Page 110 - CROSS CULTURE

5. Long-term orientation: High long-term orientation means a

culture tends to take a long-term, sometimes multigenerational

view when making decisions about the present and the future.

Low long-term orientation is often demonstrated in cultures
that want quick results and that tend to spend instead of saving.

6. Indulgence: High indulgence means cultures that are OK with

people indulging their desires and impulses. Low indulgence or

restraint-based cultures value people who control or suppress
desires and impulses.

As mentioned previously, these tools can provide wonderful
general insight into making sense of understanding differences

and similarities across key below-the-surface cross-cultural

elements. However, when you are working with people, they may

or may not conform to what’s listed in the tools. For example, if

you are Canadian but grew up in a tight-knit Amish community,
your value system may be far more collective than individualist.

Or if you are Aboriginal, your long-term orientation may be far

higher than that of mainstream Canada. It’s also important to be

mindful that in a Canadian workplace, someone who is non-white

or wears clothes or religious symbols based on their ethnicity may
be far more “mainstream” under the surface. The only way you

know for sure is to communicate interpersonally by using active

listening, keeping an open mind, and avoiding jumping to

conclusions.

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