The Thematic Character of Everyday Use by Alice Walker

Often times after a person reads a piece of literature, he or she will form opinions about the motivations of the characters, the effects of the setting, the overall theme or underlying message being conveyed, and the other elements that helped to shape the whole story. After contemplating about their particular beliefs about a work, individuals will find their ideas to be different from others because each of them perceives details of the tale in a varying manner. For this reason, it was not surprising that many of my classmates and I had conflicting opinions about the main themes present in Alice Walker†s â€Å"Everyday Use (For Your Grandmama). Numerous members of the class strongly felt that the story†s central theme lied in the differing values of each the characters. They used textual evidence to prove that Dee†s views on certain issues were so unlike those of her mother and Maggie†s that they actually created a barrier between Dee and her family. Others felt that the setting and the type/amount of education influenced the motives of each of the characters. These people referred to the fact that Dee had the opportunity to obtain a proper education and that Mama and Maggie did not. The rural setting served as a means to enhance their views because it showed that most people had to work instead of receiving an education. In comparison with these viewpoints mentioned, I took a much different approach to interpreting the principal theme of this story. I truly believed that â€Å"Everyday Use† was about the ways in which Dee†s personality affected herself and her family. Using this generalized notion, I developed a more precise theme for this work. Each of us is raised within a culture, a set of traditions handed down by those before us. As individuals, we view and experience common heritage in subtly differing ways. Within many smaller communities and families, deeply felt traditions serve to enrich this common heritage. Alice Walker's â€Å"Everyday Use† explores how, in her eagerness to claim an ancient heritage, Dee denies herself the substantive personal experience of familial traditions in such incidents as the justification of her name change, her comments during the meal with the family, and her requesting Mama for the quilts. Upon arriving at her mother†s new house for the first time, Dee surprises her mother and Maggie with her appearance and her apparent name change. Dee quickly informs her mother that she has made her new name â€Å"Wangero† to reflect her African heritage. She no longer will be named after the people who oppress her. This reference can be attributed to Dee†s possible experiences as a civil rights activist. Among the black community many people adopt African names to reflect their pre-slavery heritage. While this can be a source of strength and affirmation for some, it may represent a rejection of one's past, as it apparently does for Dee. Even her mother†s response that she was named ‘Dee' after her aunt, who was named for the aunt's mother, â€Å"though I probably could have carried it back beyond the Civil War through the branches,† does not have any true effect on her perception of her given name (32). Dee still feels that being called â€Å"Wangero† will give her cultural fulfillment, whereas her real name holds her back from attaining this. She fails to recognize that her mother†s words actually show how the family is proud to pass the name ‘Dee† along generations to help preserve their own traditions. Dee does not feel the pride that is associated with her real name because she possesses a certain prejudice against her family that will not allow her to embrace her own private heritage. This prejudice is rooted in her beliefs that her mother and Maggie are incapable of relating her views due to their lack of education and their unwillingness to accept new ideas. Judging from Dee†s opinions about her name, readers can clearly see that she has misunderstandings about her living heritage that prevent her from feeling the joy of carrying on a family name. Against Dee's claim to her African roots is the thread of tradition in her own family. Not only has Dee achieved an education denied her mother, she has rejected her given name, and she sees self-created symbolism in the food and objects present at the meal. Dee â€Å"[goes] on through the chitlins and corn bread,† â€Å"[talks] a blue streak over the sweet potatoes,† and â€Å"[thoroughly] delights herself [with] everything† (45). Dee finds this meal to be a sort of novelty that she can only appreciate properly because she is now in the proper surroundings to do so. Her usually more sophisticated diet leaves her room to relish such a simple meal and its reflection of her African roots, not her rural family culture. She admits to Mama to not appreciating as a child the benches on which they are sitting, made by her father. Dee can â€Å"feel the rump prints† (46). Yet, when next Dee exclaims to her mother that she wants the butter churn which was whittled out of a tree by her uncle, and that she will use it as a centerpiece for one of her tables, readers suspect her appreciation for the benches and the churn is really as mere artifacts. Dee then turns her attention to the dasher used with the churn. She assures everyone that she will â€Å"‘think of something artistic to do with the dasher'† (53). When the shy Maggie informs them her uncle Henry made the dash, and that they used to call him Stash, Dee exclaims, â€Å"‘Maggie's brain is like an elephant's',† implying that Maggie's knowledge is feral, that she can't help but hold on to facts which are irrelevant (53). Real, human details, such as the name of the man who made the dasher, are not relevant to Dee. She feels the workmanship in the dasher represents good quality art that should be displayed accordingly to mirror her appreciation of her roots. Dee sees the object as a thing of beauty, but not as a part of her very personal culture, a utility reflecting the effort and determination of those who once used it. In turn, she is alienating herself from her personal identification of family†s past through her superficial recognition of the dasher†s value. Dee†s family knows that â€Å"hesitation [is] no part of [Dee's] nature,† and that she is determined to achieve what she desires (6). In the bedroom, rifling through her mother's keepsakes, Dee finds her grandma†s quilts, and tries to lay claim to them. The quilts are made of old dresses and cloths, some handed down from several prior generations. When Dee asks her mother if she can have them, we sense a turning point is reached. Since Dee already rejected them once before, Mama responds to Dee†s request by stating that the quilts have been promised to Maggie. Dee argues that her mother and Maggie cannot properly appreciate the quilts, that the quilts should be displayed. ‘Maggie†¦ [would] probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use'† (66). Dee†s claim to the quilts and her plans to use them as decorations show her outward perception of family heirlooms to be mere objects of display, not treasured items that help people remember their loved ones and make them appreciate the hard work put into them. Dee†s adopted values cloud her mind and thoughts, making her naive to the integrity and genuine nature of her culture. Her mother†s refusal to grant this one favor does not even create any sense of misgivings on her part. Her arrogance and her adherence to her misguided beliefs make her unable to see the true worth of the quilts and their importance to her family†s traditions. Dee†s notions about the quilts thwart her from experiencing the happiness associated with displaying one†s own familial culture to the rest of the world. Our heritage threads through history past the people who contributed to it, to affect us on a personal level. To be fully appreciated and claimed, it must reside in the heart. Dee understands the heritage of people she doesn't know. In this way, her adopted heritage can be understood intellectually, but it is not felt, not personal, and not truly her own. Her rejection of her family†s culture in the rural society will not allow to ever have feelings of personal pride about her true roots. In turn, Dee can never really find happiness in most aspects concerning her immediate family, making it hard for her to have a loving relationship with any of them.

Cross Culture

Introduction: Introduction Communication is the process by which information is transmitted between individuals and/or organizations so that an understanding response results. Simply we can say, Communication is an exchange of facts, ideas, opinions or emotions by two or more person. The transmission of the sender’s ideas to the receiver and the receiver’s feedback or reaction to the sender constitute the communication cycle. SENDERRECEIVER InputOutput [pic] Feedback Brain drain Brain drain Brain drain Fig- 01: Communication Cycle Culture is an idea in the field of management which describes the psychology, attitudes, experiences, beliefs and values (personal and cultural values) of an organization. Culture is a complex concept. In other words, culture is central to what we see, how we make sense of what we see, and how we express ourselves. Objective of the Report: The Primary Objective of this report is to analysis of cross cultural communication in IBM. The report has accumulated information to know about company’s cross cultural communication, to find out its positive and productive communication in their organization and does the work effectively. Methodology: Sources of data: †¢ Secondary Data: All the data and information are collected from secondary sources. Cross-Cultural Communication: The success of a business depends on its ability to communicate. Communication serves as the medium for instruction, assessment, interpersonal relationships, group interactions and all other interaction that takes place in business. With globalization, business is no longer constrained within the boundaries of a single country. Large business organizations have corporate offices in different parts of the world. They need to communicate in order to promote coordination. Also in multinational companies people from different parts of the world are employed. The way an individual communicates, is influenced by his or her culture. Hence in today’s increasing global economy, it is important for managers and employees at all levels to understand, appreciate, and manage the impact of cross-cultural communication in the workplace. As our world grows, expands and becomes increasingly more interconnected by various technological advances, the need for effective communication among various cultures is increasing. People from different backgrounds tend to perceive information differently. Hence, misinterpretation of information can lead to conflict. Cross cultural communication is of great importance through out the world. Though in our country, due to the lack of cultural diversity, cross cultural communication is not treated with that much importance. But still with the advancement of technology we have to interact with businesspeople in faraway countries and for this we need know about effective techniques of cross cultural communication Definition of Cross-Cultural Communication: To understand cross cultural communication first we need to know what culture is. Culture refers to a group or community with which we share common experiences that shape the way we understand the world. Cross-cultural communication looks at how people, from differing cultural backgrounds, endeavor to communicate. It is more frequently referred to as Intercultural communication. (Ramsey, 1999). Culture refers to all the knowledge and values shared by a society. The word culture is often considered in terms of nationality or one's country of origin. Other more specific distinguishing characteristics of culture are region, orientation, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation and preference, age, marital and parental status. Another approach to understanding the concept of culture involves the beliefs, values and norms that exist to guide an individual's behaviors in solving common problems. Culture is the acquired knowledge people use to interpret experience and generate behavior (Porter, 1991). Culture is the shared customs, beliefs, and social structures that make up a society, including languages, rules, myths, family patterns, and political systems. (Boone et al. 1997). Cross cultural communication is a symbolic, interpretive, transactional, contextual processing tool with which people from different cultures create shared meanings (Berko et al. , 1997). When we speak to someone with whom we share little or no cultural bond, it is referred to as cross cultural communication. Our need to communicate across culture can be very beneficial personally and professionally. Within an intercultural setting, nonverbal and verbal communications are both prevalent in emphasizing the differences in cultures. The way we act and the things we say determine whether or not we belong in a certain culture. Nonverbal communication systems provide information about the meaning associated with the use of space, time, touch and gestures. They help to define the boundaries between the members and nonmembers of a culture (Hofstede, 1991). Hence, Cross Cultural Communication is the communication that takes place among people from different cultures. Cross cultural communication does not only mean face to face communication it includes all forms of written and oral communication. History of Cross-Cultural Communication: The need for Cross-Cultural communication was felt with the spread of global commerce. It is very tough to get the specific date when cross-cultural communication started. Initial initiatives in cross-cultural communication were taken in different countries in different time period. One of the pioneers of the computer industry, IBM started cross cultural communication in 1953. It was introduced by the CEO of that time Thomas J. Watson Jnr. According to Thomas it was the policy of IBM to hire talented people regardless of race, color and background. During 1978-83, the Dutch cultural anthropologist Geert Hofstede conducted detailed interviews with hundreds of IBM employees in 53 countries. Through standard statistical analysis of fairly large data sets, he was able to determine patterns of similarities and differences among the replies. In the year 1991, Geert Hofstede undertook the first global studies on how a specific business culture, at the time one of the most widely distributed companies, interacted with the local cultures of some 39 different countries. Another professional development initiative is IBM’s Shade of blues – a more in-depth program for managers who are engaged in cross-cultural business interactions or have multicultural teams. Recent Research on Cross-Cultural Communication: As people from different cultural groups take on the exciting challenge of working together, cultural values sometimes conflict. We can misunderstand each other, and react in ways that can hinder what are otherwise promising partnerships. Oftentimes, we aren't aware that culture is acting upon us. Sometimes, we are not even aware that we have cultural values or assumptions that are different from others. One of the major barriers in business communication is cultural diversity. Many communication researchers are trying to find out new and effective ways to improve cross cultural communication. In many cases patients face problems with both translation difficulties and not being able to see the type clearly. As a result they are sometimes unable to take their prescriptions correctly. Many of the pharmaceuticals around the world have been trying to solve this problem. Recently they have come up with a tool which can print instructions for taking medicine in 11 different languages on the prescription bottle labels. Patients no longer have to depend on translation from a friend or relative to make sure they are taking their prescriptions correctly. The languages include English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Hindi, Polish, Russian or Portuguese. The tool is also equipped to print a 20- point type versus the typical smaller type, for those patients who prefer larger printed labels on the bottle labels to easily identify their medicines and how to take them. On July 6, 2005 Mark Nash, an American entrepreneur created a cross-cultural website created especially for non-resident Indians and offshore call center personnel (Nash, 2005). The website www. intro2america. om was designed to provide information about American culture. It was also designed to provide information to call center personnel who speak with Americans on a daily basis as part of their job responsibilities. The site is designed to make the transition to American lifestyle easier and reduce the difficulties & misunderstandings upon first moving to the States. The site provides useful information, which is related specifically to cross-cultural types of issues. Moving from an Asian culture to a Western culture can be challenging. The site was designed for the specific purpose of easing the transition to American way of life, for those who are moving to the United States (See Appendix for the sample of the website). To serve customers from diversified cultures, they have taken a great deal of effort and time to analyze what their customers around the globe want. To achieve this they are trying to understand their customer’s behavior, cultural and spending patterns when they fly with Malaysia Airlines. The airliner has successfully catered to the demands of wide variety global customers around the world. Application in the work place: IBM, the leading business organization in computer sector, has a huge diverse workforce from the very beginning. They have concentration to manage the cross cultural communication among these employees. Here we have selected IBM’s Australia branch to present as an example of cross cultural environment where employees are working together with their cultural differences. IBM has developed their cross-cultural program based on the legal requirements of Anti- Discrimination Act & Racial Discrimination Act and corporate values. IBM’s policies on cultural diversity are based on years of corporate experience. It is a long-held view that by valuing diversity, it uncovers new perspectives, taps different knowledge and experience and generates innovative ideas, suggestions and methods. Three pillars that are in place to make up IBM’s diversity strategy are: †¢ Creating a work/life balance: Their strategy is to find the average working age of general Australians through statistical findings and fix age limit for average Australians. †¢ Advancement of women: They think women should contribute more to the workplace. So, they encourage participation of women. †¢ Integration of people with a disability: IBM authority thinks that they have a social responsibility for physically and mentally disable people. The authority always tries to create some opportunity of employment for those people. IBM’s most effective diversity programs combine ‘push and pull’ strategies. They have made good headway through company-led, top down practices such as formalized training or policies like floating cultural holidays. However, IBM’s progress comes about through the contributions by individuals who are passionate about diversity issue. Aside from IBM’s diversity team within human resources, three other groups within IBM have formally identified roles in the implementation of the company’s overall diversity strategy. These are IBM’s Diversity Council, diversity contact officers and diversity champions. The Diversity Council The main objective of the IBM’s Diversity Council, is to ensure that the contribution of employees from different background is properly encouraged and valued. Its key objectives are to enhance employee awareness, increase management awareness, and encourage the effective use of IBM’s diverse workforce. This is achieved through personal commitment, regular communication, by gaining support for the program from other IBM managers and influencing decision making. Under the guidance of the Diversity Council, a series of cultural diversity employee roundtables have been held to gather more face-to-face feedback and ideas from staff. These meetings have generated many practical ideas for increasing awareness of cultural diversity within IBM. Professional development IBM has a professional development program. The objective of this program is to ensure that the employees within the organization can identify and remove psychological barriers of diverse workforce and communicate effectively. The main focuses of this program are: †¢ Understanding the cultural bias of each team member and their impact on mutualperceptions. †¢ Determine the reasons why certain behaviors and communication styles fail in somecultures. †¢ Identifying approaches to address cultural gaps that could lead to misunderstandings. †¢ Handling issues about team decision-making, giving or receiving feedback and conflict resolution. Findings: IBM, One of the pioneers of the computer industry started cross cultural communication in 1953. †¢ They think women should contribute more to the workplace. So, they encourage participation of women. †¢ IBM authority thinks that they have a social responsibility for physically and mentally disable people. The authority always tries to create some opportunit y of employment for thosepeople. Recommendations: Considering research and the case of IBM, we have some recommendation here which will decrease discrimination and increase production by making the flow of cross-cultural communication fluent. Those recommendations are as follows: ? IBM should compare their policy for cross cultural communication with others, so that they can get some new ideas to implement in their organization. It will help them to update existing policies as well. ? Not only the HR department of IBM, but also all other employees of the organization should be involved in the process of making cross cultural communication easier. It will help the whole organization to become a good team. ? Training and raising awareness can improve mentality of the employees towards others. They will learn to respect and honor others differences. Place people from different cultures as team leaders. If diverse employees get opportunity to work and share success they will be highly motivated. Discrimination will be dissolved from them and the communication process will work freely. ? A good idea can be to focus different segments one after another so that every segment can achieve expected mentality. This process will form unity and emotion among the employees of the organization. Discrimination will be terminated and the total organization will work as one body. ? Each program introduced in the organization should honor the basic values of the organization. Every program should ensure that none of the employees are discriminated in terms of race, national origin or religion. Conclusion: From the above research we have seen that cultural communication plays a vital role for effective communication for companies around the globe. In our country due to the lack of cultural diversity we do not have to face the problems related to intercultural communication. Many of the successful companies having corporate offices have been able to coordinate their activities through out the world through the successful implementation of cross cultural communication. One of the fore runners in this sector is definitely IBM. IBM has independent division to come up with new policies and strategies to improve cross cultural communication in the workplace. Reference: Boone, L. E. , Kurtz, D. L. , & Block, Judy R. (1997). Contemporary Business Communication (2nd ed. ). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentince-Hall. 67. Ramsey, James (1999). Available: http://encyclopedia. localcolorart. com/encyclopedia/Cross-cultural_communication/ (July, 17 2005). Carbaugh, D, (1990). Cultural Communication and Intercultural Contact. New York: Pergamon Press. 19. Berko, R. , Rosengeld, L. , & Samovar, L. (1997). Connecting: A Culture Sensitive Approach to Intercultural Communication. Fort Worth, Texas: Harcourt Brace. 121. Porter, R. , and Samovar, L. (1991). Communication Between Cultures. Belmont:NTC Publishing Group. 273. Payne, C. (2001). Culture and Communication. Available: http://www2. mhc. ab. ca/users/cpayne/portfolio/cultcomm/default. htm (July, 29 2005). Appendix [pic] A sample website dedicated to understanding cross-cultural types of issues. [pic] ———————– Idea Letter, Fax, Phone call, E-mail etc. Idea Cross Culture Introduction: Introduction Communication is the process by which information is transmitted between individuals and/or organizations so that an understanding response results. Simply we can say, Communication is an exchange of facts, ideas, opinions or emotions by two or more person. The transmission of the sender’s ideas to the receiver and the receiver’s feedback or reaction to the sender constitute the communication cycle. SENDERRECEIVER InputOutput [pic] Feedback Brain drain Brain drain Brain drain Fig- 01: Communication Cycle Culture is an idea in the field of management which describes the psychology, attitudes, experiences, beliefs and values (personal and cultural values) of an organization. Culture is a complex concept. In other words, culture is central to what we see, how we make sense of what we see, and how we express ourselves. Objective of the Report: The Primary Objective of this report is to analysis of cross cultural communication in IBM. The report has accumulated information to know about company’s cross cultural communication, to find out its positive and productive communication in their organization and does the work effectively. Methodology: Sources of data: †¢ Secondary Data: All the data and information are collected from secondary sources. Cross-Cultural Communication: The success of a business depends on its ability to communicate. Communication serves as the medium for instruction, assessment, interpersonal relationships, group interactions and all other interaction that takes place in business. With globalization, business is no longer constrained within the boundaries of a single country. Large business organizations have corporate offices in different parts of the world. They need to communicate in order to promote coordination. Also in multinational companies people from different parts of the world are employed. The way an individual communicates, is influenced by his or her culture. Hence in today’s increasing global economy, it is important for managers and employees at all levels to understand, appreciate, and manage the impact of cross-cultural communication in the workplace. As our world grows, expands and becomes increasingly more interconnected by various technological advances, the need for effective communication among various cultures is increasing. People from different backgrounds tend to perceive information differently. Hence, misinterpretation of information can lead to conflict. Cross cultural communication is of great importance through out the world. Though in our country, due to the lack of cultural diversity, cross cultural communication is not treated with that much importance. But still with the advancement of technology we have to interact with businesspeople in faraway countries and for this we need know about effective techniques of cross cultural communication Definition of Cross-Cultural Communication: To understand cross cultural communication first we need to know what culture is. Culture refers to a group or community with which we share common experiences that shape the way we understand the world. Cross-cultural communication looks at how people, from differing cultural backgrounds, endeavor to communicate. It is more frequently referred to as Intercultural communication. (Ramsey, 1999). Culture refers to all the knowledge and values shared by a society. The word culture is often considered in terms of nationality or one's country of origin. Other more specific distinguishing characteristics of culture are region, orientation, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation and preference, age, marital and parental status. Another approach to understanding the concept of culture involves the beliefs, values and norms that exist to guide an individual's behaviors in solving common problems. Culture is the acquired knowledge people use to interpret experience and generate behavior (Porter, 1991). Culture is the shared customs, beliefs, and social structures that make up a society, including languages, rules, myths, family patterns, and political systems. (Boone et al. 1997). Cross cultural communication is a symbolic, interpretive, transactional, contextual processing tool with which people from different cultures create shared meanings (Berko et al. , 1997). When we speak to someone with whom we share little or no cultural bond, it is referred to as cross cultural communication. Our need to communicate across culture can be very beneficial personally and professionally. Within an intercultural setting, nonverbal and verbal communications are both prevalent in emphasizing the differences in cultures. The way we act and the things we say determine whether or not we belong in a certain culture. Nonverbal communication systems provide information about the meaning associated with the use of space, time, touch and gestures. They help to define the boundaries between the members and nonmembers of a culture (Hofstede, 1991). Hence, Cross Cultural Communication is the communication that takes place among people from different cultures. Cross cultural communication does not only mean face to face communication it includes all forms of written and oral communication. History of Cross-Cultural Communication: The need for Cross-Cultural communication was felt with the spread of global commerce. It is very tough to get the specific date when cross-cultural communication started. Initial initiatives in cross-cultural communication were taken in different countries in different time period. One of the pioneers of the computer industry, IBM started cross cultural communication in 1953. It was introduced by the CEO of that time Thomas J. Watson Jnr. According to Thomas it was the policy of IBM to hire talented people regardless of race, color and background. During 1978-83, the Dutch cultural anthropologist Geert Hofstede conducted detailed interviews with hundreds of IBM employees in 53 countries. Through standard statistical analysis of fairly large data sets, he was able to determine patterns of similarities and differences among the replies. In the year 1991, Geert Hofstede undertook the first global studies on how a specific business culture, at the time one of the most widely distributed companies, interacted with the local cultures of some 39 different countries. Another professional development initiative is IBM’s Shade of blues – a more in-depth program for managers who are engaged in cross-cultural business interactions or have multicultural teams. Recent Research on Cross-Cultural Communication: As people from different cultural groups take on the exciting challenge of working together, cultural values sometimes conflict. We can misunderstand each other, and react in ways that can hinder what are otherwise promising partnerships. Oftentimes, we aren't aware that culture is acting upon us. Sometimes, we are not even aware that we have cultural values or assumptions that are different from others. One of the major barriers in business communication is cultural diversity. Many communication researchers are trying to find out new and effective ways to improve cross cultural communication. In many cases patients face problems with both translation difficulties and not being able to see the type clearly. As a result they are sometimes unable to take their prescriptions correctly. Many of the pharmaceuticals around the world have been trying to solve this problem. Recently they have come up with a tool which can print instructions for taking medicine in 11 different languages on the prescription bottle labels. Patients no longer have to depend on translation from a friend or relative to make sure they are taking their prescriptions correctly. The languages include English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Hindi, Polish, Russian or Portuguese. The tool is also equipped to print a 20- point type versus the typical smaller type, for those patients who prefer larger printed labels on the bottle labels to easily identify their medicines and how to take them. On July 6, 2005 Mark Nash, an American entrepreneur created a cross-cultural website created especially for non-resident Indians and offshore call center personnel (Nash, 2005). The website www. intro2america. om was designed to provide information about American culture. It was also designed to provide information to call center personnel who speak with Americans on a daily basis as part of their job responsibilities. The site is designed to make the transition to American lifestyle easier and reduce the difficulties & misunderstandings upon first moving to the States. The site provides useful information, which is related specifically to cross-cultural types of issues. Moving from an Asian culture to a Western culture can be challenging. The site was designed for the specific purpose of easing the transition to American way of life, for those who are moving to the United States (See Appendix for the sample of the website). To serve customers from diversified cultures, they have taken a great deal of effort and time to analyze what their customers around the globe want. To achieve this they are trying to understand their customer’s behavior, cultural and spending patterns when they fly with Malaysia Airlines. The airliner has successfully catered to the demands of wide variety global customers around the world. Application in the work place: IBM, the leading business organization in computer sector, has a huge diverse workforce from the very beginning. They have concentration to manage the cross cultural communication among these employees. Here we have selected IBM’s Australia branch to present as an example of cross cultural environment where employees are working together with their cultural differences. IBM has developed their cross-cultural program based on the legal requirements of Anti- Discrimination Act & Racial Discrimination Act and corporate values. IBM’s policies on cultural diversity are based on years of corporate experience. It is a long-held view that by valuing diversity, it uncovers new perspectives, taps different knowledge and experience and generates innovative ideas, suggestions and methods. Three pillars that are in place to make up IBM’s diversity strategy are: †¢ Creating a work/life balance: Their strategy is to find the average working age of general Australians through statistical findings and fix age limit for average Australians. †¢ Advancement of women: They think women should contribute more to the workplace. So, they encourage participation of women. †¢ Integration of people with a disability: IBM authority thinks that they have a social responsibility for physically and mentally disable people. The authority always tries to create some opportunity of employment for those people. IBM’s most effective diversity programs combine ‘push and pull’ strategies. They have made good headway through company-led, top down practices such as formalized training or policies like floating cultural holidays. However, IBM’s progress comes about through the contributions by individuals who are passionate about diversity issue. Aside from IBM’s diversity team within human resources, three other groups within IBM have formally identified roles in the implementation of the company’s overall diversity strategy. These are IBM’s Diversity Council, diversity contact officers and diversity champions. The Diversity Council The main objective of the IBM’s Diversity Council, is to ensure that the contribution of employees from different background is properly encouraged and valued. Its key objectives are to enhance employee awareness, increase management awareness, and encourage the effective use of IBM’s diverse workforce. This is achieved through personal commitment, regular communication, by gaining support for the program from other IBM managers and influencing decision making. Under the guidance of the Diversity Council, a series of cultural diversity employee roundtables have been held to gather more face-to-face feedback and ideas from staff. These meetings have generated many practical ideas for increasing awareness of cultural diversity within IBM. Professional development IBM has a professional development program. The objective of this program is to ensure that the employees within the organization can identify and remove psychological barriers of diverse workforce and communicate effectively. The main focuses of this program are: †¢ Understanding the cultural bias of each team member and their impact on mutualperceptions. †¢ Determine the reasons why certain behaviors and communication styles fail in somecultures. †¢ Identifying approaches to address cultural gaps that could lead to misunderstandings. †¢ Handling issues about team decision-making, giving or receiving feedback and conflict resolution. Findings: IBM, One of the pioneers of the computer industry started cross cultural communication in 1953. †¢ They think women should contribute more to the workplace. So, they encourage participation of women. †¢ IBM authority thinks that they have a social responsibility for physically and mentally disable people. The authority always tries to create some opportunit y of employment for thosepeople. Recommendations: Considering research and the case of IBM, we have some recommendation here which will decrease discrimination and increase production by making the flow of cross-cultural communication fluent. Those recommendations are as follows: ? IBM should compare their policy for cross cultural communication with others, so that they can get some new ideas to implement in their organization. It will help them to update existing policies as well. ? Not only the HR department of IBM, but also all other employees of the organization should be involved in the process of making cross cultural communication easier. It will help the whole organization to become a good team. ? Training and raising awareness can improve mentality of the employees towards others. They will learn to respect and honor others differences. Place people from different cultures as team leaders. If diverse employees get opportunity to work and share success they will be highly motivated. Discrimination will be dissolved from them and the communication process will work freely. ? A good idea can be to focus different segments one after another so that every segment can achieve expected mentality. This process will form unity and emotion among the employees of the organization. Discrimination will be terminated and the total organization will work as one body. ? Each program introduced in the organization should honor the basic values of the organization. Every program should ensure that none of the employees are discriminated in terms of race, national origin or religion. Conclusion: From the above research we have seen that cultural communication plays a vital role for effective communication for companies around the globe. In our country due to the lack of cultural diversity we do not have to face the problems related to intercultural communication. Many of the successful companies having corporate offices have been able to coordinate their activities through out the world through the successful implementation of cross cultural communication. One of the fore runners in this sector is definitely IBM. IBM has independent division to come up with new policies and strategies to improve cross cultural communication in the workplace. Reference: Boone, L. E. , Kurtz, D. L. , & Block, Judy R. (1997). Contemporary Business Communication (2nd ed. ). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentince-Hall. 67. Ramsey, James (1999). Available: http://encyclopedia. localcolorart. com/encyclopedia/Cross-cultural_communication/ (July, 17 2005). Carbaugh, D, (1990). Cultural Communication and Intercultural Contact. New York: Pergamon Press. 19. Berko, R. , Rosengeld, L. , & Samovar, L. (1997). Connecting: A Culture Sensitive Approach to Intercultural Communication. Fort Worth, Texas: Harcourt Brace. 121. Porter, R. , and Samovar, L. (1991). Communication Between Cultures. Belmont:NTC Publishing Group. 273. Payne, C. (2001). Culture and Communication. Available: http://www2. mhc. ab. ca/users/cpayne/portfolio/cultcomm/default. htm (July, 29 2005). Appendix [pic] A sample website dedicated to understanding cross-cultural types of issues. [pic] ———————– Idea Letter, Fax, Phone call, E-mail etc. Idea

Bilingual Education and Dual Language Programs

Bilingual Education and Dual Language Programs The most urgent of all educational challenges is not curriculum and instruction. It is the challenge of changing social/cultural relations through languages while simultaneously improving curriculum and instruction.† Dr. Henry G. Burger Ph.D. (Mazon, 1976). Schools in America are faced with a challenge; educating linguistically diverse students. Schools not only must accommodate large numbers of students from non-English language backgrounds, but must also cope with the linguistic diversity of their student bodies (McLeod, 1994). There is much controversy over the most effective way to teach literacy of standard language or languages for education in multilingual settings. In 2002 the Bilingual Education Act of 1968 was repealed and replaced with the English Acquisition Act. This emphasizes English rather than Bilingual instruction and encourages a rapid transition to English only instruction (Farver, 2009). By doing this we are not only losing history but more importantly ide ntity. For many students from a non-English language background, education in America is not a successful or enjoyable experience. Linguistic minority students do not perform as well in school as the linguistic majority group. Millions of public school student have limited English proficiency, and this number will continue to grow if drastic changes are not put in place. English language learners begin school behind fluent English speakers, they continue to fall behind in language and academic areas, if they do not catch up the results will most likely be outrageous. (Jost, 1) Children whose first language is other than English face considerable challenges in becoming literate and are at high risk for reading difficulties and low academic achievement. Spanish speaking students currently constitute the largest bilingual subgroup and are the fastest growing in English language learners (Farver, 2009). Rosalie Porter, Board member of the Center for Equal Opportunity states â€Å"Bili ngual Education is the least effective method for teaching English language learnersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦students would learn the English language rapidly and master school subjects taught in English.† The Supreme Court found â€Å"documented academic support for the view that structured English immersion is significantly more effective than traditional bilingual education† (Jost, 2009). Bilingual education should not be just the transitioning a student to a target language. It should not be just simply teaching subject matter in a foreign language. It is not teaching the first language to a non-English speaking child, nor is it just teaching English as a second language. While traditional Bilingual education, in the context of teaching non-English speaking people in both their native language and English, is considered to be failing, Dual language Bilingual education programs are emerging. Dual language is a type of Bilingual education program that helps students develop ful l literacy skills in English and another language. Dual language education or â€Å"two way immersion† has become increasingly popular in the United States. English-speaking children as well as minority language speaker learn together in the same classroom, with the goals of bilingualism, bi-literacy, cross-cultural understanding, and high academic achievement for all (Palmer, 2010). They key with dual language education is it has to start when the child is just beginning school. Dual language classrooms usually divide their days or weeks between the two languages of instruction, expecting all class members to interact in only one language at a time (Palmer, 2010). Moving between languages has been frowned upon and bilingual education had traditionally argued that languages should be kept separate in the learning and teaching of languages. This is considered separate bilingualism and is used as a means to not cross-language transfer (Creese, 2010).

What are some Issues that Lead to the Rise of the Labor Movement and Essay

What are some Issues that Lead to the Rise of the Labor Movement and the Problems Organized Labor Faced both Internally and Externally in their Struggle for Social Equality - Essay Example Most employers since as early 19th century have been known for their ruthless treatment of their workers without considering their wellbeing and the civil rights to which they are entitled. For workers in the industrial sector, labor movements were organized with the core objective of bettering wages, reasonable hours, improved conditions at the work place. The movement’s efforts have since transformed the labor society to what it is today. It has resulted to dismissal of child labor, health benefits accrued to workers as well as provision of assistance to workers who get injured in the course of duty and support to for the retired group. Factors that have led to the emergence of the labor movements include mistreatment of workers at the work place by their employers. Incidences of workers mistreatment had become prominent in the American society that compelled them to form unions in an effort to fight for their rights and protect them from the inconsiderate, self-centered employees. The workers were kept working for longer hours with little or no pay at all. Such terms of contract fuelled formation of mass protest by the workers in protest of the cheap labor. Another factor that was key in the rise of labor movement was political involvement and sensitization of the workers. Local leaders and politicians played a significant role in the formation of unions as they sought to fight for the rights of their people. Most leaders of the time sensitized their community to stand their grounds and fight for their rights. The call by leaders propelled residents who were getting unfair treatment to congregate together and stag e a protest against their masters. This was evident in the colonial era where political leaders led their troops against their masters who were taking advantage of them to gained cheap labor leading to reforms in the sector. Marxism taught believed that trade

Emiliano Zapata (For Latin American Humanities class) Research Paper

Emiliano Zapata (For Latin American Humanities class) - Research Paper Example Soon after being elected the mayor of Anenecuilco town in 1909, he started to defend the peasants’ debt peons’ lands, from the greedy sugarcane plantations owners. He managed to assemble thousands of peasants’ men and he remunerated them by collecting taxes from provincial cities as well as extorting from the affluent (Chasteen 219). Zapata arms mostly came from the captured from federal troops and they were wanted change from the higher level. That is why he decided to ambush the well-off, national institutions, as well as the federal army anywhere and when possible. Even though his peasants’ army acquired land and began to work on it, Zapata faced problems especially when changing from guerrilla aggravation to open combat, something which did not produce his desired victory (McLynn 221). His armed revolutionaries were referred to as Zapatistas who were mostly rural peasants. The alliance between him and Francesco Madero saw the overthrow of President Porfirio Diaz in 1910 (Chasteen 219). However, this alliance did not last for a long period, since him and Madero had dissimilar ideologies. Zapata was more concerned about land reforms something which Madero did not believe in. When Madero was overthrown by his key General, known as Victoriano Huerta, Zapata joined forces with Venustiano Carranza and Alvaro Obregà ³n to defeat Huerta in 1914, before they turned against each other (McLynn 213). Zapata was later killed in 1919 after being tricked to appear in a meeting with Jesà ºs Guajardo who was sent by Pablo Gonzà ¡lez a close general of president Venustiano Carranza (MicrosoftCorporation para 3). Some of Zapata notable achievements include the formation of the agrarian commissions, which were responsible for distributing land with no favoritism, in addition to being free of the practice whereby landowners could corrupt the

Conceptual Models to Represent Relationships Essay

Conceptual Models to Represent Relationships - Essay Example Now that the project is concluded, we have edited it and made a digital copy. It is now necessary to make a decision on which is the best way to examine the information collected to best understand the interviewees and the issues that they reported about their experience at the restaurant. Â  Hypothesis: i/ Customers with two or more children are more likely to drive over three miles to the restaurant than customers with one child., are more likely to drive more than 3 miles to come to the Restaurant compared to those with only one child. Â  The best techniques to test the above hypothesis and relationships are ANOVA three to four means, CHI-SQUARE, and the T-TEST. These techniques were chosen after analyzing the types of data that we collected. Each technique analyzes data in a different way. Â  The ANOVA technique was selected because it is useful for finding statistical variation between three or more averages. For example, question twelve asks customers if they think Santa Fe Grill has friendly employees. The data is taken from single, married and divorced customers, so the statistical technique that can be used will be ANOVA. Â  The Chi-square was selected because it can be used to examine relationships involving nominally scaled data, unlike other statistical techniques. This technique was used for question number 32 where customers are supposed to classify their sexual orientation and other similar questions such as a question that asks the surveyed to indicate marital status. Â  

Orestes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Orestes - Essay Example But both are in big trouble. A faction in Athens wants to execute them both for murder. They turn to their uncle Menelaus for protection, but they are betrayed. Eventually the god Apollo appears and fixes all of the problems between the people, but for some time it was very close. The themes of this play are timeless: family honour, the divine, the meaning of war. Nevertheless, these themes could always use some updating and this was done very effectively at the Getty Villa production of Orestes. To be honest, I was very impressed. The differences between this production and one done in ancient Greek are clear. To begin with, in Greece, the play would have been performed in an amphitheatre; in Getty Villa it was performed on a stage in front of a modern audience in modern day California (a state that would not have been settled back in Ancient Greece). In the traditional performance, the actors would have been all male and would probably have worn masks to show their different emotions. In the modern interpretation their costumes are made of nicer material and they are able to act in very innovative ways (some even using the Stravinsky method or method acting). Some of these things would have been seen by the Ancient Greeks to be improvements on the originalà ¢â‚¬â€for example, they would be sitting in the sun in California instead of in Greece, a country with four distinct seasons. They would probably get used to the actors not using masks, but they may have objected to some of the roles being played by women: ancient Greeks thought women were inferior and should not be allowed to act. This meant that men played the roles of women. It would certainly be strange to see a big burly man playing the role of Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world! One final point, the physical space of any theatre is vital to the success of a performance. I found the use of space at the Getty Villa production wonderful. The acoustics worked perfectly and the actors

Reggae Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Reggae - Essay Example Reggae is a musical style which traces its roots to the small island nation of Jamaica. It is synonymous with the former British colonial territory, the recreational use of â€Å"ganja†, the rise of Rastafarianism around the world and a man commonly known as â€Å"the first Third World superstar† (Pawka). When Reggae first emerged from the Caribbean in the early 1960’s, the United States and United Kingdom’s musical scenes were enthralled with the latest craze of rock n’ roll and R&B. But during this era of musical explosion in the slums of Kingston, â€Å"pan-Africanism merged with American R&B and Caribbean music in (the) back alleys to forever change global music† (John). And as the Jamaican record and radio industries began to gain more independence, more music began to flood out from the region. First, new musical genres emerged from the Jamaican R&B flooding the island, which shaped the sound of reggae music. â€Å"†¦around 1960, Jamaican drummers began hitting the second and fourth beats in unison with the piano and guitar, while the bass played walking quarter-notes.

See atachment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

See atachment - Essay Example For this purpose, the architectural firm and engineering firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP was hired. The designers came up with a hexagon design that consists of three wings around it. The rise of the tower enables each wing to spiral upwards. In an aesthetical approach, the visual expression of different heights at the top is visible from below. At the center of the core, the sculpture of the building takes the form of an Islamic architectural design. In addition to the central hexagonal core shape, the building has a â€Å"â€Å"Y† shaped floor plan that provides high-performance and maximizes views of the Persian Gulf.† More importantly, the shape helps reduce the forces of the wind on the tower. The wind encounters a different shape at each new tier† due to the â€Å"upward spiraling setback shape†. Wind poses another challenge to construction as the building was constantly moving under its effect especially in the higher floors. To cub this chall enge, the team utilized GPS survey technology. This ensured that the tower is built adhering to strict tolerance. Another challenge faced is that of corrosive properties of ground water. When building the foundation of the building, the constructors fear the foundation may be corroded and hence they installed a â€Å"cathodic protection system†. Heat was yet another challenge faced in the building’s construction. Heat posed a challenge in two ways. First, the strong desert heat and the solar rays would make the building very hot. To solve this problem, the exterior cladding was made of aluminum steel that reflects with fins stranded on fins. This is also accompanied by exterior glass cladding with hand cut panels. Ekpo, Akpan, and 0kon Umoh. An Overview of The Nigerian Economic Growth and Development. Onlinenigeria, 2013. Web. 24 January, 2013. . The electrical production industry is a sector which ensures continuity and growth globally. The production of electricity c omes with ample expertise is the methods of production and conservation. Nigeria is one of the leading electrical productions in Africa. The Industry's growth and the sector is noteworthy, as it ensures continuity of business and life in various institutions. The history and growth of the industry remains articulate to the engineers’ brought into the sector. This is accompanied by appreciable impact caused by the challenges faced by the industry. Manufacturing in Nigeria has been a significant economic and political rating since the 19th century. Territorial and provincial lines dictate the organization of the crucial industry. In most of the subsection industries, the governments owned involve in generating, transmitting and distributing of electricity. Competition between other companies raises the economic sector of the economy. Nigeria is the second largest economic grower. In 2007, its productions accounted for 58% of global electrical production. Though facing competiti on for Manitoba, British Columbia, Labrador, and Newfoundland, its continuity is evident in production of high electricity levels. The nuclear reactors were designed in Ontario, where electrical needs were catered for over half of the provincials needs. Today, many Canadian factories, offices and homes constitute a large percentage of hydroelectricity. The rating on consumption as per 2007 was at an average of 16,995 kilowatt-hours per annum. Gollin, Douglas, and Richard Rogerson. Agriculture, Roads, And Economic

To what extent do you agree with free market economics being more Essay - 1

To what extent do you agree with free market economics being more effective than a mixed economy in two different countries - Essay Example In contrast, a mixed economy captures the traits ascribed to the command economic system as well as the free market system. The mixed economy is the most favourable global economic system, with a few exceptions. In this regard, I will exemplify two countries, Japan and Russia, in which for a long time, the government has always influenced key economic decisions. In the market economy, the government plays a minor role of regulation like ensuring fair competition among the various players in the industry. However, it is emergent that in this system, the element of a free market tends to dominate the mainstream market. There are some sectors in which the forces of demand and supply are not allowed to prevail. Areas like public education, road construction and military spending, the provision of medical supplies, and the building of hospitals are just but the areas with which the populace cannot gamble via the free market system. These areas are sensitive and require a commanding author ity, and that is how the government comes in-the reason for a mixed economy. Apart from the sensitive areas, the free market system is a good system. With mixed economy, so much planning is required which is a waste of time and resources. The bureaucracies involved are cumbersome since a certain order must be followed unlike the free market where decisions are quickly made and demand and supply influence such decisions. A high level of efficiency is normally witnessed in the free market. This is mostly in responding to customers taste and preferences where if one enters a supermarket his or her money determines what to purchase, unlike the mixed economy where sometimes decisions on what to buy are provided by a monopoly controlled by the government, where quality is normally compromised (Sloman, 2009). In a free market, there are different service or commodity suppliers, so with such numbers, quality couple with additional

Employment Essay Example for Free

Employment Essay The Organization that we selected as our topic of discussion in our Project Paper is the Wal-Mart Corporation. Sam Walton is the founder of Wal-Mart. He opened his first store called Wal-Mart Discount City in Rogers, Arkansas in July of 1962. Their corporate office is currently located in Bentonville, Arkansas. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. incorporated its stores on October 31, 1969. In 1972, they started selling stock on the New York Stock exchange. Although, though the company has had controversial operational business practices they have grown to be the largest Retail Corporations in the world. In 1997, Wal-Mart was able to become the largest private employer in the United States. In that same year, their annual sales totaled over $105 billion. In 2010, Wal-Mart has over 2. 1 million employees worldwide. There 2010 fiscal year sales exceeded $400 billion dollars (Wal-Mart About Us, 2010). I have been a loyal customer of Wal-Mart for years. Therefore, I was shocked when I found out about some of Wal-Marts questionable unofficial policies through talks with friends and family members who worked for them in the past and some who currently employed by them. My mother in law worked for them from 2006 thru 2008. She was required to work 8-hour shifts without a lunch break on a regular basis. One of my cousins was required to clock out because he was about to be in overtime and continue to work to keep labor cost down. I decided to Google Wal-Mart, to see if other people experienced the same injustice. I was stunned to see some of the practices of this company I loyally supported. According to an article released by the Associated Press on 12/24/08 called Wal-Mart to Pay Workers Up to $640 Million it will pay as much as $640 million to settle 63 lawsuits over wage-and-hour violations, ending years of dispute. Wal-Mart faced 76 similar class action lawsuits in courts across the country as of March 31, 2008. These violations range from having employees clock out and continue to work without pay, denying them with lunch breaks that they are entitled to by law, non-payment for overtime worked. They have also had issues with discrimination against women, resulting, from denying them promotions and paying them less then their male counterpart even though they held the same position, and in some cases, women had seniority over the men (Associated 2008). It is widely known that Wal-Mart pays its associates below the average retail wages. In 2008, the average full time Associate (34 hours per week) earns $10. 84 hourly for an annual income of $19,165. That is $2,000 below the Federal Poverty Line for a family of four. In 2007, Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott earned $29. 7 million in total compensation, or 1,551 times the annual income of the average full time Wal-Mart Associate. Consequently, large portions of their employees qualify to receive Government Assistance to support their families. They are well aware that they pay their fulltime employees below the poverty level. In fact, Wal-Mart actually encourages their employees to take advantage of the Government Assistant Programs (Wake Up Wal-Mart, 2008). Wal-Mart does not offer its associates affordable healthcare insurance benefits. According to Wal-Mart employees, when they complained about high the cost of the insurance and lack of coverage it offers their managers would simply suggest that they try to qualify for Medicaid or Medicare. According to Wal-Mart Facts. om, If an average full-time Wal-Mart employee chooses the least expensive family coverage plan, they would have to spend over 20% of their income before the health insurance provided any reimbursement. An average full time Wal-Mart Associate faces a serious family health issue. They have to pay the entire out-of-pocket maximum for the least expensive health plan, which adds up to pay 53% of their income (Wake Up Wal-Mart, 2008). I am just a customer of Wal-Mart. I am an accountant, so I budget my money pretty well and I love a good bargain. However, when I look at this organization and their business practices all I see is greed. Therefore, as a customer I have to question my whether or not to continue to support this business if they persist on behaving in such an manner that is clearly unfair to its employees. This is not a struggling organization. It brings in sales exceeding $100 billion annually. Wal-Mart has the resources to make their employees NEEDS a priority. I would like to believe that they are sincerely willing to make the necessary changes. Wal-Mart’s management behaves immorally towards its employees. They do not value their employees’ needs, rights, or the labor laws that the US put into lace to protect them. Wal-Mart’s low price on everyday household products is what sets them apart from other discount retailers. Their employees help make it possible for them to dominate their competitors in the discount retail market and maintain their competitive advantage. It is essential for employees to feel that the company that employs them provides an ethical organizational culture in order for them to feel a sense of job security and to be motivated to be productive for the company. What is Organizational Culture? What type of OC does Wal-Mart reflect?  What effect does their OC have on employee job satisfaction, morale, and performance? What can management do to improve their employee relations? According to our text Organizational Behavior, 11th Edition, a company’s organizational culture is a shared set of beliefs and values within an organization. The culture is the behaviors that employees feel they are required to fit in order to meet the expectations of their organization (Schermerhorn, Hunt, and Osborn, Uhl-Bien, 2010, p. 12). On of the OCI’s that the Human Synergistic Study addresses the Aggressive/Defensive Culture. The cultural norms are built upon a value structure whereby management puts its own interests before those of its key constituents—its customers, employees, suppliers, and even stockholders. Members place priority on doing what is best for themselves over the long-term best interests of their organization. Previous organizational successes (due to prior leadership, technological patents, or good business strategies) fuel the arrogance and short-term orientation of management and allow Aggressive/Defensive organizations to continue to appear effective—at least for a while. However, as shown by John Kotter and James Heskett’s study of 207 organizations (and consistent with research based on the OCI), this type of value structure prevents organizations from effectively adapting to changes in their environments and ultimately has a negative impact on their financial performance (Human Synergistic 2006). Your business strategies shift; your organization’s values should not. Organizational values guide employee actions and influence business practices. They help provide meaning for employees searching for an emotional connection to work each day. Also known as ground rules or operating principles, at their best values are actionable guidelines, not to be confused with abstract beliefs that are merely â€Å"held† or posted on a plaque (Organizational Values, 2008). † In an Aggressive/Defensive Culture, management tends to have very little value for people. There focus is on setting goals and meeting them by any means necessary. They are very competitive and want to devour the competition. Some of the characteristics of this type of culture are oppositional, competitive, motivated by power, and perfection. Managers may oppose things indirectly, stubborn, always has to be right, avoids admitting mistakes, resists suggestions made by others, and have a strong need to win or dominate. Their members do not feel any sense of job security. Employees typically believe that they have to go with the follow in an effort to avoid the label â€Å"troublemaker† in order to keep their job. They fears managements’ retaliation and often feel as though they are in a hostile work environment (Human Synergistic 2006). Staff turnover is near 20-year highs for many companies. Two research firms, Walker Information and Hudson Institute, recently joined forces to conduct a nationwide employee loyalty study. Their results confirmed that staff loyalty is in short supply. Only 24 percent of employees consider themselves truly loyal, committed to their organization and its goals, and planning to stay at least two years. Thirty-three percent of employees were high risk, not committed and not planning to stay. Thirty-nine percent were classified as trapped. They plan to stay, but are not committed to their employer. Among those who felt they worked for an ethical organization, 55 percent were truly loyal. For those who did not feel they worked for an ethical organization, the loyalty figure was 9 percent (Lowenstein 2006). Creating a culture within the organization that nurtures loyalty, commitment, advocacy and productivity from the moment the new hire walks through the door and throughout the lifecycle of the employee will go a long way to sustaining customer loyalty behavior. The good news is that employees, particularly those in customer service, seek trust and trustworthiness; and they desire to be active contributors to that effort (Lowenstein 2006). The benefits for business of adopting ethical human resource management practices and viewing employees as human capital to be developed and to provide a unique advantage in the marketplace can be utilized as part of a corporate social responsibility strategy. Effective corporate social responsibility requires that along with minimizing harm to the environment, a company needs to be aware of the social impacts of its operations and ensure that they are not harming human stakeholders (Tracey Lloyd 2009). The importance of health insurance as an employee benefit is also illustrated by the fact that more than one quarter of Americans report that they or an immediate family member have encountered job lock, passed up a job opportunity, stayed at a job they would otherwise have quit, or had not retired solely because they needed to keep the health insurance coverage they were receiving. According to another survey, employees are moderately satisfied with their benefits, with 39% of full-time workers reporting this, which is a rise from 32% in 2003 (Reddick 2009). Employers who hope to retain solid, hard-working employees should be prepared to offer basic employee benefits. In addition to salary, good benefits provide important resources that not only help build a positive working relationship between employer and employee but also promote good work habits and financial practices (Thompson 2010). Wal-Mart problem is their leadership style. It reflects many of the characteristics of an Aggressive/Defensive Culture. Its issues stem from them putting their interest before the needs of their members. It does not value its employees as of Human Capital. Employees are just another resource used to achieve the organizational objectives. Wal-Mart leaders invest a lot into making decisions and strategies that will get the best prices for their customers and keep their competitive advantages. Nevertheless, they are not investing enough time and effort in training managers on how to treat their human capital. As a result, managers are presented with problems that they have no been trained for and they avoid the issue or make bad decisions. I find it hard to believe an organization as large and successful as Wal-Mart can make these types of mistakes and they go unrecognized or resolved for so long. Several people had to have been complaining about the errors before having to go before a judge. Considering the validation of the errors during the trial investigation, it is safe to say that if Wal-Mart had done its due diligence prior to trial they would have resolved this pay issue. There is no reason a company of Wal-Mart’s size and resources could not have identified and addressed the discrepancy prior to it escalating to a court issue. Which raises the question of, was this done intentionally or their employees concerns or grievances are not a priority to them. This type of mmoral behavior ultimately leads to employees distrusting the company, resulting in a low morale, lack of motivation, and high turnover. Every company has a distinct set of characteristics that drives the decisions, practices, policies, procedures, and organizational goals, which in turn affects the organizations’ atmosphere. The biggest influences are going to come from the visions and standards that the Senior Leaders of the company. Wal-Mart’s employees do not feel any emotional connection or sense of value from their organization, which leads to a lack of job satisfaction, loyalty, and commitment. Of course, this is going to show up in how employees treat customers. All Wal-Mart has to offer is low prices, there is very little customer service. For example, I pulled up to customerservicescoreboard. com and some one posted this comment. â€Å"Wal-Mart has the worst customer service, worse yet, they ignore any inquiry and advertise that they value it I really have to commit to not shopping there any more lines are long, cashiers are slow and dont even help put bags in carts. Their greeters wont get carts and roll their eyes, the bathrooms are a mess, the shelves are empty, I hope they get what they deserve ower customer count and lower profits today I tried once more and wasnt disappointed, no carts, very long lines and best yet customer service said there was no manager on duty and there were not customer complaint forms go figure. mad at Wal-Mart 4/1/10 2:21PM â€Å". In order to change this Wal-Mart has to consider ways to attract and retain productive employees (Customer 2009). Another issue is the lack on emphasis on teamwork. Employees concerns and suggestions have no validity. They are not included in any part of the goal setting or decision making process on the individual store retail level. The â€Å"my way or no way† management attitude does not work. There has to be some compromise. SOLUTIONS Wal-Mart has to change their leadership style. The CEO and other major Leaderships need to take a more active role in establishing acceptable managerial behavioral procedures and rules to direct the organization. Instead of reacting to all of the bad press concerning their employee relations they need to take a more active approach to dealing with all of the stigmas attached to the company. For example, they can start by sending out a corporate communication-notifying managers and employees that the company is about to undergo so major changes to and are about to invest in an organization overhaul that will put just as much value in taking care of the associates that make their sales possible and they put into their valued customers. Wal-Mart can continue to ride the cloud of success with no regards to the long-term ramifications of lack of change, but these are the cost of avoidance. Change will be forced upon them one of two ways. The lawsuits will continue to come and the courts will make to settlements high enough that Wal-Mart will feel the financial sting of their unethical behavior. Secondly, they will start to see a significant decrease in their sales because of the poor customer services rendered by their distrusting, low morale, and unmotivated associates. Considering how large Wal-Mart’s organization is this change would be a major project they could consider doing it in-house, but I suggest they hire an outside consulting firm that to oversee the project in order to get some fresh ideas and strategies. Of course, they would be collaborating with Wal-Marts project team in order to what the deliverables are to complete the project. Wal-Mart Leaders need to ensure total participation by giving the project team the financial and staff resources needed to complete the project. The first step would be to perform a training needs analysis and determine where the practice and policy breakdowns are occurring. Then address the issue, by establishing a new uniform policy, updating the employee handbook, training managers and employees on the new policies, and finally enforcing it. This project will take about a year to prepared, reviewed, and implemented. Prioritization will be according to the most critical needs, such as proper employee pay protocol, anti- discrimination policy training, and team building programs. For example, have a workplace diversity class set up to teach managers how to cultivate diversity and to prevent discrimination. Require that managers have a complete training class annually. Address and investigate all allegations of discrimination immediately. Written documentation is required for discrimination allegation, investigation, and resolution steps that taken. The only way to ensure that employees feel a since of organizational justice is to uphold the companies policies on the matter. Consequently, immediate punishment is required if an employee found guilty of the allegation. Send out corporate communication, notifying employees of the companies’ commitment to improve employee relations. Send the communication via email and display it in high traffic areas. Express managements desire to include employees in some of the decisions that directly affect them by establishing an Employee Involvement Team to be apart of the project. That will help Management and employees address employee concerns and grievances, such as a fair and competitive wages and health insurance package. Allowing employees to be apart of the decision making process will help management get feedback on the best ways to go about achieving up coming goals, while building team commitment, loyalty, and moral. There will be annual policies will be reviews and revision if necessary. Managers and employees will complete skill assessment tests annually. There will be skill-training classes set up to teach managers how to promote effective communication and leadership abilities. Issue training results to department heads and certificates of completion to participants. Finally, collect feedback from the managers and employees to evaluate, results and feelings on the process improvements. Leave a comment section to get their feelings on the companies’ efforts to improve employee relations. Identify remaining problems and work with the In-house Project Team and the Employee Involvement Team to improve them.

History of Psychology Essay Example for Free

History of Psychology Essay I declare that this assignment is my own work and has not been submitted in any form for another unit, degree or diploma at any university or other institute of tertiary education. Information derived from the published or unpublished work of others has been acknowledged in the text and a list of references is given. I warrant that any disks and/or computer files submitted as part of this assignment have been checked for viruses and reported clean. Student signature: __________________________ Date: __________________________ Abstract This paper aims to trace and analyze the historical development of the subjective nature of truth, the sources and reactions towards the theory. The implications of the theory of subjective truth are vast since a position on the nature of truth permeates one’s personal life goals and purposes, cognition, and morality of individual and hence also affects research methodology and psychotherapy. Subjectivism focuses on individuals’ thoughts and feelings as well as the proposition that knowledge of humans can never be separated from the knower. This literature review covers the existence of truth as being subjective during the time of the early Greek philosophers, present within Hellenistic and Roman psychology and persisting within romantic and existential philosophy, humanistic psychology and the approaches of the postmodernists in the mid-1960s. Keywords: subjective truth, history, postmodernism The Subjective Nature Of Truth: A Historical Development The constant tension of whether truth is objective or subjective has long since existed throughout history and continues to pervade in current schools of psychotherapies. â€Å"Science versus Humanism† is the term Conway (1992) gives to the philosophical dimension along which the values underlying the theories of psychologists differ. A scientific approach to psychology is based on the epistemological tradition of objectivism. Mahoney (1989) summarizes objectivism as beliefs that an objective and separate ‘real world’ lies beyond the organism, independent of perception and that valid knowledge is ultimately rendered from our sensory experiences, and can be totally separated from the knower (Mahoney, 1989 as cited in Conway, 1992). In contrast, the humanistic approach to psychology is based on the epistemological tradition of subjectivism which focuses on thoughts and feelings. Furthermore, knowledge of humans can never be separated from the knower (Conway, 1992). Due to different theories on the nature of truth, methodology for observing consciousness and the role of inner experience differ. The human science approach to psychology seeks to explain behavior in terms of a person’s subjective existence (Kendler, 2005). Humanistic psychology and philosophical phenomenology are two schools of thought that employ the human science interpretation of psychology (Kendler, 2005). The implications of the theory of the relativity of truth is seen in the individuals personal life goals, purpose of life, cognitive styles, morality, ethics, counseling goals, research methodology and conceptualization of definitions. Due to the great relevance of the topic to psychology, this essay traces and analyzes the historical development of the subjective nature of truth, the sources and reactions towards the theory. Early Greek Philosophers and Hellenistic and Roman Psychology The Sophists were a group of philosophers who believed that nothing is inherently right or wrong but that believing something is right makes it right and vice versa (Hergenhahn, 2009, p. 41). Protagoras (485-420 B.C.) was the most popular Sophist who proposed that man is the measure of all things, meaning that man determines whether something is true or untrue and hence, truth depends on the perceiver not physical reality (Hergenhahn, 2009, p. 41). The context of this perspective of the nature of truth is that Protagoras lived in the Periclean democracy where skills for effective communication were valuable to own especially in the political sphere (Hergenhahn, 2009, p. 42) where some beliefs were more advantageous to utilitarian harmony than others. Hence, Protagoras was primarily interested in teaching effective argumentation to demonstrate the practicality of the relativity of truth. Socrates (470-399 B.C.) disagreed with the Sophists’ view that no truth exists beyond personal opinion. In the second century A.D., a school of thought named Skepticism promoted suspension of judgment and preferred to say ‘This is how things appear to me† rather than to claim having arrived at irrevocable truth (Hergenhahn, 2009). They were of the view that dogmatists constantly fought amongst themselves and were always agitated unlike the Skeptics who sought a life of peace and lived by two primary guides: appearances (sensations and feelings) and social convention (Hergenhahn, 2009). Displaying a similarity with the Sophists and the Skeptics, the Cynics such as Diogenes (412-323) advocated individualism and that true happiness depended on self-sufficiency and living a life that was natural, rejecting any type of control, be it bodily or social control. The theme of moving away from absolute truth and towards a relativistic conception of truth, individual feelings, opinions, social convention or whatever ‘truth’ brings gain (e.g., political status or living peaceably with others) will manifest itself again throughout history. Instrumental theory of truth: Profitability as criteria for truth William James (1842-1910) was of the view that ideas become true as long as they help people satisfactorily relate with other parts of one’s experience (De Waal, 2005, p. 43). James proposes that it is far from essential for our thoughts, beliefs or in other words, conceptions of truth, to copy reality. Hence, he opposes the singularity of truth and posits that multiple, though different beliefs are acceptable. In contrast, there can only be one truth for the empiricists and the rationalists since truth is the perfect copy of reality (De Waal, 2005, p. 47). Based on pragmatic principles, James proposes that any hypothesis cannot be rejected if there are useful results that come from it. Pragmatism is hence a principle that views any ‘truth’ as true as long as it profits. In other words, the pragmatist’s notion of truth is that beliefs originating from within one’s self but does not copy anything without the believer will still count as true when these lead people to directions that are worthwhile (De Waal, 2005, p. 50). The theme of moving away from a singular truth independent of the knower and towards whichever concept, idea or belief brings profit is a pattern seen even during the Early Greek Philosophers and Hellenistic and Roman Psychology. A profit-focused approach to handling truth, as proposed by the pragmatists, will strongly permeate and an underlying principle in future philosophies and approaches to psychology such as romanticism, existentialism, humanistic and postmodern psychology. Romantic and existential philosophy: Feelings, human choice and freedom In the late 18th century, an artistic and intellectual movement named Romanticism rebelled against Enlightenment rationality that overemphasized linear and the investigation of causes by trying to add feelings and intuition to rationality (Schneider, 1998). Romanticism emphasized the wholeness of experience via implicit processes such as affect, intuition, kinesthesia, imagination as well as the descriptions of these processes (Schneider, 1998). Rousseau was of the view that facts of history were of less importance than what values can be learned from them and that history should be considered as a collection of fables (Rousseau, 1762 as cited in Robinson, 2008). This type of thinking is seen again in Postmodernist thinking later on in history although to Rousseau, historical facts were not subjective but unknowable because of human error and interpretation. In psychology, romanticism is manifested in orientations of existential-humanistic, hermeneutical, narrative, and transpersonal psychologies (Schneider, 1998). Carl Rogers of the school of humanistic psychology, whose thoughts will be further explored later on in this paper, has much similarity with the romantics since experience is Rogers highest authority and makes decisions based on what feels [emphasis mine] right, valuable or worth doing (Hergenhahn, 2009, p. 593). Like romanticism, existentialism stresses subjective experience. The existentialists (18th and 19th centuries) encourage us humans to consider the meaning of living authentically, in ones own personal way (Oaklander, 1992). If one chooses freely, one chooses authentically and leads an authentic life. Since there are no objective values for the existentialist, it depends more on how one chooses rather than what their choice is. An existential philosopher, Kierkegaard proposed that each persons life individually has its own self-determined meaning. Subjectivity is truth, that is, the persons beliefs define that persons reality (Oaklander, 1992, p. 577). Though the existentialist philosophers differ in their views in a few aspects of their thinking, one common theme is the emphasis on human freedom and choice and the related slogan of Sartre that existence precedes essence which means that humans have no prepackaged nature or essence but that we are is what we choose to be (Oaklander, 1992). In other words, subjectivity must be the starting point (Oaklander, 1992). Sartre also says that â€Å"Man is nothing else but what he makes of himself. Such is the first principle of existentialism. It is also what is called subjectivity†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Influenced by existential philosophy, a brand of contemporary psychology which has the key concepts of freedom, individuality, authenticity and responsibility emerged called existential psychology (Hergenhahn, 2009, p. 574). The man who is generally considered to be the bridge between existential philosophy and existential psychology is Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) who is of the view that there is no ‘ultimate truth’ but emphasizes interpretation and that there is no ‘real meaning’ behind a phenomenon (Daitz, 2011). He proposed that humans choose nature of their own existence and it is worthy of notice that Heidegger chose to be committed to Nazism (Hergenhahn, 2009, p. 574). The theme of moving away from a singular truth independent of the knower and towards â€Å"personal truth† as self-defined by individuals as well as the unfortunate consequence of individuals freely choosing what they think is right or desirable which may conflict with what society views as desirable. This will manifest itself again with slight differences in humanistic and postmodern psychology. Humanistic psychology: An application of subjective truth In the early 1960s, humanistic psychology, a new human science that would study humans as aware, choosing and emotional beings, appeared in reaction to traditional scientific approaches to psychology (Hergenhahn, 2009, p. 571). Unlike the two existing schools of psychology, behaviorism and psychoanalysis, which assume determinism in explaining human behavior, humanistic psychology assumes humans are free to choose their own existence and that subjective reality is the most important cause of behavior (Hergenhahn, 2009, p. 571). A basic tenet of humanistic psychology is that subjective reality is the primary guide for human behavior (Hergenhahn, 2009, p. 586). Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) was of the view that humanistic science should allow the individual to be freer and more inner determined (Hergenhahn, 2009, p. 586). What he deemed as self-actualization is what humans achieve when they are true to their own nature (Hergenhahn, 2009, p. 587). Carl Rogers (1902-1987) also proposed that a person who is likely to live a fulfilling life is motivated by his true inner feelings instead of beliefs, traditions and values imposed by others outside the individual (Hergenhahn, 2009, p. 593). Rogers started the movement of Person-Centered therapy which stress an essential trust in the experiential world of the client and stress three conditions to promote the client’s growth: congruence (genuineness on the therapist’ part), true empathy, unconditional positive regard. A limitation that Owen (1999) notes in his analysis of both psychoanalysis and person-centred therapy is the conflict for the person-centred therapist to both communicate unconditional positive regard as well as congruence with a negative feeling about a client. In other words, prizing the client and also at the same time, being honest with personal feelings towards client. This poses a question of what a therapist should rightly do when being honest also means being non-empathic and withholding unconditional positive regard from the client. This problem of congruency undeniably stems from the theory of truth and its subjective nature since what the therapist believes to be true and what the client believes to be true are both equally ‘true’ if the assumption is that the individual self-defines truth. Postmodernism approaches: Contemporary development of the theory of truth Modernists believe in objective reality that exists independent of any attempt to observe it whereas postmodernists believe in subjective realities that do not exist independent of observational processes (Corey, 2005). Postmodernism is similar to the romantics, existentialists, the Sophists, and Skeptics and aspects of James’ psychology in that there multiple truths and these vary with individual experience, thus paving the way for postmodernism. According to Schneider (1998), the postmodernist were different from the romantics in that postmodernists promote a relativistic chaos when this conflicted with the sensibility of Romanticism (Schneider, 1998). The Romantics assumed knowledge as determinate and argued for the universality of autonomous experience while postmodernism assumes it as indeterminate and relativistic, thus fragmenting knowledge and experience (Webb, 2006). Similar to James’ pragmatism, the postmodernist is of the view that a problem exists only when people agree there is a problem needing to be addressed. Narrative therapy is an application of the Postmodernist approach to psychology and encourages clients to see their stories from different perspectives (Corey, 2005). The clients reality is focused on without disagreeing whether it is accurate or rational (Weishaar, 1993 as cited in Corey, 2005). Unlike traditional therapists who see the client as the problem, the narrative therapists believe that the problem is the problem (Corey, 2005). This separation of client from problem allows one to take a stance against specific storylines, be hopeful in generating a more positive, healing story and thus reducing self-blame. The therapist searches for times when the client made a choice and times when the client was successful (Corey, 2005, p. 403). Very similar to the assumptions of the Cynics and particularly the Romantics, the Postmodernist approach is based on the optimistic assumption that people are able and that they possess alternative stories that can enhance their lives (Corey, 2005, p. 403). The nature of truth and the approach to psychology: Future research direction Within the United States and internationally, Kirschenbaum and Jourdan (2005) carried out a survey that found an increasing number of therapists who identify themselves as â€Å"eclectic† or â€Å"integrative† amongst Carl Rogers’ client-centered/person-centered therapists over the past 30 years. In his writing on the topic of romanticism’s potential in complementing psychology, Schneider (1998) writes that experimental research, whether in hypothesis-making or verification, cannot fully replace romantic insights and needs to refer back to qualitative data that Romantics emphasize (Schneider, 1998). Hence, there are advantages in employing research as well as therapy methodology that take into account aspects of the intuitive and emotional aspect of human beings that romanticism emphasizes. In view of the advantages, Schneider also writes about the implications for therapists in training. He proposes the provision of rich and sensitive qualitative descriptions of their clients in addition to treatment plans that are problem-oriented or behavioral in focus (Schneider, 1998). Therapists in training should also pay attention to emotional, kinesthetic, and cognitive experiences of clients. Besides just assessing progress toward therapy goals, the meaning of therapy goals for clients should also be considered. Schneider is of the view that therapist with the full range of experiential data about their clients would be in an optimal position to collate essential data for a treatment plan. Hence, research should be done to measure the effectiveness of this approach to therapy in addition to (i.e., eclectic approaches) or instead of traditional approaches. In his comparison of person-centred therapy with psychodynamic therapy, Owen (1999) notes the possibility of conflict that person-centred therapists might face in trying to be congruent to their own personal feelings while at the same time, being non-judgmental and providing unconditional positive regard. Further research should be carried out in the area of long-term consequences to the therapist and to the client as well as strategies that can be employed when there is a conflict in the congruence of the therapist and the therapist’ provision of unconditional positive regard. Research may also include investigating the incorporation of one aspect of the psychodynamic approach which is neutrality (neither making interpretations nor providing unconditional positive regard) towards the client’s sharing of his personal experience or thoughts (Owen, 1999). Neutrality allows for a full range of emotions including negative emotions of the client. Conclusion Whether truth is absolute and independent of the knower and perceiver has been supported and argued against since the period of the early Greek philosophers. Similar themes that focus on the human individual to evaluate and make their own choices, define their own meaning and ultimately, define and act upon what is the nature of truth and the truth itself recur time and time again whether in the form of an emphasis on affect like the Romantics or Postmodernist who selects part of a narrative, whether accurate or true, to put it to good use in helping the individual cope during therapy. The implications of the position taken on the nature of truth have been demonstrated throughout history in major schools of philosophy, psychology and in this paper. Future speculation of this theory of truth is that, after certain negative events that will happen in future times as a result of pragmatic and postmodern thinking, a reaction against relativistic and individualized conceptions of truth that may take a shape of fundamentalism may return to schools of philosophy and the social sciences. References Conway, J. B. (1992). Presidential address: A world of differences among psychologists. Canadian Psychology, 33(1), 1-23. Corey, G. (2005). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy (7th ed.). California: Thomson Learning Inc. Daitz, L. (2011). Understanding, truth or resolve? Considering the ‘aim’ of existential psychotherapy and the approaches of van Deurzen and Spinelli. Journal of the Society for Existential Analysis, 22(1), 140-149. De Waal, C. (2005). 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