ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the national culture of the three countries concerned by means of a brief review of each country’s history and its scores on different cultural dimensions and other indicators of dominant attitudes. The United States’ culture is still predominantly influenced by the first settlers’ attitudes, who see the individual as someone fighting against nature and the powerful. As a result, the individual is in high regard, concentration of power is rejected, and US inhabitants accept uncertainty relatively easily. Many wars have been fought on the soil of present-day Germany. Moreover, the country and its predecessors have many neighbours with whom they have had to cooperate. This history is reflected in a high score on Uncertainty Avoidance, an obedience to preset rules, and a relatively large willingness to cooperate. France has the longest history as an independent state. The state is also the most centralized one and ruled by the elite. The country’s high score on Power Distance suggests that the lower classes accept the difference between the classes – an observation that is confirmed by the significant differences in virtues to be taught to children between the highest and lowest education classes. Cooperation appears to be difficult for the French.
