Cultures and Organizations

View other editions of Cultures and Organizations.
View books by Geert Hofstede, Gert Jan Hofstede.

A great source of information - Rated
Hofstede's works stands as one of the most interesting ones I've come across in years.
For the first time in a very long time, cultural legacies, behaviours and beliefs are taken into due account in order to explain the difficulties and problems some important firms and multinational, as well as individuals, may face when dealing with people belonging to different systems and cultures.
The equivalence between culture and software of the mind clearly explains why people "function" in a different way, and how the balance between different "operative systems" is always a delicate matter.
Backed by very important researchers and reports, the Hoftstedes brilliantly describe the difficulties when entering such pathway and offer a brilliant guide, as well as hints, tips and examples to concentrate our attention on.
A must read for managers, counselors, coaches and those who either work or want to facilitate international business and deals.

useful book - Rated
I found this book very useful and it helped my understanding in managing change in organisations. i'm definitely pleased with it..goes to show that where two or more Hoftstedes gather together to write, culture is understood!

Cultural Sensitivity Learning - Rated
I have found this book very useful for new change consultants who are venturing out into a global environment, this at least prepares people to think about cultural norms and the way in which certain societies generally view the world, get along with each other and make decisions.. Be cautioned this is not an approach to stereotype cultures, rather to provide the student with an understanding of the normal cultural drivers.

It is not a cookbook of how-to's. It a research report into how cultural differences underlay everything you want to accomplish.

While the book is titled Cultures and Organisations, it is really about ethnic cultures, not corporate cultures.

If you are working in a multi cultural or international environment then this is a must. Success in an international environment only occurs when you possess cultural sensitivity. This book is a fantastic introduction into the world of international cultures

At last, something useful and based upon data rather than conjecture - Rated
I rarely write reviews of books on Amazon, this one however has made me want to recommend it.
The authors have managed to sum up some key differences between cultures, describe them clearly and advise on how to handle them based upon these 'dimensions' such as the extent to which a culture is individualist or collectivist.
In my travels I have picked up a lot of the data presented here through personal experience, but I could not present it back clearly into 'when in Rome do as the Romans do' type advice.
This book does. Simply and clearly, as soon as you've got past the data and the language style, there are some gems to be found.
The second best in this topic area (following in first place Trompenaars work 'Riding the Waves').

Excellent - Rated
Hofstede is, of course, the pioneer of culture studies in business and organizations. This book is a simpler and more accessible version of the more comprehensive - but also more difficult, 'Culture's Consequences'.

He begins with an excellent overview of culture and its levels and explains the concept of cultural `dimensions' - aspects of culture that can differentiate and measure differences among different cultural groups. The book then proceeds to present the four dimensions of culture that he identified as a result of a massive survey he conducted on IBM employees in 72 countries in 1968 and again in 1972. Additional data was later collected from other countries and populations, outside IBM, and used to verify and enhance the original results.

However, in this book, Hofstede discusses his four original dimensions of culture: Power Distance; Uncertainty Avoidance; Individualism & Collectivism; and finally Masculinity & Femininity. The fifth dimension which was later added based on results from the Far East and Asia - Long- versus Short-Term Orientation - is not discussed in this book. Despite that, it remains a very valuable and highly readable introduction to the topic from the man who pioneered the field and popularized it among business people, multinationals and business researchers alike.

Hofstede also uses these dimensions of culture to 'classify' organizations to different types according to where they fall on the Power Distance vs. Uncertainty Avoidance grid. The discussion is highly informative and touches on Mintzberg's theories as well typical models of organization in different cultures. In Part Four, he discusses how intercultural encounters are affected by these dimensions and how awareness and acceptance of these differences can yield more effective results.