Felicia's 2025 Blog

 You can figure out where a culture stands on the scale of long term to short term orientation somewhat based on whether or not they as a society focus on the past, or the present. I would classify the United States and Ghana as being short term oriented, and Japan as Long term oriented. Although both Ghana and the United States are classified as being short term oriented and more focused on saving face and immediate results, they differ when it comes to traditional thinking. Ghana places in high esteem the traditions of the past and they use those laws in tandem with the government systems to settle disputes and other cases. I would say that is the complete opposite for the United States because the people wouldn't hesitate to abandon tradition if it means fast results or a better outcome.   Respect for traditions is another important difference between the long- and short-term orientations. Nations with a short-term orientation have respect for past traditions but rema...

 When it comes to political cultures in this modern day it is a very sensitive topic for certain people, but it remains important that we take into consideration the cultural political background to better understand the differences between all of us. I will be discussing political meetings and debates instead of the basics such as voting age et cetera.  Of the three countries I will be comparing, the political culture of the United States is very unique and quite popular because of how outrageous it can be at times. When it comes to debates in the United States it is pretty common to trade insults and snarky remarks including release relentless mudslinging ads that follow you everywhere you go, which is a stark contrast to the political culture of Japan.  Where there are heated debates and disagreements, in Japan that is replaced with behind the scenes agreements before parliament meetings.  The Japanese follow the concepts of maintaining peace and will avoid outwar...

  We all know the quote “go with the flow,” but it doesn’t apply to everyone and every culture. If you were to tell a Ghanaian to go with the flow and avoid uncertainty they would feel like you have no respect for your own life… speaking from experience. I feel like the same would be true for a Japanese person but not for someone from the United States. I’ll focus on the planning aspect of things.  I’ve grown up in a community where you have to have at least one plan for anything you want to do and if things don’t go according to plan you learn from your mistakes and you make two plans the next time. I don’t think I’ve ever met a Ghanaian that never had a plan. Obviously we don’t plan out our whole entire lives down to the minute, but we tend to have everything figured out for the week at least vaguely. This is different from what I’ve witnessed while being around other Americans, especially when it came time to apply for University. Most of the other students didn’t really h...