Moral Skepticism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Moral Skepticism - Essay Example Illness of the mind causes brain dysfunction (Graham). Graham’s view of antirealism is that the term mental and disorder are separate and must always be viewed in dualism. Mental cannot be viewed in a disorderly form since they are always arranged in a particular way. Thus, it is a state of mind function that can be used to describe how a person behaves. Moral anti-realism is the denial of the fact that mental disorders bring almost the moral change of a person. A fact that has been forwarded is that mental illness is a dualistic activity that the physicians call metaphysical scepticism. They also argue that mental illness is indefensible and thus cannot be argued against it. Therefore, an ill person will have to behave in such a way that he does not respect other people in the society (Graham). The argument is that the person’s brains are not medically fit and cannot be questioned. The state of questioning lacks because it is the brain that controls the behaviour. Given that the person mind are alright, it is the sickness of the brain that will transform a person to behave the way he or she does. Thomas Szasz argues that determining and terming a person as mentally disordered is disrespectful. Indeed. He argues that the idea demoralises their dignity as human. The reason of his argument is that the mental illness can be likened to physical illness thereby exposing the sick to various contestable experiments in terms of the values of the person. The social-political character that the person get exposed to be unfairly judged since mental disorder or sickness cannot be compared with the physical destruction of the body. The mentally ill people are thus considered as a lesser human being who do not attract respect from the society. Therefore, it is the moral procedural that they lack, but not sickness as the no medicine can be administered to restore the order of the brain. The idea is

The pros and cons of teen sex Essay Example for Free

The pros and cons of teen sex Essay Sex, or the lack there of, will always be a topic among teens. Teens date, and teens have relationships. Most of these relationships will inevitably come to a point where one must chose whether to seize the moment and have sex with their partner, or they will set standards ahead of time saying they will not have sex until marriage. Every teen is either on one side of the fence or the other; they either will have premarital sex, or they will abstain. These two stances shed light on why sex is out of control today, what the world thinks about sex, and what religion says about sexual immorality. The facts are evident: teens have sex. It seems almost impossible to calculate the number of teens who are actually having premarital sex, because, of course, they dont wish to confess. Some teens though, have no choice but to confess because their actions lead to severe consequences such as pregnancy. Forty-three Percent of adolescent women become pregnant at least once before age 20 (Internet 1). That fact alone concludes that the choice of waiting for sex is in close running with the choice of not waiting. In the United States alone, more than 2,800 adolescents become pregnant each day. 1,300 of these girls give birth, 1,100 have abortions, and 400 have miscarriages (Internet 1). These astounding facts prove that sex may be considered out of control among teens today. In the olden days, around the Victorian period, sex was far from the topic that it is today. Also, during this time premarital sex was unthinkable. What happened between then and now that caused such an uproar? The world says that sex has become out of control because it was hushed for so long. But, for the last 20 years, sex has most defiantly not been hushed. If hushing up had been the cause of the trouble, ventilation would have set it right. But it has not (Lewis 92). As the world talks more and more about sex, and as the consequences of pregnancy Page 1 decrease through birth control methods, the issue of sex starts getting out of control. Birth control has had a huge impact on the increase of sexual activity. But, it wasnt until the early seventies that it became an issue in America. In 1972 the Supreme Court completely legalized birth control (Corfman 3). Also around this time came the invention of the pill. This wonder drug completely revolutionized the way humans viewed sex. People were no longer afraid of sex since the consequences of pregnancy almost vanished. Intercourse was promoted as an expression of love, and since then has become a casual affair to most of the  world. The world view states that intercourse is merely the ultimate way to express love. This statement completely isolates sex from marriage and downsizes it to become almost equal with a kiss which is also an expression of love. All around is heard the saying that sex is nothing to be ashamed of. This cliche is mostly true, but that does not mean sex should be talked about so openly. In fact, talking about the sex in the state that it is now should almost be shameful. C.S. Lewis uses a great illustration to express this point. Lewis says that there is nothing to be ashamed of in enjoying food, but there would be everything to be ashamed of if half the world made food the main interest of their lives and spent time looking at pictures of food and drooling and licking their lips (Lewis 92). As the sexual entertainment industry continues to grow people continue to degrade sex until it reaches the point of being almost meaningless. They view sex in the shameful way that Lewis refers to. Becoming obsessed and controlled by their physical lust, they let their emotions and desires control their actions. Naturally, sex is a desire of every human being. The way that humans control this desire is what separates the wo rld view from the Christian view. The world promotes pursuing urges and desires; seizing the day. A great example from the world view is Andrew Marvells poem, Page 2 To His Coy Mistress. In this poem Marvell possess a great love for a woman. Rather than waiting to have his Mistress, he wants her immediately. For he says times winged chariot is hurrying near because he wants his mistress to see there may not be much time left. Marvell wants her so much that he talks about tearing pleasures. This phrase gives the image of desiring something, such as a gift, so much that it must be immediately torn into rather than slowly opened. Seizing the day comes into play in the last line, we cannot make the sun stand still. Since he cannot stop time and feels it coming closer, he wants to seize the opportunity before it passes him by (Marvell 241). Seizing the day is a great motto, but according to many religions it should not be applied to sex, especially before marriage. The majority of Christians abstain from premarital sex based on what the Word of God says. Of course not every Christian obeys what the Bible says in regards to sex; and, not everyone who abstains from premarital sex does so based on Biblical beliefs. But, for the sake of the topic, this half of the paper will assume the abstinence stance because of what the bible says about the subject. The  first stance on sex and marriage held by Christians is that the two cannot be separated. Lewis again gives a great illustration of food to show that it is completely unnatural to separate two things God created to be together. He states that Christians do not believe that there is anything wrong with sexual pleasure, any more than there is with the pleasure of eating. But Christians do not believe that one should isolate sexual pleasure and try to get it outside of marriage, any more that one should try and get the pleasures of taste by just chewing and spitting it out again, rather than swallowing and digesting (Lewis 97). The World has completely separated sex and marriage; idolizing sex while degrading the importance of the covenant of marriage. Page 3 To Christians, a healthy attitude towards sex starts with a high view of marriage. For it says in Gods Word that Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, For God will judge the adulterer and the sexual immoral (Hebrews 13:4). Christians esteem marriage and take it very seriously. Bible believing churches do not believe in divorce, except of course in extreme cases. These high standards of marriage motivate people to think highly of sex. Guarding the sacredness of the marriage bed occurs by refusing to steal from it while single. Having complete intercourse is not the only way to steal from the marriage bed. Any sort of sexual immorality that God does not agree with steals from the sacredness of sex. The majority of people these days are stealing from the sacred gift that God has given for humans to experience during marriage. Sex and marriage are very spiritual things. When someone commits their life to Christ they die to self, and become alive in Him. Therefore the man is not his own, his Body belongs to God and he should honor him [God] by fleeing from sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 18-20). When two people that belong to Christ marry and have sex they become one (1 Corinthians 6:16). It joins a couple in an inseparable way, that is why divorce is not an option. After the two become one, if they are to divorce it is like cutting up a living body. Therefore sex is as much a spiritual mystery as it is a physical fact. Whether someone chooses to believe this statement or not: sex is a serious action with very serious consequences. No matter what stance a person takes in regards to abstinence, everyone must see the facts that sex is out of  control. Either people need to be smart when indulging in premarital sex, or they need to abstain completely. It has come to the shameful state where it now stands because people have abused the scared gift God created to be experienced only between a husband and wife.

Ethics, Business, and the Human Genome Project :: Genetics DNA Genes Science Essays

Ethics, Business, and the Human Genome Project The Human Genome Project began in 1990, as part of a collaborative movement by the scientific community to better understand our own genetic makeup. The U.S Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health coordinate this original 15-year plan, which are parts of the National Human Genome Research Institute. The major goals cited by these institutes is as follows: Identify all the estimated 100,000 genes in the human genome. Map the three billion chemical bases that make up human DNA. Store this mapped information in databases worldwide. Develop even better tools for sequencing and analysis. Address the many ethical, legal and social issues that come with this project. The debate over the importance of a Human Genome Project can be cleared up by looking at what the human genome actually is, and why knowing its DNA sequence can be beneficial to the scientific and the human community. The human genome is made up of about three billion base pairs, which contain about 100,000 genes. The 100,000 genes in the 46 human chromosomes only account for a small total of the DNA in our genome. Approximately 10 percent of our DNA make up these genes in our genome, these genes are what is actually encoded for and used by our body to make vital proteins needed for everyday life. The remaining 90 percent of our three billion base pairs are repeated sequences between genes that do not encode for any particular product. These repeated sequences account for the reason why 99 percent of any humans DNA is identical to another human's (1). With this knowledge many people believe it is not worth the time or money to sequence the entire human genome when only a small percen t is used to encode for proteins. However, by sequencing the whole genome researchers will no longer have to do a needle in the haystack type of search for small genes, like the one found on chromosome four that is responsible for Huntington's disease (4). Also, knowing the complete human DNA sequence will allow scientists to determine the role and importance of the repeated DNA, non-protein encoding, sequences in our body. The Human Genome Project has brought to light the importance of single nucleotide polymorphism's (SNPs), which occur every 100 to 300 bases (1). A single nucleotide variation in the DNA sequence can have a major impact on how humans react to bacteria, viruses and drug therapy.

Individually Unified :: essays papers

Individually Unified We are Americans! We can customize our cars, homes, and even our lives. How did we become such individualists? During the late 1500’s, the Chinese government had several chances of becoming a vast world power and instilling their sense of loyalty and unity as a country. Since China believed that they were a self-sufficient entity, they were content to leave things as they were and saw no point in exploring the unknown. The Europeans on the other hand were forced to explore new worlds due to the lack of trading ability and natural resources. Thanks to Christopher Columbus and others that followed, their exploration and conquering of the New World made it possible for Europeans to expand and populate. However, the new findings also made it possible to spread their selfish nature and greedy culture that is passed off today as people being â€Å"individuals†. In 1492 Christopher Columbus started on his voyage to find what he thought would be a faster route to the West Indies, but in actuality stumbled upon small islands that we now call the Bahamas. When he left on his voyage, his intent was to find and take the riches that the West Indies had to offer but to his disappointment these things that were intended to pay for his voyage did not exist. â€Å"Clearly, Columbus had reason to worry that his voyage would be viewed as a failure. He had not found the gold mines he sought or the Asian cities described by Marco Polo. He thought he had discovered many spices, though only the chili peppers were new.† (Worlds of History, p.19) When Columbus realized that he had not found the riches he was expected to bring home to the Spanish king and queen, he knew that it was very important to make sure that he portrayed his journey in a pleasing light when he wrote to them (as to not make himself look like a failure). When reading the first hand account of Columbus’s voyage, it is in many ways hard to believe that what Columbus was saying was actually the truth. In no way did he talk about his voyage in a negative manner. He talks about how the Indians treated him and his crews like kings. Instead of making himself look like a failure, I feel that he made himself and the Europeans in general look like very greedy people.

International business Essay

1.Which four archetypes does Verbeke distinguish? Draw the figures associated with these archetypes. †¢ Centralized exporter †¢ International projector †¢ International coordinator †¢ Multi-centered MNE 2.Is there one best model? Why or why not? No, there is no best model, because using which model is depends on host country and FSAs. 3.Do you consider a centralized exporter a true multinational? Yes, it has operation in more than one country. 4.What does it mean that the FSA is embodied in the product in case of an international exporter? Exporters develop products on the basis of a favorable home country environment, including local clustering, and make the exporting firm successful in international markets 5.Does the firm develop FSAs in the host country in case of the international projector? No, they just transfer the FSAs they developed in the home country, clone their operation 6.Why is the international coordinator an example of a global value chain? Because for international coordinators, International operations are specialized in specific value-added activities and form vertical value chains across borders. The key FSAs are in efficiently linking these geographically dispersed operations through seamless logistics. 7.Why is a multi-centered MNE characterized by maximum local responsiveness? Because multi-centered MNEs recognize that operating in each host country need to build distinct location-bounded FSAs. 8.The FSA is also framed in terms of core competences. That is the FSA is strongly related to the core competences of a firm. What key characteristics does Verbeke list for these core competences? Difficult to imitate Broadly used in variety markets Make a contribution to customer needs Large effect on firm’s present and future performance if lose this competence 9.What critique does Verbeke have on the concept of core competences? Overestimate the role of strategic management, underestimate the role of host country location factors. 10.What are the five forces that Porter distinguishes? Explain these in your own words Factor conditions: resources,  including natural resources, knowledge, labor, infrastructure etc. Demand conditions: market size and domestic buyer sophistication Related & supporting industries: high quality suppliers, being critical in related industries Firm strategy, structure and rivalry: highly competitive, home-based industry with efficient macro-level governance and several domestic rivals Government and chance: well-functioning but not corrupt government 11.How does Porter’s model fit in figure 1.2? Where does it belong? It belongs to home country location advantages 12.What is the big problem of Porter’s model when applied in the context of International Business? FSAs are totally domestically determined.

Reillys Law of Retail Gravitation

Reilly's Law of Retail Gravitation In 1931, William J. Reilly was inspired by the law of gravity to create an application of the gravity model to measure retail trade between two cities. His work and theory, The Law of Retail Gravitation, allows us to draw trade area boundaries around cities using the distance between the cities and the population of each city. History of the Theory Reilly realized that the larger a city, the larger a trade area it would have and thus it would draw from a larger hinterland around the city. Two cities of equal size have a trade area boundary midway between the two cities. When cities are of unequal size, the boundary lies closer to the smaller city, giving the larger city a larger trade area. Reilly called the boundary between two trade areas the breaking point (BP). On that line, exactly half the population shops at either of the two cities. The formula is used between two cities to find the BP between the two. The distance between the two cities is divided by one plus the result of dividing the population of city B by the population of city A. The resulting BP is the distance from city A to the 50% boundary of the trade area. One can determine the complete trade area of a city by determining the BP between multiple cities or centers. Of course, Reillys law presumes that the cities are on a flat plain without any rivers, freeways, political boundaries, consumer preferences, or mountains to modify an individuals progress toward a city.

The Best Way to Write Sales Case Studies That Get Leads - CoSchedule

The Best Way to Write Sales Case Studies That Get Leads As you’re probably aware, social proof  plays a major factor in buying decisions. In a survey of online consumers, 85% of respondents  said they read up to 10 reviews before they can trust a business. Not all types of social proof are created equal. A handful of product page reviews might be adequate in order to sell a $10 necklace on Shopify, but in order to sell a high ticket item of $1000 or more you’re going to need more significant forms of social proof. For B2B businesses, sales case studies are an excellent tool for driving leads. Legendary marketer Neil Patel  used email case studies to increase his deal closing ratio by 70%. He increased his sales by 185% by testing 3 different case studies. In my business, I’ve also had been able to drive significant amounts of leads using sales case studies. You can too- just follow these tips. Get Your Free Sales Case Study Template Bundle Dont waste time writing your case study from scratch! Download these three templates and make the job easy: Sales Case Study Template (Web): Use this Word-based template to craft your copy for your development team to turn into a web page. Sales Case Study Template (Word): If youll be creating a downloadable PDF-based case study, use this Word template to compile your content before handing it to a designer. Bonus Audience Persona Template: Better understand the target audience for your case study by building an audience persona. The Best Way to Write Sales Case Studies That Get LeadsSales Case Study Creation There are a lot of steps that go into creating a case study. Let's cover them one by one. Create a Buyer Persona If you don’t already have one, I recommend creating a buyer persona  document for your business. Hubspot generously offer a selection of downloadable buyer persona templates, but you can make your own if you wish using the following steps: Give your persona a name, this allows you to think of them as an individual. You may even want to add a photograph too. Create a document with two columns. On the left, list the following demographic traits: age, gender, marital status, education level, income and location. Also on the left, add psychographic traits: interests, values, pain points  and challenges. On the right, carefully craft your answer as best you can for the specific individual. You should be left with something similar to this (courtesy of Hubspot): Select a Relatable Customer When you know your ideal buyer intimately, you can pick a client for your sales case study who is a perfect representative of this persona - someone other potential clients will be able to relate to. Be sure to feature a headshot from the client, as well as a complimentary quote for maximum credibility. Ideally, this quote should pertain to one of the core strengths of your business (something that your competitors cannot replicate). Tips for creating a killer quote image: Ensure you receive a high-resolution headshot from your client. Use a quote that pertains to the core strengths of your business (something that your competitors cannot replicate). Keep the color scheme consistent with the rest of the landing page. If you don’t have the resources to hire a designer, consider using Canva  to create the quote image for free. This example from one of Hubspot’s case studies  is great because it succinctly mentions an advantage the brand has over a competitor. From Problem to Solution Creating a compelling sales case study requires storytelling. First, you need to consider how your product helped your client go from point A (revisit the common pain points in your buyer persona) to point B. To find out this information, I recommend surveying your client via email (some marketers prefer face-to-face conversations, but I find email to be more efficient since they have more time to think about their answers and you’ve got a written record of the conversation to refer back to). Ask them: What problems were you experiencing prior to working with us? What are your long-term goals? What made you choose us instead of a competitor? What are some of the (measurable) benefits you’ve received since working with us? Once you have this information, drive the story home using emotional language  and statistics. I recommend the following structure for your case study: Introduction:  Provide background information about the client’s business, such as the size, business model and types of customers served. The problem:  Describe what is hurting the business, in logical and emotional terms. For instance, ineffective resource allocation may be slowing production, which diminishes gross revenue, but it also leads to sleepless nights and stress for the business owner. The solution:  Describe why the client chose you instead of a competitor, and what solution you came up with to solve their problem. This is a great opportunity to showcase your diligence in analyzing the client’s needs and your expertise in solving their problem. The results:  While I like to include statistics throughout the case study, this is where you can really emphasize the positive long-term change you created, both for the life and business of your client. Hopefully, you’ve been tracking the metrics for your client work. Metrics such as total revenue, search traffic, email opt-ins, conversion rate and page views are great to include in a case study - so long as you’ve delivered an improvement over time. Check out this example from one of Neil Patel’s case studies. He mentions a problem that is undoubtedly common in his niche, then describes his solution along with incredible statistical results for increased credibility. Without these numbers, the claims could be viewed as boastful rather than authentic. Landing Page Design While you might want to feature your sales case study on your homepage or send the case study out as a PDF document to your mailing list, I recommend having a designated landing page for the case study. Weaving a powerful narrative, featuring potent statistics and making your client seem relatable is only one facet of creating a good sales case study. If your goal is to drive leads, your landing page needs to be optimized for conversions. I’ve spent countless hours split testing the headlines, copy, images and CTAs on landing pages, and while it can be tedious, it’s definitely worth it in the long-run for maximizing your conversions. Especially if you’re diving cold traffic to your landing page through paid ads, it’s important that your landing page is tonally and stylistically consistent with the ad. When someone clicks through to your page, there should be no unpleasant surprises in terms of the color schemes  and type of language used. Dollar Shave Club  does an excellent job of providing a cohesive experience for customers that click through to their site from Facebook. This ad directs to their home page, which aligns well with the ad's copy and imagery: In terms of structuring your landing page, I’ve found that the popular advice for structuring blog posts  still applies. Headlines and short paragraphs help to break up walls of text and improve readability. Bullet points are also great for communicating core information succinctly, as shown in this case study for Salesforce: If you have powerful statistics at hand, data visualization  techniques can allow you to convey them in a more emotionally impactful manner. In my opinion, graphs and charts are excellent visual tools for showing how (with your help) a client moved from a miserable point A to a glorious point B. Having produced numerous testimonials, I’m consistently told by my clients that the data visualizations and other visual elements were their favorite parts of the testimonials. As an example, check out this graph I produced for Royal Wolf  to demonstrate the kind of results you can expect over a six-month period. Additionally, it’s important to remember that your landing page has one objective: to get visitors to opt-in to your email list. For this to happen, your landing page needs to flow smoothly from one point to the next, until they reach the inevitable opt-in form. Mentions of other products and links to external sites only distract from this objective. When I see landing pages with abundant distractions, I immediately imagine a highway with roadblocks impeding the traffic. Clear out those roadblocks and ensure that opting in is as easy as humanly possible. To reference Neil Patel’s aforementioned case study, the CTA section  really stands out (and has probably been split tested mercilessly for the best results). Backed by color psychology, orange is one of the most popular color choices for CTA buttons because it pops so well. I love to use orange CTA buttons on sites with neutral or low-key color schemes. Also, Neil includes a headshot of himself to convey trust and indicate that he brings real customers to sites, not just browsers that will help boost your vanity metrics. This is a crucial distinction when you’re charging premium rates like Neil is. Promoting Your Case Study Once you've created your case study, the next step is to tell people about it. Here's how to to do just that successfully. Facebook Advertising With over 2 billion active monthly users, Facebook is a great channel for finding people that are interested in every niche imaginable. By using Audience Insights, you can figure out what pages people are following within your niche - so you can target them with an ad for your sales case study. While there is an enormous amount of demographic information available in Audience Insights, my favorite feature is Page Likes. If you’re analyzing the fishing niche, type â€Å"fishing† into the interests bar on the left. After clicking on Page Likes, you’ll see what other pages people like who share this interest. The affinity score  is important to look at because it shows the likelihood of someone liking a page compared to the average Facebook user. These insights are crucial when it comes to targeting. You will achieve the best results when you’re targeting interests that fanatics (rather than casual fans) would be interested in. In my experience, it’s the fanatics who are more likely to opt-in to your email list or buy your product. Before you start running ads, it’s important to know your Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). If you know exactly how much money you expect to make from an email list subscriber in the long-term, then you can budget your Facebook advertising campaign accordingly. Before you start running social media ads, it's important to know your Customer Lifetime Value:If you know that your average email subscriber spends $25 with you before unsubscribing or going dormant, if you can spend less than $25 to get them onto your list - then you’re going to make a profit. In reality, if you have a high-value case study, a good landing page and your targeting is correct - you should be able to acquire leads for $3 or less, which would yield a gigantic profit in this scenario. For maximum credibility, include a headshot of the client from your case study in your ad image (for some reason, headshots perform very well  in Facebook ads). In the ad copy, include a quote from the client or a statistic relating to how you helped them to improve their business results. This ad by Outbrain  is a great example of a Facebook ad that leverages social proof and begs to be clicked. Social Media If you don’t feel comfortable diving into paid traffic right away, that’s fine. You can still use social media to acquire leads for free. When posting a sales case study on social media, the same rules apply as when you publish a blog post: include a captivating image (such as a client headshot), use emotive language, be succinct, mention key statistics, and include all relevant hashtags. On Twitter, I recommend using your case study post as a pinned tweet, so it stays at the top of your Twitter feed and gets the most attention. In my opinion, Instagram is one of the best platforms for promoting a sales case study. Lots of brands include landing pages (rather than homepages) in their Instagram bios to grab leads, you can do the same with a case study landing page. Foundr, a digital magazine for entrepreneurs, uses its Instagram bio to link to this landing page  promoting a $79 startup guide. If you take the time to post high-value content and follow lots of people who like posts by competitors in your niche (so that they follow you back), you will definitely generate some attention  on your Instagram page. If a link to your case study is the first thing they see on your page and it’s relevant to them, you’ll easily be able to extract contact information from your Instagram followers. Recommended Reading: How to Build the Best Social Media Promotion Schedule For Your Content Content Upgrades A content upgrade  is a special type of lead magnet that pertains to a specific blog post. After a person has finished reading a post, you can offer them a free ebook, checklist or case study which gives additional information about the subject - in exchange for the person’s email address. In my experience, highly specific content upgrades usually result in better conversions than generic lead magnets- since you’re delivering value on a topic that they have a proven interest in. In my experience, highly specific content upgrades usually result in better conversions than...For instance, this post  offers a downloadable PDF at the end of the article in exchange for contact information. If a visual communications agency publishes a blog post about creating visual content on a shoestring budget, it would make sense to offer a case study as a content upgrade that describes boosting a client’s website traffic using a combination of infographics, videos and presentations. Because the person reading your blog already has an interest in visual content, they can pick up additional strategic tips about how to create and promote such content by reading the sales case study. In this situation, the case study not only gives the reader immediate actionable tips, but it subtly conveys that you really know how to get results with visual content marketing.  So, if they eventually want to move on from free and low-cost visual content creation, you will be the first person they think of. Recommended Reading: How to Create Amazing Content Upgrades For Your Blog Email Marketing Sales case studies aren’t only a tool for getting people onto your mailing list. Personally, I find it impactful to include case studies as part of my autoresponder sequence  - to warm up people who are already on my list (just remember to segment your list so you don’t resend the case study to people to joined your list via your case study landing page). Market Hero  is an excellent autoresponder  that features an abundance of email design themes, a simple drag-and-drop interface and calculates your CLV for you. When you know your CLV, you also know how much money you can spend acquiring leads without taking a loss. This infographic from Kissmetrics breaks down how to calculate CLV as well: Successful email marketing involves building rapport, offering high-quality actionable advice and subtly conveying your expertise. Sometimes it’s okay to go for the hard sell via email, but you’ll push people away if you do this too much (a painful lesson I learned in my early years as a marketer). Aside from the occasional sales email, the majority of your messages should be delivering value- case studies fit in perfectly with this strategy. As an additional tip, try including a link to your case study in your email signature. This is particularly useful for sales staff or anyone else in your organization that frequently interacts with potential clients.

Vietnam5 essays

Vietnam5 essays Vietnam is one of the most famous wars that America has taken place in. It is also considered by some to be the most controversial. Many say that America did not belong in the fight and that it was a waste of money, man-power, and time. Others say that it was important to show that the U.S. will not stand by and let a country or territory be taken in the wrong way. Vietnam lasted from 1959 to 1975. It involved the North Vietnamese and the National Liberation Front or NLF. It also included the U.S. and the South Vietnamese forces. From about 1946 to 1945 the Vietnamese had struggled for independence from the French during the first Indochina War. When the war ended the country was split into two creating North and South Vietnam. North Vietnam soon came under the control of Vietnamese Communists who really hated France and were looking to unite Vietnam under Communist rule. South Vietnam was controlled by Vietnamese leaders who favored the French. The reason that the U.S. entered the Vietnam War was fear of the Domino Effect. The Domino Effect is the term used to explain that if one country falls under Communist rule than soon after the countries in that area will soon fall also. If Vietnam became a Communist state than it was likely that more could fall also. This is also why the U.S. supported South Vietnam. The U.S. didnt send troops in until 1965. They were sent in to keep the South Vietnamese government from collapsing but in the long run they eventually failed. When Ngo Dinh Diem came into power he used very repressive measures. These measures led to growing organized opposition within South Vietnam. Another problem was that Diems government represented a small minority of Vietnamese who were mostly businessmen, Roman Catholics, large landowners, and others who were pro-French. At first the United States helped South Vietnam military advisors and financial assistance. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution...

Why was television able to displace radio at the centre of the home in Essay

Why was television able to displace radio at the centre of the home in the late 1950s - Essay Example Talking about reasons we cannot take in consideration only technical progress and therefore technical reasons. When one media channel of information for mass perception is changed and replaced by another, not only practical and technical reasons are at hand but also people’s ability to adapt, social challenges, and general mood of the society. Radio was the most widespread, successful, and popular media source in the twenties, thirties, and forties in the United States and Europe. Historical changes and political collapses urged society to develop new and fast means of communication and entertainment. Radio as a mass media instrument quickly developed after the First World War because progress in communication was a necessary tool during the wartime. The Roaring Twenties masterfully inclined the idea of home entertainment and news broadcasting using radio transmissions (Mowitt, 2011) Of course, printing was at the high level too offering their consumers all the necessary package of global events, comic strips, home recipes etc. But with cinema being used only for the art and entertainment, collective consciousness quickly developed a new necessity for the ability to hear everything about anything without a need to leave their house. In 1936 Federal communications Commission’s first chief commissioner Anning S. Pral l named radio â€Å"a combination of the schoolhouse, the church, the public postrum, the newspaper, the theater, the concert hall – in fact all media devoted to the education and enlightment of the people† (Prall, 1936). Radio was the voice of the world, the voice of the time in the late period of the first half of the twentieth century, century of global and local breakdowns. Radio was used as a generator of public opinion, describing and uniting all classes and groups of people, creating the means of propaganda for the purposes of governments and entertainment for the average citizens. With cinema still being on the low level and considering

Probation Drug Screen Results Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Probation Drug Screen Results - Essay Example If they use drugs, the screening results read positive, and if they do not use drugs, the screening test reads negative. Each month a sample was collected randomly, and defendants were informed in advance in order to fulfill the legal and ethical requirements of the research. The screening involved blood test, urine test, and breathe test (Strauss, 1999). The four stage analysis The codes The screening results of either positive or negative are the main codes in this study. The concept The main concept is to establish the relationship between substance abuse and crime. Categories The defendants were classified basing on the types of drugs. The main drugs are marijuana, opium, barbiturates, ethanol, and benzoate. The defendants were categorized basing on the positive or negative screen result of these drugs (Strauss, 1999). Theory From this study, the theory developed is that there is a clear relationship between substance abuse and crime. Relationship between the coded unit and the h ypothesis The data was collected for a period of one year. Qualitative analysis From the study, the sample shows that most of defendants were positive for the specified drugs. A careful analysis shows that most of the screened defendants were positive. ... This clearly indicates that there is a direct relationship between substance abuse and crime. In addition, the whole year statistic result shows that a large percentage of the tested sample were positive for drugs (Stebbins, 2001). Findings and discussion This research study, which is based on grounded theory methodology, assisted in developing a theory that states that there is a direct relationship between substance abuse and crime. From the legal point of view, crime can be minimized if substance abuse is tackled decisively. Substance abuse is one of the major social problems that have several impacts on the society. From the study, a large percentage of the tested samples displayed positive results, which shows that drug abuse influences crime incidence (Clarke, 2005). Substance abuse and crime have been linked for a long time. Criminal acts such as careless driving, robberies, prostitution, violence, and assaults occur as a result of drug abuse. Several research studies indicate that the increased relationship between substance abuse and crime can be attributed to decreased perception of social network and support. Other factors that may drive one to engage in illegal drug use include marital problems, harsh economic conditions, and mental health status. Substance abuse remains a major risk of criminality because of its ability to alter the reasoning capacity of a person who uses it (Clarke, 2005). This study that fulfills its hypothesis is important because it shows that crime can be minimized if necessary steps are taken to combat drug menace. Raising public awareness and educating people about the effects of drugs

Morality and Moral Controversies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Morality and Moral Controversies - Essay Example Gender identity is one of the first and most far-reaching identities that a human being learns. Many societies have established social distinctions between the sexes which do not inevitably result from biological differences. This largely reflects the impact of conventional gender-role socialization. Gender-roles were defined as expectations regarding the proper behaviour, attitudes and activities of males and females. The application of traditional gender roles leads to many differentiation between men and women. Both sexes are physically capable of leaning to cook and sew, yet most western societies determine that these tasks should be performed by women. Both men and women are capable of learning to weld metal and fly airplanes but these functions are generally assigned to males. All of us can describe the traditional gender-role patterns which have been influential in the socialization of children and the United States. Male babies get blue blankets while females get pink one. Boys are expected to play with trucks, blocks and toy soldiers; girls are given dolls and kitchen goods. Boys must be masculine - active, aggressive, tough, daring and dominant - whereas girls must be feminine - soft, emotional, sweet and submissive. In any society, gender socialization and stratification requires not only individual socialization into traditional gender roles within the family, but al... ender roles, every society has women and men who resist and successfully oppose these stereotypes: strong women who become leaders and professionals, gentle men who care for their children and so forth. With these realities in mind, it seems clear that differences between the sexes are not dictated by biology. Indeed, the maintenance of traditional gender roles requires constant social controls - and these controls are not always effective. 2. Is Rawls right that the obligation to obey the law rests on the duty of fair play (Political and Social Relationships) I believe that nothing in the world is fair. Social stratifications, gender and racial inequalities are very much apparent that we can say not everything is fair and square. With these differences, the law binds all of us no matter what race we have, what economic strata we belong or what our gender preference may be. In complex and rapidly changing societies, there are dislocations between ends and means that encourage individuals to commit acts that are not defined as deviant. Deviance is somewhat more of a social problem rather than a personal trouble; it is a property of the social structure, not of the individual. As a consequence, the solution to deviance lies not in reducing the mismatch between structured goals and unstructured means. In human groups that are growing and changing, class lines are not immutable. Individuals alter their class positions and the boundaries and strata may change. It is important to understand the relationship among social mobility, structural change and moral panic. A central element in our culture is the value placed on improving one's position - through increased income, a job entailing more authority, an access to prestige, ability to have knowledge about technology.

O'Donnell & Tuomey's Belfast Architecture Dissertation

O'Donnell & Tuomey's Belfast Architecture - Dissertation Example Table of Contents Acknowledgements†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..2 Introduction...............................................................................................................3 Context†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦7 Lyric Theatre. A mass of Light and modernism †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦......................................8 Influences and Philosophy of O’Donnell and Tuomey. †¦................................16 Aims, goals and ideals of O’Donnell & Tuomey.................................................19 Conclusion.................................................................................................................24 References.............. ....................................................................................................26 Introduction Dublin based architects Sheila O'Donnell and John Tuomey , who have been practicing together since 1991, have a thoughtful outlook and attitude of how they ply their craft, that can be summarized as – continuity and renewal, which will be the subject of this paper. This dissertation as a critical analysis of the Lyric Theatre will examine O'Donnell + Tuomey's architectural journey. I will re-trace their influences, attitudes and examine values and ideals as apparent in their 2007 Lyric Theatre in Belfast. O’Donnell + Tuomey appreciate tradition, and that traditions ought to be brought into the 21st Century and translated in order to retain meaning in the present day. This is how they approach and interpret each design brief. The inspiration of Aldo Rossi to Irish architects, who acknowledged that â€Å"in Venice, where although one may be interested in w hether a building is by Palladio or Longhena, it is first and always the stones of Venice,†1 is also an inspiration to O'Donnell + Tuomey. They, too, believe that the materials of the land are the materials that should be used in their buildings, which is why, for instance, their Lyric Theatre, which is the subject of this dissertation, uses the bricks which are commonly found in buildings throughout Dublin. On returning from five years in London in 1982 – where Sheila O’Donnell completed a masters degree at The Royal College of Art, and both she and John Tuomey worked with James Stirling – Sheila O’Donnell and John Tuomey returned â€Å"in search of a subject,† married, bought a house and thought about how they might go â€Å"in search of the soul of Irish architecture†. Their role as studio teachers at UCD has involved not only educating a generation of Irish architects that are now gaining international recognition (Tom De Paor bein g the most prominent); they could also be said to have saved Irish architectural culture from the cults of technology and critical theory that afflict British architectural education. O’Donnell and Tuomey architects (O’D+T) can reasonably be considered to have cared for the soul of Irish architecture over the past few decades.2 It is impossible to think about the past two decades of Irish architecture without considering O’Donnell + Tuomey. Indeed without their involvement with Group ’91, alongside Grafton architects, Paul Keogh and others, there would be no Temple Bar or Lyric Theatre, and, he suggests, no internationally recognisable image of modern Ireland for young

Chose Topic after reading Instruction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Chose Topic after reading Instruction - Essay Example They believed in predetermination; God already choosing people who would be saved. Winthrop hoped that the new society would serve as an example to other Christians to emulate. Winthrop’s gave a sermon in which he urged his group of Puritans to remain faithful to the Lord in order to enjoy worldwide praise and glory. This sermon was to help the Puritans uphold high moral standards that would inspire the rest of the world into adopting their pattern. In essence, what Winthrop was able to do was to set up a community that established foundations to the modern religious life of doing good for the Lord. Key to this foundation was their adoption of predetermination and their will to purify the church from corruption (PennState World Campus, 2015). From the demands of purity that were championed by the Winthrop led Puritans during the colonial era, another shift occurred during the revolution era. However, this new shift questioned the earlier foundation of predetermination that was fronted by the earlier Puritans. A key element of the new shift, which was known as The Second Great Awakening, was the belief that an individual could play a part in their salvation by believing in God and Jesus Christ. During the Second Awakening, spiritual techniques such as adult baptism, which are part of the modern religious beliefs, were fronted. Charles Finney was an outstanding proponent of the Second Great Awakening. He encouraged people to attend revival meeting and gave equal chance to both men and women to give accounts of their religious experience. It is evident that the Second Awakening is an origin of the modern religious life. People taking an active part in religious communities, praising, and praying to God in public, characteri zes modern religious life. Therefore, it is evident that the work performed by Finney and others with regard to the Second Awakening shaped religion during

O'Donnell & Tuomey's Belfast Architecture Dissertation

O'Donnell & Tuomey's Belfast Architecture - Dissertation Example Table of Contents Acknowledgements†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..2 Introduction...............................................................................................................3 Context†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦7 Lyric Theatre. A mass of Light and modernism †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦......................................8 Influences and Philosophy of O’Donnell and Tuomey. †¦................................16 Aims, goals and ideals of O’Donnell & Tuomey.................................................19 Conclusion.................................................................................................................24 References.............. ....................................................................................................26 Introduction Dublin based architects Sheila O'Donnell and John Tuomey , who have been practicing together since 1991, have a thoughtful outlook and attitude of how they ply their craft, that can be summarized as – continuity and renewal, which will be the subject of this paper. This dissertation as a critical analysis of the Lyric Theatre will examine O'Donnell + Tuomey's architectural journey. I will re-trace their influences, attitudes and examine values and ideals as apparent in their 2007 Lyric Theatre in Belfast. O’Donnell + Tuomey appreciate tradition, and that traditions ought to be brought into the 21st Century and translated in order to retain meaning in the present day. This is how they approach and interpret each design brief. The inspiration of Aldo Rossi to Irish architects, who acknowledged that â€Å"in Venice, where although one may be interested in w hether a building is by Palladio or Longhena, it is first and always the stones of Venice,†1 is also an inspiration to O'Donnell + Tuomey. They, too, believe that the materials of the land are the materials that should be used in their buildings, which is why, for instance, their Lyric Theatre, which is the subject of this dissertation, uses the bricks which are commonly found in buildings throughout Dublin. On returning from five years in London in 1982 – where Sheila O’Donnell completed a masters degree at The Royal College of Art, and both she and John Tuomey worked with James Stirling – Sheila O’Donnell and John Tuomey returned â€Å"in search of a subject,† married, bought a house and thought about how they might go â€Å"in search of the soul of Irish architecture†. Their role as studio teachers at UCD has involved not only educating a generation of Irish architects that are now gaining international recognition (Tom De Paor bein g the most prominent); they could also be said to have saved Irish architectural culture from the cults of technology and critical theory that afflict British architectural education. O’Donnell and Tuomey architects (O’D+T) can reasonably be considered to have cared for the soul of Irish architecture over the past few decades.2 It is impossible to think about the past two decades of Irish architecture without considering O’Donnell + Tuomey. Indeed without their involvement with Group ’91, alongside Grafton architects, Paul Keogh and others, there would be no Temple Bar or Lyric Theatre, and, he suggests, no internationally recognisable image of modern Ireland for young

How can visual art be related to or used in accounting major Research Paper

How can visual art be related to or used in accounting major - Research Paper Example If the field of visual arts is analyzed further, it can be seen that there are different branches within the scope of visual arts which have developed with the emergence of technologies which make the field more diversified discipline than ever before. These branches include decorative arts and crafts, fine arts and applied arts. Decorative arts are a concept of which have been usually been related to the design and manufacture of functional objects. It may include interior design, but not necessarily architecture. The decorative arts have been usually considered in complete contrast with the fine arts whose only purpose is to be seen. Decorative arts include fixed (for instance wallpaper) and moveable arts (for instance carpets). Applied arts are the branch of visual arts which have been very recently associated with it. This is because of the growing use of technology in the field of arts. This is the sub category of visual arts which shall be the prime focus of this paper because of its involvement in the field of accounting. With the emergence of technology, the concept of applying the arts into different fields for enhancing the field’s performance and utility has also emerged. Thus, the forms of art which developed were as diverse as industrial design, fashion design and interior design (Don, 1989). ACCOUNTING The term accountancy is the name given to the process of sharing the financial information about the business to its different stakeholders (Narayan, 2005). The reason for this communication is for analyzing the current financial position and for predicting the future trends. This communication is carried out through the financial statements which are relevant to the different stakeholders simultaneously. Accountancy is generally associated with recording, analyzing, summarizing and disseminating the relevant financial information for the organization. The Use of Visual Arts in Accounting There used to be an era when accounting was just reser ved for bookkeeping. The process of this bookkeeping was carried out using manual tools and practices. This was the time when the concept of accounting as a measure of future growth and increase competence was not given much attention. But in today’s day and age an organization just cannot even think about accounting just as a discipline of bookkeeping. This is because of the increased competition and the rapidly changing nature of the marketplace. If today a company does not look ahead of its time, it will be run over by the rival companies. Thus, keeping in view this background, accounting is not only used for bookkeeping, but also for forecasting future trends and opportunities of the organization as compared to its rivals and the demand for its products. Visual arts have become vital for the accounting process today. Accounting has been amalgamated with the visual arts through the applied arts. As it is clear that the applied arts use field specific principles and combine it with the visual arts discipline so that the facts and figures of the business can be illustrated

Computer Assisted Audit Technique Essay Example for Free

Computer Assisted Audit Technique Essay The test data technique is primarily designed to test the effectiveness of the internal control procedures which are incorporated in the client’s computer program. The objective of the test data technique is to determine whether the client’s computer programs can correctly handle valid and invalid conditions as they arise. To accomplish this objective the auditor prepares test data (fictitious transactions) that consist of valid and invalid conditions. The auditor enters the test data into the system and have the data processed by the entity’s computer programs. Since the auditor is the one who crates the test data, the auditor knows what the output should look like assuming the client’s computer programs is functioning effectively. The auditor then compares the processing results with his predetermined output. If the output generated by the client’s program is the same as the auditor’s expected output, the auditor may conclude that the client’s program is reliable. A disadvantage of the test data technique is that the auditor does not have an assurance that the program tested is the same program used by the client throughout the accounting process. . In order to overcome this disadvantage, the test data technique can be extended to an integrated test facility (ITF) An integrated test facility (ITF) creates a fictitious entity in a database to process test transactions simultaneously with live input. It can be used to incorporate test transactions into a normal production run of a system. Its advantage is that periodic testing does not require separate test processes. However, careful planning is necessary, and test data must be isolated from production data. Integrated test facility is considered a useful audit tool during an IT audit because it uses the same programs to compare processing using independently calculated data. This involves setting up dummy entities on an application system and processing test or production data against the entity as a means of verifying processing accuracy. When using ITF, the auditor must be alert to the danger of contaminating the client’s master file. Thus, care must be taken to reverse or eliminates the effects of all audit test transactions in order to avoid contamination of client’s computer files. Parallel Simulation The test data and ITF methods both process test data through real programs. With parallel simulation, the auditor processes real client data on an audit program similar to some aspect of the client’s program. The auditor compares the results of this processing with the results of the processing done by the client’s program.

Cross Cultural Awareness in Management

Cross Cultural Awareness in Management Task 1 The FIVE most important competencies for managing internationally in my country, Hong Kong, for these three American managers of TDS are: Interpersonal Skills – If this is not the most important skill of all, it is the crucial one. This skill helps the expatriate managers to establish relationships, coordinate with others, satisfying the needs for friendship and intimacy when they are abroad. It also helps in building trust and form relationships with the people around them. The expatriate managers are often experiencing uncertainties and getting stressed when dealing things with work and personal life in a new environment. So with good interpersonal skills will be able to reduce the stress coming from every angle. Referring to a recent book (Schneider Barsoux, 2003, 190-1), the primary selection of many companies for the expatriate managers in practice is their track records on reaching their targets or getting their jobs done. Companies also would like to send those that are eager to climb further on their career ladders or those with technical or conceptual abilities instead of those with interpersonal skills abroad. These expatriates are often too focused on their personal agenda to make things happen and ignore the pressure that are given to the local staffs which would create tension at work. Moreover, feelings of mistrust and resentment of the local staffs towards the head office will also be exacerbated. Therefore, interpersonal skills should be taken into account when the American managers are being chosen to manage in a foreign country like Hong Kong. Motivation to live abroad – It is a key factor for the expatriate managers and their families to adapt into the local culture successfully (Schneider Barsoux, 2003, 192). Basically they should have real interests in the country they will live in, in order to have the curiosity to get to know it better and experience it well. It is the desire that makes them easier to understand the culture with ease. Patience and respect – Different countries have different cultures so it is necessary that the international managers have the patience and respect when dealing with the new culture. It takes time to cope and learn the differences between the culture at home and the culture of the new place so the international managers should be patient (Schneider Barsoux, 2003, 193). They also need to have respect for the local of how the things happen in some ways when dealing with different circumstances in any aspects. Cultural empathy – This is a not skill that can be easily acquired because it is deeply rooted in someone’s character to have the mentality of empathy for others with cultural differences (Schneider Barsoux, 2003, 193). It is required in order to respect the local staffs by the international managers to be a good listener to focus on what they have to say. Being non-judgmental is also important for those managers to be able to understand others’ points of views. The psychological development of a human being allows narcissism to be evolved to a point that interfere the capacity for empathy (Kets de Vries, M. and Mead, C. 1992). Managers that are narcissistic usually are self- centred and think that others are paltry or just the extensions of their own. They make the values of others hard to be recognized, let alone appreciate, because they see others as objects or tools for them to get what they want in order to achieve their goals and they also think of others as the mirrors to reflect their own glory. This type of managers would use all their efforts to prove their worth instead of considering the needs and the existing values of the other staffs. Flexibility, tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity – These managers also need to have the flexibility, tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity. Changing circumstances that are unexpected makes the managers face with thread of uncertainty and ambiguity because the reactions and the behaviors of the local staffs may be unpredictable. Managers are intended to reinforce greater controls and restrict on the information flow when they face this kind of tread especially during an international assignment (Schneider Barsoux, 2003, 192-3). It often results in a stereotypical response and not well adapted to the situation on hands. Although it is difficult for the managers that are usually awarded by being in charged and staying on top of things, expatriates need to ‘go with the flow’ and let go of control. Everyone doesn’t always need to go by the book because actions are often taken base on insufficient, unreliable or/ and conflicting information. Task 2 Controlling model and Adapting model are the names and characteristics of two specific models of strategy related to cultural assumptions and approaches in adapting to external environment as discussed in the literature. The differences between controlling and adapting approaches are described below: Controlling model is based on active search that is focused and systematic. The planning system of the controlling approach is formalized and centralized using expert consultants to assist in devising strategy. The information being used by the controlling method is objective, quantitative and impersonal also interpreting information relies on formal models and methods like strategic forecasting with scenario planning. The people involve in this model are those from the top management or the experts of the particular area. The decisions for the controlling approach would be made by the top management and pass down to be implemented. The strategic goals and action plans are clearly defined, articulated and it would be explicitly measured and rewarded in this controlling method. As it assumes that the environment is known to reduce environmental uncertainty. This approach is usually sequential and short term (Schneider Barsoux, 2003, 124). Adapting model is broad, sporadic, decentralized and mostly based on monitoring. It is the opposite from the controlling model, informal and decentralized. The adapting approach is personal, subjective and qualitative; the information would be interpreted by some informal methods with discussions and debate. It would have the employees involved from all across the ranks. The decisions for the adapting approach would be made by the front lines staffs, neither the people from top management nor the experts. The strategic goals tend to emerge and action plans are broad, implicit and vaguely monitored. Also it assumes that the environment cannot be readily known or controlled. This approach is long term and simultaneous (Schneider Barsoux, 2003, 124). The model of adapting approach is more appropriate in this situation with TDS because TDS is new to town and not quite familiar with the culture and environment in Hong Kong. Also the environment cannot be controlled or readily known, it would be wise to have the responsibilities to be diffused throughout the organization to make all the staffs from different ranks to get involved. Strategic direction tends to emerge when different people come with different perspective on the business point of view. The implementation should be locally determined to keep it within this strategic frame. Strategy can be refined on an ongoing basis and the adjustments can be made to any unexpected circumstances. TDS should be flexible in order to deal with any sort of unforeseen events or sudden change in any situation. A broad scan is needed in case of any subtle change in the environment and also accountability should be assigned to the collective too because everyone is involved to contribute to make things happen. Task 3 The Five methods of discovery that I would recommend to the three American managers transferring into my country, Hong Kong, are: Architecture and design – According to a recent book (Schneider Barsoux, 2003, 24-6) the most obvious artifact is the architecture and design of the building when you enter the organization. In the United States, most of the office design would be opened space with partitioned off by half walls with each individual cubicles personalized by personal interested items such as photos, plants or aphorisms. By not being able to see each other directly allows a sense of privacy to be established. Also opened doors are usually signaled as accessible and available while closed doors are indicated as a sign of privacy desire in the United States. To the contrary, Japanese prefer to have some of the walls knocked off so informal communication would not be inhibited. On the other hand, Germans experience difficulty to work in an open-plan office due they feel it is lack of privacy. Although Hong Kong has a majority of 95 percent Chinese people according to a website (The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, 2008), and was also a British colony for over 150 years, the main business partner of its own is still the United States as shown by the figures provided from the Business Expectation Statistics Section, Census and Statistics Department, (2007a) (2007b). Therefore, most of the office design in Hong Kong is followed to the same style as those in the United States. Greeting rituals – In the United States, the greeting rituals are tended to be paid less attention according to a recent book (Schneider Barsoux, 2003, 26-7). But for the other countries, the protocol is taken quite seriously. There are different forms of way in greetings such as showing respect by exchanging and inspecting business cards in Japan, greeting individual by name, shaking hands and making eye contact by French. The degree of body contact expected in greeting creates a fair amount of confusion in another part of the rituals too. In the United States, people might greet others with a hug even when the acquaintanceship is ordinary. In some countries like France, kissing hello and goodbye are common while people from countries like Hong Kong might feel uncomfortable and uneasy about it. According to a website (The Economist Newspaper Limited, 2008), handshaking followed by an immediate swapping of business cards is the most common form of greeting in Hong Kong. Dress Codes – It is another cultural artifact varies from the degree of formality. Schneider Barsoux (2003, 29) pointed out that Anglo and Asian managers do not want to get too much attention or stand out by the way they dress while the Latin managers really care about their personal style. Moreover, corporate dress seems to be color coded in some countries. For example in the United Kingdom, some women are advised not to wear suits and dresses in bright color to work such as red and some bankers of a Dutch bank even avoid to wear suits in brown. It also signals task orientation. In the United States, rolled up shirt sleeves is considered as a signal of hard working while in France means ‘relaxing on the job’. Not to mention that some US companies have designated days to encourage people to appear in casual clothes at work such as Fridays. According to a website (World Business Culture, 2008), dress codes differ base on the size of company and industry sector in Hong Kong. Men mostly wear dark suits, shirts and ties while women wear conservative suits and dresses. Trousers and causal wear are tended to be worn only on informal occasions or designated days. Written versus verbal contracts – In different parts of the world people have different definitions toward the sealed business agreements as mentioned in a recent book (Schneider Barsoux, 2003, 30). In some places, one’s word means more than a legal document while others need to put down all the details on a paper in black and white. Problems would appear when the contracts are expected by the head office to be signed, sealed and delivered from a place where one’s reputation and honor are way more valuable than some legal documents. Figures from Schneider Barsoux (2003, 30) for the estimated numbers of lawyers per capita of some countries like United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France and Japan reflect the differences on expectations. American managers will bring it to the legal department to retrieve whenever a business deal has been fell through while some other countries would sort things out through the relationship. Since Hong Kong is a Common Law Jurisdiction like most of the United Kingdom, Ireland and the United States (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 2008a), people most likely to expect to have a written contract over a business deal. Criteria for success – It depends on the importance of stakeholders whether it is the benefit of the shareholders, the customers or the employees. Beliefs and values differ when there are different stakeholders; there are different criteria for success. Schneider Barsoux (2003, 31) claimed that American companies only exist for the benefit of the shareholders. This might be disagreed in Japan or even shock the Japanese as they believe customers have the divine rights. Some countries in Europe such as Germany or Sweden believe that the employees have the divine rights instead. Although all these factors are crucial to the business success, you still need to have a closer look to the cultural preferences in different countries like Hong Kong. Task 4 In my opinion, the key functions for managing people and human resource management are recruitment and selection, compensation and rewards, employee relations, and career development. Recruitment and selection – This can be the most challenging and important function for managing people and human resource management. It is because finding ‘the right people for the right job’ is essential. It is often a challenge as well especially when the nature of the local labor market or the available human resources is not familiar. The company needs to understand how to access the local labor pool in order to get the equivalent people to work for the company. So finding those candidates who have the abilities and requirements to finish the task and get the job done is also hard and essential, not to mention to get those who seem to likely match with the existing corporate culture. Moreover, the standard profile of one country might be very different from another in terms of representation and the differences in education systems also play a part to make the selection difficult in selecting which person fits the profile for the job (Schneider Barsoux, 2003, 151). Compensation and rewards – The cultural differences play a role when it comes to determine the terms of reward and who gets it. Different cultures have different type of value in relations to the reward and vary to the extent in the belief that reward should be collective or individual. Pay for performance is assumed to be based on contribution or ‘equity’ instead of the belonging to the group or ‘equality’ (Eretz and Early, 1993). In the contractual view of employment, the notions of equity, ‘you get what you deserve’, are embedded while the notions of equality, ‘you deserve what you get’, correspond to the social view (Pennings, 1993). According to Susan Barsoux (2003, 165), the current trend of linking salary payment to working performances is especially suspect to be cultural related. It has been discovered that in some countries like France, it would be shocked for the French executives to have clearly stated quantifiable objective relating increased performances to increased bonus. It is because the French executives found that discussion about money and finance is such a turned off. It also provoked outcries when the merit pay was attempted to be introduced in Japan. It created uproar as the Japanese executives were scared that it would ruin the harmony of the group and might also encourage short term thinking especially when the employees only focus on the performance in order to get the bonus. On the other hand, the dominant influence in American managerial thinking is the principle of equity that each one should be rewarded based on the solely contribution by that particular person. Nowadays in the view towards team management that demands group cooperation instead of competition among individuals finds the merit-based pay in the United States demotivating (Susan Barsoux, 2003, 167). The preference between financial or non financial incentives is also related to the culture. The motivating potential of money, status, vacation time is also affected and changed across countries. Swedish would prefer to have some time off rather than a bonus because they are more concerned with the quality of life and monetary rewards are less motivating while giving time off might seem to have not much point in Japan when most of the employees only take half of their holiday entitlement (Susan Barsoux, 2003, 167). So the internationally operated companies should learn to appreciate the different values and evaluate the potential impact as well because the remuneration package is a very strong indicator of the culture and the behavior expected and also can be used in order to encourage cooperation or competition, risk taking or conservatism, and information sharing or information hoarding. The remuneration package is also a very important signal when it comes to aspiring recruits. When the company wants to attract local elite, it can choose to align itself with the local norms or the alien one when the preference of the company changes to attract the less mainstream or adventurous or those that are frustrated with the local practices and looking to be rewarded for their efforts and success (Susan Barsoux, 2003, 168). Employee relations – It is important to have a good relations and mutual understanding between the management and the staffs of the company. Any staff grievances of the company should be dealt with and well listened to in order to promote a harmony environment. An open dialogue is needed to be promoted between the management and the unions of the company to eliminate any conflicts or fictions that may occur between the staffs and the management specially when there is a new implementation of company policies. Also the employees’ political standing should be respected and well listened to especially when it is toward the company policy and issues. Good employee relations help increasing the engagement of the employees to the company so as their commitment and involvement as well. It also helps with the staff retention which is necessary for a company setting up in a new country like TDS (CIPD, 2008). Career development – National culture has an impact on career development and the natures of the managerial tasks on what management should do or be are depended on assumptions of being versus doing. The determinants for success varies across cultures when some places have it based on achieving results like the United States while in the United Kingdom having good interpersonal skills and personal connections are the keys for success at the career front. Favored career paths also differ culturally and it is bound up with cultural assumptions regarding the importance of the individual versus loyalty to the company, doing versus being, and tolerance for uncertainty. So a multinational company should make sure that the perceptions of what it takes to get to the top and the patterns of career development would include people with different skills, abilities, knowledge and perspectives (Susan Barsoux, 2003, 168 -70). With the references to managing people and HRM, I feel the four department managers, two from the United States and two from Hong Kong, should focus on during their first three months is selection because it is vital to get the right people for the right job in any organization (Schneider Barsoux, 2003, 151). Local talent may have different types of abilities, skills, knowledge and strength owing to the national values differences placed on the education so it is also a challenge to get the right people who fit the requirement for the particular job and also fit with the company culture. The managers should consider the differences in attitude towards the hiring practices in Hong Kong and also the cultural differences will influence on how to recruit as well. So getting access to the local labor pool to get the people that match with the job criteria is important too. Therefore, selection should be focused by four department managers for the first three months to get the right people in place and help them to adjust and fit into a new culture and way of life in order to make the launch of TDS in Hong Kong a success. The trade unions in the United Kingdom has a culture as a collective bargaining tool with management while the one in the United States has more of a hire and fire culture. In Hong Kong, there are four trade unions and the largest one among them is the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions and their main slogans are patriotism, solidarity, right, welfare and participation (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 2008b). Although the unions in Hong Kong are focused on the rights and welfares of the workers as much as those in the United Kingdom and the United States but they are still at the stage of establishing as the largest unions in Hong Kong was founded in 1948 while those in United Kingdom have been existed for over 100 years like the General Federation of Trade Unions (UK) (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 2008c) and so as those in the United States like the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations was founded in 1886 (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 2008d). Since the United States is the biggest trade business partners of Hong Kong, most of the companies would contain the culture of the United States to remain individual. Task 5 The benefits of creating and working within the context of a multicultural team are given the larger complexity and speed of change in the international business environment. It seems obvious that bringing people together from different cultures enhance the quality of decisions taken. These multinational cultures contribute a greater range of perspectives and options with even more successful marketing strategies and ideas to attract different types of customers. It can also provide a different or new way of looking at the old or existing problems and help to promote the chances for greater innovation and creativity with the cultural differences as well (Schneider Barsoux, 2003, 218). Combining people from different cultural backgrounds also benefits the organization integration and learning so as the managerial development. It improves lateral networks for the communication and information flow. Also when bringing the people with the different cultural backgrounds together, it can be a solution to help minimize the risk of uniformity and pressures for conformity which can appear in the company when there are too many like minded people working at the same company together at the same time (Janis, 1971). Also teams that are composed by members with different profiles are far more effective than teams that are made by the best and the brightest performers or with the members who are having the similar profiles. Teams that have included a mixture of members with profiles of different areas performed better as they have the balance of roles. Different cultures have different assumptions toward the business issues and also have different ideas about the reasons of teams. So that to share information and discuss about any problem at work with people from different cultural background would often generate greater results in a dynamic way. Furthermore to the benefit of the combination with people from different cultures background would enhance the productivity for the organization. The challenges of creating and working within the context of a multicultural team are that bringing people together from different cultures is given more ambiguity and uncertainty in decision making. Also it would be much more complex in the organization from the procession to implementation due to the cultural differences in assumptions. People with different cultural backgrounds work together might create interpersonal conflict and communication problems at work. Also it would create greater potential for frustration and dissatisfactions that might lead to higher turnover of team members within the group (Schneider Barsoux, 2003, 231). The choice of language using within the multicultural team might also creates friction and misunderstanding especially when the native language for the three American managers is English while the native language for the local managers is Chinese, there is a huge scope for misunderstandings that could hamper the cohesion and effectiveness of the team no matter how fluent the local managers could speak in English (I-change, 2008). According to the personal upbringing and values, technical background and training, and also the national backgrounds can distort and filter the messages in many layers of meaning within a multicultural team that can lead to further misunderstanding and frustrations. Barriers would also be created for the multicultural team due to the direct versus indirect communication; trouble with accents and fluency; differing attitudes toward hierarchy and authority and so as the conflicting norms for decision making (Brett, Behfar Kern, 2006). Direct versus indirect communication is that in western cultures, the communication is typically direct and explicit. The listener does not need to know much about the speaker in order to interpret the context because the context of the meaning of the conversation is on the surface while the meaning of the conversation is embedded in the way the message is presented in many other cultures. Although the language of international business is English, the trouble with accents and fluency may lead to deep frustration and misunderstanding because of nonnative speakers’ accents, problems with translation or usage and lack of fluency would also influence the perceptions of status and competence. A challenge inherent in multicultural team with differing attitudes toward hierarchy and authority is that by design, teams have a rather flat structure. But team members from some cultures that people are treated differently according to their status in an organization probably are uncomfortable on flat teams. If they defer to higher status team members then their behavior will be seen as appropriate when most of the team members are came from a hierarchical culture; but they may damage their stature and credibility and even face humiliation if most of the team members are came from an egalitarian culture. Cultures differ enormously when it comes to decision making due to the conflicting norms for decision making particularly on how much analysis is required beforehand and how quickly the decisions should be made. American managers like to make decisions very quickly and with little analysis relatively when compared to the managers from other countries that may also be the challenge too. Task 6 Management Approach The four profiles are Village Market Well oiled machine Family or tribe Pyramid of people Ethical considerations: Managers and companies need to access how different spheres of cultural influence contribute to ethnical behavior. Ethical considerations could include such things as ‘harsh capitalism’ which could include laying off workers, breakdown of psychological contract, corruption, codes of conduct, and the Sullivan Principles. Common rationalizations in explaining unethical behavior can be: It is not really illegal or immoral It serves the best interest of the individual or company It is safe because it will never be found out or publicized The activity helps the company and therefore it will be condoned and protected References: Brett J., Behfar K. Kern M.C. (2006) Harvard Business Review[online]. Available from:http://web.gsm.uci.edu/~kbehfar/Behfar-HBR%202006.pdf [Accessed 27 July 2008] Business Expectation Statistics Section, Census and Statistics Department. (2007a). Hong Kong Statistics – Statistical Tables [online]. The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Available from: http://www.censtatd.gov.hk/hong_kong_statistics/statistical_tables/index.jsp?htmlTableID=133excelID=134chartID=tableID=133ID=subjectID=5 [Accessed 29 June 2008] Business Expectation Statistics Section, Census and Statistics Department. (2007b). Hong Kong Statistics – Statistical Tables [online]. The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Available from: http://www.censtatd.gov.hk/hong_kong_statistics/statistical_tables/index.jsp?htmlTableID=134excelID=chartID=tableID=134ID=subjectID=5 CIPD. (2008) Employee Relations: an overview [online]. Available from: http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/empreltns/general/emprelsovr.htm [Accessed 13 July 2008] Eretz, M. and Early, P.C. (1993) Culture, Self-identity, and Work, New York: Oxford University Press. I-Change. (2008) Multicultural teamwork Communication[online]. Available from: (http://www.i-change.biz/multiculturalteamworkcommunication.php [Accessed 27 July 2008] Janis, I.L. (1971) Victims of Groupthink, Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. Kets de Vries, M. and Mead, C. (1992) Development of the global leader, in V. Pucik, N. Ticy and C.Barnett (eds) Globalizing Management, New York: John Wiley, pp.194-205 Pennings, J.M. (1993) Executive reward systems: A cross – national comparison,, Journal of Management Studies, 30(2), pp.261-80, p.264. Schneider, S.C. and Barsoux, J.L. (2003), Managing Across Cultures 2nd edition, pp.24-6, Prentice Hall. Schneider, S.C. and Barsoux, J.L. (2003), Managing Across Cultures 2nd edition, pp.26-7, Prentice Hall. Schneider, S.C. and Barsoux, J.L. (2003), Managing Across Cultures 2nd edition, p.29, Prentice Hall. Schneider, S.C. and Barsoux, J.L. (2003), Managing Across Cultures 2nd edition, p.30, Prentice Hall. Schneider, S.C. and Barsoux, J.L. (2003), Managing Across Cultures 2nd edition, p.31, Prentice Hall. Schneider, S.C. and Barsoux, J.L. (2003), Managing Across Cultures 2nd edition, p.124, Prentice Hall. Schneider, S.C. and Barsoux, J.L. (2003), Managing Across Cultures 2nd edition, p.151, Prentice Hall. Schneider, S.C. and Barsoux, J.L. (2003), Managing Across Cultures 2nd edition, p.165, Prentice Hall. Schneider, S.C. and Barsoux, J.L. (2003), Managing Across Cultures 2nd edition, p.167, Prentice Hall. Schneider, S.C. and Barsoux, J.L. (2003), Managing Across Cultures 2nd edition, p.168, Prentice Hall. Schneider, S.C. and Barsoux, J.L. (2003), Managing Across Cultures 2nd edition, pp.168-70, Prentice Hall. Schneider, S.C. and Barsoux, J.L. (2003), Managing Across Cultures 2nd edition, pp.190-1, Prentice Hall. Schneider, S.C. and Barsoux, J.L. (2003), Managing Across Cultures 2nd edition, p.192, Prentice Hall. Schneider, S.C. and Barsoux, J.L. (2003), Managing Across Cultures 2nd Cross Cultural Awareness in Management Cross Cultural Awareness in Management Task 1 The FIVE most important competencies for managing internationally in my country, Hong Kong, for these three American managers of TDS are: Interpersonal Skills – If this is not the most important skill of all, it is the crucial one. This skill helps the expatriate managers to establish relationships, coordinate with others, satisfying the needs for friendship and intimacy when they are abroad. It also helps in building trust and form relationships with the people around them. The expatriate managers are often experiencing uncertainties and getting stressed when dealing things with work and personal life in a new environment. So with good interpersonal skills will be able to reduce the stress coming from every angle. Referring to a recent book (Schneider Barsoux, 2003, 190-1), the primary selection of many companies for the expatriate managers in practice is their track records on reaching their targets or getting their jobs done. Companies also would like to send those that are eager to climb further on their career ladders or those with technical or conceptual abilities instead of those with interpersonal skills abroad. These expatriates are often too focused on their personal agenda to make things happen and ignore the pressure that are given to the local staffs which would create tension at work. Moreover, feelings of mistrust and resentment of the local staffs towards the head office will also be exacerbated. Therefore, interpersonal skills should be taken into account when the American managers are being chosen to manage in a foreign country like Hong Kong. Motivation to live abroad – It is a key factor for the expatriate managers and their families to adapt into the local culture successfully (Schneider Barsoux, 2003, 192). Basically they should have real interests in the country they will live in, in order to have the curiosity to get to know it better and experience it well. It is the desire that makes them easier to understand the culture with ease. Patience and respect – Different countries have different cultures so it is necessary that the international managers have the patience and respect when dealing with the new culture. It takes time to cope and learn the differences between the culture at home and the culture of the new place so the international managers should be patient (Schneider Barsoux, 2003, 193). They also need to have respect for the local of how the things happen in some ways when dealing with different circumstances in any aspects. Cultural empathy – This is a not skill that can be easily acquired because it is deeply rooted in someone’s character to have the mentality of empathy for others with cultural differences (Schneider Barsoux, 2003, 193). It is required in order to respect the local staffs by the international managers to be a good listener to focus on what they have to say. Being non-judgmental is also important for those managers to be able to understand others’ points of views. The psychological development of a human being allows narcissism to be evolved to a point that interfere the capacity for empathy (Kets de Vries, M. and Mead, C. 1992). Managers that are narcissistic usually are self- centred and think that others are paltry or just the extensions of their own. They make the values of others hard to be recognized, let alone appreciate, because they see others as objects or tools for them to get what they want in order to achieve their goals and they also think of others as the mirrors to reflect their own glory. This type of managers would use all their efforts to prove their worth instead of considering the needs and the existing values of the other staffs. Flexibility, tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity – These managers also need to have the flexibility, tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity. Changing circumstances that are unexpected makes the managers face with thread of uncertainty and ambiguity because the reactions and the behaviors of the local staffs may be unpredictable. Managers are intended to reinforce greater controls and restrict on the information flow when they face this kind of tread especially during an international assignment (Schneider Barsoux, 2003, 192-3). It often results in a stereotypical response and not well adapted to the situation on hands. Although it is difficult for the managers that are usually awarded by being in charged and staying on top of things, expatriates need to ‘go with the flow’ and let go of control. Everyone doesn’t always need to go by the book because actions are often taken base on insufficient, unreliable or/ and conflicting information. Task 2 Controlling model and Adapting model are the names and characteristics of two specific models of strategy related to cultural assumptions and approaches in adapting to external environment as discussed in the literature. The differences between controlling and adapting approaches are described below: Controlling model is based on active search that is focused and systematic. The planning system of the controlling approach is formalized and centralized using expert consultants to assist in devising strategy. The information being used by the controlling method is objective, quantitative and impersonal also interpreting information relies on formal models and methods like strategic forecasting with scenario planning. The people involve in this model are those from the top management or the experts of the particular area. The decisions for the controlling approach would be made by the top management and pass down to be implemented. The strategic goals and action plans are clearly defined, articulated and it would be explicitly measured and rewarded in this controlling method. As it assumes that the environment is known to reduce environmental uncertainty. This approach is usually sequential and short term (Schneider Barsoux, 2003, 124). Adapting model is broad, sporadic, decentralized and mostly based on monitoring. It is the opposite from the controlling model, informal and decentralized. The adapting approach is personal, subjective and qualitative; the information would be interpreted by some informal methods with discussions and debate. It would have the employees involved from all across the ranks. The decisions for the adapting approach would be made by the front lines staffs, neither the people from top management nor the experts. The strategic goals tend to emerge and action plans are broad, implicit and vaguely monitored. Also it assumes that the environment cannot be readily known or controlled. This approach is long term and simultaneous (Schneider Barsoux, 2003, 124). The model of adapting approach is more appropriate in this situation with TDS because TDS is new to town and not quite familiar with the culture and environment in Hong Kong. Also the environment cannot be controlled or readily known, it would be wise to have the responsibilities to be diffused throughout the organization to make all the staffs from different ranks to get involved. Strategic direction tends to emerge when different people come with different perspective on the business point of view. The implementation should be locally determined to keep it within this strategic frame. Strategy can be refined on an ongoing basis and the adjustments can be made to any unexpected circumstances. TDS should be flexible in order to deal with any sort of unforeseen events or sudden change in any situation. A broad scan is needed in case of any subtle change in the environment and also accountability should be assigned to the collective too because everyone is involved to contribute to make things happen. Task 3 The Five methods of discovery that I would recommend to the three American managers transferring into my country, Hong Kong, are: Architecture and design – According to a recent book (Schneider Barsoux, 2003, 24-6) the most obvious artifact is the architecture and design of the building when you enter the organization. In the United States, most of the office design would be opened space with partitioned off by half walls with each individual cubicles personalized by personal interested items such as photos, plants or aphorisms. By not being able to see each other directly allows a sense of privacy to be established. Also opened doors are usually signaled as accessible and available while closed doors are indicated as a sign of privacy desire in the United States. To the contrary, Japanese prefer to have some of the walls knocked off so informal communication would not be inhibited. On the other hand, Germans experience difficulty to work in an open-plan office due they feel it is lack of privacy. Although Hong Kong has a majority of 95 percent Chinese people according to a website (The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, 2008), and was also a British colony for over 150 years, the main business partner of its own is still the United States as shown by the figures provided from the Business Expectation Statistics Section, Census and Statistics Department, (2007a) (2007b). Therefore, most of the office design in Hong Kong is followed to the same style as those in the United States. Greeting rituals – In the United States, the greeting rituals are tended to be paid less attention according to a recent book (Schneider Barsoux, 2003, 26-7). But for the other countries, the protocol is taken quite seriously. There are different forms of way in greetings such as showing respect by exchanging and inspecting business cards in Japan, greeting individual by name, shaking hands and making eye contact by French. The degree of body contact expected in greeting creates a fair amount of confusion in another part of the rituals too. In the United States, people might greet others with a hug even when the acquaintanceship is ordinary. In some countries like France, kissing hello and goodbye are common while people from countries like Hong Kong might feel uncomfortable and uneasy about it. According to a website (The Economist Newspaper Limited, 2008), handshaking followed by an immediate swapping of business cards is the most common form of greeting in Hong Kong. Dress Codes – It is another cultural artifact varies from the degree of formality. Schneider Barsoux (2003, 29) pointed out that Anglo and Asian managers do not want to get too much attention or stand out by the way they dress while the Latin managers really care about their personal style. Moreover, corporate dress seems to be color coded in some countries. For example in the United Kingdom, some women are advised not to wear suits and dresses in bright color to work such as red and some bankers of a Dutch bank even avoid to wear suits in brown. It also signals task orientation. In the United States, rolled up shirt sleeves is considered as a signal of hard working while in France means ‘relaxing on the job’. Not to mention that some US companies have designated days to encourage people to appear in casual clothes at work such as Fridays. According to a website (World Business Culture, 2008), dress codes differ base on the size of company and industry sector in Hong Kong. Men mostly wear dark suits, shirts and ties while women wear conservative suits and dresses. Trousers and causal wear are tended to be worn only on informal occasions or designated days. Written versus verbal contracts – In different parts of the world people have different definitions toward the sealed business agreements as mentioned in a recent book (Schneider Barsoux, 2003, 30). In some places, one’s word means more than a legal document while others need to put down all the details on a paper in black and white. Problems would appear when the contracts are expected by the head office to be signed, sealed and delivered from a place where one’s reputation and honor are way more valuable than some legal documents. Figures from Schneider Barsoux (2003, 30) for the estimated numbers of lawyers per capita of some countries like United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France and Japan reflect the differences on expectations. American managers will bring it to the legal department to retrieve whenever a business deal has been fell through while some other countries would sort things out through the relationship. Since Hong Kong is a Common Law Jurisdiction like most of the United Kingdom, Ireland and the United States (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 2008a), people most likely to expect to have a written contract over a business deal. Criteria for success – It depends on the importance of stakeholders whether it is the benefit of the shareholders, the customers or the employees. Beliefs and values differ when there are different stakeholders; there are different criteria for success. Schneider Barsoux (2003, 31) claimed that American companies only exist for the benefit of the shareholders. This might be disagreed in Japan or even shock the Japanese as they believe customers have the divine rights. Some countries in Europe such as Germany or Sweden believe that the employees have the divine rights instead. Although all these factors are crucial to the business success, you still need to have a closer look to the cultural preferences in different countries like Hong Kong. Task 4 In my opinion, the key functions for managing people and human resource management are recruitment and selection, compensation and rewards, employee relations, and career development. Recruitment and selection – This can be the most challenging and important function for managing people and human resource management. It is because finding ‘the right people for the right job’ is essential. It is often a challenge as well especially when the nature of the local labor market or the available human resources is not familiar. The company needs to understand how to access the local labor pool in order to get the equivalent people to work for the company. So finding those candidates who have the abilities and requirements to finish the task and get the job done is also hard and essential, not to mention to get those who seem to likely match with the existing corporate culture. Moreover, the standard profile of one country might be very different from another in terms of representation and the differences in education systems also play a part to make the selection difficult in selecting which person fits the profile for the job (Schneider Barsoux, 2003, 151). Compensation and rewards – The cultural differences play a role when it comes to determine the terms of reward and who gets it. Different cultures have different type of value in relations to the reward and vary to the extent in the belief that reward should be collective or individual. Pay for performance is assumed to be based on contribution or ‘equity’ instead of the belonging to the group or ‘equality’ (Eretz and Early, 1993). In the contractual view of employment, the notions of equity, ‘you get what you deserve’, are embedded while the notions of equality, ‘you deserve what you get’, correspond to the social view (Pennings, 1993). According to Susan Barsoux (2003, 165), the current trend of linking salary payment to working performances is especially suspect to be cultural related. It has been discovered that in some countries like France, it would be shocked for the French executives to have clearly stated quantifiable objective relating increased performances to increased bonus. It is because the French executives found that discussion about money and finance is such a turned off. It also provoked outcries when the merit pay was attempted to be introduced in Japan. It created uproar as the Japanese executives were scared that it would ruin the harmony of the group and might also encourage short term thinking especially when the employees only focus on the performance in order to get the bonus. On the other hand, the dominant influence in American managerial thinking is the principle of equity that each one should be rewarded based on the solely contribution by that particular person. Nowadays in the view towards team management that demands group cooperation instead of competition among individuals finds the merit-based pay in the United States demotivating (Susan Barsoux, 2003, 167). The preference between financial or non financial incentives is also related to the culture. The motivating potential of money, status, vacation time is also affected and changed across countries. Swedish would prefer to have some time off rather than a bonus because they are more concerned with the quality of life and monetary rewards are less motivating while giving time off might seem to have not much point in Japan when most of the employees only take half of their holiday entitlement (Susan Barsoux, 2003, 167). So the internationally operated companies should learn to appreciate the different values and evaluate the potential impact as well because the remuneration package is a very strong indicator of the culture and the behavior expected and also can be used in order to encourage cooperation or competition, risk taking or conservatism, and information sharing or information hoarding. The remuneration package is also a very important signal when it comes to aspiring recruits. When the company wants to attract local elite, it can choose to align itself with the local norms or the alien one when the preference of the company changes to attract the less mainstream or adventurous or those that are frustrated with the local practices and looking to be rewarded for their efforts and success (Susan Barsoux, 2003, 168). Employee relations – It is important to have a good relations and mutual understanding between the management and the staffs of the company. Any staff grievances of the company should be dealt with and well listened to in order to promote a harmony environment. An open dialogue is needed to be promoted between the management and the unions of the company to eliminate any conflicts or fictions that may occur between the staffs and the management specially when there is a new implementation of company policies. Also the employees’ political standing should be respected and well listened to especially when it is toward the company policy and issues. Good employee relations help increasing the engagement of the employees to the company so as their commitment and involvement as well. It also helps with the staff retention which is necessary for a company setting up in a new country like TDS (CIPD, 2008). Career development – National culture has an impact on career development and the natures of the managerial tasks on what management should do or be are depended on assumptions of being versus doing. The determinants for success varies across cultures when some places have it based on achieving results like the United States while in the United Kingdom having good interpersonal skills and personal connections are the keys for success at the career front. Favored career paths also differ culturally and it is bound up with cultural assumptions regarding the importance of the individual versus loyalty to the company, doing versus being, and tolerance for uncertainty. So a multinational company should make sure that the perceptions of what it takes to get to the top and the patterns of career development would include people with different skills, abilities, knowledge and perspectives (Susan Barsoux, 2003, 168 -70). With the references to managing people and HRM, I feel the four department managers, two from the United States and two from Hong Kong, should focus on during their first three months is selection because it is vital to get the right people for the right job in any organization (Schneider Barsoux, 2003, 151). Local talent may have different types of abilities, skills, knowledge and strength owing to the national values differences placed on the education so it is also a challenge to get the right people who fit the requirement for the particular job and also fit with the company culture. The managers should consider the differences in attitude towards the hiring practices in Hong Kong and also the cultural differences will influence on how to recruit as well. So getting access to the local labor pool to get the people that match with the job criteria is important too. Therefore, selection should be focused by four department managers for the first three months to get the right people in place and help them to adjust and fit into a new culture and way of life in order to make the launch of TDS in Hong Kong a success. The trade unions in the United Kingdom has a culture as a collective bargaining tool with management while the one in the United States has more of a hire and fire culture. In Hong Kong, there are four trade unions and the largest one among them is the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions and their main slogans are patriotism, solidarity, right, welfare and participation (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 2008b). Although the unions in Hong Kong are focused on the rights and welfares of the workers as much as those in the United Kingdom and the United States but they are still at the stage of establishing as the largest unions in Hong Kong was founded in 1948 while those in United Kingdom have been existed for over 100 years like the General Federation of Trade Unions (UK) (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 2008c) and so as those in the United States like the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations was founded in 1886 (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 2008d). Since the United States is the biggest trade business partners of Hong Kong, most of the companies would contain the culture of the United States to remain individual. Task 5 The benefits of creating and working within the context of a multicultural team are given the larger complexity and speed of change in the international business environment. It seems obvious that bringing people together from different cultures enhance the quality of decisions taken. These multinational cultures contribute a greater range of perspectives and options with even more successful marketing strategies and ideas to attract different types of customers. It can also provide a different or new way of looking at the old or existing problems and help to promote the chances for greater innovation and creativity with the cultural differences as well (Schneider Barsoux, 2003, 218). Combining people from different cultural backgrounds also benefits the organization integration and learning so as the managerial development. It improves lateral networks for the communication and information flow. Also when bringing the people with the different cultural backgrounds together, it can be a solution to help minimize the risk of uniformity and pressures for conformity which can appear in the company when there are too many like minded people working at the same company together at the same time (Janis, 1971). Also teams that are composed by members with different profiles are far more effective than teams that are made by the best and the brightest performers or with the members who are having the similar profiles. Teams that have included a mixture of members with profiles of different areas performed better as they have the balance of roles. Different cultures have different assumptions toward the business issues and also have different ideas about the reasons of teams. So that to share information and discuss about any problem at work with people from different cultural background would often generate greater results in a dynamic way. Furthermore to the benefit of the combination with people from different cultures background would enhance the productivity for the organization. The challenges of creating and working within the context of a multicultural team are that bringing people together from different cultures is given more ambiguity and uncertainty in decision making. Also it would be much more complex in the organization from the procession to implementation due to the cultural differences in assumptions. People with different cultural backgrounds work together might create interpersonal conflict and communication problems at work. Also it would create greater potential for frustration and dissatisfactions that might lead to higher turnover of team members within the group (Schneider Barsoux, 2003, 231). The choice of language using within the multicultural team might also creates friction and misunderstanding especially when the native language for the three American managers is English while the native language for the local managers is Chinese, there is a huge scope for misunderstandings that could hamper the cohesion and effectiveness of the team no matter how fluent the local managers could speak in English (I-change, 2008). According to the personal upbringing and values, technical background and training, and also the national backgrounds can distort and filter the messages in many layers of meaning within a multicultural team that can lead to further misunderstanding and frustrations. Barriers would also be created for the multicultural team due to the direct versus indirect communication; trouble with accents and fluency; differing attitudes toward hierarchy and authority and so as the conflicting norms for decision making (Brett, Behfar Kern, 2006). Direct versus indirect communication is that in western cultures, the communication is typically direct and explicit. The listener does not need to know much about the speaker in order to interpret the context because the context of the meaning of the conversation is on the surface while the meaning of the conversation is embedded in the way the message is presented in many other cultures. Although the language of international business is English, the trouble with accents and fluency may lead to deep frustration and misunderstanding because of nonnative speakers’ accents, problems with translation or usage and lack of fluency would also influence the perceptions of status and competence. A challenge inherent in multicultural team with differing attitudes toward hierarchy and authority is that by design, teams have a rather flat structure. But team members from some cultures that people are treated differently according to their status in an organization probably are uncomfortable on flat teams. If they defer to higher status team members then their behavior will be seen as appropriate when most of the team members are came from a hierarchical culture; but they may damage their stature and credibility and even face humiliation if most of the team members are came from an egalitarian culture. Cultures differ enormously when it comes to decision making due to the conflicting norms for decision making particularly on how much analysis is required beforehand and how quickly the decisions should be made. American managers like to make decisions very quickly and with little analysis relatively when compared to the managers from other countries that may also be the challenge too. Task 6 Management Approach The four profiles are Village Market Well oiled machine Family or tribe Pyramid of people Ethical considerations: Managers and companies need to access how different spheres of cultural influence contribute to ethnical behavior. Ethical considerations could include such things as ‘harsh capitalism’ which could include laying off workers, breakdown of psychological contract, corruption, codes of conduct, and the Sullivan Principles. Common rationalizations in explaining unethical behavior can be: It is not really illegal or immoral It serves the best interest of the individual or company It is safe because it will never be found out or publicized The activity helps the company and therefore it will be condoned and protected References: Brett J., Behfar K. Kern M.C. (2006) Harvard Business Review[online]. 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