Cultural Dilemma in the US Postal Service

There are legion cultural differences in our societies as a consequence of the legion diverse civilizations that people belong to. Each civilization has its ain ways of making things with different cultural norms. values. perceptual experiences. every bit good as behaviours. Peoples from certain civilizations will pattern the values. norms and perceptual experiences that their civilizations belief in and hence will stop up holding troubles when interacting with people from different civilizations who will hold differing cultural norms. values and perceptual experiences.

These cultural differences are manifested in the workplace as different people from different civilizations come together to work together for the common end of the establishment or organisation they work for. Since our cultural values and norms act upon our single apprehensions and perceptual experiences.

People will respond otherwise towards events and fortunes that could happen within us and in the environment. These differences in perceptual experiences will impact how employees within an organisation will interact with each other and work in harmoniousness so as to fulfill the demands of the organization’s stakeholders.

As such. cultural differences are a major concern for directors within organisations as they could assist the organisation accomplish its aims or impede it from accomplishing them. The aims of an organisation are set in topographic point by its stakeholders who have invested in the organisation in one manner or the other and expect to derive from such an investing in future. It is hence the duty of directors to happen a manner in which the employees within an organisation can work together in a seamless mode despite their differences in civilization so as to guarantee the organisation operates continually for the common good of all stakeholders.

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The United States Postal Service The Postal Service is an bureau authorized by the fundamental law of the United States and is responsible for the proviso of postal services to the whole of the United States. Established in 1775 in Philadelphia by Benjamin Franklin through the passage of a edict passed by the 2nd Continental Congress. it experienced minimum growing and was subsequently transformed in to its current signifier as an independent organisation through the sign language of the postal reorganisation act of 1970 by President Nixon.

As an independent organisation. the postal service is self sufficient and does non trust on taxpayer’s money for its operations. The Postal Service’s mission is to offer the American people with sure wide-reaching postal services that are at low-cost monetary values. As such. the Postal Service is the lone bringing service within the United States with the duty of supplying all of the assorted characteristics of a cosmopolitan postal service at moderately priced rates. The Postal Service conveys about 660 million mails to about 142 million bringing topographic point around the United States.

Although the postal service enjoys a monopoly as contained in Article I of the Constitution that grants the Postal Service with the particular right to do bringing of letters in add-on to the power to curtail the entree to mailbox that are entirely meant for mail. Its major rivals are United Parcel Service and FedEx. The postal service manages 32. 741 station offices within the United States with a labour force of approximately 656. 000 employees. Cultural differences of direction and how they affect the US Postal Service

The United States is a state that is full of cultural diverseness with different cultural patterns based on the legion cultural groups that live in the United States. The employees working in the postal service are drawn from these different cultural groups. As such. directors at the postal service have to cover with these differences efficaciously so as to guarantee continues success of the organisation. In making so. directors need to be cognizant of and understand the seven dimensions of civilization developed by Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner detailed in their book Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Diverseness in Global Business.

Below is a treatment of these seven dimensions. Universalism v/s Particularism This dimension is based on the position of how a civilization perceives regulations and relationships. Cultures that embrace universalism hold the belief that general regulations. values. codifications. norms and criterions take penchant over other peculiar demands. claims of friendly relationship and other dealingss. In a society that is universalistic. the regulations normally apply every bit to all of the members of the existence ( Trompenaars & A ; Hampden-Turner. 1998 ) .

Exceptions to these regulations are deemed as to weaken them. Universalism is based on happening regulations that take a wide and general image. In the event that there lacks a regulation that fits for carry throughing something. universalism advocates for taking the option of set uping the most appropriate regulation. Cultures that embracing Particularism perceive the ideal civilization as 1 that is based on human friendly relationship. and intimate relationships. Peoples in these civilizations view the spirit of the jurisprudence as being more important than the missive of the jurisprudence.

This has the consequence that when the regulations within a civilization take a perfect tantrum. people in such a civilization will judge the instance based on the advantages of the jurisprudence alternatively of trying to coerce the regulation to suit. Rules and ordinances within particularistic civilizations simply codify how people are supposed to associate to one another. Individualism v/s Communitarianism This dimension is based on the position of how members of a civilization maps. whether in groups or as persons. Individuality has a footing on rights that appertain to an person.

This is normally experienced in communities that have loose ties linking their members ensuing in an outlook of persons to look after themselves. Individualism is aimed at giving persons the right to personal infinite every bit good as the freedom of making things as per single liking ( Trompenaars & A ; Hampden-Turner. 1998 ) . It permits each person to develop or neglect on an single footing. every bit good as comprehending group-focus as striping the individual of their absolute rights. Individualist civilizations are more narcissistic and give accent to their personal ends.

Peoples ensuing from individualistic civilizations have a leaning of believing merely on personal footing. Communitarianism or Bolshevism is based on rights that appertain to a group. Corporate civilizations normally place a batch of emphasize on groups and are more concerned with the whole instead than on the individual person. Harmony every bit good as trueness within a group are really imperative and ought to be maintained ever ( Trompenaars & A ; Hampden-Turner. 1998 ) . Confrontations of any sort are extremely avoided with people utilizing looks and phrases that would depict an statement in less negative mode.

Stating no to others is considered to be incorrect and deemed as a manner of destructing the harmoniousness found within these groups. Impersonal v/s Emotional Emotional or impersonal positions are used in the description of how civilizations articulate their emotions. Emotional civilizations articulate their emotions in a natural manner . This is witnessed in reactions that occur immediately through verbal and/or non-verbal agencies such as mimic every bit good as organic structure signals. Members of the emotional civilization unlike those in the impersonal civilization show a inclination of overreaction making scenes.

Emotional civilizations are normally focused on the person and seldom on the object or place of treatment. It is considered to be alright for one to utilize emotional intelligence when doing determinations. It is besides all right for people to demo assorted signifiers of physical contact while in public and during the communicating procedure. The impersonal civilization tends to avoid exposing emotions publicly. This is based on the fact that impersonal civilizations do non uncover what they are believing in a manner that is more precise every bit good as direct .

This is an facet that has the likeliness of taking to misinterpretations. This is because emotions of a certain sort may non needfully show a certain state of affairs. Impersonal civilizations normally appear to be instead reserved. an facet that can non be viewed as an indicant of their disinterest or ennui. This visual aspect of reserve is based on deficiency of emotional tone. On a general position they harbor feelings of uncomfortableness over contact in public resulting in a manner of communicating that is more elusive therefore doing it difficult for members of another civilization to understand.

Specific vs. diffuse Specific civilizations are those that normally have a little country reserved for privateness and its separated from the public life. Peoples in these societies have many interactions with the outside universe and are invariably involved in such activities such as socialising in assorted countries that involve many people. Peoples from these civilizations have a instead little sum of privateness preferring to portion at that place involvements with others who are within their groups of socialisation.

Peoples from such a civilization trade with particulars and will see the whole as a amount of these specific parts. The life of an person is divided into several specific parts and one trades with one portion at a clip. Conversely. diffuse civilizations are normally concerned with keeping people’s privateness. Peoples in these civilizations will avoid any sort of confrontations in the populace and have a high grade of privateness preferring to portion merely a little sum of their private life with other people particularly aliens.

Peoples from diffuse civilizations normally start with the whole before traveling down to the assorted parts that make it up. Each of the parts is viewed in the point of view of the whole sum with all of these parts being related to one another. These people prefer properties and behaviours that help construct trust and honestness furthering the edifice of strong relationships. Achievement vs. attribution This dimension is concerned with the position accorded to persons within civilizations. In civilizations that are achievement oriented. the position of an person is based on the achievements that one has achieved and accomplished.

Persons from these civilizations gain their position from the assorted things that they have accomplished on their ain. A individual with such a position has to demo prove of what he or she is deserving with the assorted powerful places within the civilization being accorded to people who have certain achievements. In civilizations that are attribution oriented. the position of an person is based on the groups that one is associated with. In ascriptive societies. persons gain their position chiefly through birth. gender. wealth. or age. An individual who has an ascribed position does non needfully hold to carry through something so as to continue his position since his or her position is accorded based on his or her being. Sequential vs. synchronic This dimension is concerned with the attitude of a civilization towards clip.

Peoples who are from consecutive civilizations tend to transport out one thing at a clip in a consecutive mode. They examine clip as distinguishable. and made up of back-to-back divisions which are both touchable and divisible . Peoples from these civilizations strongly prefer to be after for their clip and will maintain to these programs one time they made them so as to help in execution. Any clip committednesss that one might hold are normally taken earnestly and remaining on agenda is considered an of import facet of clip direction. Consecutive people in peculiar topographic point a batch of importance on the value of finishing of undertakings. Conversely. people from civilizations that are synchronous normally perform several undertakings at a clip.

These civilizations view clip is a changeless flow that allows many things and undertakings to be carried out at the same time. Time is perceived as a force that one can non be able to incorporate or command. Time is besides regarded every bit flexible every bit good as intangible. Time committednesss are frequently desirable but non absolute with programs that people could be holding being easy changed. Internal vs. external control This dimension is concerned with the attitude of a civilization towards the environment. In internal civilizations. people normally posses a mechanistic mentality of nature. They perceive nature as an intricate machine and which can be directed if one has the right expertness needed to make so. Peoples from these societies do non believe in the being of fortune or any signifier of predestination. These people are directed towards the interior as one’s personal determination is normally deemed to be the starting place for each action that they will make.

They besides believe that one can populate the sort of life that he or she wants to populate if that are in a place to take advantage of the legion chances that might come on the manner. In add-on. they believe that adult male is capable of ruling nature if he wishes to make so. . In external civilizations. people normally posses an organic mentality of nature. They perceive that world is one of the forces of nature and should therefore operate in one agreement and harmoniously with the remainder of the environment. These civilizations hold the believe that adult male should repress to nature every bit good as get along with the other forces bing within the environment ( Trompenaars & A ; Hampden-Turner. 1998 ) .

These people do non believe in their ability of determining their ain fate but instead speculate that nature moves in instead cryptic ways therefore one can non ne’er cognize what is traveling to go on in the hereafter. As such. their actions are directed externally to the environment and are adapted to the external fortunes environing them. Decision Based on these seven dimensions. the American civilization is individualistic. accomplishment. emotional. internal. consecutive. universalistic. and specific.

These dimensions have several deductions that directors need to see in order to do certain that the employees are able to work in a mode that benefits the organisation every bit good as themselves particularly in a big organisation such as the postal service that employs over 600. 000 employees. In add-on. due to the cultural diverseness nowadays in the United States and the growing of globalisation. there are legion citizens from different civilizations in the United States that do non follow these seven dimensions of the American civilization and hence follow different facets of the seven dimensions. With the postal service being a national bureau that offers employment to all citizens irrespective of their cultural backgrounds. directors need to guarantee that the employees are able to work in a mode that benefits the organisation. This will necessitate the directors to construct cultural understanding through:

• Building consciousness of cultural differences.
• Educating the employees on the assorted strengths and restrictions of different civilizations within the workplace
• Educating the employees on the Building skills the impact of cultural differences within the workplace
• Educating the employees on assorted adaptative behaviours that could assist them to recognize valuable consequences within a puting with cultural differences.
• Building integrity and consistence through squad working
• Developing a shared apprehension and vision between the employees
•  Establishing effectual communicating channels amongst the employees to ease choice exchange of thoughts between themselves
• Establishing feedback mechanisms aimed at reexamining and bettering the employee’s consciousness of cultural differences.

In add-on. the directors need to come up with schemes that will enable the postal service to vie efficaciously. This will necessitate them to actively develop:

•  A shared apprehension of the organization’s ends and aims
•  An recognition of the significance of diverseness in lending towards expertness.
•  A clear and shared comprehension of the function of professional pooling of accomplishments and cognition within the organisation