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FOCUS GROUP

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER CONTENT
What is Focus Group?

How do you recognize Focus Group?


Group Focus in Action
Group Focus Believe and Behaviors

What is Focus Group?


Importance of the group in relation to the

individual
Whether people want to be distinguished from the
group (individual) or consider part of a particular
group.
Group harmony is necessary to achieve business
goals
Importance of living and working together in
harmony.

What is Focus Group?


Group Focus describes whether people identify

themselves as part of a group or a series of


individual contribution.

Country Ranking: Group Focus


Individual Focus

Group Focus

Canada

Brunei

New Zealand

Indonesia

The United States

Japan

Australia

Malaysia

Belgium

Qatar

Finland

Korea

Netherlands

Vietnam

Norway

How do we recognize Group


Focus?
Individual Focus culture
Recognize and reward
unique individual
contribution
Focus on individual
achievement
Encourage people to
express their
distinctiveness and
uniqueness
Laws protecting the
rights of individuals
Prefer to work and
spend time alone

Group Focus culture


People define

themselves by their
affiliation with a
group.
People look for
consensus in
decisions
Maintain harmonious
work environment is
important

How do we recognize Group


Focus?
Individual Focus society

Group Focus society

Children are taught to

At the early stage of

stand in front of the


class to show and tell
something about
themselves.
Children should be
comfortable calling
attention to
themselves.
I-think-I-can

life, parents socialize


their kids to be part of
a group.
People demonstrate
their concern for the
common good: clean
up after themselves
on picnic grounds.
One can succeed
best through
communal effort.

Where does this come from?


Individual Focus

Group Focus

Heroes, folktales,

Heroes, folklore,

children stories.
In the United States:

children stories
In Vietnam

Superman

Tam Cam

Spiderman

Luc Van Tien

Peter Pan

Thach Sanh

Ironman
Batman

Group Focus in Actions: Hiring


Individual Focus society

Group Focus society

Candidates talk about

Candidates do not tell

their individual
achievements , both
in academic and in
previous work-related
situations.

what they have done


individually.
Should encourage the
candidates to talk
about achievements
done by their previous
teams or how the
work was done.

Recognizing Talent
Individual Focus

Group Focus

Employee of the month

Individual success is

Recognize individual

achievement with
preferred parking
spaces,
Provide individual
incentive compensation,
celebrate individual
performance.
Talents like to work on
their own and work out
problems by
themselves.

dependent on cooperative
efforts.
People are motivated by
assurance of greater
security and opportunity
for affiliation.
People like their
companies to take care of
them, develop their
talent, fairly compensate
them
Loyalty and seniority are
important
Achievement is originates
from effort of the group.

Decision Making
Individual Focus

Group Focus

Value individualistic

Not allow a singe

decision makers

person to make
decisions.
No responsible
businessperson would
make decision without
involving others and
gaining agreement
from the parties
involved.

Collaboration, Harmony, Team


Behavior
Individual Focus

Group Focus

Prefer to work alone

Harmony is part of

Want to do individual

group-focused
environment.
People like to come
together for meetings
Sense of affiliation
that come from being
together.

best to help the team


success.

Beliefs and Behaviors


Individual Focus society
People are encouraged
to be self-sufficient, to
make it on their own, to
think for themselves.
Individual freedom is
very important
Individual taste and
style are expressed in
home, decoration,
offices, dress, and
choice of cars
The focus is on the
nuclear family with
fewer children

Group Focus society


Everyone must be

heard. Decision
making take much
longer time.
People may not value
the need to express
themselves.
The emphasis is on
the extended family
and the community.

Group Discussion
How could a foreign individual-focus manager

work effectively with his/her local group-focus


staffs? Give examples for illustration.
How could a foreign group-focus manager work
effectively with his/her local individual-focus
staffs? Give examples for illustration.
(Hint: Table 5-2, pages 107-108)

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