Towards African Work Orientations: Guide from Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions

Abstract

Work orientation is the meaning an individual gives to work and the relative importance assigned to work in one’s life. This study assesses and predicts work orientations of employees of Sub-Saharan African – countries with diverse but similar cultural consequences. Scores of Hofstede’s study on his five cultural dimensions, and review of some major and enduring African cultural and social values are the two main categories of data for analysis. Organised under ten work-related factors, the paper produces what guide and shape the behaviour of the African based on his/her enduring cultural and social values. These work orientations could be guide to employers, especially multinational ones, to understand what influence the behaviour of the African at work. This is because the African will always be influenced by his/her cultural values, and their recognition of these values could enhance effective management of the employment relations.

Key words: Hofstede, cultural dimensions; Africa; work orientations; cultural values; African worker