Vista previa parcial del texto
¡Descarga Hofstede dimensions y más Apuntes en PDF de Administración de Empresas solo en Docsity!
Int. Studies of Man. € Org., Vol. XIII, No. 1-2, pp. 46-74 M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 1983 NATIONAL CULTURES IN FOUR DIMENSIONS A Research-based Theory of Cultural Differences among Nations Geert Hofstede (the Netherlands) This report summarizes a large research project, in- volving 116,000 questionnaires, about the work-related value patterns of matched samples of industrial employees in 50 countries and 3 regions at 2 points in time. Halí of the variance in the countries! mean scores can be ex- plained by four basic dimensions, here labeled power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism versus collectivism, and masculinity versus femininity, These dimensions are offered as a framework for developing hypotheses in cross-cultural organization studies, Index scores of the countries on the 4 dimensions correlate significantly with the outcomes of about 40 existing com- parative studies, The four dimensions considered here relate to very fundamental problems which face any human society, but to which different societies have found different answers. They are used to explain (1) different ways of structur- ing organizations, (2) different motivations ol people within organizations, and (3) different issues people and organizations face within society. On the basis of com- bined scores, the countries studied can be grouped by cul- Dr. Hofstede is Director of the Institute for Research on intercultural Cooperation, Arnhem, the Netherlands. 46 Copyright O 2001. All Rights Reserved. National Cultures in Four Dimensions 47 tural clusters, The data also allow some conclusions about trends in value shifts over time. The Cultural Relativity of Organization Theories A certain U.S, business organization has a policy that salary - increase proposals should be initiated by the employee's direct superior. In its French subsidiary, this policy is interpreted in such a way that the superior's superior's superior — three levels above the employee — is the one who initintes salary - increase proposals. Why the difference? Because the French managers and their employees share some basic values about the exercise of authority that differ from the values that pre- vail among their U.S, colleagues. These basic values are fos. tered in the majority of French and U.S, families, and are rein- forced in French and U.S. schools. Organization theorists are also products of a national cul- ture: they were reared in families and trained in schools, and they absorbed the values prevailing in one particular society. They usually collect their life experience and their research data in the same society. Organization theories are therefore culturally bounded, The task of eross-cultural organization research is to broaden both the data bases available to re- searchers/theorists and their awareness of value systems dif- ferent from their own, If organization theory is to transcend national boundaries, it should go beyond statements such as "In the USA... but in France...'' In this case we treat names of nations as resi- dues of undefined variance, For theories to be truly universal we should attempt to replace names of nations by explicitly defined variables. When we find that societies difter with re- gard to a particular characteristic, we should try to specify what it is about these societies that causes this difference (Przeworski and Teune, 1970, P, 29), A Multicountry Data Base (1) Replacing country names by variables that explain differ- Copyright € 2001 Ati Rights Reserved. National Cultures in Four Dimensions 49 — values in terms of the desired (importance personally at. tached to various aspects of a job, such as earnings, eoopera- tion, and security), Treatment of the Data The Hermes data bank represents a multilevel, multicriteria data base since Fesponses can be analyzed across individuals, across oceupations, across countries, between the Sexes, among 28€ groups, and over time (1968 to 1972), This paper focuses on the analysis across countries, For this purpose, for each relevant question a score has been determined for each coun- try. This score was (1) based either on scale means or on agreement percentages, depending on the nature of the question; (2) composed for a constant mix of seven clerical, technical, professional, and managerial occupations, identical for all countries; and (3) averaged for the 1968 and 1972 survey rounds. Of the 67 countries in the data bank, 27 were originally omitted irom the analysis because more than half of the neces- sary occupational data was from fewer than eight respondents and was therefore considered "missing," This corresponded to a minimum number of about 50 respondents per country for each survey round, Thus, the bulk of the data summarized in this paper is based on 40 countries (Hofstede, 1980). Ata later stage (Hofstede, 1982), countries were added for which sufficient data were available for at least two occupational groups; this increased the data base to 50 countries, Finally, data were also included from three multicountry regions (Arab- speaking countries, East Africa, and West Africa) for which the number of available responses from the individual countries was insufficient, For the original set of 40 countries, the relationships among the country scores on the 32 questions were studied. This rep- resents an ecological, not an individual, analysis, The number of cases used is 40 (countries), not 116,000 (individuals), Eco- logical correlations among variables are mathe matically differ- ent from individual correlations (Robinson, 1950), and should be interpreted differently. Copyright O 2001. All Rights Reserved 50 Geert Hofstede (the Netherlands) Questionnaire items were grouped according to ecological dimensions, based upon (1) theoretical relevance, and (2) statis- tical relationships. Four such dimensions were identified. There were labeled power distance, uncertainty avoidance, in- dividualism versus collectivism, and masculinity versus femi- ninity. The positions of each of the 40 countries on each of these four dimensions were expressed by an index, A factor analysis of the country scores for 32 questionnaire items and 40countries showed that 3 factors explained 49percent of the total variance: one factor combined high power distance and low in- dividualism, one corresponded to uncertainty avoidance, and one, to masculinity. No other meaninglul factors were found, The two dimensions of power distance and individualism, al- though negatively correlated (1 = 0,67 across 40 countries), have been maintained as separate dimensions for conceptual reasons. When, later, ten more countries and three regions were added, the index scores for these supplementary units were calculated according to the formulas derived rom the first and larger 40 units, Adding these new units did not substan- tially change the structure of the dimensions (Hofstede, 1983). Power Distance A power distance index (PDI) has been composed of the coun- try scores on the following three questionnaire items, which are intereorrelated with coefficients between 0,54 and 0,67 (see also Hofstede, 1977, 1979a). (1) the percentage of subordinates who perceive that their boss makes his decisions in an autocratic or paternalistic (per- suasive) way; (2) subordinates' perceptions that employees in general (their colleagues) are afraid to disagree with superiors (mean score on a five-point scale from 1= very frequently to D = very seldom, multiplied by 25 to make it comparable with the per- centage scores for questions l and 3); (3) the percentage of subordinates who do not prefer a boss Copyright O 2001. All Rights Reserved 52 Geert Hofstede (the Netherlands) Table 1 Index Values and Rank of 50 Countriesand 3 Regions on Four Cultural Dimensions Power Uncertainty | Individu- a itv Distance Avoidance — | alien Masculinity 4 . Abhrev-Index index Index [Endex cant on leo | PE | | A [on | A [pas Rar Argentina ARG 4 | 18-19) 86 | 36-41 | 46 | 28-29 | 56 [| 30-31 Australia AUL 36 13] 51 17 19 49 6l 35 Austria AUT 4 11 7 j 26-27 | 55 | 33|79 49 Belgium BEL 65 3194 | 45-46 175 ¡ 43[54 29 Brazil (BRA 69 32176 |o9-30 as | 251493] 25 Canada ¿CAN 39 15 | 48 | 12-13 | 80 | 46-47 | 52 28 chile CH 63 | 29-30 | 66 | 36-41 | 23 15 128 B Colombia Cal 67 36 | 80 ni Bo 5] 64: 39-40 * Costa Rica [008 35 | 10-12 | 86 | 36-41 | 15, 8/21 | 56 Denmark DEN 19 3123 37? 42316 4 * Equador EQA 78 | 43-44 | 67 221 8. 2 [63 | 3738 Finland FIN 33 el s9 | 20-21 163 1 34 |26 7 France FRA és | 37-38 | 86 1 36"41 | 71 | 40-41 | 43 | 17-18 Germany (P.K. )| GER 3s | 10-12 | 65 2316 1% | 65 | 0-42 Great Britain [GBR 3s | 10-12 | 35 6- 7139). 48/66 | 41-42 Greece CRE so | 26-27 |112 50 | 35 22 | 57 | 32-33 * Guatemala — |GUA as | 48-49 |101 4816 1] 37 1 ¡ Hong Kong HOR 68 | 37-38] 29 45|25 16 57 | 32-33 * Indonesia | IDO 78 | 4-4] 48 | 12-13 | 14 6-75 46 22 Indía TD dl 42 | 40 3] 48 30 | 56 | 30-31 Iran RA se | 24-25 | 59 | 20-21 | 2 2,43 1117-18 Treland mE 28 5| 35 6-71 7 39 | 69 | 43-34 Israel ISR 13 2/81 32 | 54 E 23 Italy LITA, EN | 217 46 170 | 06-47 * Jamaica J3M 45 m|1 2139 26,68 | 43v44 Japan JAP 54 2] 9 44 | 46 | 28-29 ' 95 50 * Korea (S.) [HOR so | 26-27) 85 | 30-35( 18 1; 39 13 * Malaysia MAL [104 50] 36 8 | 26 17 150 | 26-27 Mexico MEX 81 | 45-46 | 82 33 | 30 20 | 69 45 Netherlands — | NEP 38 14 | 53 18 | 80 |] 36-47 | 14 3 Norway OR 31 6- 7| 50 16 | 69 3008 2 Naw Zealand — |NZL 22 a| 49 | 19-15 | 79 45 ' 58 34 Pakistan PARK 55 22170 | 26-27 | 14 6- 7150 | 26-27 * panama PAN ¡95 | 48-49 | 86 | 36-41 | 11 3744 19 Peru PER 6 | am-32 | 27 42 16 ala | 15-16 Philippines — | PHI 94 aja | vw 2 21 | 68 | 39-40 Partugal | POR 63 | 29-30 1104 49 | 27 | 18-19 | 32 El South Africa [SAP as | 18-19, 49 | 14-15 | 65 3|6 |9-38 * Salvador SAL 66 | 34-35) 94 | 45-06 | 19 1 | 40 14 Singapore SIN 74 10; 90: 1120 ; 13-14 | 48 24 Spain SPA s7 23 | 86 * 36-41] 51 2.14 15-16 Sweden ME 31 712] 45171 | 00-41 | 5 1 Switzerland | SI 34 9| 58 1968 | 37 | 7 | 36-47 Taiwan TAr s8 | 24-251 69 25 | 17 1 JO [45 | 20-21 hailand THA 64 | 31-32 | 64 22 | 20, 13-14 | 34 10 | Turkey "UR 66 | 34-35 ESPE | as [as [20-21 * Uruguay URL 61 28 ¡100 7 [36 23,38 1 U.S.A, USA 40 16 | 46 u|a so | 62 36 Venezuela VEN 81 | as-46] 76 29-301 12 4173 48 Yugoslavia — |YUS 76 41] 88 23 | 27 | 18-19 | 21 5-6 Reglons: * East Africa | EAP sl juan] s2 |a7-18] 27 [08-19] 41 ,(14-15)7 * West Africa | WAP alo sn ss |íe-19)] 20 |(3-140/ 46 (0 22) * arab Ctos. | ARA do |tasmas) 68 |ízacas)] de [1 2511 53 le28-29) | * Based un data addod later Copyright 6 2001. All Rights Reserved National Cultures in Four Dimensions 53 Uncertainty Avoidance An uncertainty avoidance index (UAT) has been composed of the Hermes country scores on the following three questionnaire items, which are intercorrelated with coefficients between 0,40 and 0.59: 1, How often do you feel nervous or tense at work? (mean score on a 5-point scale from 1 = always, to 5 = never), 2. Company rules should not be broken, even when the em- ployee thinks it is in the company's best interest (mean score on a 5-point scale from 1 = strongly agree, to 5= strongly dis- agree). 3. How long do you think you will continue to work for this company? (Percent answering (a] two years at the most, or [b] trom two to five years, This is equal to 100 minus the per- cent planning to stay more than 5 years,) The computation formula has been chosen to obtain equal contributions from all three Questions to the variance in UAI, as follows: UAI= 300 — 40d —- 30e — f, The values for UAI range from 8 to 112, The theoretical range is from —150 (no uncertainty avoidance) to + 230 (extreme uncertainty avoidance). These index values can also be read in Table 1. The term uncertainty avoidance has been inspired by Cyert and March (1964). The ecological dimension revealed by the three questions has been associated with “uncertainty avoid- ance" because agreement with question 2 (rules should not be broken) and a low percentage for answer 1+ 2 on Question 3 (few people want to leave the company) indicate two different ways of avoiding uncertainties in life. Feelings of uncertainty create anxiety; scores toward the "always" side on question 1 indicate greater anxiety, High scores on the UAT thus mean a higher mean anxiety level among respondents in a country and avoidance of attitudes and behaviors that could increase this anxiety (doing away with rules, considering leaving one's employer), Individualism-—C ollectivism and Masculinity -Femininity The other 2 ecological indices are derived from mean Copyright O 2001. All Rights Reserved. National Cultures in Four Dimensions 55 Latin European countries France, Belgium, and Italy and mar- ginally for Spain and South Africa. In order to show clearly the unique values pattern of Hermes employees in these Latin Euro- pean countries, I have maintained the PDI and IDV as separate indices and not collapsed them into a single index. The Latin European values pattern means that people in Hermes subsidi- aries in these countries have a need for dependenee (or counter- dependence) on hierarchical superiors but, at the same time, stress their personal independence from the organization to which they belong: they are dependent individualists. Masculinity (MAS) indicates the relative importance in the country of the job aspects earnings, recognition, advancement, and challenge and the relative unimportance of (relation with) manager, cooperation, desirable (living) area, and employment security. These tend to be also the job aspects on which, with- in countries, Hermes men, in tbe same jobs, score significantly differently from Hermes women, This is in line with the domi- nant pattern ol sex roles found to exist in nearly all societies, even nonliterate ones (Barry, Bacon, and Child, 1957): boys are socialized toward assertiveness and self-reliance, and girls, toward nurturance and responsibility, The Hermes data show that not only do men and women in the same jobs emphasize different job aspects but that coun- tries also differ along these same lines: in some countries all respondents (both men and women) emphasize job aspects usually associated with the male role; in others, all emphasize job aspects usually associated with the female role. Moreover, it appears that in more "masculine" countries, the gap between the values for the men and for the women in Hermes is wider, whereas in the most "feminine" countries this gap is reduced to zero (Hofstede, 1980, P, 282), Relevance of the Hermes Dimensions for National Cultures in General Employees in Hermes subsidiaries are, of course, an ex- tremely narrow and specific sample of their countries" popu- Copyright O 2001. All Rights Reserved 56 Geert Hofstede (the Netherlands) lations, They belong to the middle class of their society rather than to the upper, working, or peasant class. They have doubl- less all been socialized, to some extent, to the international perspective a corporation like Hermes maintains. Valid comparisons among countries in the study of cultural differences can use two strategies: a broad sample strategy, or a narrow sample strategy. Broad samples should be repre- sentative of entire populations; they are typically used in pub- lic-opinion research and consumer market research, Narrow samples use respondents who are very well matched: they should be similar in many aspects, except nationality, añtl be- long to functionally equivalent categories in each country. Most cross-cultural studies use narrow samples, such as students or industrial managers, The Hermes subsidiary re- spondents are also such narrow, but well-matched, samples: they share the same company superstructure and policies; they are selected to belong to the same occupational categories, so they do very much the same kind of work; they are of the same education level and vary only marginally in age and sex composition; they differ systematically only in nationality. Because the data analyzed are differences between Hermes employees in one country and another, they paradoxically tell us nothing about the Hermes corporate culture, because this is shared by all employees. Systematic and stable differences among the Hermes respondents irom different countries can be explained only by country culture; in fact, the differences within Hermes because of the shared corporate structure should be a conservative estimate of differences to be found in organizations outside Hermes. The validity of the Hermes indices (PDI, UAI, IDV, MAS) for characterizing countrywide culture patterns can be checked with other data, 1f the dimensions they measure are meaning- ful for national cultures at large, not just within Hermes, the indices should correlate with measures found in other narrow samples, in broad samples, and with country -level indicators. The last represent characteristics of countries as total sys- tems not measured by aggregating data collected frora indi- Copyright 8 2001. All Rights Reserved. 58 Geert Hofstede (the Netherlands) -— Several questions in a public-opinion study on Images of the World in the Year 2000, by Ornauer et al. (1976, Pp. 674- 95), are comparable with Hermes data across nine countries — for example, the statement "To compromise with our opponents is dangerous because it usually leads to the betrayal of our side", r= 0,904**, With the Individualism Index GDV): -—- The country's income (1970 per capita GNP). Across the 40 countries, the correlation between the individualism index and income is r = 0,82***, — Data from the International Research Group on Manage- ment (EBRGOM) data bank obtained with Bass's exercise "life goals" from managers in 12 countries (Bass and Burger, 1979). After having performed an ecological factor analysis, 1 found a factor opposing "pleasure ,” "security," and "affection'" to "experiness,” "prestige,' and duty" that correlates with an IDV with rho = 0,76%**, with the Masculinity Index (MAS): -—- The percentage ol GNP spent on government-sponsored development aid to thirá-world countries for 15 wealthy coun- tries correlates (negatively) with r = -0,81+%**, — Data from the IRGOM data bank (see above) on "life goals" from managers in 12 countries show a second factor opposing "leadership" and '"independence" to “service”; this correlates with a MAS with rho = 0,84+**, Combining the connotations of the four dimensions found within Hermes with the connotations of their correlates in other studies, 1 have made up the integrated lists of connota- tions shown in Tables 2 through 5. For each dimension a table shows the connotations associated with the extreme positive and negative poles. Most countries, of course, are somewhere between these poles. To avoid misunderstanding, 1 want to stress again that the Copyright O 2001. All Rights Reserved. National Cultures in Four Dimensions 59 four dimensions are ecologically derived: they apply to coun- tries as social systems, not to individuals within those coun- tries, For example, Table 3 shows that societies with a high uncertainty avoidance index are characterized by "more show- ing of emotions" and a "need for written rules and regulations," This means that the two features tend to be associated at the country level, but not that individuals who show their emotions more also tend to need more written rules; the reverse may even be the case, Psychologists, especially, often have diffi- culties recognizing that characteristics associated with each other at the society level need not be associated at the indi- vidual level, and vice versa, Societies are not “king-size in- dividuals'; eco-logic is not the same as psycho-logie. Fundamental Problems of Societies The previous section argues that the four dimensions power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism—collectivism, and masculinity-femininity represent universal categories for characterizing national societies, They transcend the narrow borders of the Hermes corporation, If this is true, they should relate to underlying, fundamental problems of societies, to which every society should find its own answers, From the cultural anthropological literature (for example, Mead, 1962. Pp. 102-107), we know that the nonliterate soci= eties thal have been the preferred object ot study of anthro- pologists differ remarkably in their answers to such funda- mental problems. Some societies have kings and hierarchies; others are ruled by consensus among equals. Some societies have clearly defined and different sex roles; others have side- by-side collaboration of women and men on the same tasks. There is no reason to assume that such differences among societies have entirely disappeared from present-day nation= states; in fact, it would be very surprising if they had. How- ever, because of the complexity of nation-states, the differences have become less clearly visible to any single obseryer, So- ciologically oriented anthropologists such as Inkeles and Copyright O 2001. All Rights Reserved National Cultures in Four Dimensions 61 Table 3 Cannotations of the Uncertainty Avoidance Dimension Low DAI High UAI The uncertainty inherent in life is more easily accepted and each day is taken as it comes, Ease, lower stress Time is iree. Hard work is not a virtue per se, Weaker superegos Aggressive behavior is frowned upon. Less showing of emotions Conflict and competition can be con- tained on the leyel of fair play and used constructively, More acceptance of dissent Deviance not felt as threatening; greater tolerance Less nationalism More positive attitude toward yownger people Less conservatisim More willingness to take risks in life Achievement determined in terms of recognition Relativism, empiricism There should be as few rules as possible, 1 rules cannot be kept, we should change them. Belief in generalists and common sense The authorities are there to serve the citizens. The uncertainty inherent in life is felt as a continuous threat that must be fought. Higher anxiety and stress Time is money. loner urge to work hard Strong superegos Aggressive behavior of selí and others is accepted. More showing oí emotions Conílict and competition can un- leash aggression and should therefore be avoided, Strong need for consensus Deviant persons and ideas are dangerous; intolerance Nationalism Younger people are suspect Conservatism; law and order Concern with security ín life Achievement defined in terms of security Search for ultimate, absolute truths and values Need for written rules and regu- lations If rules cannot be kept, we are sinners and should repent. Belief in experts and their knowledge Ordinary citizens are incompe- tent compared with the author- ities. Copyright O 2001. All Rights Reserved 62 Geert Hofstede (the Netherlands) Table 4 Connotations of the Individualism-—Collectivism Dimension Low IDV High IDV in society, people are born into ex- tended families or clans that pro- tect them in exchange for loyalty. "We" consciousness Collectivity-orientation (1) Tdentity is based in the social system. Emotional dependence of individual on organizations and institutions Emphasis on belonging to organiza- tion; membership ideal Private life is invaded by organiza- tions and clans to which one belongs; opinions are predetermined, Expertise, order, duty, security pro- vided by organization or clan Friendships predetermined by stable social relationships, but need for prestige within these relationships Belief in group decisions Value standards differ for in-groups and out-groups; particularism (1) "Jen" philosophy oí man (2) Gemeinschalt (community -based) social order (3) Involvement of individuals with organizations primarily moral (4) 1) Parsons and Shils (1951) 2) Bsu (1971) 3) Tónnies (1887) 4) Etzioni (1975) In society, everybody is supposed to take care of him/herselKf and his/her immediate family. "J" consciousness Self-orientation (1) Identity is based in the individual. Emotional independence of indí- vidual from organizations or institutions Emphasis on individual initiative and achievement; leadership ideal Everybody has a right to a pri- vate life and opinion. Autonomy, variety, pleasure, in- dividual financial security Need for specific friendships Beliei in individual decisions Value standards should apply to all; universalism (1) "Personality" philosophy of man (2) Gesellschaft (society -based) social order (3) Involvement of individuals with organizations primary calcu- lative (4) Copyright O 2001. All Rights Reserved. 64 Geert Hofstede (the Netherlands) Levinson (1969. Pp, 447 ff.) have predicted categories for classifying the "national character” of nation-states, The four dimensions found in the Hermes data represent such categories, and they fit Inkeles and Levinson's predictions remarkably well (Hofstede, 1980, P. 313), The underlying, fundamental problems of societies to which the four dimensions apply (compare Tables 2 through 5) in- clude: Power distance: the problem of human inequality and the translation of biological differences in strength and talents into social differences in power and wealth, Uncertainty avoidance: the problem of life and death asso- ciated with the one-way arrow of time, the inescapable uncer- tainty about tomorrow, and the ways in which societies never- theless try to enable their members to sleep in peace. Individualism: the problem of the relationship of the indi- vidual to his or her fellows, from tightly to loosely integrated primary groups. This dimension, as we see in Table 4, is re- lated to some classical dichotomies in sociology: Tonnies's (1887) Gemeinschaft (low IDV) versus Gesellschaft (high IDV) and Etzioni's ''moral involvement" versus "calculative involve- rent" in organizations, There are indications (Hofstede, 1980, Pp. 224-39) that it also relates to Merton's (1968, P. 447) “local” versus "cosmopolitan' mentality. All, obviously, are associated at the society level, not necessarily at the indi- vidual level, Masculinity;: the problem oí the division of mankind into two sexes, and what represents the appropriate role for men (who tend to make their concept of their own role a model for soci- ety as a whole), Implications for Organizations Organizations serve two main functions: distribution of power, and control of uncertainty. Organizing is a symbolic activity: it consists of the manipulation of symbols —€.g., uniforms, orders, rules, forms, rituals, and policies -- thai Copyright € 2001. All Rights Reservad National Cultures in Four Dimensions 65 have meaning only to the initiated. It is not surprising, there- fore, that the functioning of organizations in a country and the way of thinking about organizations in that country are related to the country's position on the power distance and uncertainty avoidance scales. Across the 40 countries surveyed, the PDI and UAI are weakly correlated (r = 0,28*), We nevertheless find countries in all four quadrants of a PDI x UAI plot. In interpreting the meaning of the countries' positions on the indices, l use con- cepts from two sources, One is the "Aston" approach to the study of organizations (Pugh, 1976; Pugh and Bickson, 1976), The Aston researchers found empirically that different organi- zations within one country (Great Britain) varied mainly ac- cording to two dimensions: "concentration of authority" and "structuring of activities" (not counting a third and weaker di- mension). 1t is obvious that the first is conceptually related to the PDI, and the second, to the AL. This suggests that the Aston typology of different organizations in one country applies, mutatis mutandis, also to similar organizations in different countries, The second source of concepts is an unpublished study by a former colleague, O. J. Stevens (3), about the im- plicit models for well-functioning organizations that he found among British, German, and French management students at the INSEAD school in Fontainebleau, France, Hermes subsidiaries with a low PDI and a low UAI (mainly Anglo and Nordic countries) are characterized by smaller power distances and weak uncertainty -avoidance tendencies, The Aston typology refers to organizations in the low eoncen- tration of authority, low structuring of activities quadrant as "implicitly structured,” Stevens finds that British INSEAD students see the effective organization as a "village market": equality of partners and few rules, In these countries we can expect relative sympathy for decentralized and flexible struc- tures, such as participative management and matrix organiza- tion, and theories that defend the effectiveness of such struc- tures, Hermes subsidiaries with a low PDI and a high UAI (mainly Copyright O 2001. All Rights Reserved 
