Fransız Örgüt Kültürü: Fransız Devrimi’nin Etkileri ve Hofstede’nin Kültür Boyutları Açısından Bir Değerlendirme

Abstract

The French Revolution of 1789 which is one of the most important events in European and World history, affects other societies as well as the French society. Famous for its nationalism, traditionalism and uniqueness, France is seen as the pioneer of European civilization, particularly after the Enlightenment movement and the French Revolution. By breaking down the feudal structure of the Ancien Régime (Old order) period in which the greater proportion of the population lived in rural areas where the king was standing as a central authority of the society consisted of three estates in which the influence of the church and traditions were strong, the French Revolution was proposed with the hope of creating a modern France and building a free future influened by the Enlightenment movement. How did this Revolution affect French national culture and organizational culture? How effective was the change brought by the French Revolution in terms of society, industry, business organizations and business life? Certain results have been achieved in this review which tried to find answers to these questions by making an evaluation in terms of the cultural dimensions that Hofstede expressed as ‘individualism-collectivism, masculinity-femininity, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, time orientation, and indulgence-constraint’. Keywords: French Revolution, Enlightenment, national culture, organizational culture, business life.