Models For Comparative Analysis Of Culture : The Case Of Poland

This paper examines the main theoretical frameworks for analysis of comparative cultural attitudes. A critical discussion of the work by Kluckholm and Strodtbeck, Hofstede and Trompenaars leads to a new theoretical approach for study of the national cultural attitudes and norms of behaviour. A methodology based on action research is designed to compare the ‘internalised’ norms of behaviour with the ‘perceived’ norms. Two different but complementary techniques are applied to a small sample of Polish students to investigate Polish cultural attitudes using Hofstede’s dimensions. Significant discrepancy is found between what people perceive and communicate in public as the ‘national cultural norm’, and what they have internalised as cultural attitude and norm of behaviour. The findings from this exploratory research indicate that there are different levels of internalisation of cultural attitudes, and that respondents express different cultural values in response to different research tools.