Cultural Autobiography: A Comparative Study of UK and US Cultures

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CULTURAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Task a: Cultural autobiography of my own.....................................................................................4
Task b: Cultural autobiography of my friend..................................................................................5
Task c: Comparison between both the cultural autobiographies.....................................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................8
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Introduction
Different countries possess different cultures as well as different styles of living. The term
cultural differences are defined as the various beliefs, languages, expressions, behaviors, and
practices which are being considered very unique to all the members of the specific ethnicity,
national origin or the race. The concept of cultural autobiography helps in not only deeply
understanding about us but also understanding the different roles of other people within the
whole society. The complete assignment involves the creation of cultural autobiographies of my
own as well as of my friend, depending on the questionnaire. Both these autobiographies will
then be compared along with determining the various cultural differences as well as the
similarities.
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Task a: Cultural autobiography of my own
I belong to the middle-class family in which I, my sister & my parents live happily together. My
father is a writer who writes very attractive & effective articles on the different topics & my
mother is a housewife. I visit the different beautiful places with my complete family, every
weekend. I belong from the British Nationality in the country of the United Kingdom, which
includes four Home Nations, "England, Scotland, Northern Ireland & Wales". I & my family live
in England, U.K. The place where I live is very friendly & welcoming place, where the people
try to improve their English, make new & good friends, spend their weekends. People can enjoy
the traditional British food which involves the chips, fish, pudding, and cream tea, local cheese,
full English breakfast & many more tasty dishes. My country is full of British traditions &
culture, which is famous all over the World. We celebrate various special occasions including
the Valentine’s Day on 14th February, St. George’s Day on 23rd April (on this day he bravely
killed a dragon) & Summer Solstice in June (on this day, the day is long & night is short).
I have grown up in a friendly environment; I have never been through with any kind of
restrictions. Also, my country has lots of different weathers including the rain, beautiful &
sunny. I have so many good friends in my college & near my house. My college has positively
developed my overall personality, it had made me understood that which career I should choose
& towards which direction I should put my efforts, effectively & efficiently. I had completed
MBA from a well-recognized institution, i.e., “University of Oxford" after complete my
schooling & graduation from the nearby school & the college. I am currently doing an internship
as a management trainer in the leading MNC, "Pearson Education” which provides the
published & assessment services to different schools as well as the corporations, along with the
different students, directly. My parents have also completed their education from England only.
But, I have shifted to the country of America for a few months for the preparation of my
different interviews. My country & my parents have positively developed my overall personality.
My teachers have also influenced me positively for making & developing me professionally. I
have learned different aspects of my life which had taught me that I should develop & maintain
various positive relations with the positive people who can direct me & help me in all the
difficult situations.
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Task b: Cultural autobiography of my friend
My friend belongs from a very rich family & lives with his family in the country of United
States of America. His family is big, including him, his parents, his small sister & his
grandparents. They all live together. His father is a business-man & his mother is a working-
woman who works at the post of the senior manager in a leading business organization. He lives
a very sophisticated life. They plan a trip to different countries every month & enjoy their life to
the fullest. For all the Americans, “Sunday Supper” is the tradition for their country which is full
of ethnic cultures. All the American families spent their Sundays in Church (Costanza, et.al.
2012). Western culture is being followed in his country, where the different cultural groups
integrate with a different culture in different ways. Also, no official language is being followed
in America (Li and Zahra, 2012). People speak both the English as well as the non-English
languages, such as the Chinese, German, Spanish & French, according to their suitability.
Some special occasions celebrated by the people of America, including my friend & his family
involves the Martin Luther King Day on 15th January (it is a federal holiday), St. Patrick’s Day
on 17th March (celebrated with Irish backgrounds & wear green colored clothes), and
Independence Day on 4th July (Nosek, et.al. 2015). The country of America develops &
implements the effective legal rules & regulations for regulating the different environmental
constraints & effectively responding towards the major identified threats within the environment
in the effective as well as in an appropriate manner (Lichter, 2012). My friend had completed
both his schooling & college from America only. He had completed the engineering from a well-
recognized institution in America of "Stanford University” & had given interviews in the
different leading business organizations in the country of America only. My friend considers his
grandparents as his role models; they have helped my friend in recognizing his effective
capabilities & helped him to choose the proper career & go through it with a higher level of
confidence. They have influenced him positively & helped him in enhancing his personal as well
as professional development. My friend did not leave his country, he loves his family & his
country & cannot live without them, and therefore he is trying to settle down in his own country
only.
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Task c: Comparison between both the cultural autobiographies
On comparing the culture & living environment of both the different countries, i.e. the United
Kingdom & United States of America, multiple similarities, as well as the differences, have been
found out. Certain similarities have been determined after comparing both the autobiographies of
mine & my friend & it has been identified that both the countries possess a free & comfortable
environment for living. The families of both countries do not impose any kind of restrictions on
their students or children (Truong, et.al. 2014). They are completely free to choose their career &
move towards it in multiple ways, they like. Also, the people of both countries possess equal
rights for doing anything they want. The problem of inequity is not being faced by both
countries. Along with all these, both countries are considered reasonably liberal in terms of the
legal laws of employment. The eating styles are also somewhat similar among both the countries
& also similar kinds of food are being eaten by both of them (Carcello and Li, 2013).
Apart from all these similarities, large numbers of cultural differences have been found between
the different countries' cultures. One of the major differences found between them is Health care.
It has been founded that people living in the country of America purchase very costly or
expensive clothes or any other things (Uslaner, 2012). Most of the families in America are
sophisticated, whereas, the people in the U.K. spent their funding according to the policies of the
government. Western culture is being followed by the Americans; on the other hand, British
culture is being followed in my country, i.e. in the U.K. Also, only English language is spoken
by the people living in the country of United Kingdom, but the people living in America can use
different language, whether English or non-English. The special occasions celebrated by them
are also different in both the countries, except some of the occasions, for example, Valentine’s
Day (Nathan and Lee, 2013). I have also identified that the people living in America care for old
people in a very well-established style, such as nursing homes, retirement communities, etc. On
the other hand, in the U.K. the old people live as a part of an "extended family”.
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Conclusion
It has been concluded that different countries possess different cultures & the people living in
different countries live their life in a different manner or different styles. By creating &
comparing the cultural autobiographies of different countries, multiple similarities, as well as the
cultural differences, have been determined. The people of America & the U.K. enjoy different
special occasions. It has also been identified that most of the people of America live a
sophisticated life & also purchase expensive or very costly things. By analyzing the different
cultural differences in U.K. & America, it has also been identified that the English language is
the official language being spoken in the U.K., but the Americans can use different non-English
languages also, along with the English language, such as the French, Spanish, Chinese, etc.
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References
 Costanza, D.P., Badger, J.M., Fraser, R.L., Severt, J.B. and Gade, P.A., 2012.
Generational differences in work-related attitudes: A meta-analysis. Journal of Business
and Psychology, 27(4), pp.375-394.
 Li, Y. and Zahra, S.A., 2012. Formal institutions, culture, and venture capital activity: A
cross-country analysis. Journal of Business Venturing, 27(1), pp.95-111.
 Nosek, B.A., Alter, G., Banks, G.C., Borsboom, D., Bowman, S.D., Breckler, S.J., Buck,
S., Chambers, C.D., Chin, G., Christensen, G. and Contestabile, M., 2015. Promoting an
open research culture. Science, 348(6242), pp.1422-1425.
 Lichter, D.T., 2012. Immigration and the new racial diversity in rural America. Rural
Sociology, 77(1), pp.3-35.
 Truong, M., Paradies, Y. and Priest, N., 2014. Interventions to improve cultural
competency in healthcare: a systematic review of reviews. BMC health services
research, 14(1), p.99.
 Carcello, J.V., and Li, C., 2013. Costs and benefits of requiring an engagement partner
signature: Recent experience in the United Kingdom. The Accounting Review, 88(5),
pp.1511-1546.
 Uslaner, E.M., 2012. Trust, diversity, and segregation in the United States and the United
Kingdom. In Trust (pp. 69-97). Brill.
 Nathan, M. and Lee, N., 2013. Cultural Diversity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship:
Firm‐level Evidence from London. Economic Geography, 89(4), pp.367-394.
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