Question

The United States as a country places emphasis on personal responsibility and pulling your own weight in society. It also is traditionally a male oriented society in which men hold many high-level positions. How would U.S. score on Hofstede's culture scale?

a.) High Individualism Score/ High Masculinity Score
b.) Low Power Distance Score/ High Masculinity Score
c.) Low Individualism Score/ Low Masculinity Score
d.) High Power Distance Score/ Low Masculinity Score

Answer 1

The United States scores 'a) High Individualism Score/ High Masculinity Score' on Hofstede's cultural scale, reflecting its emphasis on personal responsibility and the historical prevalence of men in high-level positions.

Step-by-step explanation:

The United States is typically characterized as a society with a high emphasis on personal responsibility and the importance of pulling one's own weight. These traits align with those of an individualistic culture, where independence and personal achievements are considered vital. According to Hofstede's cultural dimensions, nations that prioritize these values score highly on the Individualism index. In contrast, collectivist cultures place a higher importance on communal values and group welfare. When discussing the distribution of high-level positions and societal roles, the U.S. has historically seen men occupying the majority of these roles, showcasing a tendency toward what Hofstede refers to as Masculinity. This dimension reflects a society's preference for achievement, heroism, assertiveness, and material success, as opposed to a preference for cooperation, modesty and quality of life—traits correlated with Hofstede's Femininity score.

Therefore, considering both the high value of individuality and the male dominance in high authority roles, the U.S. would score as 'a) High Individualism Score/ High Masculinity Score' on Hofstede's cultural scale.