“Not only do people bolster beliefs in their ability to control in response to s
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Question
“Not only do people bolster beliefs in their ability to control in response to successful control of an event but also they hold an unwarranted belief that they can control chance events,” states Yamaguchi (Matsumoto (Ed.), 2001, pp. 226–227) in the course text. While members of all cultures have the goal of protecting self-image following failures, differences exist among cultures in terms of the attributions made for the failure and success of a task. Thus, while the self-serving bias is universally applied, the specific attributions made differ cross-culturally. In some cultures, it is assumed that failure is attributable to situational factors while others assume dispositional factors. Differences also exist in how the failure or success of another individual is attributed. Consider the relevance of attributions for success and failure for the scholar-practitioner working in a multicultural environment or in a global company. How would knowledge of how individuals’ attribute their own or others failure impact a team, classroom, or organization?
For this Discussion, imagine that a group of business people from two different cultures (one from a collectivistic culture and another from an individualistic culture) work together on a business project, and at the end, the project fails. Consider how people from individualistic and collectivistic cultures respond to failure and the factors to which they would most likely attribute their failures.
With these thoughts in mind:
1. A brief comparison of the similarities and differences of attribution styles in individualistic and collectivistic cultures.
2. Then provide an example of a group situation in which a project failed or a goal was not reached. 3. Finally, explain how someone from each culture might explain the failure and why. Support your responses using the Learning Resources and the current literature.
Explanation / Answer
Attribution means a certain type of actions in the mind that occours by the reactions from any persons or some things etc or surroundings. Through attribution behavioural changes can be noticed as the people starts thinking in that way so the behaviour that depends on the thought processes changes consequently. Attribution styles differs accordingly based on the individualistic and collective cultures. In the individualistic cultures attribution styles depends on the direct effects on the mind that a person have from the other things or any issues. Here in this culture the styles are purely depending on the actions taken by the mind on that time whereas in the collective cultures the styles noticed by the behavioural therapists are much more nourished with the experienced suggestions from the others in the surroundings and a central beleifs works on the entire attribution processes. Here in this process certain attribution styles are much more matured as treated by the society . society has a direct effect on the collective behaviour. Differences on the attribution styles depends on the dispositional factors which are normally internal and directly related with individualistic cultures whereas situational factors which are out of the body or mind , it can be weather, or any other things in the surroundings are related to the collective styles . In one word individualistic cultures are based on the self thinking and peoples shows reactions to the society based on his self thoughts only. Collective cultures are based on the social thoughts and beleifs of the society in which the person is living and it has a direct effect of the society and persons here are intended to follow the traits of the society to show a particular reaction.
Behavioural therapists have studied in this regard a lot and the trend seems that western countries follows the individualistic trends whereas the eastern and south eastern countries follows the collective cultures and trends though its changing gradually based on family definitions and taste and choices of the people. For example , an insurance company formed few years back in india by the two groups , first one is from UK and the 2nd group is from any eastern country . So the corporate cultures and rules and regulations of the company depends on the discussions between both the parties . After a few years it has been found that the products developed by the company has some faults and are not at par with the other companies playing and competiting with that company, so company and its investors have started making losses . After several meetings the first group which is from UK unable to recognise the fault in the product , rather they started emphasising on the failurity of their investment analysts and the 2nd group from an eastern country is keen on bringing the products at par with the other competitors and have started disliking the products designed by the top management from UK. Finally they decided to part themselves because of the unmatched mentality and from the case study done by the several industrial psychologists that the thought processes differs . The first party started searching for the faults in ownself which is directly related with the individualistic cultures and the 2nd party is keen to change or upgrade the product as they beleive that the product is not at par with the market and there is no other fault inside the company which is collective attribution styles.
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