Culture is Fascinating! Culture is fascinating! Did you know that the U.S. is one of the most Individualistic cultures in the world? As children, U.S. Americans are trained to believe that it is up to them to “get things done”. We are responsible for our own situations and destinies. “God helps those who help themselves” is what we say. We talk about things like: self-reliance, self-esteem, self-improvement, and self-help. These concepts are often untranslatable in other cultures. In the business world we often make assumptions about how our foreign counterparts should act and be treated based on our own cultural conditioning. Countries like Mexico and those in Asia are considered to be more Collectivistic or group-oriented societies. They too have a great amount of self-esteem, but it is often defined by their place and position in their group or network. For Mexicans, family is their first priority. They value name and heritage of the family, their role as a family or a team member and feel a strong sense of responsibility for other members in that group. In the workplace, collectivistic cultures are not always comfortable with making individual decisions or being “empowered”. They may prefer to be motivated and rewarded in their group and do not like to be singled out to answer questions or provide opinions. What other cultures have a collectivistic orientation? Global LT's Cultural Training Programs - Individualism and Collectivism: Mexico/Asia