Trompenaars (1993)

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Trompenaars (1993) - Riding the Waves of Culture

The author has lots of questions which he has asked a number of people from lots of cultures, the answers of which he uses to classify them into a certain type (Although Trompenaars and Hofstede don't actually like each other, their work is pretty similar).

Below is a model of culture, which outlines the different levels of culture in any individual or organisation (Fig.1).

Artefacts are visible signs and are easily explainable, including language, rituals and objects

Norms and values are our sense of right and wrong, good and bad. These are less visible and often people are not conscious that what they value reflects their particular culture.

Basic assumptions are our fundamental beliefs about the world and existence. These are the most difficult to determine and people will rarely be aware of them, however, they affect our norms and values, and artefacts.

The Questions