Geert Hofstede's Country Scores: Costa Rica

For class this week we are supposed to go to Geert Hofstede's website and pick a country to report on. The website discusses how each country relates to each of Hofstede's dimensions: Uncertainty Avoidance, Power Distance, Masculinity, and Individualism. For UA, Costa Rica is rated at 86, meaning that the country doesn't have a high tolerance for risk, uncertainty, or change. How can a company operate in a country like this? The company should implement rules, procedures, and regulations to decrease the of uncertainty. If everything can be controlled to avoid the unexpected, the managers will be able to work well in this country. Anything considered risky or involving lots of change should be worked around or discarded.

Costa Rica has a very low Power Distance of 35. This is the lowest score for PD in Latin America. A low PD indicates that there isn't a strong emphasis on wealth and power in society. Applying this to business, a low PD means that there is equality and equal opportunity for all, so there won't be equality/inequality issues among workers. Costa Rica also ranks low in its Masculinity rating with a score of 21. Low scores of masculinity mean that men and women are considered more equal and that discrimination between genders is low. This allows businesses operating in Costa Rica to have women in manager level positions because they will not be seen as less qualified or undeserving simply because of their gender.

Costa Rica is a collectivist country, scoring 15 in Individualism. Long-term committments and relationships in business are the norm in this country as well as close ties with the family. Loyalty is key to any relationship. Collectivism is difficult for American companies to deal with, as the US is very much an individualistic culture. Building trusting and loyal relationships with your employees and customers will aid in the development of business in Costa Rica.