Minkov’s monumentalism/flexhumility

Minkov’s analysis of WVS data identified another cultural dimension which he labeled “monumentalism versus flexhumility,” and established rankings for 57 nations and provinces. He likened “monumentalism” to monuments or statues, which are created to reflect pride in a person, event, or thing, and once erected, are relatively unchangeable. “Flexhumility” is a combination of the words self-flexible and humility.

In monumentalism cultures, people usually possess and openly demonstrate pride in themselves, their achievements, families, and other social institutions. Conversely, people from flexhumility cultures typically exercise humility, situational flexibility, and readily adapt to changing conditions [73]. Table 7 contains lists of selected traits for this dimension.

Latin American and Middle East countries scored the highest on the monumentalism scale. At the lower end, indicating a flexhumility culture, were Slavic countries (e.g., Russia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Belarus), the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), and Northeast Asia nations (China, Japan, and South Korea). The U.S. ranked in the upper middle of the scale, which reflects how U.S. Americans balance self-promotion and humbleness. In the United States, individuals are often told “you have to toot your own horn,” meaning some degree of self-promotion is required and expected. If that horn is tooted too loud, however, a person risks being labeled a braggart. Consider the potential for intercultural communication failure when a monumentalism interviewer asks a flexhumility interviewee to talk about personal achievements.

Table 7. Selected Characteristics of Monumentalism and Flexhumility Cultures

MONUMENTALISM • Self-pride/self-promotion • Self-concept is consistent/fixed • Truth is absolute • Absolutist cognition • Religion is important • Interpersonal competition valued • Lower value on education • Difficulty in adapting to another culture • Suicide taboo • Tipping expected/prevalent

FLEXHUMILITY Humility • Self-concept is flexible/fluid • Truth is relative • Holistic cognition • Religion less important • Interpersonal competition problematic • Higher value on education • Easily adapts to another culture • Suicide accepted • Tipping not expected/rarely done

Adapted from M. Minkov, “Monumentalism versus Flexumility,” SIETAR Europa Congress (2007).

Link: www.sietar-europa.org/congress2007/files/congress2007_paper_Michael_Minkov.doc.

Latin American and Middle East countries scored the highest on the monumentalism scale. At the lower end, indicating a flexhumility culture, were Slavic countries (e.g., Russia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Belarus), the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), and Northeast Asia nations (China, Japan, and South Korea). The U.S. ranked in the upper middle of the scale, which reflects how U.S. Americans balance self-promotion and humbleness. In the United States, individuals are often told “you have to toot your own horn,” meaning some degree of self-promotion is required and expected. If that horn is tooted too loud, however, a person risks being labeled a braggart. Consider the potential for intercultural communication failure when a monumentalism interviewer asks a flexhumility interviewee to talk about personal achievements.

34. G. Hofstede, Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values, 2nd ed. (Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, 2001). See also G. Hofstede, G.J. Hofstede, and M. Minkov, Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, 3^rd ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010).

35. P. B. Smith, M.H. Bond, and Ç. Kagitçibas¸i, Understanding Social Psychology Across Cultures (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2006), 34.

36. J. O. Yum, “The Impact of Confucianism on Interpersonal Relationships and Communication Patterns,” in Intercultural Communication: A Reader, 8th ed., L.A. Samovar and R.E. Porter, eds. (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1997), 78.

37. P. A. Andersen, M.L. Hecht, G.D. Hoobler, and M. Smallwood, “Nonverbal Communication Across Cultures,” in Cross-Cultural and Intercultural Communication, W.B. Gudykunst, ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2003), 77.

38. H. C. Triandis, Individualism and Collectivism (Boulder, CO: Westview8Press, 1995). See also H.C. Triandis, “Cross-Cultural Studies of Individualism and Collectivism,” in Cross-Cultural Perspectives, J.J. Berman, ed. (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1990), 41–133.

39. D. Brooks, “Harmony and the Dream” New York Times (August 11, 2008), http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/12/opinion/12brooks.html (accessed May 21, 2011).

40. Hofstede, Hofstede, and Minko, 2010, 90.

41. C. Triandis, “Cross-Cultural Studies of Individualism and Collectivism,” in Cross-Cultural Perspectives, J.J. Berman, ed. (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1990), 52.

42. D. Etounga-Manguelle, “Does Africa Need a Cultural Adjustment Program?” in Culture Matters: How Values Shape Human Progress, L. Harrison and S.P. Huntington, eds. (New York: Basic Books, 2000), 71.

43. M. L. Hecht, M.J. Collier, and S.A. Ribeau, African American Communication: Ethnic Identity and Interpretation (Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, 1993), 97.

44. T.Y.J. Shim, M.S. Kim, and J.N. Martin, Changing Korea: Understanding Culture and Communication (New York: Peter Lang, 2008), 27.

45. K. Belson and N. Onishi, “In Deference to Crisis, a New Obsession Sweeps Japan: Self-Restraint,” New York Times (March 27, 2011), http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/28/world/asia/28tokyo.html?ref=world (accessed May 21, 2011).

46. Hofstede, Hofstede, and Minko, 2010, 191.

47. K. Makihara, “Too Tall for Japan,” New York Times (July 7, 2010), http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/08/opinion/08iht-edkumiko.html (accessed May 21, 2011).

48. Hofstede, Hofstede, and Minko, 2010, 205.

49. Ibid., 55.

50. Ibid., 61.

51. W. B. Gudykunst, Asian American Ethnicity and Communication (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2001), 41.

52. R. Brislin, Understanding Culture’s Consequence on Behavior, 2nd ed. (Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt College Publishers, 2000), 288.

53. C. Calloway-Thomas, P.J. Cooper, and C. Blake, Intercultural Communication: Roots and Routes (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1999), 196.

54. Hofstede, Hofstede, and Minko, 2010, 74.

55. Adler and Gunderson, 2008, 57–58.

56. Hofstede, Hofstede, and Minko, 2010, 140.

57. Adler and Gunderson, 2008, 57.

58. Women in Elective Office, 2011: Fact Sheet, Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University (March 2011), http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/fast_facts/levels_of_office/documents/elective.pdf (accessed May 21, 2011).

59. Hofstede, Hofstede, and Minko, 2010, 140.

60. “Norway,” in Global Database of Quotas for Women (November 17, 2009), http://www.quotaproject.org/uid/countryview.cfm?country=165 (accessed May 21, 2011).

61. R. Hausmann, L.D. Tyson, and S. Zahidi, The Global Gender Gap Report 2010 (Geneva, Switzerland: World Economic Forum, 2010), http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GenderGap_Report_2010.pdf (accessed May 21, 2011).

62. Gudykunst, 2001, 47.

63. Chinese Culture Connection, “Chinese Values and the Search for Culture-Free Dimensions of Culture,” Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 18 (1987), 143–164; See also G. Hofstede and M.H. Bond, “Confucius and Economic Growth: New Trends in Culture’s Consequence,” Organizational Dynamics, 16 (1988), 4–21.

64. Hofstede 2001, 351, 354.

65. Ibid., 351, 355.

66. For information on the World Values Survey, see: http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/67 . M. Minkov and G. Hofstede, “Hofstede’s Fifth Dimension: New Evidence from the World Values Survey,” Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology (December 15, 2010), 2. DOI: 10.1177/0022022110388567 68. Ibid, 9.

69. Hofstede, Hofstede, and Minko, 2010, 239, 254.

70. Minkov and Hofstede, “Hofstede’s Fifth Dimension,” 9.

71. Hofstede, Hofstede, and Minko, 2010, 251.

72. Ibid., 2010, 281.

73. M. Minkov, “Monumentalism versus Flexumility,” SIETAR Europa Congress (2007), www.sietar-europa.org/congress2007/files/congress2007_paper_Michael_Minkov.doc (accessed May 21, 2011); Hofstede, Hofstede, and Minko, 2010, 252.