Taxonomies
Individualism vs Collectivism: Italy is a very Individualist culture. On the Hofstede Insights scale, it gets a 76/100. What this means about the citizens of Italy is that they love to feel important to themselves. Sure there may be thousands of people walking the city streets, but YOU stand out. While being compared to the United States, Italy is not as individualistic. The United States has a score of 91/100. On the website, they discuss how in different regions of Italy there are varying levels of Individuality, specifying that Southern Italy is more collectivistic because of the family structure in that region. In that region the family structure revolves around keeping your loved ones close, which means doing tasks for the better of the collective.
Power Distance: Italy is dead center when it comes to their power distance, they have an even score of fifty which means that they prefer equality in their society. This can go hand in hand with their Individualistic nature as well by looking at how they want to be their own person. There is not much want in Italian culture that bodes well with being told what to do. When compared to the United States, they have a higher score of ten points. Many people will look at that and say ‘Oh but we have more freedoms in the United States than they have in Italy’ and yes you may be right there, but that is not what is in question. This idea is looking at the level of equality that is given systemically. Systematically, in Italy, there is a possibility that they do not struggle with as much racism or sexism in society that is structurally there, that is what goes into account for this taxonomy.
Masculinity vs Femininity: On the scale of Masculinity vs Femininity, Italy has a score of 70, which deems it as more masculine. This means, according to Hofstede Insights, that “society will be driven by competition, achievement and success, with success being defined by the winner / best in field – a value system that starts in school and continues throughout organizational behavior”. This taxonomy can be seen in western media, whether it is portraying the country correctly and not playing into stereotypes is debatable. These media portrayals can lead to how many view the culture as a whole, which can say something about not only the media literacy of Americans, but also their own capabilities to disable ethnocentric thoughts.
Uncertainty Avoidance: When dealing with uncertain situations, Italians are not a fan. Their score for Uncertainty Avoidance is at 75, which is on the high end of the scale. This means that it is important to follow the rules of society that are within the country, even if it may seem out of the ordinary. Need to make sure a presentation is ready for tomorrow? Better make sure it is the best and most pristine presentation they’ve ever seen. Italians are passionate about their work, and they are willing to put their heart and soul into everything they do, as long as it goes the right direction. When compared to the United States, Italy scores much higher with uncertainty avoidance. This says a lot about how The United States and its people function as a whole, putting so much faith within the unknown.
Long Term Orientation: Italian society has a rich history of politics, economics, fine arts, and religion, it would be very hard for any society to drop their historical background immediately. Their score for long term orientation is 61, which means that some Italians are very tradition focused, and that there are also Italians that are not tradition focused. It’s a tough subject to divulge into for Italy, they are very split on the topic. America’s long term orientation when compared to Italy is miles lower. America does not have the history to fulfill the wishes of long term orientation, everything within the United States is on a short term plan, nothing is too far out in the future. Because of its high immigrant population, there is a mixture of cultures within the United States, so true “American” culture has not risen yet, which makes long term orientation difficult.
Indulgence: With how systematic religion has been within Italian culture, it is no surprise that their indulgence score is so low. With a score of 30, they show very little indulgence. This comes with their historical background of a not so secular government for a very long time. Christian practices are baked into their history, in such a way that it seems like they will be there for the foreseeable future of the country. The United States when it comes to indulgence, should be at 100 percent. It is the most indulgent country on the planet, but, officially it has a score of 68. Which means, in theory, you need to grind for what you want and then you’ll get it, however it doesn’t always work out that way.
The information used for this part of the blog was found solely from Country Comparison – Hofstede Insights (hofstede-insights.com) (Country comparison. Hofstede Insights. 2021, June 21)
By: Jack Frentz