comparison of cultural attitudes between denmark and us
Cultural attitudes differ from one country to another. Anesthetic view of people refers to the way those particular people think, live their lives and the customs that they uphold. Here, we make use of the 6-dimensions model to compare the cultures of the people of Denmark and the people of the U.S. The first dimension is Power Distance. Power distance shows the degree to which the members of the society have accepted the inequality levels in the community. In Denmark, the score to this dimension is relatively low as compared to a higher rating of the U.S.
The Danes believe in equal rights and decentralization of power. Superiors and management rely on employee expertise. Therefore, those at lower positions are consulted before a decision made. On the other hand, the U.S. believes that everybody has his/ her uniqueness, and thus inequality is a fact to embrace. Those in lower positions acknowledge and accept that power distribution is unequal and that it’s the responsibility of those at higher ranks, to make decisions on behalf of everybody.
Individualism refers to a society where you only need to look after yourself and your immediate family. Most communities in the modern world are individualistic. Both Denmark and the U.S. score high in individualism, with the U.S. scoring a little higher. In both cultures, people are encouraged to work and take care of themselves and their families and not to rely on support from authorities. Employees are to be self-reliant. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Masculinity refers to a competitive society where members aspire to achieve and succeed better than the others. On the other hand, a Feminine community is one that considers the quality of life, togetherness and caring for others as a sign of success. This is the case in Denmark, where life and work are kept relatively balanced. Those in higher positions minds and cares for the others at the lower place. Trying to be the best is not admired. However, U.S. scores relatively high in individual Masculinity. Here, people strive to be the best at what they do, and personal success is highly admired and rewarded with the winner taking it all. People tend to do things in a better way, and this leads to a highly dynamic society. This, however, has resulted in a widening gap between the two polar of the society where everybody’s mentality is to be a winner. Thus the winner takes it all, whereas the loser is at a disadvantaged position.
Uncertainty Avoidance deals with the unknown future in a society where different societies put in place different structures and institutions to counter and avoid the threatening feeling brought by unfamiliar future situations and happenings. In Denmark, people don’t feel threatened by the future, as shown by its low score. They accept and are okay with the fact that things can change overnight and that it’s natural and okay to say you don’t know. Uncertainty is, therefore, embraced. Similarly, the U.S. also accepts the conditions of Uncertainty of the future. However, the 9/11 incident prompted the government to put up some structures to avoid some uncertainties, especially in security, by monitoring everybody through various security organizations such as NSA.
Long term orientation tends to describe how society relates to its past, as it deals with the present and the future. Both the U.S. and Denmark have tremendous respect for their traditions and norms. And their love to visit their past is so big. The societies are aware of the truth and know what is right and what is evil as they strive to handle the future with lessons learnt from past practice. Lastly, the indulgence level relates to the socialization level. How people restrain or indulge in various activities is based on how they are raised. Both Denmark and the U.S. have high indulgence scores implying the willingness of people to give in to their desires and impulses to have fun and do other activities they desire.
In conclusion, different societies have different cultural attitudes, even though some dimensions exhibit related attitudes. Cultural beliefs determine how the people in the nation live and relate to one another.
the most different dimensions
The cultural attitudes of the people of Denmark and the people of the U.S. are significantly different. According to the 6-dimension model of the cultural comparison, it’s clear that the U.S. and Denmark have significant differences in their cultures. Power distance and Masculinity show the most significant differences in the 6-model similarities. Power distance refers to the situation in which members of the society have accepted that there must be inequalities when it comes to power distribution. Denmark scores low in this dimension, whereas the U.S. scores relatively higher.
On the other hand, Masculinity is the existence of competition in a society where people are motivated to achieve more success and be the best. Denmark again scores low, implying that it promotes togetherness and quality of life rather than standing out from others, whereas the U.S. is on the contrast scoring high. The policies of the two countries, therefore, differ with Denmark having its policies favouring equality and inclusivity. The U.S. will have its policies favouring the existence of inequality and competition among the members of society.
COMPARISON OF PARENTAL LEAVE POLICIES IN DENMARK AND US
Denmark is one of the most progressive and developed European Countries and one of the highly generous when it comes to parental leave (Downes, 2020). New mothers are entitled to up to 18 weeks of leave fully paid. Also, both the mother and the father can take up to 32 weeks, and this can be split between them according to their preference (Downes, 2020). The 32 weeks can further be extended by 14 weeks if the parents request so. The law permits up to 52 weeks paid parental leave per child from the government through the amount is usually less than the actual salary. However, most Denmark companies and firms also have friendly employee agreements that are in place, and they thus pay the employee full parental leave salary for a period. The amount is reimbursed to the company, which then disburses the employee according to the agreement. When the agreement between the company and the employee ends, the amount from the government would be paid directly to the employee. At the end of the leave, the employee has entitled a job almost or equivalent to the previous post in case the last job becomes unavailable (Rasmussen, 2020).
However, an employer can terminate employee services during parental leave as long as the reason is not related to pregnancy. It’s culturally accepted in Denmark for fathers to also involve themselves more in the duties of childcare and are therefore encouraged to take more parental leave days. However, it’s still women who take up more days averaging to around 300 days. Most fathers would take up to about 30 days off, after which they are seen back at work (Rasmussen, 2020).
On the other hand, U.S. is the only country among 41 countries in survey data by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) of 2018 that do not prompt paid leave for new mothers and fathers (Livingstone and Thomas, 2020). However, Some States such as California, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey and the District of Columbia; have in place state-mandated plans aimed to facilitate paid parental leave for new parents (Livingstone and Thomas, 2020). The capital, Washington also passed a law on the same in 2017 and is scheduled to take effect this year.
The federal government, through the Senate, has, however, proposed a new law that will provide more than 15 million new parents with each parent having an equal parental leave of 12 paid weeks (Patton, Costich and Lidströmer, 2017). This also applies to parents both of same-sex as long as they are recognized as the parents. However, it’s a disadvantage to single parents who can only claim half of what other families would and this is unfair given to the high number of single new parents in the U.S. of about 40%.
In conclusion, parental leave is more friendly in Denmark than in the U.S., which is practically relatively intolerant to new parents. The socio-political policies of Denmark, to a reasonable extent, favours new parenthood, whereas the U.S. policies have, in the past, been less attentive to new parenthood to employees.
References
Downes, J. (2020). What can be learned from Denmark’s parental leave and childcare policies? – Personnel Today. [online] Personnel Today. Available at: https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/denmark-parental-leave-childcare-policies/ [Accessed 7 Mar. 2020].
Livingstone, G. and Thomas, D. (2020). Among 41 countries, only the U.S. lacks paid parental leave. [online] Pew Research Center. Available at: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/12/16/u-s-lacks-mandated-paid-parental-leave/ [Accessed 7 Mar. 2020].
Patton, D., Costich, J. and Lidströmer, N. (2017). Paid Parental Leave Policies and Infant Mortality Rates in OECD Countries: Policy Implications for the United States. World Medical & Health Policy, 9(1), pp.6-23.
Rasmussen, N. (2020). Maternity leave and paternity leave when working in Denmark. [online] Øresunddirekt. Available at: https://www.oresunddirekt.se/en/working-in-denmark/family-and-parenting/parental-leave-when-working-in-denmark [Accessed 7 Mar. 2020].