Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Geert-Hofstede Model

Masculinity vs. Femininity

Masculine cultures value competitiveness, assertiveness, ambition, and the accumulation of wealth and material possessions. Feminine cultures place more value on relationships and quality of life.

The United States and Malaysia both have very masculine cultures. According to the Geert-Hofstede model the United states ranks 60 on masculinity and Malaysia ranks at about 50. The United States is more masculine than Malaysia, but they both have similar masculine traits. Malaysia is a high context culture meaning that less emphasis on words and more on voice tone, body language, eye contact and facial expressions is important. The United States focuses more on getting your point across through words. In a business sense Malaysia and the United States both focus on the hiearchy structure where authority is directed from the top. They both have competitive cultures where accumulation of wealth and ambition are important.

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