Thursday, December 4, 2008

Power Distance - Boss vs Subordinates


One of the concepts that we covered in the class was the Power Distance concept. It is a - "Theory of how a society deals with the fact that people are unequal in physical and intellectual capabilities. High power distance cultures are found in countries that let inequalities grow over time into inequalities of power and wealth. Low power distance cultures are found in societies that try to play down such inequalities as much as possible." source
We have discovered that depending on the type of the society the relationship between the boss and his subordinates changes. Moreover, it does relate to the collectivist versus individualistic societies, it seems that the more collectivist society is the bigger is the power distance. For instance Japan has a bigger power distance rather than US. This picture on the left could give you a good view on what is the power distance, what is power distance in your country/society?

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