workers, changing jobs is the accepted norm. Employees see moving to a new com-
pany as a way of personal advancement and embracing new challenges. In contrast,
in some Asian countries there is often a reciprocal loyalty between employees and
their organization.^16Time and Its Control
For U.S. Americans, time is a valuable commodity, something to be measured and
used wisely. Schedules, which are often divided into hourly, daily, weekly, monthly,
and even yearly segments, dictate life in the United States.^17 Deadlines and due dates
are a constant reminder of when projects must be completed. U.S. business represen-
tatives tend to move quickly past introductory formalities and rapidly“get down to
business.”This contrasts with other cultures, such as in Mexico and China, where it
is considered important to get to know the other person before initiating business dis-
cussions. In the United States, schedules are generally inflexible with meetings start-
ing on time, moving through a set agenda, and ending promptly. In other cultures,
time may be seen as more flexible, and spending time with someone can take prece-
dence over a schedule.
Even the founding fathers of the United States considered time to be important, as
this quotation from Benjamin Franklin demonstrates: “Lose no time; be always
employed in something useful.”The continuing value U.S. Americans place on time
is also illustrated by corporate practices. For instance,“Wal-Mart...pioneered the
daily early-morning meeting at which all stand so as to get down to business quickly,
shorten the meeting time, and then go out and execute agreements made.”^18Equality/Egalitarianism
Equality is a most prized American value and is enshrined in the preamble to the
United States Declaration of Independence, which states, “all men are created
equal.”^19 The concept is further preserved in the Constitution, which specifies,“No
Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States.”^20 The founders of our nation
had escaped the English social caste system, controlled by the landed, hereditary aris-
tocracy, and sought to ensure that it could not develop in America.
Rather than focus on the literal meaning of“created equal,”let us look at the
ideals behind those words, which we believe were best explained by Abraham Lincoln
in 1860 when he said,“We do wish to allow the humblest man an equal chance to
get rich with everybody else.”Thus, the value that pervades contemporary U.S. soci-
ety can best be termed“equal opportunity.”All people should have the same oppor-
tunity to succeed in life, and the state, through laws and educational opportunities, is
expected to guarantee that right.
In the United States the value of equal opportunity translates into equality and
informality across social relationships. For instance, most of the primary social rela-
tionships within a family tend to promote egalitarianism rather than hierarchy. For-
mality is generally not important. In secondary relationships, most friends and
coworkers are also treated as equals, usually interacting on a first-name basis. People
from cultures that adhere to formal social structures often find it disconcerting to
work with U.S. citizens, whom they believe diminish the value of social status differ-
ences. We are not implying that U.S. Americans completely ignore hierarchy, but it
is usually a secondary consideration or applied only in specific contexts, such as seat-
ing arrangements, formal introductions, and certain professions.208 CHAPTER 6•Cultural Values: Road Maps for Behavior
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