Gulliver explains: the cultural dimension 'risk avoidance'
Gulliver explains: the cultural dimension 'risk avoidance'
Risk and uncertainty and how we respond to it
People that have studied cultures have found out that there are different ways to respond to risk and uncertainty.
If unexpected (bad) things can happen, people sometimes want to do something to feel safer:
- In some cultures, people try to feel safer by sticking to rules and regulations.
- In other cultures, people do not feel the tendency to have more rules or respect them more.
Maybe, people in the second type of cultures can accept more uncertainty? Or, perhaps, they do not feel the need because they don't think as much about everything that can happen tomorrow. Many things can be behind this cultural preference. But what we can observe and measure is how much people want to avoid uncertainty.
Low or high 'uncertainty avoidance'
Cultural expert Geert Hofstede called this dimension 'uncertainty avoidance'. Some cultures (countries) are higher on the scale of uncertainty avoidance. In short:
- A low uncertainty avoidance means that the people in the country are more comfortable with ambiguity (things that are not clear), more entrepreneurial, more likely to take risks, and are less dependent on structured rules.
- A high uncertainty avoidance means that people desire more stability, more structured rules, social norms, and are less comfortable with taking risks.
This is how countries score on the Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI):
| Country | Score |
|---|---|
| Russia | 95 |
| Belgium | 94 |
| Germany | 65 |
| Lithuania | 65 |
| Netherlands | 53 |
| Philippines | 44 |
| India | 40 |
As you can see, Russians score high on uncertainty avoidance, which means that they feel threatened by ambiguous (not very clear) situations.
Rules and regulations CAN make you feel safer
Because Alexander is from Russia, there is a chance he has more need for 'uncertainty avoidance'. Rules and regulations help him feel better in this situation. This is, of course, not right or wrong. It is not 'good' to like rules and regulations or 'bad' not to like them. We, probably, all agree that rules and procedures are important onboard.
But for Alexander, it is 'normal' that he likes rules as a way to make things less uncertain. Because some crew members involved are from the Philippines, it is quite 'normal' for them to accept uncertainty more easily. They will probably not see more rules (or keeping the rules precisely) as something necessary or 'better' in this situation.
More about the differences between high and low uncertainty avoidance
| Work organizations in low UAI countries are more likely to have: | Work organizations in high UAI countries are more likely to have: |
|---|---|
| Short average duration of employment | Long average duration of employment |
| Skepticism towards technological solutions | Bias towards technical solutions |
| Innovators who feel free to interpret rules in their own way or not follow them precisely | Innovators who feel constrained by rules |
| Senior managers involved in strategy | Senior managers involved in operations (micro management) |
| Power of superiors depending on position and relationships | Power of superiors depending on control of uncertainties |
| Tolerance for ambiguity in structures and procedures, it is OK if not everything is very clear | Highly formalized management, people expect that there are clear rules and procedures for everything |
| Bias towards transformational leader role, a leader should inspire and manage by example, not tell people exactly what to do | Bias towards hierarchical control role, the leader should make sure everyone knows what to do and check if they do it |
| Innovations welcomed but not necessarily taken seriously | Innovations resisted but, if accepted, applied consistently |
| Employees who will have to learn and manage precision and punctuality | Employees to whom precision and punctuality come naturally |
| Relationship orientation | Task orientation |
| Faith in generalists and common sense | Faith in specialists and expertise |
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