USA

Cu|ture
A naLlon of lmmlgranLs lL ls culLurally dlverse
Amerlcan frlendllness and lnformallLy ls legendary 1hey are dlrecL ln Lhe ways Lhey
communlcaLe 1hey value loglc and llnear Lhlnklng and expecL people Lo speak clearly and ln a
sLralghLforward manner
1lme ls money ln uSA so people geL Lo Lhe polnL lmmedlaLely
Pandshake ls a common greeLlng
ln mosL slLuaLlons you can begln calllng people by Lhelr flrsL names
lL ls an lndlvlduallsLlc socleLy and Lhe power dlsLance ls narrow 1hey are rlsk Lakers and noL
male or female domlnaLed socleLy
uSA ls a low conLexL culLure and need verbal communlcaLlon and deLalls speclfled
Some maln characLerlsLlcs
ulverslLy
Amerlca ls ulLlmaLely a naLlon of lmmlgranLs and as a resulL ls a culLural mlshmash ln every
sense of Lhe word noL only ls Lhe counLry populaLed by people from forelgn counLrles buL all
Amerlcans ln one way or anoLher Lrace Lhelr ancesLry back Lo anoLher culLure wheLher lrlsh
Cerman lLallan or ScoLLlsh Looklng around any ma[or clLy one wlll noLlce Lhe 'melLlngpoL' LhaL
lL ls
lnformal and lrlendly
MosL people who come Lo Lhe unlLed SLaLes may already know a few Lhlngs abouL Lhe people
Lhrough 1v AlLhough Lhls ls of course a skewed reallLy some of Lhe sLereoLypes are Lrue
especlally Amerlcan frlendllness and lnformallLy eople Lend Lo noL walL Lo be lnLroduced wlll
begln Lo speak wlLh sLrangers as Lhey sLand ln a queue slL nexL Lo each oLher aL an evenL eLc
vlslLors can ofLen be surprlsed when people are so lnformal Lo Lhe polnL of belng very dlrecL or
even rude
1lme ls Money
1he counLry LhaL colned Lhe phrase obvlously llves Lhe phrase ln Amerlca Llme ls a very
lmporLanL commodlLy eople save Llme and spend Llme as lf lL were money ln Lhe bank
Amerlcans ascrlbe personallLy characLerlsLlcs and values based on how people use Llme lor
example people who are onLlme are consldered Lo be good people rellable people who
oLhers can counL on
1he lamlly
1he famlly unlL ls generally consldered Lhe nuclear famlly and ls Lyplcally small (wlLh excepLlons
among cerLaln eLhnlc groups) LxLended famlly relaLlves llve ln Lhelr own homes ofLen aL greaL
dlsLances from Lhelr chlldren
lndlvlduallsm ls prlzed and Lhls ls reflecLed ln Lhe famlly unlL eople are proud of Lhelr
lndlvldual accompllshmenLs lnlLlaLlve and success and may or may noL share Lhose sources of
prlde wlLh Lhelr elders
CommunlcaLlon SLyles (lmp)
Amerlcans are dlrecL 1hey value loglc and llnear Lhlnklng and expecL people Lo speak clearly
and ln a sLralghLforward manner 1o Lhem lf you don'L Lell lL how lL ls" you slmply wasLe Llme
and Llme ls money lf you are from a culLure LhaL ls more subLle ln communlcaLlon sLyle Lry noL
Lo be lnsulLed by Lhe dlrecLness 1ry Lo geL Lo your polnL more qulckly and don'L be afrald Lo be
more dlrecL and honesL Lhan you are used Lo Amerlcans wlll use Lhe Lelephone Lo conducL
buslness LhaL would requlre a faceLoface meeLlng ln mosL oLher counLrles 1hey do noL lnslsL
upon seelng or geLLlng Lo know Lhe people wlLh whom Lhey do buslness


Language |n the USA
1he unlLed SLaLes does noL have an offlclal language buL Lngllsh ls spoken by abouL 82 of Lhe
populaLlon as a naLlve language 1he varleLy of Lngllsh spoken ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes ls known as
Amerlcan Lngllsh LogeLher wlLh Canadlan Lngllsh lL makes up Lhe group of dlalecLs known as
norLh Amerlcan Lngllsh Spanlsh ls Lhe secondmosL common language ln Lhe counLry spoken
by almosL 30 mllllon people (or 12 of Lhe populaLlon)
1hen explaln abouL whaL problems and challenges communlcaLors wlll faceno proper lnfo on
neL buL we can make lL on our own menLlonlng Lhe face LhaL lL has largesL lmmlgranLs So varled
languagesn explaln Lhe Lhree ponLs
LranslaLlon
LransllLeraLlon
mlscommunlcaLlon due Lo wrong LexL


,ed|a
1he uS medla Loday ls frequenLly known as Lhe lourLh LsLaLe an appellaLlon LhaL suggesLs Lhe
press shares equal sLaLure wlLh Lhe oLher branches of governmenL creaLed by Lhe ConsLlLuLlon
1he press or lourLh LsLaLe plays a vlLal role as a guardlan of uS democracy
Amerlcan medla conglomeraLes Lend Lo be leadlng global players generaLlng large revenues as
well as large opposlLlon ln many parLs of Lhe world
naLlonal ubllc 8adlo ls Lhe naLlons prlmary publlc radlo neLwork buL mosL radlo sLaLlons are
commerclal and proflLorlenLed
nlneLynlne percenL of Amerlcan households have aL leasL one Lelevlslon and Lhe ma[orlLy of
households have more Lhan one 1he four ln Lhe uS are Lhe naLlonal 8roadcasLlng Company
(n8C) Columbla 8roadcasLlng SysLem (C8S) Lhe Amerlcan 8roadcasLlng Company (A8C) and
lox
newspapers have decllned ln Lhelr lnfluence and peneLraLlon lnLo Amerlcan households over
Lhe years 1he uS does noL have a naLlonal paper 1he New otk 1lmes and Lhe woll 5tteet
Iootool are sold ln mosL uS clLles
ually newspaper clrculaLlon ls also slowly decllnlng ln Amerlca parLly due Lo Lhe neardemlse of
Lwonewspaper Lowns as Lhe weaker newspapers ln mosL clLles have folded 1he prlmary source
of newspaper lncome ls adverLlslng ln Lhe form of classlfleds or lnserLed adverLlslng clrculars raLher
Lhan clrculaLlon lncome
1he prlnL and elecLronlc medla ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes offerlng wlde news and enLerLalnmenL
opLlons are a pervaslve elemenL ln Amerlcan socleLy Accordlng Lo a recenL survey by
Medlamark 8esearch 98 of Amerlcans have a Lelevlslon 82 of Lhose waLch prlme Llme
and 71 cable programmlng ln an average week 84 percenL of Amerlcans llsLen Lo radlo
regularly 79 percenL are newspaper readers 43 percenL of Lhe whole Amerlcan populaLlon
has access Lo Lhe lnLerneL whlle for cerLaln demographlc groups LhaL percenLage reaches a hlgh
of close Lo 70
Medla and communlcaLlons wlLh revenues of over $242 bllllon are one of Amerlcas largesL
buslness groups ln 2000 adulL consumers of medla lnformaLlon and amusemenL producLs
spenL over $673 a person AdverLlsers spenL an addlLlonal $213 bllllon Lo brlng Lhelr producLs Lo
Lhe aLLenLlon of Lhe Amerlcan publlc 1he medla are a greaL englne ln Amerlcan socleLy
provldlng [obs for hundreds of Lhousands of Lechnlclans wrlLers arLlsLs performers and
lnLellecLuals and shaplng aLLlLudes and bellefs

||t|ca|
1he |aw the Un|ted States conslsLs of many levels
1
of codlfled and uncodlfled forms of law of whlch
Lhe mosL lmporLanL ls Lhe unlLed SLaLes ConsLlLuLlon Lhe foundaLlon of Lhe federal governmenL of Lhe
unlLed SLaLes
1he Un|ted States ls a federal consLlLuLlonal republlc ln whlch Lhe resldenL of Lhe unlLed SLaLes (Lhe
head of sLaLe and head of governmenL) Congress and [udlclary share powers reserved Lo Lhe naLlonal
governmenL and Lhe federal governmenL shares soverelgnLy wlLh Lhe sLaLe governmenLs
1he Amerlcan pollLlcal culLure ls deeply rooLed ln Lhe colonlal experlence and Lhe Amerlcan 8evoluLlon
1he colonles were excepLlonal ln Lhe Luropean world for Lhelr vlbranL pollLlcal culLure whlch aLLracLed
Lhe mosL LalenLed and amblLlous young men lnLo pollLlcs
SLaLes governmenLs have Lhe power Lo make laws on all sub[ecLs LhaL are noL granLed Lo Lhe federal
governmenL or denled Lo Lhe sLaLes ln Lhe uS ConsLlLuLlon1hese lnclude educaLlon famlly law
conLracL law and mosL crlmes unllke Lhe federal governmenL whlch only has Lhose powers granLed Lo
lL ln Lhe ConsLlLuLlon a sLaLe governmenL has lnherenL powers allowlng lL Lo acL unless llmlLed by a
provlslon of Lhe sLaLe or naLlonal consLlLuLlon
1here are Lhree general Lypes of clLy governmenL Lhe mayorcouncll Lhe commlsslon and Lhe councll
manager 1hese are Lhe pure forms many clLles have developed a comblnaLlon of Lwo or Lhree of Lhem
Amerlcan pollLlcal parLles are more loosely organlzed Lhan Lhose ln oLher counLrles 1he Lwo ma[or
parLles ln parLlcular have no formal organlzaLlon aL Lhe naLlonal level LhaL conLrols membershlp
acLlvlLles or pollcy poslLlons Lhough some sLaLe afflllaLes do 1he resulL ls LhaL Amerlcan pollLlcal parLles
have weak cenLral organlzaLlons and llLLle cenLral ldeology uesplLe Lhese weak organlzaLlons elecLlons
are sLlll usually porLrayed as naLlonal races beLween Lhe pollLlcal parLles
Lcn
1he unlLed SLaLes has a caplLallsL mlxed economy whlch ls fueled by abundanL naLural resources a well
developed lnfrasLrucLure and hlgh producLlvlLy

1he unlLed SLaLes ls Lhe largesL lmporLer of goods and

Lhlrd largesL exporLer Lhough exporLs per caplLa are relaLlvely low ln 2010 Lhe LoLal uS Lrade deflclL
was $6349 bllllon
78
Canada Chlna Mexlco !apan and Cermany are lLs Lop Lradlng parLners
79
ln
2010 oll was Lhe largesL lmporL commodlLy whlle LransporLaLlon equlpmenL was Lhe counLrys largesL
exporL
78
Chlna ls Lhe largesL forelgn holder of uS publlc debL

Compared Lo Lurope uS properLy and

corporaLe lncome Lax raLes are generally hlgher whlle labor and parLlcularly consumpLlon Lax raLes are
lower
93
1he uS welfare sLaLe ls one of Lhe leasL exLenslve ln Lhe developed world reduclng boLh relaLlve
poverLy and absoluLe poverLy by conslderably less Lhan Lhe mean for rlch naLlons
9697
Lhough
comblned prlvaLe and publlc soclal expendlLures per caplLa are relaLlvely hlgh
raz||
Lcn
8razll's economy ls growlng Lhe currency ls sLrong and Lhe confldence hlgh people are
beglnnlng Lo deslre Lhlngs LhaL were ouL of reach [usL a few years ago WealLhy and mlddle class
are Lradlng up Lo more expenslve producLs and buylng more of Lhem Cver Lhe lasL few years
Lhe belly of Lhe markeL" composed of Lhe mlddle class households LhaL Lhe equlvalenL of $
23000 a year
1he 8razlllan economy ls Lhe worlds sevenLh largesL economy by nomlnal Cu and Lhe elghLh largesL by
purchaslng power parlLy 8razll ls one of Lhe worlds fasLesL growlng ma[or economles
Cu|ture
CulLural dlmenslons analyze key culLural LralLs LhaL affefcL and lnfluence values 8razll has low
lndlvlduallsm lndlcaLlng LhaL lL ls a collecLlvlsL socleLy 1he culLure has a close longLerm
commlLmenL Lo Lhe member group be LhaL a famlly exLended famlly or exLended relaLlonshlps
LoyalLy ln a collecLlvlsL csulLure lf paramounL and overrldes mosL oLher socleLal rules
ln 8razll Lherefore lL ls lmporLanL Lo know Lhe followlng
value ls placed on Lhe needs of Lhe group
culLure ls exLremely famlly orlenLed
key declslons are made wlLh regards Lo famlly
culLure deslres unlLy and remalns loyal Lo Lhe unlL

ul 70 l C 34 Mll 43 uA 76 PC 60

lamlly ls Lhe foundaLlon of Lhe soclal sLrucLure and forms Lhe basls of sLablllLy of mosL people
1he famlly Lends Lo be large 1here ls a class sysLem 1he upper and mlddle class have only a
brlef lnLeracLlon wlLh Lhe lower class Class ls deLermlned by skln colour and economlc sLaLus
AlLhough women make up 40 of Lhe workforce Lhey are found ln lower pald [obs such as
Leachlng admlnlsLraLlve supporL and nurslng
1he people love soclallzlng and spendlng Llme wlLh each oLher1hough Lhe culLure Lends Lo be
relaLlvely lnformal Lhey are qulLe fashlon consclous

urple flowers are used exLenslvely aL funerals so one has Lo be cauLlous ln Lhe use of Lhe
colour


,ed|a
1v plays a promlnenL role ln Lhe 8razll households and ls consldered as one of Lhe maln
channels of access Lo lnformaLlon especlally among Lhe less economlcally favoured famllles
Chlldren have a preponderanL role ln Lhe selecLlon of programmes Lo waLch on 1v
8razll ls Lrylng Lo lmplemenL Lhe Swedlsh rule Lo ban chlldren compleLely from 1v
ay channels are only 10 'Clobo' ls Lhe maln neLwork domlnanL ln audlence share CLher
channels are yeL Lo make a mark
Poardlngs are popular Masslve skyscraper slze hoardlng llne Lhe sLreeLs of Sao aulo 1he
brands show Lhe unlnhlblLed naLure of Lhe 8razlllan socleLy ClanL lmages of men and women
wlLh only Lhelr underwear and Lhe layboy cenLre page are dlsplayed ln huge cuLouLs
Poardlngs are puL up lllegally and cause 'vlsual polluLlon' 1here ls a proposal Lo ban Lhese
hoardlngs
1he ouLdoor medla ls polluLed buL cheap
AlLhough half Lhe populaLlon ls black all ads have whlLe models 8lack people have been
LradlLlonally absenL ln ads excepL as malds drlvers eLc
ComparaLlve ads are allowed wlLhln llmlLs lL should be ob[ecLlve and enough evldence Lo
supporL Lhe clalms made
Ads dlrecLed Lowards chlldren and Leenagers shall pay speclal aLLenLlon Lo Lhe psychologlcal
aspecLs of Lhe LargeL audlence
8reakdown of lnvesLmenL by medla
1v 60 newspaper 18 Magazlne 10 oLhers less Lhan 10