The usa. Country background.

History. Virtually all the land that is now the United States was previously occupied for thousands of years by Native Americans (or Indians). The first permanent European settlement (by Spaniards) was in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565.

The United States was formed following its Declaration of Independence from England in 1776. The constitution dates to 1787. The country has been a representative democracy since its founding. General George Washington was elected the first president. Slavery was abolished in 1865, after a horrific civil war resulted in the defeat of the Southern Confederacy.

The U.S. became involved in the First World War during 1917 and the Second World War in 1941. The 1960s was a period of social unrest. The United States became involved in the war in Vietnam, which would eventually cost the lives of untold Vietnamese and nearly 60,000 U.S. soldiers. The subsequent presidents were Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, Barakh Abama.

The attacks of September 11, 2001, by terrorists violated the self-confidence and sense of security in the United States. Over 3,000 people were killed.

Type of Government. The government is a federal republic system. Individual states have sovereignty over their own territory. The president is both chief of state and head of the government and is elected for a term of four years. An electoral college of delegates from each state elects the president - an unwieldy system that gives disproportionate power to the most populous states. The legislative branch is elected by universal direct suffrage. It is made up of a bicam­eral Congress, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate. For current government data, check with http://www.whitehouse.gov/our-government

Language and education. English is the official language. Spanish is the most widely used second language. Education is compulsory in most states from age five to age sixteen. It is free up through the secondary school level, although a large number of private schools exist.

Religion. Church and state have always been separate in the United States; however, many citizens belong to a religious group. Most are Christian. Judaism, and Islam each account for about 2 percent of the population. Many Americans express religious feelings and attend church. So visiting person should edit out of his speech the mild religious profanities and the swear words at least until you’re sure of usages within the group you’re working with.

3. Values and attitudes characteristic of the americans

National characteristics. The national character of America is defined as impudent and materialistic. It is a cowboy culture where individuals are obsessed with time and deadlines. A society plagued by crimes and violence. American culture is task-driven, and place great value on individual achievement and thinking. It is monochronic with a very low risk-avoidance, which allows Americans to speak without thinking – and often act without thinking, sometimes in violent manner. It’s very masculine culture, which means that society appreciates assertiveness while respecting the goal of material acquisition. Americans tend to be independently-minded people, ever protective of their civil rights and freedoms. The American character is based on freedom. Americans can be competitive in both work and leisure. Americans can appear too self-confident to many Europeans. They tend to speak louder than Europeans – very much louder, in some cases – use exaggerated body language, and manage to sound almost jarringly optimistic. They also talk in idiomatic phrases that create mini-pictures: ‘He’s right behind the eight ball’ (he’s on top of his job or project), or ‘I’m not going down that route’ (I’m not going to talk about that, or pursue that course of action). Innovation usually takes precedence over tradition.

Cultural orientation. The United States is generally ethnocentric and closed to most outside information. However, when a deficiency is recognized, outside information and techniques are eagerly accepted—such as Japanese just-in-time techniques. U.S. citizens are very analytical, and concepts are abstracted quickly. Universal rules are preferred, and company policy is normally followed regardless of who is doing the negotiating. There is minimal long-term orientation.

Locus of decision-making. Although the United States is the most individualistic of all cultures (followed by Australia and the United Kingdom), people are considered replaceable in their organizations. There is a high self-orientation emphasizing individual initiative and achievement. The individual has a life of his or her own that is generally private and normally not discussed in business negotiations. Friendships are few and specific to needs, but each person generally has loose ties with multitudes of acquaintances. In general, people from the United States do not find it difficult to say "no".

Sources of anxiety reduction. There is low anxiety about life, as external structures, religion, and science provide answers to important questions. Anxiety is developed over deadlines and results because recognition of one's work is a great reward. The work ethic is very strong, so that it appears that one lives to work. There are established rules for everything, and experts are relied upon at all levels. U.S. citizens are generally comfortable with risk.

Issues of equality/inequality. There is structured inequality in the roles people take, but personal equality is guaranteed by law. There is considerable ethnic and social bias against some minorities. Material progress is more important than humanistic progress. The society is still male dominated, but traditional sex roles are changing rapidly. Women have become more assertive and fight for equality in pay and power. There are many women executives, especially in fashion, cosmetics, arts and the media.