Collectivism In American Business Culture

First, we have Power distance which describes the degree to which people in a country accept that power in institutions and organizations is distributed unequally (Robbins, 79). When America’s business culture was first being formed it could be described in a very distinct way and that way would be described as high in power distance. The age of Robber Barons also saw an influx of new immigrants to America. These Immigrants were looking to escape the destitution of the old world and were happy to have what they could in the new. They were comfortable to accept that power was distributed unequally and those at the top held it. However, this wouldn’t last for long. By the turn of the century workers demonstrated and rioted at their treatment …show more content…
Individualism being how much a person would prefer to act as an individual as opposed to a member of a group believing in individual rights over group rights while collectivism emphasizes group effort and the expectation to look after the well-being of others and for others to reciprocate. America has always been a highly individualistic culture. Examples of this in the early days of American business culture are rampant. From the monopolies to the war of the currents. Business was cut-throat, and it was every man for himself. Depending on your view, it is either good or bad that this cultural aspect has remained for over two centuries. On one hand it is this mentality that has made America the leader in global business and innovation. On the other this mentality has also made America look greedy and selfish. One company that exemplifies the down side of this characteristic is Uber. Problems with Uber surfaced some time ago with the publication of the blog of a former employee. After this more and more employees came forward with stories of abuse and harassment. It was the chief executive, Travis Kalanick who laid the highly individualistic tone by “Flouting local laws and criticizing competitors in a race to expand as quickly as possible” (Isaac NY Times). This can also be seen in Uber’s core values. While Uber doesn’t offer a company mission statement on its website their set of values have made its way to the public via inside sources and the internet. Three values, in particular, scream individualism; champion’s mind-set, principled confrontation and meritocracy and toe-stepping. The idea of a champion’s mind-set leads one to think that winning is key, no matter what the cost to others may be. And while it is agreed that some confrontation is good for organizations, to have it as a company value seems to invite confrontation for the sake of it. Confrontation is a highly individualist notion and does