Page 89 - Cultures and Organizations

More Equal than Others 71

factor is the ability of the students: less gifted children and children with
disabilities in small-power-distance situations will not develop the cul-
turally expected sense of independence and will be handled more in the
large-power-distance way. Able children from working-class families in
small-power-distance societies are at a disadvantage in educational insti-
tutions such as universities that assume a small-power-distance norm: as
shown in the previous section, working-class families often have a large-
power-distance subculture.

Power Distance and Health Care

Comparative studies of the functioning of health-care systems in European
Union member countries have shown that, not surprisingly, the level of

power distance in a society is also reflected in the relationship between
doctors and patients. In countries with larger-power-distance cultures,
consultations take less time, and there is less room for unexpected informa-
tion exchanges. 22
These differences also affect the use of medication. In countries with
large-power-distance cultures, doctors more frequently prescribe antibiot-
ics, which are seen as a quick general solution; in these countries antibiot-
23
ics are also more frequently used in self-medication. These fi ndings are
important in view of the danger of germs’ becoming resistant to antibiotics
if these treatments are used too frequently.
Another study compared blood transfusion practice across twenty-fi ve
European countries. Blood transfusion tends to be a within-nation pro-
cess; there is little international trade in blood products. Countries with
smaller-power-distance cultures have more blood donors, more blood col-
lections, and more blood supplied to hospitals; in the latter two cases also,
the average education level of the population plays a role. The differences

are considerable: among the countries studied, the number of donors per
thousand inhabitants in 2004 ranged from two to fifty-one. In all cases

blood donation was an unpaid, voluntary act. Its negative correlation with
PDI shows that such an act was much more likely in cultures in which
people depend less on the authority of more powerful persons and are bet-
ter educated. National wealth had no infl uence whatsoever. 24
Table 3.3 summarizes the key differences between small- and large-
power-distance societies discussed so far.