How individualist and collectivist organizational cultures influence work processes, outcomes, and cooperation

Abstract

Research generated from a variety of fields predicts that important benefits will accrue from demographic diversity in organizations by increasing the variance in perspectives and approaches to work that members of different identity groups can bring (Tushman, 1977; Donnelion, 1993). The evolving concept of teamwork in organizations today has had the tendency to direct members toward working in diverse groups. Diversity is not only concerned with racial or cultural connotations; it can include a wide variety of characteristics such as people from another country, a different state or city, another generation, or another department within an organization. It is important that organizations incorporate practices into their culture that creates a workforce and organization that utilizes and embraces workplace diversity. This study is an attempt to determine whether or not individual behavior is defined and understood by different organizational cultures based on a person's demographic characteristics. The assumption is that personality is determined by the culture and is based on the physical characteristics of its members, not their actual personality. The research collected will contribute to a better understanding of homogeneous and heterogeneous workgroups within organizations as well as individualistic and collectivist organizational cultures, suggesting that each have different results on work processes and outcomes. This study will also contribute greatly to all areas of business and industry that are involved competitively in the global marketplace as well as those in the domestic marketplace. As organizations develop a team mentality and, as the concept of diversity begins to become prominent, research conducted on organizational culture and the effects it has on its members will be crucial to today's business and educational societies.