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Overview
Issue four addresses the question does culture matter, and to whom, or for what? Experts are saying that culture plays a bigger role than previously realized. Research is proving that culture matters to the success or failure of any organization. Weak organizational culture is often to blame for ethical problems, low performance, and low overall success. Organizational initiatives often fail because the culture remains the same, that is, the values, ways of thinking, managerial styles, paradigms, and approaches to problem solving. The problem with culture it is difficult to quantify, initiatives are often not big enough to encompass culture.
Article 4.2 “The Irresolute American” discusses foreigner’s perspective on Americans and their culture in the workplace. According to perspectives of foreigners surveyed, Americans are obsessed with being politically correct at work out of fear of embarrassment, disagreement, and negative consequences. Foreigners believe Americans are afraid to honestly say what’s on their mind. They work in fear of confrontation, retaliation, and litigation. This constant caution can be debilitating. There hierarchy in America’s cooperate ladders which are built from the top down receiving differential treatment is clearly expressed and understood. As a result, Americans are not only cautious about what they say and how they say it, but also whom they say it to. Subordinates are transformed into risk-averse order takers who tame their comments, avoid conflict, and readily defer to their bosses’ power and authority. If an American CEO says something is a good idea, then people nod and say yes, whether they agree or not. The debilitating result is noticed as lower-level employees become order takers who execute without questioning, and people worry to the point where they’re in meetings and won’t say anything because their boss is