We know about the miles between two lands geographically. But what about culturally? Enter the Hofstede Center — based in Finland. At their site, you can study your own country’s typical profile. (Granted, the profile is by NATION rather than people group, so it’s somewhat of an average.) And you can also ‘compare’ that profile with that of another nation — take your pick! You can even take a PERSONAL profile to see how you stack up next to your nation’s typical culture. The premise behind the site is anchored in the research of Professor Geert Hofstede (naturally, from Finland), who studied and wrote about the impact of national culture on organizations and corporations. It’s all rather fascinating — and it has big implications for cross-cultural travelers.
http://geert-hofstede.com/
(We picked up on this site from the new Missiographic from GMI. See item #13 above. Thanks GMI — and the Center for Mission Mobilization!)
Do you see this impact (from your home nation) affecting your work? Do you think it’s a bit of a misnomer to talk about a “national culture” as opposed to your ‘people group’ or tribe? Please click “comment” following the web version of this item to tell us more. And thanks in advance for your participation in Brigada!
Just a trivial item (well, trivial to me): Though the Center is in Finland, Hofstede himself is Dutch, not Finnish. http://www.geerthofstede.nl/