Hofstede Power Distance Exercise
The following exercise is designed to cause the student to use a detailed comparison/contrast approach to the concept of power distance as defined by Hofstede.
Power Distance Index (PDI)
PDI is the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. This represents inequality (more versus less), but defined from below, not from above. It suggests that a society’s level of inequality is endorsed by the followers as much as by the leaders. Power and inequality, of course, are extremely fundamental facts of any society and anybody with some international experience will be aware that ‘all societies are unequal, but some are more unequal than others’.
Hofstede treats power distance as a single monolithic construct for research purposes but in actuality power distance can vary according to social spheres. For example, power distance may be very high between “government and governed” but less high between “parent and child”. This worksheet looks at five social spheres. Again, the purpose of the exercise is to make the student think with a sociological perspective. The instructor should pick a country other than the student’s passport country for comparison. The instructor should also pick a country the students are very familiar with, possibly a neighboring country that the students often visit. The instructor should emphasize that the conceptualization is just the first step and the next step would be personal empirical observation or better yet formal research. If the student were to pick “<” for the first social sphere then the student is stating that power distance between boss and employee is less in country A than in country B.
Which country has greater power distance in the particular subarea?
| Thailand |
Select one of the following symbols to fill in the blanks below:
|
US | |||
| Boss – Employee |
|
Boss – Employee | |||
| Government – Governed |
|
Government – Governed | |||
| Parent – Child |
|
Parent – Child | |||
| Teacher – Student |
|
Teacher – Student | |||
| Wife – Husband |
|
Wife – Husband |
Which country has greater power distance in the particular subarea?
| China |
Select one of the following symbols to fill in the blanks below:
|
Thailand | |||
| Boss – Employee |
|
Boss – Employee | |||
| Government – Governed |
|
Government – Governed | |||
| Parent – Child |
|
Parent – Child | |||
| Teacher – Husband |
|
Teacher – Husband | |||
| Wife – Husband |
|
Wife – Husband |
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