The cultural-individual dialectic is one of the dialectics which are usually determined to describe and explain the social nature of intercultural relationships. This specific type of dialectics is based on the idea that communication of persons depends not only on cultural aspects and differences but also on their individual attributes and visions. From this point, the cultural-individual dialectic explains that the act of communication should be discussed and perceived from two perspectives: cultural and individual ones.
Therefore, while planning intercultural interactions, people should pay attention to not only cultures of their interlocutors or companions but also to their idiosyncratic features. Not all perceptions, visions, ideas, and beliefs demonstrated by persons can be influenced by their specific culture. The focus only on cultural generalizations can lead to some biases and misunderstanding. Thus, the cultural-individual dialectic is based on the idea of taking both cultural and individual perspectives into account.
The example of the cultural-individual dialectic can be associated with discussing perceptions of Germans in the American society. For instance, while inviting a German specialist to work in the department of any U.S.-based multinational company, human resource managers can expect that this person will demonstrate certain characteristics associated with the perceptions of Germans and their approaches to managing time, learning, or conducting business. Still, the person invited to take a position in this U.S.-based company can have particular attributes, according to which this individual can be described as a creative person who is famous for proposing and promoting original and interesting ideas related to management which can be unexpected by both Germans and Americans. Therefore, the cultural-individual dialectic should also be taken into consideration while developing intercultural relationships.