British is individualism orientation. They stress on personal achievements and individual rights and expect from each other to fulfil their own needs. Group work is important, but everybody has the right of their own opinion is expected to reflect those. In an individual country like England people tend to have more loose relationships than countries where there is a collectivism where people have large extended families.
The United Kingdom can clearly been seen as individualistic. They hope for a better quality of life and a higher standard of living than their parents. This belief is that anyone, regardless of their status can ‘pull up their boot straps’ and raise themselves from poverty.
The sequential thoughts of the British, of tackling issues in smaller parts and resolving negotiations as quickly as possible, may be a symptom of their short-term orientation, as “saving time” is given precedence. The Japanese seem are far more long-term orientated. This is manifested in their holistic, group-orientated thinking, which requires more time and patience for the group, rather than an individual, to agree on the whole issue (Buruma, 1995).
The British are universalist in nature, as they follow established regulations and live by concepts of absolutes, such as good and bad, which apply to all situations. This both explains the formal behaviour of the British and highlights the superficiality of the similarity with Japanese formalities, which are based on stringent social rules. Cleary (1991)
The British are highly individualistic in their thinking, displayed by their using inner judgement to make decisions. In addition, a sequential form of thinking, such as discussing issues by their individual parts, points to an individualist culture.