Lecture on the theme «Individualistic and Collectivistic Cultures»

Lecture on the theme «Individualistic and Collectivistic Cultures»

Plan

1. Collectivism/Individualism as one of the 4 Dimensions of Culture (G. Hofstede)

2. Key characteristics of Individualistic and Collectivistic cultures

3. Key factors in determining whether a culture becomes Individualistic or Collectivistic

4. Four types of Individualism and Collectivism (Harry Triandis)

5. Influence of Individualistic and Collectivistic value orientations on Communication Styles, Decision Making, Dealing with Conflicts

6. Advantages and disadvantages of Individualistic and Collectivistic cultures

          There are two contrasting cultural orientations: one values individualism, and the other values collectivism. How is individualism and collectivism defined? Broadly defined, individualism emphasizes personal freedom and achievement. Collectivism, in contrast emphasizes embeddedness of individuals in a larger group. The best known international measure of individualism and collectivism is that developed by the Dutch scholar Geert Hofstede who used surveys of IBM employees from (eventually) 72 countries. The idea was to survey people with equivalent jobs in different countries in the same company so as to measure cultural differences in order to  live or work successfully in any society or organisation. According to Hofstede, “Individualism stands for a society in which the ties between individuals are loose; everyone is expected to look after himself or herself and his or her immediate family only. . . . Collectivism stands for a society in which people from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, which throughout people’s lifetime continue to protect them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty”. Hofstede developed a quantitative ranking system in which countries are organized based on the persistence of Individualism and Collectivism within their national culture. For instance, the United States ranked #1 out of 50 countries for Individualism, with a score of 91 on the Individualism-Collectivism index, followed by Australia, Great Britain, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand; and China (Hong Kong) ranked #35 out of 50 countries for Individualism, with a score of 25 on the Individualism-Collectivism index reflecting low levels of Individualism and high levels of Collectivism. So, Asian cultures, Latin cultures and Middle Eastern cultures are typically considered collectivistic.

          In order to interpret the implications of these scores and better summarize the differences between individualistic and collectivistic cultures, one should consider certain conditions (ecology, i.e., features of geography, resources, and the history of a society, as well as family structure, distribution of wealth, and demographics). Ecology: Historically, individualistic cultures have been associated with complex hunter-gather tendencies in which individuals rely less on the land and more on individual ambitions. Mobility also increases the likelihood of individualism that allows people to separate and live at a distance from other people. In comparison, collectivism is usually associated with agricultural societies in which obedience and conformity are required. Since agricultural societies are typically isolated from other societies, it is difficult to make a living independently from the group. When individuals cannot survive independently and have limited access to resources, group cooperation becomes more important. Additionally, agricultural societies have predominately been characterized as collectivistic because of low mobility (limited resources and isolation) and more pressure to be accepted by the in-group (less social diversity). Family structure within a culture can also indicate whether a culture is individualistic or collectivistic. Large, extended families that promote embeddedness are associated with collectivistic cultures because of increased interdependence. Conversely, small families that permit separation are individualistic in nature. Wealth facilitates separation and independence, and in 1980, Hofstede “found a positive correlation between individualism and wealth, with industrialized wealthy countries scoring higher on individualism than developing countries”. Hofstede concluded that increases in national wealth cause an increase in individualism, but not vice versa. When people within a country experience an increase in affluence, they consequently have an increase in personal discretion to spend their money, which creates an increase in individualism. Demographics within a culture can refer to age, education, type of employment, income, gender, race, and urban versus rural environment. In 1997, Smith and Schwartz proposed that younger, educated individuals typically act more individualistically than older, less educated individuals. Gender differences between individualism and collectivism have not been statistically significant (Kashima et al., 1995). Racial groups, such as people of color and Caucasians in the United States, have also demonstrated differences in individualistic and collectivistic tendencies (Triandis, 2012). For instance, people of color in the United States have scored higher on collectivism compared to Caucasians in the United States (Triandis, 2012 referenced Gaines et al., 1997).

Having explained the conditions (ecology, family structure, distribution of wealth, and demographics) necessary for individualistic or collectivistic cultures to exist, it is equally important to explain how individualistic and collectivistic cultures persist through individual attributes (cognitions, norms, emotions, values, self-concepts). Cognitions: Cognitive processes within individualistic cultures require individuals to focus on personal needs, rights, capacities, and contracts, and assume complete responsibility for their actions (Triandis, 1995). In addition, individualistic cognitions are motivated by individually oriented goals. For example, in the United States Constitution, the promotion of, and primary focus on, the individual’s rights, liberties, and pursuit of happiness promotes individualistic cognitions. In contrast, within collectivistic cultures, individuals are motivated by socially oriented goals, focus primarily on the needs of the group, and identify the collective as responsible for outcomes. Norms within a culture relate to patterns of behaviors within a given context. Norms within individualistic cultures are less consistent because individuals act as independent agents (Triandis, 1995). In comparison, social behavior is less evident within collectivistic cultures because there is a tendency to shift behavior depending on the context, such that individuals act differently to each in-member but uniformly with out-group members. Emotions: Individuals who operate within an individualistic culture have egocentric emotions where they primarily are concerned about themselves; in contrast, individuals who operate within a collectivistic culture are concerned about others (Triandis, 1995). The emotions of collectivists may incorporate the conditions of others, such as empathy, but the emotions of individualists may only incorporate the individual’s condition, such as anger. Emotions concerning privacy also fluctuate between individualism and collectivism; individualistic cultures protect privacy, whereas collectivistic cultures believe people should be concerned and involved with other people’s business. Values: Within individualistic cultures, curiosity, creativity, having an exciting life, and pleasure are valued. In comparison, collectivistic cultures value security, social relationships, in-group harmony and personalized relationships (Triandis, McCuster, and Hui, 1990; S.H. Schwartz, 1994). Self-concepts differ between cultures and are the product of social factors. Individualists define the self as an autonomous entity independent of groups. Collectivists define the self in terms of its connectedness to others in various in-groups.

        Taking all above mentioned information into account, one can name three key factors determining whether a culture becomes individualistic or collectivistic (Harry Triandis). The first is the complexity of a society. As people live in more complex industrialized and service-information societies (compared to e.g. food-gathering nomads), there are more groups to identify with, which means less loyalty to any group and a greater focus on personal rather than collective goals. The second is the affluence of society. As people begin to prosper, they gain financial independence from each other, a condition that promotes social independence as well as mobility and a focus on personal rather than collective goals. The third factor is heterogeneity. Societies that are homogenous or ‘tight’ (where members share the same language, religion, and societal customs) tend to be rigid and intolerant of those who veer from the norm. Societies that are culturally diverse or ‘loose’ (where two or more cultures coexist) are more permissive of dissent – thus allowing for more individual expression.

        While it is clear that individualistic cultures differ from collectivistic cultures, individualistic cultures can, and do, differ from other individualistic cultures. The same can be said of collectivistic cultures. Some individualistic cultures, for example, link self-reliance with competition, while other individualistic cultures do not. Some collectivistic cultures emphasize in-group harmony above all else, while other collectivistic cultures do not. To account for some of these finer distinctions among individualistic and collectivistic cultures, Harry Triandis and his colleagues differentiate between vertical and horizontal individualism and collectivism. According to them, horizontal individualism is a cultural orientation where an autonomous self is valued but the individual is more or less equal in status to others. The self is perceived as independent but nevertheless the same as others. Vertical individualism is the cultural orientation where an autonomous self is also valued but the self is seen as different from and perhaps unequal to others. Status and competition are important aspects of this orientation. France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States The United States, France, Germany and the United Kingdom are examples of vertical individualism, whereas Australia, Denmark, and Sweden are examples of horizontal individualism. Horizontal collectivism is the cultural orientation where the individual sees the self as a member of an in-group whose members are similar to one another. The self is interdependent and the same as the self of others. Equality is expected and practiced within this orientation. China is probably a good example of horizontal collectivism. Theoretical communism is an example of extreme horizontal collectivism. Vertical collectivism is the cultural orientation in which the individual sees the self as an integral part of the in-group but the members are different from one another, some having more status than others. The self is interdependent, and inequality within the group is valued. In this orientation, serving and sacrifice are important. Japan, India, and rural traditional Greece are examples of vertical collectivism.

        When living or doing business in individualistic or collectivistic nation you should consider how cultural differences impact business conduct, communication, decision making, and conflict resolution. Communication patterns develop very differently in individualistic and in collectivistic cultures. In the latter, where communication is shaped to protect relationships, the rules governing directness and emotional expression, for instance, are quite constraining when communicating within the group and relatively loose when communicating with people outside one's group. In collectivistic cultures, indirectness is used as a vehicle to save face (respect, honor, status, reputation, credibility, competence). Individualistic cultures permit more direct expression in most circumstances where self-expression trumps relationship. Being too indirect can be seen as a sign of weakness, and it is associated with a lack of self-assurance. For example, people coming from individualistic cultures often have difficulty understanding when "yes" means "yes" and when "yes" means "no" in collectivistic cultures. In collectivistic cultures, to say "no" to someone of superior rank—especially in face-to-face situations—dishonors them. Thus, people from individualistic cultures need to learn the more subtle cues that indicate whether "yes" means "yes" or whether "yes" means "no."The use of silence is another form of communication that typically means something different in individualistic and collectivistic cultures. In individualistic cultures, silence is the absence of communication or, alternatively, implicit agreement with what is being said ("silence means consent"). In collectivistic cultures, silence can be a powerful mode of communication. It can mean agreement, but it also can mean profound disagreement. People in collectivistic cultures who have been oppressed by individualistic cultures will sometimes test the sincerity of their individualist counterparts. For example, in Native American cultures historically oppressed by Europeans, Native Americans tend to notice how well Europeans are able to remain silent without interrupting Native Americans who are speaking. Body language is also an important form of communication. In individualistic cultures, children being scolded are typically expected to maintain eye contact with their elders as a way of showing respect and sincerity. In many collectivistic cultures, however, the exact opposite is expected: the child being scolded is expected to look down and avoid eye contact with their elders. Finally, expressions of emotion vary from culture to culture. Giggling may be a sign of agreement or solidarity (especially around something that is perceived as humorous) in individualist cultures, but it is frequently a sign of nervousness in collectivist cultures. As to individuals' decision making, there are three ways in which individualistic and collectivistic values can influence it (Güss, C.D). These values can influence the perception of the problem, the generation of strategies and alternatives, and the selection of an alternative. Individuals from collectivistic cultures pay much more attention to the social aspects of problems. They perceive a problem based on the judgment if the problem concerns more about themselves or the people around them. People with individualistic values, on the other hand, put more attention to the individual aspects of problems. They will react faster if the problems deal with the self. Once they have identified the problem, the generation of strategies and alternatives has to go along with the values. People in individualistic cultures prefer active, assertive and confrontational strategies for resolving conflicts, as well as have more confidence in their personal decisions and might, therefore, be more decisive and risky than people in collectivist cultures in their decisions. Individualistic cultures will make a decision that can benefit them. On the other hand, the strategies and alternatives generated from collectivistic cultures will put greater emphasis on relationship with others. It means that if they are not in line with the society's expectation, the strategies and alternatives might be rejected. (Imagine a situation where an employee is being offered a position because of favouritism. In individualistic cultures, he or she is more likely to accept it though he or she is aware that others know that he or she is being promoted because of favouritism. Yet, he or she will still take it because it can benefit him or herself. On the other hand, if that employee is in collectivistic cultures, he/she is more likely to refuse the promotion because he/she feels bad to others. The fact that he/she is chosen not because of performance but of favouritism may create enough discomfort already). The way they choose an alternative is also deeply influenced by the cultural values. Individualistic countries are much or less dominated by values like personal achievement, growth, and advancement. They will prefer a decision that emphasis on self-improvement. When they fail to reach consensus, they will turn to majority vote as it allows each individual to voice out their opinion. Meanwhile, collectivistic cultures will prefer a decision that puts emphasis on the significance of relationships, roles and status within the social system. People from collectivistic countries are more likely to ask approval from others before making a decision because they do not want to ruin their relationship. They also favour consensus when it comes to group decision that enhance relationship and harmony. (A dissatisfied employee, for instance, decides to quit his job. If his values are influenced by individualistic values, he will quit his job because it is the right thing to do for him. However, this is not the case if he is from collectivistic cultures. He might stay on the job because his parents or families expect him to be successful in the job. Or, there is also a high possibility that he will discuss furthermore with his peers/families whether he should quit the job or not). There is evidence that members of different cultures tackle conflict situationsdifferently. Research has shown that since people in individualistic cultures attempt to save and protect their own face (respect, honor, status, reputation, credibility, competence) they prefer direct, overt, active, assertive, controlling, and confrontational styles such as dominating and competitive styles and are more likely to push for speedy closure. In some circumstances, they will adopt a policy of compromise, with the intention of later returning to the conflict when conditions are more favorable for winning. Correspondingly, people in collectivistic cultures use more accommodating and avoiding styles. They will prefer strategies that are more indirect or allow conflict to remain subtle, unspoken, so as to promote mutual face-saving (remaining calm, mindful listening, apologizing, compromising, intentional reframing, practicing collaborative dialogue, and problem solving). Therefore, individualists finding themselves in conflict within a collectivistic culture or with an individual from a collectivistic culture would do well to keep the following in mind. First, they should be aware of face-saving concerns, especially in terms of balancing humiliation and pride, respect and disrespect, and shame and honor. Second, they should be patient and observe mindfully, and give themeselves a few seconds before responding. Considering that collectivists tend to focus on «how» questions, they should be aware of this and limit their «why» questions. Third, they should be mindful listeners and pay attention to nonverbal cues. For collectivists engaging in conflict with individualists, another set of recommendations may be applied. First, they should try to be assertive and practice a conflict communication style that allows everyone the right to speak equally. Second, they should use "I" statements and ask more «why» questions. Third, as mindful listeners, they should paraphrase often and learn to occasionally verbalize their emotions, attitudes, and experiences within the conflict situation itself. That is, they shouldn't rely too heavily on nonverbal cues or count on others to read theirs.

          Finally, let us stress some advantages and disadvantages of collectivistic and individualistic cultures. As individualism emphasizes personal freedom and achievement individualistic culture awards social status to personal accomplishments such as important discoveries, innovations or great artistic achievements. In addition, strongly voiced opinions can lead to robust discussions and debates, resulting in processes that are more efficient. On the other hand, individualism can make collective action more difficult because individuals pursue their own interest without internalizing collective interests. Resistance to cooperation can result in inferior products or services if employees aren't working together. Powerful opinions can lead to workplace clashes with colleagues or managers. Correspondently, collectivism makes collective action easier in the sense that individuals internalize group interests to a greater degree, provides a strong harmony, teamwork and minimizes confrontations. However, it also encourages conformity and discourages individuals from standing out, in addition, it lacks creativity and openness to opinions. There are some more failings of collectivistic and individualistic cultures. Sometimes people in individualistic cultures can become selfish, greedy, lonely, etc.: selfish because of a self-focus as they can obtain as much as they have ability for their own pursuits, and lonely because there is less focus on groups such as family. Many individualistic cultures do not have strong family ties as various members of the family are off doing their own things. People in collectivist cultures can have a strong fear of rejection. The failure to accomplish something that is expected brings much shame. Elders who instill collectivist rejection rules in youngsters are often rejected by foreign direct investment from individualist capital.

          These are, of course, extremes. It is important to remember that no society can be either exclusively individualistic or collectivistic. According to Triandis, functional cultures are a mixture of each. Cultures that are severely individualistic or collectivistic would be severely dysfunctional. A culture that would contain all individualistic people would be a society of narcissists. There would be high rates of crime, divorce, and child abuse. On the opposite side of the continuum would be a pure collectivistic society that would ostracize anyone not closely associated with the “in-crowd.” This would result in situations of ethnic cleansing and oppression. As not all cultures are wholly individualistic or collectivistic, aspects of each can occur in an organization. Robert Axelrod has suggested three ways of promoting and creating cooperation within an organization. First, changing payoffs to make cooperation more appealing and defection less attractive can enhance cooperation. For instance, by making individual rewards contingent on cooperation in teams. Therefore, managers should carefully construct reward schemes in order to demonstrate the cooperative behavior they are hoping to achieve. Second, emphasizing the future of the organization and allowing members to use the threats in order to reduce defection can reinforce cooperation. In other words, if an employee can't contribute to an organization's goals, then out the door they go! This illustrates that longer time horizons, specifically manifested in lower employee turnover, can contribute to cooperative decision-making. Third, teaching people values, facts, and skills that will promote cooperation, such as the importance of reciprocity and how to recognize social norms can enhance cooperative orientations.

Unit                                    Individualistic and Collectivistic Cultures

I. Comment on the proverbs.

«The squeaky wheel gets the grease». (American proverb)

«The nail that stands out gets pounded down». (Japanease proverb)

II. Starting up

Answer these questions individually. Then compare your answers with a partner.

1. Do you feel that you belong to an  individualistic or collectivistic culture? Why? What are the signs?

2. What do you think determines whether a culture is individualistic or collectivistic? Try to come up with three main points.

3. Do you think Eastern culture is more collectivistic than Western culture? Give reasons for your answer.

4. Are people in collectivistic societies happier than those who live in individualistic societies? Why? Why not?

5. Do societies become individualistic through civilization and modernization? Or are societies more civilized and modernized because they are individualistic? Or is it just a coincidence that most of the wealthiest countries today have individualistic cultures rather than collectivistic?

III. Vocabulary                Moral Codes

1. Match the words to their meanings.

contempt

the state of existing or acting separately from others

hierarchy

joint ownership or participation

divinity

lack of guilt or evil thoughts

moral code

a series of agreements to which a person has subscribed to guarantee the survival of a group

emotion

the quality or state of being holy or sacred

autonomy 

a system in which people or things are placed in a series of levels with different importance or status

purity

the formal study of religion, religious practices, and religious belief

community 

a lack of respect for or fear of something that is usually respected or feared

violation

the act of doing something that is not allowed by a law or rule

sanctity

a strong feeling (such as love, anger, joy, hate, or fear)

2. Complete the text with with the correct form of the words from Exercise 1

There are three …..1: community, autonomy, and …..2. …..3 codes are especially important to people in collectivist cultures, whereas …..4 codes are important in individualist cultures. They evoke different …..5. Violation of communal codes, including …..6, evokes …..7; …..8 of the autonomy code (e.g., individual rights) evokes anger. Violation of the divinity code (…..9, …..10) evokes disgust. Data from Japan and the United States support the theory.

IV.                        Key Characteristics of Collectivistic and Individualistic cultures

Listening

Reading

Speaking

1. Listen to the speaker talking about collectivistic and individualistic cultures and create a plan of their analysis. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b8YcXWkqvo).

2. Use the table given below to make a detailed comparative analysis of collectivistic and individualistic cultures. Work in groups.

3. Read the dialogue and explain what mistake Mr. Patterson has made. Complete the dialogue.

Mr. Patterson, an American manager working in Korea, is meeting with his supervisor, Mr. Wyman, who is also American. Mr. Patterson reports to Mr. Wyman about some changes he has made within several of his sales teams.

Later, Park Young Sam, their Korean counterpart, enters into the dialogue.

Mr. Patterson:

Good morning, Mr. Wyman, thanks for meeting with me this morning. As you know, our division has been doing very well this quarter. In fact, our numbers are up across the board.

Mr. Wyman:

Yes, I’ve seen your quarterly reports. Nice job!

Mr. Patterson:

Thanks. In order to recognize their hard work, I’ve made some changes in our sales teams. I’ve created team leaders in each group. In our product group, I promoted Lee Young Sam. In the marketing group, I promoted Chun Tae-woo, and in the technology group, I promoted Choi Mino. All of them have been real leaders. I think this idea will really motivate them. In fact, I met with the groups individually and announced the promotions.

Mr. Wyman:

Good job, Patterson. I can see you’re really on top of things. Good work.

Two Months Later Mr. Patterson, Mr. Wyman, and Park Young Sam, a Korean manager, are discussing the poor performance of Mr. Patterson’s sales teams.

Mr. Wyman:

Well, just look at these dismal results. The numbers for this quarter are way down from last quarter. What’s happened?

Mr. Patterson:

I don’t know. Ever since I introduced the team leader concept, the groups’ productivity has really plummeted. I thought it was a great idea. I guess I chose the wrong people to lead the teams. I’ll assign new leaders tomorrow.

Park Young Sam:

Well . . . you may select new leaders if you desire, but the men you chose were all very capable. However, by elevating them, you …………..

Mr. Patterson:

I guess I should …………..

4. Comment the situations.

a) A Saudi working in the United States wakes up ill. He sends his younger brother to work for him that day. The U.S. employer, sends the brother home. What has happened?

b) A market research firm conducted a survey of tourist agencies around the world. The questionnaires came back from most countries in less than a month. But the agencies in the Asian countries took months to do it. After many telexes, it was finally done. What was the reason?

5. Using  all information given above create simulations for hiring employees in the collectivistic and individualistic cultures. Recognize how differences between these cultures may play out in interviewing situations. Adapt interview questions so that people from both individualistic and collectivist cultures feel comfortable answering.

V.   Skills               Roundtable Discussion:  “Individualistic and collectivistic cultures:

their advantages and disadvantages».

Follow the structure and some guidelines for a roundtable discussion:

- Facilitator’s self-introduction and welcoming of the group.

- Explanation of facilitator’s role and process.

- General expectations/objectives of the roundtable .

- Discussion of issues related to schedule, timing and ground rules. Revision of planned roundtable format (what? how? how long? why? what’s in it for you?).

- Participant introduction.

- Collection of preliminary discussion questions and their record.

- Communication of the main ideas and sub-ideas.

- Discussion: (this will be the bulk of the time and the time should be managed carefully).

Speaker should communicate a clear message and solicit specific feedback as well as moderate the discussion and engage each participant at the table. Audience should be directed to answer specific, but open-ended questions.

- Consensus achievement and summary of roundtable objectives and ground rules.

- Conclusion: thank participants for attending and engaging in the discussion, let them know whether you will follow-up and state when the next roundtable discussion will take place.

Useful language

Setting aims and objectives

Today I want to consider ...

The subject of this talk is ...

The purpose of this talk is to ...

Introducing your group/team

I'd like to introduce ....

Can I introduce ...

Our first team member is, …..

Asking for reactions

What do you think about ...?

What are you views on ...?

How do you feel about ...?

What's your opinion of ...?

Agreeing

On the whole, I think the speaker's arguments are fair.

I think you're absolutely right.

You've got a very good point there.

Disagreeing

I take your point, but ..

Yes, but on the other hand ....

All the evidence suggests that ..

I think that's debatable.

I agree to some extent, but ....

Asking for clarification/more information

Sorry, but I'm not quite clear on what you're saying.

Could you be more specific about ..?

Could you give an example of… ..?

What exactly do you mean?

Exemplification - giving examples

For example/instance, ..

And as proof of that, ..

To illustrate my/our point ....

Controlling the discussion

Let's start by looking at ....

Does anyone have any comments/ questions/opinions?

Do you agree with what ….. has just said?

Dealing with interruptions

Could you let him/her finish?

Sorry to interrupt, but …

Excuse me, but could I say .…

Could you just hang on a moment, please?

Speeding up

Can we move on to the next point, please?

Can we come back to that?

The next point is ...

Slowing down

Hold on, we need to look at this in more detail.

I think we should discuss this a bit more.

Summarising

OK, let’s go over what we’ve agreed.

Right, to sum up then …

We couldn't agree on ...

Opinion was divided on …

After some discussion we reached a consensus on …

VI.   Self-Assessment                          Multiple Choice Tasks

1. Choose the best alternative to complete the sentence.

1. The individualism vs. collectivism dimension of Hofstede's study explored ________.

A. The extent to which different cultures socialized their members into accepting ambiguous situations and tolerating uncertainty


B. The relationship between gender and work roles


C. How a society deals with the fact that people are unequal in physical and intellectual capabilities


D. The relationship between the individual and his or her fellows

2. According to Hofstede's research ________.

A.  individualist cultures give higher priority to personal as opposed to group goals and needs than do collectivist cultures

B. "responsibility," "loyalty," and "commitment" reflect collectivist cultural values

C. individualist cultures are superior to collectivist cultures

D. both A and B

3. Values are: ________.

A. a learned set of enduring values, beliefs, and practices that are shared by an identifiable, large group of people with a common history

B. the most deeply felt, generally shared view of what is deemed good, right, or worthwhile thinking or behavior.

C. what a person thinks is true or probable.

D. a group of people who live in a dominant culture yet remain connected to another cultural heritage

4. In a country that emphasizes collectivism, ________.

A. the interests of the individual are more important than the interests of the state

B. one person or political party exercises absolute control over the political and economic systems

C. the needs of society and the needs of individuals are treated as equally important

D. the needs of society take precedence over individual freedoms

5. In an individualistic culture, members often believe ________.

A. people should care for extended family before themselves.

B. their primary responsibility is helping themselves.

C. age, group security, tradition, and hierarchy are most important.

D. in an emphasis on belonging to a very few permanent in-groups.

6. A culture that feels loyalties and obligations to an in-group such as one's extended family, community, or even the organization one works for is ________.

A. an individualistic culture.

B. an in-group.

C. a collectivist culture.

D. an out-group.

7. People in collectivist cultures tend to have ________ than do those in individualistic cultures.

A. more independent selves

B. more intimate relationships with friends

C. greater skills in entering new social groups

D. greater skills in leaving social groups

8. Political systems based on the ________ paradigm, such as those of Japan and China, accept the principle that government may intervene to ensure that business practices benefit society.

A. individualistic

B. collectivistic

C. pluralistic

D. laissez-faire

9. Proponents of ________ argue that individual interests are not as important as the welfare of the group.

A. pluralism

B. capitalism

C. collectivism

D. individualism

10. An individualist culture promotes ________.

A. benevolence.

 B. tradition.

 C. competition.

 D. conformity.

11. In an individualist culture, members are ________.

A. responsible for themselves and perhaps their immediate family.

B. comprised of many people doing their own thing.

C. individuals.

D. are responsible for only themselves.

12. In a collectivist culture members are ________.

A. responsible for themselves.

B. collectors.

C. responsible for the entire group.

responsible for themselves and perhaps their immediate family.

13. People from individualistic cultures, like Canada and the United States, tend to express their emotions ______ than in collectivist cultures. 

A. more openly

B. more privately

C. more quietly

D. more aggressively

14. The emphasis on individualism in the United States results in all of the following disadvantages except: 
______.


A. managers tend to develop good general skills but lack the company-specific experience.


B. difficulty in building teams within an organization to perform collective tasks.


C. executives are not exposed to different ways of doing business.


D. difficulty to achieve cooperation both within a company and between companies.

15. Employer-employee relationships in individualistic cultures tend to be based on 
______.


A. team success

B. hierarchical respect

C. mutual advantage

D. familial belonging

2. Select the best possible answer out of the choices from a list.

1. Which of the following country tends to value individualism over collectivism?

A. Mexico

B. India

C. United States

D. Japan

2. Which culture has traditionally valued the wisdom that comes with age?

A. American

B. British

C. European   

D. Asian

3. Which of the following countries has an individualistic orientation?

A. Venezuela

B. Japan

C. Egypt

D. Canada

4. Which of the following countries has a collectivist orientation?

A. Canada

B. Australia

C. Japan

D. Netherlands

5. Which of the following is not characteristic of individualist/collectivist culture

A. self-promotion is encouraged in collectivist cultures

B. a low-context communication style is typical of individualist cultures

C. public-speaking skills are perceived as useful in an individualist culture

D. harmony is highly valued in collectivist cultures

True/False Task

1. All human beings share the goals of both autonomy and belonging, only to different degrees.

A. True

B. False

2. People from individualistic cultures tend to use self-enhancing biases to distinguish themselves from others.

A. True

B. False

3. Individualistic cultures deny that any sort of society exists and refuse to believe that people benefit from living in them.

A. True

B. False

4. Individualists tend to make an extra effort to demonstrate their self-importance by focusing on securing relationships with superiors and inferiors, ignoring their peers.

A. True

B. False

5. Collectivistic societies do not deny the reality of the individual, but believe that his or her identity is determined by the groups with which the individual interacts.

A. True

B. False

6. Since collectivistic cultures encourage teamwork, each individual member feels sufficiently protected to take professional risks and to speak his or her mind without caution.

A. True

B. False

7. The only way to reach a deal when negotiating with persons from collectivistic cultures is to pressure them to speed up the process.

A. True

B. False

8. Executives from collectivistic cultures are more willing to give priority to organization goals over personal goals. 

A. True

B. False