Power Distance in Organizational Contexts- A Review of Collectivist Cultures

Hofstede (1980) brought forth four cultural dimensions that became the most popular references in crosscultural studies later. These are individualism/ collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity/femininity. Later, he added a fifth dimension, the long term orientation in his thesis (Hofstede 2001). Research on organizational culture and its implication on human resource practices in the organizations have often come heavily on organizations high on power distance. Khatri (2009) through his various propositions concludes that employees in high power distance culture are unwilling to participate in decisions and prefer their superiors making decisions for them and giving them instructions, which they could follow passively. Also, jobs in such contexts are narrowly and tightly specified, giving the employees limited discretion. Communication takes place vertically downwards with no or little horizontal communication and overall communication is anaemic. Power distance renders large communication gap between superiors and their subordinates because it is hard for the subordinates to air their views. Power distance