Such countries attributing low power distance play down inequalities as much as possible. Persons of higher positions are respected, but employees are not fearful of them nor view them as superior. In a low power distance nation a person who holds authority tries not to look too .
powerful. An example is Judy who often uses courtesy when speaking to staff, in particular "please", despite the fact that she is the director of the company. The society values equality and any inequality is minimised therefore there is more diverse social interaction between people. For example, Doug is seen playing tennis with Steven and pool with Paul as opposed to with Judy, who is of similar status. Staff have a casual manner during meetings with an orderly and not too formal agenda. This reflects the fact that organizations of a low power distance country have less formalized procedures and communication. Subordinates are not afraid to disagree, as does one of the female staff when she interrupts Judy by saying, "But we don't know anything about wine." Finally, the negative remarks about Doug spoken by staff clearly reflect the fact that Australia is a country that places emphasis on interdependence and equal rights. All these examples indicate that Australia has low power distance; very different to Malaysia which has very high power distance. .
In a society attributing high power distance such as Malaysia, the differences in power within organizations is widely accepted. Employees are often in awe of their superiors and show a lot of respect towards them. Robbins (2003, p.123) notes that when negotiating in high power distance countries, companies often send representatives with titles at least as high as those with whom they are bargaining. This can be seen through Middleton when Yorke, who holds a high position, is the one who travels to Miri to conduct business and not a department head such as Steven, the economics adviser.
