Page 140 - Cultures and Organizations

I, We, and They 119

less to know how to do than to know how to learn. The assumption is that
learning in life never ends; even after school and college it will continue
(for example, through postgraduate courses).
In the collectivist society, there is a stress on adaptation to the skills
and virtues necessary to be an acceptable group member. This leads to a
premium on the products of tradition. Learning is more often seen as a
onetime process, reserved for young people, who have to learn how to do
things in order to participate in society. It is an extended rite of passage.

The role of diplomas or certificates as a result of successful completion
of a study is also different between the two poles of the individualism-
collectivism dimension. In the individualist society, the diploma improves
not only the holder’s economic worth but also his or her self-respect: it
provides a sense of achievement. In the collectivist society, a diploma is
an honor to the holder (and his or her in-group) and entitles the holder
to associate with members of higher-status groups—for example, to get
a more attractive marriage partner. It is to a certain extent “a ticket to a
ride.” The social acceptance that comes with the diploma is more important
than the individual self-respect that comes with mastering a subject, so
that in collectivist societies, the temptation is stronger to obtain diplomas
in some irregular way, such as on the black market.

Individualism and Collectivism in the Workplace

Sons in collectivist societies are more likely than sons in individualist
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societies to follow in the occupation of their fathers. We noticed that
Geert and Gert Jan’s operating as a father-and-son author team tends to be
admired in collectivist cultures but is sometimes scorned in individualist
ones. In more individualist societies, sons of fathers in manual occupations
will more frequently move to nonmanual occupations, and vice versa. In

more collectivist societies, occupational mobility is lower.
Employed persons in an individualist culture are expected to act
according to their own interests, and work should be organized in such
a way that this self-interest and the employer’s interest coincide. Workers
are supposed to act as “economic persons,” or as people with a combina-
tion of economic and psychological needs, but anyway as individuals with
their own needs. In a collectivist culture, an employer never hires just an
individual, but rather a person who belongs to an in-group. The employee
will act according to the interest of this in-group, which may not always
coincide with his or her individual interest: self-effacement in the interest