Individualism and Collectivism Cultures' Impact on Communication During Conflict
Text
Jandt, F. E. (2016). Conflict and communication. Sage.
Prior to beginning work on this discussion forum,
Read Chapter 4: Culture and Conflict in the required course textbook.
Read Collectivism and Individualism: Reflections From a Pandemic..
Read Overcoming Cultural Barriers in Negotiations and the Importance of Communication in International Business Deal..
Read 15 Tips to Realign and Resolve Conflict With Your Business Partner
Cultural factors, such as whether the parties come from cultures based upon individualism or collectivism, may significantly impact communication during conflict. To prepare for your discussion post, first pick one highly individualist country from the following list (you may also choose one of the other countries listed in Table 4.1 in the textbook):
United States
Australia
Great Britain
Canada
The Netherlands
Next, pick one highly collectivist country from the following list (you may also choose one of the other countries listed in Table 4.2 in the textbook):
Guatemala
Ecuador
Taiwan
South Korea
Colombia
Finally, complete the following requirements in a post of at least 300 words:
Discuss how you would approach dealing with a company merger between two companies when one comes from the collectivist country you chose and the other comes from the individualist country you chose. Such mergers do occur when a company from one country merges with a company from another country.
Articulate the conflicts that you anticipate could occur.
Articulate when group decisions would be appropriate in the merger process and when only the leader should make decisions? What difficulties do you see with both approaches?
Discuss the difficulties that could arise as a result of a team that believes in collectivism trying to negotiate with individuals who believe greatly in individualism.
Discuss what you would do if you were a member of one of the groups when dealing with both types of cultures.
Culture and Conflict Discussion Post
Student's Name
College/University
Course
Professor's Name
Due Date
It is essential to adopt a careful approach when dealing with a company merger involving a highly individualist country like the United States and a highly collectivist country like Taiwan. Such cultural distinctions can significantly affect decision-making and communication. Taiwan's collectivist culture extensively stresses group harmony and consensus, while the United States' individualistic culture values individual achievement and autonomy. Consequently, conflicts are anticipated concerning decision-making authority (Jandt, 2016). Employees in Taiwan may value group decisions, while American counterparts may prefer individual autonomy, possibly resulting in misunderstandings and power struggles in the merged company. Ascertaining appropriate times for group decisions and the moments leadership can make decisions is fundamental in managing such a merger. Group decisions suit matters impacting the collective, like overarching organization policies or cultural integration strategies that uphold individualist and collectivist values. However, it may be challenging for individualistic cultures when it comes to long group decision-making processes, and thus opt for decisive leadership, specifically in operational matters (Frijns et al., 2022). Integration of the approaches while upholding the preferences of every culture and ...