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Certainty
Hofstede's definition:
Uncertainty avoidance deals with a society’s tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity.
Uncertainty avoidance has nothing to do with risk avoidance, nor with following rules. It has to do with anxiety and distrust in the face of the unknown, and conversely, with a wish to have fixed habits and rituals, and to know the truth.
The extent to which people prefer rules, regulations and controls, or are more comfortable with unstructured, ambiguous or unpredictable situations.
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So the questions are:
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How do people feel in these types of situations (what is the level of anxiety that exists in a particular society in the face of an uncertain future?)
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What do they do to try to deal with uncertainty?
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Those with a Need for Certainty put into place rules, procedures and structures, and try to plan for different contingencies. This helps make events more predictable and interpretable.
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Those with a Tolerance for Ambiguity consider uncertainty a normal feature of life. They think that rules should be established only in case of absolute necessity, and they believe that many problems can be solved without formal rules.
Need for Certainty
Need for Certainty Orientation Advantage:
Precision
01
There is an emotional need for rules, even if they will not work.
02
Acceptance of familiar risks, fear of ambiguous situations and of unfamiliar risks.
03
More formal and widely understood ways of behaving and getting the work done.
04
Comfortable in structured environments; matters that can be structured should not be left to chance.
05
Information held is power.
06
Belief in experts and technical solutions.
07
Focus on decision content.
08
Teachers/Managers are supposed to have all the answers.
09
What is different is dangerous.
Tolerance for Ambiguity
