Collectivism

The majority of the world’s population live in collectivistic societies where group interests take precedence over those of the individual [40]. In collective cultures, relationships form a rigid social framework that distinguishes between in-groups and outgroups. People rely on their in-groups (e.g., family, tribe, clan, organization) to look after them, and in exchange they believe they owe loyalty to that group. The following behaviors are often found in collective cultures:

Collectivism means greater emphasis on

(a) the views, needs, and goals of the in-group rather than oneself;

(b) social norms and duty defined by the in-group rather than behavior

to get pleasure;

(c) beliefs shared with the in-group rather than beliefs that distinguish the

self from in-group; and

(d) great readiness to cooperate with in-group members [41].

In collective societies, people are born into extended families, clans, or tribes that support and protect them in exchange for their allegiance. As events in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya have demonstrated, tribalism is an important social factor in many Arab nations and in African societies, “African thought rejects any view of the individual as an autonomous and responsible being” [42]. In collective cultures, the individual is emotionally dependent on organizations and institutions, and group membership is emphasized. Organizations and the groups to which individuals belong also affect private life, and people generally acquiesce to group decisions, even if they are counter to personal desires. The importance of the group in collective societies is shown by a Chinese proverb: “No matter how stout, one beam cannot support a house.” As is the case with all cultural patterns, collectivism influences how communication is used. For example, “following traditional Korean values, communicating to become part of an in-group and to strengthen intragroup bonds is more important than communicating for information exchange and persuasion” [43].

Collectivism is also contextual. In a learning environment, a collective classroom will stress harmony and cooperation rather than competition. In the health care setting, a hospital patient is likely to receive a continual stream of visitors consisting of family members and friends. The sense of collectivism is so strong among the Japanese that following the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear accident disaster, a national consensus of selfrestraint quickly developed. The population as a whole voluntarily became more conservative in their consumption and entertainment activities, wishing to evince a sense of selflessness and a feeling of solidarity with the disaster victims [45].

Uncertanity avoidance

At the core of uncertainty avoidance is the inescapable truism that the future is unknown. Though you may try, you can never predict with 100 percent assurance what someone will do or what might happen in the future. As the term is used in Hofstede’s research, uncertainty avoidance can be defined as “the extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations.”46 As you will learn below, cultures vary in their ability to tolerate ambiguity and unpredictability.