Gina Teague - USA - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture

eISBN: 978-1-85733-676-4

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue entry for this book is available from the British Library

First published in Great Britain
by Kuperard, an imprint of Bravo Ltd
59 Hutton Grove, London N12 8DS
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8446 2440 Fax: +44 (0) 20 8446 2441
www.culturesmart.co.uk
Inquiries:

Series Editor Geoffrey Chesler

Cover image: Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, New York. iStockphoto.com

Images on the following pages reproduced under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license: Arnoldius

Images on the following pages reproduced under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license: Sean OFlaherty

Images on the following pages reproduced under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license: Evan Swigart from Chicago, USA

v3.1

GINA TEAGUE is a trainer and writer on cross-cultural management, international relocation, and global career development. A native of the United Kingdom, she has lived and worked in France, Spain, Brazil, the USA, and Australia. During her sixteen years in New York, Gina gained an M.A. in Organizational Psychology and an Ed.M. in Counseling Psychology from Columbia University, developed a successful intercultural consultancy, and has written extensively on expatriate adjustment and career management.

ALAN BEECHEY gained an M.A. in Psychology at Oxford University before embarking on a career in business communications, which took him from his hometown of London to New York City. He has worked for one of the worlds largest banks, for a leading human resources consulting firm, and as an independent consultant. Now a dual citizen of the USA and the UK, he is also the author of the popular Oliver Swithin series of murder mysteries.

The authors each have their own native New Yorker children, giving them practical experience of family life and education in America.

The Culture Smart! series is continuing to expand.
For further information and latest titles visit
www.culturesmart.co.uk

The publishers would like to thank CultureSmart!Consulting for its help in researching and developing the concept for this series.

CultureSmart!Consulting creates tailor-made seminars and consultancy programs to meet a wide range of corporate, public-sector, and individual needs. Whether delivering courses on multicultural team building in the USA, preparing Chinese engineers for a posting in Europe, training call-center staff in India, or raising the awareness of police forces to the needs of diverse ethnic communities, it provides essential, practical, and powerful skills worldwide to an increasingly international workforce.

For details, visit www.culturesmartconsulting.com

CultureSmart!Consulting and CultureSmart! guides have both contributed to and featured regularly in the weekly travel program Fast Track on BBC World TV.

In todays global village, who can afford not to understand the United States, still the worlds biggest superpower, the largest economy, and, by many other standards, the worlds most important nation? Many facets of American life have been eagerly embraced around the world. Yet the sense of just like in the movies familiarity that first-time visitors often feel can be misleading. Underneath the gleaming smile of popular culture lies a varied and complex society, brimming with contrasts and contradictions. Ostentatious wealth and consumption coexist with grinding poverty, time-worn towns with vibrant cities that scrape the sky. It is a culture of go-getters, of high-tech, high achievers who have put a man on the moon and count Mars as their latest scientific sandbox. It is also a deeply spiritual, compassionate country with a quiet devotion to church and charitable works.

The sheer size and diversity of the USA can be overwhelming. How does one begin to understand a country that spans six time zones?

Culture Smart! USA aims to provide you with a cultural road map to explain the human dimension of America. We take you on a tour of the core influences and unique ideals that have shaped American society. These deeply held values drive the behavior and attitudes you will encounter on Main Street and in the workplace. We take the pulse of America today. Ever a work in progress, the USA bears the challenge of upholding its constitutional principles at home, and the responsibility of being the worlds only superpower overseas. On a lighter note, we look at the Americans at work, at home, and at play.

America has an openness and generosity of spirit to newcomers. Visitors will find a dynamic, adventurous, warm people who will accept you on your own terms. There are few cultural faux pas that can get you into trouble in this relaxed and informal society. But dont be lulled into a false sense of security, either. Americans hold an unshakable conviction that theirs is the best country in the world, and that while they may occasionally spare a nervous glance over their shoulder at the competition, their ultimate leadership is almost divinely assured. Youll endear yourself to your hosts by being mindful of this deep pride, and of their cherished ideals.

Finally, a disclaimer. In attempting to portray a nation of 315 million people, one can use only a very broad brush. An immigrant nation, spread across a continent that spans a sixth of the globe, newly carved from a thousand cultures, isnt going to fit a single template. Generalization is unavoidable. The rule of thumb is: be informed about cultural norms, but be flexible in applying this knowledge. In other words, when you travel to the United States, make sure you pack an open mind.