Cross Cultural Perspectives Essay Example for Free

Cross Cultural Perspectives Essay Introduction: The world is an ever changing place. What is taboo today may become a norm tomorrow. There are vast numbers of countries with various languages, religions and their cultural ethnicity. India has been referred to as a country which is a living example of unity in diversity. In today’s age of capitalism and free trade, borders are soon getting irrelevant and people are migrating, more than ever before, to achieve their personal and organisational goals. It becomes all the more important to understand cross cultural dynamics and its implications on international businesses looking to expand in new markets. Why understand Culture? Today we see companies looking towards new markets and industries to expand their businesses. Growth in the west is almost at its saturation peak and developed industries are looking to foray into Asian markets to promote their growth and take advantage of developing economies. There are a lot of constraints in entering new markets, businesses have to understand regional aspects and the environment which govern these markets. There are various aspects of the environment which are Political, Legal, Economic and Cultural. Economic, Legal and Political environment differ in different regions and are sometimes governed by their local culture. Culture in many ways influences and has a major role to define these policies. When businesses are entering new markets they can study economic limitations, political and legal environment. But â€Å"Culture is a man made part of the environment†(Herskovits, 1948, p.17). Geert Hofstede in 1980 explained that Culture consists of shared mental programs that control individual’s response to their environment. It has been very easy to understand culture in terms of Hofstede’s dimensions and compare countries based on these studies. These are Power distance, Uncertainty avoidance, Individualism-Collectivism, Femininity and Masculinity. I once came across an advertisement from HSBC, where in a polish company selling washing machines wanted to know why their sales are highest in a part of India. When their representative visits the vendor he realises that the machine is used to prepare a delicacy rather than washing clothes. The punch line of the advert was â€Å"if you’re going to do business internationally you should be  with a bank that knows about International business† During the 3rd session of Cross-Cultural Perspective we came across a task of negotiation. My key learning’s during this task were that communication style and sharing of information was vital in successful negotiation beneficial for all. We started aggressively trying to force our opinion and make the other party aware about our concern and make them sensitive to our objective. But we soon realised that the key to a successful negotiation was dealing with the other party with co-operation and being sensitive to their needs. This realisation made us reach an amicable solution towards solving the â€Å"ugly orange case†. Hence we learned that a good negotiator should possess good negotiating skills, communication, multiple solutions and also should understand the emphasis of BATNA (best alternative to a negotiated agreement). We also learned about Leaders and their qualities. There is an argument by some that leaders are born, others believe that leaders can be made. I am of the view that leaders are not born but made. I do have certain leanings in terms of charismatic leaders and their family tree, e.g. Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, but to larger extent leaders can be made and groomed provided they have the necessary qualities and attributes to lead and motivate people. During my work assignment I spent a considerable amount of time in United States of America. I was spearheading a transition project which involved training, coaching and transitioning work from United States to India. My colleagues from America were straight forward and direct in their communication. The instructions and information provided by them was straight to the point and often construed by me as rude. I had a confrontation with my co-worker where I asked him to put in some extra hour of work. He was quite direct i n refusing and also went ahead in telling me that this is not the way Americans work. I was influenced by the work culture in India and assumed that it is alright to ask a colleague to stay back a couple of hours after work. In the US, there was a lot of emphasis on work-life balance. Conclusion: Now after getting acquainted with cross-culture perspectives and various theories I have better understanding between the cultural differences of  America and India. I think that using the dimensions provided by Hofstede and theories based on these dimensions we can analyse and understand culture and their dynamics. These will be helpful to organisations entering new markets and regions.

Personal Strengths and Weaknesses Essay -- Personal Essays

Personal Strengths and Weaknesses We as individuals have to realize the importance of our strengths and weaknesses in order to make a difference in relating personal growth. Having different goals, priorities and special qualities about ourselves is what gives us individually. The purpose of this paper is to clearly define each of my strengths and weaknesses and figure out a way to identify my personal strengths and weaknesses. Doing so in order to enhance my learning process. In order for me to improve myself and enhance my learning process. Realizing the need to understand which methods and techniques that will better help me to learn at an optimal level. I think this class has definitely helped me understand which methods and techniques that will better improve my learning process. I also believe realizing my strengths and weaknesses will help me to become more self-conscious and a well-rounded individual. My personal strengths are my punctuality, discipline, and my ability to stay focused among the distractions. Punctuality is very important to me. I make sure to never be late and most of the time I arrive early for my appointments and engagements. I feel punctuality gives employers the idea you are eager and ready to engage in work. Having discipline is the ability to gain control by obedience is another one of my strong strengths. Discipline means having the tools to succeed in life and is something we all work on through out our lifetime. Discipline has gi...

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

A happy farm life, tragic heart break, traitorous family, and of course dogs: the marvelous components that make The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski a true classic. Within this brilliant novel there are of course many memorable moments that leave the reader filled with shock, sympathy and deep sadness. The most intense moment in the novel to me, though, was the death of Edgar’s father, Gar.The strong relationship between father and son as well as Edgar’s muteness makes this moment a pivotal point in the novel, and the sympathy felt by the reader brands this part of the novel as the most memorable and influential moment in the book. First, Gar’s death is by far the most memorable moment in the novel because of how it affects Edgar. In the moment, Edgar is alone and finds his father lying motionless on the ground. He frantically tries to sign to him but there is no reply so he quickly runs into the house.There, he makes a very unsuccessful phone call to try and save his father, and while on the phone he tries to â€Å"force the sound from his mouth† (Wroblewski 123) by hitting himself repeatedly in the stomach. He finds there is nothing he can do and frustratingly smashes the phone to pieces and pounds furiously with his fists on the barn walls to get someone’s attention. During this part of the novel the initial reaction of the reader is pure shock and sympathy, the audience knows that his efforts are useless.It is by far the most important and memorable section of the book because Edgar now has to deal with life feeling that his flaw of being mute is the only reason his father died, and he is constantly feeling guilty and responsible for Gar’s death for the rest of the book. The scene is also very well written by the author, Wroblewski, and the descriptions of Edgar’s attempts at talking are completely impossible to read without feeling empathetic towards Edgar’s situation and wanting to help. Second, the scene of Gar’s death is a pivotal moment in the plot during this novel.Gar is a very influential character in the novel. He represents a strong, stable, life for his family, a role model for Edgar, and the good hero who keeps any evil forces, like Claude, out of their family’s lives. Also, his death is the beginning of a tumultuous fall of the farm and Edgar’s life. Once Gar’s protection is gone, it is just Edgar and his mother left, both broken and trying to figure out how to keep the farm running. Gar was in charge of paperwork and the business of raising the Sawtelle dogs, so without him not only the household, but the business slowly starts to crumble.This also sets off the need for Claude to come in to the story, whose presence causes many problems including ultimately the death of Edgar. Third, Gar’s death haunts Edgar throughout the novel. He always replaying the memory and feeling terrible that he couldn’t save his father , even though it was out of his control. Also, later Claude tries to blame Edgar for Gar’s death, saying it was â€Å"strange, the way [Edgar] just†¦found him† (Wroblewski 435). Gar’s death in the book has a great relationship to the novel because of how it affects the plot and characters throughout the rest of the story.This scene is very effective when being read because of its strong influence on the rest of the novel. First, there is a great amount of sympathy felt by the audience while Edgar makes his discovery and phone call. All the reader wants to do is reach out with their voice to help out this poor boy who can’t speak into the phone. Also, to watch such a traumatic experience unfold as an outside party is absolutely heart wrenching. Second, Edgar’s character flaw comes into play in this moment. This is the main part in the book where the fact that he is mute is a big factor to the novel’s plot.The whole center to the conflict of his father’s death is that he is alone and is left in a situation where his voice was the only hope of saving Gar’s life. Knowing this as a reader makes the scene so much more powerful and meaningful, as well as influential to the rest of the book. This scene is necessary to the plot, because without the conflict between Claude and Gar and Gar’s sudden death, there would be no reason for several other big moments in the novel. For example, Edgar later sees his father as a â€Å"figure in the rain† (Wroblewski 235).This is a major plot twist, because this is when he finds out that Claude is responsible for the murder of Gar. Also, Claude’s relationship with Trudy would not have kindled without the death of Gar. These other moments help to connect the main plot with the plot of Hamlet, a very important connection that Wroblewski wanted to make clear, as well as add the general conflict of the plot of the novel. The death of Gar is the most memora ble part of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. It is the most pivotal part of the novel, the part where everything shifts and begins to go downhill.His death increases conflict in the novel and is necessary in order for other main parts to play a part in the plot. Edgar’s character development is also based on this death scene, and the moment ties his character flaw of being mute into the plot. When the actual moment in the book is being read, the audience is left in utter shock and sympathy for Edgar and the position the situation throws him in. The descriptive work of Wroblewski is powerful, and a permanent image of Edgar hitting himself in the stomach with the Sawtelle’s shattered phone lying on the kitchen counter will be forever embedded into any reader’s mind.

Mass Media Contributes to Vocabulary Building, Influences...

Throughout the course of time, mass media has always been a powerful medium of changing lives. Its influence can be observed everywhere, even in oneself – one’s own personal preferences, the way one perceives things, and even the way one talks have been most likely been influenced by mass media in one way or another. It is the how the mass media delivers their messages which help them make these dramatic effects in their audiences. Mass media contributes to vocabulary building, influences language use and delivers conventional wisdom. The history of mass media is a story of many other stories. Print, the very first form of mass media, started with the development of paper by the Chinese in the 16th Century. Then the Chinese also raised†¦show more content†¦Dora teaches Spanish in the U.S., Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Ireland, but teaches English in every other market around the world. The reruns of the show are forms of reinforcement. For example, during the first week, the first episode of Dora the Explorer will play again and again until it reaches the second week wherein the second episode of Dora the Explorer will do the same. Also, Dora the Explorer includes the distribution of DVDs as part of their merchandise for children to avail and watch should they miss an episode (Rock). Watching Dora the Explorer has been proven effective in teaching vocabulary building due to the fact that Dora the Explorer works on a simple level as an introduction to the Spanish language, rather than as a tool for Spanish language learning. Educators believe that introducing a second language to a child before the age of 6 or 7 is an important factor in his/her ability to achieve fluency. For many of our preschool viewers, Dora is their first encounter with a foreign language. As such, the show might teach them a little Spanish and make them curious and interested in learning more, or simply make them aware of and comfortable with foreign languages (Speekee, 2006). In the academic setting, textbooks are used to teach the English language in classrooms through enriching the vocabulary of the students. Textbooks introduce the topics first through giving aShow MoreRelatedMass Media Contributes to Vocabulary Building, Influences Language Use and Delivers Conventional Wisdom3082 Words   |  13 Pagestime, mass media has always been a powerful medium of changing lives. Its influence can be observed everywhere, even in oneself – one’s own personal preferences, the way one perceives things, and even the way one talks have been most likely been influenced by mass media in one way or another. It is the how the mass media delivers their messages which help them make these dramatic effects in their audiences. 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