Module 5 Ciritical Thinking Writing Assignment

Critical Thinking Assignment
Name
Institution
Critical Thinking Assignment
Japan vs The United States
Hofstede’s Six Dimension of Culture has been used on a number of occasions to help compare and contrast the cultures of different countries. The information provided on this comparison model in this week’s lecture was indeed instrumental in helping me find two countries of almost the same economic significance to use for this exercise. The United States and Japan are considered powerhouses from an economic standpoint but are wildly different culturally. While they do present a formidable pair on account of this exercise, they are indeed an interesting pair especially when one considers their cultural differences. From the Hofstede’s model, both countries show massive differences in all of the dimensions. This shows that while they could be on the same level economically, these two countries are quite different in how they operate. These differences do indeed impact and shape work relationships, and this article seeks to examine how this happens.
Power Distance
According to Hofstede’s Insights, power distance is defined as “the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally.” The U.S. and Japan scored 40 and 54 respectively, and this marks the only dimension where both countries are almost depicting the same attributes. From the score, both countries seem conscious of the fact that hierarchical positions do exist. However, there seems to be a belief that people are born equal and that given the same opportunities, anyone could achieve their dreams. According to Hall (2013), the feudal period’s effects still haunt Japan and impacts the country’s work relationships. Hofstede insights notes that from a business point of view, the decision-making process in the country is “painstakingly slow” because of the hierarchical system of power. However, in the U.S., decision-making is individualistic, and people seem to want to be recognized for their effort.
Individualism
This dimension compares countries on the basis of their people's cohesiveness. Simply put, do people consider themselves as one (consistently make use of “We”) or consider themselves as separate entities (consistently make use of “I”)? Looking at the scores, it is clear that the U.S. (91) is more individualistic than Japan (46). The implication of this is that people in the U.S. seem to be hugely concerned with their wellbeing and that of their loved ones. Hall (2013) is clear in his assertion when he notes that the “American leaders decision-making style reflected a strong need for individualistic achievement and recognition.” However, Japan seems to overwhelmingly consider themselves as a large com...