Dimensions of Culture

Due to the fact that certain lectors begin to introduce Geert Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions in a few courses this term, I remembered something from my Intercultural Communication’s course last semester. Here’s a small perspective concerning Hofstede’s dimensions of culture as excerpt from an email conversation with my lector James of the IC course, and I believe it might become a quite valuable note (for myself and whoever likes to adopt this idea) for future development:

Hofstede is controversial. Some people think he is right (especially people who do marketing). I think that both his methodology and his conclusions are grossly wrong. I also give reasons for this in some of my classes. The only thing I like about him is some of his terminology.

You will have to get used to the idea that some [people] can have extremely different opinions.
It’s not necessarily wrong to introduce Hofstede (even if you then reject his ideas). My own current approach is to introduce the general idea of a dimension (and criticise it), and then present a combination of Hofstede’s and Trompenaars‘ dimensions as „useful words“. As words they are useful, as dimensions not (IMHO).