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ACCA Applied Knowledge · Business and Technology · Organisational culture

Which statement about the use of Hofstede's dimensions in business is most accurate?

Hofstede's dimensions describe average national cultural tendencies, so applying them to every individual or organisation risks stereotyping. They do not show that all people in a country behave identically, nor do they measure a specific organisation's corporate culture.

  1. AThey describe national cultural tendencies on average, so applying them to every individual or organisation risks stereotypingCorrect
  2. BThey prove that every employee in a given country will behave identically
  3. CThey measure the corporate culture of individual organisations rather than national culture
  4. DThey apply only to organisations with a role culture

Explanation

Hofstede's work was based on national culture, drawn from survey data, and describes average tendencies. A common criticism is that it generalises and can stereotype individuals, and that the original data came from one company (IBM). It does not measure individual corporate culture or depend on role culture.

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