Hofstede’s Uncertainty Avoidance

 We all know the quote “go with the flow,” but it doesn’t apply to everyone and every culture. If you were to tell a Ghanaian to go with the flow and avoid uncertainty they would feel like you have no respect for your own life… speaking from experience. I feel like the same would be true for a Japanese person but not for someone from the United States. I’ll focus on the planning aspect of things. 

I’ve grown up in a community where you have to have at least one plan for anything you want to do and if things don’t go according to plan you learn from your mistakes and you make two plans the next time. I don’t think I’ve ever met a Ghanaian that never had a plan. Obviously we don’t plan out our whole entire lives down to the minute, but we tend to have everything figured out for the week at least vaguely. This is different from what I’ve witnessed while being around other Americans, especially when it came time to apply for University. Most of the other students didn’t really have a plan. They had a list, but not a “just in case I don’t get into this university” kind of plan. However, I had a list of schools and majors and another list with the cost and housing options along with a vague outline of what classes I wanted to take and how I could fit a study exchange in my schedule.

 I think Japanese and Ghanaians are the same when it comes to avoiding uncertainty because from my perspective, not knowing is equal to walking in a forest filled with bears and no gear. I guess this could be explained from the perspective of Ghana scoring a 65 on the scale and Japan scoring a 92. 


Because as a Ghanaian, although we love to plan, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we have a plan for something that we’re super confident about. We leave most of the planning to the important stuff and the small things are allowed to be ambiguous, this is where the difference between Ghana and Japan is shown however, because every minuscule detail must be looked at and taken into account, and there’s no room for mistake. 



Comments

  1. ZimnakoDecember 1, 2025 at 10:13 PM

    Good research added. Nice to read about the differences between USA, Ghana, and Japan.

    ReplyDelete
  2. caryDecember 1, 2025 at 10:13 PM

    Interesting bear analogy, I see it as riding out a wave like if you're surfing.

    ReplyDelete

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