Db american culture in business
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Cultural Diversity
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Db american culture in business
- 1. Bridging the Culture Gap January 26, 2004
- 4. “What is good for the goal and fruitful for achieving the goal, is true and good.” James Dewey
- 19. “…all men are created equal, with a God-given right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” U.S. Declaration of Independence
Editor's Notes
- What would you add to this list? We’re going to talk about each one….
- Really can’t underestimate the enormity this played for business culture here, and personal viewpoint. We are all a little touchy wondering when it’s going to happen again. But this is not a reflective culture – we didn’t spend a lot of time obsessing about why – but moved forward in the belief we were taking action so it wouldn’t happen again.that method of taking action is very common in the business culture here – a little more on that later. There is a new tension over the govt’s right to protect the nation and our obligation to protect the rights of the individual against the institution. That theme of the individual vis a vis the organization also influences how business is conducted here – there is a spoken philosophy in business to take risks and be a star, but also a contradictory message to be one of the team and lead through consensus. Belief that we are horribly misunderstood in the rest of the world, and a lack of understanding about why people don’t see us as the good guys we believe we are…there is not really a standard here that encourages critique….which you may see in meetings and other encounters with your american colleagues…
- Casual pervades all things – dress, speech, written and verbal communication. People are not especially sensitive to issues of age, although they may be to position Loose boundaries – working from home, meetings beginning at 8 am and lasting until 7 pm. Social things are an extension of the work day – loose boundaries and casualness mean people will be very open – tell you things that may seem more private than public about their lives, their families and their co workers. Lots of talk about work/life balance Constant access – via mobile, blackberry, not uncommon to have home phone numbers, to send business emails on the weekend. Political correctness – no flirting, careful about statements that may seem insensitive to a minority group. People bending over backwards to treat everyone as if they were the same. Emotion – can be an emotional workplace. Crying if bad feedback, bosses who yell, HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED THIS???
- Dot com bust – High unemployment rates Pension funds bust – health care costs going up What is your experience like this??
- No text messaging. Email – an ongoing conversation w/o salutation. Not a mini document, but part of an ongoing conversation Using the subject line as if it were the entire email itself New york talk – fast, “in your face”, direct, hand gestures. Assumed everyone is on a first name – titles are unusal. Lots of information – questions are asked right up front: where do you live? Are your married? Do you have children? Interruption – shown to indicate understanding and to move things “along” Don’t take it personally – it is not meant to dismiss you but in a strange way, to include you. HAVE YOU SEEN THIS???
- Begin with the conclusion: Details Process Work Risk is a positive: think outside the box! You may find at meetings the business is conducted first, decisions are made (perhaps quickly) and then conversation. A great emphasis on “consensus” and on being part of the “team” – being part of the “solution” not part of the problem – May seem overly optomistic, without enough attention to the details. More entranced with what is possible than the possible obstacles. There is a belief in continuous improvement – that leads to frustration for some because it seems to short change the planning process. Advice: focus on fact , trend, but not on the underlying analysis.
- Big impact on how organizations are put together Being competitive is good – an economy driven by darwin. The government very reluctant to legislate against business. Competition a natural result of everyone striving to make things richer, faster, better.
- Customer and image drive almost everything Romance of this concept of “brand” Everything is a brand – concept of self management in your own career. There is a lack of trust that a company will take care of you – ideas such as “you, inc.” and “packaging” yourself, your own pitch. Lots and lots of “how-to” books – how to improve yourself at work, at home, in life. Again – continual improvement, lack of satisfaction with how things are, which can result in missing what works now and keeping it. Even within the company believing in the power of internal customers and marketing yourself to them.
- People very self conscious about the size and location of their office. Who has a window, who doesn’t? who is sitting next to whom – new yorkers will talk real estate – everyone thinks that someone else is getting a great apartment at a fabulous rent. Americans like physical boundaries – Climate – overheated in winter and always air conditioning – YOU MAY BE HOT! Physical comfort – heated waiting rooms at the train station, softer seats on the subway
- People eat lunch at their desks, eat on the bus, breakfast when they get in. the whole concept of fast food, the big lunch places with the enormous buffets/hot tables. The concept of wide choice and speed Obesity a growing problem – atkins is something you will hear a lot about.
- WHAT WOULD BE MORE LIKELY THERE?? THEY EXPECT GIVE AND BACK…..
- We seem to be. Yet foreigners complain that it is superficial. It’s that we’re casual, with very public private lives (people will speak to their loved ones, having arguments, on the cell phone while riding the bus). It does take a while to make deeper relationships here – they will be ones for life, but they do take time.
- Puritan – no moral ambiguity – white is white, black is black
- Look at geography… Other countires view us as not caring
- 58% of americans chose #1 The developing countries had a similar percentage (guatemala at 61, ghana at 63, etc.) But in europe quite different – for #1 it was germany 39, france 36, italy 24
- Legalistic – protecting the rights of the individual