...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...
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...Organizations Abstract This paper put into perspective the impact of gender on organization leadership. The paper will mainly be looking at the factors that bring about the gender disparities when it comes to leadership in organizations. It also seeks to understand the development of leadership in late 19th century and in the early 20th century. It looks at theories like The great man theory which believes leaders are born and not made and the situational theory which states that leaders are molded in conformity with their environment. All these theories are aimed at understanding how the organization leadership was shaped, and the role played by gender in their formation. The paper also looks at the mitigating factors that inform gender in leadership. The paper also looks at the issue of leadership techniques employed by both genders. It analyzes the effectiveness of both the techniques and how they affect the overall performance of the organization. Some of the difficulties confronted by women in organization leadership include confidence, excessive scrutiny, lack of sponsors and mentors for women. Other include career paths that lack empathy for women needs while in leadership, gender biases, leadership identity and lack of networking ability. The paper is not exhaustive in its mandate to tackle all the issues concerning organizational leadership. Issues like gender-based management can still be explored in future research papers. This paper ensures that myths that shrouded...
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...that was watching the girls play jump rope, had pushed him. He started shouting obscenely things at the young boy and soon begin punching hitting and kicking him. The young boy didn’t know what he did wrong and why he was being treated this way. An adult saw what was going on and ran to stop it. He then took the young boy home with the little boy asking “Why?” See the young boy didn’t know that jump rope was known as “femininity”. He was raised to be open-minded and androgynous. The other boy was raised and taught the masculine gender roles and what he is appropriate and inappropriate behavior. Somehow, the other boy felt that the young boy’s behavior was inappropriate and he should be punished for it. This is what happens when development of the human sexuality is influenced by factors, such as parents, authoritative figures, peers, etc. Some people are raised differently from others and as a result of that are ridiculed and made fun of or even, hated. This paper will discuss the factors that influence the development of human...
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...The Role of Culture in the Workplace Anne Marre S. Bautista The Chicago School of Professional Psychology The Role of Culture in the Workplace Culture is a crucial factor of human behavior. Over the last decade, culture has become a hot topic in organizations because of the explosive rise in the ethnic diversity in work places. This increase in cultural diversity comes with consequences which have resulted in the emergence of a need to build cross-cultural competencies among personnel in order to create work places that allow all employees to perform at the optimal capacity without being marginalized and made to fell incompetent or in adequate based on their cultural background and behavior norms, values and beliefs. Cultural differences within organizations can lead to challenges such as conflict and poor performance. Understanding the role of culture diversity in the workplace is important for organizations searching to build a competitive edge in the global market. This paper addresses the role of culture diversity on motivation and conflict within organizations. These issues were first revealed to me when I was 18 years old, and I got a job as a sales associate. I only worked there for two months. But I only needed two months to witness the role of culture in a workplace. I was one of the very few Asian associates. The other Asian was a Chinese young woman called Stephanie (pseudonym). The workers were predominantly Caucasians as well as were the clients who were...
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...Management Summary The goal of this bachelor thesis is to answer to following problem statement: Which firm and country characteristics influence fully owned subsidiaries and contractual agreements given different cultural dimensions between host and home country? This thesis is based on secondary data which consists of papers published in several journals Culture is extremely hard to define, in this thesis, Hofstede’s(1980) definition will be used: ‘Culture is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another... Culture, in this sense, includes systems of values; and values are among the building blocks of culture’. The cultural dimensions measure the cultural distance between a home and a host country. The dimensions that influence entry mode decision making are ‘power distance’ and ‘uncertainty avoidance’. The firm and country characteristics influence entry mode decision making and they are divided in 5 groups: Internal factors, product, desired more characteristics, transaction-specific factors and external factors. While entry modes can be distinguished in 3 groups of which this study only focuses on contractual agreements and fully owned subsidiaries. The conclusion drawn from this literature review states that internal factors such as firm size and international experience determine the resource commitment of a firm. High resource commitments are needed to establish fully owned subsidiaries. ‘ Control’ is a factor...
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...comprised of four dimensions. The first dimension - individualism/collectivism - is widely acknowledged as a defining element of culture. In individualistic societies people are expected to look out after themselves, whereas in collectivist societies there is a greater emphasis on group welfare and loyalty. Individualists value independence and self-expression, and tend to believe that personal goals and interests are more important than group interests. In contrast, collectivists tend to view themselves as members of an extended family or organization, place group interests ahead of individual needs, and value reciprocation of favors and respect for tradition. The second dimension - uncertainty avoidance - represents the extent to which people feel uncomfortable or threatened by ambiguous and uncertain situations, and thus create belief systems and institutions in order to promote conformity. Societies with higher levels of uncertainty avoidance place greater value on security (e.g., financial, social), feel a greater need for consensus and written rules, and are intolerant of deviations from the norm. In contrast, individuals with low uncertainty avoidance rely less on written rules and are more risk tolerant. A third dimension - masculinity/femininity - refers to the extent to which a society embraces predominately male or female values. A masculine society places greater value on success, money, and personal accomplishments, whereas a feminine...
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...Science Studies 2/2006 A Gendered Economy of Pleasure: Representations of Cars and Humans in Motoring Magazines Catharina Landström This paper analyses cultural signification in the co-production of gender and technology. Focusing on the popular genre of motoring magazines, it discerns a pattern organising men and women in opposite relations to cars. Men’s relationships with cars are premised on passion and pleasure while women are figured as rational and unable to attach emotionally to cars. This “gendered economy of pleasure” is traced in a close reading of motoring magazine representations of cars and humans. Further, a DVD representation of the Volvo YCC, a concept car developed by women for an imagined female user, is discussed in relation to this semiotic pattern. The paper is conceptual, texts are interpreted in order to bring forward aspects of meaning-making that are not immediately obvious. The objective is to critically illuminate one aspect of the cultural production of the car as a masculine technology. Keywords: cars, gender, pleasure This paper suggests a way in which to think about the cultural construction of the car as a masculine technology. Interpreting representations in motoring magazines, it traces a “gendered economy of pleasure” that organises the symbolical meanings of relationships between humans and cars. The objective is to contribute a critical perspective on cultural meaning-making to the feminist interrogation of the co-production of gender...
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...Gender And Its Social Unstoppable Construction Abstract This paper provides information about the social construction of gender. Research from seven different journal articles organized into the categories of children, men, women, and the culture of Bugistribe, Indonesia.The understanding of gender roles is evident in children, even at the age of three years old. Studies show that parent’s set unclear norms regarding gender roles, which confuses kids. Moreover, there is historical background on social construction and women. The importance of the role of beauty in the female gender role showing how young women are being more sexualized. Also, the role of eating disorders in men and women’s genders is addressed. Men’s struggle with masculinity in present society as well as fear of feminism is talked about. Finally, the Bugis tribe, located in South Sulawesi, Indonesia is studied. Their five separate genders show a fascinating look at social construction. Gender And Its Social Unstoppable Construction Gender is an extremely captivating concept. The social construction of gender is an extensive and complicated subject. Looking at the views children have of gender roles shows social construction. Studying how women’s gender roles are socially constructed with feminine behavior is very interesting. Also is fascinating how men attempt to balance and uphold masculinity. Finally, gender in other cultures, specifically the Bugis tribe of Indonesia, have extremely different takes...
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...Dameka Towner PSYC 340 07/29/13 The effects of Hormones and behavior on gender identity Gender development begins when a baby is conceived, which why most women want to know the sex of their child as soon as possible. Boys and girl are treated different from the day they are born, causing the environment- nurture to affect gender development. Although nurture has a major influence on gender development, biological factors-nature also play a major part in the effects of gender development. In this paper the discussion that will address is the interaction between hormones and behavior and how they affect gender identity, also how the argument of how nature and nurture is the main affect gender identity. Biological factors play a huge role in children’s growth development. For example, boys and girls develop with a significantly different sex organs, and they also become more different when the onset of puberty sets in. Puberty is when the chemical messenger called hormones start to help with the formation of appearance from the physical changes occurring inside the body of an adolescent. According to Oswalt & Dombeck (2013), some researchers introduced the thought of same sex hormones that make sex organs differentiation in the uterus, which later triggers puberty. Naturally, human bodies go through the stage of puberty, and hormones have a lot to do with the development of the individual body during the onset of puberty. Hormones are leading players in the body’s...
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...communities is extremely challenging, considering we must collaborate with other people in culturally diverse group environments. Culture is “a learned set of shared interpretations about beliefs, values, and norms which affect the behaviors of a relatively large group of people” (Lustig & Koester, 2006, p. 25). Culture is also shared by everyone and by most members of any given social group. Older members of a group pass their culture on to the younger group members and it shapes behavior while structuring perceptions of the world (Adler & Gundersen, 2008). Diversity – a much broader concept – describes more than a person’s birth place, skin color, or ethnic heritage. In the most general of terms concerning group communication, diversity is simply the quality of being different. Most of the groups we are members of are made of individuals with different physical characteristics, traits, status, and attitudes. These characteristics include, but are limited to age, occupation, physical ability, marital status, personality, and religion (Engleberg & Wynn, 2010). Also, in terms of diversity, it exists within and among all cultures, but within a single culture certain behaviors are favored while others are repressed. The norm for a particular society is the most generally accepted values, attitudes, and behaviors (Adler & Gundersen, 2008). This paper will focus on what happens when these characteristics become a distraction within a group and potentially cause a delay in...
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...from culture in which they influence how men and women should act. Gender role theorist, posit that male gender socialization affects men’s willingness and/or ability to seek help for problem. Four main components of gender role conflict have been identified by research (Mansfield et al, 2005 as cited by Vaswani, 2011) that describes the barrier to help seeking. The researchers identified: an orientation to success, power and competition, restrictive emotionality...
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...Mexico: Cultural Analysis This paper is a cultural analysis of the Mexican culture through the lens of the 5-D Model developed by Professor Geert Hofstede. The five dimensions of the model include: Power Distance (PDI), Individualism versus Collectivism (IDV), Masculinity versus Femininity (MAS), Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI), and Long term versus short term orientation. In recent years a sixth dimension named Indulgence versus Restraint has been added. There are no rankings for this dimension as it has only been recently added and researched (Hofstede, 2012). This Model gives one an important tool for gaining insights into given cultures which can improve business opportunities and interactions (International business etiquette, manners and culture, 2012). Power Distance Index (PDI) is the degree to which the less powerful members of a society accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. The issue is how a society handles inequalities. Mexico, ranking 81on the PDI, is a hierarchical society. Regionally, Mexico ranks higher on PDI than the United States (rank 39) and Canada (rank 40), whose ranks indicate that their cultures strive to equalize the distribution of power and demand justification for inequalities of power. Globally, however, countries vary greatly in PDI, (average PDI rank of 60; Clearly Cultural, 2012). One must consider the PDI rank when doing business with a given country in a certain region. For example, Mexican businesses hoping to successfully...
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...multinational corporation or a global corporation, cultural complexities play a dominant part in the handling of HR issues. Cultural differences are a factor in the determination of an organization’s fit within the foreign culture and as such, must be closely examined to succeed in the international business market. According to Myloni et al. (2003), “HRM practices are grounded in cultural beliefs that reflect the basic assumptions and values of the national culture in which organizations are embedded.” (Myloni, Harzing, & Mirza, 2003, p. 7) Professor Geert Hofstede‘s 1984 cultural dimensions research established four dimensions of national culture: power distance, individualism versus collectivism, avoidance of uncertainty, and masculinity. The fifth dimension of long-term versus short-term orientation was later added. (The Hofstede Centre, n.d.) These dimensions represent cultural differences between countries and exhibit how culture influences work behavior and the effectiveness of HRM policies and procedures. Utilizing Hofstede’s cultural dimensions information, this paper will examine how HR issues might be handled in Greece. The first cultural dimension, power distance, refers to the emphasis placed upon human inequality and the attitude of the culture towards those inequalities. Greece has a high power distance score, which means that society believes hierarchy should be respected and inequalities amongst people are acceptable. Power is concentrated in few hands and...
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...Feminist perspectives are slowly becoming the standard for deconstructing popular culture. When doing so issues of masculine hegemony, gender roles, heteronormativity, objectivity, and an abundance of other concepts that stir up controversy are brought to the surface. Popular culture allows for the challenging of problems women have faced for many years, but it some cases is adheres to these traditions. It is vital to be able to see the overall message in a pop culture text in order to understand its implications. Some texts hold messages that were not intended to be there in the first place. There will forever be controversy when it comes to pop culture, especially when it comes to television shows, as the average Canadian watches 30 hours of T.V a week. (Ryan, 2013) When being constantly exposed to these messages it is important to know what information you are being fed. Some shows are more complex than others, and consist of mixed messages when looking at them from a feminist standpoint. One example of this would be The Mindy Project, a sitcom that first aired in 2012, and has since gained an average of $2.34 million viewers per episode, (IMDb, 2012) The Mindy Project is packed full of messages that can be depicted from a feminist standpoint, but are often blurred behind the hilarity it is known for. To give a brief synopsis of the show, Mindy Lahiri, played by Mindy Kaling, also the director of the show is the main character and also the narrator. The show is about her...
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...this paper is to offer a perspective to further the understanding of gender entrepreneurship. This paper considers the situatedness of the gendered entrepreneur within diverse international contexts marked by different constitutions of gender identities and networks of power, both within the context of contributions within this special issue but also more broadly within the field of gender and entrepreneurship research. Design/methodology/approach – The authors adopt a feminist perspective and analyse the different framings of identity within gender and entrepreneurship literature and their contributions to our understandings of the concepts of both power and gendered identities. Findings – The paper finds that power and identity are configured in different contexts in ways that open arenas for future analysis. Originality/value – The paper highlights the importance of considering masculinities within gender and entrepreneurship research offering support for further analyses of entrepreneurial masculinities by examining two studies that expose entrepreneurial masculinities as shifting subjectivities influenced by men’s social power, but also by interactions between men and women and broader cultural contexts and transitions. In so doing, it contributes to the research agenda in relation to gender and entrepreneurship in different contexts. Keywords Gender, Entrepreneurialism, Women entrepreneurs, Masculinities, Identity, Power, Research work, Feminism Paper type Research paper...
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