In the military, I am exposed and work with a wide variety of cultures from all over the world. The military employs people from various backgrounds that may or not be citizens of the United States. This can and does propose certain management challenges within and organization when the nature of these cultures aren't understood. I utilized this comparison tool to compare the United States and China. The masculinity versus femininity, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientation scales were relatively the same. There is a significant difference in the power distance and individualism scale. In my experiences over the years, I have noticed that the American culture is more about individualism and less about collectivism and the opposite could be said about the Chinese culture. I have been exposed to the Chinese culture for many years at work, and my wife is from there.
1. Has this presentation challenged any assumptions you had about China and the Chinese people?
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There are times when authority or positions should not be challenged and there are times when it should. Low power societies bring more trust within an organization between managers and employees. High power societies maintain a certain order to the way things will be accomplished. Collectivism is an important aspect within an organization for the development of very capable teams. Individualism has its benefits because it drives individuals to succeed on their own. The key is to understand the differences amongst people within the organization and employ them in a way that benefits the organization. Not understanding the differences can and most likely will lead to conflict within an organization or team. As an example, when forming a team that is predominantly collective and individual may not be an asset to the team achieving its