Written by What is the “American Dream”?
The Commission on National Goals had the answer for President Eisenhower.
They reported that the primary motivator of American citizens was the possibility of individual self-realization.
What does this mean?
Pull Yourself Up By Your Own Bootstraps
The American Dream doesn’t often include the economic success and overall wellness of one’s neighbor or third cousin.
It’s a dream of one’s own economic success.
In individualist societies – like that of the United States, western Europe, and other Western countries – a person often identifies with themselves above all others and looks to satisfy his own needs before those of the group.
He also sees his path as one of self-determination. “Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps,” so to speak.
Self-reliance, personal freedom, and independence are the values glorified by individualist societies.
The individual is the smallest unit of survival.
Employee of the Month
This is why, at an American company, “employee of the month” is a successful incentive for productivity and improved performance in work culture.
The strong individualist culture means that employees will seek any way in which they can stand out from the pack in a positive light.
When your name and photo are posted on a bulletin board of achievement in the company lobby, recognition is your reward, and it fuels individualist motivation.
As a Swiss manager in the US, I appreciated the effectiveness of this reward system. So, I attempted to bring it back to Switzerland with me.
When I implemented “employee of the month” at the Swiss company I was managing, it fell flat. In fact, not only was it not a motivator, the reward system was met with immediate and breathtaking negativity on the staff’s part.
“This is ‘typical American,’” they said, adding that Swiss workplaces traditionally don’t single out individual successes, as they see success as a result of teamwork.
Although “employee of the month” type of recognition is frowned upon by Swiss companies, they are not so collectivist as to dissuade pay-for-performance or achievement-based promotion, also distinctions. The difference is, these are in-group and colleague-approved.
Collectivist Thought
On the other hand, a collectivist culture, which centers around group betterment, rather than individual development and freedom, would not even humor the idea of “employee of the month.”
An international survey asked managers from Egypt, China, Japan, and the US whether they agreed with the following statement:
“When individuals are continuously taking care of their fellow human beings, the quality of life will improve for everyone, even if it obstructs individual freedom and individual development.”
Who agreed?
- 70% of Egyptian managers
- 59% of Chinese managers
- 61% of Japanese managers
- 31% of US managers
We’ll talk more about that difference in mentality next week.
Success Across Cultures 