Cultural Dimensions
Cultural Dimensions
Comparison Of The United States To The World Average
Individuality
The cultural perspective of individualism indicates the extent of interdependence within the society. If the score is high, then the country (or culture) is highly individualistic. In contrast, a low score indicates low levels of individualism in the society. The United States’ score for individualism is 91. This implies that the country has a high rate of individualism (Hofstede, 2012).
Most people in the American society are dependent upon themselves for their daily needs. For instance, an individual in the American society is less likely to depend on his relatives. The world average for individualism is 20. This figure implies that most people in other countries are strongly dependent. This is whereby most responsibilities in the society are approached from a collectivist point of view. This is situation is clearly evident in the third world countries where people depend on relatives or government aid. Persons from a highly individualistic culture like the United States can easily fit in other countries because they are not afraid of strangers. On the other hand, a person from a lowly individualistic culture would find it hard to settle in new cultures because of high rates of dependence (Rector, 2007).
Power Distance
Apart from individualism, another critical aspect of cultural consideration is power distance. Essentially, power distance indicates the degree of inequality in the society. The power distance score also reflects the nature of cultural perceptions towards inequality in the society. In terms of power distance, the United States has a score of 40. This figure is quite low in comparison to the world average of 80. Within the American culture, people have high regard for equality (Hofstede, 2012).
This not only applies to social contexts but also organizational contexts. The leadership structures in American organizations recognize the role of all employees. This results from the low score in terms of power distance. Essentially, people in the American culture are less likely to accept domination from influential or wealthy individual. The score of 80 indicates most societies in the world accept domination from influential or wealthy people. Additionally, the high score indicates high levels of disparities in terms of power in organizations (Hofstede, 2012).
Long term Orientation
The cultural perspective on long term orientation indicates the nature of goals and priorities in a society. When the long term orientation score is low, it indicates that the society values rapid results in comparison to future outcomes. In contrast, if the long term orientation is high, it indicates that the society has string value for long term results and not immediate outcomes. On this perspective, the United States has a score of 29. This implies that Americans strongly value rapid results in all sectors. Consequently, they do not mind a lot about the future outcomes of actions. In contrast, the global average for long term orientation is 40 (Hofstede, 2012).
This is a relatively high score which indicates that most people in the world are more mindful about the future outcome of actions in comparison to the immediate results. Elements of truth are also essential components of the long term orientation cultural perspective. When the score is low such as the United States, the society has strong value for absolute truth (Rector, 2007).
Actions As A Manager
Individuality
As a manager, I have high levels of individuality. This is because I am independent in all my actions. Even though I seek consultations from other people, I am very liberal. These attributes result from growing up in the American culture which does not encourage collectivism. Additionally, I can easily interact with individuals from diverse cultural entities. This is because I have strong values for cultural diversity. The United States has millions of people from different walks of life. Consequently, I appreciate the value of cultural diversity in the society. I can therefore fit into almost all kinds of settings.
Power Distance
My actions as a manager reflect a low score for power distance. At the workplace, I appreciate and recognize the input of all employees. This applies to the employees in the low ranks as well as high ranking employees. Having grown up in the American culture, I value equality in the society. I despise any form of domination from influential people. Even after moving to the firm’s foreign branch, I will seek to maintain high standards of equality among all employees. This conforms to the low score of power distance in the United States.
Long-term Orientation
In my managerial position, I will seek to attain results rapidly. Although the future performance of the organization is essential, emphasis will be placed on the company’s immediate performance. Additionally, I will manage the foreign office in accordance with company’s traditions. These kinds of actions indicate the low score for the long term orientation. This cultural perspective is evident within the American society. The United States has a low score of 29 in comparison to the world average of 40.
References
Hofstede, G. (2012). National and organizational culture, Accessed on 7th October 2012 from http://geert-hofstede.com/dimensions.html
Rector, T. (2007). Corporate culture shock, Lulu Publishers
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