Evaluate the idea that gender and sexuality are socially constructed Essay Example for Free

Evaluate the idea that gender and sexuality are socially constructed Essay In recent years sociologists have been studying the great extent to which gender roles are learned. Many behaviors that have traditionally been thought to be genetically determined male or female behaviors turn out to be learned behaviors and therefore subject to change in future generations. In a summary of gender role socialization studies, David Shaffer (1979) points out that by the age of two, children have generally learned to recognize â€Å"maleness† and â€Å"femaleness† on the basis of clothing and hair styles. By the age of three, children usually have learned to prefer sex-typed toys and recognize that girls become â€Å"mommies† and boys become â€Å"daddies†. By school-age, children realized that they are expected to engage in appropriate gender behavior and if they do not, they will meet with disapproval from other children and adults. Many sociologists have personally questioned the value of such early gender-role learning and raised questions about how this learning can inhibit later opportunities in terms of education and career selection (Howe, 1979). To understand how gender and sexuality are socially constructed we must look at the adaptive and functional nature of socialization. One can look at the content of socialization as adaptive for the individual and functional for the society. As adaptive for the individual, the content of socialization involves knowledge necessary for individual to adapt to the changing situation of their daily lives, while, as a function for society, the content of socialization involves the knowledge necessary for its members to maintain a society as an ongoing entity. Knowledge of social rules, appropriate emotional behavior, social situations, technical knowledge, one’s self-identity, and communicative abilities give individuals an ability to adjust their behaviors to one another in the different groups and situations in which they encounter each other. Such adjustments are necessary for the ongoing existence of a society. Only people know how to adjust their behaviors to each other can the group activities and relationships which make up a society be maintained. Only with a socialized adult population can anything such as a society be said to exist. The particular content of socialization becomes highly important in terms of the make-up of the society that one is observing. If the content of socialization were to change, people’s activities and motivations would change, and clearly the society would change. So, on a sociological quest the content of socialization is something to which the sociologist should and must pay attention (O’Brien, 2001). Charles H. Cooley (1964), a pioneer of American socialization studies, referred to an individual’s self-concept as a â€Å"looking-glass self†. Cooley implied that our self-conceptions reflect our interpretation of the relations to our behavior of those around us with whom we interact. According to Cooley, we not how others respond to our actions, which produces in us a feeling about ourselves, which influences how we perceive ourselves. For instance a person who drops something and overhears another’s remark about how clumsy he is, may come to think of himself as a clumsy individual. We come to think of ourselves in terms of our understanding of how others think about us. It is through interaction that we come to apply to ourselves such labels as â€Å"kind† or â€Å"mean†, â€Å"awkward† or â€Å"graceful†. To see oneself as beautiful is to interact with persons who see you as meeting the criteria of beauty. Whether one sees oneself as an ugly duckling or a beautiful swan depends upon the flock with which one swims. As a naturalistic and empirical quest for understanding the various aspects of social reality is that everyone both influences and is influenced by society, sociology is ultimately a quest for self understanding. Humans beings are not isolated entities; we are not hermits who live apart uninfluenced by one another. Rather, we are social beings who can only be fully understood when the social context of our actions are taken into account and carefully studied. In order to carry out the quest for sociological knowledge it is necessary to have an understanding of the types, uses and limitations of the various sociological tools or methods. The sociological quest can be the appropriate sociological map or theory (Shaffer, 1979). Now I want to look at social life as a process and structure in the social construction of gender and sexuality. Social life involves processes of socialization, culture, and deviance. Learning how to act in society via socialization, developing and sharing of orientations toward social life via culture, and the negative sanctioning of inappropriate behaviors via the labeling process of deviance are universal processes, which are necessary to social life, and found in all societies. Although their particular make-up will vary from society to society, these three processes exist in all human societies. But, in addition to these processes, there also exists in all societies some relatively permanent patterns of organized social life that sociologists refer to as social structures. It is within and through social structures that the processes of socialization, culture and deviance take place. Just as the processes of human life take place in the structure of the human body so, too, the processes of society take place within and are influenced by social structures (Macionis, 1997). The most basic social structure around and through which social life takes place are groups; groups range in size from relatively small informal groups such as families, to large bureaucracies and formal organizations such as businesses and governmental agencies. All groups are composed of members who have met certain criteria for membership, who play certain understood roles in the group, and who have a sense of group belonging, which is sometimes termed a â€Å"we-feeling† or a â€Å"consciousness-of –kind†. Groups, related to one another in terms of their performing similar social activities, together from the social structures called social institutions. For example all the groups primarily involved in educational activities together form a society’s educational institution. It is through and in groups, and the institutions that they compose that the basic social processes of a society take place. It is in social groups that the learning of socialization takes place that cultural roles are shared and acted upon, and that deviance is ascertained and punished. People know how to perform roles in groups because they have knowledge of how to act which they developed in the process of socialization, because they share cultural understandings with other group members with whom they interact, because they have an understanding of what is considered deviant and unacceptable behavior in the various groups to which they belong (O’Brien, 2001). When we consider how females and males differ, the first thing that usually comes to mind is sex, the biological characteristics that distinguish males and females. Primary sex characteristics consist of a vagina or a penis and other organs related to reproduction, secondary sex characteristics are the physical distinctions between males and females that are not directly connected with reproduction. Secondary sex characteristics become clearly evident at puberty, when males develop more muscles, a lower voice, and more hair and height while females form more fatty tissue, broader hips, and larger breasts. Gender is a social and not a biological characteristic. Gender consists of whatever traits a group considers proper for its males and females. This is what makes gender vary from one society to another. Sex refers to male or female, gender refers to masculinity or femininity, so sex you inherit and you learn your gender as you are socialized into specific behaviors and attitudes (Gilmore, 1990). The sociological significance of gender is that it is a device by which society controls its members. Gender sorts us on the basis of sex, into different life experiences. It open and closes doors to power, property, and even prestige. Like social class, gender is a structural feature of society. Biology plays a significant role in our lives. Each of us begins as a fertilized egg. The egg, or ovum, is contributed by our mother, the sperm that fertilizes the egg by our father. At the very moment the egg is fertilized, our sex is determined. Each of us receives twenty-three pairs of chromosomes from the ovum and twenty-three from the sperm. The egg has an X chromosome. If the sperm that fertilized the egg also has an X chromosome, we become female. If the sperm has a Y chromosome we become male. That’s the biology. Now the sociological question is, does this biological difference control our behavior? Does it make females more nurturing and submissive and males more aggressive and domineering? (Macionis, 1997) Almost all sociologists take the side of â€Å"nurture† in this â€Å"nature vs. nurture† controversy. The dominant sociological position is represented by the symbolic interactionists. They stress that the visible differences of sex do not come with meanings built into them. Rather each human group determines what these physical differences mean for them and on that basis assigns males and females to separate groups. It is here that people learn what is expected of them and are given different access to their society’s privileges. Most sociologists find compelling argument that if biology were the principal factor in human behavior all around the world we would find women to be one sort of person and men another. In fact, ideals of gender vary greatly from one culture to another and as a result, so do male-female behaviors. For example the Tahitians in the South Pacific show a remarkable contrast to our usual expectations of gender. They don’t give their children names that are identifiable as male or female, and they don’t divide their labor on the basis of gender. They expect both men and women to be passive, yielding and to ignore slights. Neither male nor females are competitive in trying to attain material possessions (Gilmore, 1990). Society also channels our behavior through gender socialization. By expecting different attitudes and behaviors from us because we are male or female, the human group nudges boys and girls in separate directions in life. This foundation of contrasting attitudes and behaviors is so thorough that, as adults most of us think, act and even feel according to our culture’s guidelines of what is appropriate for our sex. Our parents are the first significant others who teaches us our part in this symbolic division of the world. Their own gender orientations are so firmly established that they do much of this teaching without even being aware of what they are doing. This is illustrated by a classic study done by psychologists Susan Goldberg and Michael Lewis (1969). They asked mothers to bring their 6 month old infants into their laboratory to supposedly observe the infant’s development. Secretly these researchers also observed the mothers. They found that the mothers kept their daughters closer to them. They also touch and spoke more to their daughters. By the time the children were 13 months old, the girls stayed closer to their mothers during play, and they returned to them sooner and more often than did the boys. When they set up barriers to separate the children from their mothers, who were hiding toys, the girls were more likely to cry and motion for help, the boys ere likely to try to climb over the barrier. Goldberg and Lewis (1969) were able to conclude that in our society mothers unconsciously reward their daughters for being passive and dependent, their sons for being active and independent. These lessons continue throughout childhood. On the basis of their sex, children are given different kinds of toys. Preschool boys are allowed to roam farther from home than their preschool sisters, and they are subtly encouraged to participate in more rough and tumble play. Even get dirtier and to me more defiant. Such experiences in socialization lie at the heart of the sociological explanation of male/female differences (O’Brien, 2001). In today’s society mass media plays a vital role in gender and sexuality roles. Sociologist stress how this sorting process that begins in the family is reinforced as the child is exposed to other aspects of society. Especially important today are the mass media, forms of communication that are directed to large audiences. Powerful images of both sexes on television, music and the internet reinforce society’s expectation of gender. Television reinforces stereotypes of the sexes. On prime time television, male characters outnumber female characters by two to one. They also are more likely to be portrayed in higher status positions. Viewers get the message, for the more television that people watch; the more they tend to have restrictive ideas about women’s role in society. The expectations to the stereotypes are notable and a sign of changing times. Video games have some youths spending countless hours playing games. Even college students, especially males, relieve stress by escaping into video games. But more studies into the affect of these games on the ideas of gender are needed. Because the games are the cutting edge of society, they sometimes also reflect cutting edge changes in sex roles (Macionis, 1997). As women change their roles in society, the mass media reflects those changes. Although media images of women are passive, subordinate, or as mere background objects remain and still predominate, a new image has broken through. Exaggerating changes in society, this new image nonetheless reflects a changing role of women, from passive to active in life outside the home, from acquiescent to dominate in social relations. Books, magazines, DVD’s and video games are made available to a mass audience. And with new digital advances they have crossed the line form what we traditionally think of as games to something that more closely resembles interactive movies. Sociologically, what is significant is that the content of video games socializes their users. Gamers are exposed not only to action, but also to ideas as they play. Especially significant are gender images that communicate powerful messages, just as they do in other forms of mass media (O’Brien, 2001). Lara Croft, an adventure seeking archeologist and star of Tomb Raider and Tomb Raider 2, is the essence of the new gender image. Lara is smart, strong, and able to utterly vanquish foes. With both guns blazing, she is the cowboy of the twenty-first century, the term cowboy being purposely chosen, as Lara breaks gender roles and assumes what previously was the domain of men. The old remains powerfully encapsulated in the new. Lara is a fantasy girl for young men of the digital generation. No matter her foe, no matter her predicament, Lara always is outfitted in form fitting outfits, which reflect the mental images of the men who created this digital character. Their efforts have been so successful that boys and young men have bombarded corporate headquarters with questions about Lara’s personal life. Lara had caught young men’s fancy to such an extent that more than 100 web sites are devoted to her. The final reward of the game is to see Lara in a nightie one can question that regardless of tough girl images just how far stereotypes have been left behind (Macionis, 1997). Gender stratification gives males and females unequal access to power and prestige and property on the basis of sex. It is closely associated with class and caste stratification and is a related phenomenon of gender stratification. Some but not all societies have men and women as unequal with the latter being more seen. Sexual in equality is characteristic of societies that are stratified in other ways as well. Women have historically occupied a position of inferiority to men in the class structured societies of the Western world. Sexual inequality may sometimes be seen in societies that are not otherwise stratified, in such instances men and women are always physically as well as conceptually separated from one another. The rise of gender stratification often seems to be associated with the development of strongly centralized states. Because social stratification of any kind tends to make life oppressive for large segments of a population, the lower classes are usually placated by means of religion, which promises them a better existence in the hereafter. Gender inequality is not some accident; instead it is the institutions of each society that work together to maintain the group’s particular forms of inequality. Customs throughout history both justify and maintain these arrangements. Although men have resisted sharing their privileged positions with women, change has come (O’Brien, 2001). By playing a fuller role in the decision making processes of our social institutions, women are going against the stereotypes and role models that lock males into exclusively male activities and push females into roles that re considered feminine. As structural barriers fall and more activities are engendered, both males and females will be free to pursue activities that are more compatible with their abilities and desires as individuals. As they develop a new consciousness of themselves and their own potential, relationships between females and males will change. Certainly distinctions between the sexes will not disappear. There is no reason for biological differences to be translated into social inequalities. The reasonable goal is appreciation of sexual differences coupled with equality of opportunity which may lead to a transformed society.

Theories of Firm Internationalisation

Theories of Firm Internationalisation Firms internationalisation decisions can be driven by various motives, taking this into account, discuss in particular the choice of a firm of how to internationalise its production activities in terms of a trade off between ownership and market transactions. After the World War II, there has been rapid growth in international trade in both goods and services, resulting in various transactions across national borders for the purpose of satisfying the needs of individuals and organisations. The result of this global competition has forced organisations to expand their business by finding out new markets at home and foreign countries making them ‘Transnational firms. Dicken (2007) defines Transnational Corporations (TNC) as â€Å"A firm that has power to co-ordinate and control operations in more than one country, even if it does not own them†. Rugman and Hodgetts, 2003 says Multinational corporations, defined as â€Å"A company headquarter in one country but having operations in other countries†. The significance of TNC lies mainly in its ability to co-ordinate and control different transactions within transnational production networks, ability to take advantage of distribution factors of production and ability to be fl exible in locations. The growing TNCs led to various patterns and trends in international business like rapid growth in world trade and investment, cross border mergers and acquisitions resulting in the process of Internationalization. Internationalization is the process of increasing involvement in international operations across national borders which comprises both changed perspectives and positions. (Buckley and Ghauri, 1999) Internationalization is one potential strategy that is being used increasingly by business firms to maximise size of the firm, increase their profitability, increasing their market share and becoming industry leader. It is a major attribute of the current strategy process of most business firms which determines the ongoing development and change in the international firm in terms of values, scope, principles, business ideas, action orientation, nature of work and converging norms. The internationalization dimension is related to all these aspects of the strategy process and thus making the firms become ‘Transnational. In this global competition, it is important for the firm to become transnational and internationalization process focuses mainly on the development of the individual firm on its gradual acquisition, integration, and use of knowledge about foreign markets and operations. (Dicken, P., 2007) Firms internationalization decision is mainly to acquire profits. The origins of the internationalisation of the industry are described by both macroeconomics approach, regarded as a general-system approach which is focused on the capitalist system as a whole, and microeconomics approach, based upon a firm-specific level. In a macroeconomics approach, the expansions of firms activities into foreign countries are explained by the circuits of capital and the theory of new international division of labour. A microeconomics approach entails the Dunnings eclectic paradigm and the theory of product life cycle. As most TNCs are capitalist enterprises, they behave according to basic rules of capitalism, the ways in which firm acquires profits along with various motives like increasing their market share, becoming industry leader or simply making firm bigger. But above all, the most important factor for internationalization is the pursuit of profits. In this competitive economy, competition b etween firms is becoming increasingly global and much more volatile not just confining them to national level but with firms across the world. Thus TNCs simply explain the need for internationalization at macro level in pursuit of profits and performance better in the global competitive economy. (Dicken, P., 1992) The new international division of labour, proposed by Stephen Hymer, is used to explain the shift of industrial production from the core (the industrialised countries) to the periphery (the developing countries). Firms in developed countries due to increasing wages in their home countries are forced to seek the alternative locations providing cheap labour, which are the third world countries. Dicken (1992) points out that even though this concept has some validity in explanation of internationalisation process, it also contains several drawbacks as it is excessively narrow and one-dimensional and it overstates the extent to which industrial production has been relocated to the global periphery. Micro level approach is an approach to understand the internationalization of economic activity through the TNC which is much as firm specific. The decision to become global firm is made by individual firms or more by decision makers in the firm rather than focusing upon the decisions at capitalist system as a whole like in macro level approach. According to Hymers pioneering study in 1960, domestic firms will have natural advantage over foreign firms in terms of better understanding of local market conditions and business environment. But, a foreign firm wishing to produce in any other market would have to posses some firm specific assets which overcome the natural advantages of domestic firm. These firm specific assets are like size of the firm and economies of scale, access to raw materials, marketing skills, technological expertise, reduced transaction costs or access to cheaper sources of finance, which makes a foreign firm to compete domestic firm in its home country. Hymers st udy expressed that the firm wishing in transnational production would have its own set of qualifying principles specific to ownership which overcome the advantages of indigenous firms in the country of production. (Nilsson, J.E, Dicken, P., Peck, J., 1996) In 1966, Vernon developed the product life cycle to explain the observed pattern of international trade. The theory suggests that in the earlier stages of products life cycle all the production activities of a product is done in the place in which it was invented. Once the product is used in the markets, production gradually moves away from the point of origin to the places with low production costs and high market activity, in order to acquire high profits by the firm. There are four stages in product life cycle: Introduction, growth, maturity and decline. The location of production depends on the stage of the cycle. In the introduction stage the firm seeks to build product awareness and develop a market for the product. In the growth stage, the firm tries to increase brand preference and market share. At maturity stage, the strong growth in sales decreases due to heavy competition between similar products. At this stage the primary objective of the firm is to defend the market shar es by expanding into new markets or low developing countries (LDCs) to maximize profits. In the final stage, due to decline in the sales, the firm tries to maintain the product by adding new features and targeting new markets. (Dicken 2003) According to Dunnings Eclectic Paradigm, a firm will engage in international production when each of the following three conditions is present: 1. Owner specific advantages, 2. Location specific advantages and 3. Internalization advantages. As the three principles are derived from variety of theoretical approaches such as the theory of the firm, organization theory, trade theory and location theory, dunning labelled his approach as ‘eclectic which integrates various strands of explanation of international production. Owner specific advantages or Firm specific advantages are assets which are internal to firm. Every firm must possess certain ownership specific advantages which are unique compared to their competing firms from other countries. These firm specific advantages are intangible and transferred within the TNC at low cost (e.g., technology, brand name, and benefits of economies of scale) which either provides higher revenues or lower costs that can reduce operating costs compared to its competitors in a foreign country.(Wattanasupachoke, 2002) A firm must possess location specific advantages to exploit its assets in foreign rather than domestic country. Therefore the location specific advantages of different countries are important in determining which will become host countries for the transnational corporations. They constitute economic, political and socio cultural advantages which are important factors in the context of transnational production. (Wattanasupachoke 2002) Transnational corporations choose internalization where the market does not exist or functions poorly. There must be internalization advantages to the firm from exploiting its advantages itself, rather than selling them or leasing them. The more uncertain the environment faced by the firm (which may be due to price, quality and availability of raw materials) the more likely a firm internalize its operations. Internalization occurs in the case of knowledge and technology, where many firms spend huge sums of money on various research and development. To ensure satisfactory returns on the investment without selling or leasing the technology to other foreign firms, the firm itself exploits its technological advantage directly by setting up its own production facilities. (Whitley, R., 1994) Under ‘eclectic theory other theories of internationalization are more concerned with the processes that a firm must go through. Sequential theory of internationalization is a process in which a firm enters into the foreign market. It is also called as ‘Uppsala model and the firm enters other markets through four discrete stages: Intermittent exports, exports via agents and through licensing, overseas sales through knowledge agreements with local firms (example franchising) and foreign direct investment (FDI) in the foreign market. Initially, the firm is purely a domestic firm in terms of both production and markets. Once the firm reaches saturation point in its domestic market, it looks into foreign markets in order to maintain growth and profitability. During early stages, the firm does this through exports using the services of overseas sales agent, who are independent of the exporting firm. In the second stage, the process of gaining control over its foreign sales is achieved by setting up its own sales outlets. This can be done in two ways, either by setting up an entirely new outlet or by acquiring local firm. When the firm performs better and acquires good profits, it decides on establishment of entire production facilities with consideration of its favourable factors in a foreign market. Figure1 shows the path of development of a firm in the evolution of a transnational corporation. (Wall and Rees, 2004) In a network perspective, the process of internationalization is like creating new relationships or building on existing relationships in international markets, with the focus shifting from the organizational to that of social. It is people who make decisions and take the actions. The series of networks are considered at three levels: Macro, Inter-organizational and Intra-organizational. (Wall and Rees, 2004) In network theory, the business environment is seen as a set of diverse interests, powers, characteristics which advances on national and international business decisions. At macro- level, a firm has to break old relationships or add new ones to enter new markets. A new entrant finds difficult to break into a market that already has stable relationship. Such firms are able to reconfigure the existing networks, thus more successful in internationalization process. At Inter-organizational level, firms are good in different relationships to one another in different markets. They may be competitors in one market, collaborators in other and ‘suppliers and customers to each other in a third. Thus, if one firm internationalizes it draws other firms into international production. At intra-organizational level, relations within the organization influence the decision making process. If a transnational corporation has its subsidiaries in other countries, decisions taken at the subsidiary level increases the degree of international involvement of the parent TNC, depending on the degree of decentralization of decision making by the firm. (Wall and Rees, 2004) The various theories explain the process of internationalization and results in the firms motivation for engaging in transnational operations. When a firm decides to establish a production facility in the foreign market it mainly focuses its interests in terms of size of the market and availability of requirements which are useful for the production facility. Though firms motivation in transnational production is highly individual, still it can be broadly classified into two categories: Market Orientation and Asset Orientation. (Dicken, 2007) Most foreign direct investment in the process of transnational production is designed to serve a specific location market by taking consideration of market size and other conditions. The goods and services produced in the foreign country are almost identical to that being produced in the firms home country but the firm modifies its products slightly in order to gain the tastes and preferences of the local market. Market oriented investment is a form of horizontal expansion across national boundaries which concentrates on three factors in making up the decision of the location. The most important factor is a size of the market measured in terms of per-capita income rather than in terms of population. For example, countries in Europe and US, though they have less population, their per-capita income is high. Population in countries with low income levels spend larger portion of their income on basic necessities while people in countries with high income levels spend higher portion of th eir income on higher order manufacture goods and services. The last important factor for market oriented production is accessibility into the markets (transportation) and other political barriers. (Dicken, 2007) The choice of strategy for transnational production will be influenced by the reasons for becoming transnational. Foreign direct investment is designed to take advantage of the fact that the various assets that a firm needs to produce are not available in the same quantity and quality everywhere. So, it is important for a firm to consider about asset orientated production when it becomes transnational. It is broadly classified into two ways: Technology and labour. Firm benefits from the production costs if there are low labour costs along with high technology. Variations in wage costs, labour productivity and knowledge and skills constitute asset based advantages to the firm becoming transnational. Once a firm has decided to go international, it takes place in wide variety of ways, most of which can be classified into three broad categories: Export based methods Non- equity methods Equity methods Export based methods for internationalization It is the most common way in which a firm becomes international, by producing its products in the domestic markets but exports a proportion of its products to foreign markets. Exporting is an oldest and straight forward way of carrying international business. Its growth can be reduced to the liberalisation of trade that has taken place globally and within regional trading blocs due to concept of free trade like European Union (EU), NAFTA (North American Free Trade Association), ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations), and APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Corporation). The export based methods of internationalizing are divided into ‘indirect exporting and ‘direct exporting. (Wall and Rees, 2004) Indirect exporting: When a firm does not have any international activity by itself then it operates through intermediaries for physical distribution of goods and services in the foreign market. Initially an export house buys products from domestic firm and sells them abroad on its own account. A confirming house acts for foreign buyers where it brings sellers and buyers into direct contact and guarantee payments on a commission basis. Finally a buying house performs functions in seeking out sellers to match buyers particular needs. Direct exporting: In this form a firm is directly involved in distributing and selling its own products to the foreign markets. It is long term commitment to a particular foreign market with the firm choosing local agents and distributors specific to that market. It allows the exporter to monitor developments and competitions in the host market. It promotes interaction between producer and end user with long term commitments such as providing after sales services to encourage repeat purchases. Non- Equity based methods for internationalization In this form of internationalization, the firm either sells technology or do business in the form of contract, involving patents, trademarks and copyrights. It is often referred to as intellectual property rights and form major part of international transactions. This non-equity method of internationalization takes into forms of licensing, franchising or other types of contractual agreement. (Wall and Rees, 2004) Licensing: It is a permission granted by the licensor (proprietary owner) to a licensee (foreign party) in the form of a contract to engage in an activity which is otherwise legally forbidden. The licensee buys the right to exploit technology and products from the licensor, which is protected by the intellectual property rights like patent, trademark or copyright. The licensor benefits from the licensees local knowledge and distribution channels; also it is a low cost strategy for internationalization since the foreign entrant makes little or no resource commitment. This type of agreement is mostly found in industries like RD and other industries where fixed costs are high. (Rugman and Hodgetts, 2003) Franchising: In this form, the franchisee purchases the right to undertake business activity using the franchisors name or trademark rather than any patented technology. Many firms choose franchising as a means of internationalizing as it establishes firms business in short time with relatively little direct investment and creates global image through standard marketing approach. It allows franchiser a high degree of control and enables to understand the local taste and preferences in the foreign country. For example, Coca-Colas franchising arrangements with various partners in different countries has given an advantage over its arch rival PepsiCo. Franchising also helps in building up global brand which can be cultivated and standardised overtime. (Wall and Rees, 2004) Other contractual modes of internationalization: Besides licensing and franchising, Management contracting is another form of internationalization where a supplier in one country provides certain ongoing management functions to a client in another country. Examples include technical service agreements are provided across borders, as when a company outsources its operations to a foreign firm. Contract-based partnerships are also formed between different nationalities in order to share the cost of an investment. For example, pharmaceutical companies, automobile companies make agreements between themselves to include cooperation, co-research and co-development activities. (Wall and Rees, 2004) Equity based methods for internationalization When a firm physically invests in any another country, it is referred as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The major advantage of this method is that the firm has greatest level of control over its proprietary information and technology. A firm can use different ways to FDI by acquiring an existing firm, creating equity joint ventures, merging or establishing a foreign operation by its own (green-field investment). (De Propris, L., 2009) Acquisition and Establishment of a firm by its own (green-field investment): Acquisition of an existing foreign company has a number of advantages compared to green-field investment. For example, it allows an immediate presence in the market which results in a fast returns on capital and ready access to knowledge of the local market. Also, problems associated with green-field investments such as cultural, legal and management issues are avoided. Joint Ventures: It involves creating a new identity in which both the initiating partners take active roles in formulating strategy and making decisions. It helps to share technologies and lower the costs of high risks in various development projects. Joint Ventures make firm to gain economics of scale and scope in value adding activities on a global basis. It creates a firm to secure access to partners technology and accumulate learning process which is used for more effective future competition in the industry. Joint Ventures are common in high technology industries; it usually takes one of the two forms: Specialized Joint Ventures and Shared value added Joint Ventures. (Wall and Rees, 2004) In Specialized Joint Ventures, each partner brings a specific competency like one firm might indulge in a function of production and other does with marketing. For example organizations like JVC (Japan) and Thomson (France) have been into specialized Joint Venture where JVC contributed the specialized skills involved the manufacturing technologies needed to produce optical and compact discs, semiconductors while Thomson contributed the specific marketing skills needed to compete in European markets. In Shared value added Joint Ventures, both partners contributed to same function or value added activity. For example in the case of Fuji-Xerox, it is a shared value added Joint Venture with the design, production and marketing function all shared between two firms. Merging with a firm: In this equity based method for internationalization, a firm uses FDI by merging with a firm in the foreign country by buying its stake and holding appropriate ownership in the form of equities. It helps to extend its business rapidly and can use its infrastructure and knowledge about local market to improve its market share compared to its competitors. In equity based methods for internationalization, creation of consortium is one of the oldest forms of foreign direct investment. East Asian business models like Japanese Keiretsu and South Korean chaebols are more successful in building cross industry consortia when compared to western countries. Consortium of these types are sophisticated forms of strategic alliances designed to maximise the benefits like risk sharing, cost reductions, economies of scale etc .They tend to have long term and stable inter firm relationships based on mutual obligations in order to be forerunner of technology based industries. The Japanese Keiretsu is a combination of 20-25 different industrial companies centred on a large traditional company where transactions conducted through alliances of affiliated companies. It is divided into two forms, horizontal keiretsu which consists of highly diversified groups which are organized around core bank and general trading company (For example, Mitsubishi, Mitsui and Sanwa). Vertical Keiretsu is organized around a large parent company in a specific industry like Toshiba, Toyota and Sony etc. There are strong linkages between these two forms and the organization is extremely complex and wide reaching. (De Propris, L., 2009 and Wall and Rees, 2004) The South Korean chaebols, usually dominated by the founding families are similar consortia which are centred on a holding company. While a Keiretsu is financed by group banks and run by professional managers, chaebols get their funding from governments and are managed by family members. Examples include Samsung, Daewoo etc are industrialist families and the company keeps the stock in family hands. (Wall and Rees, 2004) When a firm becomes transnational, it has specific impacts on both host economies and home economies. The impacts like transfer of resources, capital, technology, an increase of employment, concerns about sovereignty and trade and balance of payments occur on the host economy. The specific impacts on home economies will be like loss of technology, sovereignty, loss of employment and tax avoidance. Conclusion In the process of globalisation, a firm operates their activities globally and the internationalisation process is one of the primary sites of attention. The changes in the technology in the fields of telecommunications and computer lessen the costs of cross border operations and encourage firms to engage in transnational production activities. Internationalisation is a sequential process where firms internalise their economic activities characterised in terms of aggressiveness and motivated by either internal or external triggers or a combination of both. It is one of the key strategic decisions for firms to maximise or at least sustain profits to survive in the world of uncertainty and complexity. The global economic expansion has been largely facilitated by the growth of TNCs. They dominate world trade and capital movement with turnover exceeding the GNP of some countries. These corporations continue to grow and influence the landscape of the world economy. The various motives for the firms internationalization process has been discussed and the ways in which firm use FDI to engage in the transnational production makes it to compete globally. It seems clear that theories of internationalization make the firm to take up decision to become transnational with each specifying its implications and benefits. Dunnings eclectic paradigm emphasis on OLI advantages, stating a firm will engage in international production when each of the following three conditions is present. The various theories explain the process of internationalization and when a firm decides to establish a production facility in the foreign market it focuses mainly on the market size. Though firms motivation in transnational production is highly individual, still it is classified into Market Orientation and Asset Orientation which states the conditions for the firm to become transnational corporation. When firm decides to go international the various methods of internationalization like equity based, non equity based, export based are used to engage its production activities in terms of a trade off between ownership and market transactions. References Buckley, P.J., Ghauri, P.N., 1999, â€Å"The Internationalization of the firm†, 2nd Edition, London: Thomson. De Propris, L., 2009, Lecture slides on The Nature of Transnational Corporation and From TNCs to global production networks, Lecture 4 5. Dicken, P., 1992, â€Å"Global Shift: The Internationalisation of Economic Activity†, 2nd Edition, London: Paul Chapman. Dicken, P., 2003, â€Å"Global Shift: Reshaping the global economic map in the 21st century†, 4th Edition, London: Sage. Dicken, P., 2007, â€Å"Global Shift: Mapping the changing contours of the world economy†, 5th Edition, London: Sage. Dunning, J. H., â€Å"Multinational Enterprises and the Global Economy†, Workingham: Addison-Weslay, 1994. Hymer, S., â€Å"The Multinational Corporation and the law of uneven development†, in Radice, H., 1975 â€Å"International firms and modern imperialism†, Harmond-sworth: Penguin. Nilsson, J.E., Dicken, P., Peck, J., 1996, â€Å"Internationalization Process: European firms in global competition†, Ed, London: Paul Chapman. Rugman, A.M., and Hodgetts, R.M., 2003 â€Å"International Business†, 3rd Edition, England: Pearson. Walls, S., and Rees, B., 2004, â€Å"International Business†, 2nd Edition, England: Pearson, pp: 34-64. Wattanasupachoke, T., (2002) â€Å"Internationalization: Motives and Consequences†, ABAC Journal, 22, 16-30. Whitley, R., 1994, â€Å"The Internationalization of Firms and Markets: Its Significance and Institutional Structuring†, Organization Journal, 1, 101.

Theories of Culture in Organisations

Theories of Culture in Organisations In this chapter the researcher will provide review theories relevant to the stated research questions. The culture is the important subject that can be explained and defined in many ways. The Hall (1976) explains the culture as a mans medium that forms the human life of an individual. Accordingly there is not one phase of human life that is not influenced by culture. This means personality, how people behaves to others and express themselves, how they move and solve the issues, how their critics are planned and put forward, as well as how government and economic systems are put together and function. According to Hofstade, (1997) culture is the collective programming of the mind based on values. Stark (2001), suggested that diversity not only includes race and gender, but also goals, values, role expectations and thoughts. Thus there is an infinite range of individuals characteristics and experiences that can be labelled diverse. They can include elements such as age, sexual orientation, religion, physical disability, life style, physical appearance, economic status, education, family type and geographic orientation Thomas (1991) credits the emergence of diversity, as an issue, to three factors: the global market which makes doing business intensely competitive, the changing composition of the workforce (Toosi, 2002), and the increase in individuals celebrating their differences instead of contesting what makes them unique. A broader definition and the emergence of diversity as an important issue, helps set the stage for diversity being recognized as a potential source for competitive advantage Perry and Mankin (2004) identified the importance of perception in influencing trust in management. They identified that staff perception of management turnover increases difficulty in attaining employee trust as it instils feelings of insecurity. Lee and Brand (2005) found a positive correlation between perceived personal control over the physical environment and self-reported job satisfaction. They also found that perceived personal control was positively related to workplace satisfaction. The perception of management support will positively impact upon trust. Research has found (Stokols et al., 2002) that greater perceived support for creativity at work is associated with lower stress and greater job satisfaction Cultural diversity has an important place in the communicational problems in multinational or global business. Informing incompletely about cultural structure and properties of an employee group causes wrong estimations in the period of performance evaluation, measurement and, in general, the decision making of management (Akova, 2000; Deniz, 2000); in most multinational or global businesses difficulties are encountered in the performance evaluations of employees because of cultural needs of showing diversity. For instance, Americans prefer the announcement of their performance results directly to themselves, whereas Asians generally indirect ways. Thus, development of a standard performance evaluation system applicable in all departments of most multinational or global businesses would not be realistic (Arslan, 2001). From an employee perspective, research has shown that individuals who perceive that diversity is supported and encouraged in their workplace are likely to hold positiv e attitudes towards their organization, their job and their career (Hicks-Clarke and Iles, 2000). Such workplaces are characterized as having a positive atmosphere or climate for diversity, where this term is conceived of as the extent to which human resource diversity is valued and in which employees from diverse backgrounds feel welcomed and included (Hicks-Clarke and Iles, 2000, p. 324). Conversely, other studies have found that employees who do not feel valued because of their race and ethnicity consider that this negatively affects their job and career satisfaction and job involvement (Cox, 1993) and their ability to interact with others (Kossek and Zonia, 1993). West and Mayor (1997) in their study concluded that characteristics of top management team members affect the organisations capability to seek out and concentrate to compelling information about future conditions and competitive environments. 2.2 Different approach in managing the culturally diverse organization: The basic concept of managing diversity accepts that the work force consists of a diverse population of people. By realising the difference between the employees and if it is properly managed this will become a great asset for the organisation and work to be done will be more efficient and effective. Race, culture, ethnicity, gender, age and disability are examples of diversity factors. (Bartz, Hillman Lehrer, 1990:321) There are many definitions diversity management, but the essence of the concept contents that; Diversity management is founded on the premise that harnessing the differences of a diverse population of people, will create a productive environment in which everyone feels valued, where their talents are being fully utilised and in which organisational goals are met (Kandola Fullerton, 2000:8) Social scientists have been trying for long to identify the relationship between culture and behavior of the people in different regions. In many ways culture is no longer a terminology but it is interpreted as the set of guidelines for a society to live in (Venken 2002). On reflecting on this view the organizations can be viewed as the minor social institution. In general, culture is a vague concept and many scientists have tried to define it in many ways and measurement of this concept related to the definition (Perks and Sanderson 2000). Human resource management have tried to put forward the importance of the cultural diversity in business while the research exists only in the areas of human resource management such as recruitment, organizational socialization and in service training, it is widely viewed that there is a deep study needed in the field of cultural issues.(McGuire et al, 2002). The diversity movement is hailed by many as a positive change, in which organizations voluntarily engage in a process of systemic cultural transformation designed to eliminate any further forms of exclusion. This development coincides with a general change in the political climate seeking to reverse many of the legal mandates of the previous decades, most notably affirmative action. To reinforce the desired state of managing diversity at the organizational level, revised recruiting, appraisal, development, and reward systems, as well as an enforceable diversity policy need to be implemented (Allen and Montgomery, 2001; Hemphill and Haines, 1998; Miller, 1998). Ingley and Van der Walt (2003) have developed the two different frameworks to describe the diversity related to decision outcomes in firms. The decision outcomes can be related to the performance outcome of the firm because all decisions affect how a firm can use its resources to reach its performance goals. Thus, the frameworks can be useful to understand the connection between diversity and firm performance. The first framework in figure 1 shows how the outcomes of the decision process in boards are mediated by varying amounts of diversity. If the board is diverse then the outcome, according to this framework, can be unintended which may lead to the outcome that was originally intended. Moreover, the framework shows how diversity on the other hand can lead to an unintended but a more creative outcome than was intended, or lead to a situation where an agreement cannot be reached because of irresolvable conflicts (Ingley and van der Walt, 2003). The framework has the title Intended, unintended, and realized outcomes of diversity and board dynamics and is illustrated in figure The second framework is displayed in figure 3.2 and it shows diversity related to the strategic context and the quality of the decision process of the board. The framework shows that in a stable and safe business environment, more diverse boards may produce low quality decisions in contrast to more homogeneous boards. The literature points out that diversity in boards suits firms which operate in a more turbulent and changing environment where the strategic complexity is high (Ingley and van der Walt, 2003). The framework can be helpful in explaining differences between industries. The framework is called Diversity, strategic context, and board decision quality and is illustrated in figure 3.2. There are numerous studies that implicate that diversity in firms is a positive and maybe even necessary aspect to consider when the members of the BoD and TMT of a firm are appointed. Five arguments for diversity are presented by Wang and Clift (2009). First, the market is becoming more diverse. Thus, the firms could benefit from adapting to the customers different needs, and from creating a deeper understanding for the market and the customers. Second, an individuals beliefs, attributes and cognitive functioning are varying with variables such as age, gender, and race; this implicates that creativity and innovation is enhanced by diversity. Third, the variety of perspectives that emerge from diversity could lead to a wider range of alternatives for the decision makers to evaluate, which enables them to get a more effective problem solving process. Forth, diversity may lead to an improved understanding of the surrounding environment. Finally, diversity may enhance business in a global marketplace due to the cultural and ethnical dimensions of diversity, thus, enhancing the understanding of different cultures (Wang and Clift, 2009). Furthermore, Martell and Caroll (1995) say that creativity and innovation are closely related to a diverse group of people, which in turn makes it easier for the TMT to be flexible in a changing and dynamic business environment (Carson et al., 2004). 2.3 EFFECTIVENESS OF DIVERSITY MANAGEMEMNT: It has been in the discussion among the researchers about the effectiveness of the diversity management in the organization or business. The researchers and management gurus have argues various benefits of the diversity management of the different organizations that have increased the diversity measures of their organization. But the important parameter to be found is under what condition the diversity measure of the organization at its maximum. According the Haas (2008) the diversity measurement is methodologically complicated. And due to the variety of factors and situational outcomes of different studies are not able to complete. Hass distinguishes three main theories focusing on the role of gender, ethnicity and age factors to find out the firms performance. He used social identity theory based on Festingers work(1954) to study the individuals comparing themselves with the others in the organization. this comparison causes the team members to reflect on their performance level and it will lead to positive or negative level of self image to belong the other group. This will cause to increase the overall performance of the group. This comparison can be of individual level or on group level to increase the performance. The group comparison will make the group strong and it will ease the communication among the group members. Another perspective of the Hass is the similarity-attraction theory (Byrne, 1971). Based on the demographic characteristics the individuals perceive that they belong to similar groups and which nurture the trust, mutual cooperation and interaction among the group. It will lead to the formation of the subgroups thus causing the less functioning of the team at large. The third perspective distinguished by the Haas is information processing and decision making theories (Gruenfeld et al 1996). According to this view the heterogeneity within a group causes the improvement in information exchange and it enables the decision making. Normally the different group members have great variety of resources using more diverse networks than the homogeneous networks would do. It is to be noted that the this perspective pertains with the positive outcome of the diversity where as the other is more looking to the negative outcome of the group structures and processes. In Haass study of diversity and team performance linkage the first two perspective are much more supported by the results of the empirical studies reviewed than the third one. Most of the studies conducted by others gave negative results of the diverse groups and structures. So it can be conclude here that the elegance of the information processing and knowledge diversity perspective is defined by the messy reality and of the interpersonal and group process in the organizations. In other words the power of diversity is meets the reality of diversity of power and interest (Klein and Harrison, 2007). The context of the diversity and the effectiveness is addressed by the Lopez Fernandez and Sanchez Gardey. For this the diversity is defined in the multidimensional point of view associating the democratic diversity and human capital diversity. In the theoretical framework the Lopez and Gardy stress that the diversity doesnt influence the organizational or group performance directly but it is more influenced by the process like decision making process. Also the different configuration of human resource practices may affect the organizational dynamics differently, and at the end the group may have different affects on workgroup performance and sustainable competitive advantages. So in order to extract the benefits from the diverse work force the companies need to strategically place the human resource operations and systems. Lopez and Gardy found three different HRM orientations. The Individualistic control orientation The group development orientation The group control orientation The individualistic control orientation is referring to an orientation which is characterized by the Focus on individuals rather than on the work groups. Rigid control mechanism and little self control within the work groups Strong market orientation for achieving human capital rather than emphasizing the intra organizational development of human capital The group development orientation is characterized by the A strong focus on the work force rather than on individuals A system of open and flexible Human resource practice which allow self control within the work groups A focus on the intra organizational development of human capital The group control organization is characterized by the A strong emphasis on groups Rigid external control mechanism and a little self control Preference for external markets to recruit employees and no stress on intra organizational development of human capital According to the study conducted by the Hardy and Lopez it is found that the individual pattern hinders the decision making process in the diversified groups. The study also conclude that the to foster the cognitive benefits of the diversity, a collective and interactive HRM orientation suffices to benefits from the work group diversity. 2.4 ADVANTAGES OF DIVERSITY IN WORKPLACE: In many ways the culturally diverse organization is considered as the asset and resources. The diverse workforce is increasingly helpful when the organization is practicing new ideas or expanding the business plans, if the organizations are able to recognize the diverse potential on the work force then the greater advantage can be obtained (Iles 1995). There are a plethora of literatures claiming the performance advantages of the diverse work force over the homogeneous work structures (Cox, Lobel and MacLeod, 1991; Cox and Blake, 1991). one of the advantage is the redundant options for the multi cultural organizations in attracting and retaining the best talent. the capabilities and skills of the minorities and women offer a wide labor pool. The organizations that are able to attract and retain the minorities and offer the gradual career advancement treatment in the formal way gain competitive advantage and high quality human resource individuals. Researchers suggest that diversity provides benefits to organizations, including: the capability to attract and keep the best talent available; reduced costs due to lower turnover and fewer lawsuits; enhanced market understanding and marketing ability; greater creativity and innovations; better problem solving; greater organizational flexibility, better decision making; and better overall performance (Cox, 1993; Cox andBlake, 1991; Cox, 1991; Robinson and Dechant, 1997; Carlozzi, 1999; Griscombe and Mattis, 2002; McAllister, 1997; Watson et al., 1993). These benefits have the potential to influence organizational performance and the bottom-line. Also the diverse work force is more important to meet the demands and skills for competing and to satisfy the clientele in the extremely competing global marketplace. Such diverse organizations have a strong understanding of the requirements of the legal, political, social, economic and cultural environments of foreign nations (Adler, 1991). Second in hi-tech industries the wide range of talents generated by the ethnic and gender diverse organization becomes a huge advantage (Morgan 1989). The diverse organization are seems to be brilliant in the problem solving and have better ability to extract the meanings this will help to reflect the multitude of meaning regardless the group thinking. The diverse organizations tend to possess more organizational flexibility, and are better able to adapt to changes. Women, for instance, are said to have higher tolerance for ambiguity than men (Rotter and OConnell, 1982). 2.5 DISADVANTAGES OF DIVERSITY AT WORK PLACE: As in the many system the diverse organization has also its disadvantages over its moderate advantages. In problem solving situations the extraordinary cost in the financial and time resources may nullify the benefits of the diversity and it can lead to the dysfunctional conflicts. Diversity is not suited for the situations in the uncertainty and complexity which may lead to the frustration and confusion. Some time diversity can make difficulties to come to a decision on a particular course of action and it may result in developing the negative synergy and cultural clashes in within the team or organization. Traditionally the cultural conflicts within the organization between the minority and majority groups are solved in the favor of the majority groups this will cause the delivering full performance by the minority members in the critical situations. OReilly (1992) found diversity to be associated with lower level of psychological identification with group members which would tend to detract from overall performance and result in adverse effects on organizational measures of productivity, absenteeism and turnover. Homogenous groups have been found to outperform culturally diverse groups particularly where there are serious communications issues which make it more difficult for everybody to make optimal contributions to the group effort (Sheridan, 1994).The absenteeism and higher turnover are the two main problems identified in the multicultural organizations. Several researches shows that since 1960s the absenteeism among the minorities and woman is consistently higher on absenteeism and turnover than their majority counterparts OReilly(1992). There are also downsides with diversity. Ingley and Van der Walt refer to a study conducted by Milliken and Martins (1999) where some of the findings are pointing on the negative aspects of diversity. First, there could be problems with integration. Second, the turnover of members is higher in more diverse groups. Third, diversity could lead to affective costs (Ingley and van der Walt, 2003). Another issue regarding the negative effects of diversity is communication and coordination between members in a group as heterogeneity could inhibit the effective use of skills and knowledge (Van der Walt et al., 2006). Groups that are more diverse have a lower level of member satisfaction although this effect diminishes when the group stays together for a longer time (Ingley and van der Walt, 2003). 2.6 CHALLENGES WHILE PURSUING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL DIVERSITY Nonetheless the success of some organizations when deciding to manage their diversity, there are also some that have failed while attempting the same. There are several reason to be linked for the failure of in the initiatives of the diversity initiatives. One of the reasons is the lack of top management involvement. The long term effectiveness of the organizational culture is limited in these organizations where the lack of top management initiation mainly predominant (Konal, Prasad, Pringle, 2006). Some organizations are still viewing the diversity in the legal and compliance aspects only and are not addressing the important management/leadership qualities needed for the implementation at the hand. According to Susan Meisinger (2008) many organization concentrates their diversification completely on the issues around representation and compliance. If the organization include the diverse workforce and they use hiring policies that are in strict compliance with the law they believe t hat their diversity strategy is a success. Mullins(2008) also states that the diversity strategies in order to be successful must also focus on achieving strategic business results and look for ways to leverage diverse groups of workers to create new opportunities for success. Others are avoiding to address the specific cultural definitions that are present in each countrys specific needs and develop a diversity strategy around those needs to ensure that the organizational goals will be fulfilled. Another view is the pay for performance developed by the Trompenaars(1994), according to him many managers around the world are in favor of this principle but they translate differently the terms pay and performance. The culture is a time depended term and it will undergo changes due to the economic trends or migratory trends among the others. This will affect the organization and as in like the culture. The cultural values changes as the countrys value changes. This phenomenon will cause the new challenges for managers that needed to adapt their management styles in order to meet the organizational goals. It is to be noted that the all changes in the employees cant be addressed by the management in the same manner. (Cross,2000) While developing the successful diversity initiatives managers may come across different barriers and challenges. Superficial or not properly implemented diversity initiatives will cause the negative affects causing the harm to the organization structure. Mutton and Hernandez (2004) brought some of these barriers after conducting a deep study on a variety of industries and they conducted series of conversations with the participants that shows the barriers to these initiatives. Organizational culture: while trying to amplify diversity issues to all parts of the organization, diversity managers need to carefully explore the organizations culture in order to be able to frame and communicate the issues of workplace diversity in an effective manner. For example, taking a subjective approach while explaining diversity issues to an analytical and linear type of culture, might become a barrier when trying to get the desired point across Middle management and employee buy-in: Lower levels of management and the general employee population do not know what it is they are dealing with when addressing these diversity initiatives, thus resulting in lower levels of buy-in. Kreitz (2008) identifies three elements that are vital when implementing diversity initiatives, but have proven to be challenges for some organizations: Top management commitment The skilled training and breadth of organizational knowledge HR possesses Shared understanding that managing diversity is not an isolated problem to be solved but an ongoing and lengthy process Stockdale and Crosby (2004) provide a list of mistakes to avoid while implementing diversity initiatives. This list is the result of what various authors call, Common diversity traps: assuming that short-term training will be enough failing to relate diversity to the organizational mission and key products waiting to collect all possible data and ignoring employee perceptions as data for taking action waiting for everyone important to be thoroughly behind the effort not paying attention to the impact of resistance people in important positions isolating the effort in one department (such as human resources) or under one person not differentiating between good intentions, usually contained in verbal expressions of support of diversity, and the impact of specific institutional actions that go against diversity not building coalitions and support with different stakeholders who may fear that the diversity effort will not include them assuming that managing diversity is just good common sense and people skills measuring success by the quantity and magnitude if diversity activities and events, rather that the impact on the work and people Tjoswold and Leung (2003) identifies decision making to be negative impacted because of problems with communication in a cultural diverse organization. Since the spoken word is interpreted differently conflict could arise from differences in values and norms. Even written communication is interpreted differently depending on your values and norms. One very interesting finding is from the article Managing Functional diversity, risk taking, incentives for teams to achieve radical innovations from Cabrales, Medina, Lavado, Cabrera (2008) where they have found that the multifunctional teams has some disadvantages in reaching consensus due to the diversity of perspectives 2.7 HOW TO ACHIEVE SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF DIVERSITY IN ORGANIZATIONS Some researchers as well as experts have mentioned different ways that can help organizations success in their diversification methods. Out of the many in the plethora of literatures the researcher found a few that come in line with the research domain. Below the researcher present a few of them which are divided in different categories for the easier understandings. Clear definition of what diversity means to the organization: by this definition itself we understood that the need of clear picture and reason in the diversification process. Each organisation should have their clear rationale in doing the diversity initiatives. As Schmidt(2004) mentioned, organizations should separate between diversification that are based in facing the legal implications and of policy character between those that are really invested into achieving the recruitment of people and talents that they identify as beneficial to the initiatives. Also according to the Helms, Dye and Mills (2009) there should be clear understandings between the management of diversification and the notion of equal employment opportunities initiatives. Stockdale and Crosby (2004) suggest the need of integrated human management systems at the corporate strategy level for the diversification process. Top management support: an effective diversification process has 100% supports from the top management (Schmidt 2004). Basically it is to be understood that there should be strong vision of diversification goals and the ways in which it attains the goals. The goal should be organised to monitor through the top level of management and this support should be consistent in the diversification process and should address the importance of the initiatives. Stockdale and Crosby (2004) All around employee involvement is necessary: apart from having the top leadership support it is to be noted that the support from the employees at all levels of organisation is important in the diversity initiatives. Mutton and Hernandez (2004) suggest that having a strong diversity/compliance professional help in delivering the high level of commitment to the rest of the organisation. One of the other method in ensuring the employee commitment is developing the performance measures, accountability initiatives and evaluation initiatives. Creation of the work groups is important where the discussion about the diversity is carried out and a group leader will be needed to report the employee concern to the top management periodically. This method of employee initiation will help to develop the diversity in to the core culture of the organisation. Assign a reasonable growth period: the diversification cannot be taken from a quick point of view, they should be viewed as the long transformational process instead. The organisation and management need to understand diversification process need time before reaping the benefits can be appreciated. As in any system the integration of new methods and process to the organisation culture will take time. With diversity initiatives the organisation must considered a trial and error period until the stated benefits of the diversification can be found. So this is the reason why the organisation do not give too early in the process of diversification process. Stockdale and Crosby(2004) suggest to pilot and experiment the situations and encourage an environment of learning from experience where errorless implementation is not expected. In general, clear and integrated management practices also can be observed during the implementation of the diversity initiatives. All managers should put their maximum efforts to achieve the vast meaning of what it means diversity. Both the structural and cultural changes are needed to implement the successful diversity strategies. Managers of the organization must execute and follow certain number of processes to reap the benefits of the diversity. Some of the management practice includes target recruitment, education and training program intended for the underrepresented individuals or groups, career development, flexible work arrangement, mentoring, workshop among the others (Helms 2009). Helms also mentioned the other success factor that must be present at the moment of an organization decides to execute diversity. 2.8 Managing Diversity in the work place The term diversity management have emerged in the recent time as a voluntarily corporative initiative directed at the systematic recruitment and retainment of employees belonging to the diverse social identity groups.(Prasad,Pringle and Konrad, 2006). The voluntary organizational actions are intended to develop the greater inclusion of the employees from various domains into the formal or informal organizational structure through special policies and programs. Further to this notion some view the diversity management and their contribution will add competitive advantages to the organizations thus improving its business performance. The managers of the organization need to develop different skill sets to achieve the success of their organization and their own benefits. These developments causing many initiatives can cause the ideal environment that works naturally for the total diversity within the organization.(Thomas 1992). A good practice for the organizations that aim to manage the diversity would be to investigate what are the practices required for a good diverse workplace environment. Taylor Cox (1993) suggests that organizations need to undergo the transformation to accept the multiculturalism within the organizations. According to Taylor the objective of managing the diversity is to absorb the all socio cultural backgrounds to the organizational core culture to amplify the organization

A Murderers Journey Through The Works Of Dostoyevsky And Poe :: essays research papers fc

A Murderer's Journey Through The Works of Dostoyevsky and Poe Some people believe that most murderers have a mental illness which causes them to commit their crime. This belief is strongly disagreed with by the authors Edgar Allan Poe and Fyodor Dostoevsky. Crime and Punishment, â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart†, â€Å"The Black Cat†,and â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† are very similar in this contradiction. Each murderer takes a specific journey that has been illustrated in each case. The psychological make-up of each murderer shows that he is a normal person up to the point at which something compels him to commit this horrible crime, and after that his conscience usually leads to his own downfall. Before the murder has been committed the character is a regular human being. In most cases the characters that end up carrying through with this crime are above average people. Raskolnikov from Crime and Punishment is "... quite an extraordinarily handsome young man..." (Crime and Punishment, pg.21) Raskolnikov is a very gifted university student, with a very good talent for figuring people out. Raskolinikov takes great pride and care for his family. On receiving a letter from his mother ...he quickly raised the letter to his lips and kissed it; then he spent a long time poring over the handwriting on the envelope, over the small, slanting handwriting, so familiar and dear to him, of his mother who had once taught him to read and write. (Crime and Punishment, pg.47) Raskolnikov's mother, who taught him how to read and write did this job quite well. This resulted in a very gifted and brilliant university student. This point is illustrated throughout the novel from the planning and carrying out of the murder, to interactions with the police. The narrator from the short story "The Black Cat" describes his "tenderness of heart was even so conspicuous as to make me the jest of his companions." ("The Black Cat", pg.390) He is quite a regular human being who is "...especially fond of animals..." ("The Black Cat", pg.390) The narrator also has a great wife whom he describes as being quite similar to himself, which shows that he must be quite normal if a good woman chooses to marry him. Much alike is the narrator from the short story "The Tell-Tale Heart". Again this character is full of love. The victim of his crime had done no wrong and for that the narrator "...loved the old man." ("The Tell-Tale Heart", pg.384) The narrator shows the same brilliance in planning the crime that Raskolnikov exhibits. People with great intelligence, great lives, possessions and friends must be normal people.

Destined to Fail :: Free Essays Onlinevv

Destined to Fail Imagine having to wake up every morning and going to a broken down old building for seven hours a day. In the building you complete the same tasks which are easier in other buildings five minutes away, but since yours is poor it is difficult to, if at all, complete these tasks. The outlook is so bleak that it almost seems as if you are destined to fail. For children in Camden, New Jersey this is school. Students in Camden are faced with an obvious, appalling educational disadvantage when viewed against suburban schools, such as in Cherry Hill which are only five minutes away. The crux of the problem with the Camden public schools is the impoverished state in which it is forced to educate its children. The main cause for the destitution in the Camden public schools is the serious lack of funds for educational materials including those for school facilities. The schools are in such dire straits that most do not have the necessary materials with which to teach. Students at times do not even have their own textbooks and science labs lack the necessary equipment to teach lessons properly. If a student is lucky enough to receive a textbook it is either outdated, falling apart, or at the incorrect level of learning. In one Camden school, eleventh grade history class is taught from an eighth grade history text, (Kozol 152). This unfortunate condition applies not only to school supplies but also to the school itself. School facilities are in a state of trouble, many are falling apart or have serious problems which inhibit learning. In one of the Camden high schools, the malfunctioning heating system not only makes the building extremely hot all year round, but also melted approximately forty of the fifty computers in a lab, (Kozol 149). Is this the proper environment for education? Would you want to go to a school like this? Disadvantages such as these do not provide a proper atmosphere or environment conducive to learning. They also add a number of components to the problem of the lack of funds and increase the students' feeling that they are destined to fail. The lack of proper educational materials prevents students from learning. Since it prevents students from passing state mandated tests which control funding, they have to spend approximately eight months of the school year, usually in high school, preparing for these exams.

Original Writing Coursework on Prince Escalus

As I was walking through the dark, shadowed streets of Legnago, I noticed something strange about the man standing against the wall. He was dressed in an all black doublet covered in gold embroidery partially hidden by his fur lined cloak. There was something odd yet so familiar about him but I just couldn't get my hand on it. No matter how hard I tried the thought kept on eating away at me. I walked past him and recognized him as Frederick, one of the Partisans, our rival family for the past 10 years. It began with a little argument about who got the last piece of fruit from a vendor in the street. Over the years this developed into a feud with the several meetings that they had between them in the streets. Words were spoken, fists had been blazing with rage, but nothing had been done to stop this. He had a history of a hot-headed temper that no-one would have liked to set off so I carried on my journey home. I was nearly home when I heard a noise behind me. But it was only a strayed cat that had just knocked over the bin. Then I heard a different noise from behind but I ignored it that time. I had a feeling that I was being followed. Soon, I could hear footsteps which were rapidly increasing. In a matter of moments the person was on my heels. I turned around and saw that the mysterious person was Frederick. He had drawn his sword with a devilish grin on his face. I evaded his first attack and drew out my sword quick enough to parry the second. Some of his attacks tore my doublet and my shirt. Some were more serious and wounded me. I saw an opening in his attacks and struck him down to the ground. This was my opportunity to escape and I took it. Struggling to the door, with no strength left in me, I collapsed right at the doorstep. Luckily my parents were waiting for me to return and they heard the noise outside. They were shocked when they saw me and they helped me inside. First they got me fresh clothes and got me cleaned up before they said anything. â€Å"What happened to you?† said Lady Torrington. Then I explained to my parents how I saw one of the Partisans and how we fought each other until I fled. They were furious and they went on and on about how atrocious the Partisans were and how they had the nerve to attack their son. All I wanted was for the family feud to end so that our families could have peaceful and normal lives. I tried many times in the past to encourage them to stop this ridiculous feud. My parents loved me but sometimes I felt that they just ignored what I said. After a full night rest I regained my vigour, so I set out to see my friend Lucentio. Lucentio was a courteous, friendly and pleasant person, but his parents were a whole different story. They used to beat him and they didn't care for him at all. I was playing in the street when I saw him huddled up outside a shop. My first instinct was to just ignore him but my heart told me better. I walked up to him, asked him what was wrong and comforted him. We've been friends ever since. He wasn't the sort of person that would get into fights. In fact, even if it had nothing to do with him he would try and stop it. On the way to his house, I saw a big crowd gathered together in the street and I was curious to see what it was about. I pushed and shoved my way through to the front of the crowd. The expression of my face went blank. My good friend Lucentio was lying on the hard, concrete ground desperately struggling for words. â€Å"Who did this to you Lucentio†, I asked impatiently. He didn't answer straight away but he got there in the end. â€Å"It†¦was†¦Fred†¦er†¦.rick†, he replied. â€Å"How did he know Lucentio was my friend? Had he been spying on me?† I thought to myself. These were his last words before he stopped moving and died. I swore to avenge the death of my friend and that I would get Frederick back for what he did to Lucentio. I went looking for Frederick but I had no luck at all in finding him. He was probably keeping a low profile so as not to attract any attention. I asked the local people if they had seen a man dressed in a black doublet and a fur lined cloak but they had no information to provide me with. This had me so frustrated that I was about to give up my search when I came to a poorly dressed man on the street that I recognized. He was the very same vendor from ten years ago. I didn't think he would know, but I asked him anyway. It was just my luck that he saw him walk past a few minutes ago and he pointed me in his direction. I thanked him and I was on my way. It wasn't long before I found him wandering through one of the alleyways. I shouted at him to stop but as soon as he turned around and saw my face he ran away quickly. But, he didn't get far. I caught up to him and got my breath back. When he didn't expect it, I pulled out my sword and slashed at him, but I missed. This enraged me even more than I already was. He also drew his sword and tried blocking my attacks but I kept on slicing at him wildly. I was out of control. But then, he got the better of me and I was forced to the ground. I was crawling backwards and desperately trying to get up but with no success. All the while Frederick was advancing on me ready to strike. He thrust his sword toward me and I stuck my sword out in front of me with my eyes closed, fearing for the worst. I opened my eyes and nothing had happened to me. I was completely fine but Frederick on the other hand was lying on the ground motionless in a pool of blood. My sword had pierced him through his heart and he had died almost immediately. â€Å"What have I done†, I was thinking, â€Å"I've been a complete fool not to realise that all this thirst for revenge has driven me mad and caused me to kill another human being.† I knew that I couldn't keep on standing there gazing at the motionless Frederick otherwise I would be caught. So I left and went home contemplating about what just happened. There was nothing left for me there in Legnago except the consequences I would have to face. This family feud caused me to cross the line and commit a felony which was not worth it at all. I couldn't stay there anymore I thought to myself. I didn't want to be a part of this feud any longer than I already had been. I had to run away. But where could I go? Then it struck me that I could go to Verona to live with my relatives. I wanted to forget whatever had happened but I even knew that the guilt will stay with me forever. Nevertheless I packed up all my important belongings and I set off on my journey to Verona, a fresh start.

Labouring the Walmart way Essay

Today nuclear power as an efficient and low consumption energy has been used widely, however, nuclear energy has potential and serious problems which people can not control. First off all, what is the nuclear? Many countries use nuclear energy to generate electricity. â€Å"Unclear is the energy stored in the center or the nucleus of an atom. After we bombard the nucleus into two parts, two different elements are formed along with the emission of high energy. The process generally followed is called fission. Fission is the chain reaction which needs uranium-235.†(â€Å"Fission and fusion†)The nuclear energy is considered as the worthiest alternative resource of energy after fossil fuels, but it also has a lot of potential problems.†(â€Å"Nuclear Energy†) As everyone knows, nuclear energy can release nuclear radiation which can kill human’s cells and serious radiation can cause death. Furthermore, radiation can result in genetic variation. Radiation also has nuclear residue. It is hard to clear, may be more than 50 years can disappear. Such as Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, now is a ghost town, no one can live in there because of the radiation residue. In addition, nuclear reaction can generate radioactive waste. These wastes are very dangerous, and have very high radiation. Moreover, radioactive waste is hard to recycle and store. Radioactive waste are usually buried in the deep ground or seabed. Not only such, these wastes are hard to degrade. For example, uranium-235 needs 7 hundred million years to degrade. Last but not the least; nuclear power is hard to control when the accident happen. On the one hand, nuclear leakage, the highly radioactive material leaked. The radioactive material release to the air, soil and water, and attached to food. When people touch or eat these material, will have high rate get cancer. One the other hand, nuclear proliferation, radioactive dust will follow the wind to spread to the entire region. For example, the accident of Fukushima Nuclear Power Station has affected whole area include china and Korea. In conclusion, various nuclear energy problems are undergoing in developed as well as developing countries. We can not prevent but we have to say â€Å"pleas e use nuclear energy cautiously, securely and responsibly.† â€Å"Fission and Fusion† Nuclear Energy ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã¢â‚¬â€CNRS sagascience.2013.Web.28 November 2013 â€Å"The Disadvantages Of Nuclear† Conserve Energy Future Be Green Stay Green.2013.Web.28 November 2013.