Collectivism Vs Individualism Analysis

4.3 Collectivism v/s individualism
Individualism index measures this dimension and Australia scores highly on this index. Non-western countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America score lowly on this dimension. People have deep ties to their families and communities and gives preference to group interest. The Australian score on this dimension is 90 percent (The Hofstede Center). This high score implies that Australians believe that every person has an individual responsibility to solve his or her own problems instead of relying on other people. The interests of a person are placed first before those of the society. Once a person reaches the age of 18, he or she is expected to look for a job and fend for themselves. In old age, a person will
This dimension is important in business because it identifies the focus areas for managers. Short-term orientation means that managers will be concerned with short-term goals and monthly achievement of set goals (Whitfield, p. 60). The bottom-line of recent results are more important than long-term consideration. Managers are judged on their ability to meet short-term goals. On the other hand, long term orientated culture focuses on the ability to achieve long-term goals. Inability to meet short-term goals is not a problem as long as there is evidence that long-term goals can be achieved. Short-term losses can be tolerated as managers pursue long-term goals. This dimension describes how people deal with the past and future. Different societies prioritize goals differently in relation to the future. For example, in some cultures, it is considered a virtue to focus on the long term instead of the short-term. In other cultures, preference is on achieving short-term goals. Higher scores on this dimension means that people delay gratification and encourage thrift and education as a way of preparing for the challenges of the future. Australia scores 21 on this dimension implying that attaining short-term goals is valued more than focusing on uncertain future outcomes. The culture is a normative and greater concern is on establishing the absolute truth. Overall, Australians do not save much for the future and focus on achieving quick results. Pakistan in contrast scores 50. A score of 50 is intermediate but it is higher than that of Australia. Compared to Australians, Pakistanis are likely to invest for the future. Their thinking is not normative and emphasis is on absolute truth. Truth is seen as fleeting or something that is not attainable (Schedler, 2007 p.