The Hofstede Model for Cultural Understanding

In this new publication, we will talk about the Hofstede model, which consists in analyzing the culture of a country from six different dimensions and quantifying according to its behavior what is its score.

In this case, our country is not in the countries analyzed for the model. So, I have decided to take Zambia as a reference . Zambia borders the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In the above box, we can appreciate different scores belong to Colombia and Zambia according to The Hofstede Model.

Colombia is a country that is different to Zambia in any dimension but, referent to Indulgence is more notable. To get into the subject first, let’s quote this dimension.

Indulgence stands for a society that allows relatively free gratification of basic and natural human drives related to enjoying life and having fun. Restraint stands for a society that suppresses gratification of needs and regulates it thrift strict social norms,according to Hofstede.

The Zambia culture in this dimension has a low score of 42, which categorizes it as a culture of restriction. Usually, cultures classified in this dimension as low tend to be pessimistic and inclined to alcinism. Therefore, if a Zambian decides to have the fulfillment of a desire with himself, they see it as a bad action.

In contrast to indulgent countries such as Colombia, Colombians do not worry too much, follow their impulses, enjoy life and usually do all kinds of activities that generate satisfaction without feeling guilty of doing something wrong.

For example, the Colombian is an optimistic person with a positive attitude, in case of problems he usually seeks solutions or the way to make him less serious. To make it clearer let’s see the photo.

However, in the Power Distance dimension, there is not much difference between one country and another. Both expect and accept that power continue to be unequally distributed. As there is greater hierarchy, there is no possibility of equal treatment between people. In Colombia this happens since the conquest of the Spaniards. And it has been taken as normal in the cycle of life and they consider that the structure will not change.