Cultural Change Essays (Examples)

Because of the degree of entrenchment, cultural change is often a slow process but it can also make the change process easier if the culture and the desired change are aligned. At Wal-Mart, the culture is strong, and supports the company's change initiatives. This makes it easy for Wal-Mart to implement new strategies that improve its business.

Another throughput that facilitates or resists change is financial capital. Rarely does money spur change, but the lack of it can make change difficult and a surplus of it can make change easy. Wal-Mart is a well-financed company. This has made many of their change initiatives, from the introduction of Supercenters and Sam's Club to overseas expansion much easier. These types of change initiatives can be difficult, since it involves introducing new ways of doing business and new national cultures to the organization. But for Wal-Mart, their financial clout has allowed them to…

"9.8% in urban areas; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas; an official Chinese journal estimated overall unemployment (including rural areas) for 2003 at 20% (2004 est.)" (CIA orld Factbook "China") the occupation breakdown for the nation is also rather simplistic, with a large protion of the population still being engaged in agricultural industries: "agriculture 49%, industry 22%, services 29% (2003 est.)" (CIA orld Factbook "China")

Cultural habits of China are relatively universal as the nation has relatively few national minorities and limited immigration from other nations due to its communist legacy. The majority ethnic group Han Chinese constitutes 91.9% of the total population with the significant minorities including Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities, constituting only a total of 8.1%. There is though a significant social and cultural disparity between urban and rural populations. Urban China is relatively modern, with many conveniences…

Works Cited

CIA World Factbook "China" at  http://www.umsl.edu/services/govdocs/wofact2005/geos/ch.html 

Goldberg, Jonah. "10 Million Missing Girls." National Review 30 Jan. 2006: 8.

This feeling of anger and resentment is effectively illustrated through the conflict between Abner and the Negro, De Spain's helper.

In this conflict, Abner is seen resisting the Negro's attempt to stop him from trespassing De Spain's home. Evidently, the Negro's status in life is much better than Abner, who has to toil very hard in order for him and his family to survive everyday. This fact infuriates Abner, and his resentment against the Negro's condition in life is reflected in his hateful statement about his poverty and De Spain's seemingly unfair status as a wealthy man: "Pretty and white, ain't it?...That's sweat. Nigger sweat. Maybe it ain't white enough yet to suit him. Maybe he wants to mix some white sweat in it" (175). This statement is Abner's own way of protesting against his condition in life, a bitterness that reflects not only class conflict between the wealthy and…

Bibliography

Fox, R. (1998). A companion to American thought. MA: Blackwell Publishers.

Horton, M. (2000). "Balzacian evolution and the origin of the Snopeses." Southern Literary Journal, Vol. 33, Issue 1.

Kartiganer, D. (1997). Faulkner in cultural context. Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi.

Krevling, M. (1998). Inventing Southern literature. Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi.

Change Management Scenario

The contemporary business environment is rapidly evolving. Globalization has taken over the organization environment, and with this business is forced to undergo continuous and rapid change driven by increasing stakeholder expectations, new technological advances, and competition that is not only global, but viral (Bendell, 2005). This has resulted in a dramatically different business environment in which the modern business, in order to survive and prosper, is forced to evolve and regularly revise their internal and external business processes. Typically, aggressive and rapid change management systems germinate within the private sector -- only after trial and error, testing, and numerous permutations did they become standard within the public sector organization. This paradigm, however, changed in the late 1990s with a combination of rising client expectations to effectively address major socio-culture, economic, and demographic issues, and change in governmental oversight and minimal requirements pushed management in the public sector…

REFERENCES

Home Depot, Inc. (September 29, 2012). The New York Times. Retrieved from:

 http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/home_depot_inc/index.html 

Aluise, S. (January 19, 2012). Frank Blake Has Brought Home Depot Home. Investorplace.

Com. Retrieved from:  http://investorplace.com/2012/01/frank-blake-has-brought-home-depot-home/

" Change must therefore be accomplished by the institution of a strong leadership of just a single individual (Kotter,1996,p.25) .In this case, the person was Ghosn. Change however requires a special team of leaders as well as managers who have a common goal that is communicated succinctly by the team leader. Ghosn therefore "walked the talk" since his leadership style which was transformational, brought real change to the organization.

Conclusion

It is important to note that for any organization to succeed, a balance must be struck between leadership and the management. This is because there can never be any form of transformation without a true leader. All successful organizational transformations are only achieved via the right mix of leadership and management.

eferences

Baggaley, B. 2006. Using strategic performance measurements to accelerate lean performance. Cost Management (January/February): 36-44

Cloud, C (2010). Epilogue: Change leadership and leadership development. New Directions for Community…

References

Baggaley, B. 2006. Using strategic performance measurements to accelerate lean performance. Cost Management (January/February): 36-44

Cloud, RC (2010). Epilogue: Change leadership and leadership development. New Directions for Community Colleges; Spring2010, Issue 149, p73-79,

Elving, W, JL (2005) "The role of communication in organisational change," Corporate Communications: An International Journal, Vol. 10 Iss: 2, pp.129-13

Kotter, J.P. (1995), "Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail," Harvard Business Review, March-April, 59-67

The change leader should feel confident about the change if decision criteria are driven by impartial and objective considerations and his position is based on organizational, mission, vision and strategies. Then leader should try to convince all employees on objective and factual grounds while also taking care of their emotional issues. If leaders do not behave well and control their own emotions then employee morale gets affected. "Most executives do a good job of communicating a strong sense of urgency to effect change and move people out of their comfort zones. This often launches a flurry of activities in the right direction to start with. However, sustaining the quality and level of activities is a different ball game. For the abstraction that is called business, it requires more than organizational structure, incentives and job descriptions to have a multitude of people work in a concerted manner towards a common objective…

References

Lawler III, E. & Mohrman, S.2003,'HR as a Strategic Partner: What Does it Take to Make it Happen?', Human Resource Planning, Vol.26, No.3, p.15+.

Thite, M. 2004, Managing People in the New Economy, Sage Publication, New Delhi.

David, F. (1991). Strategic Management. 3rd Ed. McMillan

Jansen, K. (2000). The Emerging Dynamics of Change: Resistance, Readiness, and Momentum. Human Resource Planning. Vol: 23. Issue: 2.

In that sense, Wilkoff (1995, as cited by Weick & Quinn, 1999) reports on her attempts to intervene between two companies that had fused together in an unsuccessful mergence. The actors of the various companies persistently disagreed due to cultural differences in mindset, whereupon the consultant, recognizing this, changed her strategy. he began meeting with each actor separately and explaining the other's performance from his or her particular cultural assumptions. In this way, once each had understood the other, could both meet together and the mergence actually become effective. In a similar way, says chein, can change be best implemented when the leader is willing and able to looking into, work with, and attempt to understand other cultural patterns. History is change. Change necessitates working with and understanding the heterogeneity of cultures that constitute the world. A leader who does this becomes flexible to the change dynamic and can best…

Sources

Bartunek JM. 1993. The multiple cognitions and conflicts associated with second order organizational change. In Social Psychology in Organizations: Advances in Theory and Research, ed. JK Murnighan, pp. 322. 49. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall

Beer M, Eisenstat RA, Spector B. 1990. The Critical Path to Corporate Renewal. Boston, MA: Harv. Bus. Sch.

Brand, a. (1990). The Force of Reason: An Introduction to Habermas, London: Allen & Unwin.

Crawford, Amy. "The Swamp Fox." Smithsonian.com. (http://www. smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/biography/fox.html)

We now have the means to study the evolution of the human genome more closely than ever in the past. One of the key ideas presented by the authors is the idea of transmission fidelity. This means that culture can act as an inheritance system, promoting the transmission of certain genetic traits in a predictable fashion. This type of cultural inheritance results in distinct societies that not only share the same cultural traits, but also share similar genetic traits as well. In the past, geography and proximity to others was a factor in this process as well. Richerson, oyd, and Henrich (2010) concluded that cultural evolution and biological evolution occur simultaneously. They also suggested that cultural evolution had a significant influence on biological evolution.

This research supports the supposition that cultural evolution has a significant effect on biological evolution. This research focused on cultural evolution, as opposed to placing the…

Bibliography

Bell, A. And Richard McElreath. Culture rather than genes provides greater scope for the evolution of large-scale human prosociality. PNAS 106 (2009): 17671-17674.

 http://www.des.ucdavis.edu/faculty/Richerson/Bell%20PNAS.pdf 

Boyd, R. And Peter Richerson," Gene-culture coevolution and the evolution of social institutions." In Better than Consciousness? Decision Making, The Human Mind, and Implications for Institutions. Edited by Christoph Engel and Wolf Singer. MIT

Press. 2008. pp. 305-323.

change based on the type of change?

Yes, the approach to implementing change must be highly determined and dependent on the type of change being attempted. There are multiple examples of how best to design, implement and manage a successful change management program based on the level of cultural (Patel, Patel, 2008), knowledge-based (Maurer, 2011) and procedural (Franken, Edwards, Lambert, 2009) change further supports this point. The extent and severity of the change must also take into account the level of task ownership possible for each of those most affected by it, allowing for full autonomy, mastery and purpose of tasks and roles (amsey, 2010). The tailoring of autonomy, mastery and purpose to the specific change management requirements of a given situation or strategy must also take into account the cultural expectations, norms, values and set of beliefs everyone involved faces as well (amsey, 2010).

The type of change will…

References

Jeffrey H. Dyer, and Kentaro Nobeoka. 2000. Creating and managing a high-performance knowledge-sharing network: The Toyota case. Strategic Management Journal: Special Issue: Strategic Networks 21, no. 3, (March 1): 345-367.

Arnoud Franken, Chris Edwards, and Rob Lambert. 2009. Executing Strategic Change: Understanding the Critical Management Elements that Lead to Success. California Management Review 51, no. 3, (April 1): 49-73.

Maurer, R.. 2011. Why Most Changes Fail. The Journal for Quality and Participation 34, no. 2, (July 1): 17-18.

Taran Patel & Chirag Patel (2008): Learning cultures for sustained innovation success, Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, 21:3, 233-251

Change

Using Kotter's 8 steps, the three most significant errors made out of all the change stories presented were: McDonald's failure to create urgency when it implemented its initial menu changes; Kodak's failure to communicate its vision for change; and Fiorina's failure to form a powerful coalition prior to the merger between HP and Compaq Computer Corp. However, it is important to keep in mind that Kotter's approach may not best describe organizational change; its popularity may be more attributable to its usable format than from any evidence that Kotter's approach to change management is superior to competing approaches (Appelbaum et al., 20120).

McDonald's made half-hearted efforts to respond to consumer demands for healthier menu options. However, at that time, it had not seen any reduction in profits because of the perceived lack of nutritional value of its offerings and was not committed to expanding beyond its traditional fast-food repertoire.…

References

Applebaum, S., Habashy, S., Malo, J., & Shafiq, H. (2012). Back to the future: Revisiting

Kotter's 1996 change model, Journal of Management Development, 31(8), 764-782.

Palmer, I., Dunford, R., & Akin, G. (2009). Managing organizational change: A multiple perspectives approach, 2nd Ed. McGraw-Hill.

Parker, D., Verlinden, A., Nussey, R., Ford, M., & Pathak, R.D. (2013). Critical evaluation of project-based performance management: Change intervention integration, International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 62(4), 407-419.

Chaos theory states that change represents a contemporary corporate model which is best suited to the advanced corporations of the current era. The theory understands the fact that change is unavoidable, but that forecasting its trajectory and time is hard (Taneja, 2013). Mergers, acquisitions, governmental takeovers and liquidations, which are ever more frequently observed, all support chaos theory premises. Akin to chemistry, organizational change may be classified as organic (flowing from an existing process) or inorganic (entirely different) (Wong, 2016).

A Discussion That Assesses the Factors That Contribute to The Organic Evolution of Change

Just like in the case of living beings, an effective institution realizes the important aspect that the totality is always greater than its individual components' sum, that diverse areas must undergo organic growth and change, and that diverse groups must develop and adjust at their own pace (Oner, Benson, & Beser, 2014). As organic evolution necessitates…

Customer Service

We shall, for the purposes of this paper, accept the proposition that we are moving from a culture that can be categorized as "you get what I give" to one where the customer is always right. In the real world, there are companies that do either, depending on their business model. But for the sake of argument we will assume the position of a company that is seeking to shift from the former to a more customer-centric vision of customer service. There are two elements to such a shift -- operational and cultural. Operations can be laid out in such a way that barriers to customer service that may have existed in the past are now removed, for example. Yet, because service is inherently customer-oriented, based on interactions, it is critical that the organization shifts to a customer-service-based culture. This is a massive cultural shift from an organizational…

References

Brady, M. & Cronin, J. (2001). Customer orientation: Effects on customer service perceptions and outcome behaviors. Journal of Service Research. Vol. 3 (3) 241-251.

Homburg, C., Muller, M. & Klarmann, M. (2011). When does salespeople's customer orientation lead to customer loyalty? The differential aspects of relational and functional customer orientation. Journal of the Acad. Mark. Sci. Vol. 39 (2011) 795-812.

Leggett, K. (2014). Forrester's top trends for customer service in 2014. Forrester. Retrieved March 22, 2014 from  http://blogs.forrester.com/kate_leggett/14-01-13-forresters_top_trends_for_customer_service_in_2014 

Linnenluecke, M. & Griffiths, A. (2010). Corporate sustainability and organizational culture. Journal of World Business. Vol. 45 (2010) 357-366.

change management strategy can ensure organizational success. Change is inevitable, as internal and external forces will impact organizations continually, requiring ongoing adjustments and assessments. As Nguyen Huy & Mintzberg (2003) point out, "resistance to change is bad," because resistance is a futile exercise in clinging to what will no longer work (p. 79). The goal is not to generate forces of change unnecessarily but to recognize when change is needed, what kinds of change, and how to steer the organization in the right direction to successfully navigate the new playing field. As Morgan (2006) points out, some organizations even thrive on change, particularly when change becomes part of the ways employees use their critical and creative thinking to continually collaborate on new ideas and directions for the organization. Unfortunately, the case study of the elementary school is one that highlights the need for change-resistant organizations to inject new life and…

References

Kotter, J.P. & Schlesinger, L.A. (2008). Choosing strategies for change. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved online:  https://hbr.org/2008/07/choosing-strategies-for-change 

Morgan, G. (2006). Images of Organization. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Nguyen Huy, Q. & Mintzberg, H. (2003). The rhythm of change. MIT Sloan Management Review.

Leadership and Organizational Change Potential in the NFL

Organizational Problem or Opportunity

Description of the Problem or Opportunity

Purpose of the Investigation

Management/Business

Audience

Summary of Section Highlights

Problem or Opportunity Background

• Current State of the Target Organization

• elevant Organizational Processes or Systems or Functions

• elevant Theory

isk Management

Organizational Change

Lewin's Change Management Model

McKinsey 7-S Model

Kotter's 8 Step Change Model

Leadership

Corporate Social esponsibility

Investigative Steps

Investigative Approach and Design Strategies

• Investigative Approach

• Theory Thread Strategies

• Data Collection and Preparation Strategies

Investigation Parameters or Limitations

Summary

Findings of the Investigation

Introduction

elevant Analysis

Overall Findings: A Synthesis

Summary

Interpretation and ecommendations 34

Organizational Implications 34

ecommendations 34

• Implications for Decision Makers 35

• Future esearch 35

Summary 36

eferences 37

Executive Summary

The National Football League (NFL) is currently the most popular sport with American adults, however this position is…

References

Bass, B. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectations. New York: Free Press.

Bass, B. (1999). Two decasdes in research and development in transformational leadership. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 9-32.

Benta, D. (2011). On Best Practices for Risk Management in Complex Projects. Informatica Economica, 142-152.

Business Dictionary. (N.d.). Change Management. Retrieved from Business Dictionary:  http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/change-management.html

Change Management

Overcoming esistance to Change

Change management can be most difficult in companies that are entrenched in their company culture. In the case of the company in the study, the company has a high number of employees that have been with the company for a long period of time. These employees present the greatest challenge to overcome in terms of change management. They are more likely to continue to do their jobs as they have done them in the past. For employees that have been with the company the longest, the proposed changes in customer service would mean changes in long-established daily habits and routines. outines are comfortable and changing these routines can be stressful for employees, particularly those who have been there for long time. This study will examine the limits and obstacles that make changes in organizational structure difficult for companies with an entrenched corporate culture.

Summary…

References

Beer, M., Eisenstat, R.A., & Spector, B. (1990). "Why Change Programs Don't Produce Change." Harvard Business Review. 68(6). 158- 66.

Cascio. W.F. (1993). " Downsizing: What do we know? What have we learned?" Academy of Management Executive 7(1), 92-104.

Oxman, J. & Smith, B. (2003). "The Limits of Structural Change," Sloan Management Review. 77-82.

Simons, R., Mintzberg. H., & Basu. K. (2002). "Memo to: CEOs:." Fast Company. 59, 117-121.

Changing Institutions in Modernity

The focus of Week 9's reading, Newman's "Architects of change" is on social change. It is pivotal to note that this particular chapter serves as the conclusion for a book based on institutionalism. As such, the author noted that he wanted to end the manuscript on a more positive note that was less bureaucratic, and which provided optimism for change within some of the myriad institutions discussed in this work as a whole. The chapter begins with a prolonged case study about a man in the United Kingdom who was able to effect change in national health care policy to help his son who was suffering from a disease. The anecdote serves as a means of conveying that change is possible in institutions, and that in the process people are actually helping to reconstruct society and the way it functions.

The author then details the context…

Cultural diversity refers to the diverse varieties of human cultures that exist in a certain region, society or in the world as a whole. The characteristics of diversity may include ethnicity, traditions, geographic background, language spoken, religious beliefs, race or physical features. This term is also based on the idea that different cultures should respect each other's differences. With the global integration, the need for communication in accordance with other person's cultural awareness has intensified. Many times, any gesture that is considered offensive in one culture is completely accepted in the other culture. Hence, people sometimes develop misunderstandings when communicating with someone from a different culture. Therefore, it is essential that differences are appreciated for an effective communication.

I am a Christian man who is originally from Ukraine. My mother tongue is Ukrainian and I came to United States some 10 years ago. I am very moderate in my religious…

Bibliography

Newsom, D., Turk, J.V., and Kruckeberg, D. (2004). This is PR: The Realities of Public Relations. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.

Rosener, J.B. (1990) "Ways Women Lead," Harvard Business Review, Vol. 68, No. 6, pp. 119-25

Change Proposal Imagine a midlevel manager organization supervises -level managers. Prepare an 800-word report boss propose a needed change department. You permission boss implement change management program.

Change proposal: esults-oriented labor

etention levels of our most well-trained and highly-educated employees were down last quarter. This is a troubling development given that a company can only be as good as its employee's efforts. Also, it is a waste of the money and time invested into employees if they constantly move in and out of a revolving door of employment. In particular, the attrition rate has been highest amongst women managers who struggle to balance the demands of home and family. This could be potentially problematic not simply in terms of losing top female talent, but also because having insufficient numbers of female managers could result in accusations (however unfounded) of discrimination. All employees have been complaining about their long hours and…

References

Birkinshaw's Four Dimensions of Management. (2013). Mind Tools. Retrieved:

 http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/four-dimensions.htm 

Filey, A. (2008). Top-down and bottom-up project management. WRIKE. Retrieved:

 http://www.wrike.com/projectmanagement/02/07/2008/Top-down-and-Bottom-up-Project-Management-Leveraging-the-Advantages-of-the-Two-Approaches

Cultural Experience

Description

The event is more a series of events. I went on vacation with some friends to Miami, and while not everything I experienced on that trip would count as a cultural experience, there is little question that there were some very different experiences. There was the visit to the Haitian restaurant, for example, but the event that stands out the most was my visit to Calle Ocho, the old Cuban neighborhood. As Korean student I find it challenging enough to deal with mainstream American culture, but Hispanic culture is completely different again, so this experience provided me with an interesting counterpoint to my usual experiences in the United States.

In this neighborhood, if people can speak English they do not admit it. There are coffee windows where strong, sugary shots of Cuban coffee and cafe con leche are dispensed to passers-by in a hurry. There are old…

Works Cited:

Devine, P. (1989). Stereotypes and prejudice: Their automatic and controlled components. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Vol. 56 (1) 5-18.

Geert Hofstede.com (2012). National culture. Geert-Hofstede.com. Retrieved May 7, 2012 from  http://geert-hofstede.com 

Hofstede, G. (1983). The cultural relativity of organizational practices and theories. Journal of International Business Studies. Vol. 14 (Fall 1983) 75-89.

Mallol, C., Holtom, B. & Lee, T. (2007). Job embeddedness in a culturally diverse environment. Journal of Business Psychology. Vol. 22, 35-44.

Cultural Distance: How Is it Measured, And How it Impact on Global Marketing Operations

The persistence of cultural distances is relevant for the global multinational marketing operations exposed to multiple cultures in their everyday activities. This indicates that marketing across border introduces complexities because it forces global marketers to tailor their approaches and practices to each cultural context they carry out their business activities. As a result, this paper will discuss concepts applicable to different aspects of cross-border operations. The primary focus of the paper is on multinational business corporations (Baumann, 2007).

This study shows how Hofstede's model is still the most relevant piece of reference for a successive cross-cultural analysis despite it being a widely criticized. The paper compares and contrasts Hofstede's famous concepts with Turner and Schwartz, Trompenaars and Hampden's valued inventory. It will attempt to provide empirical evidence of how cultural diversity influences the global markets by…

References

Baumann, A. (2007). Influences of culture on the style of business behavior between Western and Arab managers. Mu-nchen: GRIN Verlag GmbH.

Baumu-ller, M. (2007). Managing cultural diversity: An empirical examination of cultural networks and organizational structures as governance mechanisms in multinational corporations. Bern: Lang.

Cavusgil, T. & Ghauri, P.N. (2009). New challenges to international marketing. Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Curry, J.E. (2009). A short course in international marketing: Approaching and penetrating the global marketplace. Petaluma, CA: World Trade Press.

Cultural Competency in Nursing

The basic knowledge in nursing or medical studies needs substantial facilitation in order to be effective and appropriate towards addressing the needs and preferences of the patients. Watson notes the need to integrate humanistic aspect into the career or nursing profession. He also believes on the need for the establishment of the caring relationship between the patients and nurses thus demonstration of unconditional acceptance of the patients in any condition. Nurses should integrate holistic and positive treatment with the aim of promoting health through knowledge and interventions thus elimination of interruptions during treatments or 'caring moments'. Modern patients have diverse problems and issues because of the cultural differences, races, and ethnicity thus the need to enhance the operations of the nurses. There is need to ensure that the nurses obtain cultural competencies with the aim of enhancing their ability to address diverse issues and problems faced…

References

Anderson, N.L.R., Calvillo, E.R., & Fongwa, M.N. (2007). Community-based approaches to strengthen cultural competency in nursing education and practice. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 18(1), 49S-59S.

Beach, M.C. (2005). Cultural competency: A systematic review of health care provider educational interventions. Cultural Competency, 43(4), 356-373.

Campinha-Bacote, J. (2002). The process of cultural competence in the delivery of healthcare services: A model of care. The Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 13(3), 181-185.

Rosswurm and Larrabee, (1999). A Model for Change to Evidence-Based

Cultural Briefing Document Zurich Switzerland

The LJ Products Co. is proud to announce that one of our executive staff will be joining our staff in Zurich Switzerland in January of 2012. Mr. Didier Burkhalter will be joining our Zurich staff as chief financial officer. Mr. Burkhalter will report directly to the CEO and other members of the board. To make Mr. Burkhalter feel welcome in his new position it is requested that all staff members read the following briefing prior to his arrival and that they become familiar with the customs of Mr. Burkhalter's country of origin. All staff members should extend Mr. Burkhalter a warm welcome by familiarizing themselves with his customs. The following summarizes many of the customs of Swiss society, using American culture as a reference point.

Cultural Dimensions

Hofstede's cultural dimensions is the most widely used system for developing a framework that assesses national cultures and…

References

COMMUNICAID GROUP LTD. 2009. Doing Busineass in Switzerland: Swiss Social and Business Culture. [online] Available from: http://www.communicaid.com/access/pdf/library/culture/doing-business-in/Doing%20Business%20in%20Switzerland.pdf [accessed to December 2011}.

EDIPLOMAT. 2011. Switzerland. [online] Available from:  http://www.ediplomat.com/np/cultural_etiquette/ce_ch.htm  [accessed to December 2011}.

EXPATICA. 2011. Management Culture in Switzerland. Expatica.com. [online] Available from:  http://www.expatica.com/ch/employment/employment_information/Management-culture-in-Switzerland_13331.html  [accessed to December 2011}.

HOFSTEDE, G. 2001. Culture's consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations. (2nd ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

The Balinese seem to be coping with the tourist invasion as well as they have coped with others, that is they are taking what they want, but they are not allowing themselves to be any the less Balinese. This appears to have been the story throughout Bali's history, outside cultures came, perhaps as conquerors, perhaps only as visitors and traders, but Balinese society and culture have remained distinctive, accepting outward forms, but molding them to its own different purposes." (Pickard, 1996)

These insights are showing how the changes in tourism are having an effect on Bali by developing the industry. However, for most local residents, they are maintaining their basic cultural traditions. This is despite the fact that there are added pressures to continually adopt these practices (in spite of the transformations). (Pickard, 1996)

However, many local officials feel that an influx of tourism is having an adverse impact on…

References

Bali Weather and Climate. (2011). Indonesia Point. Retrieved from:  http://www.indonesiapoint.com/tourist-attractions/bali/bali-weather.html 

Botetar, R. (2012). The Beauty of Bali is under Pressure. ABC News. Retrieved from: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-05/over-development-of-bali-feature/3760496 

Fiegenbaum, E. (2012). The Impact of Tourism in Bali. E How. Retrieved from: http://www.ehow.com/list_7195825_impact-tourism-bali.html

Hitchcock, M. (2009). Tourism in Southeast Asia. Copenhagen: NAIS.

Cultural Blending That Occurred hen the British Colonized India

Throughout the course of history, the British were known as the world's conquerors. This is because they established a series of colonies around the globe that supported the nation and its self-interest. During their occupation of India, there was focus on blending different cultures to create a unique society. (Bingham)

This transformed India from being a backward region to one that was able to improve its standard of living and make steps towards joining the modern world. The result is that a new social identify was developed. To fully understand the way that this occurred requires examining cultural blending, how it shaped their identity, if it was permanent, what caused it to change and if it was beneficial. These different factors will illustrate the way this occurred and the impact it had on India's development. (Bingham)

Description

The British first arrived…

Works Cited

Bingham, Jane. Indian Art and Culture. Hoboken: Wiley, 2005. Print.

Kasbekar, Asha. Pop Culture in India. Oxford: ABC CLIO, 2006. Print.

Change Project

A variety of technical and management issues arise during the implementation and operation of any change process. Change management in technology projects is essential to implement and monitor mechanisms to support and control users, business, and technology (Yarberry, 2007). There are different change project modules used at any stage of a project development. These include the change curve, Lewin's change management model, and Beckhard and Harris change model used in the understanding phase. The project-planning phase uses the impact analysis, Burke-Litwin, McKinsey 7s framework, Leavitt's diamond, organization design, and SIPOC diagrams. The implementation stage uses Kotter's 8-step change model, training needs assessment, while the communication change uses stakeholder analysis, stakeholder management, mission statement, and vision statements. In this analysis, the Leavitt's Diamond, the Kotter's 8-step change model, and Leavitt's model for organizational change is concerned with the interdependence of four main factors, including structure, people, technology, and task.…

References

Aladwani, A.M. (2001). Change Management Strategies for Successful ERP Implementation. Business Process Management Journal 7, 266.

Bruckman, J.C. (2008) Overcoming Resistance to change: Casual Factors, Interventions, and Critical Values. The Psychologist-Manager Journal, Psychology Press 11, 211-219.

Cameron, E. & Green, M. (2012). Making Sense of Change Management: A Complete Guide to the Models Tools and Techniques of Organizational Change. Philadelphia, PA: Kogan Page

Davison, R. (2002) Cultural Complications of ERP. Association for Computing Machinery. Communications of the ACM 45, 109.

Changing role of H management in response to trends in globalization, technology, diversity, e-Business, and ethics

Human resources management of any organization has many functions which it continues to perform. One major function is that is provides the organization with the necessary human resources for it to continue in its day-to-day activities. The business environment in which companies operate is quite dynamic and is exposed to various internal and external factors which make the H role of the organization also to be quite dynamic. Some of the factors that change the H role include globalization, technology, diversity, e-business, and ethics.

Globalization

Companies undergo a pattern of growth which sees them start out as small companies with little complexity and diversity. A business is required to be constantly aware of the effect of globalization and the importance of innovation and change in these times of globalization. Globalization also requires the organizations…

References

FERLIGOJ, A., PRASNIKAR, J. & JORDAN, V. 1997. Competitive Advantage and Human Resource Management in SMEs in a Transitional Economy. Small Business Economics, 9, 503-514.

MARREWIJK, M.V. & TIMMERS, J. 2003. Human Capital Management: New Possibilities in People Management. Journal of Business Ethics, 44, 171-184.

MIRVIS, P.H. 1997. Human Resource Management: Leaders, Laggards, and Followers. The Academy of Management Executive (1993-2005), 11, 43-56.

TURNER, R.H. 1990. Role Change. Annual Review of Sociology, 16, 87-110.

" Taking into consideration these three stages, I would position myself in the second stage - that of cultural identity search. I am aware of my cultural background and I always have been, but the fact that I live in the multicultural American society made it hard for me to fully embrace my cultural heritage. I am at a stage in my life when I feel the need to understand my culture in order to better understand who I am. The fact that I am aware of my cultural appurtenance does not mean that I completely embrace my cultural identity. Learning about my cultural heritage is the path towards better understanding who I am and identifying myself with the cultural group that I belong to.

ibliography

Culture of Pakistan, available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Pakistan;

Sharmeen, Hassan, the Pakistani identity crisis, available at http://www.pakistanlink.com/Letters/2004/oct04/08/04.html;

Chapter 4, Cultural Patterns andCcommunication: Foundations.

Chapter 6, Cultural…

Bibliography

Culture of Pakistan, available at  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Pakistan ;

Sharmeen, Hassan, the Pakistani identity crisis, available at http://www.pakistanlink.com/Letters/2004/oct04/08/04.html;

Chapter 4, Cultural Patterns andCcommunication: Foundations.

Chapter 6, Cultural Identity, Cultural Biases, and Intercultural Contact.

While in high school, she worked as a waitress at a local diner. Most of the population was black, therefore there was little contact with white customers or employees. Margaret feels that she was socially isolated until the 1950s. She was not exposed to white culture; it was foreign to her. She was only exposed to black culture of the time. They were not allowed in certain stores, restaurants, or other places of business. She remembers "white only" restrooms and "black only" fountains. This cultural isolation was oppressive.

Margaret feels that the oppressive attitudes and discrimination that she experienced as a child determined much of how her life proceeded in adulthood. The idea that she could only go so far was ingrained as a child. She never really broke free of this feeling. In her 40s, she moved to upstate New York. Here, she found that many women had succeeded…

References

Diller, D. (1999). Opening the dialogue: Using culture as a tool in teaching young African

American children. Reading Teacher, 52(8), 820-828. [Available electronically through ERIC/EBSCOhost]

Moll, L.C., Amanti, C., Neff, D., & Gonzalez, N. (1992). Funds of knowledge for teaching:

using a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. Theory into Practice, 31 (2), 132-141.

But Rushdie's relationship with English as a writer, even as a critic of the former British Empire, is far more complex. In Salman Rushdie's text "English is an Indian literary language," Rushdie states that the output of literature in English by Indian writers is more interesting and vital than those produced in India's native languages. Through creativity and dialogue with the oppressor, a great literature has been generated. India's original languages were vast in number but parochial. Ironically, English has proved to be a unifying force for Indians, even if one of the unifying ideologies for Indian writers in English is their attempt to create a new, national literature that is distinct from the British.

This phenomenon is not new, of course. Great Irish writers also used the English language that was imposed upon them to create great works of literature. Even if the ideology that resulted in the imposition…

Works Cited

Macaulay, Thomas Babington. "The Civilizing Mission" from "Minute on Indian Education"

(1835).  http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/victorian/topic_4/macaulay.htm 

Rushdie, Salman. "English is an Indian literary language."

(Cha-Jua, 2001, at (http://www.wpunj.edu/newpol/issue31/chajua31.htm)

Another aspect of representation, however, concerns collective memory and the representation of a shared past. Through the context for dialogue they create, social movements facilitate the interweaving of individual stories and biographies into a collective, unified frame, a collective narrative. Part and parcel of the process of collective identity or will formation is the linking of diverse experiences into a unity, past as well as present. Social movements are central to this process, not only at the individual level, but also at the organizational or meso level of social interaction. Institutions like the black church and cultural artifacts like blues music may have embodied and passed on collective memories from generation to generation, but it was through social movements that even these diverse collective memories attained a more unified focus, linking individuals and collectives into a unified subject, with a common future as well as a…

Resources

Cashmore, E. (2003). Encyclopedia of Race and Ethnic Studies. New York: Routledge.

Cha-Jua, S.K. (Summer 2001) "Slavery, Racist Violence, American Apartheid: The Case for Reparations" New Politics, 8:3. At  http://www.wpunj.edu/newpol/issue31/chajua31.htm 

Dubois, W.E.B., (1987) Writings, New York: Library of America.

Davis, A. (1999) Blues Legacies and Black Feminism, New York: Vintage.

Indeed the Germans, the French, and the rest looked back to an antiquity in which their ancestors had been subjugated by the legions. Nothing is more remarkable therefore than the rapid and irrevocable penetration of Italian ideas and practices among the "barbarians," as the Italian writers referred to them, some of whom were currently invading the peninsula." (Wiener, 124) it's also important to note that influence of antique classicism typical for Italian architecture of the 14-16th centuries is not observed in the north. Classical style of Italian cathedrals and churches, typical for Ancient Greek and oman pagan temples is usually not observed in buildings of enaissance epoch in Germany, Britain or France, where architecture was influenced by Gothic style, which got earlier spread in Europe.

eformation and Counter eformation

The spread of Protestantism over Europe, which is considered to be one of the most historically significant achievements of enaissance and…

References

Hileman, Tony Living on the Creative Edge of Our Culture available at www.americanhumanist.org/about/messageED1.php

Wiener, Philip P. The Dictionary of the History of Ideas: Studies of Selected Pivotal Ideas available at  http://etext.virginia.edu/DicHist/dict.html 

Kohl, Benjamin G., and Witt, Ronald G., eds., the Earthly Republic: Italian Humanists on Government and Society (1978)

It is though cultural understanding that strangers become familiar and open to us. Law enforcement benefits from cultural understanding and steps that are taken to bridge the chasm between police and the communities they serve will ultimately benefit all parties.

Community policing is one method used to span the gap, the concept has generated widespread debate as to its effectiveness. In spite of the debate there are identifiable benefits to community policing. The first benefit of community policing is an increase in public safety (Thacher, 2001, p.765). Community policing brings together divergent elements in such a manner that it fosters the production of a safer environment. The increased safety is not only because police are physically present but also because law enforcement priorities are more in sync with the concerns of the communities they are asked to serve (Meares, 2002, p. 1595).

Another benefit of community policing is a change…

References

Gibson, J.L. And Gouws, A. (2000). Social identities and political intolerance:

Linkages within the South African mass public. American Journal of Political

Science, 44(2), 278-292.

Meares, T.L. (2002). Praying for community policing. California Law Review, 90 (5),

scu.edu).Andre goes on to say some critics see Hirsch's efforts to bring culture into the classroom are not so much "cultural literacy" but more like "cultural indoctrination." Not only is the Hirsch strategy and methodology seen as flawed, Andre and Velasquez continue, the "content" he prescribes is subject to criticism. For example, the question of "Whose form of knowledge, culture, vision, history and authority will prevail as the national culture?" should be asked, and Hirsch knows that is an issue. "Will they, like Hirsch, be white, middle-class males?" Andre wonders, and will they be elitist?

Hirsch meanwhile answers these accusations in his Core Knowledge Web site, saying that the contend must arise from "a broad consensus of diverse groups and interests." That consensus should include the parents, teachers, scientists, "professional curriculum organizations, and experts on America's multicultural traditions." The "central motivation behind" his core knowledge initiative is "to guarantee equal…

Bibliography

Booklist. "Reference Books Bulletin: The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy." (2003): 1702.

In the first edition of Hirsch's book, the author was criticized as being "elitist," but the Subsequent editions add "tools for assessing cultural literacy" that makes sense and Now it does "keep up with changes in American culture."

Chylinski, Manya S. "Hirsch, E.D. Jr., & others. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know." Library Journal, 127.18 (2002): 78-80. Chylinski writes that the book has been given "an exciting update" - "sorely needed"...for those "who like to have a great reference work..."

Giddings, Louise R. "Beyond E.D. Hirsch and Cultural Literacy: Thinking Skills for Cultural

Since weddings are meant to bring families together the unity of the community as a whole is catered for and this can be advantageous. This culture will also ensure that the customs and traditions are retained and covered from erosion by other cultures, this is because the arrangements will ensure that only individuals with similar backgrounds are brought together and no new cultures are incorporated. To someone who does not admire the African culture this may not sound positive but I am sure to the owners of the culture this is a very big boost to them.

Now looking at the Australian cultural wedding very little seems strange but is totally different to the African ceremony. I feel that the Australian cultural wedding is more 'liberal' in nature as compared to the African wedding. This is because the weddings are based on love and agreement between two individuals. This gives…

References

Africaguide.com (2011). Africa people & culture, accessed on November 25, 2011 from  http://www.africaguide.com/culture/weddings.htm 

Euroevents & Travel (2004). Wedding Traditions and Customs around the World Bridal

Customs in different Countries accessed on November 25, 2011 from  http://www.worldweddingtraditions.com/ 

Gardner, H. (1985). The mind's new science. New York: Basic Books, Inc., Publishers.

Each customer's predictive score informs actions to be taken with that customer. usiness intelligence just doesn't get more actionable than that." (Siegel, 2009)

Predictive analytics involves: (1) a focus on actions; (2) rapid deployment; and (3) engagement of business and IT. (Siegel, 2009) Decision management is characterized by: (1) a focus on decisions; (2) the combination of business rules with analytics; and (3) putting predictive analytics to work. (Siegel, 2009) Irwin Speizer writes that there is a "new generation of workforce-planning tools" that offer great promise through the use of "sophisticated software and data-rich predictive-modeling techniques..." (Speizer, 2006) It is stated that the study of "internal staffing history and skill sets, external and internal business trends, demographic data and other variables" that the HR leader can "predict a company's talent-related needs years into the future." (Speizer, 2006)

V. Summary & Conclusion

Starbucks did manage to negotiate their way successfully through…

Bibliography

Kaczmarczyk, Pawel and Lewicki, Mikolaj (2007) "Lost In Transformation."

Cultural Encounters In Multinational Corporations Investing In Central And Eastern Europe. DIOSCURI Final Conference, Institute for Human Sciences, Vienna. 20-22 April. 20007. Online available at:

Fellner, Kim (2008) Private Sector: Starbucks Leaner, Meaner. 8 Jul 2008. Post-Gazette.com Business. Online available at:  http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08190/895381-28.stm 

O'Neill, Brendan (2009) Israel, Starbucks and the New Irrationalism. 14 Jan 2009. War In Gaza. SPIKED.com. online available at:  http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/6103/

Cultural Observation of Dress

Why do all humans engage in the act of dressing the body? Consider how dress relates to both the physical and the social needs of the wearer.

Everyone dresses according to social factors and to make themselves more physically appealing to other. This helps them to be seen as hip and enhance their appearance. These variables ensure that the social and individual needs of the person are met. This is when they will have greater amounts of self-confidence. (Eicher, 2008)

f all humans dress themselves for the same basic reasons, why do we look so different from each other? Consider the influences of culture, age, gender, and other factors that distinguish people from one another.

People look different based upon their cultural background, age and gender. These elements are combined together to provide the person with a unique sense of style. This is used to make…

Inside a corporate atmosphere everyone is expected to dress in a suit and tie. This helps them to appear to be more professional. These cultural variations are different from what I wear in normal society. They require distinct ensembles and do not overlap into these areas. (Eicher, 2008)

Update Miner's article on Nacirema (Reading I.2), and describe a currently popular and familiar grooming or dressing activity using Miner's technical writing style. Avoid ordinary words -- that is, lay terminology -- where a more abstract or scientific word will more accurately describe the activity to someone who is totally unfamiliar with the activity. Next, read what you've written and write down your reactions to how this changes your perception of the dressing activity.

Miner's article is discussing the appearance

At the same time, it considerably increased the number of books that would reach the masses, allowing them to see outside the teachings of the Church or of the religious preachers. Moreover, the printing machine offered the possibility for those opposing the rule of the Catholic Church to spread their beliefs and convictions. Thus, Gutenberg's invention was the main tool for what would later be called the Reformation, the religious movement which is often associated with the Renaissance and which influenced the artistic movement in the same manner as the Renaissance affected the emergence of the reformist churches.

The hallmarks of the previous era were rather obvious and contrasted to the ones the Renaissance promoted. They manifested themselves at all the levels of the society. Thus, during the middle Ages, the Church represented the highest institution of the state which had as its subjects all political and land owners (Berstein…

Works Cited

Berstein, Serge, and Milza. Pierre. Histoire de l'Europe. Paris: Hatier, 1994

Braunstein, Florence, and Pepin, Jean Francois. Les Grandes Doctrines. Paris: Ellipses, 1998

Culture-Epoch Theory: The fact of Ceaseless Change. N.d. 20 May 2008 http://iws.ccccd.edu/mbailey/culture_epoch_theory.htm

Hispanic Society. Paintings from the Middle Ages. 2006. 20 May 2008  http://www.hispanicsociety.org/hispanic/paintings_medieval.htm

Cultural Event

The Dallas Museum of Art has several temporary exhibitions on display now. One is called "Youth and Beauty: Art of the American Twenties." Another related but separate exhibition is called "Texas in the Twenties: Prints, Drawings, and Photographs from Lone Star Collections." Because both special exhibitions focus on a specific point in time in American and Texan history, it was helpful to view both together on the same day. I went on opening day of both exhibitions, which was on Sunday March 4, 2012. There was a small line to get in, but the space inside the museum was arranged so that it did not feel crowded. The museum published a brochure that explained each exhibition, why it was on display at that time at the museum, and what the exhibition meant in the context of modern American art.

The "Youth and Beauty: Art of the American Twenties"…

Reference

Dallas Museum of Art (2012). "Current Exhibitions." Retrieved onlie:  http://dallasmuseumofart.org/View/CurrentExhibitions/index.htm

Cultural and Ethnic Differences

The Importance of Understanding Cultural, Ethnic, and Gender Differences by Managers and Professionals in a Business Setting.

The proceeding essay explains the role managers can play in managing cultural, ethnic and gender diversity in an organization and why it is important for the managers to understand it in a professional environment.

The Importance of Understanding Cultural, Ethnic, and Gender Differences by Managers and Professionals in a Business Setting.

It is usually evident and practiced in many organizations that although diversity is considered highly important part of organizational culture but in practice the culture is biased (negatively) towards women and minorities. (Australian Multicultural Foundation, 2013)

The working and communication styles (more friendly and less dominating when it comes to conversation styles) used by women are usually not acceptable and less popular throughout the organization. Because of this they are not the top priority when promotions are considered.…

References

Australian Multicultural Foundation (2013). Managing Cultural Diversity. Australia: Australian Multicultural Foundation and Robert Bean Consulting.

FIRN (2008). Tips for Working in a Culturally Competent Manner. Maryland: FIRN.

Gardenswartz, L. And Rowe, A. (2013). Understandingthe Evolving Role Of Cultural Diversity In the Workplace. California: Sage Publications.  http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/26078_pt2.pdf  [Accessed: 5 Sep 2013].

Cultural Sensitivity and Language Use

Simply talking about culture can be like entering a minefield. Even the use of the word 'articulate' or praising an African-American's 'intelligence' can be questionable. The use of language is so powerful -- and so controversial -- because it can unintentionally unmask great deal about the speaker's unconscious attitudes towards race, as well as his or her conscious attitudes. "It's like weight loss. The last few pounds are the hardest to get rid of. It's the last vestiges of racism that are hard to get rid of," said one African-American comedian, despairing of how he is often called 'articulate' as if this is surprising and marvelous (Clementson 2007). Even in the upper echelons of power, at organizations such as Goldman Sachs, it is not uncommon for an African-American candidate to be labeled 'articulate' (as if that is a surprise, given the level of accomplishment one…

References

Clementson, Lynette. (2007). The racial politics of speaking well. The New York Times.

Retrieved:  http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/04/weekinreview/04clemetson.html?_r=2 

Three Rivers, Amoja. (1996). Cultural etiquette. Communities. Retrieved:

 http://communities.ic.org/articles/1024/Cultural_Etiquette

But most important, Geert Hofstede will give you the 'edge of understanding' which translates to more successful results" (Geert Hofstede's Website, 2003).

If Steven Kafka conducted an analysis of the Czech market through the lens of cultural features, there is an increased likelihood for the results to indicate major discrepancies. This should not however disappoint him, as different does not implicitly mean worse.

A d) in its desire to adhere to the great economic powers of the globe, driven by its sense of innovation and its adaptability to the forces in the macro and micro environments, the Czech epublic has managed to remove most of its trade barriers. These measures were due mostly to its adherence to the European Union and other international trade organizations. "The Czech market has no trade barriers to food and agricultural product imports, except for the usual import duties and tariff rate quotas permitted under…

References

Briffett, C., August 28, 2008, Observing the Czech Republic through the U.S. Lens, Czech Business Weekly

Fennesz-Berka, a., November 1996, Czech Republic and Slovenia Offer Opportunities for U.S. Consumer Foods, AgExporter

2007, Differences between the Czech Republic and the U.S., Associated Content

 http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/392236/differences_between_the_czech_republic.html?page=2&cat=16last  accessed on September 9, 2008

Cultural Empowerment

When planning a health promotion program, we should consider the positive (empowerment process) and the negative behaviors. As we begin to understand our intended audience we can assure the most culturally-appropriate educational intervention. In doing so, we are more likely to create partnerships that help people successfully achieve lasting change and truly promote health.

One of the most common issues that are not discussed in the armed forces is military sexual trauma (MST). This is when an individual will face unnecessary amounts of sexual pain from others they are serving with. A few most common forms include: unwanted sexual touching / grabbing, threating / offensive remarks about someone's body / sexual activities and unwarranted sexual advances. This has begun to occur so frequently that the Veteran Administration conducted a study, where they found that the total amounts of MST affected: 1 in every 5 women and 1 in…

References

Coping Skills for Trauma. (2004). Ibiblio.org. Retrieved from:  http://www.ibiblio.org/rcip/copingskills.html 

Military Sexual Trauma. (2011). VA. Retrieved from:  http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/pages/military-sexual-trauma-general.asp 

Robins, A. (1992). Awaken the Giant Within. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.

4). This idea has since been abandoned. The mythology of the Amazons, a matriarchy of warrior women, has been discounted as no more than a myth, one deriving from the deep-seated fear on the part of males that they might lose their power and authority. In matrilineal societies, men tend still to monopolize the rights of power. Some Chinese anthropologists believe the stories of true matriarchal societies in some regions of China in the past, but this is uncertain. A matriarchy would be presumed to be less warlike and more nurturing as a social order and would not subordinate men in the way men have done to women in the patriarchal society.

The formulation and operation of power in the largely patriarchal social order in the world today divides along other line than gender, with political action influenced most by ideology, religion, divisions of power, and other aspects of group…

References

Adler, F. (1983). Nations Not Obsessed with Crime. Littleton, Colorado: Fred B. Rotham and Co.

Berry, J.M. (1997). The interest group society. New York: Longman.

Crapo, R.H. (1993). Cultural anthropology. Sluice Dock Guilford, Conn.: Dushkin.

El-Awa, M.S. (1982). Punishment in Islamic Law. Indianapolis, Indiana: American Trust Publications.

"

As the saying goes, 'two heads are better than one' so teams working together can find solutions better than a person working alone. Collective wisdom is important in business and as such, given the diversity in the workforce, professionals are required to be adaptable and willing to evaluate the way they conduct business. According to the Anti-Defamation League diversity has a direct impact on the marketplace, talent, and organizational effectiveness.

Moreover, according to them, when companies value diversity and effectively manage it, they can build better relationships, improve decision-making, stimulate effective team building, expand the ability to change problems into opportunities, provide employees with skills that promote organizational effectiveness, increase employee initiative, camaraderie and morale, and reduce conflict among many other benefits. In today's economy, successful organizations "recognize that managing diversity is an opportunity to increase productivity and create effective business strategies." (Anti-Defamation League, 2003).

eferences

Anti-Defamation League. (2003).…

References

Anti-Defamation League. (2003). The Business Case for Diversity. Retrieved from  http://www.adl.org/education/edu_awod/anti-Bias_in_workplace.pdf 

Kelly, E., Young, A., Clark, L. (1993). Sex Stereotyping in the Workplace: A Manager's Guide -- Women in Business. Business Horizons, March-April. Retrieved from  http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1038/is_n2_v36/ai_13815063/?tag=content;col1 

Taggart, A. (2007). Beyond Diversity: Becoming a Culturally Competent Organization. Ivey Business Journal, September-October. Retrieved from  http://www.iveybusinessjournal.com/article.asp?intArticle_ID=712 

Workman, D. (2008). International Trade Communication: Smart Business Negotiators Adapt to Audience Cultural Styles. Retrieved from  http://internationalbusiness.suite101.com/article.cfm/international_trade_communication

The elder is expected to have learned from the previous elder, developed more knowledge and expertise, and is now passing this on to the workers that are employed. This ostensibly a function of the cultural fabric within the framework of Mexican societal mores that establishes the knowledge transfer relationship.

Therefore, business operations in Mexico, as a Mexican workforce is to be hired, are a direct reflection of these cultural mores within the rigid chain-of-command. Similar to a banking operation, the role of the employee is subject to protocol and oversight by the manager. The manager is not an embodiment of the 'chain-of-command'. In fact, Mexican office environments appear to be autonomous and horizontal rather than vertical in control.

The use of hierarchy would be to establish the rapport necessary to engage the Mexican market. Therefore, client engagements will be hierarchical with the manager-employee relationship expressing the chain-of-command as the functional…

References

Geert-Hofstede (2011).Mexico & Germany.  http://www.geert-hofstede.com 

Kwintessential (2011). Mexico & Germany. www.kwintessential.co.uk

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. (2011) Mexico & Germany. www.tradecommissioner.gc.ca/

They will need translation services and interpreters, but they cannot rely on these things forever. In addition, the people who will work in the new offices and the people who will work with the people in the new offices must clearly and properly speak the language. Learning a new language can take time, but it is advisable for anyone who is going to be dealing with business in a foreign country (Kwintessential, 2010).

Cultural issues and language barriers are the two most significant problems that are faced by companies that are looking to expand into something more global in nature (Centre, 2011; Geert-Hostede, 2011). If those barriers can be worked through, the company will have a much higher chance of succeeding where other companies may have failed. Even though cultural issues may seem confusing, or a person may not understand why another culture does something differently, being open-minded about communication…

References

Centre for Intercultural Learning. (2011). Retrieved from:  http://www.international.gc.ca/cfsi-icse/cil-cai/index-eng.asp 

Geert-Hostede. (2011). Retrieved from:  http://www.geert-hostede.com 

Kwintessential. (2010). Retrieved from:  http://www.kwintessential.co.uk 

Performance. (2011). NewCap Radio. Retrieved from:  http://www.ncc.ca

Cultural Comparisons and Management Functions

This paper examines cultural comparisons and discusses how an American manager carries out management functions in the process of supervising German employees. With respect to individualism vs. collectivism, both Germany and the U.S. score high in individualism, that is, the degree to which individuals further their own interests. However, according to Hofstede's model of cultural dimensions, Germany's score of 67 ranks far enough below the U.S. score of 91 that the manager should expect differences in their approaches to working together in teams for instance. German employees would have only a moderate amount of group cohesion, with only a moderate amount of interpersonal connection and sharing of responsibility.

For the American manager, the two country's respective scores indicate that the manager should expect his or her German employees to be less individualistic than their manager. The manager should place a relatively high value on people's…

One thing my father has taught me since I was a little boy is always to look neat and clean, hold my head up high, and walk with purpose, no matter how rich or how poor. He says that this can affect a person's confidence, and it won't hurt if someone is watching them for an advancement at work. I try to follow his advice, but find my body bending too easily to the positions of a soccer player. My father asks Miguel to pardon us while he leads me to the window to pray. Once our noon prayers are done, the four of us sit at the table, and my mother, artfully tucking her veil out of the way while she slurps noodles, says my father has something to discuss with us.

"Son," my father begins in the stiff way he has adopted for talking about serious matters. "I…

There are also an increasing number of opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds to work together towards a common company goal. This brings with it a unique set of opportunities and challenges (Kosch, 2007).

Kosch (2007, p.1) for example mentions the benefits of an international camping program in the United States, where students from across the globe came to American campsites to work as advisers, cooks, housekeepers, and others. The main benefit was the diversity of cultures that enabled a mutual learning process with the result of mutual respect. The main challenge was however the fact that these workers were far from their known and trusted support systems, and cultural integration could prove difficult at first. However, in an increasing amount of workplaces, cultural diversity has become the norm rather than the exception. In such environments, H managers should therefore ensure that the various cultures integrate effectively to help the…

References

Grantham, P.H. And Hook, M. The Changing Role of Human Resources: Discussing the new model of the HR organization. Columbia Consulting Group. Retrieved from http://www.singergrp.com/presentations/changing_role.pdf

Kosch, S. (2007, Sept/Oct). Global Understanding: The Benefits and Challenges of International Staffing. Camping Magazine.

Management Matters. (2007, Feb). Employee Recruitment Part 1 -- Recruiting Strategies. Wood&Wood Products. Retrieved from www.iswonline.com

Schein, E.H. (2008) The Changing Role of the Human Resource Manager. Poslovna Sola. Retrieved from www.iedc.si/publications/masterclasses/masterclass_eng.pdf

Change Management

Describe at least three internal and external drivers of change for the organization in this simulation.

Internally, organizational changes are driven by three external pressures, as defined by Lewin's along the three-stage model of unfreezing, changing and refreezing employee behaviors. Motivating people during each of these change stages reinforces the acquired behaviors. Unfreezing involves the motivational factor of persuading people to replace the old behaviors and attitude with the preferred behaviors and attitudes by demonstrating the need for change by infusing employees with the knowledge and the confidence that the new behaviors and attitudes are needed to cope with external pressures. (Kreitner and Kinicki, 2004). hen, refreezing means the new behavior and attitude become integrated into the normal standard operating procedures of the organization. hen, the external pressures of positive reinforcement, modeling and coaching should be used to encourage the desired behaviors continuance. 'Change and constancy are relative…

To implement the above change strategy in response to pressures, the CEO had to weight he current personnel needs, the changing needs of the external environment, the internal demands of the corporate hierarchical structures, and the emotional and economic demands of the employees.

What kinds of resistance might the leader expect to see? Identify and explain at least five of these. What strategies might you employ to manage each of these areas of resistance?

According to Kreitner and Kinicki, "Resistance to change is an emotional/behavioral response to the real or imagined threats to an established work routine." (Kreitner and Kinicki, 2004). Of the authors' ten reasons employees resist change, five reasons that were of particular impact in the scenario were: surprises and fear of the unknown, as when innovative or radically different changes are introduced without warnings, and the natural emotion/tendency for employees is to become fearful. To prevent the spread of invalid rumors, managers must develop communication plans to minimize employees' emotions of fear of the unknown. Secondly, a climate of mistrust can arise when change comes under pretense and deception and employees come to distrust their managers. In an effort to prevent such an undesirable climate of secrecy managers must honestly discussing coming changes. Thirdly, intimidating changes can cause employee to doubt their capabilities. To

Yes, the merger may have been a good idea in the beginning and would have allowed both companies to form a considerable economy of scale, but only if they could work out their differences and be able to make the changes necessary. According to Lewin's model they never even got past the first age, therefore they were never able to make the changes in the first place. A merger requires that both companies "unfreeze" of their business model and other elements of their company. Unless they can get past the first age, they will not be able to get to the second and third stage of the change model. This one the key lessons that is learned by the failed merger of Daimler-Chrysler.

In 2007, the failed restructuring attempt led to the decision by Daimler AG to sell Chrysler to Cerberus Capital Management (Szczesny, 2007). One of the key reasons…

References

Daimler. (2006). DaimlerChrysler Creates New Management Model. January 24, 20006. Retrieved February 22, 2011 from  http://www.daimler.com/dccom/0-5-7171-1-583502-1-0-0-0-0-0-9296-7164-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html 

Kadapa, S. (2008). Change Management Analysis of Daimler-Chrysler Merger. Retrieved February 22, 20110 from  http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1306208/change_management_analysis_of_daimler.html?cat=27 

[email protected] Wharton (2000). Has DaimlerChrysler Hit the Breakdown Lane or Just Stopped to Fill Up? Retrieved February 22, 2011 from  http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=290 

Mindtools (n.d.) Lewin's Change Management model. Retrieved February 22, 2011 from  http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_94.htm