Hofstedes Index

Country                            GVI/Cap               PDI         IDV         MAS      UAI

United States                    34,870                   40           91           62           46

Ireland                              23,060                   28           70           68           35

France                              22,690                   68           71           43           86

To start off, France is almost double the United States and is more than double Ireland in the Power Distribution Index. This means that the French are highly dependent on authority such as a manager or a boss and rarely criticize or critique them. On the other hand the United States is almost average in this category; however Ireland has a low PDI meaning they don’t rely on authority and communicate freely between their mangers and bosses.

In the Individuality index, Ireland and France are sitting the same at about 70, whereas the United States have a high score of 91. This means that people in the United States have loose ties to each other, enjoy making their own decisions and try to form their own identity. France and Ireland also have high scores proving they too show this trait, however it is the strongest in the United States.

The third Category is masculinity index. In this category the United States and Ireland stand just above average, leaning more towards masculine behaviors  meaning there are clear gender roles for men and women. Men tend to be tough, aggressive, competitive, and assertive. High MAS also means that the country puts more importance on economics than the environment. It is shown near the middle I presume because both Ireland and the United States are making strong recent pushes to ‘Go Green’ and recycle. The French on the other hand have low MAS, meaning they promote emotional relationships between members, and open displays of emotion, harmony and cooperation. In a country with low MAS people are more likely to be modest, honest, and not over-exaggerate themselves.

Finally there is the Uncertainty Avoidance Index which shows the amount that people prefer to be governed by rules, laws, and standard operating procedures, and accept uncertainty or ambiguity. In this category, the three countries vary in results. Again, Ireland and America being similar at 35 and 46 respectfully meaning that they are more relaxed and don’t tend to worry as much when things go wrong such as things starting early or running late. Ireland has a lower UAI than America and it was clear to see when visiting that people there are full of patients and are very nice open and inviting people. France on the other hand has a very high UAI at 86. Having a high UAI means that they prefer to have things well planned, ordered and run on time. They also believe that life should be governed by rules and laws, thus removing uncertainty. Now the United States certainly has rules and laws which is why they still have a 46 rating, however a lot of the rules can be bent or vary from state to state, therefore people are less likely to follow them without strict consequences.