Greet Hofstede: The Cultural Dimensions Of American Culture

The dimensions of culture came as a result of a research conducted by Greet Hofstede. The study investigated how culture in a workplace can be influenced by values of the people. In his view, culture is defined as the collective programming of the human brain that helps in distinguishing a group from another one. Moreover, the programming of the human mind influences the patterns, values and perspectives that define a certain community or nation. Hofstede developed a model of the national culture that is made of six dimensions. In addition to that, the cultural dimensions demonstrate the personal preferences on affairs that can be easily distinguished from that of individuals from another nation. Using the model, it is easy to identify systematic differences between the selected nations in terms of values (Hofstede). This paper discusses the cultural dimensions to compare the United States of America and China. The dimensions include Power Distance, Masculinity versus Femininity, Uncertainty Avoidance Index, and Individualism versus collectivism, Indulgence versus Restraint and long-term orientation versus short term normative orientation.

It is a representation of inequality. The level of inequality in a community is influenced by the leaders and the members as well. In relation to America and China, the culture can clearly be distinguished. In the US, there is a gap between the leaders who are powerful and the normal citizens. The people with authority, especially in the government, give instructions to the people at the lower levels. The citizens are expected to obey the orders given by the leaders (Kęstutis). On the contrary, the Chinese culture demonstrates a sense of equality among all members of the society. Although the leaders are powerful, they are seen as equal to the