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Lesson 4: Globalization and the Impact on Communication & Knowledge Sharing

Lesson 4: Test Your Knowledge of Turkish Culture

Your readings this week also included a chapter from Textbook 1 on Turkey. Based on this reading, where do you think Turkey falls on Hofstede's dimensions? Think about where the index score for Turkey would fall within each dimension and then hover over the scale to test your knowledge and see the correct answer.

Power Distance Index (PDI)

“Power distance is defined as the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organisations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. It has to do with the fact that a society’s inequality is endorsed by the followers as much as by the leaders.” (Hofstede)

Power Distance Index (PDI) Score
  • Low
  • High
Turkish Uncertainty Avoidance Index Score
Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) Score
  • Weak
  • High

Individualism Index (IDV)

“The degree of interdependence a society maintains among its members. It has to do with whether people's self-image is defined in terms of ‘I’ or ‘We.’ In Individualist societies people are only supposed to look after themselves and their direct family. In Collectivist societies people belong to ‘in groups’ that take care of them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty.” (Hofstede)

Individualism Index (IDV) Score
  • Collectivism
  • Individualism

Masculinity (MAS)

“A high score (Masculine) on this dimension indicates that the society will be driven by competition, achievement and success, with success being defined by the ‘winner’ or ‘best-in-the-field.’ A low score (Feminine) on the dimension means that the dominant values in society are caring for others and quality of life. A Feminine society is one where quality of life is the sign of success and standing out from the crowd is not admirable.” (Hofstede)

Masculinity (MAS) Score
  • Feminine
  • Masculine

Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI)

“The dimension Uncertainty Avoidance has to do with the way that a society deals with the fact that the future can never be known: should we try to control the future or just let it happen? This ambiguity brings with it anxiety and different cultures have learnt to deal with this anxiety in different ways. The extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations and have created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid these is reflected in the score on Uncertainty Avoidance.” (Hofstede)

Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) Score
  • Weak
  • Strong

Long-Term Orientation Index (LTO)

“This dimension describes how every society has to maintain some links with its own past while dealing with the challenges of the present and future, and societies prioritize these two existential goals differently. Normative societies. which score low on this dimension, for example, prefer to maintain time-honored traditions and norms while viewing societal change with suspicion. Those with a culture which scores high, on the other hand, take a more pragmatic approach: they encourage thrift and efforts in modern education as a way to prepare for the future.” (Hofstede)

Long-Term Orientation Index (LTO) Score
  • Short-Term
  • Long-Term

Indulgence vs Restraint (IVR)

“This dimension is defined as the extent to which people try to control their desires and impulses, based on the way they were raised. A tendency toward a relatively weak control over their impulses is called ‘Indulgence,’ whereas a relatively strong control over their urges is called ‘Restraint.’” (Hofstede)

Indulgence vs. Restraint (IVR) Score
  • Short-Term
  • Long-Term

Note: Country specific pop-up information is from: https://geert-hofstede.com/turkey.html and Cultural dimension indices and rankings are from Hofstede et al. (2010).


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