Cultural Profile of the United States of America

...

Time is Money

In the United States, time is a very important commodity. People 'save' time and 'spend' time as if it were money in the bank. Americans ascribe personality characteristics and values based on how people use time. For example, people who are on-time are considered to be good people, reliable people who others can count on.

Individualism

Americans prize individualism. It is common for people to be proud of their individual accomplishments, initiative and success, and may, or may not, share those sources of pride with their elders.

Customs and Etiquettes

American greetings are generally quite informal. This is not intended to show lack of respect, but rather a manifestation of the American belief that everyone is equal. Although it is expected in business situations, some Americans do not shake hands at social events. Instead, they may greet you with a casual "Hello" or "How are you?" or even just "Hi." In larger groups, many may not greet at all and in social situations, Americans rarely shake hands upon leaving.

Americans usually stand while they are being introduced and only the elderly, the ill, and physically unable persons can remain seated while greeting or being introduced. It is also common among them to include some information about a person and use professional titles when they are introducing people to each other. However, professional title should not be mentioned if a person is introducing himself.

Handshakes are usually brief and light handshakes are considered distasteful. Eye contact is also important for them when shaking someone’s hand.

Body Language

Americans commonly keep their distance when conversing and may feel that their personal space is being invaded and may step back when a person is standing really close to them. Apart from that, touching is unusual for them and they are generally uncomfortable with same-sex touching, especially between males. Holding the middle finger up by itself is considered insulting and vulgar in the country. Americans smile a great deal, even at strangers and they like to have their smiles returned. Some Americans are known as "back slappers" where they give others a light slap on the back to show friendship.

Corporate

In the United States, business relationships are formed between companies rather than between people. Americans do business where they get the best deal and the best service. It is not important to develop a personal relationship in order to establish a long and successful business relationship.

Americans are direct. They value logic and linear thinking and expect people to speak clearly and in a straightforward manner. Apart from that, Americans may use the telephone to conduct business that would require a face-to-face meeting in most other countries. They do not insist upon seeing or getting to know the people with whom they do business.

Since time and punctuality are so important, Americans are extremely punctual and view it as a sign of disrespect for someone to be late for a meeting or appointment. Meetings may appear relaxed, but they are taken quite seriously. Since Americans are impressed by hard data and evidence, the use of visual aids and hard facts such as statistics during presentation is seem more persuasive.

As Americans believe that time is money, business is conducted rapidly and they usually practice very little small talk before getting down to business. In doing business with Americans, it is common to attempt to reach an oral agreement at the first meeting. The emphasis is on getting a contract signed rather than building a relationship thus, the relationship may develop once the first contract has been signed.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL SYSTEM

The United States of America is a democratic nation with a constitution-based federal republic government. This means that the people rule and elect the leaders who will represent them in making government decisions. As a federal government, the national government shares responsibilities with both the state and municipal governments. To ensure that no individual or group gains more too much control, the Constitution of the United States divided the federal governed into three separate but equally powerful branches; legislative, executive and judicial. The legislative branch is responsible for writing the law, the executive branch carries out the laws while the judicial branch reviews the way the laws are applied.

The Legislative Branch (The Congress)

In the legislative branch, there are two separate bodies which are known as the House of Representatives and the Senate. Combined, they are called the Congress. Both these bodies work towards making the laws and regulations for the country. This is specified in the Article I of the Constitution.

The Congress consists of more than 10,000 staffs with the task of reviewing and passing legislation. Every one of the senator and representative have their own staff and some work on legislation in Washington, D.C. while others work closely with constituents from their home state.

Within the Congress, there are various agencies that are also involved in the legislative process. The best known agency is the Library of Congress. It contains the most complete collection of books and acts as resources for the congressional offices. Another agency is the Congressional Budget Office which evaluate and determines the amount of money the government should spend each year.

The president also plays a role in the lawmaking process. Every year, a budget is presented to the Congress by the executive branch and it outlines the amount that the president and the executive branch would like to spend. The Congress then considers the plan and makes the necessary changes. Most of the time, the Congress changes the president’s plan in many ways.

Some of the other important powers of the Congress that largely affects the nation is that it has the power to declare war on another country and pay for armed forces. Besides that, it also establishes federal courts of law, regulates international trades and also has the power to charge any member within the executive branch is they are suspected of committing a crime.

The House of Representatives

Also known as “the House”, it has a total of 435 voting