Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions

As it has been said, Canada is a very diverse multinational country with many immigrants living in the country. In this section, it will briefly discuss about the five elements of Cultural Dimension; Power Distance, Individualism, Masculinity, Uncertainty Avoidance, and Time Orientation. In terms to search a reliable source for this section, I have chosen Hofstede Centre, an online data base supposedly to help people to understand and learn about a country; as for a successful cultural competence between those who are from a different culture; because the study is carefully examined by the creator and the intelligence of the site, Geert Hofstede. Who has conducted one of the most comprehensive studies on culture (Biography, Geert Hofstede).

They are said to share common features with its neighboring country; United States; for being seen as a individualistic culture. On Hofsted’s website it said that Canada is a loosely-knit society where people are expected to look after themselves and their family. Also in doing business, employees are expected to be self-reliant and to display initiative in work. Also hiring and promotion decisions are based on what one has done and achieved in the past and what they can bring to the company. In addition, workers are permitted to freely discuss and exchange opinions with their superiors and

Canadians seem to have both sides of the long and short time orientation existing in their society. Though, the ‘short’ time orientation seems to be more subtle than that of the ‘long’ time orientation. Canadians are said to have a very strong sense and concern of their tradition being passed upon their children and often think about the future of it. Also, they think about their financial state and often save for their future. Canada is know to have one of the highest tax rates and I believe it is vital for them to save their money in anyway to live a comfortable life when they retire. Though, they are said to focus on achieve quick results for jobs. Which it can be said that Canada is somewhere in the middle of the time orientations and cannot to classified just in to long or short time orientation. However, people must not forget that this is only a generalization of a Canadian Cultural Dimension and does not mean that it will be applicable to every single individuals who lives in Canada. Also, it is very important to note the fact that Canada is a multinational culture and there are differences among provinces and between Anglophone Canadians and French