Power Distance

Germany and Romania

Introduction
Hi everyone!

Let me present myself and my team. I`m Florin and with my colleagues Andreea, Cristina
and Gabriela we will present you the differences between Germany and Romania about level of
power distance.

Our goal is to see what are the advantages and disavantages between low and high lever of
power distance.

The presentation is divided into 3 main parts :

a. The Power-Distance Index

b. Power-Distance in Romania
c. Power-Distance in Germany

Our presentation will take about 10 minutes.

If you will have any questions during the presentation please keep it for the end.

1. First part – The Power Distance Index

In first part we`ll explain what the power distance is and its effects.

The power-distance index (PDI), developed by Dutch social psychologist Geert Hofstede, is
a metric for the distribution of power and wealth between individuals in a business, culture or
nation.

The PDI ultimately provides evidence of the extent to which regular citizens, or those
working under another, will follow the whims of an authoritative figure.

Hofstede’s PDI is lower in countries and organizations where authority figures are
working closely with subordinates; the PDI is higher in places where a stronger hierarchy of
authority exists.

As the global economy integrates more and more every second, understanding the role
that the PDI plays in the context of business becomes ever more significant.

The idea of power relationships and how they are viewed affects an individual’s actions
during business negotiations, both employees and managers. For example, it will likely be
counterproductive for a low power distance manager or negotiation approach to be used on an
individual that is used to a high power distance point of view.
 2. Power Distance Level in Germany
Lets now move on the second main part and talk about the power distance in
Germany.

According to Hofstede's cultural dimensions, Germany is a low power distance

country with the score of 35. The power distance dimension indicates the degree of equality
of the people in the society (Germany, n.d.). Therefore, the low power distance score of
Germany reveals the equality of the people regardless of their position and status.

In Germany businesses, to be boss does not mean having the higher than others. It
shows that you are in the position to plan and control the regularity in company.

As German believes in equality, the relationship in workplace is more likely to be

task-relationship, presents that Germany people respect to people who work effectively not
people who have a high position.

This may be partly attributed to the belief that respect cannot be given, but it needs to
be earned. In the other words, a person will be appreciated for his contribution of good works
rather than his age or status.

3. Power Distance Level in Romania

Lets now take a look at Romania and see how the level of power distance affects
people.

Romania scores high on this dimension (score of 90) which means that people accept a
hierarchical order in which everybody has a place and which needs no further justification.

Possible Explanations According to Geert Hofstede, the high power distance index of
our country is a tribute to our common inheritance of the Roman Empire. Most countries that
have been occupied by the Romans at the turn of our era inherited a higher distance to
authority because of the style of leadership Romans had (see Italy, France, Spain, etc.).

In other words, Romanians would rather have no interference with those in power and
tend to obey to orders taken from the top. Such a national characteristic triggers the perceived
need for an authoritarian leader, a one-man controlled leadership, while the rest of the
population would tend to follow the rule established by such leadership.

The high power distance index indicates that personnel of an organization would
rather have a good relationship with the direct superior, in order to gain his/her protection and
to avoid taking personal responsibility for decisions.

The staff in a high power distance organization would also shrink from expressing
disagreements with their bosses and would take orders indiscriminately and follow them.
 3. Conclusion
In conclusion I`d like to highlight once again the main difference between low and high
level of power distance.

In high power distance countries and organizations, people don't question the decisions
of their leaders. Leader/subordinate relationships are not close and leaders are expected to
earn more money and respect. Subordinates expect to have their jobs and responsibilities
dictated to them, and in some cases, will not articulate disagreement with authority for fear of
the

Low power distance organizations are looser, decentralized hierarchies, where

employees or subordinates are considered equal, or nearly equal. There are fewer supervisors
or leaders and they are willing to trust subordinates with important jobs and are willing to
share the blame when problems arise.

In the end I`d like to remind you the 3 main parts of our presentation:

-so first we discusted about Power distance index in generally

-secondly, we talked about power distance level in Romania

-and finally in the end we presented power distance level in Germany.