Moving to another country requires an individual to understand the cultural and communication setting of the population. Learning the socio-cultural differences between one’s cultures with that of the foreign country limits misunderstandings and challenges of blending-in the community without becoming the object of gazes, gossips, and misfit to everyone else (Hofstede, 2018). Therefore, as an American student, I intend to compare the United States with Canada. The socio-cultural differences and communication are essential in determining the challenges involved while doing business in Canada for an American.
Canada borders the U.S. to the north with the closeness and with more people living along the border making most of their cultural and social aspects similar to those of their southern neighbors. However, unlike in the U.S. where Americans are proud to show their superiority and identify as Americans due to the melting pot and the American dream, Canadians tend to value their homeland (Stam, 2014). For instance, a sixth generation immigrant from Ireland will still describe themselves as Irish (McMahon, 2012). However, cultural diversity is the main strength in Canada compared to America where issues such as racial discrimination may be prominent.
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Canada’s official language is English and French whereas America official language is English and the language barrier is the primary concern among the immigrants to succeed in the U.S. compared to Canada. Maintaining eye-contact is common in the two nations, but Canadians are conservative and private whereas Americans are aggressive. It is evident that in any given conversation, Americans like winning over reasoning hence the interruptions during conversations. The aggression may be wrong but with Americans, ‘Yes’ means yes and ‘No’ means no, there is no room to negotiate or time to engage in emotions (McMahon, 2012). Canadians on the other hand like to engage in conversations that are based on thorough investigations and have the reports and their reasoning is also high as they are not driven to win but to ensure business negotiation results in a win/win situations.
Canada offers their employees a better and longer leaves compared to the U.S. for instance, paid one-year maternity leave compared to the three-month paid maternity leave in the United States (Stam, 2014). The two countries have enjoyed a significant interaction, but as demonstrated above, Canadians are more accommodating if an individual is willing to respect their opinions and social differences.
References
Hofstede, G. (2018). The 6 dimensions model of national culture. Retrieved June 30, 2018 from, https://geerthofstede.com/culture-geert-hofstede-gert-jan-hofstede/6d-model-of-national-culture/
McMahon, T. (2012, July 20). Doing business with Americans? HSBC has some (hilarious) cultural advice. Macleans . Retrieved June 30, 2018 from, https://www.macleans.ca/economy/business/doing-business-across-the-border-hsbc-has-some-hilarious-cultural-advice/
Stam, L. (2014, September 24). US versus Canadian Workplaces . Employment & Human Rights Law in Canada . Retrieved June 30, 2018 from, https://www.canadaemploymenthumanrightslaw.com/2014/09/us-versus-canadian-workplaces/
