Thursday, October 31, 2019

E-commerce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

E-commerce - Essay Example In this article, the author claims that E-commerce happens to be the electronic commerce, it's some sort of business in which the sale of products and alternatives or both companies carried out about gadgets including the Web and other home Laptop or computer networks to further improve institutional basic performance. The development of e-commerce has reformed company across nations. From when it turned out released, companies have taken gain it to, enhance essay online service products, improve their marketplace share, expand profitability and scale down shipment time. E-commerce was quite simply non-existent in most parts within the planet. In the 21st century, immediate development of information technology and the swift increase in information exchange have helped to bring new drives and innovative ideas to the complete society. The wide adoption of it by the community has resulted in great changes. These are changes which have an impact on how we communicate with each other, ho w exactly we organize our daily activities, how we educate the younger generation, and how we run the business enterprise. The development and extensive adoption of it, computer network, and the Internet have altered the method of operation of several businesses, and at the same time have helped bring along unprecedented work at home opportunities. Companies are now in a position to conduct ventures across geographical boundaries. This is one of the best essays about E-commerce. Hurry up and get this highest-A potential work just now!... However, this sector is highly competitive because the barriers or costs of entering the web e-tail market are few, which caused many small e-tail stores to come up on the internet. Becoming profitable and surviving is difficult for e-tailers without brand name or experience since they face the challenge of differentiating the business from the existing stores or websites. E-commerce start-ups that intend to earn money by offering content face difficulties unless they have unique sources other content providers cannot access since the traditional content providers dictate most of this business category. As well, competition among online transaction brokers has been fierce in the last few years with new entrants like E*Trade, Datek and Schwab offering more appealing offers to consumers. Market prospect for online market creators is vast for firms with financial resources and marketing plans for attracting adequate buyers and sellers to the marketplace. Thus, new firms desiring to crea te a market need aggressive branding and awareness programs to draw sufficient customers like large web-based firms like Amazon that leverage large customer base and start auction. The advantage of B2C is that it bases on reputable physical infrastructures, knowledge of consumer preferences, culture and language, brand recognition and trust (â€Å"E-commerce Business Models†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , 2009; Nemcova, 2011). Most of the revenue in e-commerce involve business-to-business (B2B) even though most public attention focus on B2C since most of B2B is unseen by average consumer. E-distributor companies like W.W. Grainger supply products and services to individual businesses thus e-distributors are owned by a company that seeks to serve various customers. More products and

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Usage of social media tools in the federal government sector in the Research Paper

Usage of social media tools in the federal government sector in the UAE - Research Paper Example The researcher considers it important here to address the assumption made for developing the usage of social media chart. The domain of â€Å"Social Media Usage† is applicable on any federal department, which is using one or all social media engagement tools such as e-mail, RSS-feeds, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Search facilities, feedback mechanisms etc. 2.2. Quantity of Social Media Used The primary findings presented in this section represents the number of social media tools that each of the 48 federal departments are using to engage with the general public. From the analysis of the findings, it is found that Facebook and Twitter are the most popular and widely used social media engagement tools utilized by federal departments. On the other hand, Blogger is the least preferred social media engagement tool used by the federal departments of the UAE. The other social media engagement tools that are used by these federal department are YouTube, official website, live chat options, 24/7 feedback mechanism, Instagram, electronic e-mailing systems, RSS-feeds, LinkedIn etc. 2.3. Active/non-Active Users This section of the research report presents the level of activities carried out on the social networking profiles of the federal department and the status of social networking profiles in terms of active or non-active users. ... The assumption that the researcher has made while formulating the findings of this section is that, any federal department having more than 1,000 users on all of its social networking profiles are eligible to be marked in this section. It has been found that the majority of the Federal Departments are active users of social networking tools and engage masses into the conversation and promotional activities. Only Zakat Fund, The National Council for Tourism and Antiquates, Red Crescent UAE, National transport Authority, Department of Energy, Department of Cabinet Affairs, Insurance Authority and Emirates Post Group are either non-active users of social networking tools or have less followership in terms of engaging masses into conversations and promotional activities. 2.4. Value Addition Strategy This section of the findings presents the value addition strategies and tools used by Federal Departments of UAE to keep the interest of people on these social networking tools high. From the analysis, it has been found that the social networking tools maximize the value of communication carried out by the federal departments with the general public. The value addition strategies focuses on providing general public with updated information about the functions and activities of the federal departments, public service messages, visual and photo projection of events, achievements and awards won for performance excellency, press releases and future projects and plans of the respective federal departments. The best features that are found on the social networking profiles of all departments are search facility, feedback mechanisms and ability of the website to show

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility

Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility The paper critically examines the concepts of business ethics and corporate social responsibility in the light of doing good business. Corporate Social Responsibility; Sustainable Value; Business Ethics Good Ethics are Good for Business There has been over the last three decades a growing emphasis on companies to conduct ethically sound behaviour and practice behaviour governed by ethical code of conduct prescribed by the corporate policy. The birth of industrialization did not bring the need for ethics but the drastic consequences did, in the form of child labour, dishonest trade, lack of systematic procedures and inequity in various aspects in the businesses. Social awareness from 1960s onwards forced companies to consider ethical behaviour, which refines their actions morally and in turn produces a positive image of the company in the eyes of the existing or potential customers and the society as a whole in which the company operates. But this is where the debate arises (Crane, 2006). Ethics are good for business, as it has been claimed by many business authors. However, ethical decision making is by the most complex decision making situation that companies face today. What is ethically right to one is wrong to a nother (Blowfield, 2008). This so happens owing to the definition of ethics, according to which it is the discipline that examines ones moral standards or moral standards of the society (Santa Clara University, 2010). Every individual and society has its own set of values, beliefs and morals and the resultant is a conflict among different ethical decisions which pose a dilemma for managers of companies which are fast expanding across the global and taking into consideration a diverse customer base as well as a diverse workforce belonging to different cultures and different moral orientations (Valasquez, 2008). Following strong ethically behaviour and catering to the rights of individuals and societies which are major stakeholders in the companies, companies follow a socially responsible behaviour which is quality of running a good business (Blowfield, 2008). The need for companies to be socially responsible and ethically sound is a complex issue for the companies as they put forward cost complications as well. But nonetheless, the argument that good ethics are good for businesses is well supported and companies who are not following ethically sound behaviour are facing tremendous challenges in sustaining profitable performance of their operations. It has been argued that commitment to socially responsible behaviour and ethically sound practices is an effective long term strategy and it may lead to short term losses but its benefits are spread across the longer run, which companies have to realize to adapt. The concept of sustainable value emerges in the context of long term corporate social responsibility which companies are increasingly benefiting from (Valasquez, 2008). In todays world filled with immense global crisis and endless social and environmental issues that affect the business environment, the managers, and shareholders are increasingly concerned over the future well-being of their company. With the corporate social responsibility taken as an expense, there is growing concern over preventing overall reduction in the return to the shareholders. Chris Laszlo through his book, Sustainable Value How the worlds leading companies are doing well by doing good, provides a rather comprehensive solution to this problem: Sustainable Value, hence bringing forth social responsibility as an opportunity not as an additional cost to be borne. With a large number of companies operating to service more or less the same pool of customers, there has been heightened competition over gaining an edge in the market over the years, which keeps on increasing. Large companies focus on their competences to gauge success and minimize their costs to provide value back to their shareholders. With the new era came a new concept of corporate social responsibility, which brought the notion that a business has a duty to the society, which it has to fulfill. This only in turn brings a positive image for the company. As much as can be argued about the additional cost it brings for the company, according to Laszlo, investing in social responsibility can only allow the companies to gain competitive advantage. There are many global issues addressing the nations that the companies can choose to serve the society (Laszlo, 2007, p.75). According to Laszlo (2007) surviving in the world of today filled with global crisis let it be in the form of environmental issues that have to be reduced, societal wrongs that need to be corrected and the wellbeing of the community that is to be considered, is an intense business environment on its own. Businesses can no longer survive with a sole responsibility to its owners but being a part of the larger community they have to face the challenges and bring about solutions. Companies now are increasingly opting for addressing specific and special social and environment issues, creating awareness among the people of the society regarding the hazards and at the same time bringing to them solutions let it be in the form of their innovative products and services or through special voluntary services as part of their corporate social responsibility other than following strong ethical conduct internally. Of course, in the end the business benefits from the positive image in the minds of the potential and existing customers, and enjoys the sustainable value that ensures a profitable future (Laszlo, 2007, 178). Such an investment in social responsibility and business ethics which brings about productivity and profitability is termed as sustainable value. Sustainable value is the value given to the shareholders and stakeholders, which can be expressed in monetary terms and which is increasingly rejecting the idea that investing in corporate social responsibility only means additional costs for the business (Laszlo, 2007, p.117). Sustainable value only sustains the returns for the company and the added cost notion is just a myth that is by far the only hindrance in its successful implementation in companies. It calls for social innovation, a change in leadership style and the overall direction of the company that puts the social environment alongside its main objectives, which are all related to maximizing its returns (Vogel, 2008). Creating services and products to cater to the sustainable-value commitment of the business while at the same time applying social responsibility mechanism calls for bringing about social innovation. This, by definition, means creating new strategies, plans, concepts and ideas to address to the specific and existing social needs that are targeted by an organization (May, 2008). Social innovation is by far a different concept from the innovation encouraged in the organizations for the benefit of the organization itself alone. Social innovation has a much larger scope with takes into account the entire external as well as internal environment in which the company operates in addressing each members interests (Vogel, 2008). Sustainable value is a concept, which emerged from the groundwork put forward by the not so distant phenomenon of holistic value. This idea cleverly integrates the monetary objectives of the organization with the social environment, the community in which the business operates in and the internal structure of the organization not missing out any value generating element or competency residing inside and any future value generating opportunity lying in the outside world. Holistic value calls for realizing the bigger picture of the business world, which works successfully with the well-combined effort of its many elements (McElhaney, 2007) When one talks of sustainable value, social responsibility and holistic value, a much concerning object put in focus is the social environment within which the business operates. This social environment consists of the following elements and members: the employees that work for the company to enable it to meet its objectives; the people who are and could be the customers of the company; the social activists and environmental pressure groups which potentially hold the key to disrupting the entire organizations public image let there be any environmental mishap done through its hands; a primary and secondary set of attitudes, values and objectives of each of these groups; a profound culture; and a set of societal norms that the business has to follow up to survive in a well-established social environment (Vogel, 2008). Of course, social environment is not the only influencer of the overall business world, sustainable value strategy making calls for the vivid concern for the serious economic issues facing the nation or the world. Such as the recent global recession that affected the organizations around the world, profit sustainability became quite a challenge to overcome as a circumstance of it (Kotler, and Lee, 2008). This brings forth the ethical dilemmas against the corporate social responsibility, as the major responsibility of the company is towards its shareholders and investors to provide them the most benefits, but in times of economic crisis when the revenues shrink doing so alongside the socially responsible behaviour becomes far difficult. The Commitment to sustainable value ensures the involvement of economic issues to be addressed through a well-formed strategy in combination with the issues of the society, whilst maintain ethical standards of the corporation (Holmes, 2007). This is indeed a long strategy which cannot be implemented or formulated abruptly. According to business ethics authors, commitment towards socially responsible behaviour should be a long term strategy as its benefits are more in future than in the present (May, 2008). The starting point is making the individuals and the teams in the organisation ethically sound in their behaviour and actions so that together as a group, the entire organisations puts forwards a responsible and morally strong behaviour (May, 2008). Once the entire workforce is committed to morality and socially responsible behaviour then can only he company implement a long term strategy for sustainable value, which calls for commitment at individual as well as holistic level in order to bring forth benefits in future. In order to prevail a culture of moral soundness and responsibility, the leaders have to first analyze and understand the different backgrounds the employees belong to and establish commonality in belie fs and values in order to enable the employees to produce an ethical fit in the conduct which is similar for all and minimum conflicts occur. Ethical training is also common nowadays in order to explain to the employees the importance of their moral conduct and how well they can serve the company as well as the society through practicing ethically strong behaviour. With this commitment can only the company successfully practice social responsible behaviour and become good in the eyes of the society.

Friday, October 25, 2019

The Theme of Change in Madame Bovary Essay -- Madame Bovary Essays

The Theme of Change in Madame Bovary      Ã‚  Ã‚   Change is a central theme in the novel Madame Bovary, by Gustave Flaubert, and is key to understanding the character of Emma Bovary. Through parallel events the reader comes to realize that Emma's need for change is the result of the influence her early life had upon her. At the convent Emma is left to develop into an extreme romantic with high hopes for excitement and dreams of sensuous pleasures that will never be fulfilled. Thus, when life refuses to conform to her romantic notions Emma alternates between various activities in her constant search for a way to consummate her romantic longings.       As a young girl from the country Emma is placed into a convent in the city. Here Emma develops and receives nourishment for her already sentimental soul. She looks upon "copper crosses," the "sick lamb" and the "mystic ...altar" with the vigor of a scholar on a quest for knowledge. She listens intently "to the sonorous lamentation of romantic melancholy" which "awakened unexpected joys within her." Emma, being isolated from the outside world, is left alone to develop her capricious dreams that she reads about in novels, gaining the hope of someday fulfilling these romantic and passionate desires. Emma devours books that involve "romantic woes, oaths, sobs, tears and kisses...gentlemen brave as lions, gentle as lambs" and always "impossibly virtuous."       Due to Emma's isolation from everyday living she develops the need for excitement and as a result cannot endure her own married life. Life with Charles simply does not fit the fictionalized accounts she reads of. Thus Emma turns to the comforts of adultery and when passion is not readily available she will resor... ...t look on Leon realistically without seeing all his human imperfections. In which case she soon tires of him, as he does her. As her relationship with Leon progresses she also comes to understand that the lover she dreams of is a "man whose worldly existence [is] impossible."    As the result of her childhood Emma Bovary spends her entire life in an attempt to escape her middle-class existence by dreams, love affairs and false pretensions. Emma constantly changes her activities, her surroundings and her love situations in a desperate attempt to grasp the fairy tales she entombed in her soul as a child. Although she longed for the superficial and materialistic Emma Bovary was one who ended her life without ever compromising her vision of something greater than she.    Flaubert, Gustav. Madame Bovary (Lowell Bair, trans.). New York: Bantam Books 1996   

Thursday, October 24, 2019

5 Key Concepts Underlying Structures of Cultures

Define at least 5 key concepts underlying structures of cultures. Answer: Speed of messages: It is the matter of how long a message can be understood or how long does it take to understand a person. Messages interactions can be in different speeds depending upon culture. Context: The concept is different in different cultures, so a balance is necessary for interacting within each culture. It’s the matter of how much relevant information is in the message, and already understood by both sides.So we have context situations, like a message which contain lots of meaning without much information content in one hand, and low context like a message which may not contain all relevant information. Space: The space is different in different cultures. It’s the matter of what is I? For example, in office, some people have invisible boundaries in one meter. Actually people have a visible physical boundary and series of invisible boundaries Time: What is the opinion of time is very c ulturally dependent. There are many kinds of time systems in the world, but two are most important to international business.How many things are done at once? One thing: monochromatic; many: polychromatic. To Asian, several things can be done at once, but it is very difficult to American or European. For example, American and European will think about the schedule is very important, they care about when, how and where. But Asian will think about goal is the most important and they will do some adjust and increase of efficiency. Information flow The mean is Path data takes from its original setting to its end users. In Low-context countries, such as USA, Canada, Israel, German-speaking countries and Scandinavia, information spreads slowly and bocused.But the Higher Context Cultures: China, Arab countries, Italy, Greece, Japan, Spain, Korea, India, Brazil and Russia information will spread rapidly. So the information flow is different in different cultures. 2. Define the 4 types of gl obal organizations. Answer: a. Ethnocentric corporations: the corporations are home-country-oriented. Ethnocentric managers believe that home-country nationals are more intelligent, reliable, and trustworthy than foreign nationals. b. Polycentric corporations: the polycentric firm establishes multinational operations on condition that host-country managers â€Å"do it their way†.Host-country nationals have high or absolute sovereignty over the subsidiary’s operations. The polycentric firm is a loosely connected group with quasi-independent subsidiaries as profit centers. c. Regiocentric corporations: these corporations capitalize on the synergistic benefits of sharing common functions across regions. A regiocentric corporation believes that only regional insiders can effectively co-ordinate functions within the region. d. Geocentric corporations: the geocentric system is highly interdependent. Subsidiaries are no longer satellites and independent city-states. he entire organization is focused on both worldwide and local objectives. 3. Discuss the Yin and Yang of managing in Asia – 200 words or more. Answer: American management styles, almost universally, presuppose the importance of the individual. We value empowerment, proactive decision making, and ownership of the task. This style of management reflects our Western tradition of the power of rational control and the inherent equality of all people. Asian management styles typically subordinate the role of the individual to the greater demands of the group.The power of obligations and relationships and the respect for order are of greater importance in the East. In the West, efficiency and change often equal effectiveness; in the East, passive acceptance of what is, and the ability to perfect one's work with others within the existing conditions, might be a greater virtue – and the way to a smooth-running, successful organization. The Yin and Yang are contradiction and complementat ion. It is very difficult to work between Asian and Westerner, but the human resource managers and employees should recognize that deep differences of values and beliefs.Then employees need to coordinate in dealing with Asian colleagues and subordinates. And build a bridge between Asian and Westerner. So, bringing yin and yang together would drum up business. 4. Define the following Boundary less concepts. Paradigm:underlying the rise of various forms of â€Å"new organization† to which have been ascribed the terms virtual organization, empowered organization, high-performing work teams, and process reengineered organizations is â€Å"a single, deeper paradigm shift that we call the emergence of the boundaryless organization†, (p. 2; Ashkenas st al. 1995).This shift recognizes the limitations of the following four types of organizational boundaries: vertical (between levels and ranks of people), horizontal (between functions and disciplines), external (between the orga nization and its suppliers, customers, and regulators), and geographic (between nations, cultures, and markets). In the boundaryless organization, these boundaries are not used to separate people, processes and places, rather, the focus is how to move ideas, information, talent, and decisions where they are most necessary (Ashkenas et al. 1995). Employment arrangements: an increase in nontraditional employment contracts between the worker and the organization is cited as an example of blurred organizational boundaries (Miner ;amp; Robinson, 1994), as well as evidence of a post-job society (Bridges, 1994). The term contract denotes the different forms employment is taking in the 1990s: temporary, part-time, job-sharing, consulting, contracting, and leasing.Although some employees have little choice but to accept one of these forms of employment, many employees welcome these options for more flexible hours and more control over where they work, how they work, and which projects they w ould most prefer (Belous, 1989). Job Analysis: is the measurement of tasks and / or worker attributes for a given job, thus, job analysis techniques can be classified as work-oriented or worker-oriented (Gatewood ;amp; Field, 1994). Work-oriented methods involve specific descriptions of the various tasks performed on a job, whereas worker-oriented methods examine broad human behaviors involved in work activities.Skills Emphasis and work Analysis: given that functional boundaries will continue to blur (Ashkenas et al. , 1995; Miner ;amp; Robinson, 1994), boundaryless organizations may eventually collapse â€Å"jobs† into more comprehensive task of job analysis less cumbersome; it could contribute to a culture wherein workers are afforded more freedom and opportunity to engage in different work activities. Recruitment: gaining competent employees at all levels of the organization is more than a matter of training, it stems from changes in recruitment and selection philosophy (A shkenas et al. 1995). Specifically, the boundaryless organization emphasizes the development of a shared mindset among all of its employees and the continuous support of this collective culture. Although Ashkenas et al. (1995) don’t describe specific recruiting approaches that aid in achieving this cohesive culture, they state the importance of thoroughly screening applicants, sometimes with the help of customers, based on skills and personality traits that match the technical and cultural needs of the organization. 5. What are the dilemmas of boundaryless recruitment and selection?A dilemma regarding a high degree of person-organization culture fit surfaces: what about the potentially negative consequences of attracting and selecting too many like-minded individuals? For instance, Schneider (1987) has suggested that organizational dysfunction and eventual demise can be traced to an overabundance of homogeneous worker characteristics. As a corollary, some diversity of worker attributes may be necessary to respond to environmental threats and opportunities, ultimately ensuring the viability of the organization.Another caveat to consider is the possibility of adverse impact. Any employment test which results in different acceptance/pass rates for individuals belonging to different groups must be validated and its continued use demonstrated as necessary. Thus, the very homogeneity of employee values proposed as necessary for the success of the boundaryless organization may lead to two serious problems: decreased organizational performance and adverse impact.Approximately how much and what kinds of cultural parity between worker and organization are necessary for a productive mindset? Approximately how much and what kinds of cultural similarity between worker and organization lead to litigation and/or poor organizational adaptability? It may be that just as the organization needs different skill sets to accomplish a unified performance goal, organizations n eed different traits and worker characteristics to accomplish the longer-term goal of survival (Schneider, 1987).However, worker heterogeneity does not necessarily preclude the selection of homogeneous traits that primarily serve to reinforce core values and pivotal norms. More research is needed to build theory and enhance practitioner success in recruiting and selecting workers for boundaryless organizations. 6. How does one build a global work force with recruitment? Answer: Every year, hundreds of companies expand their operations into the global marketplace. At the same time, corporations that are established in the international sphere redefine their business to maintain a competitive edge.For organizations in both categories, recruitment and international assignment are key determinants of long-term success. Today, HR professionals in progressive global companies are discovering that it isn’t enough just to look for these skills among members of the expatriate communit y. Rather, every employee needs to have a certain level of global awareness, and many companies are finding that screening must begin at recruitment. Form many corporations, international recruitment is synonymous with expatriate selection.Within this area, significant progress has been made to ensure candidates are screened for global competency, with includes such qualities as flexibility, open-mindedness, technical expertise, multiple language proficiency and the willingness to take risks. In addition to recruiting for expatriate potential, HR professionals are finding that employees who have international experience and language proficiency help the company function on a day-to-day basis. Mangers must understand differing cultural norms to perform well on business trips and short-term assignments in other parts of the world. 7.Define the four faces of global cultures. Answer: Davos: from boardroom to bedroom This culture is globalized as a direct accompaniment of global economic processes. Its carrier is international business. It has obvious behavioral aspects that are directly functional in economic terms, behavior dictated by the accoutrements of contemporary business. Participants in this culture know how to deal with computers, cellular phones, airline schedules, currency exchange, and the like. But they also dress alike, exhibit the same amicable informality, relieve tensions by similar attempts at humor, and of course most of them interact in English.Since most of these cultural traits are of Western provenance, individuals coming from different backgrounds must go through a process of socialization that will allow them to engage in this behavior with seemingly effortless spontaneity. Faculty club international: This is the internationalization of the Western intelligentsia, its values and ideologies. It is carried by foundations, academic networks, non-governmental organizations, and some governmental and multinational agencies.The â€Å"faculty c lub culture† spreads its beliefs and values through the educational system, the legal system, various therapeutic institutions, think tanks, and at least some of the media of mass communication. If this culture internationalizes the Western intelligentsia, it also internationalizes the conflicts in which this intelligentsia has been engaged on its home territories. The McWorld culture: The McWorld culture is most credibly subsumed under the category of Westernization, since virtually all of it is of Western, and more specifically American, provenance.These critics of â€Å"culture imperialism† also understand that the diffusion of popular culture is not just a matter of outward behavior. It carries a significant freight of beliefs and values. Evangelical Protestantism: Provide a distinctive process of globalization, especially in its Pentecostal version (which accounts for something like 80 percent of its worldwide growth). This globalizing force is best seen by compari ng it with the other dynamic religious phenomenon of our time, that of the Islamic resurgence.Evangelical Protestantism brings about a cultural revolution in its new territories (in that respect it is very different from its social function on its American home ground). It brings about radical changes in the relations between men and women, in the upbringing and education of children, in the attitudes toward traditional hierarchies. Most importantly, it inculcates precisely that â€Å"Protestant ethic† that Max Weber analyzed as an important ingredient in the genesis of modern capitalism – a disciplined, frugal, and rationally oriented approach to work.Thus, despite it indigenization, Evangelical Protestantism is the carrier of a pluralistic and modernizing culture whose original location is in the North Atlantic societies. 8. Discuss and describe the challenges of Diversity Training in Texaco, UNUM, GTE and Gannett. Answer Texaco: work in progress Texaco’s stra tegy started to take shape two years ago when Gadsden the manager of U. S. workforce diversity and EEO compliance for Texaco Inc. came on board.According to the diversity manager, the impetus stemmed from a number of sources: changing demographics in the workplace and Texaco’s customer base, the oil company’s quest to be a top-tier company, and the need to fully utilize every member of an organization that over the past five years has shrunk from approximately 27,000 to 19,300 employees. Thorough focus groups and a national survey of more than 3,000 of its workers, Texaco leaned how employees felt about the oil company in general, its training and development, its promotion policies and compensation, and whether Texaco and its managers valued a diverse workforce.In the survey results, employees need to improve promotion of minorities. They want managers to be held more accountable on managing diversity and better educated on how to communicate with employees of differi ng backgrounds. A cross-function team was requested to ask for the promotion process by Texaco’s managements. The team discovered that employees wanted a streamlined application process and more feedback on the outcome of promotion requests. Therefore, the cross-functions team supplied work guide of how to get promoted.In the other hand, they improved a diversity training component to highest-level executives, then extend diversity training to all employees. One of the more difficult aspects of workplace diversity is finding the funding for it. Gadsden has succeeded in part by being frugal. He worked with a group of 14 independent consultants rather than handing the contract over to one big firm. He bargained and haggled with his vendors, getting them to reduce fees in return for a guaranteed amount of work. While he uses outside facilitators for his workshops, he also employs internal staff to save money, plus the employees learn by running the programs.Gadsden estimates his cost at $224 a person versus what Gadsden calls a company average of about $1,379 per person. Like any workplace diversity program, Texaco’s is a work in progress. UNUM: visible diversity 1989, the UNUM Life Insurance Company of America has experiencing high turnover among the very minority workers it was trying so hard to recruit. â€Å"We were in compliance mode, doing affirmative action, and trying to bring women and minorities into the company. † Sandy Bishop, manager of UNUM’s diversity programs says. â€Å"We wanted our business environment to mirror our world, the people we were insuring. Its proactive program began simply enough with its HR staff developing a diversity philosophy. In addition, the HR department brokered meeting between senior executives, the majority of whom were white males, and representatives of minority groups. Like Texaco, UNUM began with an internal audit of what needed to be done. Out of that came a three-day diversity workshop designed to build â€Å"cultural competence. † In its effort to integrate the diversity debate with other business issues, UNUM has an informal diversity structure.Corporate communications, for example, publishes a newsletter addressing diversity issues. UNUM also has an education committee that set up â€Å"Lunch and Learn† talks on diversity. As part of its outreach activities, the company has also launched community programs that deal in diversity. While UNUM’s earlier efforts were restricted to company headquarters, the disability insurer this year is extending its diversity programs to its branch offices. And of the five diversity seminars that UNUM will hold this year, three of them will be in remote locations. GTE: mutual respectTelecommunications giant GTE got serious about diversity in the early 1990s for two reasons, says Randy MacDonald, the company’s senior vice president of human resources and administration. â€Å"First was recognition of t he changing workplace†¦more spouses working and more immigration. Second, and this is still evolving, is that while we’re U. S. based, the workplace is becoming global and we need to address marketplace diversity. † GTE combines its workplace diversity efforts with its work/family programs (telecommuting, flextime, seminars on balancing work and family).The diversity end consists of minority recruitment, employee career advancement, training on managing and being part of a diverse workforce, as well as multicultural awareness events that celebrate diversity. The telecommunications company has made a conscious effort to recruit minorities on college campuses, once a person is on board, he or she is eligible for career advancement training, regardless of ethnic background. The company does offer some specialized educational programs for minorities. Through its actions, the company has increased minority and female representation among its managers.Gannett: total inte gration Gannett Corp. Inc. may well have the granddaddy of diversity programs. The media conglomerate first embarked on managing diversity in 1980. While minority recruitment was first emphasized by Gannett, the media company has expanded into career advancement training. The company also publishes an in-house newsletter devoted to the topic and sponsors noon seminars. According to the diversity manager, what has made Gannett’s program work is the fact that it is closely aligned with overall business aims. 9. Describe the adult learning theory culture-bound.Answer: The underlying assumptions behind experiential training are worth investigating to begin determining the universality or cultural relativity of the field’s mainstream methodologies. Holvino (1982) found experiential learning to be: * Active and participatory * Learning how to learn * Based on interdependence or independence * Based on learner’s internal direction * Shared responsibility for leaning * Built on experience and knowledge of learners * Shared access to power and knowledge * Focused on problem identification and solution Information seeking and sharing 10. What are the cultural training techniques? Answer: Training techniques are commonly characterized as falling along a spectrum from Didactic (trainer-centered, low-risk, content-oriented) to Experiential (learner-centered, high-risk, process-oriented). In Hofstede’s terminology, Didactic techniques can be considered to have a high Power Distance and strong Uncertainty Avoidance value orientation, while experiential techniques can be considered to have a low Power Distance and weak Uncertainty Avoidance value orientation.By juxtaposing Hofstede’s cultural value spectrum with this training technique spectrum, we create a guideline for predicting the relative appropriateness of different training techniques for different cultural groups. If we compare the two sides of Figure 20. 1, we can predict which tec hniques might be appropriate for a given cultural group. Appropriate techniques are those that might most effectively challenge the participants without eliciting a high level of resistance.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Interview with someone who lived during WWII Essay

1.Question: Were you involved in the war? Any family members involved in the war? Answer: He was not involved in the war because he was too young. However, his father worked as an electric engineer for the army and operated radars. He had two uncles who were also in the army and had another uncle in the navy. 2.Question: Were you active in civil defense, Red Cross, war industries, other volunteer activities? Answer: He was in the boy scouts and was extremely patriotic. He collected scraps of aluminum, steel, iron, and paper for the war effort. He did not see this job as a burden and even competed for respect by trying to collect the most materials. He was also a coastal watcher and was assigned to watch for enemy submarines along the eastern coast. However, he never actually saw one. 3.Question: Any military experiences or personal anecdotes? Answer: He became a casualty-reporting officer in 1957 when he was stationed in Alaska. Before then, he was generally pro-war, but after telling two or three wives that their husbands were dead, he became more passive. He said his job as a casualty-reporting officer changed his view towards war and caused him to question the Vietnam War and the policies of President Bush. 4.Question: How did you view the war then? Answer: During the time of the war, he was nonchalant to the war. In fact, he said the worst part about the attack on Pearl Harbor was that he could not go to the beach on that day. As a child, he did not understand much about the war. For example, he said that when he learned about the Pearl Harbor invasion, he asked himself â€Å"what’s a Pearl Harbor?† and when he read about the dropping of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, he asked himself â€Å"what’s an atomic bomb?† He viewed the war as a game, because he never experienced any major losses. He thought that there was no way the United  States could lose and never worried for one second. 5.Question: How did you view military or political leaders during World War II? Answer: He admits that most of his opinions concerning them were affected by his father’s views and by movies, which he labels as propaganda. For example, he hated Himmler, Goebbels, Hitler, Goering, and Tojo because movies portrayed them as villains. He disliked Franklin D. Roosevelt because of his farm policies, which forced farmers to kill pigs in order to drive pork prices higher. He liked Churchill and idolized Dwight D. Eisenhower. 6.Question: Who do you feel was responsible for the war? Answer: He said the French were responsible for World War II because they created unfavorable and impossible situations for the Germans with their reparation system. He said that Hitler would never have risen into power if France had not burdened the German economy so heavily. He also felt that Japan was responsible for the war in the east, but the United States could have prevented the war from escalating by lifting its embargo on Japanese products. 7.Question: Did you suffer any deprivations because of the war? Answer: During World War II, Bill’s father worked with radars as an electrical engineer and was sent oversees to North Africa in 1943. Bill missed his father after he was called off to duty. Other than that, he suffered no other deprivations. 8.Question: Do you have any comments about rationing? Answer: Rationing was not very hard for his family because he had numerous relatives who were farmers. He maintained that the rations were adequate for his family and friends and that he never knew anyone who starved because of rationing. However, gasoline rations caused many problems for his family  because they moved around often. 9.Question: What were you doing when you first heard the news of Pearl Harbor? Answer: He was getting ready to go to the beach in Florida when he received a phone call from his father saying that Pearl Harbor had been attacked. His dad had to go directly to Pearl Harbor but he was just saddened that he could not go to the beach. It was not until several days later did he find out the severity of the situation when he saw a movie clarifying the Pearl Harbor attack. 10.Question: Did you know about the Nisei camps? Answer: No, like most Americans, he did not know about the Nisei camps until after the war had ended. At the University of Illinois, he had a close Japanese friend, ***** *********, who lived in a Nisei camp during World War II. Yukio was eleven years old when he was driven out of his home and sent into a Nisei camp. Yukio told Bill that there was plenty of food in the Nisei camp. The only bad memory he had of the camp was the giant fence that he was not allowed to cross in order to get his soccer ball. After Yukio’s family was released from the Nisei camp, they moved to Chicago to escape the bad memories that remained present in the west coast. 11.Question: How were Jewish refugees received in America? Were the welcomed? Answer: Bill said that as a child, he knew very little about the immigration laws for the Japanese and the Jewish. However, he distinctively remembered many restaurants and hotels hanging signs that read: â€Å"no Jews allowed†. He said that he always felt sympathetic towards the Jews because he had a close Jewish friend during the war. 12.Question: How were African Americans treated during the war? Answer: He said that he never had any friends that were African American during his childhood. He said there were no African Americans or any other  non-Caucasian races in any of the schools that he attended. He told me that African Americans were generally underused because they were thought of as inferior to the Caucasians. He even told me that some African Americans underwent experimental testing similar to the experiments that Hitler had used on the Jews. At Tuskegee, the United States military infected them with syphilis in order to study its effects on human beings. 13.Question: Was the war discussed in school? Answer: He said that kids usually talked about the war during school, but their teachers abstained from discussions about the war. Even in history class, teachers refused to discuss â€Å"current events† because they felt that the kids were too young to learn about the war. However, the children were allowed to sing patriotic songs for almost an hour every day. I think that Bill answered my questions without any bias or prejudice. He is currently taking many history courses at ******** so his historical knowledge is very accurate. His answers are impartial because he likes to view the war from different viewpoints. He told me that one must study World War II not only from the side of the Allies, but must gain the perspective of the Axis. During our interview, he constantly got off the subject and started lecturing me about the history of World War II. In fact, he brought several of his college textbooks and used his books to prove whatever point he was trying to make. Initially, after he told me about the syphilis experimental testing that the United States military administered on African Americans, I was reluctant to believe him (though I never showed any skepticism). However, he took out one of his textbooks, showed me the article on the Tuskegee experimental testing, and immediately gained my complete trust and confidence. Both his historical knowledge of World War II and his short-term (and probably long-term) memory are very accurate. I trust that the answers he gave concerning his childhood are also very accurate. Another reason that I think he was not biased in answering my questions was that he answered every one of them. He never tried to avoid any specific questions. Also, none of his relatives was injured or killed because of the war so it is unlikely for him to hold a grudge against the  Germans or the Japanese. However, one of the adverse effects of being too impartial is that he is unable to formulate any of his own opinions. For example, when I asked him who he thought was responsible for the war, he gave me a fifteen-minute history lecture about how France burdened Germany with reparation payments, which left the Germans economically destitute. Then he went on to discuss all the causes that were listed in his book, which took another fifteen minutes. After listening patiently for almost half an hour, I asked him who he felt was responsible for the war when he was a child. He answered, â€Å"When I was a kid, I was more interested in sports so I didn’t really care who was responsible for the war. Movies. Movies and my father convinced me that Hitler and Tojo were the ones responsible for the war†. I learned many things about life during World War II from Bill. For example, I learned that kids during that era were pro-war and very patriotic. This may have resulted from movies that were designed for propaganda. At that time, everyone went to the movies at least once a week, which may have greatly contributed to patriotism and to the war effort. I also learned that many children were active in collecting scraps of aluminum, steel, iron, or paper for the war effort. I do not know if these scraps actually helped build a lot of planes and ships, because it is foolish to think that there was that much scraps lying on the ground for the kids to collect, but it probably did get everyone involved and committed to the war effort. In addition, I learned that few Americans knew about the Nisei camps or the German concentration camps during World War II. It was not revealed to the public until after the war ended. Immigration laws were not widely publicized during the war either. I learned that rationing in the United States was not too awful and that no one starved or went hungry because of it. In fact, many felt that rationing was a major step up from the hunger caused by the Great Depression. Finally, I learned that some African Americans were the subjects of experimental testing during World War II. How can Americans shamelessly condemn Hitler’s experimental testing on the Jews when they are committing the same crime?