Which of the following is a difference between high power distance and low power distance?
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The dimension that matters most in Cultural Differences is often claimed to be Power Distance Index or PDIEven up to 80% of all cultural friction is attributed to this Power Distance index! There are 3 more dimensions of culture but let’s first focus on this one since it is so important. A Definition of Power Distance IndexLet us start with a definition, so we are all on the same page:
Or to put it in a more official way, Power Distance is the: “Level of acceptance of people, who have no power, of the unequal spread of power in their society.“ The interesting aspect of phrasing the Power Distance definition is that it is written from the perspective of people who have no power. The definition loses all or most of its “value” if you leave that part out. In other words, if one already has the power, it does not matter much if people, who have no power, accept this or not. Much like having wealth or money: if you have wealth or lots of money, it does not matter much if other people don’t have as much. InterpretationThere are countries whereby people Do accept that there is power inequality. These countries will score high on Power Distance. Countries, whereby people Do Not accept that there is power inequality, will score low on this power distance index (all on Professor Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions). NuanceWe need to nuance the above interpretation: All cultures/countries in the world have some level of power un-equality. In the low(er) scoring countries, people accept the fact that there are people who have more power in order to avoid a state of chaos or anarchy. In other words, in the low(er) scoring countries people will accept that the police is able and/or allowed to ask them for their ID or pull them over for a traffic violation. The DifferencesBelow are the difference between Low and High Power Distance. Two notes in the margin: This list is not complete, below are just a couple of illustrations; Second, there are no cultures that have all of the low characteristics and none of the high characteristics. When scoring low, they will have more of the low characteristics and fewer of the high characteristics. Culture is not black and white, there are numerous gray shades! Low Power Distance Culture ExamplesBelow are some examples of low power distance culture:
Of course is the above list not complete. Nor are there low power distance cultures that have only low power distance culture characteristics and none of high power distance culture. High Power Distance Culture ExamplesAnd here are some examples of high power distance culture:
The same as with low power distance culture: there are no high power distance culture that have only high power distance culture characeristics and none of low power distance culture. Examples of low power distance culture are:
Examples of high power distance culture are:
Do you have other examples of low power or high power distance culture? Share them in the comments below!
Chris is passionate about Cultural Differences. He has been helping organizations save time and money when they work Internationally for the last 20+ years. While doing this he had the fortunate opportunity to hold lectures, workshops, and consulting projects on this subject World Wide. It has made him understand his own culture much better and appreciate the differences around the world. Chris Smit What are examples of high and low power distance?Countries such as Mexico and Saudi Arabia are considered to be high power distance cultures. Low power distance cultures focus on the individual, are less willing to accept inequality within their society, and have roughly equal distribution of power and wealth among members.
What high power distance means?High power distance describes a high variance in power or status in a culture, while low power distance describes cultures with more equitable distributions of power.
What does a low power distance index mean?Power Distance Index (PDI)
A low PDI score means that power is shared and is widely dispersed, and that society members do not accept situations where power is distributed unequally.
What is an example of low power distance?In some places, the power distance of income inequality is low. This means that there is a small spread between the richest and the poorest of people in society. Austria is an example of a low power distance country on this measure.
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