American Culture vs. Australian Culture
American Culture vs. Australian Culture HMD 259- Assignment 1 Lauren Lightfoot Lauren Lightfoot HMD 259 Assignment 1 When asked to compare American culture to a country of my choice, I selected Australia. I’ve never visited the country but I have friends that live there and they often question American norms as they differ greatly in Australia. Upon typing the phrase into my search engine, some very interesting links popped up, revealing some strange but valid distinctions between these cultures. Australians don’t have a large army. In fact, most Australian officials don’t even consider it a real army.
Both countries speak English but English pronunciation is quite different in Australia, as they tend to have a higher pitched voice. Australians are very educated and most complete higher learning education. Minimum wage in Australia is triple what America requires (“Yahoo! Answers”). These are just a few examples, but there are three others I found most interesting. The first that I found was the lack of racial divide that is demonstrated in Australia. Although there are some objections whether they be to the left or right, Australian culture doesn’t hold much weight to race as America does.
According to the site www. sciforums. com, Australians only acknowledge a grey area, which eliminates the separation between races. Australians are also less likely to use ethnic labels like African, Chinese, or Indian. If anything this may create some positive energy in the workplace and HR director could feel confident that the employee isn’t making racially derogatory statements or acting in such a manner. This protects the establishment from having any claims that violate the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the requirements of the EEOC.
Politician John Langmore stated, “Americans maintain their sense of being God’s own country with a manifest destiny to lead the world to freedom and democracy. Australia has no global ambitions, and those related to the region are for stability and economic advancement rather than dominance” (“Australia vs. US Culture. “). This quote embodies the American dream, as it is custom for Americans to advance based on free will and God’s will. Australia does not depend on these factors to gain success and believe that social dominance isn’t a necessity for being.
This may create some difficulty for an HR director because the employee may not reach their full potential based on their cultural practices. An Australian employee would most likely be a hard worker that applies their skills, but has no desire to achieve unrealistic dreams. They would however, practice both job enlargement and enrichment while employed. Australia has a more harmonious political system. Though there is a separation between parties, they are both fairly moderate, which eliminates the idea of “picking sides. Extremists also fall to the waist side, as their presence doesn’t make much of a difference in voting. Australians practice preferential voting, which rates candidates in order of preference. They don’t get too wrapped up in political views and support government healthcare/welfare.
This might be a difficult for an HR director simply because the employee may object to different deductions made for health insurance and tax. They may also have a middle of the road view and won’t really side with any one idea. References “Australia vs US Culture.. ” 25 2008. Bulletin Solutions, Inc. , Online Posting to Australia vs US Culture.. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. <http://www. sciforums. com/showthread. php? 76781-Australia-vs-US-Culture>. “The United States vs Australia Convict eyes on the Land of Liberty. ” Convict Creations. Com The hidden story of Australia ‘s missing links. N. p.. Web. 24 Oct 2012. “What are some main differences between Australian and American cultures?. ” 01 2007. Yahoo! Inc. , Online Posting to Yahoo! Answers. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. <http://answers. yahoo. com/question/index? qid=20080501113934AA5RF52>.
