Individualist and collectivist behaviour in public and business organisations

Purpose: to show differences between public and business organisations within the scope of individualist and collectivist behaviour. Design/Methodology/Approach: the study was carried out among employees of public and business organisations performing various organisational roles. 497 persons participated in the study. It comprised two stages. Stage I was carried out with the use of a structured interview, while in stage II, questionnaire surveys were used. To put the content in order, the semantic field analysis was used, which allowed for separating the main research categories. Individualist and collectivist behaviour is one of many identified organisational types of behaviour. Findings: differences exist between members of public and business organisations as far as behaviour is concerned. In business, individualist behaviour is predominant, while in public organisations – collectivist behaviour. The structure of collectivism is complex and comprises of different types of behavior, i.e.: concordance, conformism and cooperation. In public organisations, concordance is predominant, while in business it is on a lower level. In both types of organisations, cooperation-type behaviour is at a low level. Research Limitations/Implications: inability to fully objectify the research results obtained. Practical Implications: knowledge about the behaviour manifested by the majority of the participants and about the marginalised behaviour allows for a better understanding of the phenomena that take place and in effect conscious management and support for the development of those that an organisation cares about. The structure of behaviour is a carrier of information about motifs guiding the actions of individuals. Separating behaviour that is dominant provides information about the motifs of such behaviour and what affects the behaviour of people – whether it is legitimisation of the value of the organisation and the established standards, or the power of the group. Accurate identification of orientation offers possibilities for predicting behaviour and for more efficient designing and carrying out organisational changes. The third issue is the possibility of using such knowledge during coordination. An organization may influence the behaviour and the engagement of the individual, along with the course and 2 effort put in the performance of processes related to the management of human resources in the 3 organisation. 4 Keywords: individualism, collectivism, public organisation, business organisation where collectivist behaviour is dominant requires different tools for coordination than an organisation where individualist behaviour is dominant. Originality/Value: to supplement theoretical constructs with examples of organisational behaviour manifested in Polish organisations and to show collectivism as a complex dimension as part of which various activities may be performed. Dominance of a specific behaviour shapes the quality of functioning of an individual in an organisation. Whether an individual consciously adopts and accepts organisational norms or acts in line with them under the impact of a group may influence the behaviour and the engagement of the individual, along with the course and effort put in the performance of processes related to the management of human resources in the organisation.