Premium Essay

A Tale of Two Countries

In:

Submitted By krisbrandy
Words 921
Pages 4
International and intercultural communication is very important in today’s world. In order to be able to communicate effectively, one must be aware of, understand and appreciate another culture. Cultural difference is the biggest barrier in doing business in the world market. Hofstede (1993) believes that the spread of business onto the global stage brings the issue of national and regional differences to the forefront. Hofstede measures culture in five dimensions and teaches that cooperation across cultures is essential to human survival. These five dimensions are Power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance , and long term orientation. In this paper, I plan to present some similarities as well as some differences in the culture of the United States of America and China based on Hofstede’s dimensions. The United States of America is frequently investigated in cross cultural research due to its economic power and because of its cultural representativeness. China as the largest market, and possibly the most appealing market in Asia, is entering into global collaboration with a wide range of foreign partners. There are only two dimensions were the two countries are even close to being similar and they are masculinity and uncertainty avoidance. A masculine society is driven by success and achievement. A company with masculine culture operates assertively and competitively. If the country is ranked lower on this scale they are referred to as a feminine society which means that caring for others and quality of life are of a greater value. There was only a four point difference on the chart for this dimension. The USA is at 62 and China is at 66. While both countries are considered masculine per the scale, China is said to be more masculine than the USA. Both countries are very competitive in the theory that you are the “winner” if you are the

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Superstars

...fluent and varied, but how much do you know of analysing a fictive text? You have NOT underlines the topic sentences. Do that next time. 10 Last time I forgot to underline the topic sentences, so I will do that this time. Moreover, even though this is not a fictive text, I will try to do a proper analysis. I will also make proper references to the quotes I will be using, since I did not do that in the previous assignment. I will in this assignment look for the most interesting arguments, Gethin Chamberlain’s way to present the conflict, and the different views on the marriage. The article “How a tale of superstar love fuelled the bitter feud between India and Pakistan” by Gethin Chamberlain, a British photojournalist based in India is about the marriage of Shoaib Malik and Sania Mirza. A marriage that restarted the old feud between the Hindu-Indians and Muslim-Pakistanis. The two superstars had fallen in love, and decided to get married, but their decision caused a lot of discussion and many problems, just because of their different nationalities. This has lead me to my main question, “Is marrying across boarders still a problem, in our modern society?” Chamberlain presents the conflict in a very informing, clever and neutral way, and thereby giving the reader a chance to create their own attitude upon the matter. He starts by introducing the main people, Shoaib and Sania, and then describes the conflict their marriage has sparked. By making a simple comparison to the Capulets...

Words: 1123 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Chapter 6 Children's Literature Outine

...folklorists, anthropologists, and psychologists. • Folktales are also of special interest to scholars of narrative theory because of the way the tales are honed by many generations of telling; only the most important elements of the story survive. The Value of Folk Literature for Children • When Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published the first volume of their Household Stories in 1812, they did not intend it for children. • Originally folklore was the literature of the people; stories were told to young and old alike. • Traditional literature is a rightful part of a child’s literature heritage and lays the groundwork for understanding all literature. Folktales • Folktales have been defined as “all forms of narrative, written or oral, which have come to be handed down through the years.” • Questions often arise about which of the available print versions of a tale is the “correct” or authentic text. Types of Folktales • There will be features of these stories that are unique to each culture, but children will also find particular aspects of plot or characterization that occur across cultures. • Probably the favorite folktales of young children are beast tales in which animal’s act and talk like human beings. • Surprisingly, there are a few realistic tales included in folklore. The story in Marcia Brown’s Dick Whittington and His Cat could have happened; in...

Words: 1828 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

The Gualin Wife

...Raven Scott Dr. Craig Smith ENG 108 Thursday 2nd May, 2016 Reflections on Location in Patricia Glinton Meicholas's An Evening in Guanima and Zora Neale Hurston's Mules and Men. Oral tradition dates back to the beginning of time, this tradition includes folktales, myths, legends, songs, riddles and any other form of verbal communication. Different aspects of the tradition has been used in various ways, including for entertainment, education, providing histories, or to bring awareness to societal ills. While each country/society have their own oral traditions and folktales, there are those folktales that are shared by several different communities. However, even though different communities may share the same stories, inevitably, those stories will be changed based on the specific community’s culture, language , history and geographical location. The effects of location and history on the folktales within the community can be seen very clearly in the texts An Evening in Guanima by Patricia Glinton Meicholas, and Mules and Men by Zora Neal Hurston, respectively. ***You need a very strong thesis here*** In “Talkin Ol' Story: A Brief Survey of the Oral tradition in the Bahamas”, Patricia Glinton Meicholas describes the Bahamian ol' story as existing “in a dream time landscape where human beings exhibit a fluid morphology…”(Meicholas 10). Much of Bahamian oral tradition , like that of the African Americans, has been influenced by what has come before, during and after the trans...

Words: 1838 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

The Rise of the Tale

...BRITISH SHORT FICTION IN THE EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURY This page intentionally left blank British Short Fiction in the Early Nineteenth Century The Rise of the Tale TIM KILLICK Cardiff University, UK © Tim Killick 2008 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher. Tim Killick has asserted his moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work. Published by Ashgate Publishing Limited Gower House Croft Road Aldershot Hampshire GU11 3HR England Ashgate Publishing Company Suite 420 101 Cherry Street Burlington, VT 05401-4405 USA www.ashgate.com British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Killick, Tim British short fiction in the early nineteenth century : the rise of the tale 1. Short stories, English – History and criticism 2. English fiction – 19th century – History and criticism 3. Short story 4. Literary form – History – 19th century I. Title 823’.0109 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Killick, Tim. British short fiction in the early nineteenth century : the rise of the tale / by Tim Killick. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7546-6413-0 (alk. paper) 1. Short stories, English—History and criticism. 2. English fiction—19th...

Words: 98420 - Pages: 394

Premium Essay

Chivalric Code Of Honor In Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales

...from the fourteenth century, wrote a framed story called The Canterbury Tales. This work is made up of a General Prologue, which is a description of all the individual pilgrims going on the pilgrimage, followed by several tales told by these pilgrims. He describes several knight’s in this work through a chivalric code of honor. Through his description of the Knight in the General Prologue of The Canterbury Tales, as well as the “Knight’s Tale” and the “Wife of Bath’s Tale,” Chaucer suggests that although chivalry...

Words: 1427 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

A Tale of Two Vices

...A Tale of Two Vices The purpose of this paper is to provide a written critique of a research article written by John Rolfe entitled “A Tale of Two Vices: An Applied Economic Analysis of Alcohol and Tobacco Consumption.” In this paper I will offer a detailed analysis of the dependent and independent variables used in the study and I will offer an objective viewpoint on the effectiveness of the sampling methods used and the reliability of the study. The author begins his article by describing and defining his purpose for the research project. As a college student he moved from the Netherlands to the United States to study at the University of New Hampshire. The differences in tobacco and alcohol use from Europe to America surprised Rolfe. In beginning his research he found a statistic indicating that “Europe is the heaviest alcohol consumer region worldwide, with alcohol consumption per person over twice the average” (Alcohol Statistics in Europe, 2007 para 6). Europe ranks number one with the amount of alcohol consumed (Alcohol Statistics in Europe, 2007 para 6). The author decided to design a study to investigate the factors that influence alcohol and tobacco consumption across many countries. For the experiment, he used data from 63 different countries. To have accurate results the researcher should have separated the countries and compared them. The author began by conducting base research in academic journals. He learned that, “a country’s unemployment rate,...

Words: 1076 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

British Short Fictions

...BRITISH SHORT FICTION IN THE EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURY This page intentionally left blank British Short Fiction in the Early Nineteenth Century The Rise of the Tale TIM KILLICK Cardiff University, UK © Tim Killick 2008 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher. Tim Killick has asserted his moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work. Published by Ashgate Publishing Limited Gower House Croft Road Aldershot Hampshire GU11 3HR England Ashgate Publishing Company Suite 420 101 Cherry Street Burlington, VT 05401-4405 USA www.ashgate.com British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Killick, Tim British short fiction in the early nineteenth century : the rise of the tale 1. Short stories, English – History and criticism 2. English fiction – 19th century – History and criticism 3. Short story 4. Literary form – History – 19th century I. Title 823’.0109 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Killick, Tim. British short fiction in the early nineteenth century : the rise of the tale / by Tim Killick. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7546-6413-0 (alk. paper) 1. Short stories, English—History and criticism. 2. English fiction—19th...

Words: 98420 - Pages: 394

Free Essay

Essaywritting

...Summary of CT The Canterbury Tales begins with the introduction of each of the pilgrims making their journey to Canterbury to the shrine of Thomas a Becket. These pilgrims include a Knight, his son the Squire, the Knight's Yeoman, a Prioress, a Second Nun, a Monk, a Friar, a Merchant, a Clerk, a Man of Law, a Franklin, a Weaver, a Dyer, a Carpenter, a Tapestry-Maker, a Haberdasher, a Cook, a Shipman, a Physician, a Parson, a Miller, a Manciple, a Reeve, a Summoner, a Pardoner, the Wife of Bath, and Chaucer himself. Congregating at the Tabard Inn, the pilgrims decide to tell stories to pass their time on the way to Canterbury. The Host of the Tabard Inn sets the rules for the tales. Each of the pilgrims will tell two stories on the way to Canterbury, and two stories on the return trip. The Host will decide whose tale is best for meaningfulness and for fun. They decide to draw lots to see who will tell the first tale, and the Knight receives the honor. The Knight's Tale is a tale about two knights, Arcite and Palamon, who are captured in battle and imprisoned in Athens under the order of King Theseus. While imprisoned in a tower, both see Emelye, the sister of Queen Hippolyta, and fall instantly in love with her. Both knights eventually leave prison separately: a friend of Arcite begs Theseus to release him, while Palamon later escapes. Arcite returns to the Athenian court disguised as a servant, and when Palamon escapes he suddenly finds Arcite. They fight over Emelye, but...

Words: 5192 - Pages: 21

Free Essay

Feminism and Fairy Tales

...Fairy tales and Feminism In Feminism and Fairy Tales, by Karen E. Rowe, she asserts “popular folktales” have “shaped our romantic expectations” and “illuminate psychic ambiguities which often confound contemporary women.” She believes that “Portrayals of adolescent waiting and dreaming, patterns of double enchantment, and romanticizations of marriage contribute to the potency of fairy tales” make “many readers discount obvious fantasy elements and fall prey to more subtle paradigms through identification with the heroine.” As a result, Karen Role contends that “subconsciously women may transfer from fairy tales into real life cultural norms which exalt passivity, dependency, and self-sacrifice as a female’s cardinal virtues suggest that culture’s very survival depends upon a woman’s acceptance of roles which relegate her to motherhood and domesticity.” It is undeniable that numerous folk tales implant male chauvinism into women’s mind and thus convey an idea that woman should obey to and depend on men. However; Rowe neglects the aspect that many other folk tales, on the contrary, disclose the evil and vulnerable sides of man and marriage and thus encourages women to rely on their own intelligence and courage other than subordinating to man. Fairy tales Beauty and Beast and Fowler’s Fowl challenges Rowe’s thesis to some extent and exemplifies that some fairy tales motivate women to be intelligent and courageous and to challenge the patriarchy. In the fairy tale Beauty and the...

Words: 1237 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Cinderella Stories

...strengthen their comprehension skills through the use of magical Cinderella tales from different lands and apply map skills in learning which country each story comes from. These magical tales will help students to develop awareness that different Cinderella tales have much in common. Materials Class comparison Chart Graphic Organizers: Venn Diagram Sequencing Chart Compare and Contrast T-Chart My Favorite Part Handout Book Mark Template World Map Map pins Book collection The Rough-Faced Girl by Rafe Martin A Golden Slipper” A Vietnamese Legend by Darrell H.Y. Yum Chinye: A West African Folk Tale by Obi Onyefulu Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China by Ai-Ling Louie The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo The Irish Cinderella by Shirley Climo The Way Meat Loves Salt:A Cinderella Tale from the Jewish Tradition adapted by Jewell Reinhart Coburn The Golden Saddle: A Middle Eastern Cinderella by Rebecca Hickox Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe The Irish Cinderlad by Shirley Climo Lesson 1 Key Vocabulary Country — a small part of a continent with its own borders and government Landmark—an object in a landscape that can be seen from far away Title — the name of a book, movie, song or other work Fairy Tale — a make believe children’s story about magic, fairies, giants, witches, or talking animals. Procedures 1. Ask and discuss “What is a Fairly Tale?” 2. Tell students we will be reading several Cinderella stories...

Words: 1524 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Marxist

...BRITISH SHORT FICTION IN THE EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURY This page intentionally left blank British Short Fiction in the Early Nineteenth Century The Rise of the Tale TIM KILLICK Cardiff University, UK © Tim Killick 2008 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher. Tim Killick has asserted his moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work. Published by Ashgate Publishing Limited Gower House Croft Road Aldershot Hampshire GU11 3HR England Ashgate Publishing Company Suite 420 101 Cherry Street Burlington, VT 05401-4405 USA www.ashgate.com British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Killick, Tim British short fiction in the early nineteenth century : the rise of the tale 1. Short stories, English – History and criticism 2. English fiction – 19th century – History and criticism 3. Short story 4. Literary form – History – 19th century I. Title 823’.0109 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Killick, Tim. British short fiction in the early nineteenth century : the rise of the tale / by Tim Killick. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7546-6413-0 (alk. paper) 1. Short stories, English—History and criticism. 2. English fiction—19th...

Words: 98420 - Pages: 394

Free Essay

Canterbury Tales

...The Canterbury Tales takes place in a tavern near London called the Tabard Inn. The narrator is staying at the inn with twenty-nine pilgrims who are all traveling to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket in Canterbury. The pilgrims are a wide range of people and characters. The Host, Harry Bailey, makes the point that they should all ride together and entertain one another with stories. I believe Chaucer uses this setting in order to tell many different types of tales. The first pilgrim to tell a story is the Knight. He tells a tale of two knights: Arcite and Palamon. They were wounded in battle by the Duke of Athens, Theseus. The Duke decides to imprison them rather than execution. During their imprisonment they both fell in love with the Duke’s sister-in-law, Emily. After fighting over who was more worthy of Emily, Arcite was freed from prison through the help of a friend. However, he was banished from Athens and was to never return. Arcite returns in disguise as a personal attendant for Emily. When his fellow knight, Palamon, is freed from prison, he confronts Arcite and they begin to fight over her again. The Duke apprehends them and arranges a tournament, with Emily as the prize, between the two knights and their best men. Arcite wins, but he is thrown from his horse and dies. Palamon then marries Emily instead. It makes sense that the Knight would tell this story because it is filled with knights, love, honor, chivalry, and adventure. I believe that...

Words: 1325 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

The Portrayal and Function of Courtly Romance Convention in Chaucer`S Canterbury Tales.

...Tales’ summaries The Wife of Bath’s Tale starts with a Prologue in which she gives an account of her colorful life with five husbands. The tale continues the main question of women’s desire for sovereignty over men. A young Knight rapes a maiden while she was returning home. As a punishment for his heinous act he has to discover within a year what women most desire. The Knight was searching in the whole country in search of the answer. At the end he promises to grant a wish to an ugly old hag in return for the right answer. When he has given the answer in court and secured his liberty, the old hug jumps up and demands that he marries her. The Knight begs her to reconsider and wish for something else but the old hag stubbornly refuses. The Knight marries her secretly. At night as they lay in bed, the Knight keeps on turning restlessly. The old hag asks him if he would prefer her ugly and faithful or beautiful and faithless. The Knight allows her to decide. The old woman is delighted to have won ‘sovereignty’ over her husband and rewards him by becoming faithful and beautiful all the time. The Knight’s Tale describes how two kinsmen Arcite and Palamon fall in love with the same woman named Emily, whom they first see out of their prison window. Emily is the niece of King Theseus. Arcite gains his freedom but is banished from Athens. He comes back masked since he cannot bear to live away from Emily. In the meanwhile Palamon breaks out of prison and coincidentally meets Arcite...

Words: 1862 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Chinese Politics

...of the Legend of Hua Mu Lan in Chinese History Essay 3 Ruining Jin His 425 July 27, 2014 Professor Shana Brown In this module, we learned many heroic females in ancient East Asia. Though the stories of these females vary dramatically through a vast historical period, the function of these stories are alike: descriptions of heroines--such as poetry, drama, fictions, folktales, etc.--all function to meet the need of ideological requirement to better serve the political purpose of certain groups by that time. This essay is going to examine the specific principal and value embodied by Hua Mulan in a historical review, and arguing that Hua Mulan and her tale is still affecting the youngster due to the latest revision and reinterpretation from a nationalism/patriotism perspective. According to Kua & Idema, the tales of Hua Mulan all come from one text: 木兰诗 (Mu Lan shi). In this 62 lines, 332 characters poem, Hua Mulan is depicted as a brave female who substituted her father to fulfill the Khan’s conscription demand. She concealed her true gender in the military, fighting along with other soldiers as a “man” for several years. After their triumph, she was provided a high position in the government by Khan as a reward. However, she rejected this proposal and asked for a return back home. Not until she arrived home did her true identity as a female revealed to the other soldiers. This is the main story line that seldom changes during the vast historical periods. Edwards...

Words: 1605 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Final Reflection On Culture And The Importance Of Culture

...Each group believes that they have their own set of unique traditions. There are people who believe that it's their traditions which define them. But there are a lot of traditions which more than two groups might have in common. Speaking of an example, there is a ritual or tradition followed by the farmers after the first harvest of the year. They celebrate it all across the country, but with different names. This festival is called as "Makara Sankranti" in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bengal, Kerala, Bihar, Goa, Karnataka, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Maharastra, Manipur, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh, "Pongal" in Tamil Nadu, and "Lohri" in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and...

Words: 958 - Pages: 4