Analysis of the Effect of Culture Within an Organization

Analyze the effect of culture within an organization Charles I Ojunta LDR/531 January, 21,2013 James F Traylor R FC. CFM. Analyze the effect of culture within an organization One of the primary responsibilities of strategic leaders is to create and maintain the organizational characteristics that reward and encourage collective effort.. The most fundamental of this is organizational culture. Organization culture is defined as a system of shared meaning held by members that distinguish the organization from other organizations.It develops to help organizations cope with its environment. Strong culture provides stability to an organization. The culture of an organization consists of the shared norms, values, and believes of members.. By establishing a strong culture, leaders can indirectly influence the attitudes and behaviors of members (Schein 1992) But it is not for every organization. For some organizations it is a major barrier to change..Many managers have failed in implementing a new strategy for a new vision for the company due to poor analysis of the organizational culture Culture provides a way to control and coordinate the actions of people without the need for elaborate formal control systems or continuous use of direct influence attempts (Tushman & O’Reilly 1996). There are Six Characteristics of organizational culture. As follows Innovation and risk taking, Attention to details, Outcome orientation, Aggressiveness and stability..Organizational culture can be one of the most important factors in whether a large company succeeds or fails, but it is also one of the hardest things to change about a company , since by its very definition, organizational culture is shared through out the entire company. In analyzing a company’s organizational culture, three core areas are critical each of which is futher broken down to create a list of key concepts which are critical to the process of reviewing the organization.The three areas are Elements o f organizational culture,, the company must look at the contents of the organizational culture, and then the subculture that exists within the dominant culture of the company, The organizational culture of the company refers to the basic assumptions , values and beliefs that the organizations supposed to be based on.. The business organizational culture is looked at in terms of what the business considers important ant or unimportant. Within every company, there is also subcultures or a number of subcultures that exist in conjunction with (or sometimes in opposition to ) the organizational culture.Although sub cultures are considered rebellious groups within the organization, but some subcultures can also serve an important function in understanding the operations of the company and therefore can be an asset therefore they are an important and critical concept in understanding the company as a whole it gives you insight into problem areas in the organization. It is necessary to exam ine the relationship between that culture and the company’s ethics. in three areas, Knowledge management, Anchors of organizational behavior and work place values.Organizations must look at the procedures by which such knowledge is obtained and passed along as well as the organizational memory of the company. In assessing the organizational behavior of the company’ s status with these. In this area the assessment is focused on the importance of values in the work place and the idea of corporate social responsibility A complete analysis of the company requires a final look at the process of group and team formation within the company. This will involve the development of the four other concepts of leadership and culture that are of importance to the company’s analysis-work teams . ffectiveness, cooperation among teams and team inaction and team building efforts. In essence ,the core functions of all these concepts is to generate greater understanding of the compa ny’s ability to make use of teams within the existing organizational culture with the purpose of increasing positive relationship between the existing cultures and the company stated ethics. Therefore an analysis of an organizational culture can greatly enhance the efficiency in the work place. Employees form an overall subjective perception of the organization based on such factors as degree of risk tolerance, team emphasis, and support of people..This overall perception becomes, in effect, the organizations culture or personality.. National Defence University. (2009 04). Organizational Culture. Retrieved from http://www. au. af. mil/au/awc/awcgate/ndu/strat-ldr-dm/pt4ch16. html Robbin, S. (2007). Organizational Behavior (14th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Zajac, C. (2009-04). Change of organizational culture Premises, aims,and results. Journal of Intercultural Management, 1(1), 109-116. doi:N/A How to analyze Your Company’s Organizational Cult ure. (2010 July). Retrieved from http:// www. organizationalculture101. com/analyzing-organizational-culture. html

Communication Accommodation Theory

Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) states that people adjust their communication to others due to various reasons: seek for listener’s approval, maintain positive social identity and wanting to achieve communication efficiency. According to Giles, people accommodate their speeches and behaviors more to the people they found attracted to and who have more similar beliefs and attitudes with them. Giles suggested that people use perception and evalution in conversations, which means people observe and interpret message before they decide how to act in a conversation.Moreover, people who has a lower social status is often more likely to accommodate to and guided by people who are from higher social status. People also perform their behaviors according to norms and appropriateness, where they try to reach the expectations of behaviors in conversations. CAT suggests several ways when people adapt during conversations: convergence, divergence and overaccommodation. People may a djust themselves in order to highlight similar behaviors to others or distinguish themselves from others.Convergence is a strategy used to adapt another’s behaviors. Usually people converge toward stereotypes. Divergence is used to emphasize differences between communicators. It is a way to maintain one’s social identity and power status. Overaccommodation means to overdo in regulating to others even acting from good intentions. What Giles suggested in the theory is more than only showing us the reason we accommodate or Not accommodate to others in conversations. People use these tactics in order to maintain their social identities and statuses.It is especially important to minorities, whom are always expected to adjust to the mainstream. This theory make them realize what they have been doing unconsciously and what created unjustice in society. Another phenomenon that the theory has suggested is that people sometimes over-accommodate in order to fit in a group. People try to be someone who they are not even partly similar. Learning this theory might allow them to realize it might not be a good idea to overly adjust. Communication accommodation theory Theory Theory of Communication Accommodation Keenness State university Melinda Sykes Communication Accommodation Theory 2 Introduction Verbal behavior is an active lifestyle that individuals use to convey messages. This are of communication involves a multitude of approaches, both In a behavioral sense but also a social psychological approach. Our behavior alters our environment with or without our permission. Therefore, speech is an integral part of the communication accommodation theory because pitch. Illume. Tone and many others s said to cause a shift in ones behavior. In 1987, Giles & Wingman explained communication accommodation as a theory that examines underlying motivations and consequences of shifts In verbal behavior. This theory attempts to explain why people accommodate or adjust to another's speech and the need to gain approval or maintain social identity with whom they are speaking with. The theory assumptions are that perceptions of another's speech help Individuals t o evaluate and behave towards that person.The purpose of this paper Is to discuss the development of the theory by reviewing research tested and or extending the theory. More Importantly, the paper will develop an overall evaluation of the theory strength's, weakness and heuristic potential. Both speech convergence and divergence, they magnify the movement toward or away from the speech style of the other. And determine that it is ultimately motivated by an assumption about the other's speech (Giles, Mullah, Abroad, & Johnson, 1987).These strategies give great reference and understanding of the accommodation principle in communication. Communication Accommodation Theory 3 Convergence and divergence are strategies that give light on the reasons why individuals adapt to one another's speech rate. Convergence indicates that â€Å"individuals adapt to each other by slowing down or speeding up speech rate, lengthening or shortening pauses and utterances, and using certain forms of polit eness, tag questions and verbal intensifiers in their speech† (Infants, Rancher, & woman, 2003).Divergence refers to the way speakers accentuate vocal and linguistic differences to underscore social differences between speakers (Infants, Rancher, & Woman, 2003). Though the strategies differ linguistically they are the same in concept. They are unconnected in the sense â€Å"the strength of a single response may be, and usually is a function of more than one variable and a single variable usually affects more than one response† (B. F. Skinner, 1957). Street and Giles assumed that divergence is generally used when others are members of undesirable groups or hold distasteful attitudes (1982). Ultimately, we converge with others in interaction if they are powerful and we want to be like them. We diverge from others in interaction if it is important for us to highlight a separate and distinct identity' (Miller, 2005). Over time, researchers have examined the area of gender a nd communication. The research has lead to an understanding that individuals classify according to gender orientation rather than biological sex (Virginia Wheelers, 1984). The research uncovered that feminine and undifferentiated individuals were more accommodating than masculine.The research runs along the same parallel that â€Å"feminine language† is viewed as more considerate cooperative, helpful and submissive (Stewart, Stewart, Cooper, & Friendly, 1996). This issue is heuristic in the sense is has brought about the research of sound play. Communication Accommodation Theory 4 Bambini B. Speechifies, author and scientist researched sound play and described it as vocal/verbal activity of a single speaker, more importantly used between young children and mothers (Ochs & Sheffield, 1983).In these exchanges, children pay attention to the phonological shape of one another's utterances and repeat or modify slightly a sequence of sounds Just produced. The study has been reported in a number of different cultures. Speech convergence is expressed during sound play. The approval of the mother or the child's adjustment gains satisfaction for one another. These results suggest that similarity in speech and tone influence perceptions of a relationship and gains overall approval. The study observed the use of sound play, convergence and divergence in the workplace as well.The method was simple observation through the use of office cameras and role play. The purpose was to observe the amount of times the three strategies mentioned above were used and by what gender. The results of the study results of women showing convergence almost in all cases that presented themselves. Their speech in terms of pitch, volume and tone were all demonstrations that ran insistent with the implied hypotheses. The women showed signs of being more considerate, understanding and submissive.Their tone and volume were reported to be lower and seemed more empathetic to whom they were spea king with. While the men seemed very consistent with their regular speaking tones in the midst of adversity or casual conversation. More actions of divergence were shown by the male participants. Communication Accommodation Theory 5 Instances were numerous on the part of correcting others verbal expressions and used more extensive Jargon in the workplace. Research has found that stereotypes continue to show the relevance and authenticity of the convergence and divergence strategies.For example, blind persons report individuals who communicate with them tend to shout or exaggerate behaviors unrelated to their ability to see. Nurses use â€Å"baby talk† to the institutionalized elderly, regardless of the individual's capabilities (Infants, Rancher, & Woman, 2003). Another example would be the tendency of individuals to yell or express exaggerated movements to persons who cannot hear. Research has been evaluated with gender playing a role in speech convergence and divergence. So ciety as given norms that inhibit the expectancy of speech from women and men.Even women's speech exhibits marked differences compared to the speech of men, provided that women use more polite expressions and seem to adopt standard forms, while the latter tend to exercise their â€Å"right† to do as they see fit (Miller, 2005). Society norms have provided the benefit of men using divergence and women more commonly using convergence to gain approval for satisfaction. As Robin Alaska once said, â€Å"women collude in their own subordination by the way they speak. † Speech divergence in the use of metaphors in literature, in that the message used in his kind of form is accessible only to those who are conversant with the code.In this way, members of certain groups or communities can hold up walls. On one hand, exclude the ones who cannot penetrate the mind of the speaker or the writer, but on the other, help cultivate intimacy and a sense of community. Communication Accom modation Theory 6 Communication accommodation theory is a very practical and easy to understand concept. For the reason, we all have experienced the convergence and divergence experience. Either, we were the initiator or the responder. The theory illustrates its opportunity to be tested and observed to gain further extensive research.With test having been conducted and both positive and negative feedback reported, both are good for a theory. It shows legitimacy that the theory is Just that but it also shows some relevance and true findings for the theory. This being said it makes the theory heuristic. Further research, observations, testing and extensions can be produced from this theory. In addition, the theory meets the scientific standards of explanation of the result, â€Å"twin objectives of scientific knowledge† (Griffin, 1991, p. 34). It maintains a simplistic concept and is easy to understand.Having a theory that is testable and leaves room for growth and further expa nsion puts it in the category of credible, substantial theories. A weakness in the communication accommodation theory is that it leaves many questions unanswered. Questions such as the long term changes in behavior and where to draw the line of empathy and the theory are where the theory can be unclear (Infants, Rancher & Hammock, 2005). In order for individuals to understand the difference between the accommodation theory and empathy, they would have to eave the same definition and perception of what empathy is. Communication Accommodation Theory CAT- American History X In this paper, I will use CAT (Communication Accommodation Theory) to explain how convergence, divergence, and intergroup contact are illustrated within the film American History X. Convergence in CAT refers to the accommodativeness, the process concerned with how we both reduce and magnify communication differences between people in interaction. Talking about convergence, people tend to enhance interpersonal similarities and reduce uncertainties. The effect of converging towards or approximately to another can increase liking and enable him or her to be seen more competent and credible.It includes switching to the other’s language or dialect, or assuming the same level of the other’s interruptions, speech rate, posture and so forth. When engaging conversation, if the individuals or in-group identity is viewed more than the out-group identity, there will be convergence and higher communication relational satisfaction. In the film American History X, there are several examples help to illustrate the concept of convergence: Firstly, the attitude and the way of thinking towards Derek are influence by his father who is being murdered and killed by two black people during his duty as a firefighter.In one of the flashbacks in the film, Derek’s family gathered around at the dinner table, Derek mentions his black teachers, Bob Sweeney, who assigned the class to read a book which is written by an African American author. Derek’s father disapproval the book because he is personally having dissatisfaction about his job with two black people got approved to his team. He explains the facts of how the black people in their society and neibourhood would threaten their life and verbally assume Derek is supporting his point of view. All these influences Derek after his father died.He starts to believe that the problems of the society is all race related. Started from that point, Derek strongly stereotypes his ethnic identity b ecause of his father’s prejudices towards the minorities in his society and the reason for his father’s death. His convergence mixed with stereotyping leads to over accommodation which is viewed as disrespectful to his whole family both verbally and nonverbally. Second example of convergence is another flashback in the movie. Derek along with his brother Daniel and girlfriend Stacey gathered a large group of white racism gangs in the parking lot.Derek was having a speech to the whole group about the new immigration and unfairness about the distribution on the resources towards whites and other ethics. After the speech, they destroyed a market which the owner is an Asian. They almost broke everything in the store and beaten up the people inside. The whole actions show that the group of white gangs is trying to show their strong social power to those who has lower power in the society. Besides, the group of white gangs tends to converge to signal their common ethnic and social identities.In another flashback scene, when Derek was in the prison, he tried to find the group who has the similarity with him base on the tattoo on his body. He lay down and worked out in the area where the others ethic prisoners were staying and he threaten them away. Finally he found the group and he is one of the in-group members. Here Derek tends to converge as he wants to gain approval by a group of people with similarity in the prison. He also wants to develop a closer relationship with the other members in his in-group that he didn’t meet before.After three years, Derek gets released from the prison. Daniel’s appearance changes to a younger version of Derek, with shaved headed and tattoo. Derek seems to be frustrated about the tattoo on Daniel’s arm as he thought it would be a bad idea for Daniel to follow his steps and get involved all those racism stuffs. But Daniel says â€Å"I thought you would like it! † Daniel tends to converge to ga in approval and trust from his brother, he tends to develop a closer relationship with him as long as he thought they are sharing the common social identities.Divergence in CAT refers to non-accommodativeness, to magnify the communicative differences. Divergence occurs when individuals desire to represent their in-group identity above others desire. It serves as a distinction to preserve dialect or vocabulary. Members of different ethnic groups often accentuate their identities by diverging from one another both verbally and nonverbally. Divergence can be particularly intense if people feel their identity is threatened and that the other group has historically and illegitimately discriminated against them.If a person accommodates an out-group member in this situations, that person is named as cultural traitor. If the out-group identity is more noticeable than the in-group or individual identity, there will be divergence less satisfaction. Here are some examples help to illustrate th e concept of divergence: When Derek was in the prison, he found his in-group member. Everything is going well till one day Derek find out one of the prisoner in-group member trade with a Mexican American ethic group member. He is disappointed and had never acknowledged the possibility of his in-group member could do wrong.He shows his disapproval towards that member’s action nonverbally and walked away. In the next few days, Derek reveals to sit with his in-group for meals and he didn’t show any respect to his in-group. He started to play basketball with the other out-groups instead of gather with his in-group. By then, he offended the group’s leader of his own in-group and they turned on him and gang raped him in the shower. At first, Derek diverges from his in-group due to the actions of the member trading with the other out-group member. He thinks that is no different with cultural traitor.Then his in-group members disapproval towards his demeanor, the gang r aped accident happened to increasing the divergence. When he was attacked by those he once considered members of his in-group, Derek makes up his mind to leave the group after that as he thinks his social identity is being raped out because he had believed that could only be perpetrated by out-groups. After Derek is released from the prison, he went back to the party held by Cameron, who used to convince Derek to lead several violent acts. He starts off a fight with him due with the issue about his brother Daniel.Derek blames Cameron is the one who giving them so much trouble and asked Cameron to leave them alone. Derek tends to diverge from his in-group to signal his disapproval towards Cameron’s actions and demeanors. He thinks Cameron is trying to put Daniel into hardship like him. Derek broke up with his girlfriend Stacey in that same party. Derek was trying to tell Stacey to leave the group with him together, but Stacey disagree as she thought Derek is in a popular posit ion at that time and she personally doesn’t think there is any problem with the group. They turn out to be enemy.They tend to diverge to signal relational dissatisfaction, Stacey think Derek changes a lot after he gets out from the prison and she thinks he loses his reputation because of what he did to her. In one of the flashbacks in the film, Derek’s family was gathering around with a Jewish man at the dinner table. They talked about the revolution which an Asian market was being destroyed, happened before when Derek, Daniel and Stacey were involved. The Jewish man has different point of view toward the whole racism activity with three of them. Derek started the get mad in the middle of the meal.He thinks that the Jewish man is trying to get sexual benefit from his mother and he is a hater for Derek. Derek rudely asked him to get out of the house and never step into his house again. Derek tends to diverge as he wants to signal the relational dissatisfaction towards h is mother and the Jewish also he wants to disapprove toward his actions in his house, being a hater for Derek. Intergroup contact theory indicates the perceptions of an out-group will change consistent with the perceptions one holds regarding a relationship one has with a member of that out-group.Intergroup communication also maximized the presence of their group and will sometimes leads to a dissatisfied relationship. Here are some examples from American History X helps to explain the intergroup contact theory: During the work in the prison, Derek was assigned to work with an African American man who named Lamont. At first Derek refused to talk to him because of his strong stereotyping but Lamont was always trying to challenge Derek’s deep-set stereotypes. Most of the time for Lamont, it is more likely a one-side conversation.Lamont worked around with Derek’s racist attitude by talking about some common interests for example women and the reason they are in prison. Al ong with the conflicts happened between Derek with his in-group, Derek realizes that those of the other ethnicities were much more like himself than he had imagined before. They become friends afterwards and on the day that Derek got released, they met each other and Derek says to Lamont â€Å"I think part of the reason that I could get out is because of you. † Derek feels thankful to him. His strong stereotyping is lost.Another example is after Derek was being raped by his in-group member; Derek was helpless and feels utterly alone. He lost his cultural identity to cling to and is not belongs to any of the groups. While he was staying in the medical room, his former African American English teacher, Bob Sweeny, came to visit him. Derek seeks helps from him. Bob was willing to help him and he helped him to see how his actions have affected his younger brother Daniel. These two examples show that Derek has changed his attitude towards an out-group after he tried to communicate with them. Stereotyping also reduces for Derek.He tends to have a positively relationship with the out-groups which is the aims of intergroup contact theory. American History X does not only explain the convergence, divergence and intergroup contact theory in CAT (Communication Accommodation Theory), but it also explains more theories in interpersonal and intercultural communication. Convergence, divergence and intergroup are all related to the communication between an in-group and out-group. The film helps to illustrate some facts that also happening in the real life that we have to face and most of the time, the way that we could deal with them is by communication.

Ethical Behavior in the Business World Essay

In the business world there is no place for dishonesty, arrogance or greed. People have to be held accountable; they are responsible for upholding ethical business practices. The old adage â€Å"Ignorance is no excuse† applies in business as well as personal lives. Corporate Leaders and CEO’s have to be held to a higher standard. Ethical behavior means to act in a way that is good and mutually beneficial for the individual and society (Mautner, 2005). This statement makes me wonder who decides what is good and mutually beneficial for society and the individual in business practices. When you deal with International Business relations it is good practice to study the business culture of that country. For example Japan acts on the principle of â€Å"Wa† the ancient word for the concept of peace and harmony. It basically means â€Å"circle† and managers and employees work in a circle of harmony. It is important to understand International culture. In Mexico it is believed that if employees have a siesta midday production will increase. In our Western culture you would be fired if you had a siesta on the job. If a company does not take the time to study the culture and business practices of a country they can find themselves tied up in corrupt business transactions. Is it ethical to take part in corrupt international business transactions? Legal? Explain. The answer to this question depends on the country. While it may be illegal to do this in the US, there may not be any laws enforced against this in other countries because of the different culture there that allows business corruption such as bribery as a daily business practice. Thus, ethically, this is wrong on a universal basis but it is also relative in terms of wrong or right or ethical or not depending on the country and the moral base that they are using as ethics are based upon morals. Thus, in the US, it is not either legal or ethical to take part in corrupt international business transactions but it may be necessary in order to compete in business in certain parts of the world as that is the way that they do business. References: Japanese Etiquette and Ethics in Business / Edition 6 by Boye Lafayette De Mente International Business Law

An old dog can learn new tricks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

An old dog can learn new tricks - Essay Example Stress management is a skill that every student and professional must master in order to compete in the contemporary increasingly dynamic and competitive environment. Signs of stress include depression, anxiety, anger, and nervousness. Exercise as well as work-life balance is an effective way of managing stress. In addition, good management of time also helps relieve the stress. The contemporary age is the age of information literacy. To excel in the present age, the importance of gaining information literacy cannot be overemphasized. I try to read newspapers, magazines, and engage in intellectual discussions to gain more and more information. I not only gain information, but also critically analyze it so as to ensure that I am not gaining biased, faulty, misleading, or erroneous information. Concluding, numerous aspects of this course have helped me excel as a student and gain skills of professionalism. Amongst the most important aspects, goal setting with S.M.A.R.T. goals, stress management, and information literacy are three. I shall always benefit from these aspects in my

Consumer Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Consumer Behavior - Essay Example There are many changes taking place in the society structures and the family values are going down gradually (Giddens 1979, Giddens 1991; Miles 2000). At times advertisements can play an important role in bringing the family values together. There are some ads which treasure the family moments to the maximum and make you realize how important it is to give time to your loved ones. This is mostly shown through the chocolate or sweet ads. Celebrities have their own impact while they advertise for any ad (Atkin 1983) and mostly major companies want to take big celebrities to make an ad for them as this tends to generate more consumer response. Kodak camera films and cameras have their ads being portrayed as value expressive. They show that all the special moments in everyone’s life cannot be missed and it should be captured at the right time in the cameras. The digital cameras of Kodak also give the same message as the normal cameras that moments are special and cherishing for everyone and they should be given special treatment always. Value expressive influence of advertising may tend to create high emotional levels and also sensitive feeling for the consumers. They may become emotionally attached with the products as they would feel a strong sense of attachment while they use the product. Nokia advertisement can be considered as an informational group influencing ad as it portrays in their ad that having Nokia develops a lifestyle, it develops it for oneself and for others too, the consumers passion and fashion can be immensely taken to success because of having Nokia. The ad shows that with the use of Nokia, one has a strong confident personality and they can achieve whatever they want. If one aims to have very high goals they can do it while having the Nokia cell phones, as Nokia has portrayed its image as strong, reliable, unbreakable, good quality , resistant to damages. Other

Buddhism Modernist- Colonel Henry Steel Olcott Essay

Buddhism Modernist- Colonel Henry Steel Olcott - Essay Example ork City before later joining the University of Columbia before he could drop out of the university in 1851 when his father’s business failed to raise the required amount to pay for his education. In between 1858 to 1860, Olcott found a placement in the New York tribune where he used to write agricultural articles though he could engage in other topics in his writing for instance he wrote about the lineage of his extended family. Olcott married the daughter of trinity parish priest, Mary Epplee Morgan in 1860, and they were blessed with four children two of whom died while still toddlers. During the American Civil war, Henry Steel Olcott served in the military after which he was assigned with the duties of a special commissioner in the faculty of war in New York. In US army, Olcott attained much admiration and respected from his colleagues, and that led to his promotion as a colonel in the department of the navy in Washington. After the assassinations of the then president, Abraham Lincoln, Olcottwas hired to facilitate in the process of investigating the assassinations, as he was a skillful person in his field. In 1868, he ventured into law where he concentrated with insurance policies and all fraud activities therein. In 1874, Henry Steel Olcott made several publications that entailed the spiritualist movement and in the same year, he met Helena Blavatsky whom they held similar views towards the spiritualist movement. Their union elicited the urge to develop a spiritual, philosophical ideology that led to the establishment of the theosophical society that was a new religious movement. In order to support the new movement, Olcott continued to offer his services as a lawyer and in 1875, he was requested by popular spiritualist to carry out an investigation on Nelson Holmes, who alleged to control the spirit thus making Katie king affluent (Prebish & Keown, 2013). Since the inception of the society, Olcott continued to preside over the leadership of the society

Human Resource Development Practices Research Paper

Human Resource Development Practices - Research Paper Example In order to prepare the organization for any changes that may emerge with the evolution of the external and internal environment of the business, the human resource team of PAC Resources has already introduced new strategies with respect to staffing, safety, and security of the employees, compensation and benefits and training and development practices. It can be identified from the overall analysis of the situation of PAC Resources that the company is moving in the right direction with respect to the human resource development practices. The SWOT analysis indicates that the company has several strengths which it can use to tap into the opportunities and overcome the threats in the external business environment. The company has launched several effective human resources development initiatives like training and development programs, knowledge management plans, safety and security management of the employees and new staffing strategies. PAC Resources has also embarked on a number of useful initiatives to strengthen the employee relations and build up an overall supportive organizational environment and culture that would foster the growth of the individual employees as well as the company as a whole. Â   Â  

The Fixer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Fixer - Essay Example This article will examine each of the actions taken by Alex Polizzi in different scenes that she visited. It has two seasons, each having six episodes. Season 1 Episode 1 In this episode, Alex Polizzi, an entrepreneur from the Courtyard Bridalwear, single handedly starts a campaign aimed at saving struggling families in the face of the prevailing tricky financial situations. Her first mission was on a Kettering based bridalwear business located in North Hamptonshire. A mother and her two daughters who are engaged in squabbles apparently run this business. Although, the business owner, Anne Preece has decided to remortgage her house to ensure that the business remains succeeds, a decline in profits is still evident. Besides, the business is obsolete, overstocked and seemingly weary. Furthermore, the frequent arguments by the daughters only help to worsen the situation. In order to save this situation, Alex must employ strategic business ideas in his endeavors to make the women reconsi der their feelings towards each other in the hope of turning the fortunes of the business. Apparently, conflicts form part of family businesses meaning that business managers must find appropriate strategies for dealing with them. Alex Polizzi indicates that an amicable relationship between the mother and her two daughters needs the development of formal management structures that would integrate standard practices and policies for managing their business. This would ensure that each person in the business has her duties and roles discretely defined. As a result, it would be simple to avoid cases of conflicts mainly caused by overlap of duties. Season 1 Episode 2 In this episode, Alex Polizzi focuses her attention to a family bakery owned by the Eades in Padstow Cornwall. This business enterprise is at the receiving end of low tourists visitations and holyday makers due to the winter situations that seem to affect business activities, as well as proceeds. Although, the business is o wned as a family, Elaine makes all the decisions of the business without the regard of her children, Luisa and Greg, who are both directors of the business. Subsequently, the business massively suffers from constant recriminations and arguments that slow its progression. It takes the intervention of Alex to instill business ideologies to Elaine’s husband and give him direction of running a business. Alex vehemently states that decision making at all levels should be an involving affair that requires participation of important stakeholders. This supposes that the mother and all her daughters must take part in the decision-making agenda. This would ensure that the decisions that are reached upon are all encompassing. An additional way of resolving such issues and ensuring that the business remains on course is ensuring that the members of the family who are involved in executing operations of the business are entitled to standard salaries. This will help minimize the rivalry in families when issues that pertain to finances arise. Season 1 Episode 3 In this episode, Alex Polizzi’s expertise comes in handy when she is called upon to help a furniture business located in Yeadon, West Yorkshire. Although the business has been in existence for more than three decades, it is now losing its customers at a very fast rate owing to its obsolete state. The Kettley’s Furniture Business also experiences communication breakdowns from its owners, John and

Psychological Disorder Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Psychological Disorder Analysis - Essay Example Case Study Reference Marla was referred to a psychological counselor as she had attempted to commit suicide 3 days back. Her mother and her younger sister, Whitney, had gone for a function where Whitney was going to be felicitated for her yearly performance. Marla was also invited by Whitney to attend the function but she refused to go saying that she was not feeling well. Marla’s mother also tried to make Marla to go with them but she refused to budge. Marla’s mother and Whitney realized that there is no point in asking her anymore so they left for the function at 5 pm in the evening. When they retuned, they found Marla lying on the sofa with a note on the side table. Marla had consumed 10 sleeping tablets and was unconscious. Emergency service was called and Marla was saved from getting harmed in any way. She was kept under observation in the hospital for two days and got a discharge on the third day. She was declared out of danger. Marla, in her suicide note, had wri tten that she is not worth living. She should die so that her mother and her sister can live a happy life. This showed that Marla was feeling mentally low and was feeling worthless. What she needed was a professional help. Her medical doctor referred her to psychological counseling. Hence, Marla was brought to me for psychological counseling to help her with her weak personality. Case History Marla is a 28 year old woman from white ethnic background. She is living with her sister and her mother in a spacious four bedroom apartment. Her mother, Dianne, got divorced from her father ten years back and is a home maker. Marla’s sister, Whitney, is younger to her by 3 years and is working in a software industry. Dianne has inherited a lot of wealth and property from her own father. He was a businessman and had a flourishing business throughout his life. He had left all his wealth and property for his daughter, Dianne. Hence, Marla never suffered from any financial crunch or problem at home. In fact, she was pampered at home and was allowed to do whatever she wanted to do. Marla tried her hand at different professions like fashion designing, real estate, hair styling etc. Although she was good at it, she never continued with those professions. The moment it seemed that she was doing good and was going to settle with the profession, she used to do something or other to destroy the chances of that profession flourishing. Marla said that she never felt ‘good’ with success. She felt that the success was not real and was going to deceive her in the future. Hence, she never felt comfortable with success and appreciation. After talking to Marla, it was revealed that the roots of her feelings lie in her childhood. It was her father who was responsible for Marla being emotionally and mentally a negative person. Childhood Marla’s father was suffering from alcoholism. He was an irresponsible person and never cared to provide any security for his famil y. He used to leave his job often and demanded money from Dianne and her father. When Marla was six, Dianne came to stay with her father. However, after being coaxed by her husband, she again went and stayed with him. During this time, Whitney was left with her grandfather as it was not possible to bring up two daughters with what Marla’s father was earning. Hence, Marla was left alone and missed having a sibling with who she can share her sorrows. Marla’s father used to scold her a lot. He was a demanding person and never appreciated anything that Marla did. He

SWOT Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

SWOT - Case Study Example The Dim lighting company is faced with several problems that include macro and micro challenges, the macro challenges are those that are outside the reach of the company to solve them using internal mechanisms, in other words, they are the opportunities and threats that the company faces. One of the greatest threat that the company faces is the lack of adequate funds to support its research and development kitty which Mr Spinks, the director of research and development at the company puts at 1.2 million dollars per year for two years then an additional 500, 000 dollars to initiate production the micro miniaturization project (Brown, 2011, p81). Another threat that is facing the company is the decline in the profit margin for the last one year, which has an implication on the image of the business to the outsiders. The company however, is not without some opportunities, the major opportunity that the company has is that it acts as a profit centre therefore it is able to manage its resources with minimal interference from the corporate head office, in addition, this enables it to make its own decisions and implement them in order to remain competitive in the market. In addition, the fact that the company can be able to look for funds from the head office to invest in research and development is an opportunity that may not be available to all such firms. Internally, the strength of the company is that it has Mr Spinks as the director of research and development; Mr Spinks is a respected person in research as he is considered as one of the best brains in research, this can be seen in the numerous awards that he has received from different science societies . With Mr Spinks as a director, Dim lighting company is likely to be always ahead of other companies in terms of technology and renovation; this is evident from the multimillion-research project that he wants to undertake on micro miniaturization

About Wine Essay Example for Free

About Wine Essay What is wine? It is one of the most sensual and tasteful drinks you have ever drunk. It has been over hundreds of years and till today, wine has never disappointed our mouth feels. The most important of selling wines are the packaging, because the value packaging as a marketing tool. But how many companies know how to put up their wines into markets, and who know that packaging is the first step to extract customer. In this century, a lot of people have problem to choose a bottle for dinner or for any occasion, the mainly is too many bottle of wines for them to choose from and some of the wines label are not too clear to read and it might be a problem for customer. See more:Â  Manifest Destiny essay So means that wines marketing as wines packaging as label are so important to target customer. Nowadays most wines are sold in glass bottle and are sealed using corks as the packaging. Most the wines producers have been using alternative closures such as plastic corks, screw caps and tap. The mainly is because of the costs of produces and also to prevent cork taint. In this day, some of the wines are packaged in thick and heavy plastic bags with cardboards boxes cover as label. The wines are normally connected with tap on the side of the box, the box wine can stay up to one week after opening or less, it depends how much oxidized has been mixed in. This is another newest packaging in wines in the world, so that it also extracts some new people to buy it. But the important are the wines label, have to descript clearly and bit more extractive to the customer.

Water Pollution Essay Example for Free

Water Pollution Essay One of the major issues that are of great concern in my town is how toxic heavy metals have been deposited into flowing waters. Toxic heavy metals in water, is as a result of untreated pollute deposited into lakes, streams, rivers, by manufacturing industries which in turn is consumed by domestic users. The effluent from such industry is deposited into water bodies or could be washed away from the top soils by flood into drainages which is emptied into such water bodies. The presence of these undesirable elements in foods (fish) is due to the ingestion of water containing industrial and domestic influent. Most of these heavy metals are deposited in the liver of certain vertebrates and fatty tissues of fishes. The amount of each of these elements present in the fish depends on such variables as the amount present in the food chain, size and age of the fishes. Most of these heavy metals (which include Lead, Cadmium, Copper, Zinc e. t. c) are toxic and hazardous to man depending on their concentration in food. Conclusion From my findings, I will recommend that waste from these manufacturing Industries be treated properly, recycled and be properly disposed. Reference D. G. Rickard and M. E. R Dully (1983) Environmental Pollution: Beries. B

Contribution of right hemisphere to language

Contribution of right hemisphere to language THE IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTION OF THE RIGHT HEMISPHERE TO LANGUAGE 10 The Important Contribution of the Right Hemisphere to Language Cheimonidou Panagiota ELTE Abstract Does the right hemisphere of the brain have any contribution to linguistic function? The argument of this research paper is that it does. Language is not lateralized only to the left hemisphere of the brain. Although this thesis is challenged, it can be proved by the fact that damage to it can cause language impairment, affect our understanding of the context of speech (oral and written), disable our comprehension of linguistic prosodic features. Moreover, supporting evidence substitutes the fact that linguistic function can completely switch itself to the right hemisphere of the brain, when the left one is damaged. This is only part of the argumentation that could be made to support the important role of the right side of the brain. Still, it proves adequately that language has to do with both sides of the brain, and that the right one should not be overlooked. The Important Contribution of the Right Hemisphere to Language The point of this study is to discuss the important contribution of the right cerebral hemisphere to language. It will be very interesting to support this view with evidence, since many arguments have been made against it, stating that language locates itself only on the left side of the brain and the right hemisphere has nothing to do with it. In order to highlight the importance of the right side of the brain for language, the structure of this research is based on facts (mostly on what follows right hemisphere damage) and on previous work in the field (e.g. , Field, 2003; Beeman Chiarello, 1998; Cook, 1984). To begin with, before starting talking about the important role of the right hemisphere to language, I believe I should first be more specific about the term lateralization. Brain or cerebral lateralization focuses on the fact that our brain is divided in half: the right hemisphere and the left hemisphere. As most of us know, our brain is such uniquely complex that it is hard to know all its specific functions with every little detail; but what we do know for sure is that our brain is so efficient that does the remarkable job of carving out specialties, dividing tasks: The left side of the brain specializes in one set of tasks, while the right side specializes in another. On a broad level, we can say that the left hemisphere deals with linear, structured, analytical, rational, logical and sequential tasks, while the right hemisphere focuses on big-picture thinking, on tasks that are about the whole, the context of a situation rather than the explicit detailed text, about holistic way of perception, dealing with things all at once, visualizing, synthesizing and not analyzing. So, lateralization deals with the two sides of the brain and the distinct functions that are allocated to each one of them. The interesting part in lateralization, is attempting to track in what way the two sides of the brain contribute to language. Indeed, this is a controversial issue that has long been under debate and is questioned until now. The long-held view is that linguistic function has to do only with the left side of the brain and nothing to do with the right one. Luckily, over the course of the years, this view is questioned. Many linguists and scientists have carried out important research which shows that the right hemisphere of the brain should not be overlooked in terms of language. One of them, Mark Beeman (1998), argues that the right hemisphere (RH) processes language (p. ix) and admits that this view still causes intense discussions which often conclude to the argument that the right hemisphere has only paralinguistic function (p. ix). The same view is shared by Terrence Deakon (1997) who says that [t]he right side of the brain is not the non-language hemisphere. It is critically and intimately involved in language processing at many levels during both development and maturity (154). Holding the same view, I believe that the linguistic function is not completely gathered in the left hemisphere. The left side of the brain may play an important role for language- perhaps the most important- but it is not sufficient without the right side. It is like a puzzle with some pieces missing. The importance of the right hemisphere is further discussed below. Perhaps one of the most convincing and strong arguments in favor of the significant contribution of the right hemisphere to language, is that it affects the understanding of stories and jokes. This conclusion came from the fact that patients who had their right side of the brain damaged, experienced the same symptom:   basically they could not comprehend the context of a narrative or a joke. Diana S. Woodruff- Pak (1997) says that people with their right prefrontal lobe damaged, usually cannot make successful jokes and puns or tell meaningful stories (147). Dennis Coon and John O. Mitterer (2007), based also on results of patients with their right side of the brain damaged, prove that these people fail to understand the overall context of what is said and therefore can no longer comprehend other nuances of language, namely jokes, irony, sarcasm, implications. The same symptom is highlighted by Terrence Deakon (1997) who argues that right hemisphere damage results in failure to gras p the logic of the whole (164). Norman D. Cook (1984) also argues that [t]he understanding of short stories requires one to grasp [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] the consistency, overall coherence and sequence of events (32), but when right hemisphere damage takes place, these abilities are lost and the coherence of verbal output is degraded, leading to unwitting humor, paramnesias and an inability to carry a train of thought to its logical conclusion (32). All the above converge to the fact that basically the right hemisphere helps us realize the overall context of language, without which the complete meaning of language cannot be transferred. Therefore, a person with right hemisphere damage will not be able to realize the complete components of a story (for example if part of the story is missing), or appreciate a joke, since s/he takes everything literally and misses the bigger picture. In relation to the connection between the right hemisphere and story and joke comprehension, there could also be made an interesting combination with autism. It has been proved that right hemisphere lesion can result in autism. Cecil R. Reynolds and Elaine Fletcher- Janzen (2009), talked about the finding that individuals with autism had a left ear preference for dichotic listening for both verbal and musical stimuli (p.775). Having in mind that the left hemisphere controls the right part of the body while the right hemisphere controls the left, we can realize that, here, it is the right hemisphere that has to do with verbal stimuli, with speech. So, it is not just the left part of the brain that has to do with language impairment. But what has this to do with the understanding of stories and jokes? Well, Ozonoff and Miler (as cited in Field, 2003) proving with their experiments that patients with autism and right-hemisphere patients have symptoms in common, said that these people fo und it hard to understand the correct ending of a joke and that both groups might have similar problems in cognitive flexibility (775). Concerning story comprehension they moved on saying that these people face difficulties when it comes to understand details of a short story by using context and meaning (775). This again shows how damage to the right side of the brain causes loss of the ability to understand the overall context of language, and also underlines the importance of the right hemisphere since it proves that lesions to it can result in language impairment. Moving on to another reason why the right hemisphere of the brain plays an important role for language, we should consider its relation to the prosodic parts of language. Merely understanding the meaning of words and the syntax of sentences does not lead to adequate mastering of language. Language as a whole, consists of prosodic and gesture features too, and this is what the right hemisphere is responsible for. Kolb and Whishaws statements (as cited in Woodruff-Pak, 1997) were very interesting, since they were the first to conclude that the frontal lobes and the right hemisphere appear more involved in the mediation of emotion than the left hemisphere (147). When we hear someone speaking, we must be able to understand the tone of his voice, the pitch of his speech. Without this ability, we would not be able to interpret the meaning and intentions of the speaker. Indeed, when the right hemisphere is damaged, people lose this ability. Danny D. Steinberg (1993) illustrates that these p eople seem to have difficulties in processing speech as a prosodic syntactic distinction (249), while Dennis L. Molfese and Sidney J. Segalowitz (1988) similarly say that these people find it hard to express and understand the prosodic feature of language ( namely the emotional tone and the pitch alterations of speech)(484). What is also interesting is the fact that apart from the disability to understand a speakers tone, emotion and pitch, a person with RH damage will also be unable to understand the other peoples reactions to his own speech. As Molfese and Segalowitz (1988) say, such a person will have difficulty comprehending others emotional reaction to his or her behavior, and also his/her speech will be monotonous and lack emotional changes in pitch and tone (484). Consequently, these studies prove that language would not be conveyed sufficiently without the right side of the brain. Furthermore and most importantly, I want to talk about another phenomenon which I believe gives convincing evidence for the active role that the right hemisphere plays in linguistic functions: the ability of the right hemisphere to take over language function when the left hemisphere is damaged. As Steinberg and Sciarini (1993) point out, the right hemisphere has some language functions and can take over the complete language functioning of the left hemisphere when that hemisphere has been surgically removed or damaged (249). This phenomenon is usually observed at an early age. It refers to the equipotentiality theory about which Bruce E. Murdoch (2010) states that it is the analogous capacity of the two cerebral hemispheres to subserve language functions subsequent to unilateral brain damage, so that a shift from language competency from one hemisphere to the other is easily accomplished at a young age (162). This young age is referred to as infancy by Lenneberg (as cited by Field, 2003) who states that if necessary, language can place itself on the right side of the brain due to the flexible relationship which exists between the two hemispheres. But although most cases- where language can develop as well in the right as in the left hemisphere- take place at a young age, we have not reached to a certain conclusion. Until now, there is no evidence that the brain stops to be flexible at an older state. For instance, there was the case of a woman above 50 years old, who suffered   left hemisphere damage and managed to recover until a stroke damaged her right side of the brain, too. Either the case, the point is that the right hemisphere of the brain has the ability to replace the linguistic function of the left hemisphere. The important contribution of the right hemisphere to language is an issue that surely can be further discussed, since research is carried out every day in order to reach a more solid view of what is happening in our brain. Nonetheless, I believe that all the cases mentioned above, give pretty clear evidence that the right side of the brain is not merely a silent viewer in terms of language. It plays an active role since we saw how it a) affects our understanding of the overall linguistic context, b) damage to it can cause inability to understand the prosodic features of language or even result in language impairment, c) lateralization can be switched in order to adapt to loss or damage. As far as language is concerned, the significance of the right side of the brain should not be overlooked, and we should understand that left hemisphere alone could not be sufficient in appropriate language production. References Beeman, M., Chiarello, C. (1998). Right Hemisphere LanguageComprehension:     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Perspectives from cognitive Neuroscience. Retrieved from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://books.google.com/books?id=3zwOmRAc43gCprintsec=frontcoverdq=the+i  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   mportance+of+right+hemisphere+to+languagehl=elcd=1#v=onepageq=the%20i  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   mportance%20of%20right%20hemisphere%20to%20languagef=false Cook, D. N. (2002). Tone of Voice and Mind. Retrieved from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://books.google.com/books?id=eE47oz78XhMCpg=PA32dq=jokes+and+RH+d  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   amagehl=elcd=1#v=onepageq=jokes%20and%20RH%20damagef=false Coon, D., Mitterer, O. J. (2007). Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   and Behavior. Retrieved from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://books.google.com/books?id=V6EHmNCmEWQCpg=PA67dq=right+hemisp  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   here+and+jokeshl=elcd=2#v=onepageq=right%20hemisphere%20and%20jokes  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   f=false Deacon, T. (2003). Lateralization as Competition. In J. Field (Ed.), Psycholinguistics: A  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   resource book for students (p.155). New York: Routledge. (Reprinted from The   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   symbolicspecies, pp 311-315, 1997, London: Penguin) Field, J. (2003). Language and the brain. In Psycholinguistics: A resource book for   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   students (p.7). New York: Routledge. Molfese, L. D. Segalowitz, J. S. (1998). Brain Lateralization in Children: Developmental   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Implications. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=un-  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   AIyRU328Cpg=PA485dq=lateralization+and+jokeshl=elcd=2#v=onepageqf=  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   false Murdoch, E. B. (2010). Acquired Speech and Disorders:A Neuroanatomical and Functional Neurological Approach. Retrieved from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://books.google.com/books?id=PplrjvH8Zb8Cpg=PT160dq=the+importance+  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   of+right+hemisphere+to+languagehl=elcd=2#v=onepageq=the%20importance  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   %20of%20right%20hemisphere%20to%20languagef=false Reynolds, R. C., Fletcher- Janzen E. (2009). Handbook of Clinical Child Neuropsychology.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Retrieved from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://books.google.com/books?id=w1YrFypvmn8Cpg=PA775dq=lateralization+a  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   nd+jokeshl=elcd=6#v=onepageqf=false Steinberg, D. D., Sciarini, V. N. (1993). An Introduction to Psycholinguistics. Retrieved from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://books.google.com/books?id=P5ZTXnzSCBYCpg=PA248dq=lateralization+ps  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ycholinguisticshl=elcd=4#v=onepageq=lateralization%20psycholinguisticsf=fal  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   se Woodruff- Pak, S. D. (1997). The Neuropsychology of Aging. Retrieved from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://books.google.com/books?id=qHLua6dOYvwCpg=PA147dq=lateralization+a  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   nd+jokeshl=elcd=3#v=onepageq=lateralization%20and%20jokesf=false

FGM: Female Genital Mutilation Must be Outlawed Worldwide Essay

Female Genital Mutilation, shortened to FGM in most medical texts, is â€Å"collective name given to several different traditional practices that involve the cutting of female genitals.† FGM is a common cultural practice in many parts of the world, especially Africa and Asia that was established hundreds of years ago. There are many different types of FGM, ranging from clitoridectomy, to cutting and infibulations (Skaine 7). Even though these procedures are accepted in the areas they are practiced, FGM has become a human rights discussion resurfacing in recent years because the procedures serve no purpose. Female Genital Mutilation is an unethical practice that should be outlawed throughout the entire world. FGM, specifically infibulation, is believed to have started in Arabia and then spread to Africa through a well-established trade route. FGM has never been considered a hygienic practice because most of the procedures make hygiene more difficult (Pieters). The sole purpose of FGM is to make sexual contact unsatisfactory for the woman, no matter what the motive is. Some girls go through FGM procedures at a young age to calm their fathers’ nerves and others undergo the procedures so she won’t stray from her husband. In Egypt, 97 percent of women have undergone a Female Circumcision procedure sometime in their lives while only 82 percent approve of it. An Indonesian study showed that midwives performed from about 68 to 88 percent of all procedures (Skaine 42). Most of the time, girls that receive a Female Circumcision don’t even get a chance to voice their opinions because they are too young when the procedure is performed. While Female Genital Mutilation procedures serve their purpose, to take away sexual satisfaction, every advers... ...problem is viewed by the public. According to the Womankind Worldwide organization, in order to achieve the abolition of FGM two things must happen: â€Å"FGM needs to be firmly [placed] on national governments’ agendas and there must be clear laws specifically criminalizing FGM† (Womankind Worldwide 32). Until those two things happen, Female Genital Mutilation will continue to be a worldwide concern. Developed nations must help the countries â€Å"lagging behind† to smooth the progress of eradicating FGM (Skaine 79). The frequency of genital cutting in individual countries makes the practice seem irrelevant in many parts of the world; however the practice is a worldwide human rights concern. A person’s body should not be deformed, unless for hygienic or medical reasons, without the individual’s permission therefore any form of Female Genital Mutilation should not take place.

Standing In The Light :: essays research papers

1. The theme of this book was in search of ones self. I chose this theme because Catharine was in search of her self throughout the whole story. Her and her brother were taken captive by the Lenape Indian tribe and she had to search to find her self throughout her time in captivity. In the beginning when she was captured, it was awkward and confusing. This was because she was a Quaker and she didn’t know if she was now an Indian or still a Quaker, because the Lenape weren’t going to return her to her family. She had to search her own self, and eventually she became used to the way of Indian life. She never forgot her family, but she had come to love her new family. She had also become accustomed to her new way of life. After about a year of living with the Lenape, white men came and took Catharine and her brother away. This really made her confused because she had just found herself with the Lenape and now she has to find herself with her own family again. She never quite found herself with her people, but she would always know where she truly belonged. 2 The main character of this book was Catharine. She was strong-willed and adjusting. She was strong-willed when she had the strength to adjust to her new ways of life. She was pulled from her old life, to her new life, back to her old life. It was very difficult for her because both the Quakers and the Lenape were two very different cultures. She found herself having mixed feelings and a lot of confusion, but she had the will to deal with it. Catharine was also adjusting. She was adjusting when she had to adjust to life with the Lenape. She had to learn new ways of life; she had to learn how to survive off the land. She also made her own clothes and gathered food. She also had to adjust to new customs. The Lenape religion and the Quaker religion are very distinct from eachother. Catharine adjusted to the Lenape religion very well. 3. The Author wrote this book for a couple of reasons. First, she wrote it for entertainment. A lot of people like to read books about the past. Also, I have never read a book about Indians capturing a girl and her brother.

Samuel 24 Essay -- Bible, Census, David

Passage Analysis Essay: David takes a Census Historical/Cultural The Biblical passage found in 2 Samuel 24 tells the story of king David taking a census of Israel and Judah and in result of this, receiving punishment from God.The two books of Samuel were previously one book but were divided in the Hebrew Bible in the fifteenth century. The two books, along with I and II Kings make up a four part history of the kings of Israel. Seeing as the books of I and II Samuel cover a large span of time in Israel's history, no one man could have lived through the entire history and written the books by himself. Because of this, many scholars believe that there are multiple authors of the books in addition to multiple outside sources having been used to create this completion (NBD â€Å"Samuel, the book of† 1056). The main focus of this story is on the census that David took of Israel and Judah. A census in the ancient near east, during the reign of David was much different than the censuses which are taken today. Today, a census is a numbering of all citizens, male and female which includes details such as age, sex, and race. During reign of David, censuses were taken primarily for specific purposes, such as the distribution of rations, fiscal revenues, or military levies (ABD â€Å"Census†). Concerning the census taken by David in 2 Samuel 24, it is a count of the number of men of military age from the the border of Dan, which is located in the north of Israel, just below Mt. Hermon and Beer-sheeba, which is a town located in the south Judean desert (ABD â€Å"Dan† and â€Å" Beer-sheba† 641, 12). The story of David being punished by God for taking a census takes place in the nation of Israel during the four hundred-year dynasty of king David. During h... ...passage but at the root of it all is David's humanity. Though David was anointed and a â€Å"man after God's own heart†, he made many mistakes. This passage shows that David was not perfectly in tune with God's voice at all times. David did something God clearly did not want him to do, and did not realize the consequences until after the sin had already been committed. However, even though David did sin, and his sin was punished, he had a heart of repentance when he realized what he had done and was willing to make things right at all costs. Theologically, the lesson that should be drawn from this is that it was not David's actions which made him great, but his heart to please God, and even greater, God's heart of mercy towards him. If it had not been for God's intervention, David would have been nothing more but another man.

Early Childhood Education/ A.S Degree Research Paper Essay

An Early Childhood Education/ A. S. degree is perfect for people who love children. There are many career choices and even choices within those careers that you choose just by getting this degree. It is important to know all of your options before picking a degree that will determine the career you will have for the rest of your life. â€Å"Early childhood education is a term that refers to educational programs and strategies geared toward children from birth to the age of eight. This time period is widely considered the most vulnerable and crucial stage of a person’s life† (Beth Lewis). It is the teaching of young children by people outside of the family and outside of their home. Some career paths you can take with this degree are being a classroom aide, ECE teacher, site supervisor, program director, preschool teacher, kindergarten teacher, resource and referral professional, social service worker, youth and family service worker, camp counselor, recreation leader, foster care provider, mental health paraprofessional, or child advocate and even more (Mason, Janet). Though all of those seem interesting, a preschool, teachers aide, and kindergarten teacher are the three career paths I find most interesting so I decided to do my research on them. A preschool teacher is a possible career choice from getting your early childhood education degree. Preschool teachers take care of young children while educating them. They do not teach the children how to read or write yet, but they explain reading and writing. They also teach some science and social studies but only of what a child can understand at that age. Children in preschool mostly learn through play so they do a lot of that in preschool. Preschool teachers are supposed to watch over them. The ages of the preschool children that the teacher cares to is anywhere from 3 to 5. These are the ages of children who have not yet entered kindergarten. An associates degree is all that is needed to become a preschool teacher. The median pay is $25,700 per year, which is $12. 35 per hour (bls. gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/preschool-teachers). â€Å"Employment of preschool teachers is expected to grow by 25 percent from 2010 to 2020, faster than the average for all occupations. Growth is expected due to a continued focus on the importance of early childhood education and the growing population of children ages 3 to 5† (bls. gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/preschool-teachers). Another job you can get through this degree is a teachers aide. With this job, you will be responsible for assisting a classroom teacher in general supervision and management of the kids. You must be 18 years of age or older, and have an early childhood education degree. With this job some things you must do are assist in planning and preparing the learning environment, watch the classroom when the teacher is out of the room, pay attention to the children, and clean up the classroom. The median expected salary for a typical teachers aide in the United States is $20,588 (salary. com). You can also become a kindergarten teacher with this degree. The average salary for a kindergarten teacher is $48,800 per year (bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/kindergarten-and-elementary-school-teachers). You need a bachelors degree and a state-issued certification or license. To be a kindergarten teacher you need to be very observant. You need to be able to evaluate a students abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. You have to plan lessons that teach students things like reading and math. Benefits of becoming a kindergarten teacher is that you get two months off in the summer, and over a period of time you get tenure. Which means after a certain number of years of teaching, the teacher can have some job security. The early childhood education/ A. S. degree has many career options that come with it. A preschool teacher, teachers aide, and kindergarten teacher are three very interesting professions. You must love children to be in these professions. Being a kindergarten teacher is what appeals to me the most. Though finding these jobs may be tough to do due to the economic state we are in, I know that if I truly want to become a kindergarten teacher and work hard enough to get it, I will be able to get a job some way or another.

Fair Value Accounting Essay

This paper attempts to answer the questions: Is Fair Value Fair? In so answering the question there is a need to determine whether the use of fair value accurately portray the value underlying financial and economic transactions; to determine whether there is basis to have one universal standard of valuing the assets and obligations of all firms; to find out whether accounting standards would allow for both historical and fair value and still produce meaningful information for decision making; and establish one is more important between relevancy and reliability and whether one’s the importance each depend upon the financial user. 2. Analysis and Discussion 2. 1 What is meant by being fair? To be fair means giving what is due to a person. If applied to an asset purchased or liability assumed in business, fair value would simply mean that said asset or liability is neither overpriced nor underpriced as a matter of perception. Under the law of economics, fair value would refer to that market price which is approximated by the equilibrium price of a thing or good, which is the value of the something from a seller that is not forced to sell or from a buyer that is not forced to buy. In a business transaction there are always are investors, creditors, and other persons who must get their due in transactions that they will enter into. An investor will know what is fair if the person or entity will earn just enough return above cost of capital and in exchange for the risk that such person or entity is taking. The same must be true with a creditor that the person must also get paid on time on his credit plus a sufficient return for the risk in form of interest and penalties. In terms of viewing the corporation as a business entity, what is fair to it is what will allow it to have a sufficient return for the risk that it is taking above its cost of doing business or cost of capital. To arrive at what is fair the investors and creditors who are called users of financial information, these users must know the true or accurate information about of the company so that they will know whether they are going to earn or lose and make the necessary decision whether they will sell, buy or hold to their investments. In other words, to have the chance of being treated fairly from a transaction, one must have the opportunity to have the true or accurate value of asset or liability being dealt with in a business transaction. The opportunity is thus normally supplied by financial reports prepared by companies and which are made public. It is in these financial reports where values whether fair or historical are reported in accordance with prescribed accounting standards that may come from the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) in the case of US companies and IFRS in case of companies operating in the European Union and in other countries which have adopted the IAS or IFRS. Fair value accounting was made pursuant to FAS 157 as issued by US FASB for companies to reflect the accounting information on how much are the real values of assets, liabilities and equity in the balance sheet as contrasted with presenting the information using the historical cost accounting. The purpose of FAS 157 then was built on a framework whereby financial users are given the chance about the true state or fair value of assets, liabilities and equity for decision making under the impression that things will be fair to users of financial information about a company. Incidentally, FAS 157 defines fair value almost very closely to what was discussed and analyzed so far. It is the price that would be received â€Å"to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants in a measurement date† (Sortur, 2007). 2. 2 Does the use of fair value accurately portray the value underlying financial and economic transactions? To the extent that fair value concept is discussed so far, there is the presumed proposition that the use of fair value will accurately portray the value underlying the financial economic transaction. As to whether this is true, this subsection will have to evaluate the subsequent result on what happened upon the application of 157. In the case of banks, there are those who have to write down the value of assets because of their perception that values have declined due to existing market conditions (Chasan, 2008: Rees-Mogg, 2007). The economic effects however were not favorable to affected interested parties since this action of the banks has produced a backlash. Investors of these banks have lost values of their investments. As a result, the banks have become more risky and depositors lost their trust too in the banking system. If indeed the banks were just reflecting the true values of the assets, how come the reaction of these banks as matter of complying with the requirements of the FAS I57 was not good for many of the affected parties? Would it proper then to deduce that the application of FAS 157 is not fair or that FAS 157 fair value is not fair? If the answers to both of these questions are in the affirmative, then this would have the connotation that what is unfavorable to others is not fair. But how if the values being reflected in the write down are indeed the true values, would the fact that users of financially information get adversely affected make the FAS 157 not fair any more? It would seem that it would be not correct to say fair value accounting or the use of fair value will not be fair if users get affected or have the perception of not getting what they feel or perceive to deserve even if the information is indeed accurate. Otherwise, fair value accounting would be equated with sure profits which could never be within the contemplation of the use of information in decision making. Being fair therefore must first and foremost be characterized to represent the true and accurate information and consequence would be justified by such quality of information. To answer squarely whether the use of fair value accurately portray the value underlying financial and economic transactions, this paper would have to answer in the affirmative. Based on foregoing analysis the FAS 157 aims to reflect the values what would approximate the market price since it is â€Å"the price to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants in a measurement date† (Sortur, 2007). FAS 157 fair value is therefore the result of the business transaction using the exit price (Sortur, 2007) and is determined by the buyers and sellers in the market. It is therefore not the job of FAS 157 to create what is unfair but would have only to reflect the true values of assets or liabilities that would have to be reported. Therefore, fair value accounting or the use of fair value must be upheld to be fair if it would reflect or would cause the reflection of what are true values. Indeed, it must be the capital markets or the buyers and sellers who will determine the market value or fair value and not the accounting standard. The only role of the accounting standard is to cause its reflection in financial reports of companies because of the requirement to make public their financial statement to investors which would reflect the fair values of assets and liabilities. There is argument that the intention of 157 Accounting rule FAS 157 is good but one cannot prevent people from taking advantage of the new rule to what could further their interest. It is further argued that in whatever one would like to look at it, the generic thing about business is still the desire for profit by which people are motivated with their personal interest to get more wealth (Brigham and Houston, 2002). In response, the use of fair value does consent to allowing people to be taken advantage but cannot prevent those who would want to and those who do not know how to process information for decision making. If the banks which wrote down asset values are indeed taking advantage of the use of fair value accounting, it is still the transactions between the previous buyer or seller that have caused the reaction which started it and the role of accounting standard is just to reflect them (Meigs and Meigs, 1995). If the requirement to report what is happening is unfair, what will then be fair? Chasan (2008) narrated about some investors expressing their doubts on the effectiveness or fairness of fair value accounting method used especially in the context of evaporating markets caused by the financial crisis. The author however admitted that the use of FAS 157 as an accounting standard was made to improve transparency to investors. Citing big write-downs being made big companies like Citigroup and Merrill Lynch & Co Inc. which has made multibillion-dollar reductions on subprime-related asset-backed securities and other assets described as hard-to-price assets, the issue of whether fair value is still fair has become a controversial question (Chasan, 2008). The argument being asserted is about the volatility of being caused the use of fair value. Rephrased simply, can fair value justify the volatility? Volatility is a term used in business which connotes changes in market prices and which causes risks to investors (Droms, 1990; Helfert, 1994). It is feared that with the desire to create transparency, increased risk from the use of fair value is coming out as a result. To resolve the issue, the previous answer to the question on whether the use of fair value could justify big losses if what is being reflected or reported about company values are still true, would in effect cover the issue of volatility being blamed on the use of fair value. Hence, this paper believes, that fair value which stands for what is true must be upheld as argued earlier. There are concerns that because of volatility caused by the use of fair value accounting, the money makers would just be benefiting hedge funds since they are those to profit from volatility (Chasan 2008). In answer, it could argued that such is the nature of fair value accounting, to allow the market forces to move freely without people being compelled to enter into buying and selling transactions. If there are losers, there are also losers and they are part of the process. It is also argued that those who are complaining about the effects of credits being blamed on the use of fair value accounting are investors or groups of them, who may have been instrumental in pushing for the shift to fair value accounting. One of these groups is called the CFA Centre for Financial Market Integrity, with analysts and portfolio managers composing the group (Chasan 2008). The group and other groups 2007 had their aggressive lobbying to use fair value more in financials. These investor groups could not be only be winners in a market transaction, they could also be losers sometimes; otherwise the market is not operating efficiently. 2. 3 Should there be one universal standard of valuing the assets and obligations of all firms? The issue of whether there should be universal standard for valuing the assets and obligation may be very ideal since when one now talks of universal fair value as a universal standard for example, one will have to consider macroeconomic conditions of the different companies in the world. Since not all nations are similarly situated, at least economically, there is the strong probability that universal value could not be implemented. The question is being propounded to help in setting what is the fair value in accounting like the universality of human rights. However its impracticality will prevent the attainment of the objective. Accounting values are not human rights. Another thing is the difficulty of measuring the risks in business in different countries which are factors in determining the cost of capital of doing business. The difference in risks depends upon many factors including macroeconomic conditions which are affected by political developments. In answer therefore to the question, it will have to plainly say that the vision of universal standard is laudatory and this could be a part of an approximate desire to the internationalization of accounting in many part of the world. There is the plan to harmonize all accounting standards in the world. The FAS 157 definition was actually made part of the plan of IASB which makes IFRS, to adopt the former for the use of those using the IAS or IFRS (Sortur, 2007). In other words, efforts are made to approximate universality of standard in valuing the assets and obligations of all firms but its realization could only possibly become when the time will come for a universal government. 2. 4 Can accounting standards allow for both historical and fair value and still produce meaningful information for decision making? Accounting standards are in effect guides to users to help users make informed decisions in business. Having both historical and fair value must strike the balance of getting to the extreme of having one and disregarding the other. In other words, one needs to know what is historical for comparison to what is fair value or market value to make an informed judgment. Accounting standards must then work for the attainment for the creation of balance between the two values. As to whether the accounting standards can allow for both historical and fair value and still produce meaningful information for decision making, is answered again in the affirmative. This can be tackled better by breaking the given statement into two propositions first and then combine them latter. The first proposition would be declared settled in the fact the accounting standards can allow both historical and fair value together. The second proposition is that the use of both will still produce meaningful information. This first proposition is accomplished since the practice have been done for a long time already since in the case of valuing of inventories, accounting standards allow the valuing them of lower of cost or market under the IAS 2. (Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, 2008). The fact that inventories can be valued at cost means the historical cost is maintained but requirement of presenting the fair value of inventory if it has gone down in the market is also a part of the standard which in effect allows the working of fair value concept. There are other IAS concepts which allowed fair value accounting and historical value accounting. Thus this section is not much of a problem. The second proposition appears to also to have been fulfilled by the use of IAS as illustrated. More meaningful information is in fact reflected by allowing a combination of fair value and historical cost in the valuation of assets and liabilities of companies. By combining the validation done is confirming the application of two proposition, it could be sufficient to strongly answer the question in the affirmative. 5. Relevancy and Reliability: Is one more important than the other, depending upon the financial user? Both relevancy and reliability are requirements for qualitative characteristics of accounting information. Forcing one to be is more important than the other would be asking the wrong question if the objective is only to determine whether preparing financial information using their fair values is fair. In fact to say that an information must be relevant carries the presupposition that the information must also be reliable. This is on premise that reliability connotes objectivity of information which is very much akin to being truth or fair. Information is relevant or has is relevancy character if it influences one’s decision about a particular issue. On the other hand, reliability deals with the objectivity or accuracy of the information. How could a decision maker consider information as relevant when there is no reliability of the information? On the other hand having reliable information would be of no value if the same is not needed in the decision to be made. The two characteristics must therefore go together. 3. Conclusion The issue of whether fair value accounting or the use of fair in accounting for company assets and liabilities is fair must be answered in the affirmative. What is fair is not what has caused much damaged to a person or entity if such damage was a result of failure to follow the basic rules of making investment. The effect of fair value should not be used to allow one to just justify greed while disregarding the rights of others. A loser under a fair value accounting is comparable to a person who is taking too much risk thus the return could also be high but could be low because of the working of the market. As long as buyers and sellers are not being compelled to complete their transaction, fair value is still fair. Fair value accounting will lead to the truth but its value will also depend on the users of information after they have done their roles in the market. The user will still need to make a comparison with what is historical and what is the current fair value as caused by economic conditions. Present accounting standards have caused the reporting of both kind of information but users must also be intelligent in doing their part. Fair value as a concept in accounting standard was just made to correct the apparent failure of purely historical cost accounting. If fair value accounting is fair, it does not imply that the standard must go back to historical accounting but historical information must still be reported and allow the user to make a difference in how to process the information. Since fair value and historical cost could co-exist together, the same must be the better option as it will provide a balance between historical and fair value accounting. References: Brigham and Houston, Introduction to Financial Management, Thomson-South Western, USA, 2002 Chasan, Emily (2008), Is fair value accounting really fair? {www document} URL, http://www. reuters. com/article/reutersEdge/idUSN1546484120080226, Accessed October 20, 2008 Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (2008), Summary of IFRS for IAS 2, {www document} URL http://www. iasplus. com/standard/ias02. htm , Accessed October 21, 2008. Droms (1990) Finance and Accounting for Non Financial Managers, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, England Helfert, Erich (1994), Techniques for Financial Analysis, IRWIN, Sydney, Australia Meigs and Meigs, 1995, Financial Accounting, McGraw-Hill, Inc, London, UK Rees-Mogg (2007), Why FAS 157 strikes dread into bankers, {www document} URL http://www. timesonline. co. uk/tol/comment/columnists/william_rees_mogg/article2852547. ece, Accessed October 21, 2008. Sortur (2007) Fair Value Measurement, The Chartered Accountant {www document} URL, http://icai. org/resource_file/96471564-1574. pdf, Accessed October 21, 2008. ]

Culture in a Global Economy

Culture in a global economy is a critical factor in international business. While many business transactions make economic sense, the ability to successfully fulfill profitable relationships often depends on being able to reconcile international differences arising from separate cultures. Understanding cultural differences is an initial step, but managers also need to engage in learning processes to develop international cultural competence. Cross-cultural training enables managers to acquire both knowledge and skills to fulfill the role of cultural agents. Advancing cultural intelligence and international cultural competence is critical to the future success of managers and leaders working in a global context. Culture, as defined in Kroeber and Kluckhohn's classic, Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions, is the â€Å"patterned ways of thinking, feeling, and reacting, acquired and transmitted mainly by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievements of human groups, including their embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional (i. e. , historically derived and selected) ideas and especially their attached values† (1952). In international management research, Hofstede defined culture as â€Å"†¦the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from those of another† (1991). Many other definitions of culture are available. Common elements in the definitions are the shared and dynamic nature revolving around norms, values, and beliefs that are expressed in different behaviors, artifacts, and interactions. Within the context of international business, culture involves multiple levels that span from broad to narrow and different dimensions. On a broad level, supranational culture differences span multiple countries and include regional, ethnic, religious, and linguistic dimensions. On a national level, governments create sovereign boundaries to distinguish different nations with political and legal regulatory systems. In the business literature, most research on culture uses the nation-state as a proxy for culture. Other levels of analysis for culture include subcultures, as well as professional and organizational groups. In addition to various levels, culture also involves different dimensions. Four major classifications schemes provide frame-works for identifying international differences in culture. First, anthropologist Edward T. Hall (b. 1914) classified cultural differences along five different dimensions: time, space, things, friendships, and agreements. Second, Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck developed a cultural orientations framework that identified six issues, with variations in each one: relation to nature, relationships among people, mode of human activity, belief about basic human nature, orientation to time, and use of space. Third, Hofstede's framework is one of the most prominent one in international management. He identified four major dimensions of cultural values—individualism-collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity-femininity—along with a fifth dimension subsequently identified as Confucian Dynamism, or long-term orientation. Finally, Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner extended Hofstede's classification with seven dimensions that include universalism versus particularism, collectivism versus individualism, affective versus neutral relationships, specificity versus diffuseness, achievement versus ascription, orientation toward time, and internal versus external control. The four different classifications provide different and overlapping approaches to organize the many complex dimensions that make up culture. A major premise underlying the need for organizing different cultural dimensions is a means to avoid costly mistakes in conducting international business. The different classifications provide a map to make sense of the complex nature of culture. Important caveats to keep in mind are that each classification is not exhaustive and each one originates from a particular cultural perspective. Managers have to engage in learning processes with cross-cultural training to develop both cultural intelligence and international cultural competence. Cross-cultural training for international assignments encompasses a broad range of methods that may include area briefings, readings, lecture/discussions, language lessons, films, self-assessment exercises, role plays, field trips, sensitivity training, and cross-cultural simulations. Cross-cultural training also needs to be coordinated in multiple phases to maximize the learning effectiveness for individual managers and organizational performance. The three phases are predeparture orientation, in-country socialization, and country exit debriefing. The exit debriefing is important for organizational learning, and a knowledge management system can support the capture of the cultural lessons that are learned. Kim and Ofori-Dankwa described four major delivery methods for cross-cultural training: the intellectual model, the area simulation model, the self-awareness model, and the cultural awareness model. The intellectual model involves the traditional classroom approach of general readings and lecture. The area simulation model incorporates culture-specific activities (e. . , working in Japan or Mexico) with games and exercises. The self-awareness training method focuses on having participants identify their strengths and weaknesses in dealing with different cultures, especially taken-for-granted assumptions about intercultural situations. The cultural awareness model focuses on the theoretical foundation for behavioral differenc es across cultures. The key to effective cross-cultural training is the integration of multiple methods that allow a participant to move from simple to complex levels of learning with increasing levels of training rigor. The purpose of using multiple methods in cross-cultural training is to advance the learning process through the learning stages to develop cultural intelligence and international cultural competence. Cultural intelligence integrates the three interrelated elements of knowledge, mindfulness, and behavioral skills. International cultural competence goes a step further with a more complex skill set that integrates cognitive, affective, and behavioral learning to effectively engage in successful cross-cultural relationships. International cultural competence is very similar to intercultural communication competence, which integrates three components: culture-specific understanding of the other, culture-general understanding, and positive regard of the other. Increasing one's ability to work effectively across cultures also provides positive support to address a range of adjustment issues for expatriates who often face culture shock in the acculturation process. Overall, the most important key of cultural intelligence and intercultural competence is the integration of multiple spheres of cross-cultural learning to effectively engage in international business situations. Effectiveness in reconciling cross-cultural differences often leads to creativity, innovation, and synergy for productive workplace performances. Although cross-cultural training supports global managers' ability to be effective, the learning process often moves through different stages of development. The different development stages of cultural intelligence are: (1) reactivity to external stimuli, (2) recognition of other cultural norms and motivation to learn more about them, (3) accommodation of other cultural norms and rules, (4) assimilation of diverse cultural norms into alternative behaviors, and (5) proactiveness in cultural behavior based on recognition of change cues that others do not perceive. Global managers with high levels of cultural intelligence and competence play important strategic roles as cultural agents (c-agents), helping their organizations to span international boundaries. C-agents require both the ability to navigate different cultures and the legitimacy from different cultural perspectives, including organizational and within the local community. Organizations have increasing needs for global managers to fill the role of c-agents because demands of globalization increasingly depend on successful relationships with strategic alliance partners, international vendors, and global customers. Within the global arena, national borders often form the defining entity for a culture. However, analysis of cultural differences needs to account for a range of diversity within a national culture. On a continuum of cultural diversity that ranges from homogenous to heterogeneous, Japan, Norway, and Poland are relatively more homogeneous when compared to India, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Britain, and Canada. The more heterogeneous societies encompass more distinctions between subcultures within the national borders. However, it is important to account for the fact that â€Å"almost no country is entirely homogeneous. The world's nearly 200 countries contain some 5000 ethnic groups. Two-thirds have at least one substantial minority—an ethnic or religious group that makes up at least 10 percent of the population. † In many ways, how a society addresses issues of multiculturalism creates an orientation that enables its citizens to live and work together in a global community. Cultural norms shaped by national government policies will need to avoid and dismantle policies for separation (keeping different cultural identities but not integrated) or assimilation (forced rejection of traditional cultural identity to integrate into dominant identity) in order to adopt new approaches of multiculturalism. Important principles for multicultural policies center on promoting tolerance and cultural understanding to respect diversity, recognize multiple identities, and build common bonds of membership to the local community. In the future globalization will continue to increase the flow and interactions of people across cultures, which surfaces even more international differences. Understanding the different dimensions of culture provides an initial knowledge base to develop cultural intelligence and competence for effective international business relationships. However, global managers require cross-cultural training to advance their learning and growth in cultural intelligence and competence as they take on international assignments. More importantly, organizations will have an increasing need for global managers to become c-agents to develop effective international relationships. In addition, government leaders have opportunities to shape their national culture and support international competitiveness with new multiculturalism policies that promote both the inclusion of multiple cultural identities and the development of local communities in an era of globalization.