It varies. GS is ruthlessly efficient. Wall St consultants are seldom inefficient since their contract can be cut any time and their hourly rates can be reduced.

The wall St culture of firing and hiring is, IMO, the most effective driver of headcount efficiency and productivity.

Another factor is competition. Financial sector is rather competitive. The less productive tend to get weeded out.

Many Singapore companies are unproductive, bloated, partly because the need to protect workers’ rights.

Some Chinese private companies are (supposed to be) efficient but the majority is probably less efficient than the developed economies.

The most common shows in China, Taiwan, Japan, or Singapore, … are equally naive. This is a big forest with all kinds of birds. If you simply tune in to the popular TV channels, you see the lowest common denominator the dumbest shows.

There are other shows you don’t notice, often produced by people of various nationalities.

Compared to the Chinese, Americans are more expressive and chatty with strangers. It makes strangers feel more welcome. I like this aspect of the US culture.

These same Americans tend to be more “open” and vulnerable. I appreciate that. Doesn’t mean weaker.

This often comes across as long-winded, just like me. I actually feel long-winded chats can lead to unexpected topics.

The Chinese can also become very chatty after they know each other well. Once they open up, Chinese people can also become long-winded.

I would say overall Americans as a whole aren’t more likely to get angry. They are brought up in a more expressive, more free-flowing, more individualistic culture.

In contrast, the Singaporean are trained from young to restrain one’s emotions, observe the surrounding and avoid attracting attention.

I think the Canadians and Australians may be similar.

The Chinese tend to hide their emotions in public.

Eg: The US recruiters are more keen to set up interviews. The Singapore recruiters are more cautious. I feel the US recruiters also get more done in a month. I feel they see a lot to gain and not much to lose even if the candidate turns out to be less than serious.

If you are cautious about buying toys, you may pick and choose for a long time without buying one.

The Chinese in today’s China are more suspicious of strangers. This is unfortunate and may change over the years.

I now think policemen anywhere seldom need to run long distance since they have vehicles.

You could say the policemen in Asia are physically too small and doesn’t give us a sense of security.

I agree the small types are often more swift than the bigger ones, assuming both are fit. If both unfit, then the small size may not be faster than the tall, big size. I’m not sure.

The American layman on the street is probably less interested in the world outside the US.

I guess we could say the same of many uneducated, poorly-read, overworked or poor people in developed or developing countries. Some of these people, presumably, have no motivation to learn about the rest of the word beyond their local community.

China and Singapore are not self-centered:
– China is try to catch up
– Singapore is too small

Completely wrong. Class and quality is in the details. There are some very high quality “output” from the US. The space shuttle, the medical innovations, the internet … would fail completely without all the details exactly right.

You can also say the Chinese layman on the street are not detailed. The top Chinese students are well trained on the details, but doesn’t mean all Chinese people are.

Singapore is a “well run” city, showing in the details, but that’s really due to effective government and a rather saturated service industry.