Introducing Your New Culture Guide: Hofstede's Insights

Hofstede's Insights, or Hofstede's culture theory, was founded by a Dutch sociologist Geert Hofstede to determine categories to compare and contrast the differences between different cultures. Even though the title says "new," Hofstede's insights have been around since 1967 by providing information on more than 50 countries. 

The website can compare two countries or give information on one country. It is not only beneficial for traveling or doing business but also for understanding why some trends occur in specific countries. 

As I mentioned before, Hofstede’s insights are divided into power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation, and indulgence. To explain, I will use Turkey’s model.

Power Distance

Countries that show high power distance scores, like Turkey, give out information about hierarchy. In these countries, the differences between classes or people in management are well defined, and most of the time, people are used to being ranked. For example, the boss does not have to attend the meeting to make the final decision, or in some countries, the guests are seated according to their closeness to the host.

Individualism

Well, most probably, it is not a surprise, but Turkey shows low individualism scores indicating that people are dependent on each other and social norms are carrying great importance. The low individualism scores also bring “traditions” to the table; these countries live by their traditions and value their family time over anything else. 

Masculinity

Turkey falls on the feminine side of the spectrum, meaning that conflicts are avoided and leisure time is appreciated over extra work. Caring for family and spending quality time is one of the top priorities.

Uncertainty Avoidance

Even though we might seem spontaneous, according to Hofstede, Turkey scores high on uncertainty avoidance, leading us to norms, rules, and making plans. As a person from İstanbul, I can see why I was often pushed to make plans and follow them because of the traffic, but I would like to remind you, these researches are from 1967. So, in the original website, Hofstede explains this tendency with religion. 

Long Term Orientation

We can say that by meaning the long-term orientation and uncertainty avoidance goes hand to hand; these countries, again, drum roll, please! Yes, they are very much connected to their traditions, but of course, since it is a new category, it is not enough. The low scores show that the country is too connected to its traditions and still carries most perspectives into its daily life. In contrast, high scores indicate that the government encourages new trends and education models.

Surprisingly, Turkey stays in the middle. 

Lastly... Indulgence

This category is not determined for Turkey due to the middle score, but the high level of indulgence shows that the country is driven by its desires and impulses. These countries might be perceived as lazy while valuing their free time, and it leads us to think about why it is essential to know about different cultures before judging others.