A Cultural Analysis

Canada:
A Cultural Analysis

Abstract
Canada is a beautiful country that is adjacent to the United States of America. There are many resemblances between Canadian culture and American culture. It is also common for Canadians to expect great communications in the workplace and friendliness. It is valued to be respectful of others ethical background as well. It is also standard to see similarities in basic hand shake as a cultural behavior to mean many things. In a business environment in Canada, business people often begin relationships in a reserved manner; once people get to know one another they usually become friendly and informal. Canada as the United States encourages small businesses to grow and prosper as well as their economic. In regards to the workplace, Canada also promotes from within companies and wants its workforce to be involved in a company’s growth and offers great benefits to its employees. Canada as the Unites States offers great cultural diversity among its people and within the workforce as well. It would be easier for an individual to adapt to Canadian ethical behavior since it is similar and diverse as the United States.

There are many similarities and differences between the culture of the United States and the culture of Canada. While there are many preconceptions about the culture and behaviors of Canadians, many of the country’s customs are similar to those found in the United States, despite differences in culture and government styles. Both Canada and the United States share similar views that are found within Adler’s table. Such views include dimensions of “Individual, world, human relations, activity, time, and space,” (Adler, 2008, p.22). The population of Canada is 34,030,589. Its government leads in the style of “Confederation with parliamentary democracy,” (The World Almanac Online, 2012). Major industries in Canada include “Chemicals, wood and paper products, petroleum, transport equipment, minerals, fish products, natural gas, and food products,” (The World Almanac Online, 2012). Canada’s natural resources are “ Rare earth elements, hydropower, wildlife, iron ore, diamonds, copper, petroleum, timber, molybdenum, zinc, fish, potash, nickel, coal, silver, lead, and natural gas,” (The World Almanac Online, 2012). There are several stereotypes about Canadians. In Jose Igartua’s article, The Genealogy of Stereotypes: French Canadians in Two English-language Canadian History books, Igartua mentions that these stereotypes were even found within two texts books that were utilized in Canadian and American schools. According to Igartua, the text books portrayed French Canadians as “Gregarious, easy-going, colorful, and fond of song and dance,” (Igartua, 2008, p. 106). However, the text books also adversely claimed that French Canadians were “Unlettered, ignorant of the world outside of Quebec, and content with their lot,” (Igartua, 2008, p.106).
According to Leisure Research by Canadians and Americans: One Community or Two Solitudes by E.L. Jackson, both Canada and the United States parochialism have been manifested in many different ways, which include differences in “Types of objections and questions addressed in research, disciplinary origins, assumptions about the nature of leisure, intellectual traditions, and diverging pictures of the nature of leisure that have emerged in various world regions and countries,” (Jackson, 2003, p.292). Jackson goes on to hypothesize that there are high levels of ethnocentrism in both the United States and Canada which have been considered to “Limit academic and professional growth among North American scholars,” (Jackson, 2003, p.292). Jackson’s studies have proven that while parochialism is “Significantly lower among Canadians than Americans it still exists among the most productive of researchers,” (Jackson, 2003, p. 293).
Many customs are comparable in Canada and the United States. According to the website Kwintessential Canada, the common greeting in Canada is “A firm handshake accompanied by a sincere smile and direct eye contact,” (Kwintessential Canada, 2012). White lilies are never given as a gift because they are considered a “Funeral flower” and that “Money should never be given as a gift,” (Kwintessential Canada, 2012). Proper etiquette dictates that one must “Wait to be invited to use someone’s first name,” (Kwintessential Canada, 2012). Canadian culture utilizes “continental table manners” and “Guests should not eat until the host begins to eat,” (Kwintessential Canada, 2012). During business gatherings, it is considered proper etiquette to “Shake hands with everyone upon arrival and departure” and to “Speak to each other at an arm’s length,” (Kwintessential Canada, 2012).
But there are also many differences in Canadian and United States cultures, this is most notably evident in the recent cases of “The Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gases and legislation legalizing gay marriage,” (Robinson, 2006, p.237). There are also differences in the concepts of literature in both countries. According to the article Nationalism and Literature: The Politics of Culture in Canada and the United States by Lyn Spillman, “The great American novel tells the story of an individual adrift from society” while it is typical for Canadian novels to focus on “Tensions induced by secure but constraining social bonds,” (Spillman, 1998 p.279).
In accordance to Adler’s table Canada is considered to be a dominant culture. Thomas Dunk’s article, National Culture, Political Economy, and Socio-Cultural Anthropology in English Canada, supports this statement. Dunk states that Canadian culture is dominant because “The majority of the population is English speaking” with the exceptions of Quebec and New Brunswick and that the major “Political, cultural, provincial, economical, and national institutions operate primarily in English,” (Dunk, 2000, p.131). Such institutions include “The educational system, work places, mass media, trade unions, and government bureaucracies,” (Dunk, 2000, p.131). According to Kalbach’s research, the 2001 Canadian census showed that “Many aboriginals declare multiple origins,” (Kalbach, 2003, p.145). Since then, “The rate of multiple responses as a percentage of total responses has been on the rise, with 57.9% for Canada and over 50% for every CMA except Regina,” (Kalbach, 2003 p.145). Saskatoon also saw a rise in percentage with a total of “Just over 50%,” (Kalbach, 2003 p.145). The census also shows that the majority of immigrants in Canada are currently “Mainly non-European in ancestry and the majority live in census metropolitan areas,” (Kalbach, 2003, p.146). Canadian cultural policies fund “Art training and capacity building in arts and heritage organizations,” (Goff, 2006, p.181). The country also offers incentives for those who provide private donations to art institutions. Such incentives include “Tax incentives that aid film producers,” (Goff, 2006, p.181). Canadian culture also focuses on “Production of culture as opposed to its consumption, and public versus private funding, delivery, and generation policies,” (Goff, 2006, p.193).
Communication studies are considered to be a “Widely recognized ‘homegrown’ intellectual tradition in Canada,” (Dunk, 2000, p.131). This is primarily because of the work accomplished by Harold Innis in the 1920s. Communication studies focuses on “The relationship between economic and political organization and the transportation of communication as a concern that has derived from analyzing the problems that were faced by Canadian state in an effort to generate functioning political entities and economy,” (Dunk, 2000, p.131).
Canada focuses on codes of ethics in an effort to protect firms. According to Han Donker’s article, Corporate Values, Codes of Ethics, and Firm Performance: A Look at the Canadian Context, Canada has a set of moral values that they incorporate into their code of ethics. These values include “Responsibility, trustworthiness, respect, citizenship, caring, and fairness,” (Donker, 2007, p.529). Donker goes on to state that the other qualities that are associated with Canadian ethic codes include “Accountability, excellence, courage, honor, honesty, and integrity,” (Donker, 2007, p.534).
Crime has been an important political factor in the United States for several years. Recently Canada has started to stress the importance of crime in its political agenda. However, the definition of crime varies from country to country, and the definition in both the United States and Canada are dependent upon that analytical design and indicators that are selected. Though many global assessments of crime rates have been done in both the field of sociology and the field of criminology, studies have shown that over the past three decades that “Crime has been more frequent in the United States and that nonspecific examples, such as laws, culture, and national character, were given,” (Ouimet, 1999, p.389).
One of Canada’s main priorities is personal safety. This preoccupation with safety is evident in the country’s “Public pressure for stricter gun laws, anti-gang laws, and young offender laws,” (Ouimet, 1999, p.389). The main crimes that have been used in international comparison studies include “Robbery, homicide, car theft, and burglary,” (Ouimet, 1999, p.389). Because these offences are often known to the police, they are “Better indicators of criminal activities than other crimes such as physical assault or sexual assault,” (Ouimet, 1999, p.389). While the American homicide rate is “Among the highest of all developed countries,” the Canadian homicide rate still ranks “Higher than the rates observed in most other developed countries,” (Ouimet, 1999, p. 391). However, the rate of homicide within the United States is “Three to four times higher than the Canadian one” and robbery is “2.18 times more prevalent in the United States than it is in the country of Canada,” (Ouimet, 1999, p. 391). Studies have shown that in both the United States and Canada, crime is related to the makeup of neighborhoods.
Studies have shown that in both Canada and the United States, there is “Substantial segregation between the poor and non-poor,” (Fong, 2003, p.148). During the 1970s and 1980s many of the inner cities in Canada experienced redevelopment. Because manufacturing jobs declined and jobs that required specialized knowledge increased, “New middle class professionals soon replaced blue collar workers and thus changed the market for inner city housing,” (Fong, 2003, p.149). These redevelopments were considered to have a positive impact on Canada. However, “Policies of socially mixed housing dominated the government agenda for decades, up until the 1990s,” (Fong, 2003 p.149). During the 1990s Canada’s major goal was to “Create housing policies that would ensure neighborhoods in Canadian cities would be socially mixed,” (Fong, 2003 p.149).
But many of the neighborhoods soon became poor and thus the neighborhood life cycle began. According to the theory of neighborhood life cycle, a neighborhood passes through five stages. These five stages include “Development, transition, downgrading, thinning out, and redevelopment,” (Fong, 2003 p.150). As a result, the social and physical environment of Canadian cities changed and experienced “An increase in residential density, population decline, and the deterioration of social and physical environments,” (Fong, 2003, p.150). Limited studies have shown that “Racial and ethnic changes in Canadian neighborhoods have had an effect on economic status of the neighborhoods,” (Fong, 2003, p.151). While ethnicity is one factor of Canadian culture, gender has proven to be another hot button topic in the country. Between the years of 1967 and 1997 “Full-time, full-year workers unadjusted gender earnings increased from sixty percent to over seventy-two percent,” (Bodkin, 200, p. 31). During this time frame the gap for gender earnings decreased from “40 % to 27.5%,” (Bodkin, 2001, p.31).
Canadian statistics do not compute poverty income levels nor do they compute poverty rates. Instead, Canada computes what is known as the “Low Income Cut-off level” which “Determines proportions that average Canadian families and unattached individuals spend on what is considered to be necessities,” (Bodkin, 2001, p. 31). Such necessities include factors such as “clothing, food, and shelter,” (Bodkin, 2001 p. 31). This is very similar to the means utilized by the United States to calculate the poverty level. In the United States, poverty level is calculated by “The cost of a nutritious diet for various family groups and then taking a multiple of three to allow for other life necessities,” (Bodkin, 2001 p. 31). In Canada, the Low Income Cut-off level is calculated by “twenty percentage points of their income,” (Bodkin, 2001 p. 31).
While there are many similarities and differences between the customs and cultures of Canada and the United States, each operates under the same basic dimensions that can be found on Adler’s table of dimensions. Both countries are considered to be dominants. Both countries also have high levels of crime, although the crime level in the United States is considered to be higher than the crime rates in Canada. Both Canada and the United States share the same neighborhood life cycles, despite the fact that the United States government is a democracy and the Canadian government is ruled by confederation with parliamentary democracy.
Many of the social customs that are exerted in the United States are also found in Canada. For instance, in both Canada and the United States, the common greeting is a firm handshake that is accompanied by direct eye contact and a sincere smile. It is also common practice in both countries to wait for an invitation to call someone by their first name. Both the United States and Canada utilize the style of continental table manners and do not eat until the host has started eating when attending social and business gatherings. It is common practice in both countries to shake hands with everyone upon entering and leaving business gathers and to speak to each other at an arm’s length.
Both Canada and the United States are considered to have high levels of ethnocentrism. Both countries are also considered to have a limit to academic and professional growth among their scholars as a result of this ethnocentrism. Despite having a lower level of parochialism in Canada than in the United States, both countries contain parochialism and studies have demonstrated that it continues to exist even amongst the most productive of researchers. This parochialism has manifested itself in both countries in the forms of differences in disciplinary origins, assumptions about the nature of leisure, intellectual traditions, diverging pictures of the nature of leisure that have emerged throughout world regions and different countries, and the types of objectives and questions that are addressed in research.
Perhaps the perceptions that Americans have about Canadians stem from the text books mentioned by Jose Igartua. These text books contained stereotypes that referred to the French Canadians as people who were gregarious, fond of song and dance, colorful, and easy going. But the French Canadians were not portrayed in the best light, because these text books also referenced French Canadians as being ignorant of the world outside of Quebec, unlettered, and content with their lot. For these reasons it would be in appropriate to joke about such things when working with residents of Canada. As for including employees in decision making, that should be standard in all companies whether in American or Canada. It is also important to believe that leaders can be even more successful by involving their employees in many daily decisions. It is also proven that involving employees in decision making makes a company more profitable. Canada also promotes art and culture by providing tax incentives for private supporters of the arts. Because the English language is dominant in their culture, the media, educational systems, government bureaucracies, work places, and trade unions utilize English to reach the residents of the country. Corporate values in both Canada and the United States utilize ethic codes that include factors such as respect, trustworthiness, fairness, responsibility, citizenship, caring, accountability, excellence, courage, honor, honesty, and integrity. Since the end of the Cold War, both Canada and the United States have blossomed in multicultural policies.
Both the United States and Canada have seen tremendous increases in the pay scale which has in turn narrowed the gap of the gender earnings ratio. Both countries reside on the North American continent and have large populations, Canada having a population of 34,030,589 people and the United States having a population of 311,050,977 people. The United States and Canada are both countries that do large quantities of importation and exportation. Canada’s major industries include chemicals, wood and paper products, petroleum, transport equipment, minerals, fish products, natural gas, and food products. The major industries in the United States include steel, petroleum, aerospace, motor vehicles, chemicals, telecommunications, consumer goods, electronics, food processing, mining, and lumber.
Canada’s natural resources include rare earth elements, hydropower, wildlife, iron ore, diamonds, copper, petroleum, timber, molybdenum, zinc, fish, potash, nickel, coal, silver, lead, and natural gas. The United States natural resources include mercury, coal, petroleum, copper, molybdenum, lead, natural gas, phosphates, uranium, rare earth elements, nickel, bauxite, potash, gold, iron, zinc, tungsten, silver, and timber.
The United States and Canada are both rich in history and culture, each country providing natural resources and major industry to other countries throughout the world. The policies and customs of both cultures vary but are considered, through various studies, to be quite similar. The crime levels are similar as are the neighborhood life cycles. Both countries have a segregation of the poor and non-poor. Each country has its own ideal of the great novel and the themes in which each utilize in their literature. Each of the two countries has a way to monitor their version of poverty. While they vary in technique and name, they are essentially the same means of providing for those citizens who have a lower level income. Although Canada and the United States are two extremely different countries with different cultures, policies, and backgrounds, these two countries are much alike in their customs and the ways of handling social and multicultural issues.
References:
Adler, N. (2008). International dimensions of organizational behavior (5th ed.). Mason, OH: South Western, Cenage Learning.
Bodkin, R. G., & El-Helou, M. (2001). Gender differences in the Canadian economy, with some comparisons to the united states (part II: Earnings, low incomes, and the allocation of time). Gender Issues, 19(4), 31-49.
Canada- Language, Customs, Culture, and Etiquette. (2012). Kwintessential.
Retrieved July 25, 2012, from http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/canada.html
Canada. (2012). The World Almanac Online. Retrieved July 25, 2012, from http://wak.factsonfile.com/countries-of-the-world/north-america/canada.aspx?tid=140
Donker, H., Poff, D., & Zahir, S. (2008). Corporate values, codes of ethics, and firm Performance: A look at the Canadian context. Journal of Business Ethics, 82(3), 527-537.
Dunk, T. (2000). National culture, political economy and socio-cultural anthropology in English Canada. Anthropologica, 42(2), 131-131.
Fong, E., & Shibuya, K. (2003). Economic changes in Canadian neighborhoods. Population Research and Policy Review, 22(2), 147-170.
Goff, P., & Jenkins, B. (2006). The "new world" of culture: Reexamining Canadian Cultural Policy. Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society, 36(3), 181-196.
Igartua, J. (2008). The Genealogy of Stereotypes: French Canadians in Two English-language Canadian History Textbooks. Journal of Canadian Studies, 42(3), 102-236.
Jackson, E. L. (2003). Leisure research by Canadians and Americans: One community or two solitudes? Journal of Leisure Research, 35(3), 292-315.
Kalbach, M. A. (2003). The intergenerational transfer of ethnic identity in Canada at the Turn of The Twenty-First Century. Canadian Ethnic Studies, 35(1), 135-148.
Ouimet, M. (1999). Crime in Canada and in the United States: A comparative analysis. The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 36(3), 389-408.
Robinson, E. I. (2006). Political culture, labor movement power, religion, and public policy in
Canada and the United States: Vive la différence? Contemporary Sociology, 35(3), 237-242.
Spillman, L. (1998). Nationalism and literature: The politics of culture in Canada and the United States. Contemporary Sociology, 27(3), 279-280.

References: Adler, N. (2008). International dimensions of organizational behavior (5th ed.). Mason, OH: South Western, Cenage Learning. Bodkin, R. G., & El-Helou, M. (2001). Gender differences in the Canadian economy, with some comparisons to the united states (part II: Earnings, low incomes, and the allocation of time) Canada- Language, Customs, Culture, and Etiquette. (2012). Kwintessential. Retrieved July 25, 2012, from http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/canada.html Canada Dunk, T. (2000). National culture, political economy and socio-cultural anthropology in English Canada Fong, E., & Shibuya, K. (2003). Economic changes in Canadian neighborhoods. Population Research and Policy Review, 22(2), 147-170. Goff, P., & Jenkins, B. (2006). The "new world" of culture: Reexamining Canadian Cultural Policy Igartua, J. (2008). The Genealogy of Stereotypes: French Canadians in Two English-language Canadian History Textbooks Jackson, E. L. (2003). Leisure research by Canadians and Americans: One community or two solitudes? Journal of Leisure Research, 35(3), 292-315. Kalbach, M. A. (2003). The intergenerational transfer of ethnic identity in Canada at the Turn of The Twenty-First Century Ouimet, M. (1999). Crime in Canada and in the United States: A comparative analysis. The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 36(3), 389-408. Robinson, E. I. (2006). Political culture, labor movement power, religion, and public policy in Canada and the United States: Vive la différence? Contemporary Sociology, 35(3), 237-242. Spillman, L. (1998). Nationalism and literature: The politics of culture in Canada and the United States