Hofstede Uncertainty Avoidance Analysis

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Uncertainty avoidance The Power Distance dimension is closely related to the Uncertainty avoidance as it lays part of the foundation of why the corporate cultures and leadership methods are built the way they are. It partly explains how it comes that Denmark and France manages companies so differently. Hofstede defines uncertainty avoidance as “the extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations and have created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid these” France French employees are accustomed to following direct orders from their superiors from a young age and it is therefore not difficult to understand why they are given a high 86 in Hofstede’s “uncertainty avoidance” In order for this method …show more content…

A masculine society is a competitive one driven by achievement and success when success can only mean winning. On the other end of the spectrum is the feminine society, which instead values quality of life. (Hofstede 1991) “The fundamental issue here is what motivates people, wanting to be the best (Masculine) or liking what you do (Feminine)” (Hofstede 1991) France France has an unusual composition as it does have a relatively low score and is therefore classified as “Feminine”, however here one can argue that this score does not reflect France as a whole. France is indeed known for their 35h working week, generous holidays and socialistic welfare system but looking at what Hofstede characterizes as the “upper class” this part of the culture is classified as masculine. This division of masculine/feminine is unique for France. (Hofstede 1991) Denmark Denmark is considered a Feminine country and quality of life is of high importance. Flexible work hours and free time to spend on family is important and managers and considered good at their job if they are supportive and involve their employees who value being included in decision making and feeling equal. (Hofstede …show more content…

The Path-Goal leader is a leader who leads through other people such as their employees. He or she does this by supporting and helping with pointing out good ideas rather than acting like a superior with absolute power who gives orders expecting them to be followed through a specific protocol. Lars Belling represents the Path-Goal leader in the way that he does not give solutions to a problem and nor does he expect his employees to not question him when they disagree. It can be argued that The Path-Goal leader may be overrepresented in Denmark due to the culture where a large amount of internal locus of control is valued along with the flat hierarchy that Lars Belling and the French Business controller constantly returns to as a sort of source of most reasons.