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Cultural Differences Between the Usa and Japan

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Cultural Differences Between the USA and Japan
Deundrey R. Dunn
Human Resources Management 367 Organizational Culture UMUC

I compared the United States of America to Japan and was surprised to find out that our two cultures are surprisingly different in all six dimensions on the Hofsted’s 6-D model. The results of the comparison are as follows;
The Power Distance Category
In the Power Distance Category the USA scored 40 and Japan scored 54. Within American organizations, hierarchy is established for convenience, generally U.S. Companies decision making is quick. Superiors give leeway to subordinates so that they can decide and make decisions quickly. Unfortunately, there are some errors that can come because of that (Btrax, 2010). In this area Japan have a higher belief that everyone in society is not equal and depend on people in higher positions to handle their problems and to make important decisions compared to the USA for example; there are numerous influences that may make the Japanese less likely to express their opinion and more likely to be shy. Firstly, the Japanese language is hierarchical. As a result of using it, individual Japanese become relatively more conscious of their inferior social status as they are growing up surrounded by people superior in status (because they are older). The Japanese culture makes them more aware of their inferior social status, further more they may be less likely to express their opinion for the same reason an American might not express their opinion around their boss. Specifically, individuals usually only express an opinion when they are less likely to feel they are inferior in status. For that reason Americans use a language that does not accord status, they feel more egalitarian as they are growing up. As a result, they have more confidence in their opinions because they feel more equal with those around them (Comparisons, n.d.). Another example is how Japanese companies make decisions. Japanese company’s decision making is in stages along with their corporate hierarchy. Japanese decisions are very cautious and conservative and sometimes slower than U.S. companies. These stages are backed by plenty of meetings and documentation. This minimizes error and brings consistency at all levels (Btrax, 2010).
The Individualism Category
In the Individualism category the USA scored 91 and Japan scored 46. In this area the USA scored high due to people in the USA are rewarded for their individualism the “I “concept and if they do something bad it only affects them. People in Japan have a stronger belief in the “we” concept, for example, people in Japan have a belief that if they do something dishonorable it not only reflect dishonor on the individual it also reflect dishonor on the family or organization as well. In other words Japanese people tend to keep restrained in this category than people from the USA.
The Masculinity Category
Moving over to the masculinity column on the Hofsted’s model the USA scored 62 and Japan Scored 95. The USA have the “strive to be the best you can be mentality’’, and as a result, Americans will tend to display and talk freely about their “successes” and achievements in life. Being successful is not the great motivator in American society, but being able to show one’s success is the key (Hoftsted, 2015). In the masculinity area Japan scored higher due to Japan having a competitive culture. Kids are taught at an early age (like at elementary school sporting events) that competition is good and that always working hard will ensure a rewarding future.
The Uncertainty Avoidance Category
In the Uncertainty Avoidance column the USA scored 46 and Japan scored 92. The average American have the “We can do it mentality” even if they know that they only have a 50-70% probability of accomplishing a certain goal or success rate. After they accept and start working towards the goal, they try to achieve as close as possible to 100%. In Uncertainty Avoidance area, Japan scored higher than the USA due to most Japanese people feel that even if it’s possible to achieve 100% of their goal, they don’t say “Yes” or they can do it. Their agreement is careful because they want to be accurate. They make sure it is exactly 100%, what the Japanese say is important. If they are not right it will reflect badly on them (Btrax, 2010). Another example of this is in Japanese politics. Politicians in Japan have a shockingly low approval rate. Politicians are quick to resign after making mistakes, causing Japan to switch Prime Ministers almost once a year since 2005 (Aliasis, 2013).
The Long Term Orientation Category
In the Long Term Orientation column the USA scored 26 and Japan scored 88. Americans are prone to analyze new information to check whether it is true. Thus, the culture doesn’t make most Americans pragmatic, but this should not be confused with the fact that Americans are very practical, being reflected by the “can-do” mentality (Hoftsted, 2015). Japan scored higher in this area due to most people in Japan prefer to take a more pragmatic approach to fixing certain issues and they also prefer to confirm if the source they are getting their information from is reliable or not.
The Indulgence Category
Finally in the indulgence column the USA scored 68 and Japan scored 42. The USA has a higher score in this area because most Americans find it hard to resist indulgence or temptation, for example; the USA has waged a war against drugs, informing people of the ill effects that it can cause on their mental state, body and family however even with all these preventive measures, people are still very busy partaking in doing drugs thus causing drug addiction in the States to be higher compared to many other wealthy or developed countries (Hoftsted, 2015). The Japanese scored low in the indulgence column due to them having a stronger since of restraint in what they want and desire “the want verses need mentality”.

Refrences:
Btrax, S. (2010, Dec 15). 10 Cultural Contrasts between US & Japanese Companies. Retrieved September 10, 2015, from http://www.blog.btrax.com.
The Hoftsted study (2015), What About the USA. Retrieved September 10, 2015, from http://geert- hofstede.com/countries.html.
Aliasis.(2013, Sep 2013) Cultural Differences between the USA and Japan. Retrieved September 10, 2015, from http://aliasis.hubpages.com. Comparisons (n.d.) Cultural Differences Between Australia and Japan. Retrieved September 10, 2015, from
http://www.convictcreations.com.

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