Cultural Dimentions by Hofstede. Uncertainty avoidance.
Uncertainty avoidance is the extent to which a society feels threatened by unsure and ambiguous situations and consequently searches for statutory structures (Hill 1998:15). The stronger the uncertainty avoidance is, the greater the feeling of threat and the inclination towards avoiding novel situations, argues Hill. Low uncertainty avoidance cultures encourage risk taking and the adoption of informal rules to guide behaviour, whereas high uncertainty avoidance cultures prefer clear procedures and formal rules. Russia belongs to the high uncertainty avoidance cultures. There is a great desire for consensus in cultures high in uncertainty avoidance (Andersen 2001:97). Members of high uncertainty avoidance cultures also tend to display emotions more than do members of low uncertainty avoidance cultures. Hofstede summarizes the view of people in high uncertainty avoidance cultures as “what is different, is dangerous” and for people in low uncertainty avoidance cultures as “what is different, is curious” (Hofstede 2001:119).
Model of Cultural Dimensions by Hostede
The next cultural dimension we consider is power distance. The basic issue involved, which different societies handle differently, is human inequality. Inequality can occur in areas such as laws, rights and rules, wealth, power, social status and physical and mental characteristics (Hofstede 2001:80). People in small power distance cultures tend to value equal power distributions, equal rights and relations. Small power index values are found in the UK. People in large power distance cultures tend to accept unequal power distributions, hierarchical rights and asymmetrical role relations (Ting-Toomey 1999:71).
The Masculinity versus femininity dimension refers to the division of emotional roles between men and women (Hofstede 2001:29). More rigid cultures influence members to behave within a narrow range of gender-related behaviours and stress traditional gender role identification. Masculine traits are typically such attributes as strength, assertiveness, competitiveness, achievement, and ambitiousness, whereas feminine traits are such attributes as affection, compassion, nurturance, and emotionality (Andersen 2001:94). The UK culture has a higher masculinity index score than that in Russia.
Despite some weaknesses of the Hofstede’s model of cultural dimension, such as its relation to business organizational values or actuality of the data, it is still the most popular and the most comprehensive study in the field of cultures’ comparative theories.
