Cultural System Perspective

Cultural System

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The Cultural Perspective is the most interesting for me. It is about how you make meaning of the values and beliefs in your society or group and how these meanings are translated into actions and behaviors. I like to think about the methaphor of a tree, where the roots are the values and beliefs, the bole is the meaning making process that will lead to the crown, what is really visible to others even in a long distance, th actions and behaviors.

 

 

Geert Hofstede is known as the big research in the cultural dimensions. He did a research (and keeping updating!) about the cutural dimensons in various countries around the world. Even though there are some considerations about his research method, he is still a reference in this field. He defined 6 dimensions to be able to compare cultures, as he stated below:

1 – Power Distance Index (PDI)

“This dimension expresses the degree to which the less powerful members of a society accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. The fundamental issue here is how a society handles inequalities among people. People in societies exhibiting a large degree of power distance accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has a place and which needs no further justification. In societies with low power distance, people strive to equalise the distribution of power and demand justification for inequalities of power.”

2 – Individualism versus Collectivism (IDV)

“The high side of this dimension, called individualism, can be defined as a preference for a loosely-knit social framework in which individuals are expected to take care of only themselves and their immediate families. Its opposite, collectivism, represents a preference for a tightly-knit framework in society in which individuals can expect their relatives or members of a particular in-group to look after them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty. A society’s position on this dimension is reflected in whether people’s self-image is defined in terms of “I” or “we.””

3 – Masculinity versus Femininity (MAS)

“The masculinity side of this dimension represents a preference in society for achievement, heroism, assertiveness and material rewards for success. Society at large is more competitive. Its opposite, femininity, stands for a preference for cooperation, modesty, caring for the weak and quality of life. Society at large is more consensus-oriented.”

4 – Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI)

“The uncertainty avoidance dimension expresses the degree to which the members of a society feel uncomfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity. The fundamental issue here is how 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? Countries exhibiting strong UAI maintain rigid codes of belief and behaviour and are intolerant of unorthodox behaviour and ideas. Weak UAI societies maintain a more relaxed attitude in which practice counts more than principles.”

5 – Pragmatic versus Normative (PRA)

“This dimension describes how people in the past, as well as today, relate to the fact that so much that happens around us cannot be explained.

In societies with a normative orientation most people have a strong desire to explain as much as possible. People in such societies have a strong concern with establishing the absolute Truth and a need for personal stability. They exhibit great respect for social conventions and traditions, a relatively small propensity to save for the future and a focus on achieving quick results.

In societies with a pragmatic orientation, most people don’t have a need to explain everything, as they believe that it is impossible to understand fully the complexity of life. The challenge is not to know the truth but to live a virtuous life. In societies with a pragmatic orientation, people believe that truth depends very much on situation, context and time. They show an ability to accept contradictions, adapt according to the circumstances, a strong propensity to save and invest, thriftiness and perseverance in achieving results.”

6 – Indulgence versus Restraint (IND)

“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 by means of strict social norms.”

Source: http://geert-hofstede.com/dimensions.html 

Applying this dimensions to the Brazilian Culture, we have the graphic below:

Slide1 What does it mean?

If we explore Brazil´s culture through the lens of the 6-Dimension Model Fom Hofstede, we can get a good overview of the deep drivers of Brazilian culture relative to other world cultures.

Power distance
This dimension deals with the fact that all individuals in societies are not equal – it expresses the attitude of the culture towards these inequalities amongst us. 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.

With a score of 69, Brazil reflects a society that believes hierarchy should be respected and inequalities amongst people are acceptable.  The different distribution of power justifies the fact that power holders have more benefits than the less powerful in society. In Brazil it is important to show respect to the elderly (and children take care for their elderly parents). In companies there is one boss who takes complete responsibility. Status symbols of power are very important in order to indicate social position and “communicate” the respect that could be shown.
Individualism
The fundamental issue addressed by this dimension is 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 supposed to look after themselves and their direct family only. In Collectivist societies people belong to ‘in groups’ that take care of them in exchange for loyalty.

Brazil has a score of 38 which  means that in this country people from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive groups (especially represented by the extended family; including uncles, aunts, grandparents and cousins) which continues protecting its members in exchange for loyalty. This is an important aspect in the working environment too, where for instance an older and powerful member of a family is expected to “help” a younger nephew to be hired for a job in his own company. In business it is important to build up trustworthy and long lasting relationships: a meeting usually starts with general conversations in order to get to know each other before doing business. The preferred communication style is context-rich, so people will often speak profusely and write in an elaborate fashion.

Masculinity
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 / best in field – a value system that starts in school and continues throughout organisational behaviour.

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. The fundamental issue here is what motivates people, wanting to be the best (masculine) or liking what you do (feminine).

Brazil scores 49, a very intermediate score on this dimension.

Uncertainty avoidance    
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 UAI score.

At 76 Brazil scores high on UAI – and so do the majority of Latin American countries. These societies show a strong need for rules and elaborate legal systems in order to structure life. The individual’s need to obey these laws, however, is weak. If rules however cannot be kept, additional rules are dictated. In Brazil, as in all high Uncertainty Avoidance societies, bureaucracy, laws and rules are very important to make the world a safer place to live in. Brazilians need to have good and relaxing moments in their everyday life, chatting with colleagues, enjoying a long meal or dancing with guests and friends. Due to their high score in this dimension Brazilians are very passionate and demonstrative people: emotions are easily shown in their body language.

Pragmatism 

This dimension describes how people in the past as well as today relate to the fact that so much that happens around us cannot be explained. In societies with a normative orientation, most people have a strong desire to explain as much as possible. In societies with a pragmatic orientation most people don’t have a need to explain everything, as they believe that it is impossible to understand fully the complexity of life. The challenge is not to know the truth but to live a virtuous life.

At 44, Brazil scores as intermediate in this dimension.

Indulgence

One challenge that confronts humanity, now and in the past, is the degree to which little children are socialized. Without socialization we do not become “human”. This dimension is defined as the extent to which people try to control their desires and impulses, based on the way they were raised. Relatively weak control is called “indulgence” and relatively strong control is called “restraint”. Cultures can, therefore, be described as indulgent or restrained.

Brazil’s high score of 59 marks it as an Indulgent society. People in societies classified by a high score in indulgence generally exhibit a willingness to realise their impulses and desires with regard to enjoying life and having fun. They possess a positive attitude and have a tendency towards optimism. In addition, they place a higher degree of importance on leisure time, act as they please and spend money as they wish.

 Source: http://geert-hofstede.com/brazil.html

What are the implications of this cultural dimensions into Brazilian Education System? – A Reflection

Some characteristics are clear to see in Brazilians’ behavior. Even if you are not that observer, it is tangible. There are three culture dimensions that I will analyze in this reflection: Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance and Individualism. Furthermore, I will focus my observations on the Brazilian Education System.

Not only as a result of the social and economic disparities that have been part of the Brazilians’ lives, the Power Distance Index clearly shows one of the beliefs in Brazil. Not only the money is responsible for power distance, but also Brazilians view the power distributed unequally. This means that in every relationship, there is one person who is more powered than another. Let’s see how it can reflect at the Education System.

This fact reflects on the hierarchy and the distribution of power among people. And, consequently, at schools.First, the relationship between teacher and student is really interesting. For instance, in Brazil, it is important to show respect to the elderly. At schools, the relationship betweeen teachers and students are considered distance, as a result of the Power Distance Index as stated by Hofstede. Practically, this means that the teacher has all the right answers and children don’t even have a voice. It is a really teacher-centered system (Hofstede, 1986). In the classroom practices, it is where you can easily see the power distance tangible between teachers and students. Consequently, there is fear about answering wrong or makng mistakes in the classroom. Moreover, it can soundly disrespectful if he/she disagrees with the teacher, even in a undergraduate or graduate class. Therefore, it is easy to note a passive behavior in the classroom in general.

These perceptions were found in research by Hofstede (1986) in his article “Cultural Differences in teaching and learning”. He stated that in a cultural environment such as Brazil,  the young should learn and adults cannot accept the student role. Moreover, students expect to learn how to do, which relates to the fact that teachers have the correct answers. Furthermore, individual students will only speak up in class when called upon personally by the teacher. Furthermore, teachers are  never contradicted nor publicly criticized.

The uncertainty avoidance dimension expresses the degree to which the members of a society or a specific culture feel uncomfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity. Moreover, this index is related to the fact that the society needs to controle the future or not? At 76, Brazil scores high on this category. Brazilian society shows a strong need for rules and elaborate legal systems in order to structure life. Even though we need rules, we don’t actually follow them.

This also reflects on the Education System as teachers and school staff not necesarily follow the legislation and curricula that were defined to aplly at schools. This happens because the law is weak and there is no fiscalization and no penalties for the outlaws. Moreover, it also reflects on how educators see change. This dimension is directly correlated with the risk-taking category. As a low risk-taking society, there are no space for risking and consequently, making mistakes and go through on a learning process. Taht is why we probably copy a lot of American education initiatives. We don’t want to be wrong. But actually, we forgot that the context is so different, that these projects usually don;t work in a country as Brazil.

The individualism/collectivism dimension can be addressed as the degree of interdependence a society maintains among its own members. In a individualistic society, individuals expect to take care of only themselves and their immediate families. Its opposite, in a collectivist society, people can expect their relatives and others particular in-groups’ members to look after them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty.

Brazil has a score of 38 which means that it is a collectivis country.  Brazilians are integrated into strong and cohesive groups, represented not only by their immediate family members, but also by the more broad view of a family, such as uncles, counsing, grandparents. At schools, the teacher can only move forward if all students are on the same page. consequntly, the pace is determined by the lowest level. Thinking about the Education System and the goals that the legislation sets for each school, the bar is usually low. For example, there is a goal setting by a Federal Agency that Brazil must alphabetize all children by the end of the 3rd year of primary school . This means that there are space for older kids stay at school withou knowing how to read or write. How can you tell these kids are learning if they are nor alphabetized yet?

In conclusion, there are a lot of culture behind behaviors. Educators should be aware about these clture dimensions an their impact on the Education System. Moreover, it is becaming much more clear that people must be aware about the culture differences and the context before understading an Education System.

 

References

Hofstede, G. (1986). Cultural differences in teaching and learning. International Journal of intercultural relations, 10(3), 301-320.