Cultural Similarities Between Canada And Costa Rica

Culture is everywhere we go and involves everything we do. There are different cultures all around us, weather it be where we are, whom we are with or what events are happening around us. One of the main identifiers of culture is based on which country we are in, as each and every country has its own unique culture dynamics within in. Throughout this paper two cultures will be compared and contrasted, those two being the countries of Canada and Costa Rica. These two countries have many differences yet still have similarities among them. To compare these different cultures, they will be looked at in light of three of the cultural dimensions identified by Geert Hofstead (Cultural Insights). Not only will these countries be looked at in regards

femininity in regards to culture. The country of Costa Rica is considered an incredibly feminine culture, which means that stress falls more on caring and nurturing behaviors and overlapping emotional gender roles (Cultures and Organizations) as opposed to Canada that identifies as a more masculine culture. A masculine culture reflects traits such as ambition, stress on wealth and material success as well as more differentiated gender roles. Costa Ricans typically have more of a focus on the quality of life and caring and living with one another (Cultural Insights). The feminine characteristics of Costa Rica are also reflected in the way fluid gender roles are more prominent, as Costa Rica ranks first among Latin American countries regarding gender equality (The World Economic Forum). A large amount of women are present in both government and business roles, there is not a large distinction between men and women in this world. Also, women are involved in harvesting coffee, cotton and vegetables in and among the men (Countries and Their Cultures) and there is very high acceptance for women in the working world (Cultural Insights). What motivates people in this feminine country of Costa Rica is to enjoy and find pleasure in what they do rather then just working in order to live (Cultures and

When leading in a country that falls high on the scale of uncertainty avoidance such as Costa Rica there are things that one would do differently then leading in a more neutral country such as Canada. For example, when leading in Costa Rica it would be much more beneficial to have a set schedule for the period that one is leading for regarding activities and a timeline. This would provide ones followers with much more comfort as the unknowns now become familiar. However when leading in Canada it would be much more common to only provide ones followers with information as it is needed, not necessarily informing them of what is to come. Knowing where the culture lies that one is leading in can greatly affect how leadership is practiced and can greatly increase the level of effectiveness in