Multiculturism and Youth Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Multiculturism and Youth Development - Essay Example In addition, it has been observed that two deficits are commonly faced by youth which are more likely based on family and maternal education which plays an important role for them and it has been researched that mothers who are graduated have the least number of deficits. Another category of people are facing deficits like exPeriencing physical abuse and some Of them are likely victims of violence. Furthermore, one of the main reasons of such development growth is lack of material possessions or in other words poverty but poverty is not counted as a deficit because the research shows that interference of poverty in young people lives shows greater risk of adverse behaviors and insecure future. Risks of adverse behavior have become popular in different cultures which lead to disaffected and rebellious act. Most of the young people are experimenting unknown consequences of such acts by making up their permanent lifestyle. It is likely to be known as risky behavior because this indicate s that youth is on more serious and persecute path which can be unhealthy or dangerous for them such as depression which can leads to suicide or getting drunk. People of younger generation often indulge with others as well which can be high risk behavior pattern. One third of younger generation often indulge in none of such high risk behaviors where as females are fewer then males in young people category and they are often involved in multi risk taking patterns, minority of young people lives have become disastrous because of multiple risky patterns but as compared to the younger people, older people are reported more to be engaged in high risk behavior. However, these groups are divided into different types of communities and most of the times a group of young people in different community are not Getting engaged with high risk taking behavior. More importantly the average numbers of people who are not involved in this behavior of the most protect youth are also reported in such an act. People living in villages or farms and in country are least likely to experience problem in risk

History Early Christians Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

History Early Christians - Essay Example Agnes shows the image of Mary placed between St. Peter and St. Paul with her arms extended towards the two saints. The increased interest in the Virgin Mary that was evident during the catacombs came about as a result of a new doctrine by the Church Fathers who represented the Virgin Mary as the â€Å"New Eve†. The church fathers taught that just in the same way that Eve had played an important role in bringing the downfall of Adam, the Virgin Mary as the New Eve had played an important role in the redemptive ministry of Jesus who was seen as the new Adam. According to this teaching, both Eve and Mary had played secondary but significant roles in the lives of Adam and Jesus2. Ideally, this understanding was not popular in the Apostolic church and hence the reason why there was little art depicting the Virgin Mary in the earlier period. Although Mary had been recognized in earlier literature within the church, the assumption by the Church Fathers that she participated in the work of Salvation with Jesus Christ had given her new status within the church. By the 3rd century, most people within the church had accepted the Virgin Mary under the title â€Å"Mother of God† even though this title had not been solemnized until two centuries later. Under this new status, praying directly to Mary was no longer seen as idolatry but rather as a spiritual communication with God3. By the time the Council of Ephesus was convened in 431 A.D., where the Virgin Mary was officially christened as the â€Å"Mother of God† there were numerous cathedrals that had been dedicated to her name in most parts of Rome and Jerusalem and this was also the time within which art was also developing. After the Council of Ephesus, the went through a flourishing period of dedication to the Blessed Virgin in most parts of the East and the West and the quantity of this dedication was mostly brought out through art. This devotion

Police Discretion Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Police Discretion - Research Paper Example This is the soul essence of the report, the police officer and his judgment actions at the spot, in the field at a particular instance; a fact that differentiates a good officer from an average one. Definition Discretion can be described as a police officers’ will to act upon a certain situation or not and in what way. That is for example whether to stop a speeding motorist, book him or leave him with a gentle warning. The definition may be true but more often than not discretion is associated with use of force in the field. This discretion can be in either deciding to see force and if using so, how much and to what extent (Hunt 1985). Another school of thought preaches that the discretion of a police officer is with regard to the time spent on the situations coming across his desk or field when deployed. This can be explained by the example of a police officer helping a stranded motorist, using his duty time as a service duty, where as he could have avoided this situation (En gel 2007). Advantages The first and foremost benefit of handing over powers to a policeman in the field is the amount of time saved while taking a decision. Just imagine the hassle for a field person to refer to headquarters for each and every decision he has to take in the field. Therefore having discretion in his own hands, allows him to save time and act within the safe time region, where minimum damage is occurred to the law and order situation. Another positive that comes out from added discretion is primarily based upon the financial and physical resource distribution. In layman terms, the number of policemen, jails and courts are not enough for all the criminals to be given the same procedural approach. This will create havoc; hence the police discretion provides this advantage to the justice system (Goldstein 1977). If each and every discrepancy in the field or office needs a proper resolve, the men in the system will always be occupied with such minute stuff, making it very difficult for them to justify the call of duty for urgent pressing matters. Therefore a large force would be needed to do all this. So it can be easily said that saving resources is one of the largest benefit of putting authority in the hands of a police officer. (Engel 2007). Disadvantages The main problem associated with the above mentioned system is the lack of consistency as each officer has a separate way of perceiving the solution of the problem at hand which may result is disastrous situations. Behavioral patterns are very difficult to predict causing a massive dent in the police officer’s discretion supporters’ argument. This has seen to be the reason why there is an air of distrust on the officers on the part of the public which often leads to stand-offs between the two. Saying all this, the main problem is defined in all together another area. The most negative factor is the misuse of powers from the police. This often leads to violation of basic rights spec ially those which require body searches, property searches and protection against self-incrimination (Walker and Katz 2002). Forced Existence and Intelligent Use Questions are often raised about the whole authority into the individual hands system. The real and practical question being; that whether the police system can function without the discretion in the hands of a

Health Essays Power Empowertment Promotion

Health Essays Power Empowertment Promotion Power and empowerment in health promotion: Discuss the implications of power and empowerment in community based health promotion. Chronic disease is now a major concern for the western world. No longer are infectious and acute diseases the leading causes of death in the UK, but chronic diseases such as cancers and obesity related disorders have now taken over as the biggest health threats to the general population. Many chronic disorders are a result, to some degree, of behavioural factors like lifestyle choices or diet. Lung cancer from smoking and Type II Diabetes through poor diet (obesity) and sedentary lifestyle are prime examples of the link between modern life and a shift towards chronic disease. As a result of this partially behavioural foundation to illness, there is the opportunity to change open to many people, and ultimately the ability to improve health and health outcomes such as life expectancy or quality of life. Health can thus be seen to be potentially determined by our actions. One way of letting people know what they should be doing to stay healthy or to improve their health is through health promotion. As set out in the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (WHO, 1986), health promotion can be defined as the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve their health. To reach a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, an individual or group must be able to identify and to realize aspirations, to satisfy needs, and to change or cope with the environment. The strategies used in health promotion programmes have been reported as diverse, through engaging in; awareness, information provision, influencing social policy, fighting for change and intervention type programmes. (Speller et al 1997) Traditionally health promotion has focused around education, prevention and protection interventions (Tannahill, 1985) and has been designed, implemented and evaluated from a top-down approaches and programmes. This is where behaviour change is generally the focus of outcome, and the issues that are being investigated are set by some form of authority, like a local health authority or even at a national level through the Government. Top down is thus where a small number of select people make the choices for people lower down the chain effectively a minority with power over the majority. Health promoters who operate in this capacity can thus be seen to hold and exert power over the population or different communities through their setting of the health promotion programmes, and through acting as gatekeepers of the information they choose to share. People in such decision-making positions may also have control over issues such as resource allocation and funding or who is given decision-making responsibilities (Laverack Laonte, 2000) and all of these factors work to take away power from the grass-roots / individual level. Real power is possessed by those who define the problem. (McKnight, 1999) Decision makers such as health promoters or authorities that dictate what people need, and what they can and cannot have in relation to health information, promotion and intervention also exert power over the population through creating individual dependency on health professionals for maintaining and responsibility for their health and wellbeing. The Ottawa Charter highlighted the need for health promotion to move beyond what is an essentially person-passive approach of receiving health promotion information and interventions, to one where individuals are enabled to become much more active participants with greater control over their health and well-being, and through instigating greater action on a community and group level. A concept known as empowerment with roots in social psychology constructs such as self-efficacy and health locus of control, refers to processes of social interaction of individuals and groups, which aim at enabling people to enhance their individual and collective skills and the scope and range of controlling their lives. (Erben, Franzkowiak Wenzel, 2000) Empowerment can thus occur at both individual and group levels, such as within communities. The basis of empowerment is essentially associated with the so-called bottom-up approach to health promotion (where the decision making process begins at the individual or group level, and these ideas are taken up the chain for approval and implementation) which has given focus to issues of concern to particular groups or individuals, and regards some improvement in their overall power or capacity as the important health outcome. (Laverack Labonte, 2000) Empowerment is seen as a particularly important strategy in enabling more marginalized groups of society, those who may be powerless in many other aspects of their lives as well as in regards to control over their health (Bergsma, 2004). The Ottawa Charter (WHO,1986) outlined the 8 fundamental pre-requisites it believed were necessary for attaining improvement in health and well-being; peace, shelter, education, food, income, a stable natural environment, sustainable resources, and lastly social justice and equity. People from marginalized groups or those who are from a lower socio-economic-status (SES) background may have the basics of these elements, but not in the quantities or to the levels of those from higher SES groups. Difficulties in these areas that are common amongst marginalized and low SES groups each in themselves have implications for health (Bergsma, 2004). Low income families are more likely to have an unhealthier and less nutritious diet. This is thought to stem from financial considerations of buying some foods, but may also be a consequence of poorer education. Low SES neighborhoods are also generally found to be more stressful places to live. Higher crime rates, poorer community facilities and educational institutions have the potential of confounding the problem further. Types of work amongst different SES groups can affect health some of the blue-collar jobs types associated with low SES groups are catergorised as some of the most stressful work environments; those with low control and low decision authority such as factory work are thought more stressful than typical white-collar jobs like managerial work. Stress is well established as linked to poorer health through work like PNI (psychoneuroimmunology) where psychological stress can be translated by the body into physiological responses and cause short-term and long-term health problems (Karasek, Baker, Marxer, Ahlborn Thorell, 1981) as well as psychological distress. As factors such as low income (money worries) crime rates (living in dangerous neighborhoods) and work all and feelings of powerlessness and have the potential to cause high levels of stress, those that are experiencing a good number of these factors are likely to have poorer health (Bergsma, 2004) than those who do not have such worries or uncontrollable stressors. These factors can thus be seen to be to a large extent, difficult to control, and as such people can feel powerless to make any changes in regards to such difficulties, either through feeling that they would be unable to make any change especially making change as a lone individual (Erben, Franzkowiak Wenzel, 2000) or where through education or poor health people are not aware of what changes could help them, or being in a position to take any action. It is for reasons such as these that research have found that change in knowledge did not necessarily translate into behaviour change through action, or ultimately improved health of those within health promotion education programmes. Health promotion at an individual level may thus not be effective for all individuals who come to the education or intervention with different experiences or backgrounds. Educational level may dictate the level to which people can understand health promotion campaigns or the medical reasons why they may need to alter their behaviour. Health education promotion may also be unable to interest everyone due to the different motivations for change that people may have someone who is struggling to pay the mortgage bills to keep their house may have less motivation to ensure they are eating healthily to make sure they do not develop diabetes. These individual differences in regards to health may exert a potentially large detrimental effect on the efficacy of health promotion programmes when decision making in regards to targeted behaviour, resource allocation etc, have been made without consultation with those the intervention is designed for, as is the case in typically top-down programming approaches. Some authors have however argued that top-down and bottom-up programmes for health promotion need not necessarily operate on a mutually exclusive basis. (Laverack Labonte, 2000) These authors argue that the way in which bottom-up approaches can be incorporated into top-down programmes is through more subtle targeting of behaviours for change. The example provided by Laverack Labonte (2000) is through concern more with the group members experiences of empowerment in terms of the quality of their social relationships and self-identities than with changes in specified health behaviours. Programmes with this focus may create an environment conducive to, and a support network for people to begin to critically evaluate their health behaviour. A study involving a sample of lower income women and their concerns about themselves (body image, parental ability, managing household budgets etc) found that within the supportive environment of the group, the women began to perceive they had more control over their situation and through this an increased feeling of self-esteem through which they began to evaluate health concerns such as smoking. (Labonte, 1996; Kort 1990) In this capacity health promoters and authorities can retain control of resources and project design, although the direction of the project will be guided by a need raised by the community. Greater priority is thus gained from understanding what a group or community needs through its participation in early stages, and not assuming what may be effective (Laverack Labonte, 2000). Through this kind of design stra tegy the powerless are becoming empowered to participate in the orientation and type of health promotion they receive. Empowerment within health promotion can thus be seen to involve enabling people to take more control over their health, through teaching them the skills they need to do this; developing self-efficacy (confidence in ones ability to perform / complete a task) decision making and problem solving skills, and life skills like communication, in general. Empowerment reestablishes the individual with autonomy over their health. (Hubley, 2002) Implications of empowering people on an individual level with their health, means that people have the chance to assess what is important to them, and to be in a position of making an informed choice about what they could do to improve or resolve their health problem, and to have the skills and knowledge of knowing where to start in the correction process if they come to the decision that they do want to change. Giving someone the capacity to make an informed choice over their health does not however guarantee that they will always make the same choices as health promoters or authorities may wish them to, simply that the power has been given back to them on deciding how to proceed. Empowered individuals may subsequently decide to give up drinking but continue smoking for example. There will be consequences of individual decisions at higher levels resulting from empowerment; those that continue to engage in unhealthy behaviours that have also received empowering health promotion interventions have used health promotion resources as well as potentially needing healthcare resources such as hospital stays, surgery or palliative care later on in their life as a result of behaviours they engage in. People may also experience guilt and psychological distress after making decisions that result in a poor health outcome, or may feel under stress from the responsibility of making choices that can affect their health. Those that through empowerment have taken positive action in regards to their health may reduce their future needs for resources from the health service, and may spread knowledge such as health dieting and exercise engagement with their family and friends. There are therefore both positive and negative implications for enabling people to take the driving seat in decision-making for their health. Western contemporary society does however favor the notion of personal control rather than state control, and this therefore is complimentary to the notion of health empowerment within the health promotion perspective. Personal empowerment can be complemented through community empowerment. This model from a bottom-up approach, takes into account the many social inequalities that exist within society, and the effect that such inequalities have on the health outcomes for minority / marginalized or low SES groups, and the extent to which they can bring about change in themselves and their situations socially. Community empowerment looks at re-establishing peoples power in relation to these factors at a social and community level that is theoretically proposed as benefiting health. A community can be defined as a geographical construct, but can also relate to a group of people who share a sense of social identity, common norms, values, goals and institutions. (Bergsma, 2004) The community empowerment construct seeks to help people develop these skills within small groups or communities, in order to allow them to be in a position to participate in the decision making process within their wider community, over issues that will affect their health and their lives and control over personal, social, economic and political forces in order to take action to improve their lives. (Israel et al, 1994) One way through which communities can do this is through participatory action research, which is when professionals work in collaboration with communities to define issues, designing the research questions gathering and evaluating the data, and designing resolutions to the problems investigated and finally in acting out the change required. (Gebbie, Rosenstock Hernandez, 2002) Action within a community setting towards health is one of the five principles that were outlined in the Ottawa Charter, as the WHO believed that people needed to hold some degree of control over their living and working conditions in order to develop lifestyles conducive to health, (WHO, 1986) as community empowerment health promotion allows individuals to gain mastery and impact the social, environmental ad economic conditions that determine their health (Bergsma, 2004). Implications of working from a community empowerment model within a bottom-up health promotion strategy, can be seen to be more informed decision makers within health authorities and those in charge of resource allocation, through being better informed about community level need through the use of local knowledge. Through this strategy a number of positive implications are potentially viable in comparison to tradition top-down programmes. Decisions based on local knowledge of need are likely to result in better health change and outcome as resources are more appropriately targeted with a better understanding of the people the services are aimed at. Closer collaboration between health authorities and communities is likely to create stronger collaborative relationships, which can create an environment of trust and openness. This has positive implications two ways, firstly through a more open relationship individuals within a community may more honestly assess their health behaviours and need through which authorities will be able to target resources even more efficiently. Within the community itself, collaborative work will continue to empower individuals allowing community participation to evolve to higher capabilities over time. On the more negative side, community empowerment initiatives that do not reflect the community perspective are likely to be construed as a waste of time by those who have participated, and this may cause distrust within the community towards health authorities and future health promotion initiatives, through the community disengaging with the health authority, health services, or future research, or resisting health promotion programmes. In summary, traditional top-down health promotion programmes can be seen to have operated in a way in which a minority had power over those which it aimed to help, through the control it exerted in regards to targeting health behaviours for change, resource allocation, information gate keeping, and dependency of health professionals to make decisions over individual health. This is compounded further for groups who are already marginalized within society, who have little control over other aspects of their living and working conditions, which have the potential to influence their health status power is associated with health to the extent to which those with the least power, have the poorest health. Bottom-up approaches to health promotion have begun to readdress the balance of power, through the use of empowerment strategies on both an individual and community level, in order to get people back involved (and capable) of making decisions about their health. It is found that empowerment on both these levels has a number of implications (positive and negative) for the individual and society in general, although it is felt that empowerment is more conducive to our notion of what society should be, and the power that individuals should have of making informed decisions over their own health. REFERENCES Bergsma, L (2004) Empowerment education American Behavioural Scientist Vol.48, 2Erben, R. Franzkowiak, P Wenzel, E (2000) People empowerment vs. social capital. From health promotion to social marketing Health Promotion Journal of Australia ol.9, 3Gebbie, Rosenstock Hernandez (2002) cited in Bergsma, L (2004) Empowerment education American Behavioural Scientist Vol.48, 2Hagquist, C Starrin, B (1997) Health education in schools from information to empowerment models Health Promotion International Vol.12, 3Hubley, J (2002) Health empowerment, health literacy and health promotion putting it all together Review paper, LeedsIsrael et al (1994) cited in Judd, J. Frankish, J Moulton, G (2001) Setting standards in the evaluation of community-based health promotion programmes a unifying approach Health Promotion International Vol.16, 4Judd, J. Frankish, J Moulton, G (2001) Setting standards in the evaluation of community-based health promotion programmes a unifying approach Health Pr omotion International Vol.16, 4Karasek, Baker, Marxer, Ahlborn Thorell (1981) cited in Bergsma, L (2004) Empowerment education American Behavioural Scientist Vol.48, 2Kort (1990) Laverack, G Labonte, R (2000) A planning framework for community empowerment goals within health promotion Health Policy and Planning Vol.15, 3Labonte (1996) cited in Laverack, G Labonte, R (2000) A planning framework for community empowerment goals within health promotion Health Policy and Planning Vol.15, 3Laverack, G Labonte, R (2000) A planning framework for community empowerment goals within health promotion Health Policy and Planning Vol.15, 3Laverack, G Wallerstein, N (2001) Measuring community empowerment: a fresh look at organizational domains Health Promotion International Vol.16, 2McKnight (1999) cited in Bergsma, L (2004) Empowerment education American Behavioural Scientist Vol.48, 2Speller et al (1997) cited in Laverack, G Labonte, R (2000) A planning framework for community empowerment g oals within health promotion Health Policy and Planning Vol.15, 3Tannahill (1985) cited in Laverack, G Labonte, R (2000) A planning framework for community empowerment goals within health promotion Health Policy and Planning Vol.15, 3WHO (1986) Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion First International Conference on Health PromotionWHO (1997) New players for a new era Leading health promotion into the 21st century Jakarta Declaration

Schizophrenia Essay -- Schizophrenia Essays

Schizophrenia is a serious, chronic mental disorder characterized by loss of contact with reality and disturbances of thought, mood, and perception. Schizophrenia is the most common and the most potentially sever and disabling of the psychosis, a term encompassing several severe mental disorders that result in the loss of contact with reality along with major personality derangements. Schizophrenia patients experience delusions, hallucinations and often lose thought process. Schizophrenia affects an estimated one percent of the population in every country of the world. Victims share a range of symptoms that can be devastating to themselves as well as to families and friends. They may have trouble dealing with the most minor everyday stresses and insignificant changes in their surroundings. They may avoid social contact, ignore personal hygiene and behave oddly (Kass, 194). Many people outside the mental health profession believe that schizophrenia refers to a â€Å"split personalit y†. The word â€Å"schizophrenia† comes from the Greek schizo, meaning split and phrenia refers to the diaphragm once thought to be the location of a person’s mind and soul. When the word â€Å"schizophrenia† was established by European psychiatrists, they meant to describe a shattering, or breakdown, of basic psychological functions. Eugene Bleuler is one of the most influential psychiatrists of his time. He is best known today for his introduction of the term â€Å"schizophrenia† to describe the disorder previously known as dementia praecox and for his studies of schizophrenics. The illness can best be described as a collection of particular symptoms that usually fall into four basic categories: formal thought disorder, perception disorder, feeling/emotional disturbance, and behavior disorders (Young, 23). People with schizophrenia describe strange of unrealistic thoughts. Their speech is sometimes hard to follow because of disordered thinking. Ph rases seem disconnected, and ideas move from topic to topic with no logical pattern in what is being said. In some cases, individuals with schizophrenia say that they have no idea at all or that their heads seem â€Å"empty†. Many schizophrenic patients think they possess extraordinary powers such as x-ray vision or super strength. They may believe that their thoughts are being controlled by others or that everyone knows what they are thinking. These beliefs ar... ...ected over another because it has less chance of damaging a diseased liver, worsening a heart condition, or affecting a patient’s high blood pressure. For all the benefits that anti-psychotic drugs provide, clearly they are far from ideal. Some patients will show marked improvement with drugs, while others might be helped only a little, if at all. Ideally, drugs soon will be developed to treat successfully the whole range os schizophrenia symptoms. Roughly one third of schizophrenic patients make a complete recovery and have no further recurrence, one third have recurrent episodes of the illness, and one third deteriorate into chronic schizophrenia with severe disability (Kass, 206). Bibliography BIBLIOGRAPHY Arasse, Daniel. Complete Guide to Mental Health. Allen Lane Press,New York, 1989. Gingerich, Susan. Coping With Schizophrenia. New Harbinger Publications, Inc. Oakland, 1994. Kass, Stephen. Schizophrenia: The Facts. Oxford University Press. New York, 1997. Muesen, Kim. â€Å"Schizophrenia†. Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. Microsoft Corporation, 1998. Young, Patrick. The Encyclopedia od Health, Psychological Disorders and Their Treatment. Herrington Publications. New York, 1991.

Analysis of Challenges in International Management Essay

Analysis of Challenges in International Management† Abstract The following essay analysis the challenges in International Management with particular regard to the challenge of â€Å"culture† in international business as it is the must difficult to deal with and being essential for successful results in a wide range of global management tasks nowadays and in the future. Introduction Today successful international management requires more than a lot of frequent flyer miles or seasoned expatriate managers. But what are those exclusive challenges of international management in today’s world? The importance of international management is constantly increasing, as we exist in a world where globalisation is affecting the traditional borders in a broad range of areas. †¢Trade and investment, †¢Economic alliances, †¢The international stage players, and †¢The work environment are changing rapidly, being supported by the increasing sophistication and lower cost of information technology. World trade and investments are growing fast (the volume of world trade among countries has grown at an average rate over 8% since 2005 (WTO 2008)), linking the economies and creating opportunities and threats. New, strong and forced competitors are coming from developing nations in Asia and the transitioning economies of Eastern Europe. Furthermore, the constantly rising level of foreign direct investment also has a globalising effect (Thomas 2002). Moreover, the emergence of the free-trade areas drastically decreased traditional economic boundaries. So do the three largest groups, the EU, the NAFTA, and the APEC, account for nearly half of the world’s trade (Cullen 2002) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) now has 140 member-nations, aiming to reduce tariffs and liberalize trade. But globalization also affects the work environments within organizations. Changes involve cutbacks, team-based management movements and privatization. For instance, there can be factory closings, as Nokia closing their German plant in Bochum moving to Romania, because of cheaper labour. All in all, as one key consequence of globalisation, international managers nowadays have to face a more dynamic, complex, competitive and uncertain environment and need skills (as a global mindset or the ability to work with people from diverse background) not considered necessary for domestic-only managers. The environment of international management can be divided into †¢economic, †¢legal, †¢political, and †¢cultural factors (Thomas 2002). So for making decisions it is essential to understand the economic strategies of the countries in or with one wants to conduct business with, because level of economic development and quality of life differs extremely worldwide. Furthermore, there are various national sovereign laws and regulations existing in the world which have to be observed and made allowance for. And in addition, there are several varieties of political systems (e. g. , theocratic totalitarianism in Saudi Arabia), containing different levels of political risks which have to be managed. For instance, decision makers have to able to estimate the degree of risk associated with a government’s involvements in business affairs depending on characteristics of their company. All these factors present impressive challenges multinational management has to face. However, the management challenge of culture and its effects on business practices and organizations is one of the most difficult to deal with. As conducting business with people from other cultures will never be easy you have to understand how culture affects management and organizations. â€Å"Culture† is a concept borrowed from cultural anthropology and there are numerous and subtle different definitions. As each definition has limitations focussing on international management the following description of Geert Hofstede seems very helpful. He defines the culture of any society as comprising shared values, understandings, assumptions and goals learned from earlier generations, imposed by present members of a society and passed on to succeeding generations (Hofstede 2008). Culture is something shared by members of a particular group, differentiates humans from other groups, is transmitted through the process of learning and adapts to external and internal environments and relationships. The international businessperson needs to be aware of three levels of cultures that may influence multinational operations. These include national culture, business culture, and organisational cultures (Cullen 2002). National culture can be described as the dominant culture within the political borders of a nation-state. But one has to be aware that multiple cultures can exist within political boundaries and they do not necessarily reflect cultural borders. For instance, Canada being home to Anglophones and Francophones. Furthermore, even relatively homogenous cultures can have diverse subcultures, including cultural differences which are affecting the international business. Nevertheless, as most business is conducted within the political borders of a state and nations can be defined as political unities, varying in governmental, legal, educational, institutional and labour systems, influencing the way people interact with their environment (Thomas 2002), national culture has the greatest effect on international business being probably the most logic starting point trying to understand the cultural environment. Business culture, reflecting the national culture, influences all aspects of work and organizational life (e. g. , motivating staff, negotiating with business partners, etc. and knowing it’s basic requirements (e. g. , what to wear to business meetings, business etiquette is more formal in Germany than in the U. S. with conservative dark business suits, etc. ) is essential for the international manager. Moreover, especially in the last few years, people realized that the â€Å"culture†-concept also holds for individual organizations. So may differences in organizational culture may be one reason why the merger of two otherwise successful companies failed. It is important to evaluate the influence of organizational rules, norms and procedures to understand the causes of behaviour in organizations. With shared behaviours, conditional relationship, being socialized into and partly involved in it, etc. organizational culture differs in construction and elements of national culture. Even so understanding these cultural factors is fundamental for international managers conducting international business, they have to be aware that â€Å"cultures† can just offer wide guidelines for behaviour, as for instance organizational cultures differ within any national context and individuals vary in each culture level. One cannot predict exactly how each person acts, feels, thinks, etc. Nonetheless, broad generalization about a culture provides a level of analysis from which to begin to understand the cultural environment and the complexities of cultural differences, because management functions such as planning, organizing, leading, and controlling in a global economy have to account for them. As international managers have to face various cultural challenges testing their management abilities they must be able to unpack the culture concept. Therefore the basic concepts of cultural dimensions can help them understand how two or more cultures might be different. An essential implication of these frameworks referring to international management and culture is that cultural interpretation and adaptation are a prerequisite to the comparative understanding of international management practice (Morden 1995). The following sections describe two popular models. Hofstede’s Culture Model This Framework, created by dutch scientist Geert Hofstede and based on a research over 11600 people in 50 countries (starting with 39 IBM subsiadiaries worldwide), tries to evaluate how basic values underlay organizational behaviour. National differences are investigated by five dimensions of basic cultural values: 1. Power distance 2. Uncertainty avoidance 3. Individualism 4. Masculinity and 5. Long-term orientation (Hofstede 2008). 1. This first value dimension refers to how cultures deal with inequality and tries to postion the inequality acceptance level by unequal power distribution society members. In countries with a high power distance acceptance (e. g. , such as Mexico), people respect and hardly ever bypass formal hierarchy positions (Elizabeth M. Christopher 2008). 2. The second value dimension concerns about the degree humans in a society are threatened by uncertain situations. The social system of a higher uncertainty avoidance society is dominated by regulations and rules, predictabilties and orders and people tend to be suspicious of change, whereas people from lower levels of uncertainty avoidance societies (for instance, countries such as Denmark). tend to be less formal, take higher business risks and plan and structure less 3. Individualism refers to the affinity to primarily take care of oneself and one’s direct family, and then to the rest of society (with the U. S. being a good example) (Elizabeth M. Christopher 2008). 4. The fourth dimension of â€Å"masculinity† concerns about the ranking of tradionally â€Å"masculine† values in a society, such as less concerning for others, materialism and assertiveness, whereas â€Å"feminity† on the other side emphasises the quality of life and relationships. 5. Long-term orientation cultures are insistent and saving (e. g. the culture of China) and short-term orientation is more self-centered, money-oriented and more social. All these factors are inter-reliant and interactive in their effects. So shows the Anglo-Dutch example Unilever the practicability of multinational enterprises where the power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and individualism values are similar; and where the masculine achievement orientation of the British complements the people orientation of the Dutch (Morden 1995). All in all, so there is a lot of criticism (for instance, the time-dependence of the results, the non-exhaustive investigation of only one multinational US company, etc. to these findings and the model of Hofstede, it is still a very valuable and useful â€Å"gift† for understanding culture and culture-based behavior. Trompenaars’ Culture Model The model created by Fons Trompenaars its also based on the researched of value dimensions. He studied the behavoiur of 15000 managers, representing 47 national cultures (Hampden-Turner 2008). Five of the seven dimensions of his model deal with the challenges of h ow people relate to each other: 1. Universalism versus particularism 2. Neutral versus affective 3. Specific versus diffuse . Achievement versus ascription 5. Time as sequence versus synchronisation The two final dimensions deal with how a culture manages time and how it deals with nature. They include: 6. The society-orientation to the past, present, or future and 7. â€Å"Control of† versus â€Å"accommodation with† nature 1. The value of univerlism refers to the application to systems and rules objectively, without taking consideration to personal circumstances, whereas the particularism culture (e. g. in countries as Spain) is more subjective and focusses more on relationships. 2. The second, the neutral-versus-affective, value dimension refers on the emotional orientation of relationships (such as expressing your feelings and emotions more like, for example, the Portugese). 3. In Addition the specific-versus-diffus dimension investigates if people from a special culture tend to be more or less specific or diffuse in their relationships (for example, Germans try to separate work and personal issues). 4. In the achievement-versus-ascription dimension, it is asked: †What is the source of power and status in society? † (Elizabeth M. Christopher 2008) So is for instance, in an achievement refering culture, the â€Å"status† of a person mainly based on it’s individual achievement (such as job performance, etc. ). 5. â€Å"Time as sequence† orientated cultures separate events in time (â€Å"step-by-step†), whereas â€Å"time as synchronisation†-orientated indiviuals manage events in parallel. (For example, if their business partners are not sharp on time, Germans, coming from a â€Å"time-as-sequence† orientated culture, may consider it an insultation). 6. This value dimension is about past versus future orientations. 7. Moreover, this dimension refers to the extent to which individuals feel that they themselves are the primary influence on their lives. Using this framework trying to understand some culture-basics some interesting patterns may emerge. Altough, being recognised for their validity (the results of these both major studies have some significant parallels, even so they were carried out in different times using different methods and examples), these concepts of cultural value orientation proposed by Hofstede and Tropmenaar can only give a basic framework for the analysis of cultural differences. They are utensils to help understand a culture and adjusting business practices to diverse cultural environments. They are for instance, a prerequisite to the successful new-market country entry, whether by setting up licensing or new subsidiaries, joint ventures, mergers or for the establishment of efficient programmes of international HR development (Kay 1993). But international managers have to realise that the understanding of another culture is a inexhaustible learning process. They will have to practice for their international work with or in other countries by studiying all that they can about the country, including more than just the business etiquette. Understanding the national culture builds just the foundation. As you seldom can get behind the front stage of culture without speaking the national language onother basic instrument is learning the language. But the challenge of â€Å"culture† in international management takes such much more than this. International managers have to broaden their understanding of cultural differences and to learn to seek advantage in differences. Understanding the culture is just a basis for the diverse international management tasks, as appropriate cross-cultural communication (using appropiate communication styles), effective and positive motivating and leadership in international organisations and across cultures, successful negotiation with international business partners and making ethically and socially responsible decisions. Conclusion The environment of international management can be divided into economic, legal, political, and cultural factors, with â€Å"culture† being the most challenging and most difficult to deal with, influencing a broad range of management tasks. Providing oneself with the necessary knowlegde and understanding of the national culture of the country or the people one is conducting business with is essential and builds just the foundation for the successful complementation of global management tasks, such as for instance leadership in multinational organisations (where you have to have understanding of all three levels of culture; national, business and organisational culture, being different and influencing each other).

The Dominican Republic’s Expression

Abstract Merengue is the national music and dance of the Dominican Republic. Both tourists and locals enjoy partying to the sound of the merengue inside the bars and outside in the streets. Two major festivals with a merengue theme are celebrated in a year. This depicts the merengue as a critical part of the lives of the Dominicans. Merengue was even able to reach out overseas and be accepted by other countries like the USA and Puerto Rico. However, merengue had gone through a lot of trials before it got its distinction. It was initially rejected by the Dominicans because of its link to African music and because of its vulgar lyrics and taboo subjects. Widespread acceptance occurred only when the Americans came and became a cultural threat and when the dictator Rafael Trujillo declared the merengue as the national symbol. Since then, armed with its traditional instruments, the merengue became the soundtrack of the lives of the Dominicans. Merengue: The Dominican Republic’s Expression I.Introduction II.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Merengue History III. Merengue Instruments IV. Merengue Music V.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Merengue Dance VI. Conclusion Merengue: The Dominican Republic’s Expression People say that music is the universal language of mankind. However, in the case of the people of the Dominican Republic, it is not just a language; it is an expression and a way of life. Walking through their streets, one would notice that music coming from houses, vehicles, stores and restaurants serves as the country’s soundtrack. And soon after sunset, the air would be filled with life from the pulsing beats from the clubs that invites both locals and tourists to their dance floors. For the Dominicans, dancing is a practiced art and it is a pleasure for them to share their native dances to those willing to learn (Dominican Republic, 2005 and Hispaniola, 2008). Merengue is Dominican Republic’s most popular music and dance and is considered as the country’s national dance. The sound of the merengue is a combination of European, African and Eastern Cuban elements. It has a signature beat pattern that easily identifies it and requires the dancers to swing their hips in quick but fluid motion (Hispaniola, 2008). The Dominicans celebrate two merengue festivals, namely, the Santo Domingo Merengue Festival which is a seaside musical festival and the Puerto Plata Merengue Festival which is a festival in outdoor bars and in streets (Dominican Republic, 2005). The arrival of the merengue to the American soils was attributed to the Dominican immigrants to the country. And merengue became a worldwide phenomenon due to the increasing number of countries accepting it. It was even able to outsell salsa in the Latin America. This is the reason why I chose to write on the topic; I want to explore merengue to know why it has become a worldwide trend. Merengue History The roots of merengue are quite unclear and several theories are proposed. One theory is that a soldier, Tomas Torres, developed the music after the Dominican’s victory at the Talanquera battle. Another theory is that it came from upa, a Cuban music, wherein one part was called merengue (Tambora y Gà ¼ira, 1995). Even the roots of the name are still uncertain. Some say that the name came from the Haitian mereng, which developed from the music of the African slaves. Some even say that it came from the way the merengue was danced, such that the swirling and rapid crisscrossing steps reminded them of the beating of the eggs in making the meringue dessert (Highbeam Research, Inc., 2008). Wherever merengue came from, one thing is sure, that it evolved from something and became an integral part of the lives of the Dominicans. Merengue had gone through many problems before it was generally accepted as the national dance of the Dominican Republic. During the early 1900’s, the public was reluctant to accept it because of its nature; it has close links to African music and the lyrics were themed on sexual encounters and other socially taboo issues. It was only accepted by the masses after two important events. The first was during the American soldiers’ stay at the country from 1916 to 1924; the Dominicans slightly reduced the merengue’s tempo to allow the visitors to keep-up with the dance while maintaining their cultural identity. The second event was the former president Rafael Trujillo’s acceptance of merengue as the national symbol. This was due to the fact that Trujillo was born of a poor family and was prohibited from attending upper-class clubs, thus making merengue the status symbol of their class (Dominican Republic, 2005 and Salsa and Merengue Society, 1999). However, the vulgarity and sexual explicitness of the lyrics still produced oppositions until composer Luis Alberti was able to write a merengue with good lyrics entitled Compadre Pedro Juan which became identified as the merengue’s archetype. Since then, merengue has spread overseas through radio broadcasts and music recordings (Highbeam Research, Inc., 2008). Merengue Instruments The traditional merengue is composed of a three-piece band that includes a melodeon, an accordion-like instrument, a guira, a scraped cheese grater-looking percussion, and a tambora, a double-headed drum (Dominican Republic, 2005). The tambora is played by placing it horizontally across the thighs and hitting the right end with a stick and the left end with an open palm (Highbeam Research, Inc., 2008). However, the melodeon is not the initial instrument used for the harmony and melody; Dominican bandurrias, guitars, tres, cuatro and marimba, a wooden box with four to eight metal tongs that are plucked, are the ones initially used since they are the instruments owned by the common people (Tambora y Gà ¼ira, 1995). It is only when the Germans began to trade their accordions with the Dominicans’ tobacco that the accordion became a part of the merengue (IASO Records, Inc., 2008). It blended naturally with the merengue music and was helpful in making the sound cope up with the increasing audience size. Nevertheless, the one-row accordions of the Germans were later replaced by the saxophone due to the former’s inability to play sufficient major keys. The accordion was only able to come back when the two-row accordions were introduced (Salsa and Merengue Society, 1999). Up to the present, the music continues to evolve and adapt to the changes. Different instruments like trumpets, violin, flute, piano, electric and bass guitars, and bass drums are being used by different merengue musicians (Dominican Republic, 2005). Merengue Music There are several kinds of merengue music formed in the Dominican Republic and they differ only in their instrumentation. The most famous of which is the Merengue Cibaeà ±o, also known as Perico Ripiao and Merengue Tipico. It came from the El Cibao region of the country where merengue was first accepted and it is now considered as the â€Å"The cradle of merengue† (IASO Records, Inc., 2008). The name Perico Ripiao, which literally means ‘ripped parrot’, was derived from the wild country parties wherein, in the absence of other poultry birds, the parrot serves as the main dish. The local musicians who play at the said parties named their music after the dish (Grupofantasia). Merengue Cibaeà ±o’s musical structure has either two beats (2/4) or four beats (4/4) to the bar and uses the three traditional instruments in a manner wherein the tambora calls and the other two responds. This gives the merengue its signature and characteristic drive (Salsa and Merengue Society, 1999). The songs are normally composed in two sections. The first part is with a simple rhythm used to introduce the song’s lyrical and melodic content wherein the verses are just sung and improvisations are heard just at the end of the song lines. The second part is composed primarily of instrument improvisations wherein they play catchy riffs that help inspire and excite the dancers. Rhythms of the tipico merengue include the merengue derecho or the straight-ahead merengue which is the fast-paced merengue. The second rhythm is the pambiche or merengue apambichao which is slower and characterized by the dual strike rhythm of the tambora. The third rhythm is the guinchao which is a combination of the first two (IASO Records, Inc, 2008). Merengue Dance The merengue is a very easy dance and anybody, even with little training, could instantly dance it since the steps are made to be less complicated for beginners. Couples dancing the merengue vary from being too close such that only simple steps are done to being far apart such that there is space for turning combinations. It was said that the Dominicans prefer dancing further apart since they like to brag their fancy footwork. In addition, close body contact, for the Dominicans, are considered as pornographic and vulgar dance making them prefer dancing with a distance (Salsa and Merengue Society, 1999). The merengue dance is divided into three sections. The first is the paseo or promenade wherein couples walk slowly and talk with each other or with nearby couples. The second is the merengue which is first danceable part and is comprised of 16 or 32 repeated measures. The last is the jaleo which has four of eight measures and has a refrain that is repeated many tines. This is also the last danceable part of the music (Highbeam Research, Inc., 2008). Conclusion Merengue has been an integral part of the lives of the Dominicans. This could be attributed to the struggles of the merengue before it was fully accepted by the people. This made merengue more than their national dance, but also a way of expressing themselves. This attitude towards merengue made it appealing to other countries and enabled it to be accepted by them as another form of music and dance. The addiction with merengue was caught by other countries making merengue an international phenomenon. References Dominican Republic. (2005, October). Dominican Republic Music and Dance. Retrieved April 25, 2008 Grupofantasia. Merengue. Retrieved April 25, 2008 Highbeam Research, Inc. (2008). The infectious merengue.(history and influences of merengue music and dance). Retrieved April 25, 2008 Hispaniola. (2008). Music and Dance in the Dominican Republic. Retrieved April 25, 2008, from http://www.hispaniola.com/dominican_republic/info/society_music.php IASO Records, Inc. (2008). Merengue: Popular Music of the Dominican Republic. Retrieved April 25, 2008, from http://www.iasorecords.com/merengue.cfm National Geographic Society. (2008). Dominican Republic. Retrieved April 25, 2008, Salsa and Merengue Society. (1999). Merengue: The Dance. Retrieved April 25, 2008, from http://www.salsa-merengue.co.uk/revealit/dancemer.html Salsa and Merengue Society. (1999). Merengue: The Music. Retrieved April 25, 2008, from http://www.salsa-merengue.co.uk/revealit/musicmer.html Tambora y Gà ¼ira. (1995, June ). Merengue History. Retrieved April 25, 2008, from http://www.mindspring.com/~adiascar/musica/merhst-e.htm