Introduction:
Cultural environment is important for each and every country or nation in this world. This is the thing which decides the progress and other ethical things of the country. Even the laws are made according to the culture of the country. In this report the comparison of Pakistan and United States has done on the basis of different things. Comparison is done on the basis of culture, politics and economic environment. The comparison is done using the Hofstede theory. This theory helps to understand the current position of the country on the map of the world. Countries are categorizing into different standard. United States is the most powerful country of this universe. They are known as the Super Power in all matters like Economic, Military and Cultural. United States was established almost 300 years ago while on the other hand Pakistan is established just 60 years ago. Both countries have the authentic position in their region. Pakistan belongs to the Asian region and is Islamic state.
This is the first Nuclear Power country among the Islamic countries. Pakistan have very strong position in the Asian region and plays a key role in the trade between Asia and Middle East. Due to which this country is very important for the US and China both to reach the Middle east market. This reports highlight the comparison of the two countries on the basis of politics. Both countries have the diplomacy in action in their political system. Although there are slight changes in the system because of the religion. United States does not have the official religion as this is the first country in the whole world who declared to be free of any religion. The freedom of the religion is the key to success of this country. Pakistan is the Islamic state which means the official religion of the Pakistan is Islam. They have their own Islamic rules and regulations in their culture. Due to which the diversity factor is at its peak among both countries. Currently United States election has finished and the US President is somehow against the immigrants which may create gap between US and Pakistan.
Pakistan and America Cultural Environment Comparison:
The cultural environment of the US and Pakistan are now comparted with the use of Hofstede. The graph below shows the comparison of both countries.
Pakistan:
In order to get to know about the culture of Pakistan. A thorough study of the culture is required and with the deep look the different aspects of culture can be highlighted.
Power Distance:
In order to understand the cultural environment, the first dimension is the Power Distance. This means that the individuals in the society are not equal. The power distance is more in Pakistan as this is the country where the power distribution is the main problem. The elite class is not going to let the middle class to grow. Due to this the power balance among the societies is not in equilibrium state. On the other hand, power distribution and stability is good in the US. The score of US is 40 but this country has the most stable and control power distance in the world. The power distance is defined as how much or to what extent the individual person in the society is going to accept the unequal power distribution. The Pakistan citizens usually accept the power distribution however in recent years the people of this country have started protest against the power distance (Mehrotra & Biggeri, 2010).
Individualism:
This is the fundamental issues in the society both these countries are very different when it comes to this issue or dimension. In countries the degree of independence is very low. Youth and other generation of people are not allowed to be independent. This is the main hurdle in the progress of the country. Because almost all the family members depend on each other and mostly the source of income for the family is one or two. The youth until 25-year-old rely on their parents and don’t have any jobs due to which this thing is becoming worse in Pakistan. On the other hand, US people have the right to be free and decide their life and shape it according to them. They have the highest individual score. The students become independent as soon they cross the teenage limit. Some kids even become independent before this limit. Due to this the Pakistan society is the Collectivist society. As this is the kind of society in which people usually take care of each other in exchange of loyalty. Like the head of the family is father and he is responsible to provide everything to his kids until they become the age of getting job. That’s why mostly youth of the Pakistan is still not independent and can’t make their own decisions.
Masculinity:
This is the dimension which determines the preference of the society towards their goals and achievement. The score of the Pakistan is exact 50 which indicates that this society is not still clear in their goals and motives. The high score indicates the masculine society which means the competition is more and the people who are best in their business or field get the success. The success factor starts from the simple position at the school to the organizational life of the person. Success factor is usually high in other countries also. While on the other hand feminine is the different thing which determines the low score. As this low score indicates that the person or the society is not motivated and clear about the goals and achievements. The Feminine society is the kind of society in which the quality of life determines the success rate. Pakistan in this case is different as this country is still not clear about the dimensions and the goals.
Uncertainty Avoidance:
This is another important dimension which is defined by the Hofstede. According to this dimension the uncertainty in the environment or the future should be avoide3d by the country or not. Pakistan score in this case is 70 which is very high. In order to understand the meaning of this high score let’s take the example. Pakistan is the orthodox country here people believe that no one can control future. The future is in the hands of God and they have not ability to control their life in the future or they are not going to get rid of the storm coming in future. These kind of people are usually hard working and security is the biggest problem for each individual. But the main issue with them is that they avoid the uncertainty means they don’t have clear plan for the future. As they let it happen and don’t get ready for the future. This on the other hand is inverse in case of United States. Because the people of US usually plan for few upcoming years and then work their life according to that (Muhammad Sharif Abbasi, Tarhini, Elyas, & Shah, 2015). Time is money for these kinds of people and they are more concern with the environmental changes and the other things around them.The future is in the hands of God and they have not ability to control their life in the future or they are not going to get rid of the storm coming in future.
Long Term Orientation:
The long term orientation describe how the society is dealing with the past, present and the future at the same time. Pakistan have the 50 score in this dimension. This means they are not sure about the past and their future. Some projects they have successfully linked with the past and the future but some they are unable to do that. The challenges for this country are increasing in the future so they have to make sure their past don’t effect the future of the country. This society preferred to maintain the traditional things in the societies. Now traditional things are related to the past so if they are perfectly linked with the current state of the society or the future state. Only then the country or the society is going to progress otherwise they are not going to progress. The culture of the Pakistan is very traditional due to which they are finding it difficult to link the traditional rules and regulations with the current state of the society.
Indulgence:
This is the main dimension of the Hofstede cultural dimensions. This dimension describes or highlight the life of the people under the society. Pakistan score is zero means there is no social life of the kid or the child of his own (David, 2016). This means that kids are controlled by their parents. They don’t have right to follow their desires in life and take control of their lives due to which this society is facing lot of troubles. The culture of the Pakistan society is very Restrained. The life of the kids and teenagers are totally controlled by the parents or the guardians. Government has nothing to do with it because in Islamic culture the parents are the supreme power (Josef, 2016). These kind of societies don’t let the child or the teenager to control their life and make their decision. Even the marriages in the Pakistan are done with the permission of the parents (Paul, 2016). This is the orthodox way and the people of the Pakistan are living under this situation. Youth don’t have the right to take control of their lives.
Pakistan and America Political Environment Comparison:
The political environment of both countries is also very different. Although both countries follow the democracy but there is huge difference. The political body of the US is divided into three sections and all these sections have equal power distribution. On the other hand, Pakistan executive branch has more power than any other body or department of the system. The political power is not equally distributed in the Pakistan. The people are living under the fear of powerful people.
Faction and Players:
There are three major political parties in the Pakistan, which are PML-N, PPP & PTI while on the other hand US has two political parties which includes the Democratic and The Republican. Both countries conduct election after the 4 year of interval. The elections are the most important thing in the US as recently the elections are conducted in the US. Both countries have good understanding at the political level The major difference is the power distribution as in US power is distributed without any kind of favor or preference it is totally on the basis of merit. But in the Pakistan this is not true as power is in the hands of the Elite class (Khan, 2016). They are not willing to give the power to the lower class or middle class. Due to which the country is facing worse political challenges. There are strikes almost every month which is disturbing the political environment of the country (Aslam, Ilyas, Imran, & Rahman, 2016).
Issues/Corruption:
The politics of the Pakistan based on different factors beside the religion has great impact on the political environment of the country. On the other hand, US has no official religion due to which they are not afraid of this diversity factor in their country. As there are millions of people who live in US and have other religion than the Christianity. That is why the political environment of the country is stable and it is growing strong. The political power and system of the Pakistan is not stable as it has lot of challenges and restrictions due to which the country is facing lot of difficulties in almost each and every field. However, from past few years the country has finally become stable regarding politics and economy. There is massive infrastructure development is going on in the country due to this stability. While in order to keep the equilibrium of power in the Asian region Pakistan has to progress rapidly. Only then the political power will be able to satisfy the nation requirement. The political system of the country has to many loop holes in it due to which country is currently struggling to revive and make their way to the finish line. US political system and laws are very strong and authentic. Each and every civilian of the country is bound to obey the law and no one is allowed to take advantage of the political party illegal (Yusuf, Shirazi, & Ghani, 2016).
Pakistan and America Economical Environment Comparison:
GDP and Employment:
The economy of the country depends on various factor like GDP and other economic terms. The economy of the US is very stable as compared to the Pakistan. The GDP of US is $17 trillion while the GDP of Pakistan is $240 billion which is very low as compared to the US. US belongs to the first world country while Pakistan belongs to the third world country. The economy of the Pakistan is now getting strong after the recent elections in 2013. The rank of Pakistan when it comes to economy with respect to the GDP is 41st in the entire world. While US is on top five countries. There are several reasons behind this one of them is the lack of technology. Pakistan don’t have significant contribution in the technology sector and they are not yet fully developed in the technology field. Due to which country main documents and departments are still using the old technologies which are not efficient.
Inflation Rate:
There are words around the world regarding the decline of US economy. Researchers have many modern theories that support this hypothesis, but it is not yet clear. Although the US is facing the technical issues and due to the wars. This country has lost billions of dollars which have a negative impact on the economy of the US. There is huge different in the GDP per capita and the inflation rate of both countries. US is very stable in both cases but on the other hand Pakistan lag behind US. Major issue is the literacy rate as until now Pakistan literacy rate is just 58% which is worse for the developing countries. While on the other hand US literacy is much better and keeping the country on the way to progress. Mostly people give their opinion about the US economy but the most famous theory which was presented years ago. The theory is that after every ten years of the period the US economy faces decline. The economy of the country comes to the lowest rate and the stock market crashes (Mahmood & Shafique, 2010).
This is the theoretical work of some researchers, but this does not have any solid proof. That’s why most economist and business person call it a false prophecy. Because after the closer look at this amazing country, it is clear that until now this country is on top. The top position of the US is not just at the base of economy besides in every matter like Cultural, Diplomatic and Military this country as the top. Although the US is currently in the condition of war in countries like Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan, this is not affecting their objective and economy. A major battle between two countries is now on two grounds that is Economy and Innovation. This will decide who will lead the world at the end of this century (Hyder & Lussier, 2016). Because it is evident, both countries can’t control the global economy one has to back off. The UScan take monitoring of the economy for long because the country is the center of attention for almost all other countries. That’s why the US has always to improve the economy using different techniques and gather the countries under its banner. One thing is clear that the US is still like the Canvas on which various countries and in fact all the world focus and draw the links with this Super Power.
The US is no doubt the strongest democracy and country in the world because it has faced many different challenges. When the US was at War with Iraq in 2003, the other countries like France, Germany and especially Russia tried to take control of the global economy. But the US able to keep the world economy in its hand and fought with various challenges. The economy of the US boosted after the Great Depression, and they learned to tackle with new challenges related to the economy (News Desk, 2016).
Recommendation/ Strategies:
The developing countries need to improve, as they need to focus on the highest priorities, the developed countries, need to help them, so they could able to identify and eliminate the obstacles. However, there is need to function the best government policies in the market, so the country could improve, the surveys need to conducted and the policymaker need to debate on the issues, internationally, so the problems could be solved. Moreover, there are the poor people, in the developing countries, as they do not have the adequate resources, consequently, through the growth of the long-term and short-term export growth, there could be the betterment, at the national and domestic level, priorities need to be identifying, and there should be the enforcement of policy designs.
References:
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