Page 235 - Cultures and Organizations

208 DIMENSIONS OF NATIONAL CULTURES

TABLE 6.3 Key Differences Between Weak and Strong
Uncertainty-Avoidance Societies
II: Health, Education, and Shopping

WEAK UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE STRONG UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE

Fewer people feel unhappy. More people feel unhappy.
People have fewer worries about People have more worries about
health and money. health and money.
People have more heart attacks. People have fewer heart attacks.
There are many nurses but few There are many doctors but few
doctors. nurses.
Students are comfortable with Students are comfortable in
open-ended learning situations and structured learning situations and
concerned with good discussions. concerned with the right answers.
Teachers may say, “I don’t know.” Teachers are supposed to have all the
answers.
Results are attributed to a person’s Results are attributed to
own ability. circumstances or luck.
Teachers involve parents. Teachers inform parents.
In shopping, the search is for In shopping, the search is for purity
convenience. and cleanliness.
Used cars, do-it-yourself home repairs New cars, home repairs by experts
People more often claim ethical People read fewer books and
considerations in buying. newspapers.
There is fast acceptance of new There is a hesitancy toward new
features such as mobile phones, products and technologies.
e-mail, and the Internet.
Risky investments Conservative investments
Appeal of humor in advertising. Appeal of expertise in advertising

descriptions refer to extremes, and most real countries are somewhere in
between, with considerable variation within each country.

Uncertainty Avoidance in the Workplace

In the summer of 2009, the international press reported on a wave of
suicides among employees of France Telecom, which, with more than a