The six dimensions of culture developed by Hofstede show how countries can be distinguished from one another based on their inclinations to the state of affairs. Power distance demonstrates the extent to which some less dominant individuals acknowledge that power is unevenly allocated. Regarding the individualism versus collectivism dimension, individuals may take care of themselves or others. Masculinity versus femininity can imply that members of a country may be heroes and assertive or they can be modest and caring. Uncertainty avoidance demonstrates how people in a community are uncomfortable with ambiguity. Long-term versus short-term normative inclinations show how individuals tend to handle future issues. The indulgence versus restraint element shows the degree to which a country allows free enjoyment of basic drives or vice-versa (Lo, Waters, & Christensen, 2017).
As a leader, it is critical to comprehend how relationships between leaders and followers may be impacted by each of the cultural dimensions developed by Hofstede. Although the critical role of excellent leaders cannot be rebuffed, followers play important functions that contribute to the success of an organization. Persons in charge should understand how their followers perceive power, how modest or assertive they are, the extent to which they care for themselves or others, and how they handle future matters. If a follower does not hold that power should be distributed equally, he or she might have a sour relationship with a leader in the workplace (Farivar, Cameron, & Yaghoubi, 2016).
It is the onus on both leaders and followers to adapt since many workplace situations require personnel to acquire new skills or change their ways of doing things to continue being productive. In real life, for instance, an added information management system may be introduced in a firm and a leader may change from being assertive to caring and modest to support his or her followers to learn how to utilize the new scheme to promote operations. In addition, followers may adapt to a situation in the workplace that requires them to change from being a restraint to indulgent (Taras, Steel, & Kirkman, 2016).
References
- Farivar, F., Cameron, R., & Yaghoubi, M. (2016). Work-family balance and cultural dimensions: From a developing nation perspective. Personnel Review, 45(2), 315-333.
- Lo, K. D., Waters, R. D., & Christensen, N. (2017). Assessing the applicability of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions for Global 500 corporations’ Facebook profiles and content. Journal of Communication Management, 21(1), 51-67.
- Taras, V., Steel, P., & Kirkman, B. L. (2016). Does country equate with culture? Beyond geography in the search for cultural boundaries. Management International Review, 56(4), 455-487.