Unit 6         Uncertainty Avoidance (UA) and Masculinity versus Femininity.

 Part I    Uncertainty Avoidance (UA)

      The lecture is devoted to such dimensions of Hofstede’s five-dimensional (5D) model of differences among national cultures as: Uncertainty Avoidance (UA) and Masculinity versus Femininity.

     Tell me please, what other dimensions of Hofstede’s 5D model are you familiar with? (You have already been familiar with Power Distance and Individualism versus Collectivism). 

    Lecture's plan for Part I

     1.   The term Uncertainty Avoidance (UA).

1. Uncertainty Avoidance,  Risk avoidance, Anxiety and Fear.
2. Weak and Strong Uncertainty Avoidance  Cultures in different communication settings.
3.  Uncertainty avoidance Index and its importance for various countries.

 Uncertainty Avoidance  and Ukraine.    

      Let’s start with UA. In the book “Culture and Organization. Software of mind” by Geert Hofstede and Michael Minkov in Unit 6 “ What is different is dangerous” there is a very interesting example which show the largest difference between the two countries called uncertainty avoidance.

“    In the 1960s Arndt Sorge did his military service in the West German army. Near his hometown, where he spent his free weekends, there were barracks of the British “Army on the Rhine.” Sorge was keen on watching British motion pictures with the original sound track, which were shown in the British barracks, and he walked up to the sentry to ask whether he, as a German soldier, could attend. The sentry referred him to the sergeant of the guard, who called the second in command on the telephone and then tore a page out of a notebook, on which he wrote, “Mr Arndt Sorge has permission to attend fi lm shows,” and signed it, adding that permission was granted by the second in command. Sorge used his privilege not only on that occasion but also several other times, and the notebook page always opened the gate for him, in conjunction with his German army identity card.

 After he was demobilized, he asked the British sentry whether he, now as a civilian, could continue to come. The sentry looked at the notebook page, said, “This is for you personally,” and let him in.”   

      Arndt Sorge became an organization sociologist, and he remembers this experience as an example of how differently the British seemed to handle such an unplanned request in comparison with what he was accustomed to in the German army. The Germans would have taken more time and would have needed the permission of more authorities; they would have asked for more information about the applicant and issued a more formal document. Finally, the document would have been issued to him as a member of the armed forces, and there would have been no possibility of his using it after his demobilization. “

       Germany and Britain have a lot in common. Both are Western European countries, both speak a Germanic language, their populations are of roughly equal size, and the British royal family is of German descent. Yet it does not take a very experienced traveler to notice the considerable cultural difference between the two countries. Sorge’s surprise at the easygoing approach of the British sentry suggests  that the two countries  differ in their tolerance of the ambiguous and the unpredictable.

                      The term Uncertainty Avoidance (UA)

      The term uncertainty avoidance has been borrowed from American organization sociology, in particular from the work of James G. March  “A Behavioural Theory of the Firm” (1963).  The first key concept from  “A Behavioural Theory of the Firm” on which internationalization process theory builds is the notion of uncertainty avoidance.

I would like to give you some definitions of UA taken from different sources.

    1.  "Uncertainty Avoidance, is "a society's tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity". It reflects the extent to which members of a society attempt to cope with anxiety by minimizing uncertainty. The uncertainty avoidance dimension expresses the degree to which a person in a society feels uncomfortable with a sense of uncertainty and ambiguity. The fundamental issue here is how a society deals with the fact that the future can never be known: should we try to control the future or just let it happen?"

 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncertainty_avoidance]

  2. “Uncertainty avoidance is the degree to which members of a culture feel threatened by situations that are unknown to them” [Ann C. Wintergerst, Joe McVeigh “Culture. Practical Approaches to Intercultural Communication”. Pearson Education, Inc. 2011].

  3. “Uncertainty Avoidance: the extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened. by ambiguous or unknown situations. One of the dimensions of national cultures (from weak to strong). This feeling is, among other manifestations, expressed through nervous stress and in a need for predictability: a need for written and unwritten rules.”

   “Ways of handling uncertainty, of course, are part and parcel of any human institution in any country. All human beings have to face the fact that we do not know what will happen tomorrow: the future is uncertain, but we have to live with it anyway. Extreme ambiguity creates intolerable anxiety. Every human society has developed ways to alleviate this anxiety.” [Geert Hofstede, G. Jan Hofstede, Michael Minkov “Culture and Organizations. Software of the Mind” The McGraw-Hill 2010, p.189].

              Uncertainty Avoidance,  Risk avoidance, Anxiety and Fear

      Anxiety is a term taken from psychology and psychiatry that expresses a diffuse “state of being uneasy or worried about what may happen.” It should not be confused with fear, which has an object, a feeling you get when you are afraid or worried that something bad is going to happen. We are afraid of something, but anxiety has no object.

     Uncertainty avoidance should not be confused with risk avoidance. Uncertainty is to risk as anxiety is to fear. Fear and risk are both focused on something specific: an object in the case of fear, and an event in the case of risk. Risk is often expressed as a percentage of probability that a particular event will happen. Anxiety and uncertainty are both diffuse feelings. Anxiety, it was argued earlier, has no object. Uncertainty has no probability attached to it. It is a situation in which anything can happen and we have no idea what.

 “ For example, imagine you’re walking down a dark street. You may feel a little uneasy and perhaps you have a few butterflies in your stomach. These sensations are caused by anxiety that is related to the possibility that a stranger may jump out from behind a bush, or approach you in some other way, and harm you. This anxiety is not the result of a known or specific threat. Rather it comes from your mind’s vision of the possible dangers that may result in the situation.

      Fear is an emotional response to a known or definite threat. Using the scenario above, let’s say you’re walking down a dark street and someone points a gun at you and says, “This is a stick up.” This would likely elicit a response of fear."  [http://panicdisorder.about.com/od/understandingpanic/a/fearandanxiety.htm]

                         Weak and Strong Uncertainty Avoidance  Cultures

       According to the ways of handling uncertainty Hofstede divided the cultures (countries) into  two types: weak  or low uncertainty avoidance (UA) cultures and strong or high uncertainty avoidance (UA) cultures.

      Ann C. Wintergerst and Joe McVeigh speak about truth value as “a dimension of culture that ranges from strong uncertainty avoidance (UA) to weak uncertainty avoidance (UA)” [''Culture. Practical Approaches to Intercultural Communication”. Pearson Education, Inc. 2011].

    Cultures with a high (strong) level of uncertainty avoidance are less comfortable with uncertainty and try through rules, regulations, laws, controls, and behavioral norms to reduce or manage uncertainty and ambiguity. It is worth noting that high UA cultures attempt to manage unstructured, ambiguous situations not only through formal, explicit rules and laws, but also through informal, implicit rules. On the contrary, low (weak)uncertainty avoidance cultures are comfortable with uncertainty, and are relaxed in the face of ambiguity or unstructured situations. These cultures do not rely as heavily on rule-oriented mechanisms for uncertainty mitigation, are typically more tolerant of risk taking, and are more open to change.

    We may define the key differences between weak and strong uncertainty avoidance societies  in different communication settings: family – education/school – workplace – state structure – ideas/philosophy

UNCERTAINTY  

Key differences between weak and strong uncertainty avoidance societies.

 I: general norm, family, school, workplace, shopping 

Weak uncertainty avoidance                                         Strong uncertainty avoidance

1. Uncertainty is a normal feature of life and            1. The uncertainty inherent In life as a

 each  day is accepted as it comes                                  continuous threat which must be fought

2.  Low stress; subjective feeling of wellbeing         2.  High stress; subjective feeling of anxiety

3. Aggression and emotions should not                     3.  Aggression and emotions may at proper  times  be shown                                                              and places be ventilated

4.  Comfortable in ambiguous situations and            4. Acceptance of familiar risks; fear of

 with unfamiliar risks                                                      ambiguous situations and of unfamiliar risks

5.  Lenient rules for children on what is dirty           5.Tight rules for children on what is dirty

 and taboos                                                                      and taboo

6.  What is different, is curious                                  6. What is different, is dangerous

7.  Students comfortable with opened learning          7. Students comfortable in structured learning

 situations and concerned with good discussions       situations and concerned with the right  

                                                                                    answers

8.  Teachers may say 'I don't know'                             8. Teachers supposed to have all the answers

9.  There should not be more rules than is                   9. Emotional need for rules, even if  these

is strictly necessary                                                       will never work

10.  Time is a framework for orientation                    10.  Time is money

11.  Comfortable feeling when lazy;                           11. Emotional need to be  busy; inner urge to work hardworking only when needed                           hard                                               

12.  Precision and punctuality have to be learned       12. Precision and punctuality come naturally

13.  Tolerance of deviant and innovative ideas           13.Suppression of deviant ideas and behavior;                                                                          and behavior                                                                 resistance to innovation  

14.  Motivation by achievement and esteem or           14. Motivation by security and esteem or

 belongingness                                                              belongingness  

15. In shopping, the search is for convenience            15. In shopping, the search is for purity

                                                                                      and cleanliness

16. Used cars, do-it-yourself home repairs                  16. New cars, home repairs by experts

UNCERTAINTY  

Key differences between weak and strong uncertainty avoidance societies.

II: politics and ideas   

Weak uncertainty avoidance                                         Strong uncertainty avoidance

1. Few and general laws and rules                                 1. Many and precise laws and rules

2. If rules cannot be respected,                                      2.  If rules cannot be respected, we are sinners

they should be changed                                                 and should repent

3. Citizen competence versus authorities                      3. Citizen incompetence versus authorities 

4. Citizen protest acceptable                                         4. Citizen protest should be repressed 

5. Citizens positive towards institutions                       5.  Citizens negative towards institutions

6. Civil servants positive towards political process      6. Civil servants negative towards political process

7. Tolerance, moderation                                               7. Conservatism, extremism, law and order

8. Positive attitudes towards young people                   8. Negative attitudes towards young people

9. Regionalism, internationalism,  attempts                  9. Nationalism, xenophobia, repression of 

at integration of minorities                                             minorities                               

10. Belief in generalists* and common sense              10.  Belief in experts and specialization 

11. Many nurses, few doctors                                       11.  Many doctors, few nurses

12. One group's truth should not be imposed               12.  There is only one Truth and we have it

on others                                                                                         

13. Human rights: nobody should be persecuted        13. Religious, political, and ideological fundamentalism

for their beliefs                                                               and intolerance

14. In philosophy and science, tendency towards      14.  In philosophy and science, tendency towards

relativism** and empiricism***                                 grand theories

15. Scientific opponents can be personal friends       15. Scientific opponents cannot be personal friends 

* persons competent in several different fields or activities.

**Relativism is the concept that points of view have no absolute truth or validity, having only relative, subjective value according to differences in perception and consideration.

***Empiricism is a philosophical perspective based on experience and observation.

               Uncertainty avoidance Index and its importance for various countries.

                                     Uncertainty Avoidance  and Ukraine   

        Professor Geert Hofstede’s Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) is a well-known measure for prototypical estimation of cultural behavior. The index was developed as a result of research Hofstede conducted using data provided by IBM from 70 countries through the late-1960s and early-1970s. The results of his research, including the concepts of Power Distance, Individualism vs Collectivism, Masculinity vs Femininity, as well as Uncertainty Avoidance, have been widely cited in cultural, management, and organizational development literature.

     This index measures levels of uncertainty avoidance so that countries could be compared to one another. A low score on the uncertainty avoidance index indicates that the people in the country are more comfortable with ambiguity, more entrepreneurial, more likely to take risks, and less dependent on structure rules. Countries with high uncertainty avoidance scores desire more stability, more structured rules and social norms, and are less comfortable taking risks. (See Addition I-III). Examples of low scoring countries: USA, UK, India, China, Indonesia, Singapore. Examples of high scoring countries:Greece, Belgium, Russia, Italy, Korea, Mexico

       What about Ukraine? (Students may be asked to make their own research. See activity

Exercise 3 'Learning station')

      By parameters defined by G. Hofstede, Ukraine is among the countries of masculine culture with high uncertainty avoidance and large power distance. [http://geert-hofstede.com/ukraine.html]. Scoring 95 from amaximum of 112 Ukrainians feel very much threatened by ambiguous situations.  They are less tolerant of change and seek to avoid the anxiety that brings suspense, by establishing strict rules. As long as Ukrainians interact with people considered to be strangers they appear very formal and distant. At the same time formality is used as a sign of respect.            

 Part II   Masculinity versus Femininity.

      Lecture's plan for Part II

          1. Masculinity versus femininity as a social difference; male and female sex

           as a biological difference.

1. Feminine and Masculine societies\ cultures in different communication settings.
2. Masculinity versus Femininity  Index  (MAS) and its importance for various countries.Masculinity versus Femininity and Ukraine.    
3. Conclusion.   

       In the book “Culture and Organization. Software of mind” by Geert Hofstede and Michael Minkov in Unit 5 “ He, She, and (S)he” there is a very interesting example which show the difference between the two countries called masculinity versus femininity.

   "As a young Dutch engineer, Geert once applied for a junior management job with an American engineering company that had recently settled in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. He felt well qualified, with a degree from the leading technical university of the country, good grades, a record of active participation in student associations, and three years’ experience as an engineer with a well known (although somewhat sleepy) Dutch company. He had written a short letter to the company indicating his interest and providing some salient personal data. He was invited for an interview, and after a long train ride he sat facing the American plant manager. Geert behaved politely and modestly, as he knew an applicant should, and waited for the other man to ask the usual questions that would enable him to find out how qualified Geert was. To his surprise, the plant manager touched on very few of the areas that Geert thought should be discussed. Instead, he asked about some highly detailed facts pertaining to Geert’s experience in tool design, using English words that Geert did not know, and the relevance of the questioning escaped him. Those were things he could learn within a week once he worked there. After half an hour of painful misunderstandings, the interviewer said, “Sorry—we need a first-class man.” And Geert was out on the street.

     Years later Geert was the interviewer, and he met with both Dutch and American applicants. Then he understood what had gone wrong in that earlier case. American applicants, to Dutch eyes, oversell themselves. Their curricula vitae are worded in superlatives, mentioning every degree, grade, award, and membership to demonstrate their outstanding qualities. During the interview they try to behave assertively, promising things they are very unlikely to realize—such as learning the local language in a few months. Dutch applicants, in American eyes, undersell themselves. They write modest and usually short CVs, counting on the interviewer to find out how good they really are by asking. They expect an interest in their social and extracurricular activities during their studies. They are careful not to be seen as braggarts and not to make promises they are not absolutely sure they can fulfill. American interviewers know how to interpret American CVs and interviews, and they tend to discount the information provided. Dutch interviewers, accustomed to Dutch applicants, tend to uprade the information. The scenario for cross-cultural misunderstanding is clear. To an uninitiated American interviewer, an uninitiated Dutch applicant comes across as a sucker. To an uninitiated Dutch interviewer, an uninitiated American applicant comes across as a braggart."

            Masculinity versus femininity as a socialdifference; male and female sex

                               as a biological difference.

       All human societies consist of men and women, usually in approximately equal numbers. They are biologically distinct, and their respective roles in biological procreation (reproduction), are absolute. For the biological distinction, this chapter will use the terms male and female; for the social, culturally determined roles, the terms are masculine and feminine. The latter terms are relative, not absolute: a man can behave in a “feminine” way and a woman in a “masculine” way; this means only that they deviate from certain conventions in their society.  From now on, this chapter will use the more politically correct term gender roles. Gender roles are part and parcel of every society. Gender roles are a fundamental part of identity. Pleck defines gender roles as “the psychological traits and the social responsibilities that individuals have and feel are appropriate for them because they are male or female” [Pleck, J (1977). The psychology of sex roles. Journal of Communication, 26, 193-200.]

      Masculinity versus its opposite, Femininity, again as a societal, not as an individual characteristic, refers to the distribution of values between the genders which is another fundamental issue for any society, to which a range of solutions can be found. The IBM studies revealed that (a) women's values differ less among societies than men's values; (b) men's values from one country to another contain a dimension from very assertive and competitive and maximally different from women's values on the one side, to modest and caring and similar to women's values on the other. The assertive pole has been called 'masculine' and the modest, caring pole 'feminine'. The women in feminine countries have the same modest, caring values as the men; in the masculine countries they are somewhat assertive and competitive, but not as much as the men, so that these countries show a gap between men's values and women's values. In masculine cultures there is often a taboo around this dimension (Hofstede et al., 1998).  

      1.   "A society is called masculine when emotional gender roles are clearly distinct: men are supposed to be assertive, tough, and focused on material success, whereas women are supposed to be more modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life. A society is called feminine when emotional gender roles overlap: both men and women are supposed to be modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life." [Geert Hofstede, G. Jan Hofstede, Michael Minkov “Culture and Organizations. Software of the Mind” The McGraw-Hill 2010, p.189].

       2.  “The dimension of culture – social gender role – includes the question of roles for females and males. In traditional gender roles, men are expected to be forceful, tough, and materialistic, whereas women are expected to be humble, sensitive, and worried about the quality of daily life. When we look at this dimension, we are looking at the degree to which a society reinforces the traditional male and female roles regarding achievement, control, and power.” [Ann C. Wintergerst, Joe McVeigh “Culture. Practical Approaches to Intercultural Communication”. Pearson Education, Inc. 2011].

   According to gender role Hofstede divided the cultures (countries/societies) into  two types: feminine and masculine cultures.

       We may define the key differences between  feminine and masculine societies in different communication settings (family, school, workplace, politics and religion).

FEMINISM  

Key differences between feminine and masculine societies.

 I: general norm, family, school, and workplace

                 Feminine                                                                 Masculine

1. Dominant values in society are  caring for       1.  Dominant values in society are material success

others and preservation                                         and progress

2. People and warm relationships are important   2.  Money and things are important

3. Everybody is supposed to be modest                3. Men are supposed to be assertive, ambitious,

                                                                               and tough

4. Both men and women are allowed to be           4. Women are supposed  to be tender and

tender and to be concerned with relationships       care of relationships

5. In the family, both fathers and mothers deal     5. In the family, fathers deal with facts and

with facts and feelings                                            mothers with feelings

6. Both boys and girls are allowed to cry but         6.  Girls cry, boys don't; boys should  fight back

neither should fight                                                 when attacked, girls shouldn't fight

7. Sympathy for the weak                                       7. Sympathy for the strong

8. Average student is the norm                                8. Best student is the norm

9. Failing in school is a minor accident                  9. Failing in school is a disaster 

10. Friendliness in teachers appreciated                 10 Brilliance in teachers appreciated

11. Boys and girls study same subjects                  11.  Boys and girls study different subjects

12. Work in order to live                                         12. Live in order to work

13. Managers use intuition and strive                     13. Managers expected to be decisive and                                                                                                                                                                  for consensus                                                           assertive

14. Stress on equality, solidarity, and quality         14.  Stress on equity, competition among

of work life                                                             colleagues    and performance 

15. Resolution of conflicts by compromise and     15.   Resolution of conflicts by  fighting them  negotiation                                                               out  

FEMINISM  

Key differences between feminine and masculine societies.

II: politics and ideas 

       Feminine                                                                     Masculine

1. Welfare society ideal                                            1.  Performance society ideal

2. The needy should be helped                                 2.  The strong should be supported  

3. Permissive society                                                3.  Corrective society

4. Small and slow are beautiful                                4.  Big and fast are beautiful

5. Preservation of the environment should               5. Maintenance of economic growth should have

 have highest priority                                                  have highest priority

6. Government spends relatively large proportion    6.  Government spends relatively small                

of budget on development assistance to poor            proportion of budget on  development

countries                                                                     assistance to poor

7. Government spends relatively small                      7. Government spends relatively large 

proportion of budget   on armaments                          proportion of budget on armaments 

8. International conflicts should be resolved              8. International conflicts should be resolved

by negotiation and  compromise                                 by a show of strength or by fighting

9. A relatively large number of women in                  9. A relatively small number of women in 

elected political positions                                           elected political positions

10. Dominant religions stress the                               10. Dominant religions stress the   male

complementarity of the sexes                                      prerogative

11. Women's liberation means that men and               11. Women's liberation means that women

women should take equal shares  both at home          will be admitted to positions  hitherto only

and at work                                                                    occupied by men     

   Masculinity versus Femininity  Index  (MAS)and its importance for various countries.

                          Masculinity versus Femininity and Ukraine   

       In Hofstede et al. (2010) Masculinity versus Femininity Index (MAS)scores are presented for 76 countries. A high score (Masculine) on this dimension indicates that the society will be driven by competition, achievement and success, with success being defined by the winner / best in field – a value system that starts in school and continues throughout organizational behavior. 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 and standing out from the crowd is not admirable. The fundamental issue here is what motivates people, wanting to be the best (Masculine) or liking what you do (Feminine).  Masculinity is high in Japan, in German speaking countries, and in some Latin countries like Italy and Mexico; it is moderately high in English speaking Western countries; it is low in Nordic countries and in the Netherlands and moderately low in some Latin and Asian countries like France, Spain, Portugal, Chile, Korea and Thailand. (See Addition IV).

     What about Ukraine? (Students may be asked to make their own research. See  Exercise 3 activity 'learning station')

     By parameters defined by G. Hofstede, Ukraine is among the countries of masculine culture, scoring 25 from a maximum of 112  [http://geert-hofstede.com/ukraine.html].

Ukraine’s relatively low score of 25 may surprise with regard to its preference for status symbols, but these are in Ukraine related to the high Power Distance. At second glance one can see, that Ukrainians at workplace as well as when meeting a stranger rather understate their personal achievements, contributions or capacities. They talk modestly about themselves and scientists, researchers or doctors are most often expected to live on a very modest standard of living. Dominant behavior might be accepted when it comes from the boss, but is not appreciated among peers.

Conclusion

        In this unit we explored  such dimensions of Hofstede’s five-dimensional (5D) model of differences among national cultures as: Uncertainty Avoidance (UA) and Masculinity versus Femininity. We appreciated the role these dimensions or values play in communicating effectively with persons from other cultures. We realized the main reasons of cross-cultural conflicts and we may predict our own and other people's behavior in case of intercultural conflicts. We may appreciate attitude differences toward men and women in different cultures and develop tolerant attitude toward representatives of other cultures and organizations.