The Culture Map, Visualised
An interactive reading of Erin Meyer's eight scales for how national cultures differ at work. Choose a scale, compare countries, then map your own team.
Positions are approximate transcriptions of published diagrams from Erin Meyer, The Culture Map (2014), for a personal educational tool. They are not official Culture Map data. Culture describes a range, not a person: personality still varies widely within every country.
Dataset: 38 countries across 8 scales. Complete eight-scale coverage: United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, Brazil.
Scales
Each scale has a scatter chart and a world map. Countries not on a scale stay grey on the map and are omitted from the scatter. Two quadrants pair scales that are easy to confuse.
Communicating26 countries on this scale
Low-context
Good communication is precise, simple, and clear. Messages are expressed and understood at face value. Repetition is appreciated if it helps clarify the communication.
High-context
Good communication is sophisticated, nuanced, and layered. Messages are both spoken and read between the lines. Messages are often implied but not plainly expressed.
Communicating from Low-context to High-context. Countries from the left pole toward the right: United States, closer to Low-context; Australia, closer to Low-context; Canada, closer to Low-context; Netherlands, closer to Low-context; Germany, closer to Low-context; Finland, closer to Low-context; Denmark, closer to Low-context; United Kingdom, closer to Low-context; Poland, between Low-context and High-context; Argentina, between Low-context and High-context; Spain, between Low-context and High-context; Brazil, between Low-context and High-context; Italy, between Low-context and High-context; Mexico, between Low-context and High-context; Peru, between Low-context and High-context; France, closer to High-context; Russia, closer to High-context; Singapore, closer to High-context; India, closer to High-context; Saudi Arabia, closer to High-context; Iran, closer to High-context; Kenya, closer to High-context; China, closer to High-context; South Korea, closer to High-context; Indonesia, closer to High-context; Japan, closer to High-context. Grey countries on the map are not on this scale.
Hover a country on the map or scatter to highlight it on both charts. Grey countries are not on the selected scale. Country names appear on hover; colour is a secondary cue.
Quadrants
Some scales are easy to mix up. These charts plot two at once, matching the paired maps in the book.
Communicating × Evaluating
Low-context / explicit × Direct negative feedback through to High-context / implicit × Indirect negative feedback · 23 countries
Positions combine the two scales. A country appears only if it has a score on both axes. Hover a country for both pole-relative readings. Axis labels name the poles; colour is not used to encode position.
Communicating × Evaluating. Horizontal axis from Direct negative feedback to Indirect negative feedback. Vertical axis from High-context / implicit to Low-context / explicit. Countries: United States: between Direct negative feedback and Indirect negative feedback; closer to High-context / implicit. United Kingdom: between Direct negative feedback and Indirect negative feedback; closer to High-context / implicit. Canada: between Direct negative feedback and Indirect negative feedback; closer to High-context / implicit. Australia: between Direct negative feedback and Indirect negative feedback; closer to High-context / implicit. Netherlands: closer to Direct negative feedback; closer to High-context / implicit. Germany: closer to Direct negative feedback; closer to High-context / implicit. Denmark: closer to Direct negative feedback; closer to High-context / implicit. France: closer to Direct negative feedback; closer to Low-context / explicit. Italy: between Direct negative feedback and Indirect negative feedback; between High-context / implicit and Low-context / explicit. Spain: between Direct negative feedback and Indirect negative feedback; between High-context / implicit and Low-context / explicit. Russia: closer to Direct negative feedback; closer to Low-context / explicit. Israel: closer to Direct negative feedback; closer to Low-context / explicit. Brazil: between Direct negative feedback and Indirect negative feedback; between High-context / implicit and Low-context / explicit. Argentina: closer to Indirect negative feedback; between High-context / implicit and Low-context / explicit. Mexico: closer to Indirect negative feedback; between High-context / implicit and Low-context / explicit. India: closer to Indirect negative feedback; closer to Low-context / explicit. China: closer to Indirect negative feedback; closer to Low-context / explicit. Japan: closer to Indirect negative feedback; closer to Low-context / explicit. South Korea: closer to Indirect negative feedback; closer to Low-context / explicit. Indonesia: closer to Indirect negative feedback; closer to Low-context / explicit. Thailand: closer to Indirect negative feedback; closer to Low-context / explicit. Saudi Arabia: closer to Indirect negative feedback; closer to Low-context / explicit. Kenya: closer to Indirect negative feedback; closer to Low-context / explicit
Culture Guide
Select your nationality and the nationalities on your team. The guide will describe your relative position on each scale and plot a combined culture map.
Where do you sit?
Optionally record where you think you personally fall on each scale. Responses are anonymous and stored so the dataset can grow beyond the book diagrams.