I prepared a research proposal while doing the FDP at IIM Ahmedabad in 2002 Feb. The same was submitted to the MG University, Kottayam, Kerala and never saw light.
Prof. Mampilly of CUSAT came to know about it somehow but when I proposed it to him he suggested to do it as a post doctoral one. My post doctoral proposal attracted approval even before the doctoral! I corresponded with Prof. Hofstede and he was encouraging in his response too. I think I dont want to do the research but would rather be happy with the speculation and imagination and an open mind. Here is the proposal with reasons.
Cross cultural comparison of Indian states on the Hofstedian dimensions of power distance(PDI), uncertainty avoidance(UAI), individualism – collectivism(IDV) and masculinity-femininity(MAS).
-With special reference to Kerala and the rest of the states
1.Introduction: A case for studying various states in India as different cultural units.
Culture studies have proliferated in the last three decades especially since Hofstede came out with his landmark book ‘Culture’s Consequences’ after the famous IBM studies.
Hofstede conducted the study taking country as the unit of analysis. Taking off from Hofstede, this study holds on to nation as the unit of analysis, however assumes that India is a confederation of nationalities and hence treats states as units of analysis.
It has been suggested that a vast country like India is a collection of different nationalities. Israel for contrast had a strong sense of nation even while its people were scattered around the globe eventually resulting in the formation of the present day Jewish state in 1948.
But what is striking is the differences in values, norms and beliefs within a country. How do we capture these distinctions? We tend to say Gujaratis are more enterprising. We say Gujarat, Maharashtra, TN, AP and Karnataka are progressive states. We talk about Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh as BIMARU states. How can these differences be explained? Are there underlying values that distinguish one state from the other in spite of being part of the same larger political entity? Are the differences only due to differences in terrain and latitude? These differences are too apart to be explained merely in economic terms either. Moreover it has been suggested that culture influences economics as well. Attempts have been made to explain a country’s economic destiny by referring to the underlying cultural patterns. For instance David Mc Clelland’s study correlated achievement motivation with economic development of nations.
India has been described as a collection of various nationalities. Although there is much in common between them, the Indian states can be considered as separate cultures. There is the famous argument by Churchill that indeed if India was given freedom it would not be sustainable because of the contradictions within and would disintegrate. The country’s first Prime Minister, Nehru is said to have requested Lord Mountbatten to take back India in the wake of widespread communal riots post nascent independence.
Culture “consists of patterns, explicit and implicit of and for behavior acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievement of human groups including their embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional (historically derived and selected) ideas and especially their attached values; culture system may on the one hand be considered as products of action and on the other as conditioning elements of further action.” (Kroeber and Kluckhohn, 1952 p 180)
“Cross culture study implies the empirical study of members of various culture groups who have had different experiences that lead to predictable and significant differences in behavior. In majority of such studies the groups under study speak different languages and are governed by different political units”. (Brislin, Lonner and Thorndike; CCRM, 1973 p.5) There is no reason why linguistic groups within large political entities should not be studied as different cultural units especially when the political subdivision of the larger entity is on linguistic lines and also since language is an important determinant and carrier of deeply embedded cultural values.
In fact language is at once a product of culture which in turn shapes culture. Linguistic analysis can reveal underlying thought processes reflective of deep mental programming. If culture has been defined by Hofstede as the collective mental programming then the code language in which the programming is done is one’s own mother tongue.
2.India in the Hofstedian framework: Critique and an alternate proposition
Literature on culture in relation to India: A few issues of non-generalizability to states with special reference to Kerala derived from empirical observation appearing as periodically collated data and journalistic literature. ( The arguments for treating states separately are given in bold)
The cross cultural study involving India as a unit is the Hofstede study and the country scores are available for 53 countries on each of the four dimensions of culture that Hofstede describes.
These dimensions are power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism-collectivism and masculinity-femininity. Studies from the assumption that the various states themselves can be considered as separate nationalities from the cultural point of view are not known.
The proposed research considers the inadequacy of treating a large nation with over 20 states and nearly 15 officially recognised languages as a single nationality. The metaphors used to describe US and India are striking in this respect. The US is referred to as a melting pot whereas the corresponding metaphor for India is the jigsaw. The difference is remarkable since the melting pot implies homogeneity whereas the jigsaw implies uniqueness in the pieces however fitting together.
The following section examines the references to India in relation to the Hofstedian dimensions and using the same logic points out the striking contrasts in the case of Kerala to derive a different set of postulates. This can logically be extrapolated to build a case for considering all the states or at least some regions of India as unique and therefore requiring further exploration for significant differences.
General
Beteille (1977, p 25) has commented on the “remarkable stability over time of the basic structure of ideas and values in India and China”. This is understandable from the longevity of the Indian civilization, which has been unbroken for more than 5000 years. Whereas other civilizations have emerged and vanished, the predominantly Hindu culture of India has withstood the tests and still continues as the largest unbroken civilization existing today.
The fifty three countries in the IBM study were clustered to produce 12 branches. (See dendrogram p 64, Hofstede, Culture’s Consequences.) India falls into a cluster with Malaysia, Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore and Jamaica. Remarkably Hofstede comments that all were either British or American Colonies. What has been left out by Hofstede is that India had a predominant influence as an empire in the far east dating a couple of centuries. ( Jawaharlal Nehru, Glimpses of World History.)
While this may explain the reason for the clustering together of most of these countries, the same clustering technique can be used to group Indian states into related groups based on cultural commonalities. One observed cluster has already been shown in the previous section the BIMARU states. Though the classification has been made in terms of economic and social indicators, underlying cultural similarities between them is possible. One more appellation to the same cluster is the “Hindi heartland”.
Another possible cultural cluster could be the four southern states of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh which are Dravidian racially and linguistically. Yet another possible cultural cluster could be the northeastern states with mixed Mongoloid lineage of culture.
India in the light of the power distance (PD) dimension of Hofstede.
Power distance is the extent to which the less powerful members of organisations and institutions accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. The basic problem involved is the degree of human inequality that underlies the functioning of each particular society.
“Societies differ in their implications of rank inequalities for social functioning”. (Bohannan 1969 pp 198 ff). In terms of power distance the most determining feature of India is undoubtedly the caste system. Caste is an “organized association of extended families, membership of which determines a person’s rank in all areas of life”. Castes are now formally abolished, but continue to affect daily life very deeply.
Other such classifications include the estate and the class. Stratification in terms of estates in western Europe (nobility, clergy and the serfs) were legal categories with rights and obligations.
Classifications in terms of classes are not necessarily organized as such or legally identified, but share characteristics on which they can be ranked in terms of prestige, wealth and power. Usually classes are identified by economic activity and educational background and are shown to share the same values forming subcultures. (Hofstede, Culture’s Consequences, 2001 p 81)
Class can further be constructed based on the central concept. Construction with the central concept of the deference present in the mind of the individual member of the lower classes has been termed the “nominalist” view. Construction of class with the central concept of a collective consciousness of members of a class belonging together has been termed the “realist” view.
In terms of differences based on religion, Islam as a religion is more egalitarian and therefore low in PD and Hinduism is high in PD. In India, Muslims and Christians have become absorbed in the castes and has acquired the status of new castes (Srinivas, 1969)
Classifications may also contain unintegrated groups or ‘pariahs’ (eg. untouchables of India), sometimes racial minorities (e.g. Jews in Nazi Germany) or even majorities and migrant workers in wealthier countries (expatriate population in Gulf countries). In this case the “inequality is total ”. In other words power distance is total.
The influence of power distance is evident in the following anecdote cited by Negandhi and Prasad (1971) about a senior Indian Executive with a Ph D from an American University (p 128). “What is more important for me in my department is not what I do or achieve for me and my company, but whether the masters approve or not. To say ‘no’ is to search for another job. I left my freedom of thought in Boston”. In a nutshell in India power distance is very large regardless of class.
Interestingly the influence of caste is relatively less or less obvious in certain states of India, (Kerala for instance), where caste may be an issue when it comes to important decisions like marriage, but are less an issue of inclusion and exclusion otherwise.
Moreover, as mentioned earlier, Muslims and Christians are absorbed into caste structure. But there is a fundamental difference in the spread of Christianity and possibly Islam in Kerala. The Kerala Christians have a history of 2000 years when St. Thomas, disciple of Christ landed at Kodungallor in the first half of the first century AD. This means that the Christians in Kerala are as old as Christianity itself. Whereas by and large the northern Indian Christians are relatively recent converts from the lower castes and from the pariah untouchables, for reasons of escaping an oppressive caste structure into the classless Christianity, such was not the case with Kerala. The influence of Christianity (comprising 33% of the population) through the various Christian educational institutions have created a distinction with the rest of the country where such influences are relatively weak especially in rural India.
This has implications for both the power distance dimension and the individualism dimension.
Individualism, Protestant ethic and achievement have been correlated together (Weber, 1904).One may speculate that the influence of Christianity, especially through the educational institutions and through cultural assimilation has its influence on power distance and individualism. (Christianity and Islam are more egalitarian than Hinduism).
Society can be conceived in terms of power distance, a welfare society on the low PDI side and a class society on the high PDI side. To students in high PDI especially India, wealth and power were conflict ridden issues, the conflict being greater power distance and implicitly basic mistrust. In a study comparing the cognitive structures of male students from UK, Greece, Japan and India, India ranked high in Power distance.(Hofstede, Cultures’ Consequences)
There is a difference in the way inequality is seen in the high and low PDI systems. In high PDI, inequality is seen as the basis of societal order. In low PDI, inequality is seen as a necessary evil that needs to be minimized. Conceptually this makes sense to suggest that the communist leanings of Kerala (the tendency to throw the inequitable societal order) is an attempt to discard the high PDI which is so easily accepted in the north.
In high PDI hierarchy is existential. In low PDI hierarchy is an arrangement of convenience. (Hofstede, Culture’s Consequences, 2001)
There is a strong conjecture that Kerala is low on PDI due to its relative insulation from the rest of the country earlier and possibly the long influence of Christianity which is the seed of present day individualistic west, and one reason for the inclination towards Marxism/communism could be the incipient low power distance inclinations. This conjecture needs to be tested.
That the leaning towards communism of Kerala is also a leaning towards collectivism may be a tempting argument. However this does not go with the observed reality as will be discussed under Individualism-Collectivism head. Instead the associated belligerence of the trade unions is more indicative of a strong underlying desire for low power distance.
In a study conducted in India and Latin America, it was concluded, in high PDI countries the underdog is the first to be blamed for anything wrong in the system. In low PDI the system is blamed (Negandhi and Prasad 1971, p 105). However, the blame may revert to the powerful which is the instance of a revolution. It is not coincidental that revolution is at the core of at least a few of the varieties of communism. The whole idea of reverting the blame back in the form of revolution suggests that there is a basic mistrust in high PDI. Once again the revolutionary leanings of trade unions indicates low Power distance for Kerala.
In India the guru is weighty and honorable. In the high PDI of India what is transferred is not impersonal truth but the personal wisdom of the teacher. (Hofstede, Culture’s consequences. p 101)
Cascio (1974) has proposed after a study between India and western Europe that satisfaction with a participative superior decreased with increasing power distance. One of the implicit objectives of trade unions’ is to accrue to themselves greater participation in decision making. Hence once again the case is for considering this particular aspect as indicative of lower power distance.
One apprehension in the earlier cultural studies relating to India was that the high power distance was a remnant of the colonial legacy. However it has been now agreed that large power distance is innate in India and is not just a relic of the colonial rule. (Heganbotham, 1975)
India in relation to the uncertainty avoidance (UAI) dimension of Hofstede.
Uncertainty avoidance is the extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations.
India scores 40 on the uncertainty avoidance dimension in the IBM studies. Elsewhere it is also suggested that Hindu India is low on UAI. Kashima and Kashima (1998) has shown that the stronger system of rules and norms apply to language learning. Languages in more uncertainty avoiding cultures usually require learning to chose between different modes of address such as ‘tu’ and ‘vous’ in French. In short languages in higher UAI cultures involve the making of more choices according to tight cultural rules.
The sequence of the pronouns ‘nii’, ‘ningal’, and ‘thankal’ in Malayalam are in the order from less respectful to more respectful. However, the use of the very deferential and respectful ‘thankal’ is limited to formal situations whereas in most or all of the northern Indian languages the deferential pronoun is used more frequently in day to day informal interactions. This indicates tighter rules for other Indian languages and by extension higher UAI for northern India relative to Kerala.
In terms of power distance also the greater deference reflected in day to day language is indicative of greater power distance and vice versa. By extension power distance is lesser for Kerala.
India in relation to the individualism - collectivism (IDV) dimension of Hofstede.
US anthropologist Ruth Benedict (1946/1974) distinguished between cultures that rely heavily on shame and those that rely heavily on guilt. Shame requires an audience, an external sanction of good behavior. Guilt on the other hand is an internalized conception of living up to one’s standards. Conceptually this relates to the definition of collectivism and individualism respectively.
Individualism is the degree to which individuals are supposed to look after themselves or remain integrated into groups, usually around the family. Positioning itself between these two poles is a very basic problem all societies face.
By extension collectivistic societies have social support mechanisms that reduces the stress and guilt feelings of its members. High suicide rates (except the altruistic form of suicide) can therefore be said to be characteristic of individualism. Hence the proposition that Kerala is high on individualism than the other states. Kerala tops the Indian states in suicide rates.
Collectivist societies emphasize mastery of changing situations whereas individualistic societies emphasise changing the environment.
Collectivism implies greater extent to which one conforms to the norms and values of his in group. (Triandis 1972 p 38) . Delaying one’s marriage till his sisters’ marriage is a fine example. This example is very relevant in the Indian context.
Employers in collectivist countries who do not respect the societal norm to treat their employees as in group members are an exception, but then employees in turn do not repay them in terms of loyalty. Labour unions replace the work organization as an emotional in group and there can be violent union management conflicts. Similarly there are individualist societies establishing strong group cohesion with their employees with same protection vs loyalty balance norm of collectivist societies. (Hofstede , 2001)
Here cohesion however is externally brought about through training programmes and group building exercises unlike the cohesion in collectivist ‘in groups’ which is culturally in built.
Low collectivism (high individualism) does not allow the employees as ‘in group’ with the organisation ( as in lifelong employment of Japan) prompts the alienated employees to form unions, creating their own ‘in group’. The underlying proposition is that the high unionism of Kerala is an attempt by the otherwise individualistic labourers in the alienating atmosphere of the organisation to form strong ‘in groups’ in trade unions. In turn there are violent union management conflicts. This could be an explanation for the high militant unionism in Kerala.
De Mooij (2001) has suggested that those in high IDV countries than those in low IDV to live in detached houses and less likely to live in apartments and flats.
Quite strikingly the dwelling pattern in Kerala is detached even in villages where houses are detached from one another and widely spread unlike the village clusters of northern India. Prof . M P Appan has suggested that the word ‘thantedam’ (literally ‘own place’) used to denote a bold person (referred to admiringly) is strikingly related to the Keralites’ tendency to dwell apart and have their own space. Even while flats eventually came to the cities and suburbs they were constructed to provide the maximum privacy to the dwellers. Proposition is that the individualism is high for Kerala.
In a study conducted in India among adolescents, they predominantly reported emotionally adapting to the situation in stressful situations and also reported acceptance, passivity and seeking social support while individualistic adolescents tried to change the environment to their advantage. (Olah, 1995)
By extension the high suicide rate of Kerala (including among adolescents) can be considered as due to failure or frustration in changing the environment. Suicide suggests neither acceptance, passivity nor social support seeking behaviour characteristic of collectivistic societies. Hence a strong inference of high individualism among Keralites is proposed.
Todd speaks about exogamous community family structures characterized by cohabitation of married sons with parents, sharing of inheritance by all brothers, taboo on marriage between children of two brothers. Todd claimed similar traditional structure for Russia and some other countries including northern India and suggested these countries were attracted to communism since the same is a transference to the party state of the moral traits and regulatory mechanisms of the exogamous community family structure. However the labour unrest in Kerala is more reminiscent of rugged and rash individualism than collectivism.
Family (conceptually related to collectivism) is implicitly the organisational model for India.(Kumar and Singh, 1976) just as for the French it is the pyramid, for the Germans, a well oiled machine, and for Britain the village market.
India in relation to the masculinity-femininity (MAS) dimension of Hofstede.
Masculinity vs femininity refers to the distribution of emotional roles between the genders, which is another fundamental problem for any society to which a range of solutions are found; it opposes tough masculine to tender feminine societies.
It has been suggested that the female /male ratio in the population is higher in feminine cultures than in masculine cultures like India. Taking India as a whole the female to male ratio is less, the historical reason being the dowry system making girl children a difficult proposition.
In this instance also this generalization is true for the rest of the country but not for Kerala. Kerala is the only state where the females outnumber the males. Hence the proposition that Kerala is less MAS than the other states.
Kerala was one of the first states from where women entered the workforce in which way the gender roles were less distant from a very earlier time.
3. A comparative illustration of two Indian states.
The state of Gujarat
The western Indian state of Gujarat is highly industrialized among the Indian states and is considered as one of the progressive states in seizing the opportunities thrown open by the forces of liberalization, privatization and globalization. By and large the people of the state are considered highly entrepreneurial and risk taking.
The population comprises of predominantly Hindu and Muslim with Christians and other minorities forming a miniscule minority. The state is medium in social indicators such as health, education and literacy, but strong in economic indicators. Gujarati language is a derivative of Sanskrit an Indo-European language.
The state of Kerala
The southern Indian state of Kerala is low in industrialization, has leftist leanings and history and is credited with being the first place in the world where a Marxist government came to power through the ballot. The people are risk averse a tendency, reflected in the lack of entrepreneurial culture. However in Social indicators (primary education, healthcare, life expectancy, female to male ratio) the state is far ahead of the other states a fact which has been commented by social scientists. In terms of the profile of industrial activity, the state has more service industries. The economic indicators are however paradoxically low and the state depends on the remittances from the expatriate community in the gulf countries.
The state has an almost equal distribution of Hindus, Christians and Muslims and is famous for the communal harmony relative to the rest of the country.
The language is Malayalam which is the youngest of the Dravidian languages. The state has no history of external aggression and does not share any border with (hostile) countries, being protected on the one side by the sea and on the other by the western ghats.
4.A theoretical model for India
The main criticism against Hofstede is his treatment of nationality as the unit of analysis. The issue is further aggravated by the generalization to the nation based on studies in one organisation, IBM. There is a bias in terms of the sample selection itself. The trade off is however in terms of matching of samples at the expense of questionable representativeness of the sample.
Hofstede’s main contribution is his development of a framework to analyse culture. Once again the dimensions are criticised, this time for its derivation exclusively from anthropology.
A third criticism of Hofstede is the treatment of culture as the determining factor in explaining many a phenomena of collective human behaviour. Culture may be one of the factors to be read in conjunction with so many others.
Nevertheless Hofstede’s dimensions serve as the pioneering and geographically comprehensive work which has triggered interest for further study.
The issue of generalizability could be minimized if one could conceive of layers of culture progressively breaking down the collectives to a layer where further division would only expose the subcultures. This study proposes such division to the level of the commonality of language. Language is the single most important indicator, product and carrier of the deep rooted shared attitudes, beliefs, norms, values and meanings of the collective.
For a country like India the division into states (sub political units) on linguistic line historically, this model is more meaningful than any other generalization for the whole vastness ignoring the cultural, historic, geographic and racial diversity. The differences are at the value level and not merely at the level of identity.
5.Significance of the study
A parallel in precedence can be drawn in Hofstede and Bond’s (1988) study of the relationship between the staggering economic growth in East Asian countries and the influence of Confucian values. India is a vast country and the remarkable disparity in economic and social indicators is fascinating to merit a similar cross cultural examination as explained in the literature survey. While it is not proposed to bring out the reasons for the disparity, this study would attempt to bring out the significance if any in the four Hofstedian dimensions between the Indian states which would serve as the stepping stone for further quest for reasons. Some of the differences mentioned in the literature survey may serve as either antecedents or consequents.
Once significant differences are established they can serve as important guideposts in wide social science applications including advertising, consumer research, product positioning, human resource management, change interventions, resource allocation and program evaluation etc.
6.Methodology
The study is an ecological level research although the responses are obtained from individuals. The Hofstedian dimensions are chosen so as to discriminate among national and may be regional and ethnic cultures but not for discriminating according to other (sub) cultural distinctions such as gender, generation, social class and organization. The Indian states correspond to the regions mentioned in the previous sentence.
The levels issue
The states are the units of analysis to which generalizations will be made. The issue of levels is important to be clarified at the outset. The level of theory in Hofstede’s seminal research(1980) on cross cultural work related values is at the national cultural group level; this is the level to which generalizations are intended to be made (Alvin M Chan, Seventh Cross cultural Research Conference, December 12-15, 1999). However the present study intends to consider the linguistically demarcated Indian states as culturally divergent nationalities.
7. Definitions
Theoretical definitions
Culture
“Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit of and for behavior acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievement of human groups including their embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional (historically derived and selected) ideas and especially their attached values; culture system may on the one hand be considered as products of action and on the other as conditioning elements of further action.” (Kroeber and Kluckhohn, 1952 p 180)
Culture is the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes th emembers of one group or category of people from another (Hofstede).
A note on the contruct of culture and climate : It is necessary to differentiate between (organizational or national) culture and climate. Culture is an integration into one construct of different concepts and the current predominant term is culture.
Power distance
Power distance is the extent to which the less powerful members of organisations and institutions accept and expect that power is distributed unequally.
Uncertainty Avoidance
Uncertainty avoidance is the extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations.
Individualism- Collectivism
Individualism is the degree to which individuals are supposed to look after themselves or remain integrated into groups, usually around the family. The bipolar opposite is collectivism.
Masculinity-Femininity
Masculinity refers to the degree to which roles are distributed between the genders. The bipolar opposite is femininity.
Operational definitions
Operationalization is an issue of how to capture the theoretical constructs in self report survey method. Operationalization in this study involves the process and the product of developing the VSM 94.
The IDV has been operationalised in terms of sufficient time for person and family, good physical working conditions, security of employment, variety and adventure on job.
The PDI has been operationalised in terms of the preference for good working relationships with superiors, preference to be consulted by direct superior and whether subordinates are less fearful for disagreement with superiors and avoidance of dual superiors.
The UAI has been operationalised in terms of precise answers to questions, the attitude towards competition between employees, attitude towards rules being broken and the frequency with which one feels nervous at work.
8.The instrument: The Values Survey Module 1994 (VSM 94)
Out of the original IBM study by Hofstede, a separate Module called the Values Survey Module was developed especially for replications. The results of comparing two or more cultures are only marginally interesting. However, large scale replications ( more than 10 or 15 countries ) are likely to give more interesting results. One issue is that the study has to be conducted temporally adjacent times in large number of countries which poses resource and logistical problems. However, they are not impossible theoretically.
The VSM is a test designed for comparing mean scores of matched samples of respondents across two or more countries, regions or ethnic groups. The reliability of cross- country test can be tested only across countries, but this presupposes data from at least 15 countries (in the present study, the Indian states.) The instrument is developed by the IRIC, University of Tilburg, P.O Box 90153, 5000 LE Tilburg, The Netherlands.
Validity is shown through significant correlations of test resuls with outside criteria related to test scores by some kind of theory or logic. Thus the reliability of the VSM can be proven indirectly. (Cultures’ Consequences, Hofstede, 2001. p 460 ff).
The questionnaire and the formulae to be used for calculation of the indexes are provided along with the questionnaire (see appendix)
9. The sampling technique
For each of the states the population is the entire state. This means that there will be as many populations as there are states in India The sampling technique is purposive random sampling matched by organisation.
The issue of matching of samples.
Samples need to be matched similar in all respects except nationality.
In the proposed study, the matching is to be done by administering the instrument (VSM 94) to officers in a public sector bank (SBI) or an organisation like LIC (Life Insurance Corporation of India) that has operations in all states. This would provide matching by the type of work organizations at the same point of time when the survey is conducted.
Other controls that are to be ensured is that the sample will be chosen from those who were born and brought up and had their early education in vernacular (mother tongue), working in their respective domicile state in the selected public organization. This is to ensure avoidance of contamination as much as possible from cultural transference through education in the lingua franca (usually English) and from culturally contaminating influence of being domiciled in other states.
The sample size
At least 20 and preferably 50 per country ( Hofstede, p 463)
10. Proposition and hypotheses.
Proposition
The different states of India differ on the Hofstedian cultural dimensions of PDI, UAI, IDV and MAS.
Hypotheses (for the state of Kerala in comparison to the other states)
The PDI is lower for the state of Kerala compared to the other states of India.
The UAI is lower for the state of Kerala compared to the other states of India.
The IDV is higher for the state of Kerala compared to the other states of India.
The MAS is lower for the state of Kerala compared to the other states of India.
(Note)
PDI- Power distance
UAI –Uncertainty avoidance
IDV- individualism- Collectivism
MAS- Masculinity- Femininity
11. Expected scenario and analysis of the results
The indexes for the different states arrived at can be compared for differences. Possible scenario includes insignificantly low differences between the states in which case the hypotheses are disproved.
12. Limitations
The major limitation is the criticism of the Hofstedian method of sample selection from one single organisation and generalizing to the collective.
However the gain in the trade off is that of ease of matching the sample.
Appendix
VSM 94 ( Hofstede)
Please think of an ideal job (disregarding your present job)
(please circle one answer in each line across):
1. of utmost importance
2. very important
3. of moderate importance
4. of little importance
5. of very little importance or no importance.
In choosing an ideal job how important would it be to you to .........
1
Have sufficient time left for your personal or family life
1
2
3
4
5
2
Have good physical working conditions (have good ventilation and lighting, adequate work space, etc.)
1
2
3
4
5
3
Have a good working relationship with your direct superior
1
2
3
4
5
4
Have security of employment
1
2
3
4
5
5
Work with people who cooperate well with one another
1
2
3
4
5
6
Be consulted by your direct superior in his/ her decisions
1
2
3
4
5
7
Have an opportunity for advancement to higher level job
1
2
3
4
5
8
Have an element of variety and adventure in the job
1
2
3
4
5
In your private life, how important is each of the following to you? (please circle one answer in each line across
9
Personal steadiness and stability
1
2
3
4
5
10
Thrift
1
2
3
4
5
11
Persistence( perseverance)
1
2
3
4
5
12
Respect for tradition
1
2
3
4
5
13. How often do you feel nervous or tense at work?
1 never
2 seldom
3 sometimes
4 usually
5 always
14. how frequently in your experience, are subordinates afraid to express disagreement with their superiors?
1 very seldom
2 seldom
3 sometimes
4 frequently
5 very frequently
How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements? (please circle one answer in each line across):
1- strongly agree , 2- agree, 3- undecided, 4-disagree, 5- strongly disagree
15
Most people can be trusted
1
2
3
4
5
16
One can be a good manager without having precise answers to most questions that subordinates may raise about their work
1
2
3
4
5
17
An orgnisation structure in which certain subordinates have two bosses should be avoided at all cost
1
2
3
4
5
18
Competition between employees usually does more gore harm than good
1
2
3
4
5
19
A company’s or organisation’s rules should not be broken- not even when the employee thinks it is in the company’s best interest
1
2
3
4
5
20
When people have failed in life it is their own fault
1
2
3
4
5
21 Are you male/ female
22 How old are you ?
23 No of years of formal education starting with primary school
24 Your occupation?
25. Which state of India / country do you come from?
Formulae
PDI= -35m(03)+35m(06)+25m(14)-20m(17)-20
UAI=25m(13)+20m(16)-50m(18)-15m(19)+120
IDV=-50m(01)+30m(02)+20m(04)-25m(08)+130
MAS=60m(05)-20m(07)+20m(15)-70m(20)+100
LTO=-20m(10)+20m(12)+40
In these formulae, m(03) is the mean score for question 03 and so on.
Cross cultural comparison of Indian states on the Hofstedian dimensions of power distance(PDI), uncertainty avoidance(UAI), individualism – collectivism(IDV) and masculinity-femininity(MAS).
-With special reference to Kerala and the rest of the states
1.Introduction: A case for studying various states in India as different cultural units.
Culture studies have proliferated in the last three decades especially since Hofstede came out with his landmark book ‘Culture’s Consequences’ after the famous IBM studies.
Hofstede conducted the study taking country as the unit of analysis. Taking off from Hofstede, this study holds on to nation as the unit of analysis, however assumes that India is a confederation of nationalities and hence treats states as units of analysis.
It has been suggested that a vast country like India is a collection of different nationalities. Israel for contrast had a strong sense of nation even while its people were scattered around the globe eventually resulting in the formation of the present day Jewish state in 1948.
But what is striking is the differences in values, norms and beliefs within a country. How do we capture these distinctions? We tend to say Gujaratis are more enterprising. We say Gujarat, Maharashtra, TN, AP and Karnataka are progressive states. We talk about Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh as BIMARU states. How can these differences be explained? Are there underlying values that distinguish one state from the other in spite of being part of the same larger political entity? Are the differences only due to differences in terrain and latitude? These differences are too apart to be explained merely in economic terms either. Moreover it has been suggested that culture influences economics as well. Attempts have been made to explain a country’s economic destiny by referring to the underlying cultural patterns. For instance David Mc Clelland’s study correlated achievement motivation with economic development of nations.
India has been described as a collection of various nationalities. Although there is much in common between them, the Indian states can be considered as separate cultures. There is the famous argument by Churchill that indeed if India was given freedom it would not be sustainable because of the contradictions within and would disintegrate. The country’s first Prime Minister, Nehru is said to have requested Lord Mountbatten to take back India in the wake of widespread communal riots post nascent independence.
Culture “consists of patterns, explicit and implicit of and for behavior acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievement of human groups including their embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional (historically derived and selected) ideas and especially their attached values; culture system may on the one hand be considered as products of action and on the other as conditioning elements of further action.” (Kroeber and Kluckhohn, 1952 p 180)
“Cross culture study implies the empirical study of members of various culture groups who have had different experiences that lead to predictable and significant differences in behavior. In majority of such studies the groups under study speak different languages and are governed by different political units”. (Brislin, Lonner and Thorndike; CCRM, 1973 p.5) There is no reason why linguistic groups within large political entities should not be studied as different cultural units especially when the political subdivision of the larger entity is on linguistic lines and also since language is an important determinant and carrier of deeply embedded cultural values.
In fact language is at once a product of culture which in turn shapes culture. Linguistic analysis can reveal underlying thought processes reflective of deep mental programming. If culture has been defined by Hofstede as the collective mental programming then the code language in which the programming is done is one’s own mother tongue.
2.India in the Hofstedian framework: Critique and an alternate proposition
Literature on culture in relation to India: A few issues of non-generalizability to states with special reference to Kerala derived from empirical observation appearing as periodically collated data and journalistic literature. ( The arguments for treating states separately are given in bold)
The cross cultural study involving India as a unit is the Hofstede study and the country scores are available for 53 countries on each of the four dimensions of culture that Hofstede describes.
These dimensions are power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism-collectivism and masculinity-femininity. Studies from the assumption that the various states themselves can be considered as separate nationalities from the cultural point of view are not known.
The proposed research considers the inadequacy of treating a large nation with over 20 states and nearly 15 officially recognised languages as a single nationality. The metaphors used to describe US and India are striking in this respect. The US is referred to as a melting pot whereas the corresponding metaphor for India is the jigsaw. The difference is remarkable since the melting pot implies homogeneity whereas the jigsaw implies uniqueness in the pieces however fitting together.
The following section examines the references to India in relation to the Hofstedian dimensions and using the same logic points out the striking contrasts in the case of Kerala to derive a different set of postulates. This can logically be extrapolated to build a case for considering all the states or at least some regions of India as unique and therefore requiring further exploration for significant differences.
General
Beteille (1977, p 25) has commented on the “remarkable stability over time of the basic structure of ideas and values in India and China”. This is understandable from the longevity of the Indian civilization, which has been unbroken for more than 5000 years. Whereas other civilizations have emerged and vanished, the predominantly Hindu culture of India has withstood the tests and still continues as the largest unbroken civilization existing today.
The fifty three countries in the IBM study were clustered to produce 12 branches. (See dendrogram p 64, Hofstede, Culture’s Consequences.) India falls into a cluster with Malaysia, Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore and Jamaica. Remarkably Hofstede comments that all were either British or American Colonies. What has been left out by Hofstede is that India had a predominant influence as an empire in the far east dating a couple of centuries. ( Jawaharlal Nehru, Glimpses of World History.)
While this may explain the reason for the clustering together of most of these countries, the same clustering technique can be used to group Indian states into related groups based on cultural commonalities. One observed cluster has already been shown in the previous section the BIMARU states. Though the classification has been made in terms of economic and social indicators, underlying cultural similarities between them is possible. One more appellation to the same cluster is the “Hindi heartland”.
Another possible cultural cluster could be the four southern states of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh which are Dravidian racially and linguistically. Yet another possible cultural cluster could be the northeastern states with mixed Mongoloid lineage of culture.
India in the light of the power distance (PD) dimension of Hofstede.
Power distance is the extent to which the less powerful members of organisations and institutions accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. The basic problem involved is the degree of human inequality that underlies the functioning of each particular society.
“Societies differ in their implications of rank inequalities for social functioning”. (Bohannan 1969 pp 198 ff). In terms of power distance the most determining feature of India is undoubtedly the caste system. Caste is an “organized association of extended families, membership of which determines a person’s rank in all areas of life”. Castes are now formally abolished, but continue to affect daily life very deeply.
Other such classifications include the estate and the class. Stratification in terms of estates in western Europe (nobility, clergy and the serfs) were legal categories with rights and obligations.
Classifications in terms of classes are not necessarily organized as such or legally identified, but share characteristics on which they can be ranked in terms of prestige, wealth and power. Usually classes are identified by economic activity and educational background and are shown to share the same values forming subcultures. (Hofstede, Culture’s Consequences, 2001 p 81)
Class can further be constructed based on the central concept. Construction with the central concept of the deference present in the mind of the individual member of the lower classes has been termed the “nominalist” view. Construction of class with the central concept of a collective consciousness of members of a class belonging together has been termed the “realist” view.
In terms of differences based on religion, Islam as a religion is more egalitarian and therefore low in PD and Hinduism is high in PD. In India, Muslims and Christians have become absorbed in the castes and has acquired the status of new castes (Srinivas, 1969)
Classifications may also contain unintegrated groups or ‘pariahs’ (eg. untouchables of India), sometimes racial minorities (e.g. Jews in Nazi Germany) or even majorities and migrant workers in wealthier countries (expatriate population in Gulf countries). In this case the “inequality is total ”. In other words power distance is total.
The influence of power distance is evident in the following anecdote cited by Negandhi and Prasad (1971) about a senior Indian Executive with a Ph D from an American University (p 128). “What is more important for me in my department is not what I do or achieve for me and my company, but whether the masters approve or not. To say ‘no’ is to search for another job. I left my freedom of thought in Boston”. In a nutshell in India power distance is very large regardless of class.
Interestingly the influence of caste is relatively less or less obvious in certain states of India, (Kerala for instance), where caste may be an issue when it comes to important decisions like marriage, but are less an issue of inclusion and exclusion otherwise.
Moreover, as mentioned earlier, Muslims and Christians are absorbed into caste structure. But there is a fundamental difference in the spread of Christianity and possibly Islam in Kerala. The Kerala Christians have a history of 2000 years when St. Thomas, disciple of Christ landed at Kodungallor in the first half of the first century AD. This means that the Christians in Kerala are as old as Christianity itself. Whereas by and large the northern Indian Christians are relatively recent converts from the lower castes and from the pariah untouchables, for reasons of escaping an oppressive caste structure into the classless Christianity, such was not the case with Kerala. The influence of Christianity (comprising 33% of the population) through the various Christian educational institutions have created a distinction with the rest of the country where such influences are relatively weak especially in rural India.
This has implications for both the power distance dimension and the individualism dimension.
Individualism, Protestant ethic and achievement have been correlated together (Weber, 1904).One may speculate that the influence of Christianity, especially through the educational institutions and through cultural assimilation has its influence on power distance and individualism. (Christianity and Islam are more egalitarian than Hinduism).
Society can be conceived in terms of power distance, a welfare society on the low PDI side and a class society on the high PDI side. To students in high PDI especially India, wealth and power were conflict ridden issues, the conflict being greater power distance and implicitly basic mistrust. In a study comparing the cognitive structures of male students from UK, Greece, Japan and India, India ranked high in Power distance.(Hofstede, Cultures’ Consequences)
There is a difference in the way inequality is seen in the high and low PDI systems. In high PDI, inequality is seen as the basis of societal order. In low PDI, inequality is seen as a necessary evil that needs to be minimized. Conceptually this makes sense to suggest that the communist leanings of Kerala (the tendency to throw the inequitable societal order) is an attempt to discard the high PDI which is so easily accepted in the north.
In high PDI hierarchy is existential. In low PDI hierarchy is an arrangement of convenience. (Hofstede, Culture’s Consequences, 2001)
There is a strong conjecture that Kerala is low on PDI due to its relative insulation from the rest of the country earlier and possibly the long influence of Christianity which is the seed of present day individualistic west, and one reason for the inclination towards Marxism/communism could be the incipient low power distance inclinations. This conjecture needs to be tested.
That the leaning towards communism of Kerala is also a leaning towards collectivism may be a tempting argument. However this does not go with the observed reality as will be discussed under Individualism-Collectivism head. Instead the associated belligerence of the trade unions is more indicative of a strong underlying desire for low power distance.
In a study conducted in India and Latin America, it was concluded, in high PDI countries the underdog is the first to be blamed for anything wrong in the system. In low PDI the system is blamed (Negandhi and Prasad 1971, p 105). However, the blame may revert to the powerful which is the instance of a revolution. It is not coincidental that revolution is at the core of at least a few of the varieties of communism. The whole idea of reverting the blame back in the form of revolution suggests that there is a basic mistrust in high PDI. Once again the revolutionary leanings of trade unions indicates low Power distance for Kerala.
In India the guru is weighty and honorable. In the high PDI of India what is transferred is not impersonal truth but the personal wisdom of the teacher. (Hofstede, Culture’s consequences. p 101)
Cascio (1974) has proposed after a study between India and western Europe that satisfaction with a participative superior decreased with increasing power distance. One of the implicit objectives of trade unions’ is to accrue to themselves greater participation in decision making. Hence once again the case is for considering this particular aspect as indicative of lower power distance.
One apprehension in the earlier cultural studies relating to India was that the high power distance was a remnant of the colonial legacy. However it has been now agreed that large power distance is innate in India and is not just a relic of the colonial rule. (Heganbotham, 1975)
India in relation to the uncertainty avoidance (UAI) dimension of Hofstede.
Uncertainty avoidance is the extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations.
India scores 40 on the uncertainty avoidance dimension in the IBM studies. Elsewhere it is also suggested that Hindu India is low on UAI. Kashima and Kashima (1998) has shown that the stronger system of rules and norms apply to language learning. Languages in more uncertainty avoiding cultures usually require learning to chose between different modes of address such as ‘tu’ and ‘vous’ in French. In short languages in higher UAI cultures involve the making of more choices according to tight cultural rules.
The sequence of the pronouns ‘nii’, ‘ningal’, and ‘thankal’ in Malayalam are in the order from less respectful to more respectful. However, the use of the very deferential and respectful ‘thankal’ is limited to formal situations whereas in most or all of the northern Indian languages the deferential pronoun is used more frequently in day to day informal interactions. This indicates tighter rules for other Indian languages and by extension higher UAI for northern India relative to Kerala.
In terms of power distance also the greater deference reflected in day to day language is indicative of greater power distance and vice versa. By extension power distance is lesser for Kerala.
India in relation to the individualism - collectivism (IDV) dimension of Hofstede.
US anthropologist Ruth Benedict (1946/1974) distinguished between cultures that rely heavily on shame and those that rely heavily on guilt. Shame requires an audience, an external sanction of good behavior. Guilt on the other hand is an internalized conception of living up to one’s standards. Conceptually this relates to the definition of collectivism and individualism respectively.
Individualism is the degree to which individuals are supposed to look after themselves or remain integrated into groups, usually around the family. Positioning itself between these two poles is a very basic problem all societies face.
By extension collectivistic societies have social support mechanisms that reduces the stress and guilt feelings of its members. High suicide rates (except the altruistic form of suicide) can therefore be said to be characteristic of individualism. Hence the proposition that Kerala is high on individualism than the other states. Kerala tops the Indian states in suicide rates.
Collectivist societies emphasize mastery of changing situations whereas individualistic societies emphasise changing the environment.
Collectivism implies greater extent to which one conforms to the norms and values of his in group. (Triandis 1972 p 38) . Delaying one’s marriage till his sisters’ marriage is a fine example. This example is very relevant in the Indian context.
Employers in collectivist countries who do not respect the societal norm to treat their employees as in group members are an exception, but then employees in turn do not repay them in terms of loyalty. Labour unions replace the work organization as an emotional in group and there can be violent union management conflicts. Similarly there are individualist societies establishing strong group cohesion with their employees with same protection vs loyalty balance norm of collectivist societies. (Hofstede , 2001)
Here cohesion however is externally brought about through training programmes and group building exercises unlike the cohesion in collectivist ‘in groups’ which is culturally in built.
Low collectivism (high individualism) does not allow the employees as ‘in group’ with the organisation ( as in lifelong employment of Japan) prompts the alienated employees to form unions, creating their own ‘in group’. The underlying proposition is that the high unionism of Kerala is an attempt by the otherwise individualistic labourers in the alienating atmosphere of the organisation to form strong ‘in groups’ in trade unions. In turn there are violent union management conflicts. This could be an explanation for the high militant unionism in Kerala.
De Mooij (2001) has suggested that those in high IDV countries than those in low IDV to live in detached houses and less likely to live in apartments and flats.
Quite strikingly the dwelling pattern in Kerala is detached even in villages where houses are detached from one another and widely spread unlike the village clusters of northern India. Prof . M P Appan has suggested that the word ‘thantedam’ (literally ‘own place’) used to denote a bold person (referred to admiringly) is strikingly related to the Keralites’ tendency to dwell apart and have their own space. Even while flats eventually came to the cities and suburbs they were constructed to provide the maximum privacy to the dwellers. Proposition is that the individualism is high for Kerala.
In a study conducted in India among adolescents, they predominantly reported emotionally adapting to the situation in stressful situations and also reported acceptance, passivity and seeking social support while individualistic adolescents tried to change the environment to their advantage. (Olah, 1995)
By extension the high suicide rate of Kerala (including among adolescents) can be considered as due to failure or frustration in changing the environment. Suicide suggests neither acceptance, passivity nor social support seeking behaviour characteristic of collectivistic societies. Hence a strong inference of high individualism among Keralites is proposed.
Todd speaks about exogamous community family structures characterized by cohabitation of married sons with parents, sharing of inheritance by all brothers, taboo on marriage between children of two brothers. Todd claimed similar traditional structure for Russia and some other countries including northern India and suggested these countries were attracted to communism since the same is a transference to the party state of the moral traits and regulatory mechanisms of the exogamous community family structure. However the labour unrest in Kerala is more reminiscent of rugged and rash individualism than collectivism.
Family (conceptually related to collectivism) is implicitly the organisational model for India.(Kumar and Singh, 1976) just as for the French it is the pyramid, for the Germans, a well oiled machine, and for Britain the village market.
India in relation to the masculinity-femininity (MAS) dimension of Hofstede.
Masculinity vs femininity refers to the distribution of emotional roles between the genders, which is another fundamental problem for any society to which a range of solutions are found; it opposes tough masculine to tender feminine societies.
It has been suggested that the female /male ratio in the population is higher in feminine cultures than in masculine cultures like India. Taking India as a whole the female to male ratio is less, the historical reason being the dowry system making girl children a difficult proposition.
In this instance also this generalization is true for the rest of the country but not for Kerala. Kerala is the only state where the females outnumber the males. Hence the proposition that Kerala is less MAS than the other states.
Kerala was one of the first states from where women entered the workforce in which way the gender roles were less distant from a very earlier time.
3. A comparative illustration of two Indian states.
The state of Gujarat
The western Indian state of Gujarat is highly industrialized among the Indian states and is considered as one of the progressive states in seizing the opportunities thrown open by the forces of liberalization, privatization and globalization. By and large the people of the state are considered highly entrepreneurial and risk taking.
The population comprises of predominantly Hindu and Muslim with Christians and other minorities forming a miniscule minority. The state is medium in social indicators such as health, education and literacy, but strong in economic indicators. Gujarati language is a derivative of Sanskrit an Indo-European language.
The state of Kerala
The southern Indian state of Kerala is low in industrialization, has leftist leanings and history and is credited with being the first place in the world where a Marxist government came to power through the ballot. The people are risk averse a tendency, reflected in the lack of entrepreneurial culture. However in Social indicators (primary education, healthcare, life expectancy, female to male ratio) the state is far ahead of the other states a fact which has been commented by social scientists. In terms of the profile of industrial activity, the state has more service industries. The economic indicators are however paradoxically low and the state depends on the remittances from the expatriate community in the gulf countries.
The state has an almost equal distribution of Hindus, Christians and Muslims and is famous for the communal harmony relative to the rest of the country.
The language is Malayalam which is the youngest of the Dravidian languages. The state has no history of external aggression and does not share any border with (hostile) countries, being protected on the one side by the sea and on the other by the western ghats.
4.A theoretical model for India
The main criticism against Hofstede is his treatment of nationality as the unit of analysis. The issue is further aggravated by the generalization to the nation based on studies in one organisation, IBM. There is a bias in terms of the sample selection itself. The trade off is however in terms of matching of samples at the expense of questionable representativeness of the sample.
Hofstede’s main contribution is his development of a framework to analyse culture. Once again the dimensions are criticised, this time for its derivation exclusively from anthropology.
A third criticism of Hofstede is the treatment of culture as the determining factor in explaining many a phenomena of collective human behaviour. Culture may be one of the factors to be read in conjunction with so many others.
Nevertheless Hofstede’s dimensions serve as the pioneering and geographically comprehensive work which has triggered interest for further study.
The issue of generalizability could be minimized if one could conceive of layers of culture progressively breaking down the collectives to a layer where further division would only expose the subcultures. This study proposes such division to the level of the commonality of language. Language is the single most important indicator, product and carrier of the deep rooted shared attitudes, beliefs, norms, values and meanings of the collective.
For a country like India the division into states (sub political units) on linguistic line historically, this model is more meaningful than any other generalization for the whole vastness ignoring the cultural, historic, geographic and racial diversity. The differences are at the value level and not merely at the level of identity.
5.Significance of the study
A parallel in precedence can be drawn in Hofstede and Bond’s (1988) study of the relationship between the staggering economic growth in East Asian countries and the influence of Confucian values. India is a vast country and the remarkable disparity in economic and social indicators is fascinating to merit a similar cross cultural examination as explained in the literature survey. While it is not proposed to bring out the reasons for the disparity, this study would attempt to bring out the significance if any in the four Hofstedian dimensions between the Indian states which would serve as the stepping stone for further quest for reasons. Some of the differences mentioned in the literature survey may serve as either antecedents or consequents.
Once significant differences are established they can serve as important guideposts in wide social science applications including advertising, consumer research, product positioning, human resource management, change interventions, resource allocation and program evaluation etc.
6.Methodology
The study is an ecological level research although the responses are obtained from individuals. The Hofstedian dimensions are chosen so as to discriminate among national and may be regional and ethnic cultures but not for discriminating according to other (sub) cultural distinctions such as gender, generation, social class and organization. The Indian states correspond to the regions mentioned in the previous sentence.
The levels issue
The states are the units of analysis to which generalizations will be made. The issue of levels is important to be clarified at the outset. The level of theory in Hofstede’s seminal research(1980) on cross cultural work related values is at the national cultural group level; this is the level to which generalizations are intended to be made (Alvin M Chan, Seventh Cross cultural Research Conference, December 12-15, 1999). However the present study intends to consider the linguistically demarcated Indian states as culturally divergent nationalities.
7. Definitions
Theoretical definitions
Culture
“Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit of and for behavior acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievement of human groups including their embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional (historically derived and selected) ideas and especially their attached values; culture system may on the one hand be considered as products of action and on the other as conditioning elements of further action.” (Kroeber and Kluckhohn, 1952 p 180)
Culture is the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes th emembers of one group or category of people from another (Hofstede).
A note on the contruct of culture and climate : It is necessary to differentiate between (organizational or national) culture and climate. Culture is an integration into one construct of different concepts and the current predominant term is culture.
Power distance
Power distance is the extent to which the less powerful members of organisations and institutions accept and expect that power is distributed unequally.
Uncertainty Avoidance
Uncertainty avoidance is the extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations.
Individualism- Collectivism
Individualism is the degree to which individuals are supposed to look after themselves or remain integrated into groups, usually around the family. The bipolar opposite is collectivism.
Masculinity-Femininity
Masculinity refers to the degree to which roles are distributed between the genders. The bipolar opposite is femininity.
Operational definitions
Operationalization is an issue of how to capture the theoretical constructs in self report survey method. Operationalization in this study involves the process and the product of developing the VSM 94.
The IDV has been operationalised in terms of sufficient time for person and family, good physical working conditions, security of employment, variety and adventure on job.
The PDI has been operationalised in terms of the preference for good working relationships with superiors, preference to be consulted by direct superior and whether subordinates are less fearful for disagreement with superiors and avoidance of dual superiors.
The UAI has been operationalised in terms of precise answers to questions, the attitude towards competition between employees, attitude towards rules being broken and the frequency with which one feels nervous at work.
8.The instrument: The Values Survey Module 1994 (VSM 94)
Out of the original IBM study by Hofstede, a separate Module called the Values Survey Module was developed especially for replications. The results of comparing two or more cultures are only marginally interesting. However, large scale replications ( more than 10 or 15 countries ) are likely to give more interesting results. One issue is that the study has to be conducted temporally adjacent times in large number of countries which poses resource and logistical problems. However, they are not impossible theoretically.
The VSM is a test designed for comparing mean scores of matched samples of respondents across two or more countries, regions or ethnic groups. The reliability of cross- country test can be tested only across countries, but this presupposes data from at least 15 countries (in the present study, the Indian states.) The instrument is developed by the IRIC, University of Tilburg, P.O Box 90153, 5000 LE Tilburg, The Netherlands.
Validity is shown through significant correlations of test resuls with outside criteria related to test scores by some kind of theory or logic. Thus the reliability of the VSM can be proven indirectly. (Cultures’ Consequences, Hofstede, 2001. p 460 ff).
The questionnaire and the formulae to be used for calculation of the indexes are provided along with the questionnaire (see appendix)
9. The sampling technique
For each of the states the population is the entire state. This means that there will be as many populations as there are states in India The sampling technique is purposive random sampling matched by organisation.
The issue of matching of samples.
Samples need to be matched similar in all respects except nationality.
In the proposed study, the matching is to be done by administering the instrument (VSM 94) to officers in a public sector bank (SBI) or an organisation like LIC (Life Insurance Corporation of India) that has operations in all states. This would provide matching by the type of work organizations at the same point of time when the survey is conducted.
Other controls that are to be ensured is that the sample will be chosen from those who were born and brought up and had their early education in vernacular (mother tongue), working in their respective domicile state in the selected public organization. This is to ensure avoidance of contamination as much as possible from cultural transference through education in the lingua franca (usually English) and from culturally contaminating influence of being domiciled in other states.
The sample size
At least 20 and preferably 50 per country ( Hofstede, p 463)
10. Proposition and hypotheses.
Proposition
The different states of India differ on the Hofstedian cultural dimensions of PDI, UAI, IDV and MAS.
Hypotheses (for the state of Kerala in comparison to the other states)
The PDI is lower for the state of Kerala compared to the other states of India.
The UAI is lower for the state of Kerala compared to the other states of India.
The IDV is higher for the state of Kerala compared to the other states of India.
The MAS is lower for the state of Kerala compared to the other states of India.
(Note)
PDI- Power distance
UAI –Uncertainty avoidance
IDV- individualism- Collectivism
MAS- Masculinity- Femininity
11. Expected scenario and analysis of the results
The indexes for the different states arrived at can be compared for differences. Possible scenario includes insignificantly low differences between the states in which case the hypotheses are disproved.
12. Limitations
The major limitation is the criticism of the Hofstedian method of sample selection from one single organisation and generalizing to the collective.
However the gain in the trade off is that of ease of matching the sample.
Appendix
VSM 94 ( Hofstede)
Please think of an ideal job (disregarding your present job)
(please circle one answer in each line across):
1. of utmost importance
2. very important
3. of moderate importance
4. of little importance
5. of very little importance or no importance.
In choosing an ideal job how important would it be to you to .........
1
Have sufficient time left for your personal or family life
1
2
3
4
5
2
Have good physical working conditions (have good ventilation and lighting, adequate work space, etc.)
1
2
3
4
5
3
Have a good working relationship with your direct superior
1
2
3
4
5
4
Have security of employment
1
2
3
4
5
5
Work with people who cooperate well with one another
1
2
3
4
5
6
Be consulted by your direct superior in his/ her decisions
1
2
3
4
5
7
Have an opportunity for advancement to higher level job
1
2
3
4
5
8
Have an element of variety and adventure in the job
1
2
3
4
5
In your private life, how important is each of the following to you? (please circle one answer in each line across
9
Personal steadiness and stability
1
2
3
4
5
10
Thrift
1
2
3
4
5
11
Persistence( perseverance)
1
2
3
4
5
12
Respect for tradition
1
2
3
4
5
13. How often do you feel nervous or tense at work?
1 never
2 seldom
3 sometimes
4 usually
5 always
14. how frequently in your experience, are subordinates afraid to express disagreement with their superiors?
1 very seldom
2 seldom
3 sometimes
4 frequently
5 very frequently
How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements? (please circle one answer in each line across):
1- strongly agree , 2- agree, 3- undecided, 4-disagree, 5- strongly disagree
15
Most people can be trusted
1
2
3
4
5
16
One can be a good manager without having precise answers to most questions that subordinates may raise about their work
1
2
3
4
5
17
An orgnisation structure in which certain subordinates have two bosses should be avoided at all cost
1
2
3
4
5
18
Competition between employees usually does more gore harm than good
1
2
3
4
5
19
A company’s or organisation’s rules should not be broken- not even when the employee thinks it is in the company’s best interest
1
2
3
4
5
20
When people have failed in life it is their own fault
1
2
3
4
5
21 Are you male/ female
22 How old are you ?
23 No of years of formal education starting with primary school
24 Your occupation?
25. Which state of India / country do you come from?
Formulae
PDI= -35m(03)+35m(06)+25m(14)-20m(17)-20
UAI=25m(13)+20m(16)-50m(18)-15m(19)+120
IDV=-50m(01)+30m(02)+20m(04)-25m(08)+130
MAS=60m(05)-20m(07)+20m(15)-70m(20)+100
LTO=-20m(10)+20m(12)+40
In these formulae, m(03) is the mean score for question 03 and so on.
Interesting. Last year, I wrote about a study conducted by Kruger and Roodt examining the validity of the VSM-94 in a South African context. My recommendations are as follow:
ReplyDeleteAs acknowledged in the current study done by Kruger and Roodt, the study itself possesses limitations. For one, the study was conducted in a very specific cultural and business context, which is female management in South Africa. In fact, the original objective of the study was to research the influence of cultural values on female leadership behavior. Only after discrepancies were observed in the results was the study reoriented toward a review of the VSM-94 as an instrument to accurately measure cultural values according to five particular dimensions. Furthermore, although Hofstede’s work on the VSM-94 was dependent on data limited to a single multinational corporation, the same constraint applies to the current study. The authors of the current study also used an abbreviated version of the VSM-94 to produce their results. To adequately determine the reliability and validity of the VSM-94 as a measurement for research in cultural values, then a more thorough and comprehensive undertaking needs to be in place. A range of cultural and business contexts, not only limited to female managers in South Africa, has to be used to strengthen the argument against the use of the VSM-94.
While Kruger and Roodt raise pertinent questions about the effectiveness of the VSM-94 in the cultural and business climate of today, their findings should be framed in such a way that takes into account the limitations of their research, especially since the VSM-94 has been widely used for so long in a number of subsequent and important studies. Great care should be taken to check the problems of the VSM-94 against a large sample size that considers many and varying cultural and business contexts and uses the complete form of the VSM-94. The only clear conclusion that may be derived from Kruger and Roodt’s research is that the VSM-94 is inadequate in measuring the influence of South African cultural values on female leadership in a particular corporation. In order to satisfactorily answer the question of whether the VSM-94 is reliable and valid enough, further research in the field has to be done.