Identify whether each inference below about the passage is strong or weak. (Questions 1 - 4) Uncertainty Avoidance: The Dangers of Playing It Safe In the aftermath of the Greek debt crisis, one thing has just become certain: Greeks need to become more economically competitive. To do this we need to embrace innovation. But with innovation comes risk, and risk is not something most Greeks seek out. This avoidance of risk and uncertainty nay have a lot to do with our cultural values. Social psychologist Geert Hofstede calls this risk-aversion tendency the “uncertainty-avoidance” dimension of culture. According to Hofstede, citizens of nations that rank low on the uncertainty-avoidance scale, such as Denmark, Sweden, and the UK, are more willing to calmly accept the possibility of a certain degree of unpredictability and ambiguity in the future. Conversely, people from countries that rank higher on the continuum, including Greece and Portugal, for example, are less comfortable with uncertainty. In these countries, where people feel threatened by the unknown, there is often a higher tolerance for laws and regulations because they give citizens a sense of order and stability even though rules can get in the way of progress. In Greece, completing the necessary paperwork and procedures to establish and run a business can be a time-consuming and frustrating experience. There are other clear downsides to this discomfort with uncertainty. A Greek businessman in search of a product to sell would be more likely to choose on that appears familiar over one that is innovative. Similarly, new entrepreneurial ventures and business models are less likely to originate in places like Greece, which ranks at the top of Hofstede’s uncertainty-avoidance continuum, than in less risk-averse countries. In those countries that rank low on the scale, there is more innovation and less bureaucracy because workers are not afraid to take risks. Such nations also seem to be able to recover from financial crises better than those displaying