Compare the cultures of US and Qatar using Hofstede’s cultural dimensions.
Source: Hofstede Insights
A.POWER DISTANCE
United States
Us has the lower power distance ranking (PDI) (40), when compared to worlds average of 55 according to
hofstede cultural dimension in a country with low power distance is an indicative of a great quality
between societal, government, organisation and families. this shows the cooperative interactions across
all power label and these creates suitable cultural environment, this low power distance shows that
there is friendly relation between bosses and employees which helps the companies to stay stable in
many situations.
Qatar
Qatar scores high on this dimension (aggregate score of 93), which means that people accept a
hierarchical order in which everybody has a place, and which needs no further justification. Hierarchy in
an organization is seen as reflecting inherent inequalities, centralization is popular, subordinates expect
to be told what to do and the ideal boss is a benevolent autocrat.In a Qatari business you can see that
the employees are closer to their supervisors and communicate more closely to them than the upper
level managers. Power is centralized, and managers count on the obedience of their team members in
return for protection from the power holders. The manager/boss is expected (and often the only
authorized party) to make decisions. Titles and proximity to the Royal family play an important role and
it helps the Qatari people place their colleagues or counterparts in the hierarchy, allowing them to give
appropriate respect to superiors.
People in Qatari know and understand that leadership will be separated from them, and institutions of
their own and will be followed by the people and follow the system that put for them because this is the
Heritage of the Bedou in community and this dependency is part of the cultural heritage. Here is a great
example of a situation in which this fact was made obvious. A friend was interning in on of the leading
airline companies. The project manager was from Qatar, which meant that he couldn’t speak with the
manager directly. He had to make an appointment with his assistant in order to reach him.
B. INDIVIDUALISM
United States
US ranks high in the individualism, which would indicate that there are more Individualistic attitude less
bonding between direct family members and others. Usually the members in the individualistic society
concentrate more on the work and themselves and very close members. Individualism is expected to
look after themselves, on the collective side we find people who are strongly bonded and connected
with in groups and extended families which has exchangeable loyalty collectivism has no political
meaning it refers only to group and is extremely fundamental one.
Individualist (91) cultures in the world reflects itself in the following:
- The American premise of “liberty and justice for all.” This is evidenced by an explicit emphasis on equal
rights in all aspects of American society and government.
- Within American organisations, hierarchy is established for convenience, superiors are accessible and
managers rely on individual employees and teams for their expertise.
- Both managers and employees expect to be consulted and information is shared frequently. At the
same time, communication is informal, direct and participative to a degree.
- The society is loosely-knit in which the expectation is that people look after themselves and their
immediate families only and should not rely (too much) on authorities for support.
- There is also a high degree of geographical mobility in the United States. Americans are the best joiners
in the world; however it is often difficult, especially among men, to develop deep friendships
- Americans are accustomed to doing business or interacting with people they don’t know well.
Consequently, Americans are not shy about approaching their prospective counterparts in order to
obtain or seek information. In the business world, employees are expected to be self-reliant and display
initiative. Also, within the exchange-based world of work we see that hiring, promotion and decisions are
based on merit or evidence of what one has done or can do.
Qatar
Qatar scores low on this dimension (aggregate score of 25). With a score of 25, Qatar is considered a
collectivistic society.
This is manifest in a close long-term commitment to the member ‘group’, be that a family, extended
family, or extended relationships. For example, when the head of the department calls a weekly meeting,
the entire department is expected to be present. However, if there are a few people who cannot make it,
then the meeting would be rescheduled to a time when everyone is available. This is because everyone’s
input and sharing of ideas is thought to be very valuable, more importantly, everyone’s agreement on
the decision distributes accountability within the group. This example shows a characteristic inherited by
collectivistic cultures where the group matters more than the individuals. The same student also
experienced a very different situation; every employee had a weekly list of tasks to complete before the
next meeting. All employees were expected to try their best to complete the task list and come in ready
to give results to their supervisors. If the results were not good enough, employees were expected to
re-‐do the entire task all over again if their supervisor ask them. Employees had all the freedom of
carrying out their tasks however they wanted to, as long as expectations of their supervisors were met.
They believe that success can be achieved through the effort of the group funneled by their managerial
skill and knowledge. As a result, there tends to be a lot more meetings than one would expect because
they like to give clear guidelines, encourage sharing of ideas and perceived group decision-making that
will in turn provide shared accountability.
Loyalty in a collectivist culture is paramount, and over-rides most other societal rules and regulations.
The society fosters strong relationships where everyone takes responsibility for fellow members of their
group. In collectivist societies offence leads to shame and loss of face, employer/employee relationships
are perceived in moral terms (like a family link), hiring and promotion decisions take account of the
employee’s in-group, management is the management of groups.
In the Kingdom of Qatar, however can be seen the "we" designation in the areas of family and
workplace. Due to the patriarchal education the children respect what they have been taught and by
"we" the children build a great loyalty for the company.Usually only family members and friends work in
a company.
C.MASCULINITY
United States
In hofstede dimension us ranks 62 in masculinity, hey shows that united state has large gender
difference, male domination in the society, usually male s are considered as important because of their
roles play in the society this generates the female population become more competitive with woman
trying to shift into male roles.
This American combination reflects itself in the following:
- Many American assessment systems are based on precise target setting, by which American employees
can show how well a job they did.
- There here exists a “can-do” mentality which creates a lot of dynamism in the society, as it is believed
that there is always the possibility to do things in a better way.
- Typically, Americans “live to work” so that they can obtain monetary rewards and as a consequence
attain higher status based on how good one can be. Many white collar workers will move to a more fancy
neighborhood after each and every substantial promotion.
- It is believed that a certain degree of conflict will bring out the best of people, as it is the goal to be
“the winner”.
- Behavior in school, work, and play are based on the shared values that people should “strive to be the
best they can be” and that “the winner takes all”. As a result, Americans will tend to display and talk
freely about their “successes” and achievements in life. Being successful per se is not the great motivator
in American society, but being able to show one’s success
Qatar
Qatar shows a moderately masculine score for this dimension (aggregate score of 55). Qatar’s score of
indicates a tendency towards a Masculine society. In Masculine countries people “live to work”,
managers are expected to be decisive and assertive, the emphasis is on equity, competition and
performance and conflicts are resolved by fighting them out.
This indicate that women in Qatar do not have their full rights, this issue hapend may be because Muslim
religion rather than a cultural pattern.
Schooling is gender-segregated. After completing schooling, men and women can obtain employment in
government agencies or private enterprise. Qatari women tend to take government jobs, particularly in
the ministries of education, health, and social affairs. High-level positions are held predominantly by
men. While the presence of the foreign workforce has put more women in the public sphere, those
women work primarily in occupations that reinforce the division of labor by gender. Foreign females are
hired mostly as maids, nannies, teachers, nurses, and clerical or service workers.
D.UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE
United States
United states ranks 46 in hofstede dimension of uncertainty avoidance when compared to the worlds
average of 64 low ranking of uncertainty avoidance in a society is known to have very few rules and
regulations and they do not attempt to control the outcomes and results this type of society is always
opened to new ideas thoughts and beliefs. As a consequence, the perceived context in which Americans
find themselves will impact their behaviour more than if the culture would have either scored higher or
lower. Thus, this cultural pattern reflects itself as follows:
- There is a fair degree of acceptance for new ideas, innovative products and a willingness to try
something new or different, whether it pertains to technology, business practices or food. Americans
tend to be more tolerant of ideas or opinions from anyone and allow the freedom of expression. At the
same time, Americans do not require a lot of rules and are less emotionally expressive than higher-
scoring cultures.
- At the same time, 9/11 has created a lot of fear in the American society culminating in the efforts of
government to monitor everybody through the NSA and other security organisations
Qatar
Qatar scores high on this dimension (aggregate score of 80) This scores for Uncertainty Avoidance
dimension, is indicative of a high preference to avoid unpredictability. Countries exhibiting high
Uncertainty Avoidance maintain rigid codes of belief and behavior and are intolerant of unorthodox
behavior and ideas. In these cultures, there is an emotional need for rules (even if the rules never seem
to work) time is money, people have an inner urge to be busy and work hard, precision and punctuality
are the norm, innovation may be resisted, security is an important element in individual motivation.
E.LONG TERM ORIENTATION
United States
The United States scores normative on the fifth dimension with a low score of 26. This is reflected by the
following:
- Americans are prone to analyse new information to check whether it is true. Thus, the culture doesn’t
make most Americans pragmatic, but this should not be confused with the fact that Americans are very
practical, being reflected by the “can-do” mentallity mentioned above.
- The polarisation mentioned above is, so to speak, strengthened by the fact that many Americans have
very strong ideas about what is “good” and “evil” . This may concern issues such as abortion, use of
drugs, euthanasia, weapons or the size and rights of the government versus the States and versus
citizens
- The US is the one of the only “Caucasian” countries in the world where, since the beginning of the 20th
century, visiting church has increased. This increase is also evident in some post-Soviet republics such as
Russia. American businesses measure their performance on a short-term basis, with profit and loss
statements being issued on a quarterly basis. This also drives individuals to strive for quick results within
the work place.
F. INDULGENCE
United States
The United States scores as an Indulgent (68) society on the sixth dimension. This, in combination with a
normative score, is reflected by the following contradictory attitudes and behaviour:
- Work hard and play hard. The States has waged a war against drugs and is still very busy in doing so, yet
drug addiction in the States is higher than in many other wealthy countries. It is a prudish society yet
even some well-known televangelists appear to be immoral.
