Simply because the authors present the information and leave it at that; they don’t mention any grand theory about the nature of the universe; apparently that’s just for the Continental French and the Germans to speculate about, the analytic empiricists content themselves with data.

I was truly amazed by the accuracy of these predictions, at least for the few countries I have lived and worked in. Both practical and theoretical, this is the only book that I know of that really describes and explains cultural differences on various levels (family, school, work. Although the book is based on pretty good statistical analysis, the book does not talk about it much. Although the authors do make a serious attempt to look at things from other perspectives, they simply cannot divorce themselves from their own cultural preferances.I recommend this book to everyone, specially for those who deal often with people from other countries and cultures. But they seem incapable of concluding that good intentions (and even money) is not the most effective way to solve these problems. A must read for managers, counselors, coaches and those who either work or want to facilitate international business and deals.

Diplomats lack both the skills and the organizational culture to act as successful entrepreneurs for development consulting activities. The fifth dimension which was later added based on results from the Far East and Asia - Long- versus Short-Term Orientation - is not discussed in this book.

In any of the countries mentioned, how can Hofstede say that he can form a view of the whole cultural situation based on a handful of IBM middle managers?

MASCULINITY/FEMININITY: A society is masculine when emotional gender roles are clearly distinct; men are supposed to be assertive, tough, and focused on material success, whereas women are supposed to be modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life.Add to this the corporate culture, and the fact that the vast majority of people in any one nation do not actually work for that company and you have to question the validity of the findings. The bottom line is that cultural values were set deep in the past, but that they are continually evolving in response to events and experiences. On the basis of such a revised declaration, victims of political and religious fundamentalisms can be protected; this protection should prevail over national sovereignty'', followed by the acknowledgement of historical record ''The nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century was the age of Europe; Europeans and their offspring overseas were the “lords of humankind,” who colonized most of the outside world while wealth owed from outside to inside'' but cannot seem to see the continuation of the practice so resort to vulgar opinion ''freedom from want became recognized as a fundamental human right, and around 1950 programs of development aid were gradually started, financed by the rich countries and with the poor ones as receivers.