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Hofstede's Individualism Vs Collectivism

According to Hofstede's Cultural Taxonomy, cultural differences can be explained by dimensions including individualism vs collectivism. Individualistic cultures value independence and individual goals while collectivistic cultures value group harmony and loyalty. Hofstede's model has been criticized for ignoring within-culture differences and treating culture as static rather than evolving over time. The individualism vs collectivism dimension is important for understanding differences in work motivation, competition vs cooperation, and conflict resolution across cultures.

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1K views

Hofstede's Individualism Vs Collectivism

According to Hofstede's Cultural Taxonomy, cultural differences can be explained by dimensions including individualism vs collectivism. Individualistic cultures value independence and individual goals while collectivistic cultures value group harmony and loyalty. Hofstede's model has been criticized for ignoring within-culture differences and treating culture as static rather than evolving over time. The individualism vs collectivism dimension is important for understanding differences in work motivation, competition vs cooperation, and conflict resolution across cultures.

Uploaded by

acsus
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Dimensions of culture

According to Hofstede’s Cultural


Taxonomy, differences in cultural
lifestyle can be explained by:

• Individualism and collectivism


• Power distance
• Uncertainty avoidance
• Masculinity
• Time orientation
Definitions
• Individualism: People look after themselves
and their immediate blood relations only.
-Loosely knit social framework
• Collectivism: A tight social framework in which
people expect others in groups of which they are a
part to look after them and protect them
-Tightly knit social framework
Individualism-Collectivism

Individualism= “I” Collectivism= “We”


• High value on autonomy • High value on group-
-Self is most important Other is more important
• Freedom • Interdependent with
• Individual achievement others
• Privacy • Loyalty
• Personal goals • Family relations
• More direct language • Social harmony
• View conflict as positive • Less direct language
and tend confront it head • View conflict negatively
on and avoid it
Determining Factors

• Power Distance

• Economical development
Some of Individualistic Cultures
• Australia
• Canada
• England
• Ireland
• New Zeeland
• South Africa
• U.S.A.
On the other hand
• Latin American, Sub-Saharan African,
Middle East and Asian societies tend to be
more collectivistic.
Why is this concept
important for work
environment?

• Competition vs. harmony


• Motivation
• Reward
As a result

• Members of collectivistic cultures have a clear


demarcation between in-group and out-group
members while those of individualistic cultures
do not have such a clear demarcation between
the two.
• In resolving conflicts, members of individualistic
cultures are encouraged to speak out while
those of collectivistic cultures use avoidance, the
third party intermediaries, and face-saving
strategies.
How reliable is Hofstede’s
Individualism vs. Collectivism
dimension?

• Ignores differences within clusters

• Culture is not static- It evolves over time


References
• Lustig, M. W., Koester, J. (2006). Cultural
patterns and communication: Taxonomies. In
M.W. Lusting & J. Koester Intercultural
competence: Interpersonal communication
across cultures, (pp. 116-124). Boston: Pearson
Education.
• Hill, Charles W.L. (2011). International
Business: Differences in Culture. In Hill Charles
W.L. Competing in the global marketplace, (pp.
120-135). New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

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