An important aspect of US culture would be the custom of tipping. A tip is an additional amount of money that someone in the service industry expects to receive from their customer. Examples of service industry jobs include restaurant workers such as a waiter or a waitress, taxi drivers, hotel staff, etc. The custom of tipping holds cultural significance because it represents the American principles of individual achievement and hard work. Customers are given the choice of how much they want to tip the person that is serving them based on how well they feel the service was provided. The concept of tipping fits in well with the values of consumer choice and empowerment in a culture that values both, allowing customers to actively be involved with the financial security of others.
In my opinion, there are good and bad aspects of tipping. One great aspect of tipping culture in the U.S. would be the pressure on the server to do well at their job to receive a better tip. Most people in the U.S. choose the percentage of how much they tip based on how satisfied they are with the service they received, encouraging workers to do their best to earn a better tip. One thing that I think is bad about the tipping culture is that employers are allowed to pay service workers less than the “tipped minimum wage” in the belief that tips will make up the difference. In the US, a lot of service industry workers, such as waiters in restaurants, are frequently given a lower base income, known as the “tipped minimum wage,” with the assumption that tips will make up a large amount of their earnings. Tipping is such a big aspect of the U.S. culture that employers rely on it to pay their workers, which I don’t think is fair. Someone could decide to not tip at all, stripping away any if not all income opportunities for the worker.
Though this is an important aspect of US culture, many countries do not expect it and some such as Japan consider tipping to be rude. Due to the humility and modesty that the Japanese people place an emphasis on, tipping can be seen as a way to draw attention to oneself not aligning with their cultural norms. That being said, there is no motivation to serve people better, instead they are just expected to provide exceptional service since they are getting paid a fair wage, something that Americans tend to disagree with.
This exercise will help me prepare for my time abroad by helping me better analyze different cultural norms to a greater extent and assist me in developing my own beliefs about such norms. I’ll be able to take my new knowledge of Moroccan culture with me throughout the rest of my life and compare it to what I believe to be the norm in my life, allowing for a better, open-minded lifestyle.