Cultural expectations about how much distance should be kept between a leader and their people: the cultural dimension of power distance.

The way our societies have been structured still influences how we act today. Some cultures have a high power distance (PD) whilst others have a low PD. This can be seen in the differences between these cultures, such as:

• Inequality:
  In high PD countries, inequality is expected whilst, in low PD countries, this should be minimized.
• Privileges:
  Privileges for the elite are seen as normal in high PD countries. This is frowned upon in those with low PD.
• Children:
  Low PD countries treat children relatively more equally. They can form their unique opinions and debate with their parents or teachers. In high PD countries, it’s usually preferred that children obey.
• Governments:
  Governments are usually pluralist majority vote parlements in low PD countries. Elections and changes of governments happen smoothly. In high PD countries, there’s often a single head of state with a fair amount of autonomous decision-making power.
• Income difference:
  High PD countries have big income differences. They often have a limited number of very wealthy elites and a big lower class. Low PD countries usually redistribute wealth through taxes and have a big middle class.

We can globally divide cultures into a few buckets:

High power distance:
Many east-Asian, Arabic, and Latin American countries

Medium power distance:
Mediterranean European countries

Low power distance:
Nordic and (western) English and German-speaking countries

How does power distance affect product design?

Increasing social status

People are more likely to buy status brands in countries with high power distance. This is because these brands can help them improve their social standing and make them feel better about themselves. This has been confirmed by the study The Impact of Power-Distance Belief on Consumers’ Preference for Status Brands.

Impuls buying

In high PD cultures, obedience is important. In many eastern cultures, delayed gratification is even considered a virtue. Study shows that “countries with higher PD scores showed lower unplanned buying tendencies”. 

Individualism and collectivism

Let’s now look at another cultural dimension: the difference between individualism and collectivism. In Northern European countries, parents pursue their kids to leave the house when they are 18. Many of them, when becoming young adults, then decide to do go on a solo backpacking trip. For Mediterranean people, these choices seem very strange. Selfish even. They value spending more time with their family.

Some of the most visible differences and preferences between collective and individual cultures are:

• Growing up:
  In individualist cultures, children are taught to look after themselves. In collectivist cultures, protecting happiness in exchange for loyalty is more important.
• Resources:
  Most stuff is shared with a group (usually the family) in collectivist cultures. Individualist cultures have more individual ownership.
• Reputation:
  Doing something unethical will make the entire group “lose face” in collectivist cultures. In individualist cultures, your actions are on you, and won’t affect your family.
• Relational mobility:
  In individualist cultures, it’s relatively accepted to end friendships and find new ones. This is less the case for collectivist cultures.
• Opinions:
  The more individualist a culture is, the more normal it is to have a conflicting opinion in a group.
• Career path:
  In collectivist cultures, it’s much more common for a son to choose the same profession as his dad. It can be seen as an honour. In individualist cultures, this might be perceived as a lack of autonomy.

We can globally divide countries into a few buckets:

• Highly individualistic:
  Nordic and (western) English and German-speaking countries
• Hybrid:
  A number of Arabic and African countries
• Highly collectivist:
  A number of east-Asian and Latin American countries

Measuring Individualism and Collectivism

The aspects Hofstede used to assess individualism and collectivism where were:

Individualist pole

1. Personal time:
   Have a job that leaves sufficient time for your personal or family life.
2. Freedom:
   Have considerable freedom to adopt your approach to the job.
3. Challenge:
   Have challenging work to do — from which you can get a personal sense of accomplishment.

Collectivist pole

1. Training:
   Have training opportunities (to improve your skills or learn new skills)
2. Physical conditions:
   Have good physical working conditions (ventilation and lighting, adequate workspace, etc.).
3. Use of skills:
   Fully use your skills and abilities at work.

How does uncertainty avoidance manifest?

Some of the most visible differences we can see between people from high- and low-uncertainty-avoiding countries are:

• Rules:
  People from high UA countries believe implementing rules and procedures is the best way to avoid potential uncertainty. There’s a strong desire to use the law or company policies. In reality, those rules are often ignored. Low UA countries rely less on rules but might have unwritten social conventions that people follow.
• Showing emotions:
  Avoiding uncertainty can cause a lot of stress. This stress eventually needs to be released. This can be done by expressing emotions. Raising a voice or making gestures is much more accepted in high-UA countries. Low-UA countries often see showing emotions as a sign of weakness.
• Trust:
  Leaving the outcome of something in someone else’s hands leads to uncertainty. High-UA countries strongly desire specialists, people with degrees and older, and more experienced people. In their minds, their proven competencies make an outcome more likely to match their needs. Children and younger people can also be seen as less capable.
  In low-UA countries, children are seen as equal participants in society. Trust in politicians is also higher in low-UA countries.
• The truth:
  High-UA countries are more likely to believe in one single version of the truth. People in these countries are expected to present correct facts. On the other hand, in low-UA countries, there can be many different opinions and beliefs, and people are more open to debating different points of view. In the past, low-UA countries have been more accepting of other religions and beliefs, while high-UA countries have been less tolerant of those with different views (for instance, the Spanish inquisition).

Catholic countries are usually avoiding uncertainty (pope, roman emperor, etc.) whilst protestant countries are mostly low on uncertainty avoidance (cold weather, chasing a new life overseas etc.):

• High uncertainty avoidance:
  Latin (American and European) and Mediterranean countries, Japan and South Korea
• Medium-high uncertainty avoidance:
  German-speaking countries, Arab and African countries
• Medium to low uncertainty avoidance:
  East-Asian countries, Nordic countries, English-speaking countries

Measuring the different countries

Hofstede’s questions to assess uncertainty avoidance were:

1. Job stress — How often do you feel nervous or tense at work?
2. Rule orientation — Company rules should not be broken, even when the employee thinks it is in the company’s best interest
3. How long do you think you will continue working for IBM? (Changing employers brings uncertainty).

Providing a safety net

Every Ikea website looks the same, but the information on it changes depending on the country it is being viewed in. Every home page has a bar with items that show information that is relevant to people in that particular country.

The german (high-UA country) bar shows:

• Free parcel return — It’s OK to change your mind.
• Planning service with appointment — Our experts will help you with your planning.
• IKEA 0% financing — Make your dreams come true without interest or additional costs.

The danish (low-UA country) bar shows:

• Welcome to the warehouse — We look forward to seeing you.
  Info and opening hours
• Help for your next project — New kitchen, bath or bedroom? Get help from an expert
• Design with drawing software — Draw and design everything from kitchens and sofas to wardrobes and beds

Masculinity & Femininity

Finally, let’s also discuss the attitudes toward cultural masculinity and femininity. 

How do Masculinity and Femininity manifest?

Masculine countries behave more like how men were expected to behave throughout time: as the hunter of the tribe. Feminine counties have a stronger emphasis on the nurturing aspect of the mother.

This results in some of the following differences:

• Life priorities:
  Masculine countries tend to prioritise higher earnings and recognition. Feminine countries would compromise promotions for a better quality of life. Part-time work, for both men and women, is much more common in feminine countries.
• Role of the genders:
  Masculine countries have a preference for assertive men and tender women. In feminine cultures, men and women are both modest and tender.
• Family and parenting:
  The father is expected to deal with the facts and the mother with the feelings in masculine cultures. In feminine cultures, those responsibilities are shared between both parents.
  Feminine cultures are more tolerant of homosexuality, which can be seen as a threat to traditional family values in masculine countries.
• Resolving conflicts:
  The strongest wins in Masculine conflicts. Feminine conflict management is about compromise and negotiation. Most feminine countries have coalition governments as a result.
• Society:
  On average, masculine cultures are corrective whilst feminine cultures are permissive. This means that masculine cultures put emphasis on what you shouldn’t do. In feminine countries, what you could do is more important.

In your head, you might have already drawn some conclusions:

• High masculinity:
  English and German-speaking countries, Japan, China
• Medium Masculinity:
  Latin countries
• Low Masculinity:
  Nordic countries, the Netherlands

Measuring the different countries

Hofstede’s aspects to assess masculinity were:

• To measure the masculine traits: the importance of
  – Earnings
  – Recognition for work
  – Promotions
  – Accomplishments in work
• To measure the feminine traits: the importance of
  – The relationship with your supervisor
  – Cooperating with colleagues
  – Living in an area you like
  – Employment security

What we can take from this is that, in communication and product design, we should be mindful of how we communicate with our audience.