Cross Cultural Management For One Group Of Individuals: A Comparison Of Cultural Differences Between The United States And China

Cultural Differences in the United States and China

Discuss about the Cross Cultural Management for One Group of Individuals.

Cultural differences are one which is obvious and common from one group of individuals to another group of individuals. The main reason of the increased cultural diversity is the presence of numerous cultures in one society. The cultural diversity is based upon number of things which are transferred from one generation to the next generation. The cultural differences arise from differences in the values, beliefs and languages. China and the United States are the two nations which are such large countries that their cultures are recognized across the globe. There are number of differences in the cultures of both these nations but still there are various factors which play a major contribution in shaping up the cultures of both the nations. The history of any nation gives rise to the cultural differences among the various countries. These differences do not make any culture strong or another culture weak but creates a unique identity for every nation (Banks, 2015). The report will provide an in-depth knowledge of the cultural differences among the United States and China. The cultural differences are based upon various elements such as difference in language, religion, education, values, norms and laws of the respective countries. The individuals of every country have a different set of values, norms, knowledge and interests which divides the entire nation into various societal groups. And these groups practice diverse culture which gives rise to cultural difference among the countries.  The report also highlights the major factors which are the foundation of the cultural diversity in the nations. It also shows which areas require further development for the country’s economic growth and success (Appadurai, 2011).

In both the nations i.e. the United States and China there are several cultural differences which separate the identity of people living in both the countries. The difference in the culture or the cultural diversity builds a unique identity of every nation. Following are the major factors on the basis of which there are present differences in the cultures of the United States and China.

Language is one of the elements which is universal but still have different sounds and meanings and this diverse nature of language results into cultural differences. In China, the most of the population i.e. approx 94 percent speak Chinese. Mandarin was announced as the official speech of the nation (Shang, Chin, and Chan, 2015). But when talked about the United States, there are several ethnic groups which gave rise to number of different languages. As there were several groups of people migrated from various other regions and it resulted into Multilanguage nation. But English language is regarded as the official speech of the nation. There is difference in the languages of both the nations in terms of sound and meaning. This difference has been the result of the function, believe and the culture of the societies. And hence the cultural difference based on the language spoken is one of the primary differences which show the cultural diversity of one section of society from another section.

Cultural Differences Based on Language

Another cultural difference occurs on the basis of religion. Religions play a vital and important part in the cultural diversity of the world. As it is the part of the people’s lives. There is multicultural religion followed in the states of China. There are three primary religions which prevail in China i.e. Buddhism, Taoism and Islam. There is a book named Koran which has Islam teachings which was founded by Muhammed and it was claimed that he had a vision from God (Murtaza, et al., 2016). There practiced two different forms of Islamic religion in China. One has a belief that modernism threatens the religion and the other has a belief that for interpreting the Koran the religious leader has been inspired. Another religion i.e. Buddhism is the act of worship of the one which is enlightened and it provide teachings for overcoming the desire of an individual for overcoming the pain. In America, there are numerous and unlimited sects of religion as there are multicultural societies present in the United States. The most of the population i.e. approximately 69 percent of the overall Americans belongs to a synagogue or a church (Putnam, Campbell and Garrett, 2012). In the nation of the United States, the maximum percentages of people are basically drawn towards a particular religion because of age, race and the social class. The most vital element on which the classification of religion depends is the race. There are different churches in the United States i.e. divided on the basis of White population and the other segment is African Americans. And because of multiple religions present in the country there is no such religion which dominates the nation. But with increased modernization the country led less focus and importance over the religion. But the culture of China is very much revolve around and focused over the religion the people practices (Moran, Abramson and Moran, 2014).

In the present scenario there is huge importance led over the education sector. The various cultures are getting affected by the type of education they are receiving. There was an era where the children were given education which was necessary for their living. At some places only the children of wealthy families were getting higher education and the remaining who does not possess sound financial condition were not able to provide their children the higher education. The Government of China led great emphasis over the development of the education sector and to make the people literate and there are number of programs which have been implemented in China for the success of the educational sector. China has already established a system for raising fund for the development of the educational system so that more amount of money can be sent to the schools and higher number of people can get the opportunity to read and write (Moran, Abramson and Moran, 2014). There has also been implemented a Compulsory Education Program in China which focus upon the education of the poor people and their children. In the last few years there has been a sudden increase in the implementation of the Kindergartens and the success of these kindergartens can be realized as there was 42.2 percent of children under the age group 3 to 5 have been enrolled in those kindergartens (Chen, Yang and Ren, 2015). As per the statistics of UNESCO, it was identified that the ration of children who are school aged which have been enrolled in China is greater than all other nations with similar level of economic development (Tsui and Lau, 2012). The United States educational system started educating people about the government and politics. It was found that there was no such comprehensive or actual school system and mostly the schools were dependent upon the tuitions only. Some of the poor children were provided free education in the schools. But in the year 1918, there were laws which were passed which made the education compulsory for all the children (Beard, 2012). In the educational system of the United States there are several problems which are prevailing such as teen pregnancy, drugs, school violence and SAT tests. One of the major concerns which the schools are facing is the gun shooting and the US government is trying to solve this issue with several techniques. Both the nations i.e. China and the United States recognize education as one of the most vital element of their culture and society but there are still rooms for improvements (Law and Versteeg, 2012).

Cultural Differences based on Religion

The culture of a nation led high importance over the values. The values can be demonstrated in terms of standards, definitions and ideas of individuals. With the change in time, China’s traditional values are changing but still there are various regions which are recognized as the vital part of the modern societies (Pieterse, 2015). There are numerous elements which are the part of traditional values such as male domination, living in joint families, only males are working etc. presently in China there is great emphasis over the reputation and importance of families. But now there are smaller families with minimum number of people. There has been a great change in the social values as now the girls are given equal importance and are treated equally like the boys. Earlier they were values which give privilege to only the arranged marriages but with the change in time the people are very much free to select their life partners. There are few traditional festivals which are given great significance in the Chinese culture. These festivals are the part of the lives of Chinese people. The most general aspects of the Chinese festivals are family reunion, recognizing a connection among the heaven and the man, misfortune ward off, desire for well being and happiness (Farh, Zhong and Organ, 2004). For the reinforcement of the Chinese cultural identity the traditional festivals of China are regarded as the robust bonds. In the United States as there are multicultural societies and religion prevailing so there are different kind of values which are practiced based upon the ethnic, racial and special interest groups. Specification of the values of the United States is difficult as there are several groups in the country. But there are few common shared values which are similar for maximum of the groups in the nation (Moran, Abramson and Moran, 2014). This includes success and achievement, personal achievement in context with prestige, power, and attainment of wealth, work, school and authority. Americans’ major value is leisure. It is evident buy the development of recreational industry. Identified from the various self-help programs and products it has well recognized that self-fulfillment is one of the most vial values for the Americans. One of the values which have recently attained huge attention is the physical fitness. The difference in the values of both the nations is that the Chinese values are family centered whereas the values of the United States are mostly self-centered (Omi and Winant, 2014).

Norms are basically the expectations which take place in context with the societal values. There are norms which are associated with every culture in which the people live. In China, the norms are for the family honor and closeness. This closeness is usually recognized among the people of Chinese families. There are norms such as the number of children which a Chinese family can have. The limit in China is two. This norm has been created so that the rapidly increasing population in China can be control as China is already recognized as an over populated country. In the United States there are also several norms which are required to be followed by the people of the US. The children in the United States are expected to have their schooling, graduation, families and other things but after the accomplishment of the personal goals and objectives i.e. after achieving success. Similar to these norms these norms there are several other norms which are developed for the benefit of the individuals and the nation but it has been realized that people do not follow these norms adequately (Oetzel, et al., 2001).

Cultural Differences Based on Education

The laws and regulations are very much necessary for the smooth functioning of the societies and the culture. Every culture have some or the other laws which regulates the culture in a proper manner. These laws are derived by the associated beliefs and ideas. The Chinese society is recognized as socialistic with great economic development growth. The various strict laws have supported in progressing the educational system and improving the living standards of the people. By joining hands, individuals of all the nationalities of China have built a unitary multinational state called People’s Republic of the China. There are various principles in the constitution of China. In the People’s Republic of the China, there is an article 4 which states that all the nationalities are equal which are mentioned (ChiNa, 2010). In the article 19, the nation encourages education (ChiNa, 2010). The state invests in the educational sector for eradicating illiteracy from the country and to provide professional, technical, scientific, cultural and political education to the working people. In the entire constitution of China, there are norms which facilitates offering of various services related to medical and health, environment protection and family planning. The constitution of China is regarded as the basic norm of conduct by the Chinese people. In the United States, the laws are more regarding the protection of the people and keeping their rights safe (Moran, Abramson and Moran, 2014). There are few precious rights which the Americans have such as rights related to press, arms, religion and freedom of speech. The Bill of rights and the constitution of the United States protect and kept these rights. There has been passed decades when there were established great programs by the government of US. There are highly beneficial government programs and laws for the educational assistance, government loans, Medicaid and social security of the people of the nation. All the people of the United States are offered a land of opportunity and freedom by the United States’ Federal Republic (Aaker and Schmitt, 2001).

Conclusion

The above information which has been offered regarding the two nations i.e. the United States and China clearly shows that both the nations and their respective cultures are very much different from each other. The culture of the nation depends upon several things such as the norms, ideas, beliefs and values of people and the manner in which the individuals perceive them. These factors divide the society in various groups and each group possesses a different set of cultural values on the basis of these factors. It has been analyzed that on all these factors both the nations possess a diverse cultural stand. For developing unity in the societies and the countries, it is required that people must get aware, educate and inform that there are differences which occurs from culture to culture. With the reduced cultural differences there will be improved intercontinental associations. The main difference which has been identified among these two nations is the order of the priorities these countries possess. In China, the religion and the family norms are at priority whereas in the United States this is considered as the least prioritized element. Hence this creates an ignorance of the individuals regarding the non-happening events taking place in the country (Egri and Ralston, 2004). Both the nations practice strong cultural beliefs but as there is multicultural societies in the Unites States which does not give the power to a single culture to dominate the entire nation. In China, there is majority of people who possess the similar culture and thus there develops cultural dominance in the nation. It can be conclude that Chins possess strong global cultural presence whereas the United States is recognized as a multicultural society.

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