1. The individualism vs. collectivism dimension of Hofstede's study explored ________.
A. The extent to which different cultures socialized their members into accepting ambiguous situations and tolerating uncertainty
B. The relationship between gender and work roles
C. How a society deals with the fact that people are unequal in physical and intellectual capabilities
D. The relationship between the individual and his or her fellows
2. According to Hofstede's research ________.
A. individualist cultures give higher priority to personal as opposed to group goals and needs than do collectivist cultures
B. "responsibility," "loyalty," and "commitment" reflect collectivist cultural values
C. individualist cultures are superior to collectivist cultures
D. both A and B
3. Values are: ________.
A. a learned set of enduring values, beliefs, and practices that are shared by an identifiable, large group of people with a common history
B. the most deeply felt, generally shared view of what is deemed good, right, or worthwhile thinking or behavior.
C. what a person thinks is true or probable.
D. a group of people who live in a dominant culture yet remain connected to another cultural heritage
4. In a country that emphasizes collectivism, ________.
A. the interests of the individual are more important than the interests of the state
B. one person or political party exercises absolute control over the political and economic systems
C. the needs of society and the needs of individuals are treated as equally important
D. the needs of society take precedence over individual freedoms
5. In an individualistic culture, members often believe ________.
A. people should care for extended family before themselves.
B. their primary responsibility is helping themselves.
C. age, group security, tradition, and hierarchy are most important.
D. in an emphasis on belonging to a very few permanent in-groups.
6. A culture that feels loyalties and obligations to an in-group such as one's extended family, community, or even the organization one works for is ________.
A. an individualistic culture.
B. an in-group.
C. a collectivist culture.
D. an out-group.
7. People in collectivist cultures tend to have ________ than do those in individualistic cultures.
A. more independent selves
B. more intimate relationships with friends
C. greater skills in entering new social groups
D. greater skills in leaving social groups
8. Political systems based on the ________ paradigm, such as those of Japan and China, accept the principle that government may intervene to ensure that business practices benefit society.
A. individualistic
B. collectivistic
C. pluralistic
D. laissez-faire
9. Proponents of ________ argue that individual interests are not as important as the welfare of the group.
A. pluralism
B. capitalism
C. collectivism
D. individualism
10. An individualist culture promotes ________.
A. benevolence.
B. tradition.
C. competition.
D. conformity.
11. In an individualist culture, members are ________.
A. responsible for themselves and perhaps their immediate family.
B. comprised of many people doing their own thing.
C. individuals.
D. are responsible for only themselves.
12. In a collectivist culture members are ________.
A. responsible for themselves.
B. collectors.
C. responsible for the entire group.
responsible for themselves and perhaps their immediate family.
13. People from individualistic cultures, like Canada and the United States, tend to express their emotions ______ than in collectivist cultures.
A. more openly
B. more privately
C. more quietly
D. more aggressively
14. The emphasis on individualism in the United States results in all of the following disadvantages except: ______.
A. managers tend to develop good general skills but lack the company-specific experience.
B. difficulty in building teams within an organization to perform collective tasks.
C. executives are not exposed to different ways of doing business.
D. difficulty to achieve cooperation both within a company and between companies.
15. Employer-employee relationships in individualistic cultures tend to be based on ______.
A. team success
B. hierarchical respect
C. mutual advantage
D. familial belonging
2. Select the best possible answer out of the choices from a list.
1. Which of the following country tends to value individualism over collectivism?
A. Mexico
B. India
C. United States
D. Japan
2. Which culture has traditionally valued the wisdom that comes with age?
A. American
B. British
C. European
D. Asian
3. Which of the following countries has an individualistic orientation?
A. Venezuela
B. Japan
C. Egypt
D. Canada
4. Which of the following countries has a collectivist orientation?
A. Canada
B. Australia
C. Japan
D. Netherlands
5. Which of the following is not characteristic of individualist/collectivist culture
A. self-promotion is encouraged in collectivist cultures
B. a low-context communication style is typical of individualist cultures
C. public-speaking skills are perceived as useful in an individualist culture
D. harmony is highly valued in collectivist cultures
True/False Task
1. All human beings share the goals of both autonomy and belonging, only to different degrees.
A. True
B. False
2. People from individualistic cultures tend to use self-enhancing biases to distinguish themselves from others.
A. True
B. False
3. Individualistic cultures deny that any sort of society exists and refuse to believe that people benefit from living in them.
A. True
B. False
4. Individualists tend to make an extra effort to demonstrate their self-importance by focusing on securing relationships with superiors and inferiors, ignoring their peers.
A. True
B. False
5. Collectivistic societies do not deny the reality of the individual, but believe that his or her identity is determined by the groups with which the individual interacts.
A. True
B. False
6. Since collectivistic cultures encourage teamwork, each individual member feels sufficiently protected to take professional risks and to speak his or her mind without caution.
A. True
B. False
7. The only way to reach a deal when negotiating with persons from collectivistic cultures is to pressure them to speed up the process.
A. True
B. False
8. Executives from collectivistic cultures are more willing to give priority to organization goals over personal goals.
A. True
B. False
