Individualism is dened as a situation in which people are concerned with themselves

and close family members only, while collectivism is dened as a situation in which people
feel they belong to larger in-groups or collectives which care for them in exchange for loyalty
and vice versa.

Individualism is the one side versus its opposite, collectivism, that is the degree to
which individuals are integrated into groups. On the individualist side we find societies in
which the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look after him/herself
and his/her immediate family. On the collectivist side, we find societies in which people from
birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, often extended families which
continue protecting them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty.

For example, Germany can be considered as individualistic with a relatively high score
on the scale of Hofstede compared to a country like Guatemala where they have strong
collectivism.

In Germany people stress on personal achievements and individual rights. Germans

expect from each other to fulfil their own needs. Group work is important, but everybody has
the right of his own opinion an is expected to reflect those. In an individual country like
Germany people tend to have more loose relationships than countries where there is a
collectivism where people have large extended families.

The United States can clearly been seen as individualistic. The American dream is
clearly a representation of this. This is the Americans 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.

Collectivism can also be dened as a cluster of attitudes, beliefs and behaviours

toward a wide variety of people. The difference can be expressed by the range of social
concern, which refers to bonds and links with others

In collectivistic cultures, people are considered "good" if they are generous, helpful,
dependable, and attentive to the needs of others. This contrasts with individualistic
cultures that often place a greater emphasis on characteristics such as assertiveness and
independence.

Many people assume Chinese culture to be collectivistic, but this simplified view
ultimately does not hold ground. Chinese culture is also very individualistic, and there are
even many idioms and folk sayings that describe "individualism with Chinese characteristics.
For the non-Chinese looking in, China looks collectivist, especially when China is more
authoritarian.This is because:

Chinese look alike;

They tend to talk alike;
In official circles, they tend to defer to seniority and authority;

However, for Chinese living in Chinese society, it is intensely individualistic. This is because:

It is intensely competitive as a meritocracy; no one wants to be second-best;

No one wants to be seen as a lazy slacker; that would destroy their reputation;
Everything depends on networks and relationships;
Networks and relationships may suddenly change, with someone who was top dog
falling out of favor replaced by someone else. In this case, all the old relationships
change.

Just to help you understand it, imagine an intensely competitive corporation. Then imagine
that expanded to a society and people.

If you can imagine that, then you get an idea of what China is like from the inside.

In Chinese culture, family is very important, and slights to Chinese history or culture can be
taken very personally. But at the same time, if you've worked in a Chinese-dominated
environment, you would know that Chinese individuals and companies can be driven to the
point of being ruthless and selfish. This isn't too dissimilar to anywhere else in the world, I
think. The only differences are in degrees. I don't think you would be wrong to say that
Chinese culture is more collectivist than American culture, broadly speaking, but that's
another question all together, and one that is more difficult to answer.