What Kinds of Characteristics Does Turkish Culture Actually Have?

With globalization the world a global village It would not be wrong to say that today we interact with many different cultures much more than in the past.

For this very reason, sociologist Geert Hofstede conducted a study on IBM employees to determine the impact of culture on the business environment in environments with high cultural diversity. With his work cultural dimensions theory Hofstede’s work covers 76 countries and has been updated regularly since 2001.

According to Hofstede, the qualities of cultures are examined in 6 basic dimensions.

These dimensions are power distance, individualism/collectivism, masculinity/feminity, avoidance of uncertainty, long/short term focus And restraint/tolerance is referred to as.

In theory, each culture in terms of the dimensions mentioned between 0 and 100 It is scored and depending on the score it gets, it is determined which class that culture belongs to. For example, cultures with a score above 50 on the masculinity/feminity dimension are considered masculine, and cultures with a score below 50 are considered feminine.

In this content, we do not focus on the details of the theory, but according to the theory. Evaluation of Turkish culture we will consider. If you want to examine Hofstede’s theory in detail, you can take a look at the content below.

Turkey gets 66 points from the “power distance” dimension and enters the class of cultures with high power distance.

Power distance dimension, inter-individual in society represents equality. Countries with a high score on this dimension have lower inequality between individuals. So it’s kind of stratification in society We can say it represents.

According to Hofstede, Turkish style; a structure where it is dependent, hierarchical, difficult to reach superiors, and the ideal boss is like a father figure.

Hierarchy is high power inequality It divides society into classes. In other words, in societies with a high power distance, everyone has a certain status.

power in such cultures. is the center And there are strict rules. For example, it is seen that there is no comfortable communication between lower and upper level employees in cultures with high power distance.

Türkiye, which received 37 points from the individualism/collectivism dimension, has a collectivist culture.

Cultures with high scores on this dimension have a low score countries are collectivist. Not “I” for collectivist cultures compared to individual cultures “We” is important.

Collectivist cultures mostly live their lives by thinking of the group they belong to, not themselves.

In other words, collectivist cultures such as Turkey are not only related to themselves and their close circles, but also to which they are involved. with the social structure has a strong bond.

According to Hofstede, communication in such societies is not clear and topics are often discussed indirectly. Loyalty to the group they belong to is important and therefore torpedo, favouritism, etc. such situations are likely to occur.

Turkey, with a score of 45 on the masculinity/femininity dimension, is classified as a female culture.

this size high score, masculinity; low score, femininity represents. While a materialist and competitive structure is seen in masculine societies, it is seen in feminine societies. relationships are more important and a conciliatory structure.

In feminine cultures, values ​​such as humility and compassion often come to the fore.

In feminine cultures like Türkiye, take care of others And reach out to the fallen Sensitive situations such as Usually by agreement avoiding conflicts and enjoying life is more valuable to feminine cultures.

Turkey is quite high in the uncertainty avoidance index with 85 points.

This dimension is basically one of the individuals’ uncertain situations. degree of discomfort measuring. In high scoring cultures aversion to new ideas and stable social norms, low-scoring cultures show a relaxed and open-minded nature.

According to Hofstede, the reason why the name “Allah” is used a lot in Turkey is not just religiousness!

Hofstede’s people to reduce anxiety rituals, and in addition to the religious side of the name “Allah”, in some cases, it is also used to reduce anxiety and tension. social pattern it is also used as.

In addition, in cultures with a high uncertainty avoidance index, it is necessary to minimize uncertainty. strict rules are needed is seen.

In terms of long/short term focus, Türkiye is in the middle with 46 points.

This dimension is basically plans and goals means realizing it according to the short or long term. Long-term oriented cultures often investment tends to do. Short-term oriented cultures are generally get fast results they are focused.

According to Hofstede, since Turkey has a middle score in this dimension, it has the characteristics of both categories and has a clear Classification not possible.

Turkey does not show a clear characteristic feature by remaining in the middle with 49 points in the dimension of restraint/tolerance.

this size high score, tolerance; restricting if low score represents.

In cultures that fall under the category of tolerant, they are generally concerned with concepts such as enjoying life and having fun. a more relaxed attitude However, it is seen that this situation works in the opposite way in cultures that fall into the restrictive class.

According to the theory put forward by Hofstede Evaluation of Turkish culture we wrote it for you. In what dimensions do you think Türkiye is similar to which other cultures? Do not forget to specify in the comments.