What is the term for the extent to which the members of a society accept that power in institutions and organizations is distributed unequally?

By analyzing a large database of surveys of "more than 100000" (Hofstede, 2010) IBM employees in the 1980s, Geert Hofstede began to notice some common patterns, identifiable dimensions which appeared to be correlated with specific cultures and Countries. "A dimension is an aspect of a culture that can be measured relative to other cultures" (Hofstede, 2010). Hofstede originally developed a framework composed of 4 dimensions for defining culture. The model has then introduced two additional characteristics in later years, as research on the topic of culture expanded (Hofstede, 2010). In order to evaluate a culture, scores from 0 to 100 are assigned to each dimension, which, therefore, can be imagined as a spectrum. The six cultural dimensions are:

Power distance

All societies are unequal, but some more than others. Power distance is "the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. This represents inequality (more versus less), but defined from below, not from above" (Hofstede, 2010). This dimension plays on the fact that the degree of societal inequality varies among Countries and cultures, while all societies are unequal to some degree. Power distance can be defined as small or large. As Hofstede illustrates in his paper, in small power distance societies, for example, children are treated equally by parents. At the opposite end of the spectrum (large power distance), parents firmly teach children (and value) obedience.

Uncertainty avoidance

This is the level of stress in a society in the face of an unknown future. "It indicates to what extent a culture programs its members to feel either uncomfortable or comfortable in unstructured situations" (Hofstede, 2010). Uncertainty avoiding cultures try to minimize the chance for unstructured situations by setting up strict rules, regulations, beliefs. In high uncertainty avoidance cultures, the unknown is seen as an enemy to avoid at all costs. "Uncertainty avoidance deals with a society’s tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity" (Hofstede, 2010). This dimension is different from risk avoidance, as Hofstede points out in the paper. To make two opposing examples, in low uncertainty avoidance cultures each day is taken as it comes, as the inherent uncertainty of life is embedded in people's way of being; on the other hand, in strong uncertainty avoidance cultures there tends to be high level of neuroticism, emotional reaction, stress.

Individualism — Collectivism

This dimension analyzes the degree to which people in a society are integrated into groups. In collectivist cultures people are engrained in in-group vs out-group thinking and embedded into groups ever since they are born. Collectivist cultures think in terms of we. At the opposite end of the spectrum there is individualism, in which I is given more importance than we. The individual is considered the most relevant element of society, and there is no strong sense of belonging to groups. "Individualism does not mean egoism. It means that individual choices and decisions are expected. Collectivism does not mean closeness. It means that one "knows one's place" in life, which is determined socially" (Hofstede, 2010). In individualistic cultures, "speaking one's mind" is considered necessary, as opposed to the collectivist cultures emphasis on maintaining harmony and loyalty by being excessively agreeable if necessary.

Masculinity — Femininity

This dimension looks at the division of emotional roles between women and men. This is "the distribution of values between the genders which is another fundamental issue for any society, to which a range of solutions can be found" (Hofstede, 2010). Taboos are present in high masculinity cultures, in which the mere fact that a taboo exists reinforces the presence of the characteristic. "Masculinity is the extent to which the use of force is endorsed socially", Hofstede writes. Masculinity is mostly characterized by assertiveness. Femininity is driven by care and a high value placed on emotions. As an example, high masculinity cultures present a bias toward believing that "work prevails over family". In contrast, high femininity Countries emphasize the importance of having balance between work and personal life. According to Hofstede's research, masculinity is high in Countries such as Japan and Italy, while low in the Nordic Nations (e.g. Norway, Denmark).

Long-Term vs. Short-Term Orientation

Long term vs short term orientation was added later in the framework (Hofstede & Bond, 1988), and is a concept which stems from Confucianism. It refers to the choice of focus for people's efforts: the future or the present and past. While in short term oriented cultures there is a deep focus on what happened in the past or in the present, this is not the case for long term oriented cultures, which rather believe the future is what matters most. Traditions are key in short term oriented cultures, whereas flexibility and adaptation is at the core of long term societies. "In a long-time-oriented culture, the basic notion about the world is that it is in flux, and preparing for the future is always needed. In a short-time-oriented culture, the world is essentially as it was created, so that the past provides a moral compass, and adhering to it is morally good" (Hofstede, 2010). In short-term-oriented cultures, "traditions are sacrosanct". Traditions are, instead, adaptable to changed circumstances in long-term-oriented cultures.

Indulgence versus Restraint

The last dimension in Hofstede's model is indulgence versus restraint. This is a relatively new element, which entered the framework in 2010, thanks to the work of Minkov (Hofstede et al., 2010). "Indulgence stands for a society that allows relatively free gratification of basic and natural human desires related to enjoying life and having fun. Restraint stands for a society that controls gratification of needs and regulates it by means of strict social norms" (Hofstede, 2010). In indulgent cultures, there tends to be a higher percentage of obese people if food is abundant, compared to restrained Countries.

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Dear Bryce,

According to Geert Hofstede, this dimension "deals with the fact that all individuals in societies are not equal, and it expresses the attitude of the culture toward these power inequalities amongst us. Power distance is defined as the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. It has to do with the fact that a society's inequality is endorsed by the followers as much as by the leaders."

You can compare any country on the Geert Hofstede website (country comparison), and you can also get a comparison of Hofstede's other dimensions there: individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, long-/ short-term orientation, and indulgence.

As far as power distance is concerned, some of the countries with the lowest score are: Austria (11), Israel (13), Denmark (18), New Zealand (22), and Ireland (28). Other countries with a low score in the 30s are Sweden, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, the UK, Germany, Costa Rica, Australia, and the Netherland. The US scores an exact 40. This means that in these countries employees will happily challenge their bosses, criticize the government in public, petition and protest to affect change, and truly believe that the individual can change the system. Conversely, in countries with a high power distance index, such as Malaysia, Guatemala, Mexico, China, or Saudi Arabia, people who are not in power tend to accept their fate and surrender to authority believing that they cannot ever affect change or have a say.

I hope this answers your question. If you need more help with intercultural studies, I'll the happy to support you. I am an intercultural coach, communication skills trainer, and language teacher by profession, give many webinars about this topic, and have been working with people worldwide for decades to help them communicate successfully across borders. You can find me online (Renata Urban Training), on LinkedIn, and of course, here on WyzAnt.

Renata Urban

Power Distance Index (PDI) is the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. It suggests that a society's level of inequality is endorsed by the followers as much as by the leaders. Power and inequality, are extremely fundamental facts of any society and Hofstede claims that 'all societies are unequal, but some are more unequal than others'.

Individualism (IDV) on the one side versus its opposite, collectivism, that is the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups. On the individualist side we find societies in which the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look after him/herself and his/her immediate family. On the collectivist side, we find societies in which people from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, often extended families (with uncles, aunts and grandparents) which continue protecting them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty. The word 'collectivism' in this sense has no political meaning: it refers to the group, not to the state. The issue addressed by this dimension is an extremely fundamental one, regarding all societies in the world.

Masculinity (MAS) versus its opposite, femininity, refers to the distribution of roles between the genders which is another fundamental issue for any society to which a range of solutions are found. The IBM studies revealed that (a) women's values differ less among societies than men's values; (b) men's values from one country to another contain a dimension from very assertive and competitive and maximally different from women's values on the one side, to modest and caring and similar to women's values on the other. The assertive pole has been called 'masculine' and the modest, caring pole 'feminine'. The women in feminine countries have the same modest, caring values as the men; in the masculine countries they are somewhat assertive and competitive, but not as much as the men, so that these countries show a gap between men's values and women's values.

Sirje Virkus, Tallinn University, 2009