Australian Attitude To Authority

Ok, just a brief description - someone else can fill out any details:

Australia tends to have a different Attitude to authority than many other countries I've had the pleasure to explore. I'm taking a wild guess that this is rooted in the ConvictMentality? but also relates to the PioneerMentality? - ie we struggled hard to get where we are now, and no two-bit office-holder is going to dis on us just because he has a fancy title.

In Australia, someone with authority has to prove themselves to be worthy of that authority before he gains the respect of his peers. This is just not so in many other places, where a fancy title can hold power in and of itself. Aussie are more likely to laugh in your face if you expect respect for just that.

The attitude I see most often is "who cares what you're called, can you get the job done?"

-- JustMab

Geert Hofstede surveyed over 116,000 IBM employees in 40 countries and discovered various dimensions of culture could be quantified.

The AustralianAttitudeToAuthority would be a combination of two dimensions - the power-distance rating being low (few layers of power) and also Universalism vs Particularism tending towards the latter (causing each relationship to be evaluated on its merits).

See http://www.usemod.com/cgi-bin/mb.pl?CulturalDimensions for many handy links on this.

In Australia, someone with authority has to prove themselves to be worthy of that authority before he gains the respect of his peers.

Isn't this true for everywhere?

No. Many cultures around the world are quite different.

For an example, come to study or work in Chile. You can't challenge your boss or your teacher, because he has the power to dump you, and most people will think it is fair for authority to abuse its power. It is even worse in Peru and Ecuador.

This is just not so in many other places where a fancy title can hold power in and of itself

Please tell me about those places, I don't know any place like that.

Join the military. You'll soon find out that you had better salute the General's stars, even if they happen to be affixed to a pig.

And the Australian military is not this way too? The question is about nations/cultures, not professions.

Consider the caste system of the Indian sub-continent. All manner of connotations as to worthiness are derived from the title you are born with, regardless of your actual merits. As to not professions, this makes this discussion extra hairy, as titles in the context of this discussion pertain to professions. Actually, this leads to insight - think of your own culture and if there are any professions that accrue respect by default, not proof. Professions like being a doctor, or being a priest.

And the Australian doctors and priests command no respect even after they attain the required qualification, until they somehow prove themselves worthy? It seems to me the mechanism of such qualification is the way to prove your worthiness, the idea that Australians is somehow "different from many places" simply stems from misunderstanding/not knowing such mechanism in other places. Basically, only places that use birth as the mechanism do not require you to prove yourself worthy; there seems to be nothing special about Australians.

: Don't fall into the trap of thinking that this is an all or nothing affair - it's about relatively more or less respect being imbued by a title. Highly recommend you read some of the links at http://www.usemod.com/cgi-bin/mb.pl?CulturalDimensions

Jumping through the hoops and meeting the qualifications required to become a doctor makes that person worthy of respect in regard to medical issues, perhaps. But I wouldn't lend any special weight to, say, someone's political views, or fashion sense, just because they're a doctor. -- MikeSmith

Of course that depends a bit on what they are doctors of ;) -- AnonymousCoward

Agree strongly with all this. One of the hardest things for an Australian to adapt to, working in the US, is the respect given to offices. Treating your manager(s) and their peers as an Australian naturally would will get you into a lot of trouble. And it takes a couple of years before you learn what's expected. It's irksome, but respect for position isn't necessarily a bad thing. It makes speculative work easier to get built. American engineering projects tend to be more ambitious than Australian ones because they don't have to pass everyone's bullshit detectors, just those of the boss. But you gotta pick a visionary boss, or you're screwed.

Six of one ... -- PeterMerel

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