2025 Hayden's Blog

On Indulgence and Restraint Overview     Indulgence versus restraint is the newest cultural dimension in Hofstede's model; it was added in 2010. This dimension, while nevertheless unique, is "more or less complementary to Long-versus Short-Term Orientation" (Hofstede, 2011, p. 15). Indulgence and restraint are defined by hofstede as follows: Indulgence stands for a society that allows relatively free gratification of basic and natural human desires related to enjoying life and having fun. Restraint stands for a society that controls gratification of needs and regulates it by means of strict social norms. (Hofstede, 2011, p. 15)      Put simply, individuals in indulgent societies are somewhat care-free (perhaps more liberal) both with their finances and social opinions, whereas individuals in restrained societies are less so. Neither is necessarily better. Canada and Japan     According to Hofstede's website , Canada scored 68 and Japan scored 42 (highe...

On Shopping Culture Overview     Shopping culture, as I will define it, relates to the attitudes and expectations of both buyers and sellers concerning commerce and occupational standards. For instance, it may be expected , in some societies, that sellers ought to treat buyers as royalty. Shopping culture in Japan has some characteristics uncommon in other societies; some of those characteristics that we discussed in class are as follows: Omotenashi : Omotenashi ( おもてなし ) is a Japanese word that refers to “wholehearted hospitality, offered without expecting anything in return” (Oku Sensei, 2025). Restaurants demonstrate the omotenashi philosophy well: when you enter, you will be greeted passionately, employees will ensure they are available throughout your meal (if requested or called for), and often do not accept tips. Simple descriptions like this do not fully capture how exceptional the service is, but when experienced, omotenashi is noticeable and welcome. Focus o...

Long and Short-term Orientation Overview     The cultural dimension long-term orientation (LTO) " was first identified in a survey among students in 23 countries around the world, using a questionnaire designed by Chinese scholars" (Hofstede, 2011, p. 13). Originally, the dimension was labeled Confucian Work Dynamism , but because the label was foreign (no pun intended) to people outside of East Asia, Hofstede (2011) renamed it to LTO. The updated label is perhaps a misnomer; colloquial uses of long-term and short-term orientation (or focus) are quite different from Hofstede's more esoteric usage.                  Common usages of "long-term" and "short-term orientation" often relate to a person or a group's ability to discount current pleasure to achieve some sort of future goal. It would not be abnormal, for example, to hear someone say, "Bob is long-term oriented; he takes very good care of his health. Did you see how he di...

On Political Culture Japan and Canada      Political culture in Canada is difficult to explain as deep seated cleavages between Eastern and Western Canada have led to effectively two distinct political cultures. Generally speaking, however, the political culture of Canada is more or less centrist, sometimes leaning Left and other times Right depending on the ideological climate. Canada's moderate political culture is due to the median voter theorem (see below) which suggests that "elections will be won by the preferences of voters in the middle of the political spectrum," leading opposing parties to become increasingly ideologically similar (Telford, 2021, p. 56).      While Japan and Canada share some similarities, like their system of governments (e.g., democracies) and opposition to nuclear warfare, from my understanding, their political cultures differ in several ways. First, unlike in Japan, Canada has no dominant party, and minority governme...

Uncertainty Avoidance Overview      Uncertainty avoidance index (UAI) “indicates to what extent a culture programs its members to feel either uncomfortable or comfortable in unstructured situations” (Hofstede, 2011, p. 10). As Hofstede describes in 10 minutes with Geert Hofstede on Uncertainty Avoidance 01032015 , uncertainty avoidance is not risk avoidance—he highlights how uncertainty-avoiding societies drive faster than uncertainty-accepting societies, despite there being a risk to doing so. Uncertainty-avoiding societies are likely to have “strict behavioural codes, laws and rules, disapproval of deviant opinions, and a belief in absolute Truth,” whereas uncertainty-accepting societies would have fewer of these features (Hofstede, 2011, p. 10). The validity of this dimension has been questioned by Schmitz and Weber (2014), who were unable to replicate Hofstede’s findings, suspecting that the results are specific to the original IBM sample, which “is neither to be us...

Business Culture in Japan and the World Overview      This week’s lesson focused on Japanese business culture, including conventions, expectations, and traditions in the workplace. Many features of Japanese business culture relate closely to the cultural dimensions of power distance and individualism versus collectivism. Japanese business ethics are deeply rooted in Japanese history; Yamamoto and Lloyd (2019) suggest that Japan’s work-centric business culture stems from spiritual beliefs that promote working for the collective good as a way to develop one’s meaning of existence and become closer to kami (a godlike state), achieved through “tireless practice and mastering a skill” (p. 115). In other words, work in Japan is often seen as a means of reaching spiritual enlightenment (Yamamoto & Lloyd, 2019).      Garcia (2016) explains that some of Japan’s cultural traditions may also be tied to its geographical circumstances. Since Japan is a small, densel...