Diversity in the workplace involves cultural differences such as:
- Collectivistic vs. Individualistic
- Low context vs. High context
- Risk averse vs. Risk tolerant
- Low power vs. High power distance
Let us dive deeper into each of the item and find out where Canada belongs.
- Collectivistic vs. Individualistic
- Collectivistic society emphasizes affiliation with group; fewer groups, however, diverse groups of strong loyal bonds.
- Individualistic society emphasizes individual attributes and projects; many groups with superficial bonds.
Let’s look at comparison among countries:
The graph was referenced from Individualism Index (IDV) from Hofstede’s Index Comparisons:
https://globalelearningpractices.wikispaces.com/Hofstede%27s+Index+Comparisons
Individualistic (higher scores)
- Extensive use of “I“
- Frequent reference to person and personal achievement
- People succeed of their own initiative
- Individuals take decisions tend to be made by specific individuals
Collectivistic (lower scores)
- Extensive use of “We“
- Frequent reference to group and group accomplishments
- People succeed or fail as a group
- Decisions are made with reference to impact to the group
- Group decisions are often by group consensus; this can be distorted by hierarchy (high power distance).
I will discuss the next topics on future blog posts, follow me!
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