It’s been a weird day: less traffic on the way to work, no line near the coffee maker, and here you are, sitting in a meeting room face to face with the product owner from the client’s side. Awkward silence is filling the room. You’ve arrived to the standup meeting three minutes early and you need to find something to talk about before the rest of the team comes.
Hmm……
In those distant times when two hryvnias would buy you a dollar, the average Ukrainian in the street tended to call every car except a VAZ a “foreign” car. The cultural and political isolation of the Soviet times has left its imprint on the minds of these people’s kids and grandchildren, and even now people still use a single abstract word to refer to Americans, Dutch people, and people of any other different nationality – a foreigner. (russian: inostranets)
But in 2019, this approach no longer works. You might have Murat from Germany, Kris from the US, Ramesh from India, and Boriana from Serbia on your virtual team, and the culture gap between them can be wider than the gap between people from your neighborhood and people from the neighborhood you want to live in. When team members aren’t flexible from the cultural perspective, it fuels existing and possible conflicts, reduces the level of trust and understanding, and puts processes over individuals. And that’s when Scrum becomes something else.
One proven instrument to increase flexibility and enhance cross-cultural communication is the Hofstede matrix.
Geert Hofstede is a Dutch social psychologist who developed a 6D matrix based on his six-year-long research project (conducted in the 1960’s – 1970’s) for HERMES (later IBM), during which he interviewed more than 100,000 HERMES employees from all over the globe.
Besides working for HERMES (IBM), he managed to become a Professor of Organizational Anthropology and International Management at the University of Limburg and founded the Institute for Research on Intercultural Cooperation, which researched questions that were the focus of his entire career.
Hofstede highlighted four dimensions along which cultural values can be analyzed:
- Power distance index (PDI)
- Individualism vs collectivism (IDV)
- Masculinity vs femininity (MAS)
- Uncertainty avoidance index (UAI)
Later, he added two more dimensions and called the model 6D:
- Long-term orientation (LTO)
- Indulgence vs restraint (IND)
According to Hofstede, these are six basic cultural dimensions that define a society. Each is expressed on a scale that runs roughly from 0 to 100.
Cultures of different organizations can differ in their practical approaches, while national cultures differ in their values. Values are the first things that children learn. They’re endorsed by the local environment at school and at work.
It’s difficult for people to change their values. This explains why it’s so challenging and frustrating for Ukrainian tractor drivers – with all their pessimism and propensity to strict subordination – to emigrate to Denmark, for instance, and face all those cultural differences. Here you can see all the index numbers across all countries where Hofstede conducted his study.
Power distance index (PDI)
Power distance measures how society evaluates inequality or, to be more precise, the degree to which members of a society accept and expect that power is distributed unequally.
In countries with low power distance – for instance, the Netherlands and Denmark – power is distributed equally and there’s no strict hierarchy across organizations. C-levels eat together with the team in a shared dining area and code on Saturdays. Junior specialists can (or are even expected to) disagree with management’s decisions and ask sensitive questions. Privileges and status symbols are less evident. Why would you need a golden chain if you can just style your hair like a broker?
In countries with high power distance (Ukraine, Turkey, China), inequality is expected if not encouraged. These countries are characterized by centralization. There’s a noticeable difference in salaries, privileges, and status symbols between employees and management.
Example: A Scrum Master on one of my teams was relocated from India, a country with a high power distance, to the Netherlands, a country with a low power distance. He had been working with classic international teams. Everything was just fine: the right coaching, canonical Scrum ceremonies, colorful PowerPoint presentations. But he couldn’t dare say no to C-levels and challenge their decisions as to the company structure. That’s why he didn’t perform one of his tasks as a Scrum Master, which is protecting the team. And that’s why we had to say goodbye to quite a good specialist.
When working with people from countries with a high PDI, always remember about hierarchy and the traditional vertical structure within companies. Too much formality and self-restraint won’t be appreciated.
Individualism vs collectivism (IDV)
Individualism is common in countries where there are weak connections between people. Everyone is responsible for themselves and their immediate families. It’s forbidden to move someone’s tasks on the board. In such societies – like the US and the UK – “I” usually comes before “we.”
Most of the world’s population lives in societies in which people need to be integrated into the group and are loyal to this group. Children learn to say “we” in such societies. Good examples are Japan, India, and China. People in highly collectivist cultures expect employers to take on more responsibilities toward employees and their families.
Example: Working as a teacher in China, I decided to try the Karl Popper debate format with several groups of my first-year students. It’s a great way to develop vocabulary, learn how to convince the opponent, and learn how to express opinions clearly. The first event went badly, and the second went even worse. While discussions on controversial issues seem normal to us, people from societies with a high collectivism index perceive it as barbarity. Trying to prove someone is wrong requires breaking social harmony. By losing the argument, they lose face. I quickly stopped such experiments. Informal conversation during lunch appeared to be more effective.
You have a great chance to work in a team that consists 50/50 of individualists and collectivists thanks to the tireless efforts of HR departments. We have to take into account cultural differences when gathering a team and establishing processes, as the adaptation of a person from an individualistic culture to a team of developers from Shenzhen, for instance, may take more time than planned.
Masculinity vs femininity (MAS)
This dimension refers to established gender-related behavioral patterns. “Masculinity stands for a society in which social gender roles are clearly distinct; femininity stands for a society in which social gender roles overlap.”
In masculine societies (Hofstede uses Great Britain as an example), there’s a division of labor in which the most difficult tasks go to men. Among the most difficult tasks are education, competition, and career achievements.
Feminine cultures (such as French culture) focus on relationships, compromise, experience, and social life. Over the last 10 to 15 years, we’ve been observing the feminization in Western democracies. The emergence of developing countries goes side by side with feminization, as people face more complex ways of doing business and start to cherish work-life balance.
Example: Hungary, the country where I live now, is a classic example of an extremely masculine society. Conflict resolution through negotiation doesn’t work here at all. No one wants to conduct three hour-long sessions to solve a conflict, and the best solution is usually to escalate the conflict: the big boss comes and kicks away both parties as well as the conflict itself.
Since 2003, the Red Bull Air Race had been regularly hosted in Budapest, bringing good money to the city’s budget and some inconvenience to the people who live near the Danube.
There were several ways to solve this conflict: relocate the event a little bit further up the river, limit aircraft volume, or сonduct the event a little earlier. After lots of arguments, indignation, and Facebook chatting, the mayor decided to cancel the event altogether. Radical methods of conflict resolution, as well as radical attitudes toward career and work-life balance, are quite common in Hungary and other counties from the Visegrad Group.
Uncertainty avoidance index (UAI)
Uncertainty avoidance is a dimension that shows society’s demand for structure. The uncertainty avoidance index (UAI) measures the extent to which people feel threatened by unknown situations.
In some societies, people need a structure and uncertainty scares them.
Countries with a low UAI (the US, the UK) do not perceive something new as a danger. In countries with a high UAI (Ukraine, Greece), people try to minimize unknown situations and risks by establishing rules, regulations, and systems.
The same holds true for organizations. For instance, companies with needs for rules and dependencies usually build pyramid organizational structures.
Example: As members of a society with a high level of uncertainty avoidance, Ukrainian developers usually don’t let themselves improvise or joke during sprint review meetings. One false step will be regarded as unprofessionalism – after all, we’re here to work, not to joke. In my experience, people have called in sick after a failed demo meeting. That’s why it’s important to be sensitive to this aspect of communication.
If you work with team members from a country with a high UAI, it’s better to ask questions in written form after a meeting or call. This way, you can give a nervous person some room to maneuver.
Long-term orientation (LTO)
This dimension shows how people maintain links with their own past while dealing with the challenges of the present and the future and how people prioritize the past vs the present in different societies.
Hofstede didn’t include long-term orientation in the matrix until it turned out that the previous four dimensions weren’t sufficient for Asia, not only because they believe in numerology.
In cultures with a long-term orientation (Japan, China, South Korea), it’s important to focus on getting results and encouragement in the future. Endurance, stress resistance, and thrift are valued.
Hobbies and leisure have a low priority. As long as the mortgage doesn’t pay for itself, they’d better work overtime on Saturday.
Cultures with a short-term orientation (Canada, the US, Australia) encourage respect for traditions and family values. At the same time, tasks need to be done yesterday, profligacy isn’t a bad thing, and seeing the world in black and white is normal.
Example from Hofstede: People from countries with a high LTO index usually do their best to build professional relationships that last a lifetime. Relationships themselves are as important as the financial aspect of the deal and direct profits. People from high LTO cultures would rather choose a less tempting deal with an old, trusted business partner than a more profitable deal with a new, unfamiliar one.
Management from countries with a low LTO index aren’t interested in building long-term business relationships. They’re focused on getting maximum profits right away. Negotiations with such people appear aggressive and focused on the financial side of the deal. That said, they can change their approach when working with established partners: it’s easier to show off when you have big names in the portfolio. Take this into account when working with American sales managers.
Indulgence vs restraint (IND)
In cultures with a high IND index (the US, the Netherlands, New Zealand), people pay great attention to personal happiness and well-being. They enjoy greater freedom of choice and more control over their lives. Freedom of speech in such societies exists not only in the political space but also in the workplace: feedback is expected and appreciated. Ironically, this freedom doesn’t extend to managers who work directly with clients. They’re not allowed not to smile from ear to ear (hello, fake American smile).
In cultures characterized by self-restraint (Ukraine, Estonia, China), expression of positive emotions isn’t seen as freedom but as showing off, which will certainly make someone feel uncomfortable. When a developer smiles in the open space or talks about the importance of work-life balance, they risk being seen as unprofessional.
Example: If it freaks you out when clients take Fridays off to volunteer, walk the neighbor’s dog, or get prepared for the cycling season, it’s time to rethink your attitude. People from cultures with a high level of indulgence not only consider such behavior normal but also can’t understand your stoic devotion to work. How come there are only three good reasons for Ukrainians not to be in the office: disease, death, and the car being parked in? Instead of getting upset with your team from that side, just take time to develop your skills and get prepared for questions from your clients on Sunday evening.
Dimensions in action
Hofstede points out that his dimensions theory isn’t a ready-made recipe or formula. It’s just a concept for further development.
The D6 matrix is a tool for understanding cross-cultural differences and is extremely useful in the age of international business and multicultural teams.
Management at international companies can use this matrix and other works by Hofstede to understand the cultural differences they encounter in their work.
Understanding these differences helps to avoid conflicts in management. However, it’s risky to think that similar countries from one region (the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, and Hungary, for instance) have similar cultures.
Dimensions are convenient for defining the cultural characteristics of a certain organization or country. For instance, in countries with a high femininity index, people value good relationships with superiors and colleagues, living in a place convenient for them and their families, and work safety.
More publications and visual materials
- https://www.hofstede-insights.com/ – A resource with insights into Hofstede’s works, data on each country, and simple sales pitches
- Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind by Geert Hofstede
- Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and Organizations Across Nations by Geert Hofstede – A deep view on each dimension
- The Culture Map: Decoding How People Think, Lead, and Get Things Done Across Cultures by Erin Meyer, a social psychologist who focuses on practical examples