ABSTRACT
Hofstede's work has been very seminal in the sense that it has shaped the way that most researchers have approached intercultural research or the way that international cultural differences have been defined in organisational research. In investigating international cultural differences, Hofstede was faced with the problem that the culture within an organisation was a result of both the organisational culture that had developed through the interaction of the employees over a period of time and international cultural differences. Masculine nations are those that give importance to assertiveness, dominance and independence, and feminine nations are ones that give importance to interdependence, compassion and emotional values. Uncertainty avoidance is about the extent to which nations are comfortable with an uncertain future, or are, alternatively, comfortable with the future being uncertain. Individualistic nations emphasise the pursuit of individual goals, needs and successes. Collectivism emphasises group needs, satisfactions and performances.
