Cross- cultural Communication This page intentionally left blank

PDI (power distance index) – attitudes towards authority, the extent to which power 
is autocratic
IDV (individualism index) – attitudes towards individualism and collectivism
MAS (masculinity index) – attitudes towards assertiveness and modesty
UAI (uncertainty avoidance index) – attitudes towards risk taking
Figure 2.4 Hofstede’s four dimensions
Later, he adds a fifth dimension, based on research in the Far East, and 
only applied to a few countries which he called LTO ( long- term orientation), 
which is contrasted with STO ( 
short- term orientation). More recently, a 
sixth dimension has been added, which is called Indulgence versus Restraint. 
Both are explained later in this chapter.
The scoring allows us to make an instant comparison of countries in 
relation to our own. Countries higher up the scale may be considered to 
have a greater degree of whatever features are measured by the index and 
those lower down a correspondingly lesser degree. To clarify, let us take the 
IDV, where countries higher up the scale, such as the USA or Australia, are 
considered to display greater individualism than, say, Japan, which displays 
greater collectivism. People in cultures with LTO look to the future and put 
high value on thrift and perseverance. This is in contrast to a STO, which 
values the past and the present, respecting tradition, the cultural past and 
the importance of social cohesion.
PDI
This dimension explains how societies accept and deal with inequalities in 
power and wealth, and the extent to which the less powerful members of 
organizations and institutions like the family within a country accept this 
inequality as normal and desirable. Some societies play down these inequali-
ties and some perpetuate them. Hofstede measured countries from small 
power distance to large power distance (0–100) using degrees of inequality 
to measure the gap between the most powerful and wealthy in society and 
the least powerful and wealthy. Countries with a high score have a high 
level of difference between levels of power, such as in parts of the Arab 
world (score: 80), Latin America and many Asian countries. Hierarchies are 
tall and respect should be shown to those above you in a company and in 
society, and power holders are entitled to receive privileges. Those with a 

---

32 Cross-Cultural Communication
low score make much less of the difference between power levels, such as 
Canada (score: 39) or Sweden (score: 31), and believe that the way to change 
a social system is primarily by redistributing power by evolution. The PDI 
which Hofstede defines concentrates on the way in which people perceive 
power differences.
The PDI is used in management to assess the degree to which management 
is centralized and hierarchy is imposed in a country’s management culture. 
A culture with high power distance is likely to have a stronger ‘top-down’ 
managerial approach, with greater divisions between levels of hierarchy and 
a concentration of
decision- making power at the top of the organization. 
Inequalities among the personnel in an organization are expected and accepted, 
as they are in society in general. Subordinates would expect their bosses to tell 
them what to do and would not expect to be consulted. Superiors are often not 
easily accessible. Latin and Asian countries tend to score higher on this scale. 
A culture with low power distance will have a greater level of delegated 
authority and decision making, and those at the top of the scale will attempt 
to diminish the extent of their power by consultation and by democratic 
processes of decision making. North American, Anglophone and Germanic 
countries tend to score lower on the PDI scale. In lower power distance coun-
tries, organizations are flatter and distinctions are less rigid or formal.
Malaysia
104
Chile
63
UK
35
Russia 93
Greece
60
Switzerland
34
Venezuela
81
Spain
57
Sweden
31
Arab countries
80
Japan
54
Denmark
18
India
77
USA
40
New Zealand
18
Brazil 69
Canada
39
Israel
13
France 68
Germany 
35
Austria
11
Figure 2.5 Selected power distance scores (Hofstede, Hofstede, and Minkov, 2010: 57–9, 
Table 3.1)
Example
A company seeking to source products from a Chinese company had 
to send two executives, rather than one, to negotiate the deal. The 
reason for this was that the manager who had operational and delegated 
decision- making responsibility was seen as too junior to negotiate with 
senior Chinese managers. As a result, the UK manager was accompanied 
by a senior manager, who was seen as having equivalent status and power 
to his Chinese counterpart, thus doubling the amount of time ‘wasted’ 
and the costs of the trip, in addition to the senior manager’s salary.
Some examples of Hofstede’s scores for this dimension are as follows.

---

Key Thinkers in Cross- Cultural Communication (1) 33
The scores show high power distance for most Asian, Eastern European, 
Latin American, Arabic- speaking and African countries. German- speaking 
and Nordic countries, Australia, Canada, Israel, the Netherlands, New 
Zealand, the UK and the USA display low values. Hofstede’s further research 
in this dimension analyses
power- distance differences by looking at the 
effect of social class, education and occupation.