UEH UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
ASSIGNMENT ON INTERCULTURAL BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION
Topic: Write an essay about the differences between
individualist and collectivist cultures.
Lecturer: Trần Quang Minh
Subject code: ENG513069
Student: Đoàn Ánh Ngọc
Batch - Class: K46 – AV001
Student ID: 31201020635
Ho Chi Minh City, 31st March 2022
Table of Contents
1. Detailed definition of Collectivist culture and Individualist culture:................1
1.1. What is Collectivist Culture?.............................................................................1
1.2. What is Individualist Culture?...........................................................................1
2. Key differences between Collectivist culture and Individualist culture and
components that influence them:.................................................................................1
2.1. Differences in goal achievement:......................................................................1
2.2. Differences in communication styles:................................................................1
2.3. Differences in employment relationships:.........................................................1
2.4. Differences in the influence on power distance in an organization:.................2
3. Examples of Collectivist countries and Individualist countries:........................2
3.1. A Collectivistic country: South Korea...............................................................2
3.2. An Individualistic country: Canada...................................................................2
4. Possible conflicts between Collectivistic and Individualist cultures and
solutions:........................................................................................................................3
5. Conclusion:..............................................................................................................3
References.......................................................................................................................4
1. Detailed definition of Collectivist culture and Individualist culture:
1.1. What is Collectivist Culture?
A collectivist culture is one in which the goals and well-being of the group take
priority over personal goals. Collectivism places great value on social harmony,
respectfulness, altruism, group cohesion, and loyalty. In a collectivist culture, the
success of a collective or a group demonstrates the success of each individual.
Examples of countries with collectivist cultures are Korea, China, Japan, and Vietnam.
1.2. What is Individualist Culture?
An individualist culture is one that sees the needs and desires of individuals as a
topmost priority. This dimension puts great emphasis on independence, competition,
freedom, and individual achievement instead of group success. People with
individualism often want to stand out and be unique. We can find individualist cultures
in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Canada.
2. Key differences between Collectivist culture and Individualist culture and
components that influence them:
2.1. Differences in goal achievement:
There is a great distinction between collectivist culture and individualist culture.
The first difference between these two cultures is how they set their goals.
Collectivism fosters interdependence and group success. People who work in a
collectivist culture might strive to help, guide, and empathize with community
members to achieve collective goals. If there is any problem occurring, the employers
and employees with a collectivist dimension always discuss and solve that problem
together. On the other hand, individualism fosters independence and personal
achievement. In this culture, people should be able to deal with problems and
accomplish their tasks on their own without the help of others.
2.2. Differences in communication styles:
We can find another difference in communication styles between these two
cultures. Collectivists are strongly linked and stress their relationships with other
group members, and they make many decisions with group harmony as a goal. They
prefer to communicate in indirect styles, implying what they truly mean or saying
something in any other way to avoid confrontation in an organization. In contrast,
individualists tend to communicate in direct styles. In a problem-solving situation,
individualists emphasize conveying the information explicitly and unambiguously over
maintaining group harmony. They do not hesitate to speak out their own point and say
what they want to say. According to the differences described above, we can also learn
that collectivist cultures tend to value relationship over task, and individual cultures
tend to prioritize task over relationship at work.
2.3. Differences in employment relationships:
Employment relationships differ greatly between collectivist and individualist
cultures as well. Employees in collectivist cultures tend to consider their organization
as an extended family. The exchange between employee and employer is not confined
1
to a formal job description or a formal employment contract. Since they have a family
link, people view cooperation with others who may need assistance with their work as
a must-do. In such cultures, hiring and promotion decisions take in-group into
consideration and depend on employees’ loyalty, seniority, and age. On the other hand,
employment relationships in individualist cultures are established by formal contracts.
Organizations also tend to hire the most qualified workers to do the job as described in
the job description and may thus fulfill their part of the contractual obligations.
Therefore, hiring and promotion in organizations are based on rules. People in
individualist cultures like competition at work and have a desire to surpass others.
They know that if they want to be promoted to a higher position at work, they must
show their ability to work better than other colleagues. Consequently, individualists
are judged to be more selfish and self-aware than collectivists. It is the third distinction
between these two dimensions.
2.4. Differences in the influence on power distance in an organization:
The final difference between collectivism and individualism is how they affect
power distance inside a company or an organization. Collectivist culture has a large
power distance because of its family-like working styles. Hence, etiquette and status
are very important in the workplace. The juniors always have to respect and learn from
the seniors at the company, they also have little power and have to be careful when
voicing out their own opinions. Meanwhile, individualist cultures have a small power
distance. Individualistic people believe they should have control over their own
destiny. Thus, those from low power employees in individualistic cultures expect
authority figures to consult with them about decision-making and they are free to
present their own ideas or give questions to their superiors.
3. Examples of Collectivist countries and Individualist countries:
3.1. A Collectivistic country: South Korea
South Korea, which is considered a collectivist society with a score of 18 according
to Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions analysis, is a correct example of a strong
collectivist culture. Close-knit teams and cohesion in the workplace are the cores of
South Korean companies. Interdependence is constantly promoted and enhanced in
Korean organizations through engaging in groups and participating in group activities
rather than individual ones. In the working culture of this country, anything that
throws this harmony off is akin to losing face and dishonoring the organization or
group. The hierarchical systems in South Korean culture are well-defined. Power
distance and hierarchy are the most crucial components of South Korean work culture.
The hierarchy is determined by age and status. The individual with the lower status
bows first to the senior or older.
3.2. An Individualistic country: Canada
Canada, which is considered an individualist society with a score of 80 according to
Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions analysis, is a good example of a truly individualist
culture. When working in a Canadian company, employees are constantly encouraged
to be open and say what they think, but they must also be respectful and considerate of
others' sentiments. Canadian employees are often required to find out how to complete
their tasks on their own, rather than discussing in groups as people in collectivist
2
cultures do. They are expected to know their responsibilities, be proactive about their
work and fulfill their duties. These things are salient features of a society that is based
on individualism. In a culture of individualism like Canada, personal property and
privacy are emphasized greatly. For example, no one in Canadian companies discusses
their salaries with colleagues and it is disrespectful to talk about someone's salary.
4. Possible conflicts between Collectivistic and Individualist cultures and
solutions:
The most common conflict between collectivist and individualist cultures occurs in
problem-solving process. Individualists value the goals, needs, and rights of the
individual over the goals, responsibilities, and obligations of the group. Collectivists
value the goals, responsibilities, and obligations of the group over the goals, needs,
and rights of the individual. Thus, in conflict situations, collectivists give greater
consideration to the in-group than do individualists. When dealing with issues that
develop in an organization or a company, a collectivist and an individualist are more
likely to come up with opposing solutions. This not only fails to solve current
conflicts, but it also readily creates new misunderstandings. In this situation, everyone
should reconsider if the current problem is caused by the collective or the individual,
as well as how it affects the collective and the individual in the organization so that the
best solution could be found.
Collectivist cultures are often influenced by indirect communication style, whereas
individual cultures are influenced by direct style, so disagreements over
communication styles between these two cultures are inevitable. For instance, a
Belgian manager thought it was normal to criticize a Thai employee about her lateness
for work in front of her employees, but his behaviors made that Thai employee, who is
an individualistic person with indirect communication style, felt disrespected and lost
her face. This conflict led to that employee deciding to resign. In this situation, the
Belgian manager should meet with the Thai employee privately or send her an email to
let her know about his disappointment with her being late for work. Another amicable
solution to this problem is that the Belgian manager can ask a colleague who is close
to that Thai employee to warn her about her unprofessional attitude at work.
5. Conclusion:
We can clearly see that collectivist culture and individualist culture are two
cultures with opposite characteristics. The collectivist culture focus on collective
goals, whereas the individualist culture works toward to personal achievements. The
differences between these two dimension occur in their goal achievement, their
communication styles, their employment relationships and their influence on power
distance in an organization. Because of the great distinctions, there is bound to be
conflicts between people from collectivist cultures and individualist cultures. how their
conflicts arise and how people can deal with them.
References
3
(n.d.). Retrieved from Hofstede Insights:
[Link]
(n.d.). Retrieved from Hofstede Insights:
[Link]
Charlotte Nickerson. (2021, September 22). Individualistic Cultures and Behavior. Retrieved from
Simply Psychology: [Link]
Charlotte Nickerson. (2021, September 22). Understanding Collectivist Cultures. Retrieved from
Simply Psychology: [Link]
Hook, J. N., Worthington Jr, E. L., & Utsey, S. O. (2009). Collectivism, forgiveness, and social harmony.
The Counseling Psychologist, 37(6), 821-847.
Jonathan Yuh. (2016, September 06). Blog Entry – Culture: South Korea, A Collectivist Society in
Confucianism. Retrieved from Penn State: [Link]
entry-culture-south-korea-a-collectivist-society-in-confucianism/
Korean Work Culture – Things to know about jobs in the South. (2022, March 10). Retrieved from 90
Day Korean: [Link]
%20YOU!-,What%20Is%20The%20Workplace%20Environment%20Like%3F,And%20the
%20higher%20the%20better.
Lee, C. Y. (2012). Korean culture and its influence on business practice in South Korea. The Journal of
International Management Studies, 7(2), 184-191.
LeFebvre, R., & Franke, V. (2013). Culture matters: Individualism vs. collectivism in conflict decision-
making. Societies, 3(1), 128-146.
Lynda Goldstein. (n.d.). Canadian Workplace Values - From You’re Hired…Now What? Retrieved from
The Working Centre:
[Link]
Merkin, R. (2015). The relationship between individualism/collectivism. Journal of Intercultural
Communication, 39(4), 1-17.
Ramamoorthy, N., Kulkarni, S. P., Gupta, A., & Flood, P. C. (2007). Individualism–collectivism
orientation and employee attitudes: A comparison of employees from the high-technology
sector in India and Ireland. Journal of International Management, 13(2), 187-203.
Robert Gibson. (2002). Intercultural Business Communication. OUP Oxford.
Samaha Kazmi. (2022, March 11). South Korean Work Culture: 6+ Epic Facts. Retrieved from Ling App:
[Link]
