Introduction
Culture is a term used to describe a set of values, goals and attitudes shared by members of a given society, organization or group. Culture springs from a series of integrations of human knowledge and beliefs, which over time define and dictate their behavioral patterns.
Other countries like Japan, Switzerland, and Europe have homogenous cultural characteristics but the American culture is unique and complex. The American culture is a blend of many cultural inputs. This makes America and its people unique both at home and at work. A typical office, for instance, would be equipped with water, soft drinks, tea, and coffee vending machines.
This kind of an office setup perhaps came up because the Americans do not value social attachments in the office environment. Unlike America, in other countries, usually the staff would take time off for tea or coffee. These breaks are meant to give the staff time to socialize and re-energize before going back to work. Additionally, you would not be surprised if you saw an American carrying his/her pet to the office; it is acceptable! Business runs in a very informal setup.
American office environment has not only embraced informal lifestyle but has also ripped off hierarchies between managers and their subordinates. They believe that everyone is equal and their independent views should be considered for decision-making. An American is probably the most clock-ruled being in the world.
They are very strict when it comes to time management, and would stop for nothing when they have an appointment to keep, whether it is with the “big” or “small” person. They have attached so much weight to time that gradually output has become a factor of time. Schor describes Americans as people who spend so much time at work yet their output is comparatively low (Para. 12). Ensuing are findings on why Americans in spite of spending so much time working; their productivity is low.
Firstly, given that there are no hierarchies in the organizational structure numerous meetings define, the American office environment. The meetings are usually in the form of discussions, which are centered on project analysis, review, and evaluations. As earlier stated, everyone is equal and decisions are reached through consensus. This means that an individual cannot draw conclusions instantly without involving everyone else. As a result, decision-making process is bureaucratic and slow.
Secondly, Americans tend to change jobs frequently. Kirjonen and Hanninen examined the effects of frequent job switching and concluded that people burn out fast “…due to mental strains from changes in the work content and the physical job environment” (518). The frequency of changing jobs is very high in America and it is considered normal. In addition, people can switch between jobs where multitasking is the norm. The result is that, a person finds him/herself operating in a very tight schedule with no meaningful breaks, which leads to stress and reduced productivity.
Thirdly, there is more oversight and compliance in the American work environment. The Americans spend a lot of time on paperwork than on the actual business activity. The strict regulations at both the state and federal level make the firms want to spend so many resources on the legal field to ensure compliance.
For instance, an insurance company would readily pay claims for fear of stiff penalties if sued. This fear would blur their independent investigations to establish the authenticity of the claims filed. This therefore means the overall American economy is characterized by inefficiencies, and thus little output for much input.
Fourthly, due to the long hours spent at the workplace, Americans spare no time for quality family activities; consequently, they deny themselves a holistic humane life, which calls for more than what work only can provide. This perhaps could explain why American divorce cases are the highest in the world. A study carried out by Brinig and Allen, revealed that, “up to 6% percent of the divorce cases filed in America were as of work related” (122).
Work is life but life is not all work so goes the old adage. Americans value work and believe that, through work, they can achieve material things. However, if the result is family wrangles that end up in divorce then the Americans need to reconsider their practices. Whether the pursuit of the ever-elusive American dream plays a role or not, American work culture calls for a complete overhaul.
Lastly, the famous law of economics; the law of diminishing returns, would best describe the American phenomenon. Case and Ray describe the law of diminishing returns as, “a relationship in the production function where as more factors of production are added into the system, the output yield starts to decline in progress” (49).
Consequently, producing an extra more unit at this point is very costly and less desirable. America can be likened to a production entity and this economic concept can effectively answer the study question. By the year 2010, the rate of unemployment in America was only 6%. This means that the employment curve has reached the peak leading to redundancy in productivity.
The “24/7” working culture deny people the precious opportunity of maintaining meaningful social ties. In addition, the recent developments in technology have greatly replaced the traditional social gatherings and block parties as platforms for socialization with cell phones and social media like facebook, twitter, and blogs.
Time spent chatting with friends whilst at work reduces productivity even though at the end of the day one can claim to have spend eight hours in office while in reality the only productive hours total to four or five.
Generally, Americans spend so much of their time working, hire the best brains, but soon burn them out through overemphasis on time alone. Ironically, most employees can afford to dedicate a whole year to working around the clock and only spare two weeks paid work leave a year. This is ridiculous, perhaps Americans need to realize there is more in life than work.
Conclusion
American culture is very complex because its people come from diversity both in race and in culture. When this cultural diversity is factored into the workforce, it makes it difficulty to set and apply uniform codes for everybody. In addition, the American land is praised for its democracy, which nurtures and upholds the maxims of impartiality and freedom of expression. Women no longer stay at home to take care of children; they are at the office too.
They play key roles in business transactions just like their male counterparts. America is now a fully 24-hour economy. This has given birth to the “24/7” culture that has fast spread over the world. Nevertheless, the time spent in workplace rarely translates into productivity for Americans focus on issues that matter less at the mercy of the real job. Planning is critical, but planning without implementation amounts to nothing.
Works Cited
Brinig, Margaret, and Allen, Douglas. “These Boots Are Made for Walking: Why Most Divorce Filers are Women.” American Law and Economics Review 2 (2000): 121 – 123.
Case, Karl, and Fair, Ray. Principles of Economics. Prentice Hall, 1999. Print.
Kirjonen, Juhani, and Hänninen, Vilma. “Effects of job change on job satisfaction and Mental strain.” Scand J Work Environ Health, 10.2 (1984): 516-518.
Schor, Juliet. The Overworked American, n.d. Web.