异类之不一样的成功启示录 第137期:不确定性规避

 　　Another of Hofstede's dimensions is "uncertainty¹ avoidance.” How well does a culture tolerate ambiguity²?

　　霍夫斯泰德的另一个维度是他的“不确定性规避”。一种文化可以忍受多大程度上的不确定性？

　　Here are the top five "uncertainty avoidance" countries, according to Hofstede's database-

　　据霍夫斯泰德统计，在国家范畴内，下面五个国家排在前五名——

　　that is, the countries most reliant on rules and plans, and most likely to stick to procedure regardless of circumstances.

　　这意味着，这些国家无论在什么情况下，都坚持法规、坚守计划并且几乎完全按照章程办事。

　　No. 1 Greece

　　1. 希腊

　　No.2 Portugal

　　2. 葡萄牙

　　No.3 Guatemala

　　3. 危地马拉

　　No.4 Uruguay

　　4. 乌拉圭

　　No.5 Belgium

　　5. 比利时

　　The bottom five- that is, the cultures best able to tolerate ambiguity are:

　　最后面的五个国家或地区——这意味着这些国家或地区最能够忍受不确定性。

　　No.49 Hong Kong

　　49. 中国香港

　　No.50 Swiden

　　50. 瑞典

　　No.51 Denmark

　　51. 丹麦

　　No.52 Jamaica

　　52. 牙买加

　　No.53 Singapore

　　53. 新加坡

　　It is important to note that Hofstede wasn't suggesting there was a right place or a wrong place to be on anyone of those scales.

　　在霍夫斯泰德的理论中，有一点非常重要：那就是无论怎样，没有一种文化绝对好或不好；

　　Nor was he saying that a culture's position on one of his dimensions was an ironclad predictor of how someone from that country behaves:

　　同时，在其量表上提及的文化所体现的特征，并不能一成不变地代表任何来自该文化的人。

　　it's not impossible, for example, for someone from Guatemala to be highly individualistic.

　　这是有可能的。例如，一个来自危地马拉的人也有可能极度的自我。

　　What he was saying, instead, was something very similar to what Nisbett Cohen argued after their hallway studies at the University of Michigan.

　　相反的，他所谈论的，或许和密歇根大学的学生尼斯伯特和科恩课下所讨论的话题相似。

　　Each of us has his or her own distinctive³ personality.

　　我们每个人都有自己独特的性格，

　　But overlaid on top of that are tendencies and assumptions and reflexes handed down to us by the history of the community we grow up in,

　　但在此基础之上，我们成长的社会环境会赋予我们更多的历史传统，使得每个人的言谈举止都会留下文化的烙印。

　　and these differences are extraordinarily⁴ specific.

　　如一些行动模式会投射出我们的心理思维定势，并且每一种分别都是非常具体的。

　　Belgium and Denmark are only an hour or so apart by airplane, for example.

　　比如比利时和丹麦的飞行距离只有一个小时，

　　Dane look a lot like Belgians,and if I drop you on a street corner on Copenhagen, it wouldn't look all that different from a street corner in Brussels.

　　从外表上看，丹麦人和比利时人也没有什么不同，并且如果你来到哥本哈根的街角，你会发现这里和布鲁塞尔没有任何区别。

　　But when it comes to uncertainty avoidance, they could not be further apart.

　　但是如果提及“不确定性规避”，你会发现两个国家简直有天壤之别。

　　In fact, Danes have more in common with Jamaicans when it comes to tolerating ambiguity than they do with some of their European peers.

　　实际上，在“不确定性规避”这一点，丹麦人比任何一个欧洲国家的同僚都更像牙买加人。

1 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

2 ambiguity   

n.模棱两可；意义不明确

参考例句：

• The telegram was misunderstood because of its ambiguity.由于电文意义不明确而造成了误解。
• Her answer was above all ambiguity.她的回答毫不含糊。

3 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

4 extraordinarily   

adv.格外地；极端地

参考例句：

• She is an extraordinarily beautiful girl.她是个美丽非凡的姑娘。
• The sea was extraordinarily calm that morning.那天清晨，大海出奇地宁静。