LED520 Cross-Cultural Communication and Leadership Assignment - 1

LED520 Cross-Cultural Communication and Leadership - Assignment Example The dichotomy of individualism/collectivism individuals from different cultures related with one another on an individual level and within a group. The degree of individualism or collectivism is determined, by the way, an individual responds to groups (Earley & Gibson, 1998). Some cultures encourage members to prioritize the needs of the group while in some personal needs come first. Power Distance, Individualism, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity/feminism are the four dimensions of culture advanced by Geert Hofstede (Hofstedes Intercultural Dimensions, n.d.). The Power Distance dimension refers to the level of equality/inequality in a particular society. A society with high power distances are very unequal, and it is difficult to climb the ladder. Individualism dimension refers to the level of importance attached to individual achievements. Cultural metaphors help in understanding the difference in culture. It facilitates efficient cross-cultural communication (Vernon-Wortzel & Shrivastava, 1996). The idea is to select something that the members of a given society consider important. That thing can be used to comprehend the basic features of that given society (Vernon-Wortzel & Shrivastava, 1996). The use of cultural metaphors makes it easy to understand the most important features of a society. The cultural group selected for the project is Afghanistan. During the project, I had a chance to interact with Afghanistan Army soldier who also act as interpreters. It will be my first time to be in contact with people from Afghanistan. The Afghanistan people have a very distinct culture that is very different from the Western culture. The cultural activity entails working with the group of Afghanistan arm soldiers starting from April. We spent most of the time with soldiers because we work, eat, fellowship, and sleep beside each other. The

Reflection essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 9

Reflection - Essay Example Evidently, civilization has seen the exchange in cultural practices and activities. Best practices have always been exchanged ever since the realization of the cultural diversity. People from different cultures tend to learn the practices of the other cultures and utilize the lessons for personal and societal benefits. However, the cultural diversity does not mean that cultures are different. Indeed, the variation attributes to the presence of similarities and differences in the human culture. This paper will use the anthropology lens in demonstrating the cultural variations using two-course books. It will elaborate the cultural variations between the American hip hop group and a Japanese hip hop group The author elaborates on the diversity between the Japanese society and American society in regards to their perception to hip hop music. In the process, it explains how a culture and music that originates halfway around the world is appropriated and remade within the Tokyo clubs and the recording studios. In the process, the Japanese cultural diversity and the rest of the world are demonstrated. The book depicts hip hop as an accepted genre of music in the American society while it is still finding its ground in Japan. Evidently, the hip hop scene in Japan is vibrant. Therefore, the many of the Japanese are grappling with the music genre to come relevant in the music industry and clubs in Tokyo. As a mimicked cultural practice, the Japanese is not able to reshape hip hop into a Japanese product. Rather, they try to mimic the whole package of the American rappers. This includes the use of derogatory terms, rhythm (Condry 137). This shows that the Japanese language does not correspon d to the hip hop nature of music. The hip hop genre requires the rappers to flow with the beats and make sense out of a particular rhythm. Therefore, the two cultures vary in language, and that influences their music industry. From the recording shows,

Causes of the French Revolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Causes of the French Revolution - Essay Example Under the shadow of this dilemmatic political concern, French feudal lords proved to be a focus of attention by limiting the power and freedom of a common man. Although, the Lords were a principal target of rural insurrection; they remained on centre stage in the National Assembly's dramatic renunciation of privilege of 1789 thereby forming a continual bone of contention between rural communities who found the early enactments of the legislators to be thoroughly inadequate along with legislators facing continuing rural turbulence; therefore they were an essential element in the revolutionaries' notions of the "feudal regime" being dismantled; they were the concrete subject matter addressed in the first legislation that tested the tensions inherent in the thorny constitutional issue of a royal veto (and they thereby contributed to the difficulty of embodying the Revolution in some monarchical form); they were invoked in the rhetoric with which those in high places addressed the growin g international tension surrounding the revolutionary state, a rhetoric which imbued the revolutionaries with a self-righteous sense of a national mission to liberate the victims of feudalism outside of France, altering the character of European warfare. (Markoff, 1996, p. 3) The best example is the involvement of British and German governments in this concern of revolution. One of the main reasons for the revolution is the authority practiced by Lords which let arrears accumulate on periodic dues for years, then demand that peasants pay up, and accept a land-for-debt swap; under retrait, a lord had the optional right to substitute himself for the purchaser of peasant land; and lords might hold or fabricate a claim on a portion of common land. Many seigniorial rights could thus be put at the service of landholders oriented to a growing agricultural market, to such an extent that some historians have wondered whether peasant contestation might not be better described as a losing, rear-guard struggle against a growing capitalism than a vanguard battle against a dying feudalism in conjunction' with the victorious bourgeoisie. (Markoff, 1996, p. 77) Another factor that leads one to think as the cause of revolution was the corruption of the Lords and noble people, who were not liable to any of the (heavy or normal) taxation system implemented by the government, for being an authoritative privileged class. The dilemma lied within their perception according to which they were not answerable to any official in case of denial of any rule. Financial Downfall Right from Louis XIV to Louis XVI, all the noble personnel enjoyed undue privileges and advantages particularly in the financial matters. These include: 1. Lack of financial accountability in response to government questions, and they never use to bother about it. 2. They had access to government loans with the right to acquire

Outline the advantages and disadvantages of formally appraising Essay

Outline the advantages and disadvantages of formally appraising employees systems and assess the overall value of appraisals - Essay Example , without a formal structured system of appraisal as well as evaluation, employees will instill judgments on their fellow colleagues, supervisors, subordinates and peers informally and arbitrarily. This ability to make judgments, without following the correct procedure, may create ethical, legal and motivational problems within the organization. Alternatively, a formal appraisal system provides structured guidelines that are lawful, valid, reliable and defensible (Starcher, 2006). Smith (2006) and Bernardin & Beatty, (2009)point out that performance appraisal in an organization is a complex and challenging process. Usually, most managers do not acknowledge, but the fact remains it is an inevitable component within the management and supervisory process. Generally, workers will be judged on their performance, irrespective of whether or not they are under a formal appraisal system. After all, this is the nature of human beings to judge others. Because several of these uninformed, informal judgments will be flawed, there is need for formal appraisal system so as to reduce the possibilities of making judgments about others (Landy & Farr, 2003). This will benefit the organization and promote employee’s performance. Performance appraisal is an efficient source of information in an organization. Appraising employees’ systems ensures that the overall performances of the organization are focused to attaining the set goals (Grote & Grote, 2002). The views and reviews from the system include but not limited to questions like, ‘how will the organization attain its goals and what it will contribute?’ The results of the performance appraisal may lead to overall improvements of the job performance e.g. improved customer service and better productivity. This benefits the organization in various ways. First and foremost, basing on the future employee decisions and their needs, it is easier for an organization to decide which type of training and promotion needs are

Managerial Organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Managerial Organization - Essay Example The paper would discuss the myriad aspects of Enron that led to its failure. Brief summary of the case Enron Enron was a major American firm in the areas of energy and related products that had a global presence. Enron was founded in 1985 through merger of Houston Natural Gas and Internorth, the two major natural gas pipeline companies. In 2000, it was named ‘America’s Most Innovative Company’ by Fortune magazine (Fox, 2004). But in 2001, it was found that institutionalized fraud was behind the projected financial condition that was escalated to deceive public through imaginary transactions. The manipulated accounts and audit reports gave it market credibility which was exploited by the corporate to borrow capital from financial institutes. Its stock plummeted to nearly zero and it emerged as the major financial scam that shook foundation of corporate America. Situation analysis Enron was a high revenue gas pipeline company that had a niche market in America. The deregulation in the gas prices allowed Enron to be more flexible in its arrangement with producers and pipelines. It was allowed it to pursue its diversification strategy and entered into other areas like electricity power, fiber optics, coal, steel, paper and pulp. Its foray into international market was offset by undertaking projects in construction and management of energy facilities across the globe. Indeed, its exponential growth was very impressive that influenced the capital market. It exploited its expertise in physical logistics to evolve a complex network of risky trading business. The volatile market, deregulated gas prices and transport infrastructure to deliver the gas were vital risk areas that required huge funding, government alliances, expertise in areas that were virgin to it. The political risks in developing economies like India and China also emerged as critical issue that could jeopardize its projected success rate in developing effective energy capacity. Most importantly, the wide network of complex system of gas trading provided it with huge leeway to maneuver accounts. The long term contracts required future prediction of prices and short term contracts allowed it to manipulate prices. Both were risks that were managed by accounting systems through contrived earnings and balance sheet that was inflated and designed to influence the capital market (Healy and Palepu, 2003). There was lack of transparency and control which facilitated massive corporate fraud and corrupt practices in the higher hierarchy leading to its failure. Another crucial issue was its strategic decisions that were based on high ambitions of exploiting opportunities in emerging economies without analyzing its internal strengths, vis-a-vis expertise in different areas where it had diversified and the accounting system that required complex transactions of long term contracts in volatile market. Analysis of factors leading to its failure Organizational culture is a vita l factor that promotes defined code of behaviour amongst the workers to inculcate sense of stability and desired motivation for improved outcome. Mullins (2007) believes that it emphasizes behavioural regularities, which is distinct in its language, custom and traditions and the way workforce reacts to the situations. Enron’s higher hierarchy in human resource not only lacked leadership initiatives but was also unethical in

Africans who lived in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Africans who lived in America - Essay Example The land of Cleveland was one of the main regions inhabited by the African-American people; this was after the survey by Moses Cleaveland, who toured the place, acquired it and sold it through his Land Company. The more the black population grew the more the racism grew as well. It reached a point where public institutions became segregated and the black were in most case the victims of injustice. They were not allowed in some hospitals, theatres, and churches. They therefore opted to form their own churches and that was when Black African churches were formed. Despite the fact that Africans were not allowed to access education, some like Booker Washington and Will DuBois managed to get educated. They later became the champions for the enlightenment of the blacks by agitating for their rights. Keywords: Cleveland, Africans, Americans, Blacks, Whites, Racism, Segregation, Moses Cleveland, Booker Washington, Will DuBois 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Explain,  in detail,  who was Moses Cleavela nd, what were his goals for the Western Reserve? Moses Cleaveland was born in the year 1754 in the city of Canterbury in the county of Windham (Wheeler, 2000). He went to Yale College and graduated as a lawyer in 1777, and soon after his graduation, he went on to practice law in Canterbury; his service as a lawyer took a period of about 30 years. He was a lieutenant during revolution in America; this was during his practice as a lawyer when he joined an army at the Valley Forge, in the year 1978. He was married to Esther Champion with whom they had four children (Wheeler, 2000). The following year, Moses Cleaveland who was still in the army, was promoted to the position of captain. He was also elected as a member of the Connecticut general assembly representing Canterbury (Wheeler, 2000). In 1796, he led the first voyage to Western Reserve; he is remembered for his relentless effort in championing the ratification of the US constitution. He is best known for his investment skills an d hard work while serving as an officer of Connecticut Land Company. He had a band of surveyors varying from men and women, as well as experts. Through his great leadership skills, he managed to lead the whole team of surveyors into discovering a city; they named it Cleveland in his honor. He was always a happy man who enjoyed success and appreciated the effort of team work; this attribute is seen when he organized a ceremony to mark his team’s success for having arrived at the new Connecticut. He declared Cleveland as the new city of Connecticut and wished it a long life. After the great mission, he went back to Canterbury in Connecticut and on November 16, 1806, General Moses Cleaveland passed on, leaving behind a lot of legacy. A statute was erected in the new Connecticut in his memory. Western Reserve was discovered, it was a great land with great potential for business activities. According to Miller (1997), â€Å"as Moravian missionary John Heckewelder noted in 1976, t he area had the best prospect of water communication from Lake Erie to the Ohio River† (p. 143). Despite all the hypes, early settlers in the region had to migrate due to the miasmic swamps, which often made them sick. The federal government had to make a decision on how to dispose off the land. Lucky enough, the Connecticut land company under the leadership of Moses Cleaveland, came in and bought the land from the federal authority. His reasons for buying the land were to use it for agriculture and commercial purposes. Cleaveland’s immediate goal was to utilize the available lakes and rivers for communication. He had men, food, and instruments that were used for surveying and he needed to transport them by the lake. It was while in this mission that he discovered the lake was long enough for commercial

Asthma Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Asthma - Research Paper Example An individual finds it extremely strenuous to take air in and out of the lungs during an asthma attack. This is because the inner layer of the tubes conveying air between the throat and lungs become swollen to some extent closing the airway (5). There is also increased secretion of mucus, which further serves to narrow the airway. The inflamed airway is sensitive to a number of substances, which causes asthmatic patients to be extremely allergic to various substances. The precise cause of asthma is unknown; however, researchers believe that there is an interaction of some genetic and environmental factors, which bring about asthma. This usually happens during the early stages of development. Statistics show that about 23 million Americans have asthma, 7 million of them being under the age of eighteen years (Murphy 7). The genetic and environmental factors that cause asthma include atopy, childhood respiratory infections, contact with airborne allergens, having asthmatic parents, and contact with some viral illnesses during infancy or early childhood as the immune system is developing (What Is Asthma? - NHLBI, NIH). Atopy is the hereditary propensity of developing asthma. The Hygiene Hypothesis tries to explain the causes of asthma by suggesting that reduced exposure to various childhood ailments due to the highly hygienic Western lifestyle affects children’s immune systems, making them more prone to atopy and asthma. There is no known cure for asthma and the ailment can erupt at any time despite the patient feeling fine. It is, therefore, imperative to treat symptoms as soon as one notices them to prevent the progression of a mild attack into a strong attack. Consequently, one needs to know asthma symptoms to recognize them. The most common signs of asthma are wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath, and chest tightness (What Is Asthma? - NHLBI, NIH). However, possessing these signs does not always mean that a person has asthma. Hence, a person displayin g these symptoms needs to see a doctor for proper diagnosis using the lung function test and a physical examination. Many things set off or aggravate asthma conditions including allergens derived from dust, mold, pollen, animal fur, and cockroaches. Cigarette smoke, dust, and sprays also contain irritants that can spark asthma attacks. Viral infections of the upper respiratory tract, for example, colds, some medications (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and nonselective beta-blockers), and sulfites present in foodstuffs and beverages also trigger asthma attacks (What Is Asthma? - NHLBI, NIH). Vigorous physical activity such as exercises may also worsen the symptoms of asthma. Other health conditions e.g. â€Å"a runny nose, sinus infections, reflux disease, psychological stress, and sleep apnea† make the management of asthma more challenging and ought to be treated, as well (What Is Asthma? - NHLBI, NIH). The identification of asthma relies on medical and family histories , test results, and a physical examination. The establishment of medical and family histories involves determining the frequency and severity of asthma symptoms. It is also imperative to determine the exact periods of the attacks, for example, certain times of the day or seasons of the year. Physical examination involves the doctor looking out for asthma signs such as â€Å"wheezing, a runny nose, swollen nasal passages and allergic skin conditions such as eczema†