monochronic approach to •Their intent is to avoid direct
time. confrontations and maintain
Time is valuable and limited, events harmony in their relationships
are sequential and punctuality is
preferred.

24. 8.Future orientation
Definition: the extent to which a culture plans for
forthcoming events
It describes the degree to which cultures advocate
long-term planning
Deferred gratification or the deeply felt satisfaction
that comes from experiencing the simple pleasures of
the present moment

25. Cultures are high in future Cultures are low in future
orientation orientation
(Iran, Hong Kong) (Portugal, Venezuela)
•Believe that current pleasures are •Like to live “in the moment” and
less important than future benefits. are less constrained by doubts
about the past or concerns about
=> Believe in planning, self-control the future
and activities that have a delayed
impact =>Prefer to enjoy fully the
experiences currently under way.
•Want to save money and other
resources •Are more likely to spend now
rather than save for later
=>Believe in strategic planning,
value economic success => View material and spiritual
achievements as opposing goals and
prefer the latter.

26. 9.Humane orientation
Refers to the extent to which cultures encourage and
reward their members for being benevolent and
compassionate toward others or are concerned with self-
gratification
Cultures high in humane Cultures low in humane
orientation orientation
•Value expressions of kindness, Value comfort, pleasure,
generosity, caring and compassion. satisfaction, personal enjoyment
•People who express social support for •Expected to confront personal
others are admired problems by themselves
•Representative cultures: Zambia and •Concerned primarlty with individual
Indonesia gratification
Representative cultures: Spain and
white Africa

27. Comparing the GLOBE dimensions
Cultural patterns represent a universal social choice,
made by each culture and learnt from the family and
throughout the social institutions :
 In the degree children are encouraged to have their own
desires and motivations
 In the solidarity and unity expected in the family
 Throughout the messages that are conveyed
See table 5.4: Information on each of the GLOBE
practices for 61 countries
Table 5.5: Information on GLOBE values

28. The GLOBE research helps to clarify our understanding of
cultural patterns in 2 ways:
1.It separates cultural practices from cultural values
(the ways people typically (what people regard as
behave in everyday important and believe is
communication) ideal)
Cultural practices and cultural
values are not always similar.
Eg: In Spain, power distance is very
high but the ideal power distance is
low
In Nordic European cultures,
institutional collectivism is high but

29. 2. It helps to explain the complex nature of cultural
patterns by:
 Providing updated information on a wide range of
cultures
 Refining the distinctions that differentiate among
cultures
 Revising and expanding the cultural dimension
Eg: Whereas Japanese are extremely high in
institutional collectivism, they are below the average
for in-group collectivism

30. Cultural Taxonomies and
Intercultural Competence

31. Cultural Taxonomies
Cultures vary systematically in their choices
about solutions to basic human problems
The taxonomies :
• Offer lenses through which cultural variations
can be understood and appreciated
• Help to describe the fundamental aspects of
cultures
• Provide mechanisms to understand all
intercultural communication events.

32. Intercultural Competence
In any intercultural encounter, people may be
communicating from very different perceptions
The competent intercultural communicator must
recognize cultural variation in addressing basic human
issues will always be a factor in intercultural
communication

33. The Taxonomies allow to use culture-specific
knowledge to improve intercultural competence:
Begin by seeking out information about the cultural
patterns of those individuals you engage with
Study the patterns of your own culture.
Requires only a willingness to reflect on your
personal preferences.
Consider your own preferences by juxtaposing them
with the description of typical person from another
culture.

34. Summary
Three important taxonomies that can be used to
describe cultural variation:
Edward Hall placed cultures on a continuum from
high to low context
Geert Hofstede described seven dimensions along
which dominant patterns of a culture can be ordered:
The GLOBE researchers identified nine dimensions of
culture and distinguished between cultural practice
and cultural value