Rosaria Nino

OGL 220

Individualism / Collectivism: 64
Power Distance: 60
Uncertainty Avoidance: 30
Masculinity/Femininity: 40

What is your initial reaction to your scores? Are you surprised? How does your actual
score compare to what you thought your score would be?
My initial response to the scores I received was that they were quite expected. I am very in tune
with who I am as a person, and continuously delve into different literatures, podcasts, videos, etc.
to assist in driving me to my core. Falling in the middle of the Individualism/Collectivism scale
is a perfect depiction of my desire for independence. I am very capable of performing
independently and believe that all humans should have the ability to do so. However, being a
collectivist is equally important in most careers and educational ventures. Allowing yourself to
relate to that of a “group member” is vital when working in a group setting. Additionally, if you
are confined to a space within a corporate setting, but not part of a “group”, there will most
generally be others within the premises that will still require an open perception.
Again, I scored right in the middle of the Power Distance scale. That being said, I feel that I
view power as a reality of life. Without hierarchical structure, I believe that our country would be
a complete mess to say the least. However, while this applies to most aspects of life, I can also
agree that regardless of position, we are in a sense “equal” regardless of title or position.
Everyone should have the right to participate and/or provide input on specific decisions based on
their true knowledge of the task at hand.
In regard to Uncertainty Avoidance, my score was relatively low. Uncertainty avoidance
“indicates to what extent a culture programs its members to feel ether uncomfortable or
comfortable in unstructured situations”. Ranking low on the continuum, I know that I am more
willing to accept risks of the unknown. Additionally, I prefer less structured organizational
activities, fewer written rules, and feel myself as well as others should show ambiguity.
My Masculinity/ Femininity score fell closer to “low masculinity”, as expected. However, still
close to the middle of the scale. My standards among men and women are essentially the same.
Aside of being physically larger in most cases, I don’t feel there are any real differences that
should determine whether a man or woman can or cannot perform a specific task. While I feel
that I have a generally strong ego and strive for achievement, I also am able and interested in the
emotional aspect of relationship and quality of life.
What cultural factors (e.g., parents or family, peers, your educational system, religion,
nationality, etc.) have played the biggest role in your belief system concerning
individualism-collectivism, as well as the other dimensions?
All cultural factors, including the way you were raised, who you were exposed to, what you were
exposed to, and so on play a huge role in your belief system. However, I am a strong believer
that regardless of upbringing, each individual has the option to choose what they want to believe
as well as having their own perception each cultural factor. Personally, I feel that the
individualistic society that I was raised in plays the biggest role in my belief system. As a nation,
Americans are primarily individualists. Being raised in such a society, you are exposed to these
practices, and worrying about “I” is the cultural norm, as opposed to “we”. Relative to
individualism, I have been greatly influenced by the dimension of masculinity through the
cultural norm as well. Though I wasn’t raised in a competitive environment nor told I had to be a
“winner”, I have grown to perceive success as the desire to be the best. Along with some
masculine factors, I additionally hold qualities of feminity in the sense that I do care about
relationships and quality of life. This likely stems from the fact that I am a woman, and women
are born with this nurturing nature. Power Distance and Uncertainty Avoidance are both scored
lower on a national level. I feel I was influenced culturally by these dimensions as this was the
society I was raised in. Because of the hierarchical structure within the country, individuals –
myself included, can expect and accept power to be distributed unequally. Just as the previous
dimensions mentioned, my score was on par for Uncertainty Avoidance as that of the United
States. Through the influence that the government has provoked on the country, I have obtained
the culturally accepted willingness to branch out – try something different, and take risks.

What can you “take away” from this activity? How might you use this information in
becoming more effective at understanding behavioral dynamics?
Understanding who I am in the perspective of behavioral dynamics, is extremely important when
applying for careers and general day-to-day living. I have been aware of this for some time, but
this activity has given me more clarity and guidance to become more effective at understanding
the concepts. It is likely that in the future I will work for some sort of corporate organization, in
which I will be working in teams. Those teams will be the responsible for developing, creating,
and generating ideas, solutions, and processes. With that being said, the effectiveness of a team
is relative to how competitive and successful the organization will/can be. Diversity and culture
also play a large role in creating successful teams which in turn, create organizational success.
With various cultures being intertwined, a team can effectively generate balanced solutions.
Relative to that of “Blind Men and the Elephant”, perspective is what creates perception. Like all
things in life, there are many sides to each “story”. Whether it be religion or politics, absolute
truth comes only from perception. This is very important to remember when understanding the
behavioral dynamics of the world we live in. However, keeping a conscious mind may be
difficult when we are lead with limited or biased information. I will continue to submerge myself
in different outlets related to behavioral dynamics to ensure my understanding remains broad.