A Brief Comparative Study on Power Distance between China and America

苟雯雯

【Abstract】The continuing cooperation between America and China adds fuel to further intercultural communication. However， differences in culture make their communication challengeable， and the first step to avoid misinterpretation and discomfort in communication is to understand both cultures. Based on this， this paper will apply power distance theory of Hofsteds Value Dimensions to explore the differences， on parts of school， family and company， between Chinese character and American character.

【Key words】 Power Distance； Value Dimensions； Comparative Study

I.Brief Introduction on Power Distance

In Hofstedes view， this dimension classifies cultures on a continuum of high to low-power distance. High power distance means that people with lower power respect and accept the power-holders. Everyone has a certain place in a society in which he or she must behave appropriately. On the contrast， in a low power distance society， people strive to equalize power distribution， and the distinction between power-holders and those accepted by power is relatively narrow. Influenced by the Confucian philosophy， sense of hierarchy in China is embodied in walks of life. But in America， people pursue the idea of ‘Men are created equal from its history beginning.

II.In Different Situations

In Chinese school， it is often seen that students sit upright， and listen to teacher silently and write down what teachers said. They are involuntary to ask and answer questions （Biggs， 1996）. They get used to accept idea and knowledge rather than thinking by themselves， let alone raising an objection to teacher， because in their mind， teacher is absolute authority which they dare to challenge， while the opposite is encouraged in America. Students sit in any posture that they like， sometimes in a circle for a convenient discussion， and the teacher brings up a topic， and tells students some basic theory， then they express their own opinions freely. Anytime， students would ask some questions and object teachers opinion. All those behaviors are familiar to every American while regarded as impolite in Chinese school.

Except the participation in class， the way of students get alone with teachers in China is also totally different with that in America. Chinese teachers address students by full name， while students never do that and they must follow the polite way to address a teacher like Teacher Li， Teacher Zhang. In china， the corn principle of treating a teacher is respecting. But in America， a student and a teacher get on with each other in a relaxing way. They address each other by the full name， and they would like to chat on some personal or even gossip topics.

Also， high power distance dimension finds expression in Chinese family. Hierarchy greatly influences on Chinese concept of value. Confucius idea of filial piety is a significant part of its ideology and Chinese history. Filial piety， put simply， means the elder has absolute authority in family life. Children in China are indoctrinated that they must be obedient in that way they could be regard as a good child. One of the most common way to judge a Chinese child is depending on whether he follow the elders words or not. On the contrary， America parents attach importance to the equality of every member of family， so that even child has the chance to express themselves. This is mainly because they advocate the equality and disapprove of the level of differentiation. So Chinese parents demand children do or not do something， while American parents always tell them what is better but they could choose another way. So much as to lifestyle， career choice and marriage， Chinese parents pay more much attention to those great events of childrens life. Consequently， children always lose the right to choose what they want. In order to protect individual equality and freedom， American parents show much tolerance to children choices， even their lifestyle differ from the majority.

Whats more， power distance shows complete difference tendency in Chinese and American company. Mostly， Chinese company especial the state-owned ones， are distinctly graded with much several levels， such as Commercial Bank of China， more than 10 levels. From Zhans research， the score of Chinese companies on power distance is 0.8， while that of American companies is just 0.254 （the full score is 1）. In Chinese firms， employees get used to being led and there is little access to upper grades. Subordinates do their best to show respect to the superior. They hardly dare to interrupt boss and unveil a disagreement. In other words， what the superior says， or the indication， is just like the imperial edict， which could not be violated. Because the individual ability and contribution is a crucial segment of company value， thus in America， even the workers with relatively lower position still， have the right to raise any objection. They call the superiors directly by the full name， and sometimes， they even talk and have lunch together like friends.

III.Conclusion

Rapid development emancipating Chinese mind， someone has been westernizated. But， the influence of Confucian Idea has deeply rooted in Chinese value. And there was a distinct pecking order in every walk of life， so whoever held more power means he had more honor， prior and dignity. Contrarily， Americans wrote the idea of equality into constitution. Culture can be different， but no one is superior to others. In cross-cultural communication， whats the most important must be respecting others culture without losing ones own cultural belief.

【Reference】

[1]Hofstede， G. J. （2001）. Cultures Consequence. London： Sage Publication.

[2]Li Ying （2009）. Teacher-Student Interactions under the Influence of Culture Differences. Nanchong： Read and Write Periodical， 6（1）， 6， 16.