Key differences between feminine and masculine societies.

II: politics and ideas

Feminine Masculine

1. Welfare society ideal 1. Performance society ideal

2. The needy should be helped 2. The strong should be supported

3. Permissive society 3. Corrective society

4. Small and slow are beautiful 4. Big and fast are beautiful

5. Preservation of the environment should 5. Maintenance of economic growth should have

have highest priority have highest priority

6. Government spends relatively large proportion 6. Government spends relatively small

of budget on development assistance to poor proportion of budget on development

countries assistance to poor

7. Government spends relatively small 7. Government spends relatively large

proportion of budget on armaments proportion of budget on armaments

8. International conflicts should be resolved 8. International conflicts should be resolved

by negotiation and compromise by a show of strength or by fighting

9. A relatively large number of women in 9. A relatively small number of women in

elected political positions elected political positions

10. Dominant religions stress the 10. Dominant religions stress the male

complementarity of the sexes prerogative

11. Women's liberation means that men and 11. Women's liberation means that women

women should take equal shares both at home will be admitted to positions hitherto only

and at work occupied by men

Masculinity versus Femininity Index (MAS)and its importance for various countries.

Masculinity versus Femininity and Ukraine

In Hofstede et al. (2010) Masculinity versus Femininity Index (MAS)scores are presented for 76 countries. A high score (Masculine) on this dimension indicates that the society will be driven by competition, achievement and success, with success being defined by the winner / best in field – a value system that starts in school and continues throughout organizational behavior. A low score (Feminine) on the dimension means that the dominant values in society are caring for others and quality of life. A Feminine society is one where quality of life is the sign of success and standing out from the crowd is not admirable. The fundamental issue here is what motivates people, wanting to be the best (Masculine) or liking what you do (Feminine). Masculinity is high in Japan, in German speaking countries, and in some Latin countries like Italy and Mexico; it is moderately high in English speaking Western countries; it is low in Nordic countries and in the Netherlands and moderately low in some Latin and Asian countries like France, Spain, Portugal, Chile, Korea and Thailand. (See Addition IV).

What about Ukraine? (Students may be asked to make their own research. See Exercise 3 activity 'learning station')

By parameters defined by G. Hofstede, Ukraine is among the countries of masculine culture, scoring 25 from a maximum of 112 [http://geert-hofstede.com/ukraine.html].

Ukraine’s relatively low score of 25 may surprise with regard to its preference for status symbols, but these are in Ukraine related to the high Power Distance. At second glance one can see, that Ukrainians at workplace as well as when meeting a stranger rather understate their personal achievements, contributions or capacities. They talk modestly about themselves and scientists, researchers or doctors are most often expected to live on a very modest standard of living. Dominant behavior might be accepted when it comes from the boss, but is not appreciated among peers.

Conclusion

In this unit we explored such dimensions of Hofstede’s five-dimensional (5D) model of differences among national cultures as: Uncertainty Avoidance (UA) and Masculinity versus Femininity. We appreciated the role these dimensions or values play in communicating effectively with persons from other cultures. We realized the main reasons of cross-cultural conflicts and we may predict our own and other people's behavior in case of intercultural conflicts. We may appreciate attitude differences toward men and women in different cultures and develop tolerant attitude toward representatives of other cultures and organizations.

Un 6. Uncertainty Avoidance (UA) and Masculinity versus Femininity.