Japans Cultural Analysis through Hofstedes Dimensions Term Paper

Japans Cultural Analysis through Hofstedes Dimensions - Term Paper Example However, Japanese are still less hierarchical than their Asian counterparts and believe in joint decision making to some extent (Geert Hofstede n.d). Individualism/collectivism: this dimension measures the extent of â€Å"I† or â€Å"We† prevailing in the society. In Japan, collectivism is at a high which characterizes harmony, coordination, group efforts, consensus and mutual sharing. Japanese are, however, less collectivist than Chinese. Masculinity/femininity: this dimension tells about quality vs. quantity of life preferred by people in a society. Japan depicts a very high score of 95 which means Japanese are highly masculine- they prefer success, ambitions, competition, and excellence over coordination, consensus, care and overall quality of life (Geert Hofstede n.d). Uncertainty avoidance: future is unknown. Uncertainty avoidance measures whether people in a society try to bind it or let it happen the way it is supposed to. Japan is one of the nations having the highest score of uncertainty avoidance. Japanese tend to control the future through planning, precautions, and regulations and are always wary of the unknown. They study and analyze risk factors in great detail before commencing upon anything. Long-term/short-term orientation: it is a time-based point-of-view towards the achievement of goals and results. Japanese score 80 here which means they are long-term oriented and invest heavily in real-estate and properties to secure their future. They believe in virtues, steadiness of results over time and generations serving the society at large. Canada, unlike Japan, is a country with lower PDI score which means inequalities in power distribution are perceived lesser than that of Japan’s. People respect the status and authority and accept the distribution (Geert Hofstede n.d). Canadians are relaxed when ambiguities and uncertainties are talked of. They suit their laws and regulations with the situations and do not panic; unlike Japanese who always carry a detailed list of rules and risks before doing anything.