Hofstede’s Six-Factor Theory of Culture

Hofstede’s Six-Factor Theory of Culture

Organizations embrace diversity by hiring employees with different backgrounds (Champoux, 2010). The rise of globalization has created opportunities for individuals from different cultures to travel worldwide and secure employment in organizations with employees from different cultural backgrounds. I identify myself with the African-American culture. My individualism and uncertainty avoidance as an African American woman in her 50s emphasize my rights and achievement. I consider individual achievement to positively promote my culture within the United States and a way of encouraging the people from my culture to improve their conditions.

Extended solid family ties characterize my culture, thus encouraging collaboration and collective achievement of shared goals. Therefore, individualism is lower in our culture. African Americans are also more conservative on social issues such as religion, homosexuality, and family values. According to De Mooij & Beniflah (2016), most African-American women in the business world focus on businesses that help other African-American women and take advantage of available opportunities. African Americans have high power distance because they have lived with inequalities for a long time (Swaidan et al., 2008). They accept the unequal distribution of power and focus on empowering themselves to help the community around them.

One of the implications of managing employees from the African-American culture is regularly empowering them so that they do not feel discriminated against due to their race. As mentioned earlier, African Americans have already learned to accept unequal power distribution. They may not complain when exposed to unfair treatment, such as not being promoted despite being qualified. However, unfair treatment could reduce their productivity and affect general organizational performance. Another implication is internal conflicts that may arise from the differences in views. For instance, African Americans may prioritize doing what is best for the community. In contrast, employees from other cultures may prioritize profits over doing the right thing, thus creating conflict.

References

Champoux, J. E. (2010). Organizational behaviour: Integrating individuals, groups, and organizations. Routledge.

De Mooij, M., & Beniflah, J. (2016). Measuring cross-cultural differences of ethnic groups within nations: Convergence or divergence of cultural values? In the case of the United States. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 29(1), 2-10. https://doi.org/10.1080/08961530.2016.1227758

Swaidan, Z., Rawwas, M. Y., & Vitell, S. J. (2008). Culture and moral ideologies of African Americans. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 16(2), 127-137. https://doi.org/10.2753/mtp1069-6679160203

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Hofstede’s Six-Factor Theory of Culture

Hofstede’s Six Factor Theory of CultureUnit 2.1 Discussion: Hofstede’s Six Factor Theory of Culture
Describe your cultural background in light of Hofstede’s theory of cultural dimensions. Where does this culture sit in regard to these six dimensions? What are the implications for managing employees from such a culture?