Australian and Canadian Managerial Culture: A Summary

While adherence to British values predominated in English Canada across the spectrum of socioeconomic class, Australia, being far removed from the United States but with British colonial rule on its doorstep, tended to be less accepting largely because of the presence of a significant and assertive working class that, from early on, included a strong Irish component. Although the Australian elite tended to embrace British identity and heritage, the working class was less enamored, particularly when it came to the inherent inequality associated with British rank and privilege. In the words of Australian historian Geoffrey Blainey, “Australian life suffers at times from an inadequate respect for enterprise, originality, and talent. On the other hand, it also gains from the democratic and communal sense that ‘Jack is as good as his master’—if not better.”1 This sentiment evokes the Australian preference for flatter hierarchies.