Direct and Stereotype Cultural Differences

Abstract

Attitudes towards their work situation are compared for Japanese and Australian managers working in the Australian subsidiaries of Japanese companies. Discriminant analysis is used to establish a "direct" cultural axis, which distinguishes between the two groups' direct perspectives, and a "stereotype" cultural axis, which distinguishes between their stereotypes of the other group's direct perspective. Discrimination rated at 93% is attained on the direct cultural axis, and complete consensus on the stereotype axis. However, it is shown that the direct and stereotype axes are unrelated. The lack of congruence between myth and reality is examined using the item loadings onto the two discriminant axes.