Aust. Poverty and Education essays

Aust. Poverty and Education essays Many serious issues face this country today, and two of the most important of these issues are poverty and the provision of health care and education, both in our country and worldwide. Australia is assisting in the fight against poverty in a large way, both in Australia, and on a global scale. Australias has three main objectives in health care and aid. The three objectives are to improve the basic health of those in need, to improve the quality of health service delivery in developing countries and to address the health effects of natural disasters and emergencies. In 2000-2001, Australia will provide over $170 million of assistance to developing countries in many areas around the world. It is obvious that the large majority of human death in the developing world is poverty-related. Australia has been trying to improve health standards and access to basic health services for the less fortunate groups of citizens. Developing countries are generally the world's poorer countries, which are still in the process of developing their human, physical, and technological resources in order to improve the standard of living of their people. Developed countries are the world's richer countries and are in a position to offer assistance to developing countries. Australia is obviously developed, therefore is involved in many foreign aid programs in about 130 countries. Some forms of aid that Australia provides are: Project aid for curing and vaccinating harmful diseases like malaria, improving water supplies etc. , education and training programs, technological aid in the form of equipment and expert knowledge provided for agriculture, industry and other activities as well as food aid, such as emergency food aid given if a crisis is at hand. Often emergency relief, such as food, medicines, shelter materials and clothing are donated to people affected by natural or human disasters, or war, and often distributed by non-governm...

The 5 Secrets To Unleashing The Power Of Webinars To Drive Sales

The 5 Secrets To Unleashing The Power Of Webinars To Drive Sales How many Webinars have you attended? Presented? How would you rate them? Unfortunately, most Webinars fail because they’re poorly executed and take a lot of time and energy to produce. How can you create a worthwhile Webinar? Today, we’re talking to Todd Earwood, CEO of MoneyPath and creator of Webinar Works. He identifies the biggest difference between mediocre Webinars and those that drive sales results. Also, he describes five Webinar elements needed to increase a company’s ROI. When framed correctly, a Webinar adds value for a business. Software companies’ marketing tends to focus on inbound content-related emails and Webinars; Webinars bring marketing and sales together Webinar Works helps companies create unique and different Webinars; teaches them how to save time creating content and make it effective What are you doing wrong when it comes to Webinars? Hook is a dud and you can’t hold that stage no matter how good the content Webinars should include a host and thought leader; it’s a performance, not a PowerPoint, to keep people engaged and take action Webinar Elements: Worrying about the wrong metrics Targeting a niche to build a hook focused on pain Offering polls to engage the audience and qualify leads Segmenting follow up Creating a â€Å"can of soup† to repurpose contentLinks: MoneyPath Webinar Works HubSpot GoToWebinar Wistia Rev Write and send a review to receive a care package If you liked today’s show, please subscribe on iTunes to The Actionable Content Marketing Podcast! The podcast is also available on SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Quotes by Todd Earwood: â€Å"Why are the big SaaS companies doing this (Webinars)? It brings together marketing and sales.† â€Å"It’s a performance. It’s not death by PowerPoint.† â€Å"I think the #1 thing that everyone’s getting wrong on Webinarswe’re worried about the wrong metrics.† But as real marketers, targeting real businesses and real customers, I think we can influence our thought leadership content with a little bit of sales strategic decisions that actually get both parties to win.

Pharmacology ( Paramedic ) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Pharmacology ( Paramedic ) - Essay Example the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of Ipilimumab as obtained from a similar research, the cost effectiveness of ipilimumab was found to be $78,218 per life year gained (Barzey et al. 2012, p. 73). This means that the ipilimumab is more cost effective. Adrenergic drugs are the pharmacological compounds that stimulate adrenergic nerves directly. They do this by mimicking the action of epinephrine or adrenaline in the body or stimulating their release. These drugs are used I treatment of life-threatening disorders including asthma, cardiovascular conditions such as cardiac arrest and in allergic reactions. Adrenergic receptors are widely distributed in the body and these drugs act on these receptors. However, their selectivity determines the receptors that the drug group will act on and hence the efficacy and side effects. There are two major groups of adrenergic receptors, which are alpha-receptors and beta-receptors. Those that act selectively on alpha-receptors are associated with constriction of blood vessels especially in the bronchial mucosa and relaxation of gastrointestinal smooth muscles. Those that are beta selective relax bronchial smooth muscles and dilation of bronchi. The beta-adrenoceptors also increase the heart rate and contractility of the heart. This means that using a drug such as salbutamol, which is a beta-adrenergic receptor agonist in asthma will be effective in causing dilation of the bronchi and hence relieve of symptoms. In addition, the drug will cause a considerable increase in heart rate and heart contractility as side effects due to its action on the heart muscles (Baker 2010, pp 1048-1061). The enzyme phosphodiesterase-5 is responsible for the degradation of cGMP in the smooth muscles of small blood vessels especially in the corpus cavernous of the penile shaft. The enzymes are also present in the arterial smooth muscles of the lungs. Inhibitors of this enzyme relieve erectile dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension. Since

The Role of Nursing Theory in Research and Practice Essay

The Role of Nursing Theory in Research and Practice - Essay Example This theory explains the reason that the patients environment is important due to its effect and affectation to a person’s health in a positive or a negative way—attributed with diseases. Providing a therapeutic environment is viewed essential for a person to heal himself (Chen, n.d.). Some examples of the environmental factors affecting health according to Nightingales theory are fresh air, pure water, sufficient food and appropriate nutrition, efficient drainage, cleanliness, and light or direct sunlight. If any of these factors is lacking, it can delay the patients recovery. Nightingale also emphasized providing a quiet, warm environment for patients to recover in. The theory also calls for nurses to assess a patients dietary needs, document food intake times, and evaluate how the patients diet affects his or her health and recovery (â€Å"Florence Nightingale,† 2011) The Nightingale’s concept views a person to have reparative powers and can be affected by the environment. Health on the other hand is the utilization of the person’s power to maintain well-being and is affected by the environment through the utilization of the nursing process by providing fresh air, warmth, cleanliness, and proper diet to facilitate person’s reparative process. The goal of nursing is to put the patient in the best possible condition in order for nature to act. The advent of nursing theories benefited the whole healthcare system by virtue of guidance in the nursing practice through research and empirical studies. Aggleton and Chalmers cited that practicing within the scope of nursing without a theory to underpin is an empty approach often described as ‘practicing in the dark’ (1986 as cited by Mckenna, 1997, p108). Nursing theories therefore provides nursing practice with a systematic basis for assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation offering a way of revitalization (Mckenna, 1997, p. 108) As a guide to

Ethical Leadership Martin Luther King Jr Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Ethical Leadership Martin Luther King Jr - Essay Example Ethical leadership is about the quality of a leader to fight for the ethics which is applicable for everybody. This is really shown in the life of Martin Luther King Jr., whose says that "In struggling for human dignity the oppressed people of the world must not allow themselves to become bitter or indulge in hate campaigns. To retaliate with hate and bitterness would do nothing but intensify the hate in the world. Along the way of life, someone must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate. This can be done only by projecting the ethics of love to the center of our lives" "There are two types of laws: there are just laws and there are unjust laws...What is the difference between the two...An unjust law is a man-made code that is out of harmony with the moral law. The ultimate test of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and moments of convenience, but where he stands in moments of challenge and moments of controversy." (quietspaces.com n.pag) His purpose in life was to give the true meaning of freedom and he had taken the path of non-violence to achieve it. He had studied the life great leader Mahatma Gandhi, who also achieved freedom for his nation through the means of nonviolence. With this ethical means he fought against discrimination and racialism particularly, towards the black or the Negro community in United States. He fought for their rights by telling the suppressing community the true meaning of freedom that is equality in all human being without the discrimination in color of skin. Martin Luther King even while he was a student he was known for his leadership qualities and was rewarded several times. He was elected president of the senior class and delivered the valedictory address; he won the Pearl Plafker Award for the most outstanding student; and he received the J. Lewis Crozer fellowship for graduate study at a university of his choice. Dr. King was awarded honorary degrees from a number of colleges and universities in the United States and several other foreign countries (Brown et al. n.pag 2006). Martin Luther King also followed his father's and grandfather's steps and entered the Christian ministry. He was ordained in February 1948 at the age of nineteen at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia and became Assistant Pastor of Ebenezer. Soon after the completion of his studies at Boston University, he accepted the call of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama (Brown et al. n.pag 2006). Psychological research has discovered the following positive personality variables associated with strong leadership includes warmth, friendliness, self-confidence, ability to stand up to pressure. These researches have also found that the absence of the negative qualities of arrogance, hostility, boastfulness, egotism, and passivity are correlated with positive leadership (Romney, 1996). If we look into the life of King, it can be said that he is among the top leaders of the world. He was always a strong worker for civil rights for members of his race as a member of the executive committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The Montgomery Bus Boycott, in 1955 led by King lasted for 382 days and was among ones in which he was arrested, his home was bombed, he was subjected to personal abuse. King was arrested during this campaign, which ended with a United States Supreme Court decision

Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions Theory

Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions Theory In the past decade of increased globalization and diversity, business across borders has increased. Although cross border business faces a lot of challenges not only from the political and socio economic paradigm but also from culture (Porter, 1990). National culture has gained importance, as it is significant in managing global operations. Multinational business strategy research has long acknowledged the importance of national cultural characteristics as determinants of management behavior (Cheng, 1989; Rosenweig and Singh, 1991). So now, what is culture? It is true that no two human would know the same things but they often have great deal of knowledge in common. This common knowledge or collective memory to a large extent make people work together, communicate and live together. This forms communities and if shared among enough people in a country, its characteristics are called national culture. The common knowledge constitutes one of the elements which make national culture uni que (The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, 2nd edition, revised and updated, by E. D. Hirsch, Jr., and James Trefil, is reviewed). There are a lot of theories that attempt to explain culture like the ones proposed by Fons Trompenaar, 1993; Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck, 1961, Edward T.Hall but Geert Hofstedes Cultures consequences has been remarkably influential and his work has provided the foundation for many studies on, intercultural relations (Hart, 1999), cross-cultural management control systems design (Harrison McKin- non, 1999), international business research (Chandy Williams, 1994), and psychology (Baskerville, 2003; Oyserman, Coon, Kem- melmeier, 2002; Schimmack, Oishi, Diener, 2005; Triandis, 2004), most often seeking to determine how differences on cultural dimensions (i.e., power distance, individualism, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity) impacted work related values and behavior. (National Culture, Leadership and Citizenship: Implications for Cross-cultural Management, p 78) According to Geert Hofstede the culture is defined as collective programming of mind and explains that it lies between human nature on one side and individual personality on the other (Hofstede, 1991). Hofstedes cultural framework has been applied in a wide variety of contexts and his work has gained great support and is of prime importance to many researchers in various disciplines. As stated by Baskerville, Cultures Consequences demonstrates an average of 94 citations per annum in the last 18 years. Part of this level of usage appears to reflect efforts of researchers unaware of debates concerning the legitimacy of Hofstedes dimensions (R.F.Baskerville, 2003). So huge is the acceptance of hofstedes work. Geert Hofstede an expert of studies in culture from Netherland developed a cross- culture model. The five dimensions of culture are defined as follows Power Distance: the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) expect and accept that power is distributed unequally (Hofstede, 1991: 28; Hofstede Peterson, 2000: 401). Uncertainty Avoidance: intolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity (Hofstede, 1991: 113; Hofstede Peterson, 2000: 401). Individualism versus Collectivism: the extent to which individuals are integrated into groups (Hofstede, 1991: 51; Hofstede Peterson, 2000: 401). Masculinity versus Femininity assertiveness and competitiveness versus modesty and caring (Hofstede, 1991: 82-3, 1998b; Hofstede Peterson, 2000: 401) (McSweeney, 2002) Hofstede defined culture as a Collective programming of mind, his concept of culture promotes an image of the individual as merely a passive carrier of a predetermined cultural template (Ailon, 2007; Ailon -Souday Kunda, 2003). As much as Hofstedes work has been universally accepted as I was researching I came across a number of critics for his work (e.g Galit Ailon (2008); R.F.Baskerville (2003); McSweeney (2002)). It was then it dawned on me the validity of the theory that even I had used in my graduate dissertation like an unquestionably acceptable principle. As G.Ailon (2008) stated it is not he (Hofstede), the individual, who is of interest here; instead,the discursive practices that governed his text that predominated and ran through him (Foucault, 1972: 139)that are of interest. So here I am going to critically evaluate his theory within a certain degree of my personal understanding of it although heavily relying on the articles of McSweeney and Galit ailon. A significant aspect of national culture research of Hofstede is the transparency with which he related the cultural dimensions with other studies of country or national differences for the purposes of making international comparisons. Each of the dimensions of index was compared to seven other national measurements: GNP, latitude, economic growth, population size and growth, population density and organization size. So the socio economic data used by him does describe cultural dimension rather the historical origins of nations. (R.F.Baskerville, 2003). His study comes to show that a nations attributes are culturally influenced. And most of the critiques have remarkably questioned the simplest of facts that many have failed to think. As Mikael Sondergaard puts it , most of the debate on hofstedes work has been on the following aspects of his study: surveys are inappropriate instruments to measure culture unit of analysis of nations is not the best unit suited for studying culture One company cannot provide information about the entire nations culture IBM data is old and obsolete Four dimensions cant tell the whole story (http://geert-hofstede.international-business-center.com/Sondergaard.shtml). I am going to be discussing the above mentioned in detail now, though Hofstedes work has entailed substantial contribution in the field of cultural studies there are some pertinent issues that leaves doubt on the validity of the typology produced by him. It is not possible for national culture to be uniform, there is considerable diversity. An assumption of a homogeneous culture can only be made by assuming that culture is coherent, pure, stable, and nothing external like other cultures and non cultural factors influence a national culture.(McSweeney, Forthcoming) Which is hard to believe in reality because when a number of cultures and subcultures co-exist it is impossible for it remain independent and completely uninfluenced by the other. Otherwise we have to consider cultures as being tough enough to withstand any attempts to change them. Some of the issues are discussed in the due course. The surveys were the backbone of the study. The surveys were carried out on 40 IBM subsidiaries around the world between 1964 and 1973 and used about 117000 questionnaires. Most of the researchers state that a survey is not an appropriate instrument for accurately determining and measuring cultural disparity. This is especially apparent when the variable being measured is a value which culturally sensitive and subjective (Schwartz, 1999). Two surveys were carried out and results are a combination of responses from both the surveys. A closer examination revealed that not all questionnaires were used and that the average number per country was small and sometimes evens a minuscule. In only six countries () the number of respondents were more than 1000 and in Pakistan was only 70 The narrowness of the Hofstede surveyed research population radically compounds the scale problem (McSweeney, 2002). This leads to a doubt in the statistical integrity of the results obtained from the survey. A s Schwartzs (1992) puts it that one cannot derive the normative ideals of a culture from the average of individual responses (p. 51). The PD (Power distance) index was based on three questions in the IBM questionnaire. The first question was a five point scale , and it asked how frequently in their experience employees were afraid of expressing disagreement with their managers and second and third questions asked about their preferred leadership style (autocratic, persuasive, consultative, and democratic) and the style that closely matched their boss. G.Ailon (2008) states that in each stage of the research process an attempt of neutralization is visible. This begins with the standardized uniform questionnaire that has been used worldwide. In effect, how- ever, uniformity was, meant ot direct respondents in the paths determined by a Western, managerially oriented research team. The questionnaire coerced a western axis of comparison on non-western cultures. It had a egalatarian portrayal of western culture and ignored racial and colonial inequalities and defined racial power distance under uncertainity avoidance. Th is fact, enabled a country like South Africa due to apartheid to be represented in the sample by white respondents only whether partial in terms of population sample, questionnaire content, or both, it constituted a political act that, however unwittingly, neutralized racism and colonialism by excluding them from measurement.Hofstede also tried to neutralize certain aspects of the dimension by universalisation, stating that Hierarchial inequality is something we inevitably find, the essence of organsation and so the choices given on the questionnaire was already based on the notion of its universal inevitability thereby trapping the respondent in an invisible way to positively answer the neutrality and inevitability of the managerial power.(G.Ailon, 2008).Though they had choices , and their answers did vary, these were again manipulated and labeled in such a way that hofstede tried to expropriate the meaning of the answers from his respondents, claiming, in so many words, that anyth ing they said proves his point-using their voices to turn his hypotheses into axioms (G.Ailon, 2008). The large power distance in France and Belgium (which were exceptions in Nordic, Anglo, Germany) he attributed to the cultural inheritance of Roman empire, likewise the small power distance in Pakistan he attributes to their Islamic religious background and belief that all are equal in the eyes of god. He used such exemptions to justify his claim that small PD countries are economically developed, large PD countries are less developed or developing.(Ailon.G, 2002). It emphasizes that those from small power-distance cultures are likely to accept responsibility, while those from large power-distance cultures are likely to be more disciplined (Triandis, 1993) The Uncertainty Avoidance (UA) index was based on three questions again and they were related to the frequency of nervousness and tension at work, the second was How long do you think you will continue working for this company? Please indicate the extent to which you personally agree or disagree . . . [that] company rules should not be bro- ken- even when the employee thinks it is in the companys best interest (Hofstede, 1980:76 -77, 405, 408 409). Hofstedes book states those in weak uncertainty-avoidance cultures may be very high in basic innovations, while those in strong uncertainty-avoidance cultures may triumph in precision manufacturing. (Triandis, 1993) Though Hofstede admits that better indicators could have been developed in ascertaining the UA, because it wasnt a familiar concept when they developed the IBM questionnaires, he very strongly and emphatically links a high UA to a number of socio-psychological tendencies. (G.Ailon, 2008) low UA, for example, is suggested to result from advanced modernization; older democracies; dense populations in poor countries and sparse populations in wealthy countries; tolerant religions that stress relativity; historical events marked by less legislation and more settlement of disputes by negotiation and/or conflict, as opposed to mere inheritance of developed systems of legislation; low mean age of population leaders; and smaller organizations (1980: 185). The suggested consequences of low UA include slower economic growth after World War II, weaker nationalism, less aggressiveness versus other nations, looser societies, stronger feelings of citizen competence, a casuistic approach to legal is sues, a stronger accent on lay competences as expressed by having more nurses per doctor, more religious tolerance, pragmatic or introvert meditative religions, rel- ativism, empiricism rather than theoricism in social sciences, more ambitious employees, managers who are more involved in strategy issues, and so forth (1980: 186-187). He is just forcing people to envision a world where everything is interconnected through simple logic (G.Ailon, 2002). At a point Hofstede states people from lower UAI cultures will tend to do better in cross-cultural contacts (1980: 398), I doubt this as it is something that is related to individuals personal communication skills and doesnt matter if he were from a country with a low UA index. Hofstede justifies the power of managers with a western background that they have a low UA and Small PD and so they are most suited for strategic and cross cultural management. So is that only the western managers have this skill which they imbibed from culture a nd their counterparts around the world lack this vital skill. (G.Ailon, 2008) The Individualism (IDV) index was based on work goal questions in which the respondents were asked to rate the importance of a variety of statements, in which high IDV were attributed to giving importance to doing a job leaving out personal and leisure time and, low IDV were attributed to having good physical skills and training opportunities at work. These tried to assess a person independence from organization and second to assess what the individual expected from the organization. (G.Ailon, 2008) As McSweeney put it power distance and individualism and collectivism were statistically identified by him only in nationally averaged data. At the level of individuals, they had near- zero inter-correlations (Bond, 2002; Schwartz, 1994) for those dimensions and thus no explanatory power at that level. Hofstede states that those from high-collectivism cultures may show employee commitment, while members of organizations from high-individualism cultures can profit from management mobility . Hofstedes book states that those from cultures high in femininity may be able to provide personal services, custom-made products, and be especially successful in biochemistry, while those in masculine cultures may excel in mass production, efficiency, heavy industry, and bulk chemistry; The masculinity index like the IDV was also based on work goal question and it attempted to measure the extent to which respondents endorsed ego goals (related to earnings and advancement) and social goals (related to cordial relations at work place and a friendly atmosphere). This index is based on the universal dissection relating to sexual character and goals, in which men are more assertive and tough and women are more nurturing and Tender. He states that the distribution of labor is affected by the goals of the organization. This according to me is true but he also goes to say that business organizations have goals of achievement which relates to the masculine index and it is not surprising they are run by men and their climate is set by men, which I as a girl would detest. Not just from a point of defending my own sex but from the common world examples, A study organized by the Finnish Business and Policy stated, Companies managed by women are on average ten per cent more profitable than those with a man as CEO. The study was conducted on atleast 14000 limited liability finish companies in 2003. (http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Study+companies+managed+by+women+more+profitable+than+those+run+by+men/1135230562325). Even in a country like US which has a fairly good masculinity index of 62, You have companies form the fortune 500 like yahoo, pepsico, New York Times and Kraft foods that are run by women ceos so it doesnt necessarily mean one has to be a man to be the big boss. Though national culture is not theorized as the only culture or a totality of cultures, within a nation, but by definition it culturally distinguishes the members of one nation from another. (McSweeney, 2002). Hofstede says that each country has a unique culture. I would slightly differ from that opinion, because that sort of unique cuture may be attributed to the cultural heritage and aspects like performing arts that may vary from country to country uniquely but on the basis of individual attitude and behavior it seems a little irrelevant. If you take India for example, it is culturally diverse and it does have numerous subcultures but the attitude and behaviors differ so widely even inside a subculture. Hofstede states that National culture is said to be carried by all individuals in a nation (1980a: 38) or a central tendency (1991: 253). The IBM survey responses within each country were characterized by radical differences. This now leaves doubt on his assumptions of national culture as being same in all individuals in a nation. He assumed that the average tendency of the IBM employees responses as the national representative. There seems to be no valid reason to prove it due to the complete ignorance on the background of those interviewed, who mostly well educated, middle class The samples for his study was exclusively from a single company called IBM. A study fixated on only one company cannot possibly provide information on the entire cultural system of a country (Graves 1986, 14-15; Olie 1995, 135; SÃ ¸ndergaard 1994, 449). The responses were also from only the marketing and sales executives of the company for which Hofstede claimed they shared the same organizational culture as that of all the other employees of IBM. The cultures carried by each respondent are effectively assumed to be three exclusively non-interacting and durable cultures: the organizational, an occupational, and the national. He assumes there is only one IBM culture and not cultures, which, as it were, possesses all employees and every occupation has a common worldwide occupational culture (McSweeney, 2002). Furthermore, McSweeney also evidences Hofstedes blind assumption that every individual in the company had the same organizational and occupational culture regardless of the commi tment and loyalty each individual had to his organization and also the duration of service by the employee to the organization which are all factors that lead to the bond that an employee creates overtime with the organization he works for. Though after a few years Hofstede did acknowledge that there is a variety of distinct cultures within and between units of the same organization and also redefined his statement on organizational culture so his assumption made in the first study wouldnt be invalidated (McSweeney, 2002). It is not known if the factors he redefined are supposed to be self evident. Regarding occupational culture, as McSweeney puts it, Hofstede assumes that members of a single occupation around the world share the same occupational culture. Clarification regarding his acknowledgement of cultural heterogeneity in organizations is needed i.e. it lacks clarity. Another instance where we might raise a brow is authenticity of replies by the questionnaire respondents, thou gh the answers were confidential, the respondents prior knowledge of the end purpose of the survey might have influenced their answers so as to improve theirs or their divisions position (McSweeney, 2002). Yet hofstedes reliance on his supposition that the answers are immune to respondents gaming and were the pure outcomes of unconscious pre-programmed values (1980a,1991; Hofstede Peterson, 2000). Another aspect is the comprehensiveness of the questionnaire to elicit all the necessary inputs to assess a culture. As McSweeney stated in any circumstance the IBM subsidiary had many nationally atypical characteristics. When initially IBM had centralized control and its US ownership during a period in which foreign direct investment was comparatively new. In instances where working for high technology was rare in third world countries like Bangladesh and India than in an industrialized nation like United states. What happens when countries are integrated, for instance the integration of Hongkong into the Peoples Republic of China (McSweeney, 2002).Does the national characterization change? Does the attitude and behavior of people at work place change immediately? Do we immediately consider a nation with a larger sample to portray the national culture of two countries? Political influences and social institutions, law are the non cultural feature that influence culture in a large way and that Hofstede excludes and denies having a link with national culture. For example, Christmas was once illegal in England, during 1647, during which singing Christmas carols could end a person in prison for almost six months but it was later reinstated in 1660. Dont you think this must have has an obvious effect on the culture (mental programming) that children born and raised in that 22 year period developed. Though this is dated way before the study was undertaken I have quoted it as an example to say there might have been other consequences that might have likely influenced any cultural feature. Hofstede might acknowledge these as exceptions but they have to considered when drawing conclusions about a nations culture. Has Hofstede really identified all the primary cultural level dimensions? Many others like Schwartz have tried to identify some national cultures using different questionnaires and have produce very different descriptions. In fact Schwartz(1994) found seven cultural level dimensions which indeed was acknowledged by Hofstede as simply not being identified because questions related to those dimensions /descriptions were not asked in his survey. Hofstede gave a bipolarity to each of his dimensions for example the individualism and collectivism , but as Triandis (1994) puts it , the two can coexist and are simply emphasized more or less depending on the situation. But Hofstedes dimensions do not consider such co-existence and blindly ignores such important cultural qualities.(McSweeney forthcoming) Another obvious flaw I found on the credibility of his typology is his addition of the fifth dimension: Confucian Dynamism (1991) or long versus short-term orientation'(1999). He extracted this from a Chinese Values Survey (CVS) by the Chinese culture connection group which identified hofstedes fourth dimension (Uncertainty avoidance) as irrelevant to their population and downgraded it to a non universal dimension.(Bond,1988;lowe Oswick,1996).As stated by Mcsweeney(2002) from the wide literature of culture , it is still essentially a thing to be grasped and cannot be described by dimensions and units. Another consideration advanced by researchers is if Hofstedes model reflects the present day (Roberts and Boyacigiller, 1984; Sondergaard, 1994). Hofstede (1980a, 1991) assumes that cultural values are stable over time. But is his work out of date after thirty years? Hofstede claims to have identified entire nations culture and not that which is specific to workplaces (McSweeney, 2002) and Producers of scientific knowledge, it seems, not only misrepresent the Rest (the primary emphasis of postcolonial writing; e.g., Said, 1978) but also misrepresent the West. (G.Ailon, 2008) There is no denial that Hofstedes work has given substantive findings. His findings do tap some of underlying significance of nations culture. However interpreting them and using it to deal with other nations requires a certain degree of caution. Hopefully, these findings eventually lead to a valid measure that captures the richness of the various cultural dimensions and can be deployed at an individual level. Given the diversity of the world marketplace, it is essential for marketers have a proper measure of culture in order to understand consumer behavior. (Blodgett et al, 2008) As McSweeney puts it Hofstedes research can legitimately be called a cross-national opinion comparison only from the point that data from organizations in different countries were compared Culture is conceptualized as a force, as a determinant, but descriptions of it are based on analysis answers to fixed-choice questions.(McSweeney, forthcoming), which I think were manipulative enough (even if it wasnt in certain cases, they were justified by researcher to correlate with his findings) to extract the desired answers of the researcher. It was argued that what Hofstede identified is not national culture, but an averaging of situational specific opinions from which dimensions or aspects of national culture are unjustifiably inferred. Hofstedes claim to have empirically measured national culture differences relies on crucial but unwarranted assumptions. (Mc Sweeney, forthcoming). Hofstede has given bipolarity to each dimensions for example his masculinity and Femininity any culture will present a number of contrary adages (All good things come to those who wait and time and tide wait for none as a part of its repertoire (Mcsweeney, 2002) Hofstede miserably failed to identify that theses bipolarities could co-exist in any situation. Hofstedes replies to McSweeney were evasive and non-adhering to the main aspect of the critique. As G.Ailon (2008) put is If one accepts the framework, it basically follows that one must also accept the logic of the critique. Generalizations about national culture are no good. Him identifying a nations culture with the responses from a very small sample in each country (compared to the countrys population except for those 6 countries with more than 1000 respondents), and also using the questionnaires that werent created purely for research purpose is a very visible flaw. He tried to expropriate the meaning of the answers from his respondents, claiming, in so many words, that anything they said proves his point and used their voices to turn his hypotheses into axioms (G.Ailon, 2008) The analysis throws light on the dominance of western theories, regardless of intentions, it reinforces a certain set of values of managers, Westerners, Europeans while at the same time devaluing the Rest. Though he tried to compensate and praise the east by adding his fifth dimension. I would say Hofstede tried to provide like a Single Magical formula (Elman Service, 1968:409) and easily valued culture using statistics and scientific stamps and Xs and Ys. Just so that this would allow research to be completed more quickly and easily through employment of his prefabricated depictions of causal national culture. This actually in my view devalues culture that has a myriad of ethos. His employment of very unusually sophisticated statistical techniques in the late 1970s probably were a reason for his models legitimacy (Oyserman et al. 2002a, for an overview) To conclude, from what I infer from all the readings, more research is needed to give a tough measure of culture and also identify the shifting cultural maps which is greatly influenced by, and influences, globalization and technology, however this is difficult to achieve and may have temporal value due to the dynamic nature of culture. References: McSweeney, Brendan. (2002) Hofstedes Model of National Cultural Differences and Their Consequences: A Triumph of Faith a Failure of Analysis. Human Relations. 55, no. 1: 89-118. Ailon, Galit. (2008) Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Cultures Consequences in a Value Test of Its Own Design. Academy of Management Review. 33, no. 4: 885-904. 3. Blodgett,Jeffrey, Aysen Bakir, and Gregory Rose. 2008. A Test of the Validity of Hofstedes Cultural Framework. Journal of Consumer Marketing. 25, no. 6: 339-349 Baskerville, Rachel. (2003) Hofstede Never Studied Culture. Accounting, Organizations Society. 28, no. 1: 1-14. Testa, Mark. (2009) National Culture, Leadership and Citizenship: Implications for Cross-cultural Management. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 28(1): 78-85. Jones, M. (2007) Hofstede Culturally questionable?. Oxford Business Economics Conference. Oxford, UK, 24-26. Triandis, H. (1993) Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind. Geert Hofstede. , 38(1), 132-134. In my opinion Mikael SÃ ¸ndergaard on Cultural differences by Mikael SÃ ¸ndergaard.Available: http://geert-hofstede.international-business-center.com/Sondergaard.shtml, (Accessed:2009, December 27) McSweeney, Brendan. (Forthcoming) Dynamic Diversity: Variety and Variation Within Countries , 1-25.

The Effect of Cliques on High School Students Essay -- Essays Papers

The Effect of Cliques on High School Students Most college freshman can still vividly remember their high school days. These days included ruling the school as seniors, or running from the seniors as lowly ninth graders. These days included having lunch with friends, and gossiping in the hallways between classes. Whatever was done, it was usually done with a friend or a group of friends. Most of these groups can be considered cliques. Cliques are groups where there is some kind of common factor among all members, whether everyone is a cheerleader, or everyone is in the chess club. These cliques have their own unique way of doing things: their own table to sit at during lunch, their own desks in a classroom, and their own parking places in the lot. Most cliques also have another group of people that they look down upon: the cheerleaders don’t like the chess club, and the band members don’t like the FFA (Future Farmers of America) guys. Each club has its own label as well: football jock, band geek, drama fairy (The Cliques, 1 Dec. 2001). These labels, as well as the constant name calling and degrading remarks about others not in the group, are to blame for constant fighting between cliques. The fact that some groups hate others so much has left a permanent affect on some high school students, scaring them and leaving them unable to function in society because of the way they were treated in sch ool, just because of what they did or didn’t like. Being a high school student isn’t easy. The classes can be rough, teachers have a reputation of being mean or nice or mean to some and nice to others, and all the while, there’s the question of a girlfriend or boyfriend, who’s having a party tonight, what should be worn, and so on and so on. Adding on the pressure of having to be involved in the right group, and it starts to become stressful. Because if a student isn’t in the right group; then there is nothing to live for. Of course, this is a little over exaggerated, but this is what high school students have to put up with. There is the constant peer pressure to fit in, to be part of the crowd, up until the point where it is almost impossible to be an individual. This is what cliques have done to high schools (Surviving School, 27 October, 2001). They have turned them into places where designer labels rule, and those that don’t fit in, whe... ...cliques re-think their total control of the school. The influence of a clique should be challenged every once in a while (Surviving School, 27 October, 2001). The world of cliques is a dangerous and confusing one. There are good groups of course, groups that help out around the community, or the school, or give some kind of entertainment to others. But for the most part, the average stuck up clique can be dangerous if they are crossed. High school students have enough to worry about, and the clique is just an added burden. Cliques are as much a part of high school as is the English department, but something should be done to make sure they don’t ruin the lives of the innocent who are just a little bit different than those that are part of the group. Works Cited Surviving School. 30 August, 2000. 27, October, 2001. http://www.surviveschool.com. chaotic_2. The Cliques. 18 July, 2000. 2 December, 2001. http://www.expage.com/page/loner3cliques. Marquette General Hospital's Women's & Children's Center. Cliques Power and Pain. Spring 1998. Marquette General Hospital. 26 October, 2001. http://www.mgh.org/wcc/teensite/adults/articles/cliques.html