Dimensions of Culture Between the US and Japan

International and Intercultural Communication

Similarity

The power distance between the U.S. and Japan are near matching showing that they are almost equal, and hence, inequality is not that great and the influence of people regarding ideas and behavior is same. In the society, people are different. The attitudes of culture towards power inequalities are almost the same with a difference of 14, where the U.S.A. has 40 and Japan 54. Japan is greater than the U.S., but the difference is minimal compared to the other variables under scrutiny such as long-term orientation and individualism. This shows that the use of power is legitimate, and subjects to the criteria of good and evil plus their assessment systems are based on the precise setting of targets. The mentality of the people in both U.S. and Japan is that of 'can do,' which has created dynamism in the society. Moreover, the hierarchy means the inequality of roles established for convenience and the government is based on a pluralist approach where majority vote and change is peaceful (National Culture. (n.d.).

Differences

The differences between the two countries relate to individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation, and indulgence. The U.S. is an individualistic society because individuals are primarily concerned with their interest and those of their immediate family. Japan is more of a collectivistic society because it puts harmony of the group above the expression of individual opinions and the people's strong sense of shame is evident regarding losing face. However, the Japanese are more of paternalistic society, and they are loyal to their companies that make their in-group situational.

Japan's uncertainty is at 95, and this shows that the society is most masculine and severe competition is between groups, which start at young kindergarten age. Therefore, the motivation of the Japanese corporation is in fighting, and they are winning against competitors. Besides, their excellence drive and perfection of masculinity in every aspect of their lives is in material production, in services (restaurants and hotels) and presentation (food presentation and gift-wrapping). The Japanese are also workaholics, and this has made it hard for women to climb the corporate ladders due to the masculinity norm of long working hours. Americans, on the other hand, show their masculinity on an individual scale and theirs is upfront.

The uncertainty avoidance for America is at 46, which is a low score. This affects their behavior more than when their culture would have scored higher like Japan. Therefore, their degree of acceptance regarding new ideas, innovative products, and willingness is fair since they are more than willing to try new things be it technology, food or business practices. They are more tolerant of opinions and or ideas from anyone and allow freedom regarding expression. Americans express themselves less and do not require many rules compared to higher scoring countries like Japan. Due to the 9/11 attacks, fear was created among the Americans, and the government made efforts to monitor all their people through NSA and other organizations dealing with security. For Japan culture, the 92 score is high because natural disasters like typhoons to volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and earthquakes threaten the country. As such, their preparedness measures are high, and this has led Japanese society to be prescribed as maximum predictability (Bergiel, Bergiel, & Upson, 2012).

On long-term orientation, it is evident that America's score of 26 asserts that they prefer maintaining norms and traditions that are time-honored when it comes to viewing societal change with great suspicion. Japan scored 88 showing that their approach is pragmatic as thrift and effort are encouraged in their modern education as ways of preparing for the future. Japan has a score of 88 showing it as an oriented society, and the people see their life as a short moment in a long humankind history. In Japan, the people live guided by virtues and good practical examples and with the high investment rates of R&D create difficult economic times. The society experiences high capital rate, and steady growth of the market share is priorities that serve as company's durability. Therefore, companies are here to serve stakeholders and society (National Culture. (n.d.).

The indulgence dimension and Americans are indulgent in their attitudes and behavior because they work hard and play hard too. Additionally, the waged war against drugs is high because the majority of the people in the U.S.A. engage in drugs; thus, the society is prudish. Japan has a score of 42, and this shows restraint and they have a tendency to pessimism and cynicism. Therefore, much emphasis is not put on time and control of their gratification desires. Hence, the people see their actions restrained by social norms (Bergiel, Bergiel, & Upson, 2012).