Gert Jan Hofstede

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The cultural biology of organization

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We humans are social mammals. Very intensely social, in fact. That shows in the uses to which we put new technologies: communicate, organize, trade. It shows in everything we do. Even the most autocratic boss is a group animal. Social drives for dominance and being related are essential for us. But the devil is in the detail.

The unwritten rules of our social groups are what I call culture. Culture is biological. It has co-evolved with human nature and with human psychology for over a million years. Competition between groups has honed our collaborative capacity. Culture transmits itself through the generations despite huge societal changes. The formal rules of our institutions cannot work as intended without relations. And relations follow the unwritten rules of culture. Culture is hard-wired, but group identities are malleable.

Culture (along with a host of other things) also co-determines much of what happens in our lives and our jobs, and that is what I can tell you about. Leadership, trust, transparency, management, humour, rights, religion, you name it; culture plays a big role. And cultural evolution is happening all around us every day...

...What is she offering? We are very intensely social...

...is this class working? Institutions need relations...

 

Go to my site at Wageningen University.

This 8-minute movie animation 'Father and Daughter' by Michael Dudok de Wit gives a sad and beautiful glimpse of Dutch life.
I wrote an article about humour across cultures, to be published in a book in 2009. Any comments or jokes? I'd be happy to hear them! Have a look at my new book!

 

updated 03-08-2008 by Gert Jan Hofstede