Orientations

Independent or Dependent

Some cultures rewards individuals for standing out, empowering them to make decisions on their own, while other cultures insist that individuals fit into the group, making sure that no one does anything without the consent and support of others. So we have cultures that are other-independent, and on the opposite end of the spectrum, cultures that are other-dependent.

Hierarchy or Egality

Cultures might insist on honoring a societal hierarchy, structure, and organization, and they do so with all sorts of perks: titles, rank, different signs of respect, different roles for men and woman, and so on. Other cultures deemphasize the importance of such things, preferring to treat everyone as equals. So we have cultures that are hierarchy and organization oriented, and on the opposite end of the spectrum, cultures that are egality oriented.

Rule or Relationship

A culture might place a value on devising system for organizing life, creating interconnected rules and regulations that must apply universally to all, while another culture might place more emphasis on the personal relationships that exist among people as the determinant of how to do things. So we have cultures that are rule oriented, and others that are relationship oriented.

Monochronic or Polychronic

All societies have to handle moving through time, creating a way of understanding and simultaneously managing the flow of things. Cultures might place a great deal of importance on managing and controlling time. Fore these monochronic cultures, clocks, agendas, calendars, and deadlines determine what and when things are done, and time is a limited commodity that must be carefully managed. For other cultures, time exists, but it is not the determinant of people's actions. For these polychronic cultures, time stands in the background; there is usually plenty of it, and relationships and immediate needs usually determine what and when things are done.

Risk-taking or Risk-averse

Some cultures might move quickly with a limited amount of information, while other cultures need a great deal of informations in order to make even a small decision. Therefore, cultures may be risk-taking or risk-averse.

Past or Future

Do the people put more of their energy into maintaining what they alrady have, or do they value change for change's sake? A culture may be past oriented (and often more fatalistic), while another may be more future oriented (and often more controlling).

Low-context (direct) or High-context (indirect) Communicator

All societies must make decisions about how they fit into, process, and deal with the larger world. Essentially, this means how that culture communicates, think, and plans. Some cultures might create, analyze, and communicate information very directly; they depend upon the meaning of the word, and don't embed information in the larger context of the situation. These cultures often place a high value on confrontation and absolute truth: they are low-context (direct) communicators. However, other cultures value the importance of communicating indirectly -- with actions and not only words -- and have subtle system in place for exchanging information appropriate to the situation and the environment through nonverbal behaviour. These cultures place a high value on the maintenance of smooth interpersonal relationships; they are high-context (indirect) communicators.

Process or Result

One culture might place the greater emphasis on the process by which goals are achieved, while another culture places the greater emphasis on the goal itself, regardless of how it's achieved. Therefore, cultures can be process oriented (relying often on deductive logic) or result oriented (relying often on inductive logic). In addition, cultures may more associate in their thought processing; that is, they do things based on the way they know things always have been done, or how they are already being done in similar situation.

Formal or Informal

Cultures might value the formal, established, reliable, and in some cases almost ritualized way or doing things, while other cultures might value change, informality, and spontaneity. Therefore, cultures may be formal or informal in their general orientation toward protocol itself.