BUILDING CULTURAL BRIDGES

"Culture is the collective programming of the human mind that distinguishes the members of one human group from those of another" - Geert Hofstede, 1991.

Culture Bridges Tool

Prof. Em. Dr. Geert Hofstede, MSc, PhD

Gerard Hendrik (Geert) Hofstede was a Dutch social psychologist, IBM employee, and Professor Emeritus of Organizational Anthropology and International Management at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, well known for his pioneering research on cross-cultural groups and organizations.

He is best known for developing one of the earliest and most popular frameworks for measuring cultural dimensions in a global perspective. Here he described national cultures along six dimensions: Power Distance, Individualism, Achievement, Certainty, Time Orientation, and Indulgence.

The 6 Dimensions Model of National Culture

Geert Hofstede, assisted by others, came up with six basic issues that society needs to come to terms with in order to organize itself. These are called dimensions of culture. Each of them has been expressed on a scale that runs roughly from 0 to 100.

For each dimension here is a brief description and a ten-minute video in which Geert Hofstede explains that dimension.

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Power Distance

Hofstede's definition: Power Distance is the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally.

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