Culture Is a Relative Concept Essay

SAMPLE EXCERPT . . .
Q2. 'It's not fair.' Because fairness is such a powerful concept, it is tempting to view the idea of fairness as something that is cross-cultural. However, the Japanese and American concepts of fairness are almost completely distinct. In Japan, fairness is based upon outcomes, or how equitably the community is treated as a whole. In America, our concept of fairness is based upon the individual, or whether each distinct person was satisfied, in terms of what he or she gave or did not give to the effort.

In Japanese culture, because of the importance of community, it might be considered 'fair' that a student suppress his or her views during a classroom discussion, if this would cause hurt feelings or an overly divisive discussion. In America, this would be seen as unfair as such suppression would interfere with the individual's ability to learn. In America, there is also a greater emphasis on rules. For example, in a business context, it would be considered unfair if a boss claimed his or her employees' idea as his or her own, without giving credit to the subordinate. In Japan, the employee's innovative idea might be viewed as belonging to the company, and no specific credit would be seen as necessary to be given.Get full access
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Essay on Culture Is a Relative Concept Assignment

Of course, in Japan there clearly is competition, in the form of competitive university exams and also between enterprises. But even here, there is still a sense of community, as the student may see him or herself as succeeding for the family, not his or her own ego, and the business, not the individual employees possess the competitive drive. 'Fair competition,' unlike in America, is not about proving one's own mastery in Japan.

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