Why I Enjoy School

Although many people, including myself, say that they hate school, it is one of the most meaningful places in my life. When I say school, I’m referring to Interlake High School (IHS). Yes of course school may be boring or hard but it has made me the person I am today. School is meaningful to me because of the friends and memories I have made, because it has made me the person I am today, and it is leading me to my future and who I will become. My absolute favorite part about school is the people. Through the 3 years that I have been at Interlake, I have made many friends. Some friends have come and gone, but nonetheless my friends are what make me look forward to coming to school every day. Before I came to Interlake, I was a student in the Snoqualmie Valley School District. I had gone to school with the same kids from kindergarten all the way up until 8th grade. Originally, Mt Si HS was supposed to be the high school that I was going to attend, but once I graduated from 8th grade my parents decided to transfer me to Interlake. I’m glad they did this because the friends I have made at Interlake are 100 times better than any of the friends I ever had growing up in the Snoqualmie Valley School District. I cherish all the friends that I have made at Interlake because without them, I could be a completely different person right now. All together, friends are the number one reason why school is so meaningful to me. Another reason why school is meaningful to me is because it has made me the person I am today. In addition to my friends influencing my path is who I am today, I have also changed due to other acquaintances I have made, and some of the teachers at Interlake. One thing I love about some of the teachers at Interlake is how chill they are. Usually some teachers would try to be an authoritative force that controls the classroom, but certain teachers at Interlake make me feel comfortable in the environment that I’m in and in return I am able to talk with them without being scared of what they may say. When talking to my teachers, some have told me when I’m getting out of line or if I’m changing in a negative way and it really helps me stay on track and not lose focus. What also helps me stay on track are some of the other people at Interlake. Certain individuals at Interlake are menaces to society, and are likely not going to have a very successful future. These individuals influence me on who I want to become because they provide a template on what I shouldn’t do. Even though many others including myself may dislike these individuals as people, I appreciate them for what they have taught me what not to do. Without Interlake HS and the people in it, I may be a completely different person. Lastly, Interlake high school is meaningful to me because it (in addition to college) is what is going to lead me into the rest of my life. In a nutshell, Interlake has given me an education. It didn’t just give me an average education, but a top tier education due to the fact that Interlake is one of the top schools in the state. Again, I was supposed to attend Mt Si high school, but instead I came to Interlake because the academics are at a much higher level than at Mt Si. This education I have acquired is what is going to lead me into the college I am going to. If I had gone to Mt Si, my grades could have been different which would have affected the college that I may get accepted to this upcoming winter and spring. Who is to say what would have happened, but I know in my heart that coming to Interlake has set me up for a better future than what I would have become if I had gone to Mt Si. Lastly, Interlake is meaningful to me because public school in America is free. I appreciate this because not all countries have such accessibility that America does in our schooling system. In conclusion, Interlake is meaningful to me because of the friends I have made, the things that have influenced me to become the person I am today, and because of how its going to influence my future. Without Interlake I could have had completely different friends, been a completely different person, and could have had a completely different future.

Business Law. Law and Application

Issue Is there a valid contract between Khalid and Siti? Law and Application When Khalid is interested in buying Siti’s painting which she had named â€Å"Hawa†, Khalid met Siti and told her that he will pay her RM5,000 for â€Å"Hawa†. This is an offer. Offer had be defined in S2(a) Contracts Act 1950 as â€Å"when one person signifies to another his willingness to do or to abstain from doing anything, with a view to obtaining the assent of that other to the act or abstinence, he is said to make a proposal†. Under the Contract Act 1950, a proposal is something which is capable of being converted into an agreement by its acceptance.Moreover, merely giving information is not an offer. For example of Harvey v Facey (1893) case, P telegraphed D – â€Å"Will you sell us Bumber Hall Pen? Telegraph lowest cash price. † D replied, â€Å"Lowest cash price ? 900. † P purported to accept the offer. The court held that price information is merely information. There was no offer to accept. Khalil had given clear information that he want to buy Siti’s painting with the price RM 5, 000, the offer is exist. But Siti said she will think about it. Two weeks after she made her mind that she want to sell the painting to Khalid for RM7,000 not Rm 5,000.This is a counter offer not acceptance. Counter offer had be defined in S6(c) Contracts Act 1950 as â€Å"by the failure of the acceptor to fulfill a condition precedent to acceptance. † Siti as the offeree makes a count offer revokes the original offer which made by Khalil. Counter offer had also defined in S7(a) Contracts Act 1950 in order to convert a proposal into a promise that acceptance it must â€Å"be absolute and unqualified†. It does refer to the case of Hyde v Wrench (1840), D made an offer to sell his house for ? 1000.P purposely accepted at ? 950 but D refused, P accepted the original offer of ? 1000. The court held that counter offer terminated the original offer. There was nothing to accept. Furthermore, acceptance had be define in S2(b) Contracts Act 1950 as â€Å"when the person to whom the proposal is made signifies his assent thereto, the proposal is said to be accepted: a proposal, when accepted, becomes a promise†. Thus the original offerror whose offer has been terminated by the offeree’s counter offer can accept or reject the offeree’s counter offer.Khalid said that the price Siti offered was too high and he did not want the painting, means that this is a rejection by Khalid. One week later, Khalid received bonus from his employer. After he got the money to pay so and he immediately contact Siti that he will pay the RM7,000 for â€Å"Hawa†. This is a new counter offer from Khalid. According to S2(a) Contracts Act 1950 â€Å"when one person signifies to another his willingness to do or to abstain from doing anything, with a view to obtaining the assent of that other to the act or abstinence , he is said to make a proposal†.But Siti has refused to sell the painting to Khalid with the price RM7, 000; she then said that for the price of her painting has gone up to RM10, 000. This is can counter offer. Conclusion There is no valid contract between Khalil and Siti. The moment that Siti sell her panting for RM 7,000, Khalil had refuse and reject the offer. When he wanted to buy the painting with RM 7, 000, Siti had gone up the price of her painting as RM 10, 000. For the whole â€Å"trade† there is no acceptance exists. There is just exist offer, couter offer and revocation. A contact without acceptance is void, therefor; there is no contract between them.

Against Capital Punishment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Against Capital Punishment - Research Paper Example The whole purpose of criminal justice system is to rehabilitate criminals but capital punishment defeats this very purpose. Killing a criminal means that state believes there is no chance a criminal can improve. Capital punishment therefore should not be permissible because it is not found to be effective, can result in killing of an innocent person and defeats the concept of rehabilitation. Studies have proved that crime rate does not decrease as a result of administration of capital punishment. A comparison between two states of similar culture and crime rate has shown that execution does not deter crime (Zimring, Fagan, & Johnson 2009). This comparison was made between two states, one with capital punishment law and other without it. This clearly shows that killing a person does not produce the widely argued ‘deterrence’ effect. Killing a person cannot decrease crime rate and therefore the main argument that is made in favor of capital punishment is rejected. There are many other motivators of crimes therefore death punishment alone cannot reduce crime rates significantly. A criminal is not thinking rationally when he or she commits a crime therefore it is impossible to stop criminal behavior just by the threat of capital punishment. The argument of deterrence can also work if capital punishment is prohibited. A lifelong sentence in prison can also deter a criminal so there is no need for capital punishment. Sometimes capital punishment is not justified for certain types of criminals. For example serial killers and serial rappers should be forced to live all their life in confinement. This should be more appropriate for them as killing them at once will only end their life but lifelong confinement will hurt them daily. The concept of retribution, therefore, can also be well served by abolishing capital punishment. Research has also suggested that bad prison conditions

What are the effects if the government implement of Good-and-Services Essay

What are the effects if the government implement of Good-and-Services Tax (GST) in Hong Kong with the aim of broaden the tax base in Hong Kong - Essay Example Usually the problem arises because it is politically difficult to lower the demand for expenditure growth and to raise revenue to match government’s tendency to spend more and more. Almost all political systems, democracies included, have this problem. Fortunately for Hong Kong, the Basic Law provides a kind of constitutional limitation of budget deficits. According to professor William Baumol, â€Å"another reason that the public spending tend to rise faster than revenues stems from the fact that the most important component of public spending is civil service remuneration†(Fiscal Issues) Sometimes, volatility can mask what is essentially a structural issue. In a good year, when revenue increases, so does spending. In a bad year, however spending does not decrease when revenue does. If spending always grew to match growth in revenue, over time, spending would exceed revenue. This volatility is really structural imbalance between spending and revenue. Baumol further sta tes, â€Å"the rising share of public expenditure in GDP and the faster growth of recurrent spending over recurrent revenue are the main structural problems with the Hong Kong budget†(Fiscal Issue) In some countries – as for instance, most of the European countries – the reforms consists of a gradual process of adaptation. As a consequence the tax systems in operation in the 30 OECD member countries today are fundamentally different from those which operated in the mid-1980’s.

Critical Assessment of Sustainability Policy of EURAC Convention Research Paper

Critical Assessment of Sustainability Policy of EURAC Convention Centre - Research Paper Example Its sustainable mission is to combine the meeting offers with attractive tourist experience that meets international market standards.     The current sustainable policy of the organization requires amendments related reflecting the current changes in lifestyle and technology to guarantee continued advancement. European Academy (EURAC) Convention Centre (ECC) is located at the heart of unspoiled dolomites in one of the most eco-crucial regions of Europe. The facility was designed to curtail the negative environmental impact resulting from events held in the region. ECC is located in a strategic location i.e. city center that can be accessed through eco-friendly transport means such as bikes or through walking. The facility is designed to be a professional conference and seminary facility in local, national or international functions. The 1,250 square meters covered by the facility contains an auditorium with 320 seats, conference hall, five seminar rooms, two foyers, and a computer room. ECC boasts of the highly qualified management team that contributes to the innovativeness; enhances delivery of services. The current growth in the event and leisure industry is due to the enhanced globalization. Industry globalization has led to increased income, intensive use of communication technology and newly developed cheaper means of transport (Paschinger, 2007). Organizational growth and enhanced competitiveness in the event and leisure industry requires the application of enhanced technology and innovativeness. The organization has adopted an effective sustainable policy based on technological innovativeness and focus on environmental improvement.

A Critical Analysis of Article 5 of UCP 600 Essay

A Critical Analysis of Article 5 of UCP 600 - Essay Example More especially the fact that banks are not concerned with the terms of the contract to which it is attached, means that regardless of whether or not the goods are delivered or not or conform to the terms of the contract or not, the letter of credit must be honoured by the bank. This paper will analyse the consequences of Article 5 of UCP 600 and the potential for fraud and other forms of injustice to the parties impacted by a letter of credit. Letters of Credit In its simplest form, a letter of credit is a device by which a bank or other similar party agrees to provide credit to a specific party on behalf of another party upon receipt of the relevant supporting documents.4 A standard letter of credit is comprised of at least four parties: the vendor (exporter); the purchaser (importer) and each of their banks.5 The importer/purchaser’s bank typically issues the letter of credit which imposes a duty on the importer/purchaser’s bank to pay the specified sum to the vendor /exporter once the particularized documents are received.6 A key feature of the letter of credit is the fact that it is independent of the underlying contract to which it applies. In other words, the bank’s responsibilities under the letter of credit are segregated from any other contractual duties existing between the parties to the letter of credit. This would include contractual duties between the vendor and the purchaser or any duties on the part of â€Å"reimburse the bank for payments made† by virtue of the letter of credit.7 The banks involved in the letters of credit are typically referred to as the â€Å"issuing bank† and the â€Å"conforming bank†.8 The issuing bank is asked by the purchaser who is commonly referred to as the applicant to assume responsibility for paying the vendor who is commonly known as the beneficiary, a specified sum upon the presentation of specific documents. The conforming bank is the bank selected by the beneficiary tha t acts as a â€Å"correspondent of the issuing bank to advise the beneficiary on the terms of the credit† and usually assumes the â€Å"same liability towards the beneficiary as the issuing bank†.9 The autonomy of the letter of credit was fortified in the case of Gian Singh & Co. Ltd. v Banque de L’Indochine in which the court ruled that the autonomy doctrine obliges an insuring bank to make payment to the beneficiary even if the specified documents submitted by the beneficiary pursuant to the letter of credit were forged.10 It was also held in IE Contractors Limited v Lloyds Bank Plc that the duty of issue payment under a letter of credit is not conditional upon ascertaining whether or not the supporting documents presented by the beneficiary are correct.11 The autonomy of the letter of credit is justified in the grounds that contractual disputes occur quire frequently. It would therefore be obstructive to international trade to permit one party to use a contra ctual dispute to delay payment and thus the â€Å"assurance given to the beneficiary would be severely undermined† and thus â€Å"documentary guarantees would become unacceptable†.12 The autonomy principle of the letters of credit therefore illustrate that indeed, banks are only concerned with documents and not the underlying transaction to which it is attached. Although the rationale for the autonomy principle rests on limiting the risks of delaying or stopping payments in international trad

A case study Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd Essay

A case study Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd - Essay Example The present revenue is $13.9 billion and the net income is $2.000 billion. Labour force is one of the main input for Teva and the current number of employees is 35,089. Comparing the cost structure for innovative and generic cost structure for the year 2005, the net sale was cent percent for the both but the gross profit was lower   for the generic with respect to the innovative. However, the rate of growth of total sales was higher for generic than the innovative. There was a positive correlation between gross profit and R&d expenses, SG & A expenses (Bank of America Securities). The revenue was gradually increasing til 2005 in U.S., Western Europe and rest of the world (Medical and healthcare marketplace guide). The annual sale of Teva is highest comparing with its all competitors. Teva has sold a large proportion of their total production in U.S.(Medical and healthcare marketplace guide). In number of employees and market capitals, Teva was maintaining the leading position. Comp aring the strategic position with its competitors, we can say that there were considerable differences in case of total market share in U.S., growth in U.S., number of products in U.S. and also the FDA approvals (Medical and healthcare marketplace guide) in 2005. Teva maintained the leading position in all these strategic position as well as in the case of profitability. Revenue growth and net income growth is incomparably higher than its competitors are. In 2005, Teva made a deal with highest value worth $ 7,367 million.  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Enhancing CSR in Saudi Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Enhancing CSR in Saudi - Essay Example This is in contrast to the Saudi government’s attempts to normalize the practice as a core business of the private sector. Moreover, social responsibility under Islamic teachings is obligatory with the Quran holding that there is due share for the deprived and beggars in wealth (Emtairah et al, 2009). This paper will seek to address what can be done to enhance CSR in Saudi Arabia at the government level, society level, and at the individual level. The belief held by sections of the Saudi society and corporations that CSR is a government responsibility requires concerted efforts by the government in steering debate by the public towards enhancing the acceptance by corporations of their CSR duties (Emtairah et al, 2009). This will also benefit the creation of a healthier society and stimulate growth of enterprise. The government’s role in convincing the private sector and motivating them to accept their obligations under CSR, however, may be inconsistent with free-market practices. Theoretically, the state should desist from forcing the private sector to act in any manner that is not dictated by market forces. Private corporations are, primarily, assumed to offer shareholders reasonable returns for their capital and Saudi business-people have interacted with Western capitalism for a while (Emtairah et al, 2009). Therefore, it will be difficult to alter perceptions, especially as there is increasing emphasis on profit and giving shareholders the highest returns financially. However, unlike the business community in the capitalist West, the government should take advantage of the fact that Saudi Arabia’s objectives of profit maximization do not mean that social problems cannot be solved economically as part of CSR. The government should seek to engage the private sector in debate about CSR from the perspective that there are differences between non-market factors and market factors, treating each aspect

Scheduling and Implementation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Scheduling and Implementation - Essay Example It is almost like a unexplainable process for the choosing appropriate deadlines for appropriate tasks. It is like estimating the time based on some features and historical factors in correspondence with the task. When the exact deadlines are not given, this is the method that is chosen to estimate the deadline. If planning is done properly, the project scheduling can almost help in accurately meeting the deadlines. (Haugna 65-68) The networks are not only used to identify the time and material factors. The usage of resources for each task and their allocations can be well planned if proper networking techniques are followed. Simple networking techniques like Gantt charts could help in a large way in identifying the quantity of resources required. Network analysis also helps in maintaining a constant work time for all resources and also ensures equal amount of distribution of work. It helps in identifying the activity times , The resources required for each activity, resources that are available in each category and any other management level restrictions. (Lucey 403) Total float in a project schedule is the delay of performing an activity. This delays the activities that succeed the delaying activity. The delay in total float is allowed by ensuring that it does not affect the total project time. IndependeIndependent Float Independent float of an activity in a project is the slack in the entire scheduling of the corresponding activities. The preceding activity is assumed to begin late and the succeeding activity is assumed to start early. Free Float In a project schedule, the free float is defined as the maximum delay in the performance of the corresponding activity without disturbing the schedule of the succeeding activity. Remaining Float In a project schedule the activities may be scheduled to begin late. In this situation the remaining float is the maximum amount of speed permitted in the work of an activity. It is made sure that it does not affect the activity that precedes the particular activity. This does not reduce the duration of activity, but working on the particular activity even before it starts its execution. (Lock 80) Why should an organization be charted An organization should be charted to know the structure of the organization. It depicts the internal relationship between the various departments and the employees. The organization chart clearly shows the employees and their hierarchy. It is also used to represent the people working in a particular team. Charting an organization will define the roles and responsibilities of each and every employee in that organization. It helps in establishing the strategies for team work and assists in the decision making process. (Lock 100) Discuss the importance of personal agreement and commitment to a schedule. Once a schedule is planned and designed it should be followed. There should be a commitment to the planned schedule. If any of the activity in a schedule is modified or altered, it will definitely affect the other activities in the schedule. This will result in the time delay of the project which in turn will affect

Jaydens Rescue Alternative Ending Essay Example for Free

Jaydens Rescue Alternative Ending Essay â€Å"Well, AFGOI it’ll have to be,† said Alex. â€Å"That’s all we have. I just hope it’ll put Rechner away†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Next time we will see him we will all say AFGOI at once,† suggested Vanessa. They waited patiently to see the evil Rechner again so they could use the magic word to free Jayden. Several days went by and the time was passing very quickly at camp. Every day was full of activities. At the end of the week Sam, Vanessa, and Alex all decided to go sailing because of the water skiing accident. Alex did not want to water ski again. Neither did Vanessa after what happened to Alex last time. They kept wondering when Rechner would appear again. After spending time on the lake, it began to rain cats and dogs. They ran for shelter under a pavilion and were glad that they were off of the sailboat. Sam said, â€Å"Why don’t we head towards our cabin and call it a night.† Alex and Vanessa agreed. They began their long trek to reach the cabin. The ground was very soggy and muddy and they all got their shoes extremely dirty. They were all happy to hit the hay for a good night’s sleep. Their counselor stayed up to watch them to make sure they didn’t leave again. In the morning their counselor was exhausted so he let the campers sleep longer than usual. When they awoke, they all were starving and their entire cabin headed to go eat. After breakfast Alex, Vanessa, and Sam went back to the cabin to brush their teeth and that is when the evil Rechner finally appeared. All three of them said AFGOI at once and Rechner said, â€Å"Okay I give up and you win. Jayden gets to go back to her palace.† Alex, Vanessa, and Sam couldn’t believe what they just heard. Everyone that lived in Idyllia was so happy to have the Emerald Queen back. They pushed nine hundred dollars out of the book. Alex, Vanessa, and Sam were so excited because Jayden was now safe and they each had three hundred dollars. They were finally done with Rechner once and for all! Jayden’s Rescue Written By: Vladimir Tumanov Project by: Schmo went through 2 green lights. Mane went through 1 red light. Torch went through 3 yellow lights. This is 6 lights in all (2+1+3). Then they repeated the same path so 6+6= 12 lights passed. Torch went through 3 yellow lights twice so 3+3 = 6. Each ticket was $300 so 6 lights times $300 is $1,800. He only had $100 bills so you need to divide $1,800 by $100 and you get 18. Torch passed 4 ponds which each had a duck. These 4 ducks bit his hand each one time and each bite caused 4 red bumps. So 4 bites times 4 red bumps each is 4 x 4 which equals 16 red bumps.

Literature Review of Approaches to Strategic Change

Literature Review of Approaches to Strategic Change Organizations require change as they live through time. This change which adjusts according to new demands and procedures is known as Strategic Change. This paper sheds light on the importance and approaches of strategic change as an important part of the strategic management. It studies two models of strategic change management and an organizational example which requires strategic change. Introduction Pasmore (1994) writes that we live in a dynamic environment where change is happening to everybody and everything. He notes that this change encompasses our organizations as well. Pasmore (1994) further notes that many of us, even the organizations usually do not realize this change and this is where they face competitive disadvantage, assuming a non-monopolistic society. To deal with such changes, and also with many others, the educators and researchers of this world introduced the notion of strategic change. Strategic change is a concept involving a reorientation of an organizations resources, both human and physical, products, services and structure. An organization needs strategic changes to, Maintain, or enhance it competition position Grow Growth and stability is an important factor, probably which all organizations strive for. To keep growing then, an organization has to evolve. The market in which an organization exists is pretty much like our environment that surrounds us. Through the process of natural selection those fittest to survive the wrath of the natural change, live. The others disappear into history books. The responsibility of bringing about a change in an organization rests greatly upon the shoulders of the managers of the organization. Because of the variable and highly diversified nature of organizations, the theories and models of strategic change management are numerous. In fact, the truth remains that each manager of the firm can up with a new model to support and direct his organization. Nevertheless, researchers have developed models which basically serve the purpose of enhancing the thinking abilities of to-be or current managers and to actually provide them with a direction. Literature Review To define a complex concept like strategy in a line or two would be unjust to the concept itself (Sadler and Craig, 2003). The concept can however be explained by linking various phrases. According to Saddler and Craig (2003), strategy is the Purpose or mission The policies The decision Implementation of decisions Analyzing and utilizing strengths and opportunities Gaining competitive advantage Basically, strategy is the course of action used to achieve the major objectives for an entity (Brown and Harvey, 2006). Tichy (1983) defines strategic change as the modification in the structure, resources, products and services of an organization. In light of the discontinuous, large scale changes facing the world, organizations will be required to undergo major strategic reorientations.(Tichy, 1983) Because of various reasons, including the shift in technological progress and increase in overall market competitiveness, organizations are finding it increasingly indispensible to bring about strategic change (Brown and Harvey, 2006). When bringing about a strategic change in an organization, the consideration of the culture of that organization is extremely important because the culture of an organization includes basically the set of priorities and values in the air of an organization (Brown and Harvey, 2006). The reason why most strategic changes fail is the inability of an organization to deal with change itself (Hyde, np). Strategic Change: The Models The introduction section of this paper clearly points out that strategic change cannot be explained and executed through any one standard model. In fact, there can be as many models as the organizations in this world and probably more. Some famous models however do exist. This section therefore is going to talk about three of the models. CBA Model of Strategic Change CBA is an acronym for Conceive, Believe and Achieve (Black and Gregersen, 2002). These three are in general the three dimensions of the model. Talking in terms of the model specifically, Conception, Belief and Achievement have been defined as the brain barriers hindering the implementation and the execution of the change (Black and Gregersen, 2002). Conceiving the idea is actually making the employees see its worth. This includes making the employees believe that the current practices, that were right yesterday are not right anymore and therefore must be changed with new ones. This is probably the biggest obstacle that the executives face while trying to bring about a strategic change in the organization. Next comes, Believing! Black and Gregersen (2002) define this as the second brain barrier to bring about a successful strategic change. Under this point, the employees have to believe in the fact that the path they are taking to bring about the change is correct. That is, they should believe that they are doing that new thing rightly. Last is Achieving. The employees should have the sense of achievement regarding the successful strategic change. This factor is important for two reasons. Firstly because, you stop trying when you know you have achieved something. The knowing of the end point thus, marks the successful shift of strategy. Secondly, the sense of achievement is important to encourage undertake further ventures. These might sound like three, unconnected pieces. The binding force for these pieces then is the idea and need of Leadership. CBA model believes that without proper education, training and support of the employees, bringing about a significant strategic change in an organization is not possible (Black and Gregersen, 2002). Furthermore, this model holds that the executives should always be champions of the change. The reason is that the employees would always be as serious about the venture as the executives. Another model for strategic change considers teamwork more important than leadership (Fogg, 1994). This model deems the following factors as important when considering and implementing strategic change. Security of future Provision of roadmap Setup of priorities Optimized resource allocation Get inputs and ideas Gain commitment Coordinate the execution The factors are pretty self explanatory in their own self. The point or the binding force of these factors, according to the team based model is Team Work. According to this, working together and understanding each others needs helps bringing about the change in the true sense. Strategic Change: The Crux It is useful to be reinforced here that the last section, Strategic Change: The Models can go on infinitely. Starting from the day the term, strategic management was coined till now thousand of models for a successful Strategic Change have been made. Thus, it is impossible to fit in all the models in this paper. The crux however of successful strategic change can be defined. Understanding the Culture of an Organization Brown and Harvey (2006) state that the culture of an organization is in effect the values held and shared by the members, which differentiates one organization from another. Further Brown and Harvey (2006) state that the culture of an organization has the following characteristics: Individual autonomy Sensitivity to the needs of the customers Support Interest in developing and carrying out new ideas Openness of communication Risk management Understanding the culture thus, is extremely important because it is the employees of the firm that make up its culture and then again, it is the employees of the form that have to execute the change. Unless all the employees believe and change their working modes, significant strategic change cannot be brought by and any investment that is then done will be in vain. Balogun (2010) points out that the culture of an organization is the interlinked set of organizational subsystems in which the paradigm drives the visible manifestations of culture, such as the organizational symbols, routines and rituals, stories, control systems and structures. These assumptions and rituals then define the type of change that is being brought into the organization. This is to say that a change in these basics of the organization will bring about a transformational change. A change, holding the culture more or less constant is a realignment change (Balogun, 2010). Planning the Change Since the strategic change that is being brought to the firm will affect the future stability and growth of the firm, it is extremely important to take as much time as required to properly plan each and every detail of the change, smoothing out the rough edges by either skillful implementation or incorporation of policies. Fogg (1994) suggests that it is extremely essential for a successful Strategic change to be carefully and consciously tailor the planning course in accordance to the size, complexity, culture and strategic situation of the organization. This planning would be different for a firm in financial and competitive crisis and different for a firm that is seeking expansion. The process of planning according to Fogg (1994) involves three stages: Pre-work: departmental evaluation of the status quo including strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing the individual members and also the organization as a whole. Priority setting: Discussion on various proposals with respect to finances, environment, market, customers and the overall reputation of the firm and thus setting the priorities according to which the change will be processed. Strategic planning: Discussion of strategies, plan of actions, resources and communications to strategize the change. Post-work: evaluation of the completed plans. Working as a Team Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson (2009) point out that according to research evidence, the executives who boost about their no mistake making capabilities are more likely to make strategic errors. Thus, when important structural changes are being brought to the organizations, the managers and the executives should work as a team and develop an open communication with the employees. The reason is that it is the employees who really know the work that is going on in the organization. Incorporating them as a team of the bigger picture can help bring about a successful strategic change in the organization. The teams can also be divided into various divisions. Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson (2009) also mention that the organizations that have a heterogeneous top management i.e. executives with different educational and experiential background, can operate under the benefitting shadow of different perspectives. The idea of working as a team also focuses on the need of a leader for this processing. The leader acts as the central, integrating personality to whom people can deliver their plans and problems. Moreover, the presence of a leader is indispensible lest the entire organization becomes a cookery show where everybody is doing their own cooking and the result is a spoiled main dish. Somebody needs to host the show. Evaluating Finally, as the strategy for change has been implemented, it has to be evaluated. Hyde (np) notes that a change in the behavior of the employees or the general change in the culture of an organization is only visible after the change has been implemented. Thus, once the execution has been completed, the top management should require a proper evaluation of the changed organization. This is important for a lot of reason. The first and the most significant reason is to check whether the results are in accordance to the proposal or not. Punjab University Established by the British in 1882 in Lahore, Punjab University (PU) is the first university to be established in the Asian Sub-continent. It has given to the world gems like Dr. Abdus Salam and Har Gobind Korana. Today, it is a part of Pakistan, still headquartered in the lively, historical city of Lahore. Punjab University has over 500 affiliated colleges and hosts almost 350 examinations for over 450,000 students in Pakistan. Today, even though new universities have come about in Pakistan and Punjab Universitys position has shifted to a competitor rather than a monopolist, it is still a well reputed and looked up to institution in the field of education (Punjab University, 2010). The other side of the coin however is that Islamic Jamiat-e-tulaba, a student union, promoting (rather enforcing) the twisted, orthodox and chauvinist Islamic views in the University. This student body has a hold, stronger beyond imagination. Most of the members of this union are graduates who keep taking up degrees to stay in the campus hostels and thus maintain the hold. This union is funded by the members mostly. They also manage to pull out money from the Vice Chancellors of the University. Moreover, the overall environment of the University is now become conservative. Earlier where the cream of the student body went to PU, it has now become the third or fourth option for students residing in Lahore. Those out of Lahore, place it even down. Most of the professors who are currently educating the youth o Pakistan in universities like Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Lahore School of Economics (LSE), Institute of Business and Administration (IBA) and other started th eir carrier at Punjab University. The loyalties however have changed due to the difference in the salary structure and the general atmosphere of the university. As good professors and promising students choose other universities, the budget of the University for spending on infrastructure and technology has gone down, causing further problems for the status and educational ability of the University. Even though in terms of area and campus, Punjab University still beats all other Universities in Pakistan. It has campuses all over the country. However, in terms of organization, management, educational capability and investment PUs reality has been taken over by other new and well managed Universities in the country. What Punjab University now needs is a well managed Strategic Change. The Strategic Change Proposal It is evident enough that the goal of the change that would be brought about in the university would be to steer it to the same fame and respect it had throughout the 20th century. Following are some proposal for the change. Increase the Budget: for any strategic change that is to be brought in an organization, investment in a must. And what PU requires is a transformational change. This extra amount of fund is proposed to be used on renovating the classrooms, laboratories, libraries and on hiring new Professors. This budget, if utilized optimally can also be used to renovate the hostels for the students who come from outside Lahore. Reduce the hold of Islamic Jamiat: With all the terrorism been listed in the CVs of Muslims, this Islamic student body, watching any un-Islamic acts in the university, fighting and punishing people for mistakes looks like a terrorist group to many people. Parents think twice before sending their child into this kind of atmosphere. Thus, the reduction in the number of excellent students coming in. Especially students, who did their O and A levels instead of the government matriculation program, hardly ever choose to come to PU. One of the contributing reasons to this is the strong hold of a strict Islamic body. Management should strategically remove the hold of this union. Marketing: no matter how good an organization is, people come to know of it mostly when the product is being marketed. The product PU is selling is education and a memorable university life and thus, it should strongly focus on marketing the product. It may require initial investment but the results would be awesome. It can also help in changing the perspective of people regarding the conservative and strict environment of the University. Moreover, students would see PU as a good option in terms of their future. This change can be strategically planned by the board of directors. To improve the process further, one student representative from each department can be chosen to present ideas, demands and existing problems. Through this, the stakeholders i.e. the students wishes and problems will be answered and they will become a part of the Strategic Change process. Moreover to reinforce this idea to inclusion of stakeholders in the process of change, from each campus a faculty member can be selected to represent/department the problems that campus/department. Conclusion Organizations have to grow with time. The last two decade especially saw a remarkable social shift in Pakistan. Media grew and so grew awareness. This it became extremely important from the organizations in Pakistan to grow and change socially but also in terms of the product they offered. One the renowned organization in Pakistan is Punjab University. However it so seems that it has not grown dynamically in the social context especially. Educationally, obviously there have been forms for example the construction of the computer Labs. However, this is not enough. Students come to university, not only for education but also to live a life before they enter into the practical world. For the vulnerable age that the University entering students are in, it is very important to give them a memorable life with sports, social events seminars so that they do not think that they are missing out on the life that other university going students are having. Thus, PU should change strategically to reduce i) the hold to the Islamic union, ii) invest to improve infrastructure iii) focus on marketing.

Celsius :: essays research papers

Hot and Cold Winter is coming to the northern hemisphere, and with it, talk of central heating, gloves and scarves, snowfall, and record low temperatures. Monitoring temperatures is part of our everyday life — whether we're talking about the weather, our bodies, central heating, or cooking. In the United States, we typically measure temperature in degrees Fahrenheit. But in other countries, such as England, you'll get the weather forecast in degrees Celsius. Recipes will advise you to bake a pie at 205Â ºC and not 400Â ºF. In fact, the Celsius scale is the most commonly used temperature scale in the world. This week, we have special cause to wonder about the history of this scale, because November 27 is the 300th anniversary of the birthday of the man who invented it. Anders Celsius was born in Sweden in 1701. His parents didn't know that their son's work would one day make their family name an everyday word used by millions of people around the world. Meet Professor Celsius The world Anders lived in was very different than the world we know. Much of the knowledge that we now take for granted — such as the motion of Earth with respect to the Sun and planets — was only beginning to be understood then. In Europe, radical and brilliant scientists, such as Galileo and Sir Isaac Newton, had been developing new and revolutionary ways of understanding the workings of the world and the universe. The era was known as "the Enlightenment," and it was a good time for someone of Anders's ability to be working in the field of science. Anders's talent came from his family of academics: one of his grandfathers was a mathematician and the other an astronomer, and his father, Nils, was a professor of astronomy. As a child, Anders showed a natural flair for mathematics, but he developed a keen interest in astronomy and became a professor at the age of 29. So, how did a clever astronomer come to develop a temperature scale? The answer lies with the weather. When making observations of the night sky, Anders monitored the weather conditions, including the temperature. At the time there were a lot of different kinds of thermometers with different scales — by the time Anders started working on the problem of temperature measurement, around 35 different scales existed. (Compare this number with today, when three main scales are in use — Celsius, Fahrenheit, and Kelvin.

Essay --

Statement of Purpose I have always found the simplistic pleasure of solving a challenging problem to be most satisfying. The journey of discovering solutions brings its own joys and learning. I aim to pursue a career in research, because it brings with it intellectual challenges and opportunities to innovate. I am, therefore, highly motivated to pursue graduate studies in Computer Science. During my time at IIT Kanpur, where the curriculum offers flexibility in terms of elective courses, I have striven to explore diverse fields through courses and projects. This has led me to explore the areas of Databases, Machine Learning, Data Mining, Game Theory, Speech Recognition, Algorithms and Computer Engineering apart from the stipulated compulsory disciplines that Electrical Engineering has to offer. My first experience of research was in the form of a summer project under Prof. Arnab Bhattacharya at IIT Kanpur in which we worked on finding caching techniques for skylines on probabilistic datasets. A very rewarding experience resulted in us continuing our work in a research course and acted as one of the first stimulants for me to pursue research. During my second year, I was fortunate to have been selected for a 15-day Winter School organized by the Carnegie Mellon University at MS Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Bangalore. It was here that I was introduced to the area of Computer Science that has captured my interest the most – Machine Learning. To be involved in research with some of the premier faculty and researchers was an immensely enriching experience. Prof. Bhiksha Raj (Carnegie Mellon University) and Prof. M. Chikerur (MSRIT) mentored us in developing a feedback and review system for test-based learning. Here, we attempted ... ...arch career. An active research group with experienced advisors and motivated colleagues would help me in gaining maximum from my graduate studies. Searching for such an environment with strong research culture has led me to apply for a PhD at University of California, Los Angeles. My extra-curricular experience has enhanced my written, oral and interpersonal communication skills, while providing opportunities for leadership and self-motivation. I believe that my academic preparation and experience of working in various projects makes me an accomplished and motivated candidate who can contribute to the field of Computer Science. Through my experience of tutoring students (while being a part of Counselling Service, IIT Kanpur) and the enthusiasm to overcome challenges, I hope to add value to my research group. Looking forward to be a part of research group at UCLA.

Epiphany of Elisa in John Steinbecks The Chrysanthemums :: Literature Steinbeck Chrysanthemums Essays

Epiphany of Elisa in John Steinbeck's The Chrysanthemums John Steinbeck described Elisa Allen in "The Chrysanthemums" only with her language and actions. From these, the reader gathers that Elisa is strong, lean, and eager; the way she talks confidently about her chrysanthemums not only shows her confidence, but her way of filling the void of intimacy in her marriage. However, by the end of the story, the reader finds Elisa completely different, signifying the toll her epiphany has had on her. When the peddler arrives at Elisa's house, he seems very avid to do some work for her; she becomes irritated with his persistence, but soon changes. Once he begins to act interested and appreciative of her chrysanthemums (even requests for some sprouts), she begins to feel appreciated by him and lets her guard down. Removing her bulky clothes and transforming into a feminine woman in time to go out with her husband proves this change has occurred. Some people might think this was the place Elisa had her epiphany. I think differently Not far down the road, she discovers the sprouts she gave graciously to the peddler on the ground. During those crucial moments of telling herself why he threw them out and purposefully ignoring the peddler's caravan, Elisa has several sudden revelations: epiphanies. She realizes the man she thought truly valued her flowers simply feigned this interest to get what he wanted and then threw them out, causing her to feel thrown out and used. His disrespect for beautiful things also crosses her mind and she discovers she may never find someone to share the feelings she has for beauty. And finally, just as her chrysanthemums never made it far from the ranch, she knows her own desires to roam beyond the limitations of her home, perhaps even her marriage, are destroyed.

Music in Civil Rights Essay

How did musicians influence the civil rights movement? During the Civil Rights movement of the mid-twentieth century, music was used to spread word of equality and respect in America. Jazz, rock & roll, blues, gospel & reggae music were among the prominent genres of music during this time. With music, African-American artists like Little Richard, Aretha Franklin, and Bob Marley wanted to present positive and uplifting messages to the country that was full of hatred for other people. African Americans also wanted to raise self-confidence of those who were affected by these acts of hate and violence. The music stylings of Jazz and its counterpart Blues played important rolls for music during the Civil Rights Movement. Since the majority of Jazz and Blues singers were black, this music was frowned upon among white southerners. However, it did bring awareness to the mistreatment of Blacks. In the song, â€Å"Strange Fruit† by Billie Holiday, a euphemism is used to represent the bodies of minorities hanging from trees in the south. Jazz music of the twentieth century is known to be told in the stories of the struggle of blacks and others. Along with Jazz and Blues, Gospel and Soul music played a large role in civil rights. Originating from the songs that slaves sang before they were freed, soul and gospel music used religious lyrics to help the nonviolent protest. Similar to jazz and blues, soul and gospel was not likened by many white people as it was primarily performed by black people. One of the most famous black soul singers of all time was Aretha Franklin. She was a key symbol of the advancement of black people, lending her talents to the civil rights cause. She supported Dr. Martin Luther King, as she was close with him and sang at his funeral. This shows her determination for the efforts of the struggle of blacks. A commonly overlooked genre of music which supported civil rights was reggae. It brought up the concept of coming together as one. The artist, Bob Marley was and still is the most known reggae-artist of all time ad his song â€Å"Get Up, Stand Up for Your Rights† showed a message of coming together, despite their skin color or religion. Music written by blacks during the Civil Rights Movement was a large factor in the upbringing of minorities in America. Those who listened to the music were motivated by the lyrics and a message of peace and love among people. This shows that these kinds of music are big parts of the way people think and was powerful enough to strengthen our nation.

Philosophy and Science Essay

Philosophy, science, art and religion are all major achievements of the human mind. Like science, philosophy calls for careful reasoning and exact language. The nature of philosopher and science are somewhat similar in that they have both relied on logical thinking and a quest for deeper truths regarding life and human nature. There have been great philosophers who have become scientists such as Copernicus and there have been scientists like Albert Einstein who have later become philosophers. Thus there is a subtle relationship between science and philosophy. In ancient times all fields of study including religion, science and art were accepted as parts of philosophy. Science particularly, has been considered very important in every philosophic system. But with the rapid advance of knowledge the sciences and the humanities separated from philosophy (Grolier, 1979). They developed their own methods of investigation and their own vocabularies. Philosophers in recent times tend to focus on general ideas common to different fields. Thus we find that natural philosophy took its root in scientific investigation and later evolved into modern science. Philosophy can be understood in either a popular way or a technical way. In the popular sense, any set of deeply held beliefs about man, nature, society and God is called a philosophy. Everyone who has wondered about the meaning of life and found an answer that satisfied him as his own philosophy. In its more technical sense, philosophy means a highly disciplined and reasonable method of criticizing fundamental beliefs to make them more clear and reliable. This method was first developed by the ancient Greeks in the 6th century B. C. Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Pythagoras, and other learned men began to speculate about the underlying causes of natural phenomena like birth and death, rainfall and drought, the perfectly regular motions of the planets, the reach of fire toward the sky, and the fall of heavy objects toward the earth. In the world of today, science is regarded as an activity based on the experimental gathering of facts, the mathematical modeling of its results, and the framing of hypotheses. Philosophy on the other hand deals with unanswerable ultimate questions about ethics and metaphysics, the meaning of life, or the nature of truth. Today’s philosophers and scientists travel along different paths, it is interesting to note that science and philosophy have had a common background and history. Till the emergence of special scientific branches in the 19th and 20th centuries, ‘natural philosophy’ covered all scientific activity. Isaac Newton called himself a â€Å"natural philosopher†, and telescopes and air pumps used to be classified as â€Å"philosophical instruments†. Natural philosophy or â€Å"philosophia naturalis† referred to the exploration and analysis of all things under the sky including stones to human mental functions and the winds and the stars. The natural philosophy evolved into modern scientific thought through the years 1200 to 1700. This period includes the introduction of Aristotle’s works into the nascent universities to the establishment of stable scientific institutions such as the Royal Society or the Acadà ©mie des Sciences. Science as is kno wn today is   were characterized by experimentation, mathematical modeling, the publication of research results, and the sponsoring of scientific collaboration. Science is usually associated with acquisition of knowledge and more specifically science is connected to theoretical knowledge compared to practical knowledge. The word â€Å"science† has its roots from the word â€Å"Scientia† originally meaning knowledge (Ross, 1996). Modern dictionaries define science as â€Å"the observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of phenomena through methodological activity, discipline, or study.† The true nature of science is best understood by focusing on its methodology. Fundamentally, then, science can be characterized as a method of obtaining reliable – though not infallible – knowledge about the universe around us. This knowledge includes both descriptions of what happens and explanations of why it happens. The knowledge is reliable because it is continually tested and retested – much of science is heavily interdependent, which means that any test of any scientific idea entails testing other, related ideas at the same time. The knowledge is not infallible; because at no point do scientists assume that they have arrived at a final, definitive truth. Science is mostly about natural processes and natural events. It involves both description and explanation. Description tells what has happened whereas explanation tells why it happened. According to Science, future events may be predicted only based on knowledge of such events. The ancient Greeks formed the word ‘philosophy’ from ‘philos’ meaning ‘lover’ and ‘sophia’ meaning ‘wisdom’. A philosopher according to them was a person who devoted his lfie to the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake without regard for its practical uses. The kind of knowledge that interested Thales and other philosophers of the 6th century B.C. was knowledge of nature and its laws. Philosophy on the other hand deals with the fundamental nature of existence, of man and of man’s relationship to existence. Whereas science tries to take a microscopic perspective in problem solving, philosophy tends to take a macroscopic perspective in problem solving. In general, philosophy questions often are a series of â€Å"why-questions,† whereas science is often said to ask â€Å"how-questions.† In the words of Ayn Rand: â€Å"In the realm of cognition, the special sciences are the trees, but philosophy is th e soil which makes the forest possible.† (Ayn Rand in â€Å"Philosophy: Who Needs It†) Generally speaking philosophy is an attitude, an approach, or even a calling to answer or to ask or to comment upon certain peculiar kinds of questions. Science and philosophy have always supported each other. While philosophy utilizes scientific discoveries to give it strength and a basis for generalizations, science utilizes philosophy to get a world view and perceive things from the framework of universal principles. It is a well known fact that early scientific ideas came from philosophers. The atomic structure of things was first expressed by Democritus and later expanded on by Lucretius and Diderot. What was hypothetically conceived by them was declared a scientific fact two centuries later. The Cartesian reflux as it is known in science was proposed by philosophers to explain conservation of motion in the universe. Spinoza hypothesized determinism based on a general philosophical perception. The idea of the existence of molecules as complex particles consisting of atoms was developed in the works of the French philosopher Pierre Gassendi and also Russia’s Mikhail Lomonosov. The hypothesis of the cellular structure of animal and vegetable organisms, the idea of the development and universal connection of phenomena and the principle of the material unity of the world were all obtained through philosophical thought. Lenin as a philosopher formulated the principle of the inexhaustibility of matter which scientists consider as a firm methodological base (Spirkin, 1983). Just as science progressed through philosophical thought, philosophy was also enriched by science. The philosophical world view and methodology was impacted greatly with every major scientific discovery.   Philosophical theories, statements and conclusions are deduced on the basis of scientific facts. Moreover, philosophical propositions, principles, concepts and laws are discovered through the generalization of these facts. Euclidian geometry and the mechanics of Galileo and Newton are scientific discoveries that impacted human reasoning in a significant manner. Copernicus’ heliocentric system changed the whole conception of the structure of the universe and Darwin’s theory of evolution, changed the general perception of man’s position in nature. Mendeleyev’s table of chemical elements enhanced understanding the structure of matter. Einstein’s theory of relativity exposed the relationship between matter, motion, space and time. The theory of higher nervous activity evolved by Sechenov and Pavlov deepened the philosophers’ understanding of the material foundations of mental activity, of consciousness. The creation and development by Marx, Engels and Lenin of the science of the laws of development of human society contributed further to philosophy in the realm of natural and social vortex of events (Spirkin, 1983). The history of natural and social science shows that scientists, on several occasions have leaned on world-views and methodological principles, categories and logical systems evolved by philosophers in the process of their researches. All scientists who think in terms of theory have expressed their gratitude in their writings and in their speeches. Thus, we find that the connection between philosophy and science is mutual. But this statement is found to be debatable among experts. There is a strong argument among scientists and philosophers that the two disciplines of science and philosophy do not necessarily need each other for growth. But there are others who feel that science can be informed by philosophy. Philosophy is highly valued due to its interconnection with life. But then, there are others who argue that philosophy is based on vague theorizing and it should not have any link to science. However, it is significant to note that there is no such warning for philosophers to keep away from science. The specific sciences cannot and should not break their connections with true philosophy (Spirkin, 1983). Most scientists, especial those who work with theories would agree that creative activity is closely linked with philosophy and that without serious knowledge of philosophical culture the results of that activity cannot become theoretically effective. Scientists with a powerful theoretical grasp, have always accepted the significance of philosophy to the growth of science. Philosophy does not replace the specialised sciences and does not command them, but it does arm them with general principles of theoretical thinking, with a method of cognition and world-view. In this sense scientific philosophy legitimately holds one of the key positions in the system of the sciences. Truly scientific thought is philosophical to the core; just as truly philosophical thought is profoundly scientific, rooted in the sum-total of scientific achievements. Philosophical training gives the scientist a breadth and penetration, a wider scope in posing and resolving problems. Sometimes these qualities are brilliantly expressed, as in the work of Marx, particularly in his Capital, or in Einstein’s wide-ranging natural scientific conceptions. The interconnection between science and philosophy that has existed through the years has only grown stronger with time. It is impossible to achieve complete understanding of theories related to global problems without a broad grasp of inter-disciplinary and philosophical views. There are some people who argue that science has no need of philosophy. It is their contention that science is in itself philosophy. They hold that scientific knowledge is sufficient to provide answers to all problems including philosophical problems. But the â€Å"cunning† of philosophy lies in the fact that any form of contempt for it, any rejection of philosophy is in itself a kind of philosophy. It is as impossible to get rid of philosophy as it is to rid oneself of all convictions. Many scientists who have maintained the positions of crude empiricism and scorned philosophy have eventually fallen into mysticism. Absence of philosophical assumptions leads to intellectual narrowness. Science needs philosophy due to its diversified branches. As Science has become so ramified, no can today master any particular subject such as medicine or biology or mathematics. Scientists are trying to know as much as possible about as little as possible. This kind of specific specialization is both good and bad. Without narrow specialization there can be no progress in science and at the same time, such specialization must be constantly filled out by a broad inter-disciplinary approach, by the integrative power of philosophical reason. Narrow specialization has no breadth of vision and can thus lead to empiricism, to the endless description of particulars. While science requires researchers to look externally, philosophers tend to look both internally and externally – at the world around man and man’s place in that world. This wholesome perception provided by philosophical consciousness is reflective in its very essence. Philosophy is not only an abstract science. It also deals with moral principles, ethics, and conscience. Today, advances in science have brought many kinds of conflict to society. For example, there is the question regarding nuclear bomb. Is it wrong for a nation to acquire nuclear bomb? Only ethical thinking combined with scientific thinking can provide the right answer. Such questions as this one cannot be answered by science alone. While there are many examples showing that philosophical thought was behind many scientific discoveries, Bernal conceived that science was the starting point for philosophy; it was the very basis of philosophy. Marxist social theory emerged within this process. For Bernal, there was no philosophy, no social theory, and no knowledge independent of science. Science was the foundation of it all (Sheehan, 1985). As Bernal saw the transition to the future, scientific and socialist philosophical thinking played a key role.   For a long time, philosophers as diverse as David Hume, Karl Marx, and Edmund Husser felt that philosophy was â€Å"scientific.† But, Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) felt that there are some problems that science alone can deal with and others it couldn’t. Science and philosophy are both different paths taken by different people who desire to explore the truth. Scientists and philosophers can be considered as seekers of true knowledge. These two subjects differ today in the nature and methodology. Despite these differences, true scientific theories are based on philosophy and true philosophical statements have their foundation in science.

Bend It Like Beckham

Field Experience A feedback on the movie â€Å"Bend it like Beckham† ——-From the perspective of Cross-cultural communication : : :201120327 :2011? 10? 11? A feedback on the movie â€Å"Bend it like Beckham† ——-From the perspective of Cross-cultural communication Abstract: Based on the English movie â€Å"Bend It like Beckham†, this paper is going to reveal the cultural phenomenon hidden in this story. Divided into three parts, this paper mainly makes an analysis on two aspects, one is religion, and another is family culture.Finally, the author points out: it is very important for people of different cultures to understand and respect each other. Thus, a peaceful and harmonious world would be around us! 1. Introduction and analysis of the movie: Before the 1980s, African culture and Asian culture got terrible restriction in UK, however, after the 1980s; a large number of movies that describe immigrants’ life have emerged in f ilm industry in England. Bend It like Beckham† is such a movie, which borrows cultural and racial difference between England and India, reflects how the two cultures co-exist and accept each other in a hard procedure As the immigrant of the second generation, Jess, a girl with talent to be a football player, shows her great admiration to Beckham,hoping, one day, she can play for England with Beckham shoulder by shoulder, while her mother believes that Jess has two great duties in life: to learn to prepare a complete Indian meal, and to marry a nice Indian boy.However, Jess never wants to be a housewife who can only cook. Jess’ love of soccer crosses over into a love of life. She runs onto the field as if simply at play, in her eyes’, football is not one part of aboard culture,but a natural thing in her living environment,however, it was not included in her clan and family culture,therefore, what she has to confront is the strait of the cultural conflicts caused b y two co-existing culture. In fact, â€Å"Bend It like Beckham† is a product of cultural clash.One day, Jess was playing soccer with boys in the park; Of course, an Indian girl should not play soccer at all, since in her mother's mind the game consists of â€Å"displaying your bare legs to complete strangers. † Jess is seen in the park by Juliette, who plays for the Hounslow Harriers, a woman's team, and is recruited to join them. The coach is a young Irishman named Joe. Although she deceives her parents about her join into the football team, she loves them and understands their point of view.The cultural conflict is still upgrading when Jess falls in love with her coach,, which is undoubtedly an earthquake for Indian family, but, at the end of this movie, we can feel hope, the two family members shake their hands together, and Jess’s boyfriend begin to play cricket together. It seems that, English people are being accepted by Indian family. And the old Indian p eople get out from the dark shadow in their heart. Historically speaking, India was the colony of England for a long time, English people usually were gentlemen, but they look down upon Indian people.Jess’s father was a excellent cricket player, owing to cultural diffusion,he lost the chance to play cricket , fortunately, Jess got her family’s support and realized her father’s dream. Then, in the following part, I will give a detailed analysis about cultural differences under the influence of two different tradition and religion, 2. Cultural analysis 2. 1. Culture and family Although, a culture’s core values and world view derive primarily from its predominant religious view and cultural history, the family is the primary caretaker of these views and values and transmits them to new members of the culture.In this story, there are two families, the representatives of the two cultures, one is the ordinary England family, observed from the surface, and it is an open, modern, and fashioned family. However, In this story, Juliette’s mother misreads Jess and Juliette’s friendship as lesbian, so painful that she cried secretly, according to her attitude toward lesbian, we will realize English people is conservative in soul. The other one is an emigrate family from India, Indian parents are strict and traditional, they have strong religious belief. Which indicate what kind of Jess’s family is.As expected, it is incredible and unsupportable for a girl playing football. Family gives children knowledge about their historical background, information regarding the permanent nature of their culture, and specific behaviors, customs, traditions, and language associated with their ethnic or cultural group. In short, the family tells us, and others, who we are and what groups we are part of. ( K. A. Ocampo, 1993, 106). So next, I will render the different interaction pattern in English family and Indian family from two aspects: g ender role and individualism- collectivism 2. . 1. gender role In India, males are usually considered the superior sex, as Samovar points out, men make most of the important decisions, inheriantance is through the male line, and a woman lives in her husband’s village after she marries. (Samovar, 2000,). Therefore, in India, boys give much freedom of expression than the girls, and girls are asked to help with the chores that keep the family functioning. However, in British, women usually have the equal right as man does in family life, even in social activity. 2. 1. 2. ndividualism and collectivism Individualism and collectivism are learned through the family, which teaches children whom they must obey and who the dominant figures are in their life. In this movie, the Juliette from English nuclear family is much more self-reliant and self-responsible than Jess who from Indian Family, because, India is a typical country of extended family, people in India, share property, all m aterial possession, food, work and love, perform religious rituals together, and often live under the same roof.There is a scene in this movie: when her sister’s would-be parents-in-law discovered her intimate behavior with Juliette whom was mistaken for a English boy,. Just because of Jess’s so-called â€Å"shameful behavior†, they break off her son’s engagement with Jess’s family according this story, it’s not difficult to get conclusion that India family is a typical collectivism; one people’s thing is the thing of the whole family. 2. 2. Culture and Religion: In this movie, you will find lots of religious elements in the story, to some extent, cross-religious communication is the cross-cultural communication. When religion jumps to life it displays a startling quality. It takes over. All else, while not silenced, becomes subdued and thrown into a supporting role†¦It calls the soul to the highest adventure it can undertake, a proposed journey across the jungles, peaks, and deserts of the human spirit (H. Smith, 1991, P9). So, from different religions, we can understand different people’s spiritual and psychological needs or their behavior and habits, here, taking the Sikhism as example, we will have a better understanding of Jess’s family, Sikhs, followers of the Sikh religion, centered in Punjab State, in northwestern India.Sikhism is an ethical monotheism fusing elements of Hinduism and Islam. It was founded around 1950s, In Jess’s family's living room is a large portrait of a Sikh spiritual leader, called Nanak, but above Jess's bed is her own inspiration–the British soccer superstar David Beckham, and there is a distinctive contrast between Indian traditional belief and modern British cultural shock.According this story, it’s not difficult to get conclusion that it is incredible for Indian people to get married with a pagan or people without same belief, but, in Bri tish, Christianity is the dominant world view. In this land, it is not a easy job to infuse with the native Indian Sikh religion, and vice versa. Conclusion England is the birthplace of modern football game, English people’s enthusiasm to football caused football culture’s coming into being, which exactly stands for the national culture. While India is a country of dances and songs.The scene of Indian jolly wedding with dance and song in this movie is just the epitome of Indian culture. Young people always can accept new things easily, in this movie; it is the two girls who play the role of fusion of two cultures. There indeed are some cultural shocks during people’s communication around the world, no matter which aspect it is, religion, ethnic, family or something else. Now that we live in the same earth, it is very important for people of different cultures to understand and respect each other.Thus, a peaceful and harmonious world would be around us! Reference s [1]. K. A. Ocampo, M. Bernal, G. P. Knight, (1993) â€Å"Gender, Race, and Ethnicity: The Sequencing of Social Constrancies,† New York: New York Press. [2]. Samovar, A. l. , Porter, R. E. ,& Stefani, A. L. (2000) Communication Between Cultures(Third Edition). Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press [3]. H. Smith, (1991)The World’s Religions. New York: HarperCollins. Bend It Like Beckham Field Experience A feedback on the movie â€Å"Bend it like Beckham† ——-From the perspective of Cross-cultural communication : : :201120327 :2011? 10? 11? A feedback on the movie â€Å"Bend it like Beckham† ——-From the perspective of Cross-cultural communication Abstract: Based on the English movie â€Å"Bend It like Beckham†, this paper is going to reveal the cultural phenomenon hidden in this story. Divided into three parts, this paper mainly makes an analysis on two aspects, one is religion, and another is family culture.Finally, the author points out: it is very important for people of different cultures to understand and respect each other. Thus, a peaceful and harmonious world would be around us! 1. Introduction and analysis of the movie: Before the 1980s, African culture and Asian culture got terrible restriction in UK, however, after the 1980s; a large number of movies that describe immigrants’ life have emerged in f ilm industry in England. Bend It like Beckham† is such a movie, which borrows cultural and racial difference between England and India, reflects how the two cultures co-exist and accept each other in a hard procedure As the immigrant of the second generation, Jess, a girl with talent to be a football player, shows her great admiration to Beckham,hoping, one day, she can play for England with Beckham shoulder by shoulder, while her mother believes that Jess has two great duties in life: to learn to prepare a complete Indian meal, and to marry a nice Indian boy.However, Jess never wants to be a housewife who can only cook. Jess’ love of soccer crosses over into a love of life. She runs onto the field as if simply at play, in her eyes’, football is not one part of aboard culture,but a natural thing in her living environment,however, it was not included in her clan and family culture,therefore, what she has to confront is the strait of the cultural conflicts caused b y two co-existing culture. In fact, â€Å"Bend It like Beckham† is a product of cultural clash.One day, Jess was playing soccer with boys in the park; Of course, an Indian girl should not play soccer at all, since in her mother's mind the game consists of â€Å"displaying your bare legs to complete strangers. † Jess is seen in the park by Juliette, who plays for the Hounslow Harriers, a woman's team, and is recruited to join them. The coach is a young Irishman named Joe. Although she deceives her parents about her join into the football team, she loves them and understands their point of view.The cultural conflict is still upgrading when Jess falls in love with her coach,, which is undoubtedly an earthquake for Indian family, but, at the end of this movie, we can feel hope, the two family members shake their hands together, and Jess’s boyfriend begin to play cricket together. It seems that, English people are being accepted by Indian family. And the old Indian p eople get out from the dark shadow in their heart. Historically speaking, India was the colony of England for a long time, English people usually were gentlemen, but they look down upon Indian people.Jess’s father was a excellent cricket player, owing to cultural diffusion,he lost the chance to play cricket , fortunately, Jess got her family’s support and realized her father’s dream. Then, in the following part, I will give a detailed analysis about cultural differences under the influence of two different tradition and religion, 2. Cultural analysis 2. 1. Culture and family Although, a culture’s core values and world view derive primarily from its predominant religious view and cultural history, the family is the primary caretaker of these views and values and transmits them to new members of the culture.In this story, there are two families, the representatives of the two cultures, one is the ordinary England family, observed from the surface, and it is an open, modern, and fashioned family. However, In this story, Juliette’s mother misreads Jess and Juliette’s friendship as lesbian, so painful that she cried secretly, according to her attitude toward lesbian, we will realize English people is conservative in soul. The other one is an emigrate family from India, Indian parents are strict and traditional, they have strong religious belief. Which indicate what kind of Jess’s family is.As expected, it is incredible and unsupportable for a girl playing football. Family gives children knowledge about their historical background, information regarding the permanent nature of their culture, and specific behaviors, customs, traditions, and language associated with their ethnic or cultural group. In short, the family tells us, and others, who we are and what groups we are part of. ( K. A. Ocampo, 1993, 106). So next, I will render the different interaction pattern in English family and Indian family from two aspects: g ender role and individualism- collectivism 2. . 1. gender role In India, males are usually considered the superior sex, as Samovar points out, men make most of the important decisions, inheriantance is through the male line, and a woman lives in her husband’s village after she marries. (Samovar, 2000,). Therefore, in India, boys give much freedom of expression than the girls, and girls are asked to help with the chores that keep the family functioning. However, in British, women usually have the equal right as man does in family life, even in social activity. 2. 1. 2. ndividualism and collectivism Individualism and collectivism are learned through the family, which teaches children whom they must obey and who the dominant figures are in their life. In this movie, the Juliette from English nuclear family is much more self-reliant and self-responsible than Jess who from Indian Family, because, India is a typical country of extended family, people in India, share property, all m aterial possession, food, work and love, perform religious rituals together, and often live under the same roof.There is a scene in this movie: when her sister’s would-be parents-in-law discovered her intimate behavior with Juliette whom was mistaken for a English boy,. Just because of Jess’s so-called â€Å"shameful behavior†, they break off her son’s engagement with Jess’s family according this story, it’s not difficult to get conclusion that India family is a typical collectivism; one people’s thing is the thing of the whole family. 2. 2. Culture and Religion: In this movie, you will find lots of religious elements in the story, to some extent, cross-religious communication is the cross-cultural communication. When religion jumps to life it displays a startling quality. It takes over. All else, while not silenced, becomes subdued and thrown into a supporting role†¦It calls the soul to the highest adventure it can undertake, a proposed journey across the jungles, peaks, and deserts of the human spirit (H. Smith, 1991, P9). So, from different religions, we can understand different people’s spiritual and psychological needs or their behavior and habits, here, taking the Sikhism as example, we will have a better understanding of Jess’s family, Sikhs, followers of the Sikh religion, centered in Punjab State, in northwestern India.Sikhism is an ethical monotheism fusing elements of Hinduism and Islam. It was founded around 1950s, In Jess’s family's living room is a large portrait of a Sikh spiritual leader, called Nanak, but above Jess's bed is her own inspiration–the British soccer superstar David Beckham, and there is a distinctive contrast between Indian traditional belief and modern British cultural shock.According this story, it’s not difficult to get conclusion that it is incredible for Indian people to get married with a pagan or people without same belief, but, in Bri tish, Christianity is the dominant world view. In this land, it is not a easy job to infuse with the native Indian Sikh religion, and vice versa. Conclusion England is the birthplace of modern football game, English people’s enthusiasm to football caused football culture’s coming into being, which exactly stands for the national culture. While India is a country of dances and songs.The scene of Indian jolly wedding with dance and song in this movie is just the epitome of Indian culture. Young people always can accept new things easily, in this movie; it is the two girls who play the role of fusion of two cultures. There indeed are some cultural shocks during people’s communication around the world, no matter which aspect it is, religion, ethnic, family or something else. Now that we live in the same earth, it is very important for people of different cultures to understand and respect each other.Thus, a peaceful and harmonious world would be around us! Reference s [1]. K. A. Ocampo, M. Bernal, G. P. Knight, (1993) â€Å"Gender, Race, and Ethnicity: The Sequencing of Social Constrancies,† New York: New York Press. [2]. Samovar, A. l. , Porter, R. E. ,& Stefani, A. L. (2000) Communication Between Cultures(Third Edition). Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press [3]. H. Smith, (1991)The World’s Religions. New York: HarperCollins. Bend It Like Beckham Field Experience A feedback on the movie â€Å"Bend it like Beckham† ——-From the perspective of Cross-cultural communication : : :201120327 :2011? 10? 11? A feedback on the movie â€Å"Bend it like Beckham† ——-From the perspective of Cross-cultural communication Abstract: Based on the English movie â€Å"Bend It like Beckham†, this paper is going to reveal the cultural phenomenon hidden in this story. Divided into three parts, this paper mainly makes an analysis on two aspects, one is religion, and another is family culture.Finally, the author points out: it is very important for people of different cultures to understand and respect each other. Thus, a peaceful and harmonious world would be around us! 1. Introduction and analysis of the movie: Before the 1980s, African culture and Asian culture got terrible restriction in UK, however, after the 1980s; a large number of movies that describe immigrants’ life have emerged in f ilm industry in England. Bend It like Beckham† is such a movie, which borrows cultural and racial difference between England and India, reflects how the two cultures co-exist and accept each other in a hard procedure As the immigrant of the second generation, Jess, a girl with talent to be a football player, shows her great admiration to Beckham,hoping, one day, she can play for England with Beckham shoulder by shoulder, while her mother believes that Jess has two great duties in life: to learn to prepare a complete Indian meal, and to marry a nice Indian boy.However, Jess never wants to be a housewife who can only cook. Jess’ love of soccer crosses over into a love of life. She runs onto the field as if simply at play, in her eyes’, football is not one part of aboard culture,but a natural thing in her living environment,however, it was not included in her clan and family culture,therefore, what she has to confront is the strait of the cultural conflicts caused b y two co-existing culture. In fact, â€Å"Bend It like Beckham† is a product of cultural clash.One day, Jess was playing soccer with boys in the park; Of course, an Indian girl should not play soccer at all, since in her mother's mind the game consists of â€Å"displaying your bare legs to complete strangers. † Jess is seen in the park by Juliette, who plays for the Hounslow Harriers, a woman's team, and is recruited to join them. The coach is a young Irishman named Joe. Although she deceives her parents about her join into the football team, she loves them and understands their point of view.The cultural conflict is still upgrading when Jess falls in love with her coach,, which is undoubtedly an earthquake for Indian family, but, at the end of this movie, we can feel hope, the two family members shake their hands together, and Jess’s boyfriend begin to play cricket together. It seems that, English people are being accepted by Indian family. And the old Indian p eople get out from the dark shadow in their heart. Historically speaking, India was the colony of England for a long time, English people usually were gentlemen, but they look down upon Indian people.Jess’s father was a excellent cricket player, owing to cultural diffusion,he lost the chance to play cricket , fortunately, Jess got her family’s support and realized her father’s dream. Then, in the following part, I will give a detailed analysis about cultural differences under the influence of two different tradition and religion, 2. Cultural analysis 2. 1. Culture and family Although, a culture’s core values and world view derive primarily from its predominant religious view and cultural history, the family is the primary caretaker of these views and values and transmits them to new members of the culture.In this story, there are two families, the representatives of the two cultures, one is the ordinary England family, observed from the surface, and it is an open, modern, and fashioned family. However, In this story, Juliette’s mother misreads Jess and Juliette’s friendship as lesbian, so painful that she cried secretly, according to her attitude toward lesbian, we will realize English people is conservative in soul. The other one is an emigrate family from India, Indian parents are strict and traditional, they have strong religious belief. Which indicate what kind of Jess’s family is.As expected, it is incredible and unsupportable for a girl playing football. Family gives children knowledge about their historical background, information regarding the permanent nature of their culture, and specific behaviors, customs, traditions, and language associated with their ethnic or cultural group. In short, the family tells us, and others, who we are and what groups we are part of. ( K. A. Ocampo, 1993, 106). So next, I will render the different interaction pattern in English family and Indian family from two aspects: g ender role and individualism- collectivism 2. . 1. gender role In India, males are usually considered the superior sex, as Samovar points out, men make most of the important decisions, inheriantance is through the male line, and a woman lives in her husband’s village after she marries. (Samovar, 2000,). Therefore, in India, boys give much freedom of expression than the girls, and girls are asked to help with the chores that keep the family functioning. However, in British, women usually have the equal right as man does in family life, even in social activity. 2. 1. 2. ndividualism and collectivism Individualism and collectivism are learned through the family, which teaches children whom they must obey and who the dominant figures are in their life. In this movie, the Juliette from English nuclear family is much more self-reliant and self-responsible than Jess who from Indian Family, because, India is a typical country of extended family, people in India, share property, all m aterial possession, food, work and love, perform religious rituals together, and often live under the same roof.There is a scene in this movie: when her sister’s would-be parents-in-law discovered her intimate behavior with Juliette whom was mistaken for a English boy,. Just because of Jess’s so-called â€Å"shameful behavior†, they break off her son’s engagement with Jess’s family according this story, it’s not difficult to get conclusion that India family is a typical collectivism; one people’s thing is the thing of the whole family. 2. 2. Culture and Religion: In this movie, you will find lots of religious elements in the story, to some extent, cross-religious communication is the cross-cultural communication. When religion jumps to life it displays a startling quality. It takes over. All else, while not silenced, becomes subdued and thrown into a supporting role†¦It calls the soul to the highest adventure it can undertake, a proposed journey across the jungles, peaks, and deserts of the human spirit (H. Smith, 1991, P9). So, from different religions, we can understand different people’s spiritual and psychological needs or their behavior and habits, here, taking the Sikhism as example, we will have a better understanding of Jess’s family, Sikhs, followers of the Sikh religion, centered in Punjab State, in northwestern India.Sikhism is an ethical monotheism fusing elements of Hinduism and Islam. It was founded around 1950s, In Jess’s family's living room is a large portrait of a Sikh spiritual leader, called Nanak, but above Jess's bed is her own inspiration–the British soccer superstar David Beckham, and there is a distinctive contrast between Indian traditional belief and modern British cultural shock.According this story, it’s not difficult to get conclusion that it is incredible for Indian people to get married with a pagan or people without same belief, but, in Bri tish, Christianity is the dominant world view. In this land, it is not a easy job to infuse with the native Indian Sikh religion, and vice versa. Conclusion England is the birthplace of modern football game, English people’s enthusiasm to football caused football culture’s coming into being, which exactly stands for the national culture. While India is a country of dances and songs.The scene of Indian jolly wedding with dance and song in this movie is just the epitome of Indian culture. Young people always can accept new things easily, in this movie; it is the two girls who play the role of fusion of two cultures. There indeed are some cultural shocks during people’s communication around the world, no matter which aspect it is, religion, ethnic, family or something else. Now that we live in the same earth, it is very important for people of different cultures to understand and respect each other.Thus, a peaceful and harmonious world would be around us! Reference s [1]. K. A. Ocampo, M. Bernal, G. P. Knight, (1993) â€Å"Gender, Race, and Ethnicity: The Sequencing of Social Constrancies,† New York: New York Press. [2]. Samovar, A. l. , Porter, R. E. ,& Stefani, A. L. (2000) Communication Between Cultures(Third Edition). Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press [3]. H. Smith, (1991)The World’s Religions. New York: HarperCollins.

Case Study of a Cross-Cultural Organization

Organizational Behavior Final: Clayton J. Ollarvia [email  protected] com Organizational Behavior October 4, 2012 Looking into Nestle S. A and its disconnect with Cross-cultural communication and decisions Nestle SA is a Swiss Company engaged in the nutrition, health and wellness sectors. It is the holding company of the Nestle Group, which comprises subsidiaries, associated companies and joint ventures throughout the world. It has such business units as Food and Beverage, Nestle Waters and Nestle Nutrition. It is also active in the pharmaceutical sector.It divides its products into Powdered and liquid beverages, Water, Milk products and Ice cream, Nutrition, Prepared dishes and cooking aids, Confectionery, PetCare and Pharmaceutical products. The Nestle Group is managed by geographies (Zones Europe, Americas and Asia/Oceania/Africa) for most of the food and beverage  business, with the exceptions of Nestle Waters, Nestle Nutrition, Nestle Purina Petcare, Nespresso, Nestle Profes sional and Nestle Health Science which are managed on a global basis – these we call the Globally Managed Businesses. We also have joint ventures such as Cereal Partners Worldwide and Beverage Partners Worldwide.In regards to the operations elsewhere, Nestle USA caters to cravings on this side-of-the-Atlantic, from a child's sweet tooth to a grown-up's caffeine fix. The company is a major subsidiary of Swiss food  giant  Nestle S. A. Nestle USA  produces hundreds of well-known food brands, including frozen pizza (Tombstone, DiGiorno), chocolate and candies (Baby Ruth, Goobers), beverages (Nestea, Taster's Choice,  Nesquick), juices (Juicy Juice), canned milk (Carnation), ice cream (Edy's, Haagan-Dazs), baking goods (Nestle Toll House, Libby's), and prepared  meals (Stouffer's, Lean Cuisine). http://www. hoovers. com/company/Nestl%E9_USA_Inc/cysfyi-1. html Specifically where I see Nestle could benefit from understanding some of the Organizational Behavior practices i s in the realm of (cross-cultural) decision making and in Personality Traits. Nestle needs to recognize how to make decisions based upon more than just sales goals. A common definition of  decision-making  is the process of choosing a course of action for dealing with a problem or an opportunity. Schermerhorn, John R. (11/2011).Organizational Behavior, 12th Edition [1] (VitalSource Bookshelf), Retrieved from http://online. vitalsource. com/books/9781118426319/id/L9-1-1 One of the biggest problems with Nestle is that it is indeed a global company. A majority of the Presidents and Vice-Presidents and senior staff all reside in Switzerland and travel inconsistently to other countries and regions. This traveling issue makes it hard for management to be able to effectively know how to 1. Communicate with others in other countries and 2. Understand the differences in cultural mores from country to country.Moreover things that affect the economy in the Eastern countries does not effect the west. However, more than likely they expect things to work in similar if not the same ways from culture to culture and economy to economy. What this problem lends itself to is a lack of cross cultural management and ability to understand the proper ways to address other cultures. Although those of the Swiss culture tend to be very manner-able and well liked, often times we would find them somewhat unrelenting and slightly rude on conference calls and communications.A large faction of what I saw was miscues from managers not being able to communicate across different ethnic and cultural lines. This was even more evident with regional managers having to disseminate information to retail operations across the border and into other geographies. After going through all of our upcoming TCO’s I would like to investigate how given an understanding of the communication process and given specific incidents of cross-cultural communication problems, I plan to develop a strategy for improving organizational performance through the improvement of cross cultural management process. Nestle should first look at adopting a very extensive guide to cross cultural awareness * All managers should be privy to cross cultural communication programs to ensure compliance with cultural guidelines At the beginning of every cross-cultural management process is an encounter between two or more members of different cultures. In this encounter both participants communicate, watch, and react to  each other’s behavior. This behavior and communication is often not interpreted in the correct way, but according to the cultural program of the observer.Because it is dif? cult to understand the other’s thinking, interpretation is often wrong and does not allow insights into the attitudes and values of  the communicators or interactions. Culture can best be described through three main concepts: values, attitudes, and behavior. All three signify culture and allow us to di fferentiate from other cultures. A survey of current literature consistently indicates that the contemporary business context is globally interdependent and interconnected.It further demonstrates that corporate leaders should provide opportunities for their managers in international assignments to learn cross-cultural business etiquette in order that they will excel in their interpersonal relationship overseas. (Sizoo, 2007, p. 84) Being that Nestle has so many plants, locations and does business in over 100 countries worldwide, one could argue that it would be essential to have multi cultural norms and ethics guidelines. Throughout my tenure, the main focus of the organization was to produce sales based upon projections from Head Quarters.This can be problematic seeing as expectations for sales is not weighted based upon the social economy. Cross-cultural misunderstandings often have some seemingly deep roots. Even if we speak with people in English and communicate directly what we intend to say, the message comes across differently than anticipated. Recognizing the need for a Nestle cultural program would be a dif? cult task. Most people are born and bred in a very particular cultural environment, they can only perceive and understand the world, their deeds, and counterparts’ reactions through their very own cultural perspective.This perspective is a strong ? lter through which most people understand, interpret, and process information in a particular way. And in most cases, these same people do not recognize this ? lter. Our own culture and way of doing business seems sovereignly logical and â€Å"normal† that we can hardly think of a better or different way of doing things and managing in ? rms. I would argue that this view is also true for managers who grew up on the other side of the world; they have their own (very logical and often very successful) ideas about how to do business.A good portion of cross cultural misunderstandings come from how people think and feel about other cultures, which I would argue is made up generally of stereotypes. Stereotypes are generalisations help us to simplify, classify and in general attempt to make sense of the world. They occur when we infer qualities about a person based on evidence of a single characteristic. For example, we may assume that because someone is Hindu that they work in the IT department. This assumption is likely to be based on our previous experience of people with Hindu people or from information we have gathered from the media or other people.The problem is of course that stereotypes do not always apply. It is certainly not the case that all Hindu people work in information technology. We are most likely to hold stereotypes about groups of people who we do not perceive to be like us and of whom we have limited experience. It is essential for a company the size and with as much reach as Nestle to be able to understand the negative aspects of both behaviors of cro ss-cultural misunderstandings and avoid stereotypes and learn how to cross-culturally manage both organizationally and or on the institutional level.I would argue that this means having enough awareness of both their host culture and their home culture to be able to make correct managerial decisions regarding its organization’s work force, its commercial markets, the community in which it operates, and the country, which is its host. A good example of Nestle’s non-understanding of cross cultural awareness is the all but forgotten Nestle Infant Nutrition scandal of the 1970’s. Here Nestle sent several of its work-force into third world countries in order to push their infant nutrition.Now at the time the formula was doing well in countless other countries and was practically flying off the shelves. However, one of the KEY necessities for the formula was for it to be added to water. Being that at the time no one in Switzerland chose to know enough about these thir d world locations to see that the water that they had access to was wildly polluted and all but poisonous to small children. If Nestle had taken steps in preparing managers for multinational assignments, they would have been abreast of cultural sensitivity, understanding the importance of maintaining business relationships, and impression management.They should be informed about the complexities in international cultures and human resources management The way people communicate varies widely between, and even within, cultures. One aspect of communication style is language usage. Across cultures, some words and phrases are used in different ways. For example, even in countries that share the English language, the meaning of â€Å"yes† varies from â€Å"maybe, I'll consider it† to â€Å"definitely so,† with many shades in between. (http://www. pbs. org/ampu/crosscult. html) This theory alone is what makes having a viable and understandable guidelines for multi-cul tural communication.We will admit that the difficulty in crafting such a document would be not only time consuming but also, extremely tiring as in order to create such guidelines one would have to familiarize themselves with hundreds of different cultures at any given time, however I would argue that a successful guidelines would not just solely be based on the specific interactions of each country but instead be focused on a general understanding of how managers and ALL employees should seek to treat each other across local, national and especially international lines.The critical process of making decisions, reaching mutual agreements, and building consensus has taken a new dimension because of differences in business etiquette and ethical practices. Cross-cultural awareness skills and interpersonal negotiation competence are a pre-requisite to effective management of a multination workforce. (Okoro, 2012, p. 132) Cross-cultural awareness encourages the recognition of cultural di fferences while also noting similarities through which communication, understanding and relationships can be forged. The following points reflect the value of gaining a stronger sense of cross-cultural awareness:Reduces misunderstandings and enhances trust †¢ Understanding and trust can be deepened when each government is more aware of how its and the other government’s cultural background influence their perceptions, values and decisions. Aids in planning, setting goals and problem solving †¢ Each organization can plan and problem solve more effectively as they will be more attentive to what is important to them and the other party Communication, though variously defined, generally describes a process by which information is exchanged among two or more people in a given context.Ultimately, this process of exchanging information is bound by a purpose: that is, to reduce uncertainty and develop a common understanding among the participants (Kawar, 2012). Cross Cultur al communication is another area that I believe Nestle could greatly benefit from on a global scale. Not all too dissimilar to that of awareness communication allows you to take what you know via that of awareness and be able to translate those things into how you speak and interact with you clients worldwide.Success or failure in managing a diverse or multicultural workforce largely depends on the ability of managers to communicate effectively with people from different backgrounds and nationalities. International business is the outgrowth of globalization, which is driven primarily by economic interdependency and advances in technology, but the success in global business ventures will be affected by the inability of international managers to understand appropriate business etiquette, customs, and values needed to conduct business among nations of the world. (Okoro, 2012, p. 132)Okoro assesses that management and communication scholars have consistently argued that the success of m anagers on international assignments depends largely on effective cross-cultural communication. Because of its importance, a number of high-growth organizations competing globally make a conscious effort to hire multi-lingual people from varied cultural backgrounds and nationalities. Here in particular is a place of great opportunity for Nestle to grow fundamentally. Having a manager in play that is already familiar with the customs and languages of the area is vitally important to the success and overall outcome of the business.Now the issue comes into play is that while Nestle does have staff all around the world in numerous countries that are indigenous to those specific areas, they still have a strong expectation and in some ways an imposing will on those people. How does that affect the communication process? Well If in any given country it is impolite to wags one finger as they speck yet that practice is customary in Switzerland, that in and about itself makes for very difficu lt deliberations. Cross- cultural communications problems may occur if all individuals within a team do not use the same language, nor norms.In these situations, for ease of communication, the team often chooses a common language that they can use for group communications. Communication differences between individuals can occur on several different levels but for the sake of consistency I will use the finger example I used in the previous paragraph: Gestures form a significant part of methods of communication. However, there are few if any universal gestures. Non-verbal behaviours or ‘body language' vary considerably from one culture to another.For example, a high level of eye contact is considered a sign of attentiveness in some cultures and a sign of rudeness in others. In some cultures individuals are encouraged to express their emotions openly, while in others openly demonstrating feelings is discouraged. These differences in body language can lead to misunderstandings bet ween people of different cultural backgrounds. Norms are culturally defined rules for determining acceptable and appropriate behavior (Okoro) They include those that govern social situations and conversational routines such as greetings, making requests, and expressing various emotions.In intercultural communication interlocutors may be tempted to transfer their cultural norms to contexts that are not appropriate In conjunction with this Sizoo states that, while some organizations recognize the importance of international business, training and development programs often deal inadequately with the potential conflicts that result from cross-cultural interactions. Too often this training addresses only the cognitive level–focusing on the dos and don’ts. When managers pursue careers in international business they must prepare for a life in a foreign cognitive, affective, and behavior context.That preparation must include learning cross-cultural considerations intellectual ly, emotionally, and experientially. I believe that Sizoo’s outline for effective communication training is as outlined. I. Cross Cultural Interview II. Handling a Cross Cultural Event With Cross Cultural interviews the gist of it is each participant interviews one foreigner who is from a culture different from his or her own, and whom he or she has never met before. This exercise provides experience and builds skills at the first two levels of cross-cultural management, self and interpersonal.This orientation into cultural norms will help management better decipher different cultures and how to break the ice. I have seen the contrary of this especially within Nestle in the early stages of my career. In two distinctly different interactions with management I was told, once that my manager had never worked with an African American man and that he needed to adjust how he communicated since there may be a barrier between us. In a different interaction another manager, while spea king with an Asian coworker said hey I love Chinese food, can you make any by yourself.Having to initiate and manage an interaction with foreign stranger addresses the emotional challenges of developing cross-cultural expertise. With handling cross-cultural events Sizoo states that, each cultural incident describes a realistic cross-cultural misunderstanding, four plausible explanations for the misunderstanding, and an evaluation of each explanation. In this activity trainees discuss and demonstrate the cross-cultural incidents. The emphasis is on having participants project themselves into the scenario so they â€Å"experience† the cultural conflict motionally as well as intellectually. This type of training could be paramount in helping managers overcome communication problems that may arise while dealing with a cross-cultural organization. I use the example of the formula debacle once again here. I would argue that although no one could have readily predicted that such a t ragedy would have occurred, if managers were trained on how to defuse problems culturally then I would argue that the explosion of public opinion would not have happened.Being amply prepared to deal with cultures is one of the key fundamental necessities of any successful business. Now while Nestle was able to eventually recover if people had been trained in this process a bit earlier than, again perhaps things would not have escalated to the points that they did. Through this process managers would learn how to accept the virtual inevitability of making some cross-cultural errors, but not to accept repeating the errors. They would also learn that errors in appropriate behavior are far worse than mere inability to speak the host country language.The participants further learn to strategically recover in such situations and soon afterwards seek out explanation of their cross-cultural error from a member of the host culture. The key take away with this exercise is that management lear ns how to develop and over time eventually master communicating cross-culturally in hostile environments. Within the cross-cultural news portion of the exercise, managers would be required to find a newspaper or magazine article that describes an American work organization adapting, or having difficulty in adapting, to the culture of a foreign country.Participants present an analysis of the cross-cultural differences to the group as a whole and explain why the American organization was successful or unsuccessful in resolving its cross-cultural differences. This allows for managers to get firsthand experience of a similar company to Nestle (ideally) and analyze some of the struggles that they are currently experiencing. This first hand ensures that managers will be able to not only potentially defuse similar situations in the future but even potentially understand the communication process in order to better facilitate a smoother transition to other cultures.In cross-cultural communi cation, anxiety and uncertainty are heightened by cultural variability. If the differences between cultures are profound, anxiety and uncertainty would increase when members of the different cultural groups engage in cross-cultural communication. In the same way that theories such as The Theory of Communicative Competence (as described by T. A. McCarthy) suggests that cross-cultural norms practices etc should be taught in schools, is the same was one could argue that cross-cultural communication should be taught by all those organizations, similar to Nestle that have offices all other across the globe.With both of these initiatives I would think that Nestle would be able to propel itself by leaps and bounds over cross-cultural boundaries. And yes to be honest Nestle has moved to rectify SOME of the issues outlined in this expose, however again I do believe that there does still exist some behavior and speech that is not conducive to the cross-cultural atmosphere. 1. Schermerhorn, Jo hn R. (11/2011). Organizational Behavior, 12th Edition [1] (VitalSource Bookshelf), Retrieved from http://online. vitalsource. com/books/9781118426319 2. Sizoo, S. , Serrie, H. & Shapero, M. (2007). Revisiting a Theory-Supported Approach to Teaching Cross-Cultural Management Skills. Journal Of Teaching In International Business,18(2/3), 83-99. doi:10. 1300/J066v18n02_0 3. Okoro, E. (2012). Cross-Cultural Etiquette and Communication in Global Business: Toward a Strategic Framework for Managing Corporate Expansion. International Journal Of Business & Management,  7(16), 130-138. doi:10. 5539/ijbm. v7n16p130 4. Kawar, T. (2012). Cross-cultural Differences in Management. International Journal Of Business & Social Science,  3(6), 105-111.