A Comparative Analysis of Chinese Cultural Values and Western Cultural Values from the Perspective of 'Power Distance'

摘要

Value can determine people's different behaviors and thoughts to a great extent. The contrasting cultural values in different countries can also explain the different ways people follow in their life. However, value is abstract and difficult to illustrate, so, power distance dimension, put forward by the famous social psychologist Geert Hofstede, can be used to help understanding the different values in different cultures. Therefore, this thesis mainly makes a comparative analysis on the cultural values of China and Western countries from three perspectives such as family, workplace and school. After these examples chosen in these aspects, power distance theory can be used to explain the distinction. Further, related strategies will be discussed in the end, with the aim of improving the intercultural competence in the global communication.