Individualism and Collectivism: A Summary of Cultural Dimensions

This summary explores the concepts of individualism and collectivism as national cultural dimensions impacting the global business environment. It highlights how socialization and cultural differences influence ethical decisions in organizations. Collectivist cultures prioritize group interests, foster loyalty, and value harmony, while individualistic cultures emphasize individual aspirations and independence. The summary contrasts the high individualism score of the United States with the collectivist culture of Taiwan, noting the potential for misunderstandings in intercultural encounters. Ultimately, understanding and respecting these cultural differences is crucial for maintaining successful business relationships and promoting ethical behavior within international workforces. The analysis suggests that the gap between individualistic and collectivist approaches may persist, underscoring the importance of cultural awareness in an increasingly globalized world. Desklib provides students access to similar solved assignments.

Summary Writing
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Table of Contents
SUMMARY.....................................................................................................................................1
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SUMMARY
The abstract aims to discuss collectivism and individualism from the national cultural
dimension. The business environment has rapidly expanded beyond the home country or global
region. As a result, businesses face multiple opportunities and challenges. Socialization is one of
the ongoing processes through which people follow the attitudes and views of the world held by
the population to which the employee belongs or is related.
So socialization is the process by which employees are seen in some unique form or other
cultures of the world. In different cultures, points of difference are analyzed through their
behavior, specific attitudes, or their relationships with others. It is summarized that, In an
organization, cultural differences influence the ethical decisions of managers and employees, and
thereby gain understanding and respect for their differences in business practices. This respective
understanding is critical to maintaining or starting a successful business relationship. From the
past 5 to 6 years, the interest in the study of business ethics that transcends cultures and national
borders has greatly expanded.
Therefore, we observe and believe that greater knowledge of different countries and cultures
tends to lead to positive employee interactions in the working environment and contribute to
successful and healthy business relationships. It also helps managers build tools to promote their
ethical behavior among international workforce.
This summary briefly introduces the cultural dimensions of individualism and collectivism.
These two concepts are considered to be the cause of many misunderstandings in intercultural
encounters and are also considered important dimensions of cultures of different nations.
Cultures are classified as collectives when the interests of the group outweigh those of the
individual. In an organization, in a collective culture, groups are managed by supervisors and
hiring decisions are made based on group members and achievements. Furthermore, in this
culture, employees are loyal, and the organization in turn protects them equally. In individualistic
cultures, on the other hand, the reverse is true, which means that the interests of the individual
outweigh the interests of the group.
In a collective cultural society, members value harmony, have a sense of responsibility,
value relationships between members, and tend to put the wishes of others above their own.
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Whereas in an individualistic society, members are inherently rational and confident, value
independence, and put their own aspirations above others.
The United States scored 91, implying a highly individualistic culture, ranking first among
the rest of the world. Taiwan, on the other hand, came in 44th with a score of 17, showing a very
collective culture. Thus, the conclusion drawn from the research is that there are some
similarities in the ethical decisions of employees from collective and individualistic cultures.
Furthermore, the gap between the two concepts is quite large and this gap is expected to persist
in the long term. With the ever-expanding trend of globalization, it is important to understand
and respect cultural differences as they may influence the ethical decisions and attitudes of
employees. It can be seen that the dimensions of collectivism and individualism are the most
important and the only dimension of universal value, and are also the main reason for the
differences in national ethical practices.
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