Individualism (IDV) on the one side versus its opposite, collectivism, that is the degree to which individuals are inte-grated 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 (with uncles, aunts and grandparents) which continue protecting them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty. The word 'collectivism' in this sense has no political meaning: it refers to the group, not to the state. Again, the issue addressed by this dimension is an extremely fundamental one, regarding all societies in the world (http://www.geert-hofstede.com/).
Taking into account that the Americans are the ones with higher individualism and Guatemalans are the ones with less individualism a Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from a United States` company in Guatemala can be very difficult if it’s not well managed.
If a company like Chiquita Brands wants to invest in Guatemala to cultivate their fruits, once they get there, they will need a big extension of land that would probably be full of families that have lived there for several generations as a prosper community. Thanks to their collectivism is highly probable that the Guatemalan families won`t accept a monetary deal whit Chiquita Brand thanks to the attachment that they have to each other. For this reason there`s a lot of chance that Chiquita Brands tries to get the land at any mean possible.
Due the American individualism the shareholders of the company would probably take care only of their profits instead of the wellbeing of an entire community (Check this article to know more about Chiquita Brands in Colombia http://www.pasc.ca/spip.php?article161) and try to use a lot of deceive tactics as corruption, violence or deals with irregular groups just to get what they want.
In conclusion a clash between this kind of societies if is not well managed could lead to a disaster because neither of the parts would be willing to accept the other proposal unless they try to set a common ground in which they can try to work and get a Win-Win Situation.
This Video Is a Short Reminder of what a Foreign Company can do if does not study and tries to understand another culture
Refence:
Nick B. Meyer Conference
http://www.geert-hofstede.com/
What you expose here is something that really needs to be taking into account for several companies that want to invest or stablish themselves in countrys with high collectivisim, like most of the latin american countries. It can be really harmful for the imagine of a companie, if they dont treat their foreing employees with the fairness that they all consider essensial, ending in manifestations, legal consequences and even violence. As you say, searching for a win win situation is the most pertinent thing to do.
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