5 ASSIGNMENTS

1ST CLASSMATE RESPONSE

Geert Hofstede, one of the first researchers to examine what good leadership looks like in different countries, coined the term “power distance” and defined it as “the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations accept and expect that power is distributed unequally” (Forum, 2014). It has to do with the fact that a society’s inequality is endorsed by the followers as much as by the leaders (Hofstede, 2014). In countries with lower power distances, people are more likely to submit to authority and “do what they’re told.” In countries with lower power distances, people are more likely to resist authority.

My current organization would fall a bit lower on the Power Distance Index (near a 30). I believe this to be true because our team is very diverse from a cultural and generational perspective, so there is a constant tug of war between leadership and strong-willed subordinates that takes place. Our leadership tends to lead in a more direct and authoritative manner, yet our team doesn’t back down easily. This makes for a volatile environment to work in because of each parties’ unwillingness to bend and collaborate. The fact that everybody is unique implies that we are all unequal. One of the most prominent aspects of inequality is the degree of power each person exerts or can exert over other persons; power being defined as the degree to which a person is able to influence other people’s ideas and behavior (Country Comparison, 2020).

2ND CLASSMATE RESPONSE

Power-distance is one of six cultural dimension theory frameworks Hofstede employs to understand the differences in cultures across countries. To gauge these differences, Hofstede uses a prescribed power-distance index score to help support his theory. A power-distance index score or (PDI) “is a measurement of the acceptance of a hierarchy of power and wealth by the individuals who make up the general population of a nation, culture, or business” (Kenton, 2020). According to Hofstede (2016), PDI values closer to 0 are considered to have smaller (lower) power-distances, while those closer to 100 have larger (higher) power-distances. The United States of America’s PDI score currently sits between 23-40. This can be interpreted as a smaller (lower) power-distance when compared to culture like Russia who’s PDI score sits at 80-90 (Hofstede, 2016). According to Hofstede (2016), each score is attributed to a unique set of attitudes and behaviors toward power and authority. For example, based upon the PDI score, The United States of America’s culture has attributed the belief that “inequality is wrong and hierarchy is in place for practical purposes” (Hofstede, 2016). On the contrary, based upon its PDI score, Russa has attributed the belief that “inequality is normal and superiors are superior beings” (Hofstede, 2016).

Considering the cultural dimension theory framework of Power-Distance, I would attribute my current employer (A) a PDI score of 30 when compared to my previous employer (B) who I would attribute a PDI score of 70. In my opinion, employer (A) is very decentralized. For example, our CEO has “skip-level” meetings and interactions with the entire organization at a moment’s notice. He makes it a personal task to establish connections with everyone at every level of the company. Furthermore, employer (A) solicits ideas from everyone on ways to improve processes and company culture. On the contrary, employer (B)  implemented a heavy-handed chain of command. Additionally, subordinates were supposed to be told what to do instead of having an opinion.

In summation, power-distance is a framework used to examine the ideologies and relationships cultures have with power and authority. We can use a power-distance index score to measure those relationships while attributing Hofstede’s theories surrounding cultural attitude and beliefs to ranges in scores found within the index.