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Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind (Paperback)

by Geert Hofstede (Author), Gert Jan Hofstede (Author), Geert Hofstede (Author) "Twelve Angry Men is an American theater piece that became a famous motion picture, starring Henry Fonda..." (more)
Key Phrases: weak uncertainty avoidance countries, strong uncertainty avoidance countries, uncertainty accepting cultures, United States, Hong Kong, Great Britain (more...)
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Editorial Reviews

Review
'An understanding of other cultures is essential if we are to develop a more stable world and at the same time create national wealth.'Brian Burrows, Futures Information Associates --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
The landmark study of cultural differences across 70 nations, Cultures and Organizations helps readers look at how they think--and how they fail to think--as members of groups. Based on decades of painstaking field research, this new edition features the latest scientific results published in Geert Hofstede's scholarly work Culture's Consequences, Second Edition. Original in thought and profoundly important, Cultures and Organizations offers vital knowledge and insight on issues that will shape the future of cultures and nations in a globalized world.



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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
Twelve Angry Men is an American theater piece that became a famous motion picture, starring Henry Fonda. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
weak uncertainty avoidance countries, strong uncertainty avoidance countries, uncertainty accepting cultures, uncertainty avoiding cultures, power distance differences, strong uncertainty avoidance societies, culture indices, overlapping countries, strong uncertainty avoidance cultures, weak uncertainty avoidance cultures, more feminine cultures, feminine countries, weak uncertainty avoidance societies, mental software, masculine countries, power distance scale, collectivist family, taboo dimension, individualist countries, power distance scores, profits ten years, power distance index, intercultural cooperation, small power distance, individualism index
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Hong Kong, Great Britain, New Zealand, World Values Survey, Costa Rica, East Asia, Latin America, World War, Roman Empire, United Nations, European Union, South Korea, Culture's Consequences, Canada Quebec, South Africa, Chinese Value Survey, Old Testament, World Bank, Big Five, Czech Republic, East Africa, Roman Catholic Church, Sigmund Freud, United Kingdom
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4.4 out of 5 stars (25 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, June 24, 2005
By Layla (Dubai - UAE) - See all my reviews
  
Hofstede is, of course, the pioneer of culture studies in business and organizations. This book is a simpler and more accessible version of the more comprehensive - but also more difficult, 'Culture's Consequences'.

He begins with an excellent overview of culture and its levels and explains the concept of cultural `dimensions' - aspects of culture that can differentiate and measure differences among different cultural groups. The book then proceeds to present the four dimensions of culture that he identified as a result of a massive survey he conducted on IBM employees in 72 countries in 1968 and again in 1972. Additional data was later collected from other countries and populations, outside IBM, and used to verify and enhance the original results.

However, in this book, Hofstede discusses his four original dimensions of culture: Power Distance; Uncertainty Avoidance; Individualism & Collectivism; and finally Masculinity & Femininity. The fifth dimension which was later added based on results from the Far East and Asia - Long- versus Short-Term Orientation - is not discussed in this book. Despite that, it remains a very valuable and highly readable introduction to the topic from the man who pioneered the field and popularized it among business people, multinationals and business researchers alike.

Hofstede also uses these dimensions of culture to 'classify' organizations to different types according to where they fall on the Power Distance vs. Uncertainty Avoidance grid. The discussion is highly informative and touches on Mintzberg's theories as well typical models of organization in different cultures. In Part Four, he discusses how intercultural encounters are affected by these dimensions and how awareness and acceptance of these differences can yield more effective results.
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31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Monumental piece of work on dealing with differences in cultures, August 12, 2005
By Gerard Kroese (The Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Geert Hofstede is Emeritus Professor at Maastricht University in The Netherlands. He was Professor of Organizational Anthropology and International Management at the University of Limburg (which was later re-named Maastricht University). He is the founder and first director of the Institute for Research on Intercultural Cooperation (IRIC), where a lot of the research used in this book comes from. This paperback version was published 3 years after the hardcover and includes some updated references to political events. This book is largely an extension to Hofstede's 1980-book `Culture's Consequences'. The book consists of 4 parts.

Part I - Introduction, consists of one chapter, and lays the foundation for the remainder of the book by introducing the meaning of `culture' and a small vocabulary of essential terms. He also discusses the objective of the book: "to help in dealing with the differences in thinking, feeling, and acting of people around the globe. It will show that although the variety in people's minds is enormous, there is a structure in this variety which can serve as a basis for mutual understanding." With reference to the definition of culture, we need to understand the book's subtitle first. `Software of the mind' is patterns of thinking, feeling and acting (which were learned throughout a lifetime). Hofstede's definition of culture is "the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another." It is important to note that he believes that culture is learned and not inherited. He continues with a brief discussion on the 3 levels in human mental programming: 1. Human nature (universal; inherited); 2. Culture (specific to group/category; learned); and 3. Personality (specific to individual; learned and inherited).

Part II - National Cultures - is the largest section of this book with 6 chapters and deals with differences among cultures at national levels. Chapter 2-to-5 describe the four dimensions empirically found in research across more than 50 countries: (1) to wit power distance; (2) collectivism versus individualism; (3) femininity versus masculinity; and (4) uncertainty avoidance. Each of these 4 chapters follows the same structure: description of dimension, the scores of the various countries, the consequences of the dimension for family life, school, workplace, organization, state, and the development of ideas. Chapter 6 looks at the consequences of the national culture differences in the way people in a country organize themselves, combining the dimensions from the previous chapters. The next chapter introduces a fifth cross-national dimension, which is long-term versus short-term orientation. This reveals deep differences between Eastern and Western thinking.

Part III deals with differences in organizational culture and consists of only 1 chapter in which the author describes the insights collected in IRIC's research project across 20 organizational units in Denmark and the Netherlands between 1985-1987.

Part IV - Implications - consists of 2 chapters and discusses the practical implications of the culture differences and similarities. The first chapter of this part discusses what happens when people from different cultures meet. It discusses phenomena, such as culture shock, ethnocentrism, stereotyping, differences in language and in humor. It also discusses the development of intercultural communication skills. The final chapter of the book summarizes the message of the book and translates it into suggestions for parents, managers and the media. There is also a speculation on future political developments, based on the cultural processes.

Yes, this is a monumental book on the `software of the mind'. I believe that this book is a fantastic piece of work on this subject, based on strong research, and is probably the starting point for anybody interested in this subject. I must warn people that the book is not a simple, fast read, since the information is very intense and the wide range of information covered. However, the writing style is good and there are plenty of tables, diagrams, figures to make the reading somewhat `easier'. Highly recommended to all people interested in this subject, from parents through to managers. (Where is the 6-star button?)
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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Tough hardhitting heavy information to be slowly digested., April 7, 1999
By coach@mycoach.com (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Cultures and Organizations, Software of the Mind: Intercultural Cooperation and its Importance for Survival (Paperback)
This is a slow read, but take heart, read it all and also read "Corporate Culture and Performance" by Kotter and Haskett. The tools for making your organization run smoother, more efficiently and be more fun to work in are documented here. It is not a cookbook of how-to's. It is the research report into how cultural differences underlay everything you want to accomplish. If you are in the international arena or have a diverse workforce you absolutely need to read this book.

Knowing the differences in cultures and how to use them to everyone advantage is critical to your company's success. Ignore this one at your own peril, because at least one of your competitors is starting to implement the knowledge already. We started using the information by the time I got through the second chapter. Our Executive Coaching business is highly successful in changing corporate culture to produce the maximum benefits and returns with the resources available to top management because we factor in these differences. This book has become an indispensable reference for several of our programs.

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