•   Search
Skip to navigation Skip to content
Hofstede Insights
  • Home
  • WHAT WE DO
    • ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE
      • PACKAGES & PROGRAMMES
        • Organisational Culture Transformation
        • C-Suite Coaching Programme
        • Cultural Ambassador Programme
      • CERTIFICATION PROGRAMME
        • Virtual Organisational Culture Certification
      • TOOLS
        • Team Culture Scan
        • Organisational Culture Scan
        • Executive Match
    • INTERCULTURAL MANAGEMENT
      • IN-HOUSE PROGRAMMES
        • C-Suite Coaching Programme
        • Intercultural Competence Programme
        • Global Virtual Management Programme
      • CERTIFICATION PROGRAMME
        • Intercultural Management Certification
        • Lecturer Certification
      • OPEN PROGRAMMES
        • Cross-Cultural Management Programme
        • Cross-Cultural Research Programme
      • TOOLS
        • The Culture Compass™
        • E-learning
        • Compare countries
        • Cultural Adaptability Profile
    • CONSUMER CULTURE INTELLIGENCE
      • About CCI
      • CERTIFICATION
        • CMC Certification
      • TRAINING/CONSULTING PROGRAMMES
        • CCI Message Diagnostics
        • CCI-Find Your Tribe
        • CCI-Creative Brief Workshop
  • Insights
    • News & Blog
      • BLOG
        • The Role Management Plays in Organisational Change
        • Organisational Culture – What you need to know
        • How do you change your Company Culture?
        • The Hofstede Insights Magazine
        • What is the perfect Organisational Culture?
        • Why is managing Cultural Diversity important?
        • What do we mean by “Culture”?
    • Resources
      • Discover the new magazine!
      • Book: Negotiate Like a Local
      • Book: The 7 Mental Images
      • Book: Decoding China
    • Public events
      • Webinars
      • Virtual programme Cross-Cultural Management
  • Our models
    • Organisational Culture
      • Organisational Culture – What you need to know
      • The Multi-Focus Model on Organisational Culture
    • National Culture
      • The 6-D model
      • The Culture Compass™
    • Cultural Connections
      • About Cultural Connections / CCI
  • About us
    • The Hofstede Insights network
      • Our Network Members
      • Join Our Network
    • About
      • About us
      • Our Country Offices
      • Our Partners
      • About Geert Hofstede
    • Our Customers
      • Our Customers
      • Noor Bank – Success Story
      • Mars – Success Story
  • Contact
  • Store
  • Home
  • WHAT WE DO
    • ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE
      • PACKAGES & PROGRAMMES
        • Organisational Culture Transformation
        • C-Suite Coaching Programme
        • Cultural Ambassador Programme
      • CERTIFICATION PROGRAMME
        • Virtual Organisational Culture Certification
      • TOOLS
        • Team Culture Scan
        • Organisational Culture Scan
        • Executive Match
    • INTERCULTURAL MANAGEMENT
      • IN-HOUSE PROGRAMMES
        • C-Suite Coaching Programme
        • Intercultural Competence Programme
        • Global Virtual Management Programme
      • CERTIFICATION PROGRAMME
        • Intercultural Management Certification
        • Lecturer Certification
      • OPEN PROGRAMMES
        • Cross-Cultural Management Programme
        • Cross-Cultural Research Programme
      • TOOLS
        • The Culture Compass™
        • E-learning
        • Compare countries
        • Cultural Adaptability Profile
    • CONSUMER CULTURE INTELLIGENCE
      • About CCI
      • CERTIFICATION
        • CMC Certification
      • TRAINING/CONSULTING PROGRAMMES
        • CCI Message Diagnostics
        • CCI-Find Your Tribe
        • CCI-Creative Brief Workshop
  • Insights
    • News & Blog
      • BLOG
        • The Role Management Plays in Organisational Change
        • Organisational Culture – What you need to know
        • How do you change your Company Culture?
        • The Hofstede Insights Magazine
        • What is the perfect Organisational Culture?
        • Why is managing Cultural Diversity important?
        • What do we mean by “Culture”?
    • Resources
      • Discover the new magazine!
      • Book: Negotiate Like a Local
      • Book: The 7 Mental Images
      • Book: Decoding China
    • Public events
      • Webinars
      • Virtual programme Cross-Cultural Management
  • Our models
    • Organisational Culture
      • Organisational Culture – What you need to know
      • The Multi-Focus Model on Organisational Culture
    • National Culture
      • The 6-D model
      • The Culture Compass™
    • Cultural Connections
      • About Cultural Connections / CCI
  • About us
    • The Hofstede Insights network
      • Our Network Members
      • Join Our Network
    • About
      • About us
      • Our Country Offices
      • Our Partners
      • About Geert Hofstede
    • Our Customers
      • Our Customers
      • Noor Bank – Success Story
      • Mars – Success Story
  • Contact
  • Store
  • 0.00 € 0 items
Home › Malaysia

What about Malaysia?

If we explore the Malaysian culture through the lens of the 6-D Model©, we can get a good overview of the deep drivers of Malaysian culture relative to other world cultures.

Power Distance

This dimension deals with the fact that all individuals in societies are not equal – it expresses the attitude of the culture towards these inequalities amongst us. Power Distance is defined as the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organisations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally.

Malaysia scores very high on this dimension (score of 100) which means that people accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has a place and which needs no further justification. Hierarchy in an organisation is seen as reflecting inherent inequalities, centralization is popular, subordinates expect to be told what to do and the ideal boss is a benevolent autocrat. Challenges to the leadership are not well-received.

Individualism

The fundamental issue addressed by this dimension is the degree of interdependence a society maintains among its members. It has to do with whether people´s self-image is defined in terms of “I” or “We”. In Individualist societies people are supposed to look after themselves and their direct family only. In Collectivist societies people belong to ‘in groups’ that take care of them in exchange for loyalty.

Malaysia, with a score of 26 is a collectivistic society. This is manifest in a close long-term commitment to the “member” group, be that a family, extended family or extended relationships. Loyalty in a collectivist culture is paramount and overrides most other societal rules and regulations. Such a society fosters strong relationships, where everyone takes responsibility for fellow members of their group. In collectivistic societies, offence leads to shame and loss of face. Employer/employee relationships are perceived in moral terms (like a family link), hiring and promotion take account of the employee’s in-group. Management is the management of groups.

Masculinity

A high score (Masculine) on this dimension indicates that the society will be driven by competition, achievement and success, with success being defined by the winner/best in field – a value system that starts in school and continues throughout organisational life.

A low score (Feminine) on the dimension means that the dominant values in society are caring for others and quality of life. A Feminine society is one where quality of life is the sign of success and standing out from the crowd is not admirable. The fundamental issue here is what motivates people, wanting to be the best (Masculine) or liking what you do (Feminine).

With an intermediate score of 50, a prefence for this dimension cannot be determined.

Uncertainty Avoidance

The dimension Uncertainty Avoidance has to do with the way that a society deals with the fact that the future can never be known: should we try to control the future or just let it happen? This ambiguity brings with it anxiety and different cultures have learnt to deal with this anxiety in different ways. The extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations and have created beliefs and institutions that try to avoid these is reflected in the score on Uncertainty Avoidance.

Malaysia scores 36 on this dimension and thus has a low preference for avoiding uncertainty. Low UAI societies maintain a more relaxed attitude in which practice counts more than principles and deviance from the norm is more easily tolerated. In societies exhibiting low UAI, people believe there should be no more rules than are necessary and if they are ambiguous or do not work, they should be abolished or changed. Schedules are flexible, hard work is undertaken when necessary but not for its own sake. Precision and punctuality do not come naturally, innovation is not seen as threatening.

Long Term Orientation

This dimension describes how every society has to maintain some links with its own past while dealing with the challenges of the present and future, and societies prioritise these two existential goals differently. Normative societies. which score low on this dimension, for example, prefer to maintain time-honoured traditions and norms while viewing societal change with suspicion. Those with a culture which scores high, on the other hand, take a more pragmatic approach: they encourage thrift and efforts in modern education as a way to prepare for the future.

The low score of 41 in this dimension means that Malaysia has a normative culture. People in such societies have a strong concern with establishing the absolute Truth; they are normative in their thinking. They exhibit great respect for traditions, a relatively small propensity to save for the future, and a focus on achieving quick results.

Indulgence

One challenge that confronts humanity, now and in the past, is the degree to which small children are socialized. Without socialization we do not become “human”. This dimension is defined as the extent to which people try to control their desires and impulses, based on the way they were raised. Relatively weak control is called “Indulgence” and relatively strong control is called “Restraint”. Cultures can, therefore, be described as Indulgent or Restrained.

Malaysia’s high score of 57 indicates that the culture is one of Indulgence. People in societies classified by a high score in Indulgence generally exhibit a willingness to realise their impulses and desires with regard to enjoying life and having fun. They possess a positive attitude and have a tendency towards optimism. In addition, they place a higher degree of importance on leisure time, act as they please and spend money as they wish.

 

Hofstede Insights enables you to solve Intercultural and Organisational Culture challenges by utilising our effective and proven frameworks.

  • Home
  • WHAT WE DO
    • ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE
      • PACKAGES & PROGRAMMES
        • Organisational Culture Transformation
        • C-Suite Coaching Programme
        • Cultural Ambassador Programme
      • CERTIFICATION PROGRAMME
        • Virtual Organisational Culture Certification
      • TOOLS
        • Team Culture Scan
        • Organisational Culture Scan
        • Executive Match
    • INTERCULTURAL MANAGEMENT
      • IN-HOUSE PROGRAMMES
        • C-Suite Coaching Programme
        • Intercultural Competence Programme
        • Global Virtual Management Programme
      • CERTIFICATION PROGRAMME
        • Intercultural Management Certification
        • Lecturer Certification
      • OPEN PROGRAMMES
        • Cross-Cultural Management Programme
        • Cross-Cultural Research Programme
      • TOOLS
        • The Culture Compass™
        • E-learning
        • Compare countries
        • Cultural Adaptability Profile
    • CONSUMER CULTURE INTELLIGENCE
      • About CCI
      • CERTIFICATION
        • CMC Certification
      • TRAINING/CONSULTING PROGRAMMES
        • CCI Message Diagnostics
        • CCI-Find Your Tribe
        • CCI-Creative Brief Workshop
  • Insights
    • News & Blog
      • BLOG
        • The Role Management Plays in Organisational Change
        • Organisational Culture – What you need to know
        • How do you change your Company Culture?
        • The Hofstede Insights Magazine
        • What is the perfect Organisational Culture?
        • Why is managing Cultural Diversity important?
        • What do we mean by “Culture”?
    • Resources
      • Discover the new magazine!
      • Book: Negotiate Like a Local
      • Book: The 7 Mental Images
      • Book: Decoding China
    • Public events
      • Webinars
      • Virtual programme Cross-Cultural Management
  • Our models
    • Organisational Culture
      • Organisational Culture – What you need to know
      • The Multi-Focus Model on Organisational Culture
    • National Culture
      • The 6-D model
      • The Culture Compass™
    • Cultural Connections
      • About Cultural Connections / CCI
  • About us
    • The Hofstede Insights network
      • Our Network Members
      • Join Our Network
    • About
      • About us
      • Our Country Offices
      • Our Partners
      • About Geert Hofstede
    • Our Customers
      • Our Customers
      • Noor Bank – Success Story
      • Mars – Success Story
  • Contact
  • Store

Get #theCultureFactor Newsletter

General information
8:00AM and 16:00PM CEST
Use our contact page or 
[email protected]

Technical Support
7:00AM and 4:00PM CEST
[email protected]

 

© 2022 Hofstede Insights | Privacy policy