INDIA AND ITALY: TWO CULTURES IN COMPARISON
Good morning everyone, my purpose today is to let you discover two great cultures,
two different worlds and two different ways of thinking. I hope to be clear in my
explanation, for any doubt, do not hesitate to raise your hand and ask me questions.
Before we start, have you ever been to India? Well, I have never been there/ nether do
I.
Agenda:
•I’ve divided my presentation into three main points. I would like to begin with …
HOFSTEDE Model
Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory is a framework for cross-cultural
communication, developed by Geert Hofstede. It describes the effects of a society's
culture on the values of its members, and how these values relate to behaviour. The
dimensions of national cultures are:
1. POWER DISTANCE: This dimension deals with the fact that all individuals in
societies are not equal – it expresses the attitude of the culture towards these
inequalities amongst us. Power Distance is defined as the extent to which the less
powerful members of institutions and organisations within a country expect and
accept that power is distributed unequally.
2. INDIVIDUALISM VS COLLECTIVISM: In Individualist societies people are
supposed to look after themselves and their direct family only. In Collectivist societies
people belong to ‘in groups’ that take care of them in exchange for loyalty.
3. MASCULINITY AND FEMININITY: A high score (Masculine) on this dimension
indicates that the society will be driven by competition, achievement and success. A
low score (Feminine) on the dimension means that the dominant values in society are
caring for others and quality of life. A Feminine society is one where quality of life is
the sign of success
4. UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE: The dimension Uncertainty Avoidance has to do with
the way that a society deals with the fact that the future can never be known. This
ambiguity brings with it anxiety and different cultures have learnt to deal with this
anxiety in different ways.
5. LONG TERM ORIENTATION : This dimension describes how every society has to
maintain some links with its own past while dealing with the challenges of the present
and future. SHORT TERM ORIENTATION: a culture takes a more pragmatic approach:
people encourage efforts in modern education as a way to prepare for the future.
INDIA
1. Power distance: India scores 77, indicating an appreciation for hierarchy and
a top-down structure in society and organizations
2. Individualism or collectivism: India, with a rather intermediate score of 48, is
a society with both collectivistic and Individualist traits. The collectivist side
means that there is a high preference for belonging to a larger social
framework, For a collectivist, to be rejected by one’s peers or to be thought
lowly of by one’s extended and immediate in-groups, leaves him or her
rudderless and with a sense of intense emptiness.
3. Masculinity or femininity: scores 56 on this dimension and is thus considered
a Masculine society. India is actually very Masculine in terms of visual display of
success and power. India is also a spiritual country with millions of deities and
various religious philosophies. It is also an ancient country with one of the
