hi toxxic, "As for the U.S. culture, having spent almost a year...

hi toxxic,

"As for the U.S. culture, having spent almost a year here, I can vouch for the difference in culture. The weird thing is, the difference is anything but subtle, yet it's still hard to put into words."

completely agree with that.

The cultural difference is something that I try and keep in mind every time I read an AJX ann. - the fact that a lot of the writers (in the case of the newsletter) and often single anns. are written by someone who is of a very different culture to us here.

Parsifal will probably tell you in another thread about the NZ details - she is from the North - but, more importantly she has worked in a wide variety of cultures in business and gov. - including involvement with American culture.

We could probably have a very robust discussion here about the differences between us and America - but, I think it would be the wrong place to discuss.

Just a quick comment on your "In some regards, it's far more of a dog-eat-dog environment - there's a lot more "eat what you kill" mentality and the whole concept of the "rat race". People are definitely more willing to step on others to get ahead - it's just the way things are here."

I get that - I don't know if it has changed from decades back - but, from what you note, I think it is the same ------- to me - in Australia 'generally' we have a 'fair go' and a 'fair deal'.
I found that to be very different to Americans - who, (and I could be wrong here in the way I put it) - moreso think in terms of 'winner takes all'.

I have lived long enough to think that that is just a difference - and, one has to work within differences - or, we wouldn't work at all.

I worked out a long time ago - that at the very least - if that is the case - then, 'I get it' - and, that is 90% of the battle - understanding the differences.

Compare that to say working with China - or Japan - or then all the other Asian variables - and, I find it very very confusing - just getting to know the business culture - let alone being able to work 'with' it.

All this stuff is vital for AJX or any company that operates across different cultures. Whoever it is that ties together things like Asian production companies, European, American - wow, to me - that's a magical mystery tour.
Arrogance has no place in that sort of work or you can see your business going rapidly down the drain.

have a great day

Pinto