For Hofstede, the collectivism – individualism dimension refers to the extent to which
a society is a loosely knit social framework in which people primary operate as
individuals or in their families instead of a tight network in which people primarily
operate as in – groups and out – groups. As Victor (1992) explains, “Individualist
cultures place great emphasis than collectivist cultures on internal controls (such as
self – assessment) and, arguably, on democratic principles. Collectivist cultures are
likely to stress the maintenance of surface harmony, censure by the group and face –
saving.” (P 104)
In Hofstede’s survey, all but one of the countries at the top of individualism scale was
USA (ranked first, not unexpectedly). Singapore ranked low in individualism – 39th
out of 41 countries