Wei
Wei et al. (2001)
Survey on collectivism vs. individualism on conflict resolution styles
Aim:
To investigate the extent to which the dimension of individualism vs. collectivism influenced conflict resolution communication styles.
Procedure:
A group of 600 managers working in companies in Singapore was randomly selected for this survey. The participants were divided into four groups: Japanese, Americans, Chinese Singaporeans working in multinational companies and Chinese Singaporeans working in local companies. Questionnaires and correlational analysis were used to find possible relationships between scores on cultural dimension and conflict resolution style.
Results:
Generally, the higher the score in the individualist dimension the more likely the manager was to adopt a dominating conflict resolution style. American managers (individualist dimension) were generally more likely to adopt a dominating conflict resolution style and less likely to adopt an avoiding conflict resolution style than Asian managers. Asian managers did not always adopt an avoidant conflict resolution style as predicted by the collectivism-individualism dimension. In some cases, American managers who had been in Singapore for several years had adopted a more Asian conflict resolution style.
Discussion of results:
The collectivism vs. individualism dimension in relation to conflict resolution styles was only somewhat confirmed. The researchers conclude that conflict resolution styles are complex and cannot be reduced to cultural dimensions alone. For example, differences found within the groups of Asian managers were larger than between groups.
Evaluation:
The survey used a large and representative cross cultural sample of managers in Singapore so the results can be generalized. The study relies on self-reports so there may be issues of reliability of the data but overall the results are reliable.