Banter Without Borders

North Dakota: the New Norway? Cultural Differences Mean Business

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The expansive topic of cultural differences --- whether national or organizational, religious or disciplinary -- is, as global coaches and consultants, always on our minds. In the case of national culture, regional differences and distinctions are of particular interest, since they manifest themselves in such a variety of ways. On one end lies India, home to so many ethnic groups and religions. With 25-plus languages, each as distinctive from one another as Korean is from Italian, it is easy to imagine the sheer breadth of cultural differences by region that arise through linguistics alone. In China, too, we find an extraordinary number of regional divides, highlighted by the recent clash between Uighur and Han cultures. In smaller nations as Japan and the UK, and in larger ones such as Germany and Mexico, such differences can relate to the North/South or urban/rural dimension rather than, say language, but are every bit as potent in their own ways. Come to think of it, there is no nation without regional differences of some sort which in turn correlate to its subcultures.

This all came to mind as I thought of the apparent regional distinctions right here in the U.S. while reading a recent Financial Times article* on the economic success of North Dakota. Now crowned our country’s ‘chickpea capital,’ curiously, the area has been blessed with a timely confluence of factors.  A favorable tax structure, wealth of natural resources, array of infrastructure improvements and, perhaps most significantly, its “frugality and plains state work ethic” in this “more conservative” pocket of the nation have rendered it an economic oasis with a unique subculture in our country’s heartland.  The additional mention of North Dakota’s multi-dimensional energy profile, combined with its homogeneous work mentality, immediately made me wonder: Is North Dakota the new Norway??? Not really, even if it does sound catchy, but the two areas certainly do share common characteristics, climate and all.  With many economists questioning the sustainability of Norway’s model (see full discussion in blog below), it will be interesting in the near future to see whether North Dakota, with its own economic and ethical culture but also with its own fiscal challenges, will continue its moment in the sun during these trying times.

 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f7b9bc92-821f-11de-9c5e-00144feabdc0.html