Each and every culture is defined by their people. The people make up the part of the whole and cultures function differently for a variety of reasons (Mooji, 2014, p. 81). Internal and external factors on both the macro and micro level play important roles within a society. Countries can be categorized into one of two types of cultures: collectivist or individualistic. These cultures are opposite, each culture possesses descriptive characteristics which include “religion, family structure, … and social class structure” among a number of other characteristics to which the people within the “given societies view as very important, if not critical” (Mooji, 2014, p. 82). Simply stated, Mooji (p. 90) defines people in collectivist cultures as …show more content…
90) describes people in collectivist cultures rely heavily on “in-groups which look after them in exchange for loyalty.” China and Japan are high power distance cultures. They have a hierarchical structure where societal movement is minimal. Hao (2015) describes collectivist cultures to place emphasis on “what is best for the social institutions that [an individual] belongs to over personal ambitions and goals.” Both Chinese and Japanese cultures are motivated and driven by success as seen by evidence on each countries emphasis on the importance of education (Country Comparison. n.d.). Long-term orientation allows both countries to prepare for the future and achieve long-term goals. While practical in their efforts they are “working to serve [future] generations” (Country Comparison. n.d.). Leisure time is not an emphasis in either culture and leads to “self-restraint and the emphasis on hard work and achievement” defining both China and Japan as restrained cultures (Hao, …show more content…
China’s weak uncertainty avoidance is similar to that of individualistic cultures mentioned below. The Chinese, much like the individualistic cultures, do not interpret competition and conflict as a threat (Mooji, 2014, p. 100). However, the Japanese have a high uncertainty avoidance combined with a high-power distance culture Mooji (p. 102) characterizes the culture as having “externalized” rules that people within society do not follow. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines externalize as “to attribute to causes outside the self” referring back to the importance of the group before oneself. Japan culture does not favor ambiguity and is perceived as intolerant and inflexible (Mooji, 2014, p.100). Japan is susceptible to natural disaster and has put in place safety measures for such occurrences which attributes back to its weak uncertainty avoidance characteristic (Country Comparison.
In the last section, I get to know that individualism is the symbol of freedom and liberty, but it will also cause lots of problem like the abuse of guns and drugs. Collectivism is criticized as taking away the freedom and forbidden a lots human rights, but still, according to Zha et al. (2010), “historically, the collectivism of China, on the other hand, may influence its citizens to become highly skilled, qualified citizens who place societal needs above personal ones” (p. 363). Americans are better at creative area, but Chinese people have advantages on mathematics. Everything can be controversial, so does individualism and collectivism.
In the middle of the 19th century, despite a few similarities between the initial responses of China and Japan to the West, they later diverged; which ultimately affected and influenced the modernizing development of both countries. At first, both of the Asian nations rejected the ideas which the West had brought upon them, and therefore went through a time period of self-imposed isolation. However, the demands that were soon set by Western imperialism forced them, though in different ways, to reconsider. And, by the end of the 19th century both China and Japan had introduced ‘westernizing’ reforms. China’s aim was to use modern means to retain and preserve their traditional Confucian culture. Whereas Japan, on the other hand, began to successfully mimic Western technology as it pursued modernization, and thus underwent an astounding social upheaval. Hence, by the year 1920, Japan was recognized as one of the world’s superpowers, whereas China was on the edge of anarchy.
The first basic issue confronting all societies is to define the nature of the relation between the individual and the group. This dimension is frequently labeled as individualism versus collectivism (Hofstede, 1980, 1991). In cultures at the Conservatism pole of the dimension, Schwartz (1994) noted that the person is viewed as embedded in a collectivity, finding meaning in life largely through social relationships, through identifying with the group and participating in its shared way of life. Schwartz (1999) noted that this value type emphasizes maintenance of the status quo, propriety, and restraint of actions or inclinations that might disrupt the solitary group or the traditional order. Exemplary specific values are social order, respect
Culture is an aspect of everyone's life. It helps others to understand another person's beliefs and actions. There are multiple cultures in the world which are opposed to their own kind seeking help for a mental illness. There is an infinite number of cultures that are represented in the United States. “Many cultural and religious teachings often influence beliefs about the origins and nature of mental illness, and shape attitudes towards the mentally ill.” (1). One's cultural beliefs can make them think about whether or not they should seek to get help for a mental illness. Among the cultures around the world and particularly in the US, many Asian cultures do not want the community members to be receiving help for their mental illness. In these cultures mental illness is seen as shameful, because these cultures influence the “conformity to norms, emotional self-control, and family recognition through achievement.” (1). There are many cultural factors that play a role in whether or not a person will receive therapy. These factors include: language, level of acculturation, age, gender, occupational issues, family structure, religious beliefs, and traditional beliefs about mental health (2). Language limits the access of therapy. If a person living in the United States does not speak English very well, it could influence them to not seek therapy. There is a large focus on “in-group/out-group” in many Asian cultures, as in everyone who is in the family/community around them are in the “in-group” and everyone else who is not like them are in the “out-group.”
One noticeable cultural difference between the society pictured in this chapter and our American society seems to be a collectivist ideology. In America we value the individual and place emphasis on distinction from the group. This causes a strong sense of competition, and leads people to take actions that would benefit themselves in spite of negative effects that may trickle to other members of the community. The culture pictured in our reading, however, seems to place greater value on family and community goals rather than the needs or wants of specific individuals.
Whether you belong to a certain race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, geographical region or you identify with a certain sex you belong to a particular culture. Culture as define by Shiraev and Levy (2013), “Is a set of attitudes, behaviors, and symbols shared by a large group of people and usually communicated from one generation to the next” (p. ). In other words, we are a product of what has been handed down to us from the generations before. However, culture is evolving and it changes all the time. Hence the reason, no one group has a unique culture, since we are all influenced by each other’s way of life. As a result of this influence, we form relationships with people we know little about and share our values and beliefs with each other. Thereby creating a cross-cultural mix.
The next communication gap concerns with the individualism- collectivism dimension, which is the degree an individual is integrated into groups in a society (Hofstede, 2001). Individualistic cultures like the U.S put a strong emphasis on individual autonomy and independence, whereas collectivist cultures like Vietnam believe in belonging, obligation
Hofstede has identified five different cultural dimensions. These dimensions include power-distance, individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, uncertainty avoidance and lastly long term orientation. According to Hofstede, power distance is the first dimension which translates to how all individuals in a society aren't equal and there is a decent amount of inequality when it comes to the division of power. The second dimension involves the theme of individualism which translates to the degree of interdependence as well as how we identify ourselves in terms of "I" or "We". Additionally, Hofstede states that in individualist societies we tend to look only after ourselves and our blood family, however, in collectivistic societies individuals identify themselves as part of groups and take care of each other in exchange for loyalty. The third dimension would be masculinity/ femininity. A high score would translate to a masculine culture which demonstrates a culture driven by competition, achievement and success. On the other hand, a low score which demonstrates a feminine culture shows that the dominant traits involves caring for others and quality of life. The fourth dimension involves uncertainty avoidance which translates to how a society deals with not knowing how the future is going to turn out. This amount of vagueness brings about anxiety and different cultures deal with this issue differently. The fifth and final cultural dimension according to Hofstede is long term orientat...
Those in collectivist cultures value their group membership, respect group processes and decisions, and expect other in-group members to look after or protect them in case of needs or crisis. For them, keeping good and harmonious relationships inside their in-group is a priority; and avoiding loss of face is important. Their identity is based on the strong and cohesive in-groups to which they belong. In collectivist cultures, cooperation is high within in-groups, but is unlikely when the other person belongs to an out-group. As a comparison, people in individualist cultures are good at forming new in-groups and getting along with those from out-groups.
Culture forms the framework for our thoughts and behavior and is defined as sets of values and principles individuals have about how nature and society work, as well as the norms of behavior, derived from that set of values (Gorodnichenko & Roland, 2014). According to Heine (2012), cultures that are individualistic include a variety of customs that encourage individuals to place their own personal goals ahead of those of the collective. In contrast, cultures that are collectivistic include many cultural practices, institutions, and customs that encourage individuals to place more emphasis on collective goals. Furthermore, the dimensions of collectivism and individualism help us to understand cultural differences in a wide variety of psychological
Retaining work relationships with peers and subordinates is considered to be an essential aspect of effective leadership. Leaders/managers should be able to recognize and understand their co-worker’s/supervisor’s strengths, weaknesses, personality types and preferred way of communication. This often results in productive collaboration of the organization leading to the accomplishment of the desired goals. Leaders should also be able to manage diversity at their workplace. Diversity generally strengthens the organization and a diverse workforce is a key to success. “A diverse workforce can deliver better decision making, better products and services, happier customers, increased productivity and a better bottom line” (Kampf, 2011, p. 44). However,
Civilizations are typically broken up into two categories: collectivist. Individualist cultures, like those of the United States and Western Europe, highlight personal accomplishment regardless of the expense of team goals, causing a powerful awareness of competition. Collectivist cultures, including these of China, Korea, and Asia, emphasize work and family team aims above desires or individual needs.
On chapter 4 on the textbook, the author explains, “culture provides a member of a society with a common bond, a sense that we see certain facets of society in similar ways. We are living together at all depends on the fact that members of a society share a certain amount of cultural knowledge (Ch4, 132). Individualism and collectivism contribute greatly to the dimension of culture. For example, how many members of the culture define themselves apart from their group memberships. In individualist cultures, people are expected to develop and display their individual personalities and to choose their own affiliations. In collectivist cultures, people are defined and act mostly as a member of a long-term group, such as the family, a religious group, an age cohort, a town, or a profession, among others. This dimension was found to move towards the individualist end of the spectrum with increasing
In today's society, with the advent of modern digital communication and an increased focus upon global society and diversity, humans have a golden opportunity to evaluate themselves and how they identify both individually and in their broader culture. Although the question of “who am I” is perhaps one of the classical questions of the human cognizance of identity, our identity as both groups and individuals is directly related to the culture we are a part of, especially in regards to whether that culture is determined to be individualistic or collectivist. These differing mindsets have an inherent connection to the way that we view ourselves and the impact of interactions between different cultures.
Hofstede claimed there are five important dimensions seen in each culture, which include Power Distance Index, Individualism, Masculinity, Uncertainty Avoidance Index, and Long-Term Orientation. The one I find most important is Individualism, which is the degree into which individuals are integrated in the group (http://www.geert-hofstede.com/). Individualism has an impact on whether a culture is high-context, or emphasizes the cultural context of a message, or low-context, emphasizes the explicit content (Rothwell, 2010). With individualism, you can either have a collectivistic or individualistic society.