In the 1980s, Geert Hofstede (now a Professor Emeritus of Organizational Anthropology and International Management at Maastricht University in the Netherlands) was employed by IBM to study how national cultural differences influence the culture of a company. He produced data on six indices for more than 50 nations which became one of the foundation stones of intercultural education.
He and his organization continue to update this data and make it accessible to us today. Now they have a web site (https://www.hofstede-insights.com/product/compare-countries/) where you can compare any two countries to see how their cultures are similar and different.
Screenshot from Culture Compass app
Better yet, they have released a free app for iPhone and Android that provides the same data PLUS the opportunity to answer some questions to create your personal profile. It can then be compared instantly with the culture of any country. The purpose is to identify where your personal preferences may vary significantly from that of a country where you may be working so you can recognize areas of possible conflict (if any). Armed with that knowledge, you can be aware when you may have to modify your behavior to find common ground with others.
A companion app (separate download) called CultureMee provides practical data about the nations in the Hofstede studies.
When dealing with other cultures I urge you to download the apps, take the short survey and explore what they reveal.
- Herb