Page 94 - Cultures and Organizations

76 DIMENSIONS OF NATIONAL CULTURES

TABLE 3.4 Key Differences Between Small- and
Large-Power-Distance Societies
II: The Workplace

SMALL POWER DISTANCE LARGE POWER DISTANCE

Hierarchy in organizations means an Hierarchy in organizations refl ects
inequality of roles, established for existential inequality between higher
convenience. and lower levels.
Decentralization is popular. Centralization is popular.
There are fewer supervisory There are more supervisory
personnel. personnel.
There is a narrow salary range There is a wide salary range between
between the top and the bottom of the top and the bottom of the
the organization. organization.
Managers rely on their own Managers rely on superiors and on
experience and on subordinates. formal rules.
Subordinates expect to be consulted. Subordinates expect to be told what
to do.
The ideal boss is a resourceful The ideal boss is a benevolent
democrat. autocrat, or “good father.”
Subordinate-superior relations are Subordinate-superior relations are
pragmatic. emotional.
Privileges and status symbols are Privileges and status symbols are
frowned upon. normal and popular.
Manual work has the same status as White-collar jobs are valued more
offi ce work. than blue-collar jobs.

is that ways of handling power in a country tend to be rooted in the beliefs
of large sectors of the population as to the proper ways for authorities to
behave.
In an analysis of data from forty-three societies, collected through
the World Values Survey (see Chapter 2), U.S. political scientist Ron-
ald Inglehart found that he could order countries on a “secular-rational
versus traditional authority” dimension. Correlation analysis showed that
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this dimension corresponds closely to what we call power distance. In