Hofstede and Hofstede (2005) compared cultural analysis to peeling back the
layers of an onion (p. 6). Hofstede and Hofstede claimed that the first outer layer is the
most superficial; they illustrated the first layer by explaining that "symbols are words,
gestures, pictures, or objects that carry a particular meaning only recognized as such by
those who share the culture" (p. 7). Hofstede and Hofstede noted that they can be words,
jargon, styles, or symbols. The second layer is made up of societal role models; they
possess highly recognized characteristics of the society and are referred to as "heroes" (p.
7). They serve as an example of desired behavior. Hofstede's third layer referred to
rituals, which he described as "collective activities, technically superfluous to reaching
desired ends, but which within a culture are considered as socially essential" (p. 8). They
can be words, manners, religious practices, or even colors. Hofstede and Hofstede
categorized the three under the term practices, observing that "as such they are visible to
an outside observer; their cultural meaning, however, is invisible and lies precisely and
only in the way these practices are interpreted by insiders" (p. 8).