Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions: U.S. and Cuba Compared

Introduction

This paper analyzes the history and cultural differences between the United States and Cuba using Hofstede's cultural dimensions framework. Cuba and the United States share a long history of political tension, most visibly embodied in the trade embargo imposed against Cuba. The embargo is not only a source of friction between Americans and Cubans; nearly every member of the United Nations has consistently voted to lift it, with the exception of Israel and the small island nation of Palau, which has sided with the U.S. position. Beyond the stark political differences, the two nations' cultural profiles are estimated to be nearly polar opposites — particularly on the individualism dimension. The paper concludes that if these two cultures were required to cooperate on a humanitarian mission, significant obstacles would impede their ability to achieve a reasonable level of efficiency and effectiveness.

U.S.–Cuba Relations Background

The island nation of Cuba, located just ninety miles off the coast of Florida, is home to roughly eleven million people. It remains one of the few communist regimes in the world and the only one in the Western Hemisphere. Fidel Castro came to power in 1959 and immediately instituted sweeping economic and social changes consistent with communist governance. Today, his brother Raúl has succeeded him as Cuba's leader. After taking power, Fidel Castro allied the country with the Soviet Union and nationalized the equivalent of billions of dollars in American property. As a result, the U.S. diplomatic relationship with Cuba has been strained ever since. A trade embargo enacted in 1960 remains active. The original intent was to pressure the communist government into submission through sanctions, on the assumption that the country would eventually exhaust its financial resources. However, the goals of that plan have yet to be realized.

The United Nations has voted repeatedly on the trade embargo issue. In one notable vote, the tally was 187 to 3 in favor of ending the U.S. embargo against Cuba, with only Israel and the small island nation of Palau siding with the United States. While it is well understood that Israel and the U.S. typically align on most international issues, the reasons for Palau's position are less clear. President Barack Obama pledged in speeches to extend a hand of friendship to the Cuban people and introduced moderate policy changes aimed at reducing the embargo's scope. Nevertheless, a full reversal of the policy in the near future remains unlikely.

Raúl Castro, who succeeded his brother in 2006, introduced a range of reforms intended to bring Cuba closer in line with more developed nations. These include the imposition of taxes on small businesses and joint cooperatives, efforts to regulate welfare payments, and measures to slow the growth of government expenditures. He also reduced spending on what his government deemed "non-essential" education and health services. These initiatives are broadly intended to improve the efficiency of productive resources and address fiscal deficits. In substance, Raúl Castro's reforms have resembled what many would characterize as more "Western" policies. Nonetheless, the deep divisions between the two nations are unlikely to be overcome through restructuring efforts alone.

Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions: The United States

The United States ranks among the most individualistic nations on the planet. Americans are far more likely to be self-reliant and to maintain more superficial social relationships than people in nearly any other culture. Only seven countries have individualism as their highest-rated cultural dimension, a group that includes similarly oriented cultures such as those of the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. The United States also scores significantly high on the masculinity dimension, which is associated with more distinct gender roles on average. One consequence of a high masculinity score is that females in such cultures may exhibit more traditionally masculine characteristics compared to their counterparts in cultures with lower masculinity scores.

The power distance index for the United States is relatively low, reflecting a relatively equal distribution of power within most organizations and even within smaller social units such as families. The U.S. is, in this respect, more of an egalitarian society than many hierarchical ones. Although the U.S. score is above the world average, it is not near the top of the global ranking; many other Western nations actually score significantly higher on this measure.

The uncertainty avoidance score for the United States is surprisingly low, suggesting a culture that is more accepting of risk than those with higher scores. It is reasonable to speculate that the high degree of individualism and self-interest in American culture may lead individuals to accept greater personal risk in pursuit of individual rewards. The U.S. also scores lowest among all the dimensions on long-term orientation. Considered together with the low uncertainty avoidance score, this suggests a culture oriented toward short-term thinking and relatively open to risk — a characterization that seems to fit well in light of the housing crisis and resulting financial downturn of the late 2000s.