Globe societies and geographical groups

The study’s 61 societies came from 58 nations, with dual societies drawn from within three of the countries: Switzerland was separated into French speaking and the remainder. Germany was divided along the old Cold War political boundary of East (GDR) and West (FDR). South African participants were placed into black and white categories. In addition to classifying the societies across the different dimensions, the research also examined managerial leadership behaviors. Another feature of the study was an effort to examine cultural similarities and differences across the societies collectively.

Thus, the 61 societies were placed into cultural geographical groups based on a variety of factors, such as similar ethnic and linguistic patterns, religion, ideology, customs, historical migration patterns, and shared historical experiences [97]. This resulted in the 10 societal geographical groups listed in Table 4. The survey data was then statistically analyzed to determine the predominant cultural dimensions for each grouping. Results of that analysis are provided in Table 4 and the following paragraphs, with each grouping being rated as high, middle, or low for each of the nine cultural dimensions. It should be noted, however, that while the groupings do offer a general overview of the principal cultural traits for an entire collectivity the procedure can also obscure potential differences between the individual countries [98]. As you can see in Table 4, there is considerable variation between the different groups. To provide additional understanding of these differences a narrative description of the institutionalized cultural characteristics of each cultural geographical group is provided below.

Table 4. Globe Societal Geographical Groups

White Dominant Cultures:Canada, England, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa (A), United States.

Scandinavia: Finland, Sweden, Denmark.

Central Europe: Germany (GDR), Germany (FDR), Netherlands, Switzerland.

Eastern Europe: Albania, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Poland, Russia, Slovenia.

Southern Europe: France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland (B), Israel.

Africa: Namibia, Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa (C).

Middle East: Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, Kuwait, Qatar

Central and South America: Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina,

Northeast Asia: China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore

South and Southeast Asia: Iran, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines

1.  White sample, (B)  French speaking sample, (C) Black sample

Source: Adapted from V. Gupta and P.H. Hanges, “Regional and Climate Clustering of Societal Cultures,” in Culture, Leadership, and Organizations: The GLOBE Study of 62 Societies, R.J. House, P.J. Hanges, M. Javidan, P.W. Dorfman, and V. Gupta, eds. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2004), P. 191.

Table 5. (PDF file) смотрите отдельную страничку!!!!!

White Dominant Cultures: This group consists of developed nations with predominantly English speaking populations. A major characteristic is an individualistic, performance based orientation, with a forward looking perspective. Rewards are a result of merit and there is less dependence on formal rules and established procedures. While gender equality is valued, in practice the countries are male-dominated [99].

Scandinavia: The Scandinavia group is marked by its high scores on gender equality, future orientation, and uncertainty avoidance. The group is characterized by an “underplaying of assertiveness, familial, and masculine authority and emphasis on certainty, social unity and cooperation” [100]. The welfare state found in all Scandinavian nations may contribute to the group’s weaker performance orientation scores.

Central Europe: High scores on assertiveness, uncertainty avoidance, and future orientation, along with low scores on gender equality distinguish the cultural practices of this group. This helps explain the reliance on well-defined rules and standards, masculinity, and the assertive approach taken by members of these nations, along with their technocratic orientation [101].

Eastern Europe: Societies in the Eastern European group are marked by a preference for hierarchical organizational leadership practices, strong in-group collectivism, and gender equality [102]. It is useful to note that many of the nations in this group were once part of the former Soviet Union, a historical legacy that no doubt continues to play a role in shaping their institutionalized values.

Southern Europe: A distinctive feature of the Southern Europe group is the reliance on the state to provide a wide range of social support services, which tends more toward collectivism than individualism. Of the nine cultural dimensions, gender equality was the lowest statistical score of the group and power distance was the highest. This may be related to the strong role of Catholicism in all the countries of this group [103].

Africa: This group is characterized by a strong humane orientation, which is perhaps an outgrowth of life’s difficulties in these societies. People from the Sub-Saharan Africa societies tend to subordinate self-interest and value social interdependence and reciprocity [104].

Middle East: The five nations of this group share a common historical, religious, and socio-cultural heritage. Arabic is the common language in all but Turkey, and Islam is the dominant religion. Societies of the Middle East grouping exercise strong in-group collectivism, which centers on the family and attachments to other groups such as tribe, sect, village, neighborhood, or classmates. These societies also follow welldefined power distance hierarchies in their relationships and have very distinct gender roles, with masculinity being predominant. Many of these institutionalized values can be attributed to the Koran, which teaches that leadership authority should be respected and provides clear definitions of the different roles for men and women [105].

Central and South America: A paternalistic perspective is a central theme among these societies. This is reflected in the desire to sustain personal social status and a predilection for in-group collectivism. Latin Americans often tend to have a sense of fatalism and prefer to live life in the present, rather than projecting into the future [106].

Northeast Asia: A defining feature of this group is the pervasive influence of the Chinese historical legacy and enduring influence of Confucianism shared by all the countries. Confucianism contributes to the contemporary practice of strong societal and in-group collectivism in these nations. Indeed, performance rewards are associated less with individual achievement and more with attainment of collective goals [107].

South and Southeast Asia: Societies in this group are noted for their practices of strong in-group collectivism, humanism, preference for social hierarchy, and a tendency toward male domination. Within the workforce, women commonly have to rely on family connections or a lengthy work history in order to compete with their male counterparts. It appears that modern South Asian women can have outside accomplishments, but are expected to concurrently maintain strong family ties [108].

Before ending this review of the GLOBE values research, you should recall that the study was very extensive and explored a large number of topics, many of which are not covered in this overview. Additionally, you should remember that the use of cultural geographical grouping provides a convenient means of identifying societal similarities and differences from a regional perspective, but also runs a very distinct danger of masking intergroup variances.