ABSTRACT
Each culture, and all people within cultures, develop ways of interacting with different people according to the status differential that exists between the individual and the person with whom he or she is interacting. Power-distance (PD) refers to the degree to which different cultures encourage or maintain power and status differences between interactants. Cultures high on PD develop rules, mechanisms and rituals that serve to maintain and strengthen the status relationships among their members. Cultures low on PD, however, minimise those rules and customs, eliminating, if not ignoring, the status differences that exist between people.
