ABSTRACT
Chapter 6 discusses power distance, or the degree to which a society is hierarchical versus egalitarian. All cultures have differences in status. In hierarchical cultures, however, the distance between a person at the top of society or an organization and a person at the bottom is very large. In egalitarian societies, distance is narrow. In hierarchical societies, this large power distance means that the person at the top has much more power over his or her subordinates than a comparable status person in an egalitarian society. We’ll see how the twenty-first century’s Information Age is flattening organizations, but how hierarchies can also bring about some surprising organizational benefits, not the least of which is loyalty.
