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find societies in which ties between individuals are very loose. Everybody
has to look at the interest of his or her immediate family. This is made

possible by the large amount of freedom that such a society leaves
individuals. At the other end of the scale we find societies in which the ties
between individuals are very tight. Everybody is related to his or her tribe,

everybody is supposed to look to the interest of their own group and to
have no personal opinion. Belief in and adherence to the group is all; in

exchange, the group will protect a group member in trouble. Very
individualist countries are the United States, the United Kingdom and the
Netherlands. Very collectivist countries are Colombia, Pakistan and

Taiwan. In the middle are Japan, India, Austria and Spain.

4.6.4 Masculinity versus femininity

This description denotes the extent to which the dominant values of a
society favour achievement, heroism, assertiveness and material success

as opposed to relationships, caring, nurturing and intrinsic rewards (Currie,
1991). Harrison et al. (2000) points out that this dimension considers the

importance of masculine values in a given society. The most dominant
masculine values are said to be achievement, material possessions,
assertiveness, success, money, individualism and ambition. Feminine

values are usually thought of as caring, helping, environmentalism, quality
of life and family (Scandinavian countries). Societies in general have to

deal with the fact that half of their members are men and half are women.
Although they often have different roles, what is seen as a typical task for
a man or for a woman can vary from one society to another? We can

classify societies as to whether they try to minimise or to maximise the
social sex role division. Societies with a maximum sex role division are

called masculine, and societies with a small sex role division are called
feminine. The managerial implications of this dimension are that countries
with a strong masculine character require management systems that are

goal-specific and performance-related, with little attention paid to the wider
social implications of business activities. When a society is characterised

by femininity, the managerial implications are that the company must pay
attention to the environment, the impact on families and the general

wellbeing of the workforce (McDonald and Burton, 2002).