High—Power Distance in culture

Abstract： Different countries own different cultures.It is inevitable that the cultural difference has great impact on us. It is especially important in intercultural communication .Chinese culture is different from other cultures from western countries. It is a culture that attaches great importance to high –power distance. This concept is already rooted deeply in peoples heart. It is shown in peoples lives in different aspects.It is very easy to notice this trait in class ，working place and family.

Key words： high-power distance，differences

1.meaning of power distance index

Power distance index is defined by Geert Hofstede as the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions accept and expect that power is distributed equally.

Dutch sociologist Geert Hofstede developed The Power-Distance Index （PDI） which measures the distribution of power and wealth between people in a nation， business or culture. Hofstede considered that the power-distance index seeks to demonstrate the extent to which subordinates or ordinary citizens submit to authority. In the low-power distance countries or organizations the power-distance index figure is low and authority figures work closely with those not in authority.The power distance index figure is high in the countries or organizations with a more authoritarian hierarchy.Gudykunst writes "Individuals from high power distance cultures accept power as part of society.As such， superiors considers their subordinates to be different themselves and vice versa"（CA：Sage， 2001）China is a country with higher power distance index figure.

Chinese people believe that they belong to different class divisions in the society. Consciously or unconsciously ancient Chinese culture teaches them that people are not equal in the world and each person has his own place. Great centralization and importance is placed on status and rank.The subordinate can accept that the supervisor display their authority. If something goes wrong ， the subordinates are usually blamed for not doing their job properly. We also can see teachers are treated respectfully.

Low-power distance countries such as United States，New Zealand and Israel hold the ideas that a hierarchy is an inequality.People should be treated equal no matter who you are --the superior or the subordinate.Superiors treat subordinates with respect and do not pull rank.If something goes wrong ，the superior is usually blamed by giving unrealistic goals or being too strict. At school teachers are just employees.

2.high-power distance culture in China

2.1participation of students in class

The most significant influence in cultural difference is the power distance.In cultures which features in high power distance， the less powerful accept power relations that are autocratic or paternalistic.Hofstedes theory was applied to analyze the cause of power distance and it also presents some influences that power distance have on peoples daily life， including the various aspects of relations between parents and children， of relations between teachers and students and of relations between managers and employees .People in such a society， like Chinese， emphasize the individual position differences and they are willing to accept such kind of unbalanced power delegation China is a country with very long history.

Hierarchism and greater centralization ，which sometimes are called 'power-oriented culture' ，are completely due to the historical reasons.We Chinese people realize that getting more touched with outside world will be of great benefits to ourselves. So， understanding culture difference is very important in intercultural communication. In the oriental， power distance is also associated with 'the family culture' （Trompernaars， 1993：139）. In family culture， the power distance can be regarded as the subordinates respect the superiors. Chinese culture is profound and it is the culture that emphasizes the high-power distance. This feature lies in many aspects. Chinese students participation is a good case in point.

Comparing Western students participation with Chinese students ， some researchers find that their classroom participation pattern is different. Their difference is described as the following：

（1）.Chinese students seldom ask questions or answer questions voluntarily（Biggs，1996 ；Bradley & Bradley，1984 ；Ballard & Rodriguez，1996 ）.

（2） Chinese students do not challenge the teacher， their peers or the textbooks directly and openly （ Carrasquillo & Rogudriguez，1996）.

（3） Chinese students are not active in participating in tutorials or group discussions （Bradley & Bradley，1984； Jones， 1995）.

（4）Chinese students show a respectful obedience to the teacher（Jones， 1995； Carrasquillo & Rogudriguez，1996）.While the opposite is encouraged in the West.

In China， whenever a teacher uses the students name， he or she always says the full name. But the students never can address a teacher by his or her full name. If they do so not only will the teacher be offended but they will also be considered as impolite. This phenomenon is not common in Western countries where culture is considered Low Power Distance.People who live in low power-distance cultures are freer to display emotions to individuals with different social status， because status differences are small （Richard L. Wiseman& Pan， 2009， 308）. The obedience showed from the subordinates to the superiors in low-power culture is not as much as the oriental way in low-power distance country. In Western countries students like to present their different ideas and challenge their teachers and students are encouraged to do so.

This phenomenon reveals that Chinese culture has great influence on Chinese students. Confucians philosophy is the unequal relationship between people and maintaining harmony. In<< Communication Between Cultures>> Larry A. Samovar， Richard E.Porter presents that China is a country of “high power distance”. In the book << Communication Between Cultures>> the author shows “these culture teaches their members that people are not equal in this world and that everybody has a rightful place， which is clearly marked by countless vertical arrangements.” There are four cultural dimensions that were defined in Hofstede's research： Power distance， Uncertainty avoidance， Individualism， Masculinity， and recently Hofstede add one more： long-term-short-term orientation .China is a typical country of “large power distance.”

2.2 in peoples working place

It also has a great impact on business. （Hoecklin，1995：28）"It would condition the extent to which employees accept that their boss has more power than they have and the extent to which they accept that their boss's opinions and decisions are right because he or she is the boss." Among most oriental corporate cultures， there is hierarchism， greater centralization， sometimes called 'power-oriented culture'， due to the historical reasons. In high power distance countries and organizations， people don't dare to question the decisions of their leaders. Leader/subordinate relationships are not close and leaders are expected to earn more money and get more respect. Subordinates expect to have their jobs and responsibilities dictated to them， and in some cases， will not show disagreement to the authority for fear of the serious consequences for stirring up conflict.

That is a high power distance culture that managers make the decision and superiors appeal to be entitled more privileges. The relationship between employees and their managers or boss may affect the total income and the opportunity of getting promoted in the near future.The superiors decision always close supervision positively evaluated by subordinates. In the process of decision making s， bosses always play the most important role . They maybe will listen to the subordinates ideas or suggestions， but not really adopt those opinions.In this situation， it is not regarded if a subordinates have a disagreement with their managers， especially in Malaysia， Japan， China， India.

In China ，in most cases， when the job and work are respectable and admirable， the title of that profession is used in the form of address together with the family name. Employees in the company have to call their managers in a very polite way by using appropriate titles. They are not allowed to use the nick name directly.We can say “Chairman Jiang”， “Dean Zhang”， “Director Chen”， “Teacher Liu”， “Doctor Xu”， but never “Worker Jiang”， “Farmer Li”， etc. The title indicates ones social position in society and reveals the power distance as well. People automatically accept this power distance.

2.3 high-power distance in family

In Chinese families children are taught to be obedient to their parents. Parents are also expect their children to take orders from them. Sometimes children are punished just because their kids dont follow the orders from their parents. Even children are grown up ，authority still plays a very important role in their lives. Paternalism has been existing in China since ancient times and it is still existing now in some families.

However， paternalism is gradually disappearing in modern China. Some Chinese parents are encouraging their children to be independent and offer their kids opportunities to maximize their potentials. Compared with American low -power distance culture ，the American parents will listen to their childrens opinions and show proper respect for them. American parents give their children enough freedom and seldom criticize their children.

3.issues caused by differences of high-power distance culture

3.1 Chinas high-power distance culture may be criticized by Americans because Americans attach great importance to human rights and equality. The issue is harmful for two countries relations. High-power distance culture may cause peoples complaint and resentment.

3.2 High power distance requires people to follow orders absolutely，however，it is not good for children to learn to be independent and creative.

3.3 The gap between low-power distance culture and high-power distance culture result in the intercultural communication breakdown.

4.Solutions

4.1 relations between students and teachers

When Chinese students learn English or American students learn Chinese ， teachers may be confronted with some problems which are caused by culture difference---high-power distance culture or low-power distance culture. In that condition， only by knowing the culture difference do we deal with the problem caused by misunderstanding the culture successfully.American teachers should motivate Chinese students to be independent and express their opinions in class.Chinese students in foreign teachers class should take initiatives to get along with their teachers and be brave enough to ask questions. Chinese teachers should give American students enough freedom in class.

4.2 relations between superior and subordinate

Chinese employees like to take the exact orders from the superior and be obedient to their boss. However， American employees are independent but not come to their boss for decisions. Knowing the culture difference will help the employees from the both parties to adapt to the styles of their superior.

4.3 relations between family members

As the inter culture communication are popular globally， paternalism in China has been weakened. Chinese parents should learn to listen to their chidrens voice and help them to be independent. Chinese parents also should give their children freedom to chase what they love and bravely achieve great accomplishments by their own efforts.

5.Conclusion

Due to the rapid development of globalization， the cooperation between China and foreign countries has become inevitable.In China in recent years the impact of high-power distance culture on people is decreasing.However， it still exist.People realize that culture difference may result in communication breakdown.The best way to solve the problem is to balance the power-distance. If we have more insight into another culture and try to understand it， the intercultural communication will be a success. Different cultures do cause some problems in peoples intercultural communication. Although we cannot change or solve the cultural difference.，we can avoid misunderstanding， clashes， and bias and we should realize and understand the different cultures， adapt ourselves to fit into the intercultural environment in order to get the best achievement in communication.

References：

[1]Gudykunst， W. B. & Kim Y. Y. （1992）. Communicating with strangers： An approach to intercultural communication. New York： McGraw Hill， Inc.

[2]Hoecklin L. （1995）. Managing Cultural Differences： Strategies for Competitive Advantage. Essex： Addison-Wesley

[3]Hofstede G. （2001）. Culture's Consequence. London： Sage Publications.

[4]方婧（Fang， jing）. 高低權力差距視覺下的中西方文化差異. [2010-11]

[http：//dlib.cnki.net/kns50/detail.aspx？dbname=CJFD2010&filename=HLXB201006028]

[5]Larry A.Samovar，Richard E.Porter （2004）.Communication Between Cultures

作者簡介：郝煦，女，1974.3月，北京人，本科，漢族，中央財經大學外國語學院講師，研究方向：英語語言與教學。