1. Analysis of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions between Japan and France

| JAPAN | FRANCE | Individualism | 46 | 71 | Power distance Index | 54 | 68 | Uncertainty avoidance index | 92 | 86 | Masculinity | 95 | 43 | Long term orientation | 80 | 39 |

Figure 1: Geert Hofstede’s five dimensions of Japan
Figure 1: Geert Hofstede’s five dimensions of Japan

Figure 2: Geert Hofstede’s five dimensions of france
Figure 2: Geert Hofstede’s five dimensions of france

Individualism (IDV)

With a score of 46, Japan is considered as a collectivism country whereas France which is more individualistic with a score of 71.

According to Hofstede, in France, the ties between individuals are loose: people are expected to look after his family and himself. Indeed, people stress on personal achievement and individual rights. Despite the fact that group work is very important, everyone still have the right of his own opinions and also the society is expecting them to reflect those. French people hope for a better quality of life and also for a higher standard of living than their parents. However, French individualism “has a very different quality (Hampden-turner and Trompenaars), compared to the United-states for example. Indeed, French individualism is horizontal, that is to say autonomous self is valued, but each individual is more or less equal in status to others whereas vertical individualism which emphasizes privilege and inequality.

On the contrary, according to Hofstede, Japanese are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups. They tend to have large extended families. Japanese are supposed to put collectivism first but in return they can expect the community to look after them interests in difficult times. In Japanese workplace, they are strong mutual obligations between employees and employers. However, according to Kuniko Miyanaga (article 1), Japanese youth has demonstrated that Japan is now considered by many other countries, as