- Future orientation.The extent to which a society encourages and rewards
future-oriented behaviours such as planning, investing in the future, and
delaying gratification. This is essentially equivalent to Hofstede’s long-
term/short-term orientation. - Gender differentiation.The extent to which a society maximizes gender role dif-
ferences. This is essentially equivalent to Hofstede’s masculinity/femininity
dimension. - Uncertainty avoidance.As identified by Hofstede, the GLOBE team defined this
term as a society’s reliance on social norms and procedures to alleviate the
unpredictability of future events. - Power distance.As did Hofstede, the GLOBE team defined this as the extent to
which members of a society expect power to be shared unequall. - Individualism/collectivism.Again, this term was defined, as was Hofstede’s, as
the extent to which individuals are encouraged by societal institutions to be
integrated into groups within organizations and society. - In-group collectivism.In contrast to focusing on societal institutions, this
dimension encompasses the extent to which members of a society take pride
in membership in small groups, such as their families and circles of close
friends, and the organizations in which they are employed. - Performance orientation.The extent to which a society encourages and rewards
group members for performance improvement and excellence. - Humane orientation.The extent to which a society encourages and rewards
individuals for being fair, altruistic, generous, caring, and kind to others. This
closely approximates Hofstede’s quality-of-life dimension.
An awareness of the GLOBE study findings reminds us that (1) not all organiza-
tional behaviour theories and concepts are universally applicable to managing people
around the world, especially in countries where work values are considerably different
from those in Canada; and (2) you should consider cultural values when trying to
understand the behaviour of people in different countries. To help you with this second
point, we will stop regularly to consider the generalizability of theories and concepts pre-
sented in this book to different cultures.
In this chapter’s Working With Others Exerciseon page 95, you have the opportunity
to compare the cultural values of two countries and determine how differences might
affect group behaviour. The Ethical Dilemma Exercise, also on page 95 asks you to con-
sider when something is a gift and when it is a bribe. Different cultures take different
approaches to this question.
VALUES IN THE CANADIAN WORKPLACE
Studies have shown that when individual values align with organizational values, the
results are positive. Individuals who have an accurate understanding of the job require-
ments and the organization’s values adjust better to their jobs, and have greater levels of
satisfaction and organizational commitment.^13 In addition, shared values between the
employee and the organization lead to more positive work attitudes,^14 lower turnover,^15
and greater productivity.^16
Individual and organizational values do not always align. Moreover, within organi-
zations, individuals can have very different values. Two major factors lead to a potential
clash of values in the workplace: cultural differences and generational differences. Let’s
look at the implications of both factors in the Canadian workplace.
Chapter 3Values, Attitudes, and Their Effects in the Workplace 773 Are there unique
Canadian values?