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.