The Vietnam war Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Vietnam war - Research Paper Example Communist rebels from the north started invading the south. These rebels were trained and armed by the northern Vietnamese government, and they came to be known as the Vietcong. It is the attack on South Vietnam that drew America to Vietnam. The American government through it’s president had promised to support all the nations that faced threats from communism. It is the sole purpose of this paper to identify the superpowers that got assisted by the Vietnam War and how the Vietnam War influenced Cold War. In the period of the Cold War, the American government fought communism in multiple places worldwide. At that time, Southern Vietnam was an area under great threat by the communist Vietcong. The American’s believed that by allowing Communists to take over the Southern part of Vietnam, other countries within that region would follow suite and become communist countries (Domino Theory) (Salem State University, 2009). Faced with this threat, President Kennedy, J.F sent mi litary advisers to assist the army of South Vietnam. It is Kennedy’s successor who started sending military ground troops to Vietnam. But as it later unfolded, the unrest and continued activism against the Vietnam War by the American Citizens saw the government withdraw American troops from Vietnam in the year 1973. Consequently, the Russians won the battle and acquired control of the South. Vietnam was later unified and become a single communist nation. The Vietnam War had an influence over the Cold War. The cold war started in the year 1962 and ended in the late 1970’s. Earlier, in the year 1949, the US had defined all the governments that were communists as being â€Å"the enemy.† After the defeat of the French in 1954, the US replaced them in Vietnam. The war became a struggle between the US, against a nation-state that was emerging (Suffolk State University, 2011). It is the Cold War that saw the US commit itself to assisting all the countries that were und er threat of communism. The Vietnam War was basically a war in which a weaker south Vietnam fought against the north Vietnam. The north Vietnamese were being assisted by China and Russia. The American’s saw this war (Vietnam War) as being a war between communists and Nationalists. The north Vietnamese were communists and the south nationalists. Therefore, the involvement of the U.S in Vietnam War was a direct outcome of the Cold War. At the end of World War Two, the Korean Peninsula was divided between the US forces that were in the south and the Soviet forces that were in the north. Each of these super powers had the intention of unifying Korea under their auspices. The Chinese joined in the war and the war between China and the United States lasted for three years. This war resulted in the growing and intensification of tensions in the Cold War. This growing tension in the Cold War forced the U.S to change its policy towards Vietnam. Russia was keen on facilitating the spre ad of communism in Asia. Together with China, Russia supplied arms to northern Vietnam. The arms were delivered to a group of rebels who later attacked South Vietnam. The United States moved in to support the South fight against the communist north. This scenario overtly shows that the Vietnam War was a war of superpowers. The super powers were fighting a cold war that was due to their different ideologies. Each of the super powers had the intention of introducing her ideologies to other countries. For example, Vietnam was divided into two and each super power

Hals Hardware Essay Example for Free

Hals Hardware Essay Hal’s Hardware Inc. s regional, therefore they only have stores (14 of them) in three states. This scope of customers is a weakness because of their competitors such as Home Depot and Lowe’s are not regional Franchise Hardware Stores. Hal’s Hardware Inc. doesn’t have a good business process to deal with a national scale demand. The size of the products that can be delivered directly to the customer is also limited. Hal’s Hardware Inc. can adapt to an online website filled with the items they sell because all of they have a database of all their items they ever had. Hal’s Hardware Inc. will be able to expand their stores as well as apply their demonstrations online, have accessibility, and a will adopt new ways means of attracting customers. Convenience to the customers is especially possible to provide due to the ‘order online and pick-up in-store’ idea. Hal’s Hardware Inc. , if developing an e-commerce, will have to consider the factors of their decision. They will be facing immense competitions from larger Hardware industries and e-commerce Businesses who in which has a higher area profile, a vast scope of customers. With other e-commerce Businesses, the threat of losing manufacturing companies from selling via Hal’s Hardware Inc. , and directly selling their products online using e-commerce sites such as Amazon, and other sites with a wide target client coverage. There are numerous additions that the company may resort to in order to remain strong amidst other competitors. Hal’s Hardware can make use of the aspect of community and service that they’ve developed in-store and apply it on their website. This can be done in various ways. First, wanted ads from constructors should have a place on the website. From these projects, the web site could suggest tools and materials which would bring the attention of customers to certain items by showing how they can be used. Second, website could also be host for methods of instruction. In the store and tool demonstrations already occur. Online, the instruction manuals that they give out in store could be uploaded, for example. There could also be videos of the tool demonstrations to help online customers see the products in action. Third, seminars and workshops may be accessible online. Fourth, customers should be allowed to submit reviews of products that they’ve purchased either online or in-store. Moreover, schedules of seminars and workshops should be available online in order to advertise store events and draw in more people both to the website and to the store. With regard to their purchasing process, Hal’s Hardware should implement a way by which customers can find the store nearest to them prior to completing a transaction. Seeing as some items cannot be delivered directly to the customer due the size of the product and its effect on the price of shipping, the company should consider giving the customer the option of hipping their orders to their home or to a store. To go along with this, solid return and warranty policies should be constructed in order to cater customer satisfaction. To address areas in which their stock and resources are lacking, the company may make use of the site to post advertisements for manufacturers and distributors wh o would like to have their products or resources available in the store. Otherwise, the existence of a database will be a great help in forming the website. Stock will likely be updated as much as possible as the current database is changed in real-time. The amount of stock and location of products are already integrated into the current system. Both elements are incredibly useful to online customers. Overall, the website should focus on forming a good relationship between the company and the customers. The community atmosphere should translate to the website. The tight-knit nature of HHI’s customer community isn’t usually present in large chain stores. If the website contains features that nurture this, then it has a standing chance against its competitors.

The Theoretical Studies Of Organizational Culture Commerce Essay

The Theoretical Studies Of Organizational Culture Commerce Essay The term culture has been used by anthropologists to refer to the customs and rituals that societies develop over the history. It has also been used by some organizational researchers and managers to refer to the climate and practices that organizations build up around the espoused values and credo of an organization. ( Edgar H. Schein,organizational culture and leadership p7). (Hofstede et al. 1990) define Culture as holistic and that involves a larger group of individuals. He asserts that Culture is historically related; it is an emergent phenomenon and is conveyed through traditions and customs and that people tend to hold on to their ideas, values and traditions. Culture is not something inherent but learned and it is human made. It is shared by a group of people. Culture is build upon interactions between people, who are sharing values and beliefs to produce behavioral norms. According to Trompenaars (2003: 26) Culture is necessary for human, it is like a guide. The culture allows to the human to have norms and valuesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the culture plays an important role in business. Culture is learnt and passed on from generation to generation; it belongs to one group in particular and it influences the behavior of group members in uniform and predictable ways (Mead 1998, p.4) A culture is a powerful determinant of group behavior and is setted up by the way employees work and behaves in the work place. Culture is considered a powerful, enduring and pervasive influence on human behavior through the socialization process within a culture individuals learn the norms and expectations of membership of that society the right and wrong of doing things. (Cartwright and cooper,1992). The culture concept is not only deep but also wide and complex (Schein, 1992). The onion diagram: According to Hofstede (2001) culture appear in numerous levels of depth such as symbols, heroes, rituals, and values. The first three layers, symbols, heroes, and rituals represent the layers of culture that are visible to outsiders. These are the practices of a given culture but their cultural meaning may not be obvious to those who are not a part of that culture hofstede(2001 10:8). Symbols are words, gestures, pictures and objects that hold a particular meaning only recognizable by people who share the same culture. The words in a language or jargon belong to this category, as do dress, hairstyles. New symbols are easily developed and old ones disappear (Hofstede, 2001). Heroes are persons, alive or dead, real or imaginary, who possess characteristics which are highly prized in a certain culture, and who serve as models for behavior (Hofstede, 2001). Rituals are collective activities, technically superfluous in reaching desired ends, but within a culture are considered as socially essential. Rituals are also ways of greeting and paying respects to others, together with social and religious ceremonies for example (Hofstede, 2001). Symbols, heroes, rituals are considered as practices. The core of culture is formed by values. Values are broad tendencies to prefer certain states of affairs over others. Values are feelings with an arrow on it: they have a plus and a minus side (Hofstede, 2001). They deal with evil vs. good, dirty vs. clean, ugly vs. beautiful, abnormal vs. normal, irrational vs. rational, etc (Hofstede, 2001). Values are one of the first things that children learn unconsciously and implicitly. Because they were acquired early, many values remain unconscious to those who hold them. as a result, they cannot be discussed nor can they be directly observed by outsiders , They can only be inferred from the way people act under various circumstances (Hofstede, 2001). Definition of corporate culture: The concepts of organizational culture and corporate culture can be debated to hold opposing views although the concepts often are used interchangeable in literature. A plethora of definitions of corporate culture exist in the organizational theory literature. Anthropologists have proposed at least 164 different definitions of culture (Howard, 1998). Although all the theorists believe in the importance of the culture in the organizational studies but Very little consensus exists with regard to a general theory (Sorensen, 2002). There is still no Generally agreed definition of the concept or dominant point of view itself but rather a richer mixture of ideas and approaches. The study of organizational culture indicate the way people are living and working together. Nahavandi and Malekzadeh (1998:80) state that culture is the beliefs and assumption shared by members of an organization. The term culture is often used as if companies do have only one culture, but in reality most companies do have more than one set of culture. Similarly, Krystek (1992) confirms that there are different cultures in different parts of an organization. Alike, Buono Bowditch (1989) assert that in most big companies, there is more than one unified corporate culture. In other words, the organizational culture affects practically all aspects of organizational life (Buono 2002; Cartwright Cooper, 1996). Barney(1986) define culture asa complex set of values, beliefs, assumptions, and symbols that define the way in which a firm conducts its business. Harrison and Stokes (1992) describe  «culture is to an organization what personality is to an individual. It is that distinctive constellation of beliefs, values, work styles and relationships that distinguish one organization from another. OReilly and Chatman (1996, p.166) define organizational culture as a set of norms and values that are widely shared and strongly held throughout the organization. Values define what is important and norms define appropriate attitudes and behaviors for organizational members. OReilly and Chatman (1996, p.160). Sadri and Lees (2001, p.853) states that the corporate culture originates from the fact that the individuals inside an organization have different ethnical or social backgrounds. Inside an organization they together build up norms and rules which results in a corporate culture. Schein (1988, p.9-10) emphasize that in a company where there are only one or a few individuals in the organization they create the organizational culture solitary on their own beliefs. In larger organizations the culture is heavily depending on the originator or the stronger people inside the organization, often people who have worked there for a long time or management. A quotation from Lee, Kim and Yu (2004, p.340) illustrate the corporate culture, a common expression used for describing a particular work practice inside an organization. The way we do things around here. The culture does not only consist of one assumption or one belief, the culture is constructed by all the common assumptions and beliefs which the members of the organization have. (Hatch, 1997, p.213 and Schein 1988, p.9-10) According to Edgar Schein(1992), a noted MIT Professor of Management, researcher and author in the area of organizational culture defines culture in his classic book: organizational culture and a leadership as a pattern of shared basic assumptions, invented or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with the problems of external adaption and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and therefore is taught to new members of the group as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems. Furthermore, he define that cultures inside organizations consist of three different levels, assumptions, values and artifacts. According to (Hatch.1997, p.210) these three levels affect and describe the culture inside an organization: Artifacts The artifacts are the tangible things which the organizational members have constructed (Hatch, 1997, p.216). Artifacts are the visible elements in a culture. It is important to know that although the Artifacts are tangible and can be easily discerned but are hard to understand by people not part of the culture. They are at the outer limit of the culture and therefore easy to misinterpret, as they often are individuals reflections of the assumptions, they do not have to represent the core of the culture (Hatch, 1997, p.217 Schein, 1988, p.11). Artifacts can be dress codes, furniture Through a process of realization, artifacts take on the symbolic meaning of the organizations values, work climate, work processes, etc. Espoused values   Espoused values are the second level which affects the organizational culture, it consists of the social principles and goals set by members of the group. The values could be represented by the philosophies, democracy, tradition or other principles which the members endorse of or believe in. (Hatch, 1997, p.214 Schein 1988 p.9) Norms are a part of values, and these are the unwritten rules which exist in the organization. The norms express what is expected from the members and how they should behave in certain situations. The values are an extension from the assumptions, and make the culture more alive (Hatch, 1997, p.216 Schein 1988, p17) Assumptions   Schein (1988, p.9-10) claims that assumptions are the ground and core of the organizational culture, which could be seen as the beliefs inside an organization. The assumption represents the reality which the members inside the organization accept as true and what they perceive as important. This constructs the truth which permeates trough the organization .They are difficult to discern because they exist at a largely unconscious level. (Hatch, 1997, p.217) claims that the assumptions affect all the other levels. Members from the organization create values and artifacts which symbolizes the cultural core as they are based on the organizations assumptions. Smircich (1983) covers the same ground as Schein, but in five stages. Lees (2003) has adapted the theories from Schein and Smircich and conducted a model of culture that is especially relevant for mergers and acquisitions (see table 2-1). Following the viewing of the different definitions of corporate culture, we can sum up that corporate culture is a philosophy or norms that guide an organizations policy or the climate in which members of that organization act together and work together. Corporate culture in merger: Organizational culture is an important aspect in shaping individuals commitment, productivity, and longevity with the organization (OReilly, Chatman Caldwell, 1991). An organizations culture helps to shape and determine the manner of conduct by the members and the practices inside the organization that lead to success. it can be considered as a driver of workforce behavior. It has a significant impact on the way employee feel, think, act and make decision. In todays business world, corporate culture has a high influence and become an important issue in organization because its play a vital role in the success and achievement of goals that why it is important not to ignore or neglect it while planning and executing mergers and acquisition . The concept of corporate culture must be understood in order to allow managers to describe and understand any organization and keep staff company together to achieve its organizational goals and objectives. An effective corporate culture is a remarkable competitive advantage and the key to organizational effectiveness in MA. Organizations that strongly align their organizational culture to maintain their business strategies have a tendency to outperform those organizations whose strategy and culture are not aligned. The corporate culture is perceived when companies merge can be compared to what culture is to an organization what personality is to an individual. When two dissimilar organizational cultures are brought together typically the case in mergers and acquisitions we can expect only two outcomes: it will produce discomfort and end up with a cultural clash or both cultures will fit each other under the umbrella of one unifying culture. Strong culture Robbins, S. P., (1998) defined a strong culture is one that is internally consistent, is widely shared, and makes it clear what it expects and how it wishes people to behave. Kaufman, (2002) stated that a positive organizational culture reinforces the core beliefs and behaviors that a leader desires while weakening the values and actions the leader rejects. Peters and Waterman (1982) indicates that a negative culture becomes toxic, poisoning the life of the organization and hindering any future potential for growth Strong culture exist where employee react to incentive because of their alignment to organizational values. on the contrary, there is a Weak Culture where there is little alignment with organizational values and control must be exercised through extensive procedures and bureaucracy. Kilmann, Saxton, and Serpa, (1986) defined strong cultures as those where organization members place pressure on other members to adhere to norms. Byrne, (2002) indicates that a strong organizational culture will exert more influence on employees than a weak one. If the culture is strong and supports high ethical standards, it should have a very powerful and positive influence on employee behaviour. the corporate culture is divided into strong culture and weak culture. Strong culture takes place in organization where staff responds to stimulus because of their alignment to organizational values. Certainly, strong organizational cultures are those where the core values of the dominant culture are strongly believed by the great majority of organizational members. On the contrary, weak culture exists where there is little alignment with organizational values and where the control must be exercised through extensive procedures and bureaucracy. Strong cultures in which the key values are deeply held and widely shared have a greater influence on employees than the weak cultures. The more employees accept the organizations key values, the greater is their commitment to those values and the stronger the culture is. Strong culture vs weak culture Quantitative analysis has shown that firms with strong cultures outperform firms with weak cultures by facilitating coordination and control, emphasising common goals and increasing employees efforts (Kotter and Heskett, 1992; Gordon and DiTomaso, 1992). a strong culture enhances an organizations ability to execute its strategy (Tushman and OReilly, 1997). In an organization with strong culture, employees are more prepared to take responsibility and fulfill their mission within the organization with enthusiasm. Strong organizational culture serves to provide group members with a way of giving meaning to their daily lives, setting guidelines and rules for how to behave. ( Schein, 1991, p. 15. ) The types of corporate culture Four types of organizational culture were proposed by Harrison (1972) and used in Cartwright and Cooper (1992) work. The Understanding of an organizations culture permits to identify cultures and classify them by making comparative overview. The type of corporate culture classify organizations by a set of characteristics that describe how employee interact with each other ;what are incentive and rewarding system that motivated the workers to furnish their commitment and output in order to attain the underlined goals . Type 1: Power culture. It is characterized by the concentration of power in the hand of a single or small group of individuals (the president, the founder, a key of manager) .in this type of culture, Culture is autocratic and control is the key element and it is common in small entrepreneurial organizations or family tradition business. Reward systems are often inequitable as they are influenced by personal preferences. Employees are motivated by feelings and a sense of personal of loyalty towards their boss or owner because Power cultures tend to have inequitable compensation systems and other benefits based on favoritism and loyalty, as well as performance. Employee demonstrated their loyalty seeking the reward due to out a fear of punishment. Decisions are centralized around one key individual element and tend to be based on hunches and past successes as on logical way of thinking. Type 2: Role culture. Today this type of culture is common in almost organizations. Culture is highly autocratic and it is based on logic, rationality and search of effectiveness. There is an obvious division and specialization of Labor and the culture is results-oriented. The procedures and regulations are clearly defined. Organizations are split into various functions and each person within the function is giving a particular role that has to be executed. This type of culture tends to be inflexible and slow to change due to the high degree of formalization. This culture can be experienced by employees as impersonal and frustrating. Type 3: Task/achievement cultures. Emphasize on the accomplishment of the task and problem solving with success being judged on the achievement. The culture is team-oriented as individuals are gathered around and committed to work in teams for a specific task. The structure is active and flexible depending on the given task . Employees are flexible, creative, and highly autonomous. Employees are respected for their knowledge and valuable skills rather of their hierarchical seniority. People tend to be creative and the working environment is generally satisfying. Type 4: Person/support culture. It is characterized by egalitarianism. Person cultures are commonly found in charities or nonprofit organizations. Organizations with a person/support culture have minimal structure and decision making is carried out on a shared collective opinions. The managerial style is supportive and quick to respond to individual needs. Furthermore, information is shared collectively. Decision-making occurs after discussion of all involved members and with their consensus. Organizational versus National Culture   The purpose of this paper is to examine what is the difference between national and organizational culture and how they are related to each other? What is appropriate in one national setting is wholly offensive in another.   What is rational in one national setting is wholly irrational in another.   And, corporate culture never trumps national culture.  Dr. Geert Hofstede In this part, we focus an insight regarding the cultural aspect of mergers and Acquisitions and to identify the role and the differences between national cultures and corporate culture. Due to the globalization and international trade, many mergers and acquisitions are now crossborder, which imply to give a lot of attention to national cultures that differ from country to another. After an MA transaction, many acquired companies experience many cultural issues possibly because their employees do not like the acquiring companys way of doing thing. Lees (2003) claim that corporate culture is seen as a subculture of the national culture with visible points of distinctiveness and large parts of invisible similarities. Therefore, the organizational culture is divided into the organizational climate (as superficial part) and the national culture (the deep culture part). National culture can be noticed in human interactions and organizations, whereas corporate culture can be related to the environment of business organizations. The common values, customs, practices and behaviors of people groups differ widely between countries; therefore employees bring their cultural inheritance inside the company. All this components that exist outside the company, in the national culture, exist also inside the company as well. Additionally, in cross borders MA the culture of the company reveal peoples values and beliefs, which found its basis in the national culture. Organizations are small and tiny entity with a distinct structure including a set of basic norms, values and assumptions, which are reflected in a variety of patterns of actions by employee and subcultures of the wide national culture. There are different subcultures in one culture. According to Lees (2003), the best manner to make a difference between national and organizational culture is through sorting out organizational culture as subculture of national culture. Researchers often consider organizational culture as the micro context and national culture as the macro-context in which employees operate. In the same way, Hofstede et al. (1990) state that organizational cultures should be distinguished from national cultures; others assert that national culture must be consider along with corporate culture (Scott and Meyer, 1994; Sagiv and Schwartz, 2007; Dickson et al., 2000). The prevailing judgment in researches has been leaded by cross-national comparison based on the hypothesis that culture is principally equivalent to nation. The observations of Nancy Adler (1983 International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior) drive out the myth that organizational culture can Moderate or even erase the influence of national culture; a faith often found within large global corporations and concluded that national culture outweighs organizational culture.   (Lees, 2003:269) affirm: To really understand the organizational culture in a foreign target, acquirers first need to Understand the national culture . According Dr. Geert Hofstede, there are differences between national and organizational cultures. -The national culture is related to our deeply held values regarding and change slowly over the course of generations.    -in contrast, Organizational culture is comprised of broad guidelines which are rooted in organizational practices learned on the job.   The difference between national and organizational cultures is that the differences between national cultures are mainly found in the values of the different cultures, whereas differences between corporate cultures are mainly found in the practices between different companies. (Hofstede, 1991) Some authors as Hellriegel Slocum (1993), and Schein (1999) state that corporate culture is a system of shared values and beliefs that are common to the members of an organization. Hofstede (1997) argues that the core of organizational culture is not values, which he attributes to national culture, but shared perceptions of daily practices because an organization is not a nation. The main difference between organizational and national cultures is the role that manifestation of culture, presented in the onionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ diagram as practices, play in each level (Hofstede, 1997) because Values are acquired early in the life, from family, school, surrounding environment. Practices are learned later, when already as an adult people start working (Hofstede, 1997). In the process of merger and acquisition, what is often disregarded and underestimate is that the differences between cultures may create managerial challenges for the new entity mingling employee from different cultures. For example in the merger, people from different cultural backgrounds and national cultures can be socialized into the culture of the merged company, and therefore follow the corporate culture, but if the corporate values are contradictory and counter the national cultural values, employees will be resisting the companys corporate culture. Since the corporate culture is argued to be deeply embedded in the organizations history and in the behaviour of the employees, corporate culture creates difficulties when implementing change in MA (Lees, 2003). Melewar and Wooldridge (2001) argue that corporate culture cannot be easily manipulated. Laurent (1986, in Weber et al., 1996), on the other hand, argues that it is possible to change artefacts and values and beliefs, but it is not possible to affect the underlying assumptions because they are derived from ones national culture. However, researchers have demonstrated that organizational and national cultures are different constructs with distinct contents and influences (e.g., Bartunek, 1984; Hofstede et al., 1990; Sackmann, 1992; Chatman and Jehn, 1994; Numic, 2008). (Hofstede et al., 1990) found evidence for this in a study conducted across 20 Danish and Dutch organisational units ,His research showed that organizational cultures differ mainly at the levels of symbols, heroes and rituals. This stream of literature recommends distinguishing between national culture and organizational culture. Finally, National culture can be seen as one of the most Influential factors that determine organizational phenomena. The company corporate culture reflects to a large extent the national culture of which the company is part (Schneider and Barsoux, 2003). Hence, The differences between corporate and national cultures can lead to cultural clashes . National culture: Merger and acquisition join two companies reflecting two different national cultures. Many differences can be established between national cultures because those cultures are shaped by common experiences, beliefs and organizations, national values and orientations In MA, national culture is more apparent to strangers because local people are not conscious of their own culture And employees are not willing to change their ways of doing things. Thats why its essential for the acquiring company to understand the national culture of its target because it will be helpful during the acquisition while the acquirer have to plan the integration as well as shaping the corporate culture together (Schneider and Barsoux, 2003). The culture of a nation where a company is set up influence many business variables For example differences in the organizational structure and coordination, career and reward system. People carry their cultures, ways of thinking and behaving, with them into the work place (Hofstede, 1997). The ways in which a firm typically deals with aspects of organizing its business activities vary significantly in different countries and these variations have been shown to be in direct association with national cultural distance between organizations in different countries (Hofstede, 1997). Kogut and Singh (1988) define national cultural distance as the degree to which cultural norms in one country are different from those in another country. A landmark in the research of national culture, and cultural differences, is Hofstedes (1980) work on comparative culture, where he conducted a field survey of over 116 000 IBM employees across 40 countries. Hofstedes theory on national cultures Hofstede (1980:21) defines culture as collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another and proposes that cultural differences between nations can be described and differentiated along five dimensions. Hofstede (2001) created a model through a study in 50 countries, which depicts five dimensions of cultures. This model emphasizes power distance, uncertainty, avoidance, masculinity and individualism. (Salter, LewisValdes2004, Phatak et al 2005, GerhartFang 2005,ArdichviliKuchinke 2002) Power Distance The first dimension relates to the degree of equality/inequality between people in the society. Power distance is defined as the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally (Hofstede, 2005, p46). Hofstede (1997) argues however, that Power and inequality are extremely fundamental facts of any society and anybody with some international experience will be aware that all societies are unequal, but some are more unequal than others. Some countries differ in the way it handles inequality. In the power distance index (PDI) a high score suggests that there is a large power distance between subordinates and bosses in organizations. A low score, on the other hand, indicates small power distance and that there is a limited dependence of subordinates on bosses (Hofstede, 1997).In lower power distance the superiors are more approachable while in higher power distance there is a emotional distance between subordinates an d bosses. Individualism versus Collectivism The second dimension focuses on the degree to which a society reinforces individual or collective achievement and interpersonal relationships. Individualism is in societies in which the ties between individuals are loose it refers to the extent to which everyone is expected to look after himself and his immediate family. Collectivism, is the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups refers to the group societies in which people from birth and onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive ingroups, which throughout peoples lifetime continue to protect the in exchange for unquestioned loyalty (Hofstede, 1997:51). As an example management in an individualistic society is the management of individuals. If incentives for example are given these should be linked to an individuals performance, not to the group as in a collectivistic society (Hofstede,1997). Masculinity-Femininity This dimension regards the degree of importance of relationships versus tasks(op citp.119). Hofstede (1997:82-83) argues that masculinity pertains to societies in which social gender roles are clearly distinct and femininity pertains to societies in which social gender roles overlap. In masculine societies, recognition, advancement and a challenging work are the factors Hofstede (1980) finds to be the most important. Whereas having a good working relationship with your superior, cooperation, employment security and to live in a desirable area are the most important factors for feminist societies (Hofstede, 1980). This dimension pertains to the degree societies reinforce, or do not reinforce, the traditional masculine work role model of male achievement, control, and power. A high Masculinity score indicates that a country experiences a higher degree of gender differentiation. In such cultures, males tend to dominate a significant portion of the society and power structure. A low Masculinity score means a society has a lower level of differentiation and inequity between genders. In these cultures, females are treated equally to males in all aspects of the society. Uncertainty Avoidance The fourth dimension Hofstede (1980) investigated concerns the tolerance of ambiguity in different societies. He refers to it as uncertainty avoidance which can be defined as the extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations (Hofstede, 2005p.167). One of the key differences between weak and strong uncertainty avoidance is the establishments of law and rules, where cultures with weak uncertainty avoidance have few and general la

Free Essays: Odysseus of the Odyssey and Moses of Exodus :: comparison compare contrast essays

Odysseus of the Odyssey and Moses of Exodus The Book of Exodus is considered to be an epic poem as by definition. An epic poem as defined by Funk and Wagnalls is a poem celebrating in stately, formal verse the achievements of heroes, gods, and demigods (426). The Book of Exodus as well as the entire Bible was written in the form of an epic poem. Major characteristics of epic poems are that there is always a heroic figure. Moses is indeed comparable to Odysseus, the heroic figure in the Odyssey. Although both men had different purposes they are still considered comparable according to the definition of an epic. Like Odysseus, Moses was at one with the gods. In Moses' case it was only one almighty god. Moses had a special covenant with God. It was as if Moses was Gods' body on earth. Moses spoke Gods' words and acted upon his request. Moses possessed many characteristics that made him a great man. In the Exodus there were many examples where Moses showed his great wisdom. He also possessed somewhat magical power given to him by God. He also had a divine purpose in life. Moses was on a "mission from god" so to speak to deliver his people from bondage. His mission was similar to those of other typical epics. It was of course a very dangerous and exhausting journey that lasted a very long time. There were many obstacles to overcome as well as internal affairs among the Hebrews. Moses was born a Hebrew but was raised as the prince of Egypt. Just like Odysseus, Moses was a man of nobility. Moses did not know he was a Hebrew until he was a much older man. He was living a lie without even realizing it. "And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren (Exodus 2. 11). It was then that Moses realized who he was, but he was still unaware of his destiny to lead his people out of bondage. When Moses realized who he was he fled to the land of Midian. Free Essays: Odysseus of the Odyssey and Moses of Exodus :: comparison compare contrast essays Odysseus of the Odyssey and Moses of Exodus The Book of Exodus is considered to be an epic poem as by definition. An epic poem as defined by Funk and Wagnalls is a poem celebrating in stately, formal verse the achievements of heroes, gods, and demigods (426). The Book of Exodus as well as the entire Bible was written in the form of an epic poem. Major characteristics of epic poems are that there is always a heroic figure. Moses is indeed comparable to Odysseus, the heroic figure in the Odyssey. Although both men had different purposes they are still considered comparable according to the definition of an epic. Like Odysseus, Moses was at one with the gods. In Moses' case it was only one almighty god. Moses had a special covenant with God. It was as if Moses was Gods' body on earth. Moses spoke Gods' words and acted upon his request. Moses possessed many characteristics that made him a great man. In the Exodus there were many examples where Moses showed his great wisdom. He also possessed somewhat magical power given to him by God. He also had a divine purpose in life. Moses was on a "mission from god" so to speak to deliver his people from bondage. His mission was similar to those of other typical epics. It was of course a very dangerous and exhausting journey that lasted a very long time. There were many obstacles to overcome as well as internal affairs among the Hebrews. Moses was born a Hebrew but was raised as the prince of Egypt. Just like Odysseus, Moses was a man of nobility. Moses did not know he was a Hebrew until he was a much older man. He was living a lie without even realizing it. "And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren (Exodus 2. 11). It was then that Moses realized who he was, but he was still unaware of his destiny to lead his people out of bondage. When Moses realized who he was he fled to the land of Midian.

30 Seconds to Mars Essay

Launched in 1998 by the band’s front man Jared Leto and his older brother, drummer Shannon Leto, 30 Seconds to Mars found success in the 2000’s with their musical mix of post-grunge, scream, and hard rock. The band gained an audience with its self-titled debut, but it was the platinum-selling album â€Å"A Beautiful Lie† that opened the doors in 2005, gaining the band a spot on MTV while making the way for a long road of tours. The bands mates also showed a high appreciation for marketing, which they revisited several years later by using fan’s pictures for their third album, â€Å"This Is War†. Jared Leto enlisted the help of his brother and co-founded 30 Seconds to Mars in 1998. The group made its studio appearance four years later, releasing a self-titled album whose post-grunge sound betrayed an affinity for groups like Chevelle and Incubus. Although it only achieved modest success, the growing 30 Seconds to Mars still laid the foundation for a healthy career. Before all the great hype the band first started in 1998 it wasn’t well known so they expanded their music by coming to America, gold status in multiple foreign countries, and producing several singles, including two Top 10 rock hits. 30 Seconds to Mars heavily toured as a result, sporting a new lineup that included lead guitarist Tomo Miliceivc and bassist Matt Wachter in addition to the two Letos. Wachter threw in the towel in 2007, the band continued to tour around the world for the rest of the year, making several major festivals such as Roskilde and Pinkpop. They also played opening shows for bands like The Used and Linkin Park. The band has gone through a lot in their background for the band itself and the members. Created in 1998 by Jared Leto (vocals and guitar) and his brother, Shannon (drums), 30 Seconds to Mars merely began as a small family project. Things began to speed up quickly, however, and Matt Wachter later joined the band as bassist. After a small revolving door of guitarists (as the band’s first two guitarists, Kevin Drake and Solon Bixler, left the band due to issues primarily related to touring), the three auditioned Tomo Milicevic to round out the band’s roster. Matt Wachter plays keyboards for the band. Jared Leto might be a name that some people have heard before, before the band started he was a major actor. Their music is filled with emotions and are very personal to them (their songs are based on real life experiences) This band is not about fame, money, and any of that stuff. They are all about the music and they sing from their hearts. Jared never used his title as an actor to promote his band and never will. Their unique style of music and heart moving lyrics fills the listeners heart with so much emotion.

Crisis Intervention Plan For School Shootings Social Work Essay Example

Crisis Intervention Plan For School Shootings Social Work Essay Example Crisis Intervention Plan For School Shootings Social Work Essay Crisis Intervention Plan For School Shootings Social Work Essay School shots are one of the common events that achieved a degree of cultural symbolism and do fright within pupils, their relations, and school forces. It is non flooring that these shots are still go oning, since the beginning of the job is sophisticated. School shots promote depression and anxiousness within schools and promote the thought that schools are insecure for many pupils ; in this paper I will discourse the class of action in Virginia Tech and my function as a school psychologist during the crisis. On April 16, 2007, Virginia Tech experienced a awful and unforgettable event in the American university history. An Asiatic pupil shooting and took the lives of 32 pupils and module, staff. He left behind injured persons and people with psychological jobs, and so he killed himself. Furthermore, victim s households, friends and the university community have suffered dreadfully. As a school psychologist in Virginia Tech, I think it is really important to roll up the informations about the pupil who killed the victims in order to cognize more about the existent causes that led him to hit people and kill himself after. This will assist to cover with pupils behaviour to avoid and halt existent causes before they get more complicated. The pupil liquidator was scraggy and looked younger than his age. He did non take part in category and did non desire to talk. The professors reported that he was mentally sick and he asked him to seek guidance. I believed that it is of import to work with pupils who have same symptoms like this individual who needed an early diagnosing. I believe that mental wellness clinics receive a large figure of antisocial behaviours which is the most common upset in our day-to-day life. I think that early diagnosing of serious aggression that can be Conduct Disorder which begins as aggression in the early childhood and developed during adolescence and maturity, it is really critical to cognize about these instances in order to assist those persons since they were diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder ( ODD ) . Conduct is a upset that refers to people who deal with specific behavioural and emotional jobs during the childhood. Peoples diagnoses with this upset can non concentrate and they have a difficult clip to follow regulations. They are frequently referred as bad people or delinquent, disregarding that they mentally ill. Course of action Schools must be protected and safe topographic points for kids to analyze, nevertheless after this shooting event, a figure of pupils and their households still feel threatened and their lives in danger by armed and unsafe schoolmates. As a member of school community we need to discourse our program and how to cover with current pupils, households, professors and the other members who experienced the incident and assist them to get the better of and go on benefit from school. I believe that it is really interesting to work with survived pupils to swear us and discourse our programs to offer a safe topographic point to larn. As school staff, we need to work with parents and public safety suppliers ( local constabulary and fire sections, exigency respondents, infirmaries, etc. ) ( National Association of School Psychologists, 2006 ) The school community needs besides to heighten, and regenerate the school processs to maintain school edifice safe. Work with pupils to be able to discou rse and speak aloud if something happened that makes them experience uncomfortable, worried or scared. Teach the pupils that everybody play a large function to keep the school safety. School community demands besides to offer crisis preparation and professional development for all staff based upon demands assessment . ( NASP, 2006 ) Anger and force are increasingly more important issues to school psychologists and other professionals today. Those pedagogues faced the effects of larning jobs and societal accommodation issues. It is really important to supply monthly workshops for all pupils to place their feelings and assist them to cognize how to pull off their feelings of choler, particularly if they are taking drugs or holding mental unwellness will be helpful. It is really of import to learn and do pupils remain off from drugs and intoxicant. Added to this, being off from guns and other arms will be helpful every bit good. Teach pupils in early age that force is non a solution to manage jobs. Therefore, supply reding Sessionss to all pupils, particularly those who are fighting with anxiousness, depression, or other emotional concerns that they can non manage. William Pollack, a Harvard Medical School psychologist, stated in the incident of the Columbine taws needed aid, and what they got twenty-four hours after twenty-four hours was no 1 detecting. They were left entirely. Adolescents, even though they say they want to be entirely they truly want some sort of connexion with an grownup who understands and attentions. ( USA today, 2009 ) As a school staff, we need to work on our safety plans every bit good. We will necessitate to lock doors, provide security cameras and call systems. We need to promote and construct up the regard between staff and pupils, pupils and pupils. Respect the pupils possible and public presentation is really critical besides. The interaction between counsellors or professors and pupils is really of import to be able to acknowledge pupils feelings and alarm any serious emotional issues or mental wellness jobs. Check and connect is a good scheme to supply to school staffs in the workshops. In this attack, every twenty-four hours, one professor or more should speak about a specific pupil s instance. As the initial duty we have as school staff, we should assist people see the event in an appropriate context. We need to supply guidance and psychological interventions and we have to work with them to be able to go on their surveies and assist them to accomplish their ends as they came for the first clip and may be better. We have to work with those people who were in the event on the traumatic that may go on and they will believe about all the clip. We need to be able to assist them to bury it and get down a new personal and educational safe life. It is obvious that people who commit this sort of things and hiting normally have mental upsets such as terrible depression or other emotional jobs. Those persons normally feel unwanted and severely treated by others, they are dissatisfied in their academic public presentation and ends, and hence they go for self-destruction and shot in order to make retaliation. Furthermore, these pupils ever prepared for their programs antecedently and they talked about their intents in progress. Hopefully, we will hold clip to cognize about their programs and assist them acknowledge their feelings to be able to step in early. That is why I believe that we need to construct up assurance and communicating with pupils and advance them to inquire for aid whenever they feel that they need it. As people working in schools, the event is difficult to see, but we may be able to better command the school and in forestalling more shots. Furthermore, pupils who are under medicines for anxiousness, depression or other concerns and are presently in university, they need to be in contact with their physician, healer every bit good as their household. It may be besides appropriate for pupils who have faced a anterior traumatic event every bit good. I believed that school shot is one of the biggest issues that need more than a individual solution ; hapless parenting and early designation are large footings to believe about covering with such incidents. Most shots in schools occurred chiefly because of retaliation against society. Specific people such as parents, friends, and roomies know how to assist professionals to decrease specific psychological results of a traumatic incident by utilizing observation as a method to watch pupils who are at greater hazard and help straight. Awareness of the issues that can take to cruel psychological hurt may help grownups to distinguish those pupils who need mental wellness aid. As school community, we should be after hand in glove to contrive a safety within schools to diminish force by using assorted attacks in order to run into each school s demands. For an effectual consequence, it is helpful to include the undermentioned constituents such as doing school-community safety partnerships, set uping comprehensive school crisis response programs ( NASP, 2006 ) As a class of action, schools should adopted new Torahs and schemes to get by with this new manner of demoing such barbarous aggression in instructional constitutions, such as prohibiting violent behaviours by publishing a disciplinary regulations and penalties against persons who are trying to be involved in aggressive behaviours in schools scenes. Besides, schools need besides to offer a proper and effectual guidance therapy for people who still under the daze of a shooting incident and assist them to get the better of the crisis clip. Equally far as community is concerned, it should be a precedence to protect pupils who experience aggressive events and do them recover assurance to prosecute their academic and emotional life. Bettering schoolroom environment is besides presented in our school program by backing such a positive school subject School clime is a comparatively abiding quality of the full school that is experienced by members, describes their corporate perceptual experiences of everyday behaviour, and affects their attitudes and behaviour in the school ( Camilla A ; Sandra, 2007 ) . Our plan battles racism and intolerance and implements schemes to accept people from different civilizations ; in school plan, the community promotes audience, appropriate societal accomplishments, lifting security in schools, and use disciplinary method to penalize persons who did non esteem the school policy. Using bar plans for all pupils is one of the critical schemes we have in our plan like speaking about the federal jurisprudence. Basically, we besides implement some specific intercessions in order to back up pupils positive emotional development and educate them to use non-violent methods to decode their personal concerns. Support pupils who show early marks of misdemeanor behaviours at schools and promoting equal relationship by using communicating and mediation plans to decide struggles. School-based mental wellness services are really wanted late. As school community, join forcesing with parents and policy shapers we should size up issues that can account for events in which a slaughter happened in the constitution scene in order to help pupils to carry through their purposes in schools and assist them to place their personal and societal issues. During the crisis, as member of school community, we were looking for manners in order to halt these events to re-happen. School Psychologists national association ( NASP ) squad stated that, Crisis has been often recognized as a clip of possible danger every bit good as possible opportunity.aˆÂ ¦ If our profession is able to pull off the danger that is, pull off the immediate crisis and rapidly return the system to normal working so there exists a enormous chance to excite long-run systemic alteration. Once seen as effectual and believable, the psychologist has boundlessly more chance to travel the system in the way of bar ( Kathy, 2008 ) . School psychologists can be a terrific beginning to the institutional community in the betterment of efficient mental wellness services to discourse pupils and households demands. It is besides cardinal that school psychologists become really of import and positive persons in backing their undertaking as mental wellness service suppliers and plans in schools. My function as a school psychologist As a school psychologist, I need to be able to place pupil in demand for excess aid and assistance in acknowledging proper referral beginnings in the community. I would besides utilize the psychological triage as a technique to set up the crisis intercession remedy. The usage of this attack is peculiarly important when the psychological injury victim surpasses the figure of available people who can step in. Harmonizing to National Association of School Psychologists ( NASP ) , there are assorted things that we can make as people working in schools that may see that schools are unafraid topographic points for pupils and heighten the comfort degree of persons such as inform parents by the school safety policies and catastrophe turning away attempts. As a school psychologist, I need to be active within schools, communicate with pupils and their parents. I need besides to see schoolrooms often. Work on pupils behaviour and assist school community to learn pupils the appropriate and expected behaviours, provide intercessions and supports. Talk and do a nexus with community co-workers to measure exigency response programs and discourse the demands that may be noticeable to the current crisis. Highlight force bar plans and course of study presently being taught in schools and stress the attempts of the school to learn pupils options to violence including peaceable struggle declaration and po sitive interpersonal relationship accomplishments. Cite specific illustrations such as Second Step Violence Prevention, bully proofing, or other positive intercessions and behavioural supports ( NASP, 2006 ) . My function as school psychologist as good is to forestall those persons who homicide others and self-destruction. An article by NASP stated that society demands to ease closer dealingss as a replacing of watching telecasting and utilizing computing machines in the remainder of the eventides, visit friends, schoolmates, and neighbours, walk you dog or go for field day will assist to halt slayings to recognize their programs and offenses. As a class of action, we should work on the relationship between pupils, their professors, and other school workers ( NASP, 2006 ) My function as a school psychologist besides is to analyze the psychological upsets of pupils who appeared to be at hazard such as those persons who may hold post traumatic emphasis syndrome, depression, Schizophrenia, and other mental wellness jobs. It is really important to early diagnosing those people with the old upsets in order to be able to step in and assist them to populate normal people and act responsively. My occupation as a member of the community is to be cognizant of some people who refuse to speak about their experience in the yesteryear and conceal their traumatic events. In this point, I need to be able to assist subsisters of this atrocious crisis to speak about it and help them to be able to place and discourse their feelings from it. I need to be able to help those people by utilizing psychotherapy Sessionss and advanced techniques. As a school psychologist, I can be trusted to assist with delicate personal and household state of affairss that interfere with schooling. I can besides assist forestall future jobs when I intervene with larning jobs early on, and I can besides acknowledge that alterations in the school environment and at place can better the quality of life for kids and their families.A For most victims, cognitive-behavioral therapy is the best intervention that I can utilize in order to alter distorted and perchance harmful perceptual experiences of post-traumati c emphasis, terrible anxiousness, depression, pleasant mental imagination, and relaxation techniques. Other guidance and therapy techniques may assist those people achieve a good perceptive of the unwellness and the factors that protect against it. There are besides stress vaccination preparation and visual image techniques that can be used as intervention to assist those victims in our school scene. All these interventions need to be taught to subsisters in order to pattern it on their ain. I need besides to portion with them my feelings, experience, and marks to assist diminishing feelings of fright and weakness. In footings of intercession, as a school psychologist I should work and confer with with instructors in order to take, implement, and measure intercessions that best work for the different demands of different students.A As expert I need to be able to learn pupils, instructors, parents, and other professionals problem-solving schemes to turn to issues related to pupils academic, behavioural, and psychological jobs after the incident. I need besides to be able to help instructors, parents, and other professionals use experimental determination devising to better pupil and systemic results. Besides, I have to assist instructors understand the alone demands of pupils, particularly those diagnosing with mental wellness jobs. It is really of import to confer with with those persons physicians and counsellor every bit good in order to maintain in truck, cognize more about their current state of affairss, and assist them to let go of their strivings. NASP promotes that school psychologi sts to take a leading function in developing comprehensive attacks to violence decrease and crisis response in schools ( NASP, 2006 ) . Since school psychologists are capable to affect in the whole school personals in heightening and using positive behavioural intercessions that support social-emotional development of pupils. School psychologists are besides of import members who are skilled by utilizing and implementing different intercession schemes that may diminish violent behaviours within school scenes and with different pupils. As a school psychologist, I can discourse with other school members the execution of societal accomplishments activities and other techniques used in order to educate pupils how to work out their personal issues. My other function is to offer audience procedure to advance schools form catastrophe planning squads. As portion of the rating plan, I need to cut down aggression activities among pupils and assist those who were showing during the incident p hysically, psychologically, and societal privacy. Equally far as my function, I will assist school to response to this exigency instance. As a school psychological science, my function besides is to be good cognizant of the advantage of the early intercession and bar attempts. Traditional crisis health professionals include exigency response professionals, mental wellness suppliers, medical professionals, victim aid counsellors, and religion leaders ( NASP, 2003 ) those professionals are all good skilled to manage different instances and to assist sick persons to pull off their life and manage their jobs. Teachers and decision makers are the most people who interact with our pupils ; nevertheless some of them did non acquire any preparation to offer mental wellness services and intercession. As a school psychologist, I think that will be really helpful to supply preparations and assist those professionals to be able to step in. These functions of school psychologists are really critical elements as programs of school safety. To vouch that school psychologists are good trained to offer leading in school force bar. NASP helped school psychologists to acquire the necessary comprehension and accomplishments to use aggression bar and the crisis in schools during their plans and through their life experiences. Drumhead Very serious violent jobs occur in school scenes and have sophisticated causes, unknown beginnings and valuable effects. Besides, battles, sexual torment, and strong-arming that occur every twenty-four hours in all school constitutions in the universe. We started to see shots people at schools and self-destruction. These affected the schools environments, safety, and made many pupils, relations and school staffs to undergo dreadfully. Therefore, the attempts to diminish aggression at school scenes need to be multi-faceted. School scenes are trusted to protect kids and maintain them procure during the school twenty-four hours. Teachers, principals, and all school staff do large attempts to maintain pupils safe and off from any danger. Many pupils trust schools and they feel happy and comfort in the school staffs who save them from injuries and protect them. There are assorted instances and immense figure of shoots and self-destruction in school scenes, hence schools and professionals community need to fix in order to hold a minimal amendss and handle crises, in order to maintain pupils and staff out of injury and able to larn and learn. In my sentiment, I think that a successful and effectual plan will vouch the safety of all pupils and school staff. It is important to make plans that lead to halt and cut down aggression and reacting quickly and expeditiously whenever force happens. Aggression lessening programs have to besides impact on all pupil approaches to violence, educate them and school workers to be able to work out their accomplishments in an effectual away, and assist the school to do an environment that encourages credence and tolerance between pupils and staff. School safety plans are really efficient when we involved other groups of force bar attempts such as local jurisprudence enforcement, juvenile probation, public wellness forces, and other parent and community groups ( NASP, 2006 ) This will assist to cut down aggression and choler among pupils in order to guarantee life of all kids and young person and improved their public presentation to accomplish their end. I believe that all households, friends, and school staff have the duty in this slaughter, by disregarding the slaying mental wellness history and allow him populate in the campus as a normal pupil. The safety group of the campus has besides a large duty and failed to step in in the appropriate clip to halt the killing show was go oning. The uncontrolled guns are large issues as good that led to kill those guiltless pupils easy. All school psychologists have the duty to give custodies to educational establishments and affect in the methodical group construction and job work o uting procedure. They have the duty to analysis the informations and identify pupils jobs. All these programs should be discussed in nonsubjective informations of school databases. Typically my function as a school psychologist is that I can non do diagnosing, but I can supply informations by utilizing assorted figure of appraisals tools like making observations, interviews, and confer withing with parents and other professionals. There are really large Numberss of intercessions that can be used by school psychologists to help those persons in order to grok their ends and seek be able to cover with it.