Page 43 - Cultures and Organizations

28 THE CONCEPT OF CULTURE

called paradigms dominate a scientifi c field and constrain the thinking

of the scientists in that field. Kuhn called the work done within these
paradigms normal science. Every now and then, normal science runs into
limits: it is unable to explain new facts or unable to meet new challenges.
Then, a paradigm change is initiated. As gradually more and more people
move to the new paradigm, this then becomes a new type of normal
science.
In this chapter we will describe the research process on which this
book was based. It is based on a paradigm introduced by Geert in the 1980
edition of his book Culture’s Consequences, the dimensions approach, which
since has acquired normal science status.

Measuring Values
As values, more than practices, are the stable element in culture, compara-
tive research on culture starts from the measurement of values. Inferring
values from people’s actions only is cumbersome and ambiguous. Various
paper-and-pencil questionnaires have been developed that ask for people’s
preferences among alternatives. The answers should not be taken too liter-
ally: in reality people will not always act as they have scored on the ques-
tionnaire. Still, questionnaires provide useful information, because they
show differences in answers between groups or categories of respondents.
For example, suppose a question asks for one’s preference for time off from
work versus more pay. An individual employee who states that he or she
prefers time off may in fact opt for the money if presented with the actual
choice, but if in group A more people claim to prefer time off than in group
B, this does indicate a cultural difference between these groups in the rela-
tive value of free time versus money.

In interpreting people’s statements about their values, it is important
to distinguish between the desirable and the desired: how people think the
world ought to be versus what people want for themselves. Questions about
the desirable refer to people in general and are worded in terms of right/
wrong, should/should not, agree/disagree, important/unimportant, or
something similar. In the abstract, everybody is in favor of virtue and
opposed to sin, and answers about the desirable express people’s views
about what represents virtue and what corresponds to sin. The desired,
on the contrary, is worded in terms of “you” or “me” and what we want for
ourselves, including our less virtuous desires. The desirable bears only a