America happens to be one of the countries in the world that consists of different kinds of people including, the most dominant blacks and the whites and as a result, there has been a rich and diverse culture practiced by the inhabitants. For foreigners in the United States, it is not easy to be cognizant of the lifestyle exercised by the natives due to the complex social structure observed. Of the other nations of the world, Americans are so proud of themselves and their country boasting of its superiority, stability in terms of economy, and having the most mature democratic political system in the whole world.
Condon & Yousef (1975) say that their values happen to differ from the other people considering first from the kind of education offered in the learning institutions which is totally different from that in most countries, that is practical rather theory that lays the foundation for every person. One of the values is individualism, and this is the core value where children are trained from their early stages to consider themselves as separate individuals who are responsible for every action or circumstance that pertains to their lives. Every growing citizen knows that the destiny to his or her success is within them and thus one does not even care about how the parents live.
Another important point is privacy. Americans value privacy, they believe that they need to stay in a private place especially after a busy day to ponder on life. This is usually evidently looking at the partitioning of their houses where every child has a separate room from the other sibling’s something that is not common to people in most countries (Stewart, 1991). Americans consider those who like hanging out with others as dependants and indecisive who cannot handle matters concerning their lives as individuals. Another important value is that of equality, Americans believe all men were created equal and that they all deserve equal respect and treatment; although this value is not usually adhered to as there are some variations.
Most Americans live an informal kind of lifestyle, in that they socialize freely with everybody despite one’s rank or position at the workplace. They have a notion that nobody is more important than the other and that every individual’s work position is as important as the other’s. Time is a crucial thing that one can either use or misuse within his/her disposal to do a constructive thing. Notably, it is quite different from the way other people perceive these values, from individualism where they believe nobody is capable of living an individualized life, although we require each other’s assistance in our everyday life. Meeting together after a busy day is an everyday thing to most Americans as they are able to share their challenges at work and how to counter them and in so doing, one is able to release fatigue and stress (Storti, 2004; Althen, 2003).
On the issue of equality, there is standardized remuneration in most countries even where they do not believe in equality unlike in America where there is variation yet all men and women are equals. Of these values, the primary one and most fundamental is informality and one on equality, while individualism, privacy, and time take the secondary role. Informality and equality happen to involve everybody despite their gender, or position at the workplace; everyone is viewed as equal while the secondary ones only tackle individual matters, which are not everyone’s practices. Furthermore, it is fundamental for everybody not to view others as being below him or her as Americans are of the same creation and that we should associate with each other freely as we all depend on some kind of assistance from one another (Hall, 1977).
Reference List
Althen, G. (2003). American Ways: Guide for Foreigners in the United States. Yarmouth: Intercultural Press.
Condon, J.C., & Yousef, F. (1975). An introduction to intercultural communication. New York: Macmillan.
Hall, E.T. (1977). Beyond culture. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press.
Stewart, E.C. (1991). American Cultural Patterns: A Cross-Cultural Perspective. Yarmouth: Intercultural Press.
Storti, C. (2004). Americans at Work: a guide to the can-do people. Yarmouth: Intercultural Press.