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342 PART 4: THE LEADER AS A RELATIONSHIP BUILDER

Exhibit 11.4 Rank Orderings of 10 Countries Along Four Dimensions of National
Value System

Country Power a Uncertainty b Individualism c Masculinity d
Australia 7 7 2 5
Costa Rica 8 2 (tie) 10 9
France 3 2 (tie) 4 7
India 2 9 6 6
Japan 5 1 7 1
Mexico 1 4 8 2
Sweden 10 10 3 10
Thailand 4 6 9 8
United States 6 8 1 4
a 1 highest power distance; 10 lowest power distance
b 1 highest uncertainty avoidance; 10 lowest uncertainty avoidance
c 1 highest individualism; 10 highest collectivism
d 1 highest masculinity; 10 highest femininity

Source: From Dorothy Marcic, Organizational Behavior and Cases, 4th ed. (St. Paul, MN: West, 1995).
Based on Geert Hofstede, Culture’s Consequences (London: Sage Publications, 1984); and Cultures and
Organizations: Software of the Mind (New York:McGraw-Hill, 1991).

Masculinity • Masculinity and femininity. Masculinity reflects a preference for achievement,
Masculinity
a preference for achievement, heroism, assertiveness, work centrality, and material success. Femininity
a preference for achievement,
heroism, assertiveness, work
heroism, assertiveness, work
centrality, and material success
centrality, and material success reflects the values of relationships, cooperation, group decision making,
and quality of life. Japan, Austria, and Mexico are countries with strong
Femininity
Femininity masculine values. Countries with strong feminine values include Sweden,
a preference for relationships,
a preference for relationships,
cooperation, group decision
cooperation, group decision Norway, Denmark, and the former Yugoslavia. Both men and women
making, and quality of life subscribe to the dominant value in masculine or feminine cultures.
making, and quality of life
Terry Neill, a managing partner at a London-based change management prac-

tice, uses Hofstede’s findings in his work with companies. Based on his experiences
with global companies such as Unilever PLC, Shell Oil, and BP, Neill points out
that the Dutch, Irish, Americans, and British are generally quite comfortable with
open argument. However, Japanese and other Asian employees often feel uneasy
or even threatened by such directness. In many Asian countries, leaders perceive
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the organization as a large family and emphasize cooperation through networks
of personal relationships. In contrast, leaders in Germany and other central Euro-
pean countries typically strive to run their organizations as impersonal well-oiled
machines. How leaders handle these and other cultural differences can have
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tremendous impact on the satisfaction and effectiveness of diverse employees.
Developing Cultural Intelligence
Although understanding the sociocultural environment and social value differ-
ences is crucial, a person cannot expect to know everything necessary to be pre-
pared for every conceivable situation. Thus, in a multicultural environment,
leaders will be most successful if they are culturally flexible and able to easily adapt

Cultural intelligence
Cultural intelligence
the ability to use reasoning
the ability to use reasoning to new situations and ways of doing things. In other words, they need cultural
and observation to interpret intelligence. Cultural intelligence (CQ) refers to a person’s ability to use reasoning and
and observation to interpret
unfamiliar situations and
unfamiliar situations and
devise appropriate behavioral
devise appropriate behavioral observation skills to interpret unfamiliar gestures and situations and devise ap-
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responses
responses propriate behavioral responses. Developing a high level of CQ enables a person