Six Dimensions of Health Worksheet Essay Example for Free

Six Dimensions of Health Worksheet Essay For each of the following six dimensions of health, list at least one characteristic, activity, belief, or attitude that reflects that dimension in your life. Provide a brief explanation with each example. Refer to Ch. 1 in the text for explanations of these dimensions. Physical health: Diet and exercise. I have started to eat healthier and walk for an hour everyday. Social health: I have one best friend of 23 years that I talk to everyday. This is the most fulfilling friendship that I have in my life. She is like my sister that I never had. Intellectual health: Returning to the University of Phoenix is the way I am improving my intellectual health. Environmental health: Recycling cans and using a filter instead of buying bottled water are the ways that I practice environmental preservation. Emotional health: Appropriately disciplining my children without yelling is not the easiest thing for me to do. My three boys find ways to get under my skin purposely. I sometimes have to walk away and take a breather, in order to control my emotions. Spiritual health: Growing up in a Southern Baptist church has caused me to avoid organized religions. Currently, I am researching other options for spiritual growth.

McDonalds Standardisation of Products

McDonalds Standardisation of Products Should marketers attempt to standardize their products and marketing communications so as to minimize the costs of doing business internationally? Or should they adapt their products and messages depending on the market in which they wish to operate? Students should provide suitable examples from the academic literature and your own business knowledge when responding to the question. In the case of this question students may want to consider the arguments of Theodore Levitt, especially when he argued against the marketing concept, stating that firms should standardize their products to obtain maximum economies of scale in production. There have been numerous critiques of this position, with other academics arguing that products have to be adapted to local conditions for a host of reasons, such as avoiding creating offence in the marketing of certain products in countries where religious codes do not sanction certain forms of consumption. The key case study to illustrate such adaptation, among many others, is MacDonalds. INTRODUCTION: With ever increasing improvements in transport, communications and reduced trade barriers, international trading which was once considered a luxury is now a necessity in many sectors (Vrontis et al., 1999). Once the decision to venture into international markets has been taken, there are two broad strategies, which can be adopted. A fundamental strategic decision has to made immediately as to whether to employ a uniform marketing mix (standardisation strategy) as part of a global strategy or whether to adjust the marketing mix and strategies (Adaptation strategy) to take account of the unique characteristics of each local market (Vrontis and Vronti, 2004). The debate over standardisation versus adaptation of marketing strategy in international markets has been intense and has gone on for a long time. The focus of this intense argument has been whether marketers at international or global level should standardise their products and communications to all markets within which they opera te around the world or whether the products and communication should be adapted or tailored to reflect varying infrastructure, cultural and behavioural dimensions associated with different markets in the global arena. Both sides of the debate have been addressed in the marketing literature over the years, with arguments offered as to why an emphasis on standardisation rather than adaptation should be pursued and vice versa but no definitive outcome of this debate has emerged (Douglas Craig, 1986; Vrontis, Thrassou Lamprianou, 2009). McCarthy (1975) introduced the concept of marketing mix or 4 Ps (product, price, promotion and place and firms have based their marketing plans on this to gain competitive advantage. However with particular attention to services marketing Fifield and Gilligan (1996) identified three additional variables, which then became an integral part of the marketing mix and which has become popularly known as the 7Ps namely product, place, price, promotion, people, process and physical. The Marketing mix has been used as the basis of marketing plans and therefore it is employed in the provision of goods and services whether a company uses globalisation stategy standardisation strategy or both. This essay will discuss the globalisation of markets and will dwell particularly on the marketing strategies used by firms once they decide to enter international markets. The broad strategies of standardisation of the marketing mix on one hand and the adaptation of the marketing mix on the other hand will be highlighted. Finally, the contingency strategy which is the combination of both the standardisation and adaptation strategies will be discussed and will be and justified as the best to be considered by marketers. Globalisation Globalisation is a widely used term and as such is defined in many different contexts. Walker and Fox (1999) define globalisation as the global integration of the financial markets and argue that the process of financial globalisation is the most important part of the process of globalisation. Neuland and Hough (1999) see globalisation as the interconnectedness of the world economy. Gill (2000) define globalisation as the reduction of transaction cost of transborder movements of capital and goods and hence of factors of production and goods. Redding (1999) defines globalisation as the increasing integration between the markets for goods, services and capital and at the same time the breakdown of borders. Braibant (2002) says that the process of globalisation not only includes opening up of world trade, development of advanced means of communication, internationalisation of financial markets, population migrations and more generally increased mobility of persons, goods, capital, data and ideas but also includes infections, diseases and pollution. In addition to these terms Goldberg (1983) observed that: Many transnational companies have grown so large that their size exceeds that of some nation-states. Thus they could override, neutralize, or even counteract the political will of a nation state. The facilitation of the global market in the form of transport and communications improvements and reduced trade barriers and others has led firms to go global in order to gain competitive advantage and survive. Ohmae (1989) states that large companies must become global if they hope to compete and they must change from companies that treat their foreign operations as secondary, to companies that view the entire world as a single borderless market. Levitt (1983) suggests that as markets become increasingly similar and more global, the key to success lies in the ability to globalise. Additionally there are a variety of motives underlying a firms decision to trade globally such as the ability to extend the life cycle of their product in a phase of a mature domestic market and escape from increasing levels of domestic competition (Vrontis Vronti, 2004). Going global is therefore a necessity due to the reasons given and firms who are capable of expanding globally take the opportunity. However among the issues to consider before moving to the international market is the need to adopt the appropriate marketing strategy in order to achieve the aim of making such a move. The marketing strategies that is being considered are standardization and adaptation. , and adaptation where products and communications are adapted or tailored to reflect varying infrastructure, Globalisation of markets Standardisation and Adaptation According to Levitt (1983) and Ohmae (1989) standardisation refers to where firms operating at the global level attempt to standardize their products and communications to all markets within which they operate around the world. Proponents of global standardisation such as (Levitt 1983; Ohmae, 1989) argue that a corporation should operate as a single entity selling the same items everywhere in the same way. They believe the world is increasingly homogenised in its consumer requirements and that the force driving this process is technology, which has facilitated communication, information, capital, transport and travel. The rise of global media giants such as MTV, CNN etc lend weight to the notion that communications technology is the major negotiator of convergence of human preference in that technology facilitates the global spread of promotional messages resulting in homogenisation of consumer tastes across the world. Levitts (1983) notion of homogenisation of consumer taste refers to a worldwide desire for modern, low priced, world-standard and dependable products from the modern world. For example Levi Jeans paid $550,000 for one series of TV commercials to use around the globe for advertising and promot ion of its jeans (Jeannete et al., 1998). This trend would appear to make possible the application of uniform (standardisation) marketing mix strategies across global markets (Levitt, 1983: Ohmae, 1989). In addition, marketing program standardisation would allow for economies of scale and scope in production and marketing, cross-subsidisation (using financial results resources accumulated in one part of the world to respond to competitive challenges in another), easier control and coordination of marketing activities, transfer of marketing know-how, and a uniform brand image across borders (Douglas Craig, 1986; Levitt, 1983). It has also been noted that marketing program standardisation becomes particularly viable if firms can identity global market segments with common tastes and preferences such as teenagers, working women, and affluent people or a cluster of countries that share similar macro-environmental characteristics (Douglas Wind, 1987). Levitt (1983) distinguishes between the multinational corporation which he states operates in a number of countries and adjusts its products and marketing practices in each resulting in relatively high costs and the global corporation which operates as if the entire world were a single entity, the same things are sold in the same way everywhere. He further argues that this supposed converging preference structure makes it necessary for all corporations to standardise their product offerings and marketing activities in order to stay competitive. Levitt (1983) further states that the difference between the two corporations is that global corporation which in his view is the better one treats the world as composed of a few standardised markets rather than many customised markets. According to Levitt (1983) standardisation becomes necessary, a natural condition for the survival of the corporation. The following quotes strengthen his assertions: The commonality of preference leads inescapably to the standardisation of productsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (ibid.,p.55) Selling a line of products individually tailored to each nation is thoughtless..(ibid.,p.61) Companies that do not adapt to the new global realities will become victims of those that do..(ibid.,p.65) McDonalds, Coca-Cola, Nikes trainers, Levis jeans have all crossed global borders but there is evidence of tailoring of communications message, (Vignali, 2001). According to the same author, brand name, product characteristics, packaging and labelling are the easiest of the marketing mix to standardise. On the other hand, adaptation refers to the marketing strategy where the products and communications are adapted or tailored to reflect varying infrastructure, cultural and behavioural dimensions associated with different markets in the global arena (Britt, 1974; Buzzell, 1968; Douglas Wind, 1987). Proponents of adaptation, although acknowledging the potential benefits of a standardised marketing strategy point out its weakness of significantly undermining a firms foreign market position. This is because despite globalisation, national value systems and traditions persist. Furthermore product purchase and usage patterns are not identical across national borders because consumers respond differently to different advertising appeals (Keegan, 1969). (Czinkota and Ronnekan, 1995; Vrontis 2003) emphasises the various differences evident in international markets and urge multinational companies to adjust the marketing mix elements and marketing strategies. He further states that the advantage of specific marketing mix approach is that strategy is tailored to suit local market needs while flexibility and responsiveness are maximised and believes that marketing orientation is achieved at an optimal level. This in turn calls for changes to promotional campaigns, product features, price and distribution thereby adjusting wholly utilisation strategy without rendering the marketing mix ineffective (Zou Cavisgil, 2002). Consequently firms need to adjust their marketing programs to suit local needs and adequately respond to various environmental forces. Products such as McDonalds, Coca-Cola, Nikes trainers, Levis jeans have all crossed global borders but there is evidence of tailoring of communications message, (Vignali, 2001). Contingency Strategy: A number of scholars have proposed a contingency perspective for international marketing arguing that neither adaptation nor standardisation is feasible and that in reality neither of these polarised views is feasible or desirable and that in fact the two co-exist (Vrontis, 2003; Zou Cavusgil, 2002). Culture has been identified as a barrier in relation to the suitability of the product in particular local markets (Czinkota et al., 1995). This is echoed by Vrontis, (2003) who argues that the huge costs involved inhibit the use of any one strategy in an absolute manner but suggests that international marketers should have to search for the right balance between standardisation and adaptation in the order and extent of globalisation of the business and adapt the organisations response accordingly. The author called his new modelling approach the AdaptStand Process which he used in the Levi Jeans brand case study (Vrontis, 2003). Taylor (1991), supporting the view that firms should use both internationalisation and globalisation elements to create competitive advantage emphasises the notion that corporations should think global and act local coined Glocal by Ohmae (1989). Some of the companies that have successfully adapted their marketing mix to achieve glocalisation include McDonalds and Levi Jeans. McDonald for instance embraced and adopted the concept of think global, act local and has successfully adapted its marketing mix to a local environment in order to meet and the challenges posed socio-economic -cultural, political-legal, demographic (Vignali, 2001). Explaining further with the marketing mix and considering the case of product McDonald, while aiming at creating standard food items that taste the same across the whole world realises that standardisation brings cost savings. The company however acknowledges that the ability to adapt to an environment ensures success (Vignali, 2001). McDonald adapted its product because of religious laws and customs in some countries. For example in Israel the company avoided dairy products and beef in the case of Hindus in India and also pork in the case of Muslims. Calantone et.al.(2004) state that adaptation of a product is a core aspect of customising and to be successful in the market, the firm has to satisfy the customer wants and needs better than the competitors in that environment. MacDonald main course however remains the same across the world, that is burger/sandwich, fries and a drink. Quality control and standards are consistent throughout all McDonald outlets to ensure the same standard and quality starting from suppliers through to food preparation (Vignali, 20 01). In the case of Levi Jeans, females in Islamic countries for example are discouraged from wearing tight fitting jeans which is the favourite of their American counterparts (Czinkota et al,, 1995). It is therefore evident that fit design and style of jeans need to be adapted to meet requirements of the local buyers. Relating the contingency strategy to the marketing mix place, McDonalds expansion into international markets is based on ownership, franchises and joint ventures. Its strategy is open as many restaurants company owned and operated rather franchised or joint ventures to reduce competition. In 1998 McDonald had over 24500 restaurants in 116 countries showcasing its level of globalisation but also operationally showing a Glocal focus as it shares ideas, best practices and human resources across borders further enhancing its competitive advantage and strengthening its leadership position (McDonalds Corporation, 1998) In the case of price, while it is accepted that one of the benefits of standardisation is savings in cost McDonalds pricing strategy is focused on localisation rather than globalisation.It not only implements different pricing strategies for different countries but also attains its market objective to increase its market share by ensuring the right price for the right market (Vignali, 2001). The McDonalds pricing policy takes into account factors, firstly the demand and perception of price by the consumer in comparison to similar products from rivals and would then set its prices taking into account other food purveyors in each country. Secondly the McDonalds pricing strategy takes into account the stage in the life cycle of their product in each country before setting the price, For example, in the USA, the product is in maturity to decline stage and McDonalds price will be lower than the price set for Japan which is in the growth to maturity stage (Vignali, 2001). Adapting prices t his way allows McDonald to recover lost revenues in the USA while maximising profits in the Japanese market. McDonalds Corporation sponsors many sports nationally for example in basketball, racing and globally for example the Olympic Games and the World Cup. It employs standardisation for advertising its brand in many countries across the globe showcasing sports personalities but localising the advertising tactics by using top footballers from each country. The effect of this is that standardisation and consistency of the brand is achieved globally while localisation of advertising a particular top football personality makes the advertising campaign more effective and successful in capturing customers and market share away from competitors (Vignali, 2001) Levi Jeans faced competition from prevailing substitute products and therefore had to raise the quality of its jeans while adjusting its price to fight lower prices, counterfeits and substitute products in the local markets (Vrontis and Vronti, 2004) Advertising When it comes to people McDonalds policy on staffing issues is to blend US human resources practices with host country norms by first investigating and understanding the host countrys labour laws, and conditions of work including working times. The benefit of this is that blending of corporate and local cultures in the workforce and at the same time forcusing recruitment policy on the local community while promotion is from within globally. The objective is to have consistency in terms of people management and development and standardisation with a local focus on the labour and cultural norms in each country in order to achieve loyalty and also the best customer service (Vignali, 2001) If the process is considered, food preparation is the same the world over and must meet McDonalds strict standards and demands This includes suppliers and franchisees as well. For example kitchen layouts are identical globally and there are specific dimensions for fries, meat, Big Mac and buns (Vignali, 2001). Standardisation is also evident globally at the tills which display symbols of the food items instead of numerals or words to eliminate language translation barriers. Local adaptation is shown as the restaurants in different countries have slightly different meals. Physically McDonalds penetrated international markets through franchising but the layouts of these restaurants are almost identical in every country. from kitchens to staff uniforms, display signs, the slogans and the friendliness of the staff world-wide epitomize standardisation (Vignali, 2001). Local adaptation is apparent as different international restaurants adjust to suit local conditions for example in China, where interior walls are decorated with posters and slogans emphasising family values. CONCLUSION: The essay discussed globalisation and internationalisation with special reference to the strategy firms used to enter the international market. Two main strategies is identified. The first relates to whether firms should standardise their products and communications to all markets within which they operate around the world and the second is whether the products and communication should be adapted or tailored to reflect varying infrastructure, cultural and behavioural dimensions associated with different markets in the global arena. The standardisation-versus-adaptation debate for pursuing marketing strategy in international or global markets has received considerable attention for decades. It has been shown why supporters of standardisation such as Levitt (1983) feel that a corporation should operate as a single entity selling the same products everywhere in the same way. The argument is that that the world is increasingly becoming homogenised in its consumer tastes and requirements and that the force driving this process is technology, which has facilitated communication, information capital, transport and travel. The author also considered how the benefit of economies of scale and scope could lower costs to the advantage of the investor. However other scholars argument that the cost savings to be made from standardisation should not be the mauor consideration is very valid. According to the proponents of Adaptation,, the cultural, social and legal settings in some countries makes it impossible to compete successfully in all countries offering the same products and services (Vrontis, 2003). Adaptation is seen to override standardisation due to the importance attached to thge need to adapt to the peculiarities of the home country. However it has been clearly shown that, neither standardisation nor adaptation is the best solution. Rather standardisation and globalisation co-exist and do not operate in isolation. Therefore while corporations can standardise their brands globally, some aspects of their marketing mix must be adapted so that their products and services suit and satisfy the needs, wants and tastes of customers in different countries if they are to create a competitive advantage and increase market share in international markets. The McDonalds and Levi Jeans marketing mix show that these two corporations embraced the notion of glocalisation i.e. combining globalisation and internationalism in order to remain competitive, penetrate international markets, increase their market share. It is therefore not surprising that they have become leading brands internationally in their respective industries. .

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms and Treatment Essay example --

In 1980, the term Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) first came into existence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition (DSM-III). Only in 1987 did the DSM series make reference to traumatized children. The first major studies of the effects of large traumas on children were Bloch's 1956 study of the effect of a tornado in Mississippi, Lacey's 1972 study of the effects of an avalanche on a Welsh school, Newman's 1976 work on the Buffalo Creek disaster and Terr's 1979 research on the Chowchilla bus kidnapping. Psychological "trauma" is defined by the American Psychiatric Association as an experience beyond "the range of usual human experience," that "would be markedly distressing to almost anyone, and is usually experienced with intense fear, terror and helplessness" (DSM-IIIR, p. 247). Some examples include a serious threat to one's life (or that of one's children, spouse, etc.), rape, military combat, natural or accidental disasters, and tortur e. Sexual activity with an adult would be an example of a traumatic experience for a child. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as previously defined, is caused by an overwhelming event outside the range of ordinary human experience, such as combat, a natural disaster, or a physical assault. The symptoms include nightmares and other forms of re-experiencing the traumatic event, avoidance of situations and activities that arouse memories of the event, emotional numbness and detachment, pessimism, sleep problems, impulsive anger, jumpiness, and difficulty in concentration. There are many symptoms but there are also many affects to the functioning of an individual. The functioning defects can send an individual into crisis. Memory loss is common a... ...ishes on treatment options. This disorder is typically not fatal however; it has the potential to severely damage someone’s very existence. Get an individual evaluated for the proper medications and therapies and support them on their way to recovering. References M.D., J. A. (n.d.). abess.com index page. abess.com index page. Retrieved February 28, 2011, from http://www.abess.com Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-III-R. (3rd ed.). (1987). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-IV-TR. (4th ed.). (2000). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association. Mayo Clinic. (n.d.). Mayo Clinic. Retrieved February 28, 2011, from http://www.mayoclinic.com Noll, R. (1992). The encyclopedia of schizophrenia and the psychotic disorders. New York: Facts on File.

The Affect of National Culture on Human Resources Essay -- Human Resour

INTRODUCTION In today’s business environment, the complexity of international business has increased and international competition has been highlighted as an essential element for multinational firms (MNCs). Thus, in order to gain competitive advantage, various resources are utilized, such as financial capital, technology location or human resource (HR). Moreover, HR could be seemed as one of the most important resource which has also become a focus of attention of senior managers in MNCs. As suggested by MacMillan(1984), MNCs can gain competitive advantage through use of HR practice, such as training, compensation, socialization, selection, performance appraisal and career development, as long as other firms are unable to duplicate their efforts easily and quickly. However, while HR practices and policies are performing across countries, culture would be a key point. Culture can be defined not only at the national, but also at the group, organizational, and even international level. All t hese cultures have certain effects on the choice and efficiency of HR policies and practices. Between national and other types of culture, therefore, need to be divided clearly because national culture makes a unique contribution to understanding HR policies and practices. Therefore, there is no doubt that national culture is a key factor on HR practices or polices, as a functional activity in international business. In this paper, the role and effects of national culture in HR will be discussed firstly. And then the potential problems that MCNs may have if they do not consider national culture as a key factor in HRM success. In the final stage, the solution of those problems will be presented in this paper. THE ROLE OF NATIONAL CULTURE IN HU... ...aeger, A. M. (1986) ‘Organization development and national culture: Where's the fit? , ‘ in Academy of Management Review, Vol. 11, Iss. 1, pp. 178-190. Hill, C.W.L. (2005) International Business: Competing in the Global Marketplace (5th ed.), New York: Mc Graw-Hill/Irwin Hofstede, G. (1993) ‘Cultural constrains in management theories,’ in Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 7, Iss. 1, pp. 81-93. MacMillan, I. C. (1984) ‘Gaining competitive advantage through human resource management practice,’ in Human Resource Management, Vol. 23, Iss. 1, pp. 241-255. Punnett, B. J. & Ricks, D. A. (1992) International business, Boston: PWSKent. Schuler, R. S. & Jackson S. E. (1994) ‘Convergence or divergence: Human resource practices and policies for competitive advantage worldwide,’ in International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 5, Iss. 2, pp. 267-99. The Affect of National Culture on Human Resources Essay -- Human Resour INTRODUCTION In today’s business environment, the complexity of international business has increased and international competition has been highlighted as an essential element for multinational firms (MNCs). Thus, in order to gain competitive advantage, various resources are utilized, such as financial capital, technology location or human resource (HR). Moreover, HR could be seemed as one of the most important resource which has also become a focus of attention of senior managers in MNCs. As suggested by MacMillan(1984), MNCs can gain competitive advantage through use of HR practice, such as training, compensation, socialization, selection, performance appraisal and career development, as long as other firms are unable to duplicate their efforts easily and quickly. However, while HR practices and policies are performing across countries, culture would be a key point. Culture can be defined not only at the national, but also at the group, organizational, and even international level. All t hese cultures have certain effects on the choice and efficiency of HR policies and practices. Between national and other types of culture, therefore, need to be divided clearly because national culture makes a unique contribution to understanding HR policies and practices. Therefore, there is no doubt that national culture is a key factor on HR practices or polices, as a functional activity in international business. In this paper, the role and effects of national culture in HR will be discussed firstly. And then the potential problems that MCNs may have if they do not consider national culture as a key factor in HRM success. In the final stage, the solution of those problems will be presented in this paper. THE ROLE OF NATIONAL CULTURE IN HU... ...aeger, A. M. (1986) ‘Organization development and national culture: Where's the fit? , ‘ in Academy of Management Review, Vol. 11, Iss. 1, pp. 178-190. Hill, C.W.L. (2005) International Business: Competing in the Global Marketplace (5th ed.), New York: Mc Graw-Hill/Irwin Hofstede, G. (1993) ‘Cultural constrains in management theories,’ in Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 7, Iss. 1, pp. 81-93. MacMillan, I. C. (1984) ‘Gaining competitive advantage through human resource management practice,’ in Human Resource Management, Vol. 23, Iss. 1, pp. 241-255. Punnett, B. J. & Ricks, D. A. (1992) International business, Boston: PWSKent. Schuler, R. S. & Jackson S. E. (1994) ‘Convergence or divergence: Human resource practices and policies for competitive advantage worldwide,’ in International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 5, Iss. 2, pp. 267-99. The Affect of National Culture on Human Resources Essay -- Human Resour INTRODUCTION In today’s business environment, the complexity of international business has increased and international competition has been highlighted as an essential element for multinational firms (MNCs). Thus, in order to gain competitive advantage, various resources are utilized, such as financial capital, technology location or human resource (HR). Moreover, HR could be seemed as one of the most important resource which has also become a focus of attention of senior managers in MNCs. As suggested by MacMillan(1984), MNCs can gain competitive advantage through use of HR practice, such as training, compensation, socialization, selection, performance appraisal and career development, as long as other firms are unable to duplicate their efforts easily and quickly. However, while HR practices and policies are performing across countries, culture would be a key point. Culture can be defined not only at the national, but also at the group, organizational, and even international level. All t hese cultures have certain effects on the choice and efficiency of HR policies and practices. Between national and other types of culture, therefore, need to be divided clearly because national culture makes a unique contribution to understanding HR policies and practices. Therefore, there is no doubt that national culture is a key factor on HR practices or polices, as a functional activity in international business. In this paper, the role and effects of national culture in HR will be discussed firstly. And then the potential problems that MCNs may have if they do not consider national culture as a key factor in HRM success. In the final stage, the solution of those problems will be presented in this paper. THE ROLE OF NATIONAL CULTURE IN HU... ...aeger, A. M. (1986) ‘Organization development and national culture: Where's the fit? , ‘ in Academy of Management Review, Vol. 11, Iss. 1, pp. 178-190. Hill, C.W.L. (2005) International Business: Competing in the Global Marketplace (5th ed.), New York: Mc Graw-Hill/Irwin Hofstede, G. (1993) ‘Cultural constrains in management theories,’ in Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 7, Iss. 1, pp. 81-93. MacMillan, I. C. (1984) ‘Gaining competitive advantage through human resource management practice,’ in Human Resource Management, Vol. 23, Iss. 1, pp. 241-255. Punnett, B. J. & Ricks, D. A. (1992) International business, Boston: PWSKent. Schuler, R. S. & Jackson S. E. (1994) ‘Convergence or divergence: Human resource practices and policies for competitive advantage worldwide,’ in International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 5, Iss. 2, pp. 267-99.

Essay --

While it’s not truly the holiday season without hearing Mariah Carey’s â€Å"All I Want for Christmas is You,† you might want to branch out a bit if you plan to do some caroling this season. What’s a caroling group to do? Instead of singing old favorites like â€Å"Frosty the Snowman,† consider shaking things up a bit with the following six Christmas carols that don’t get enough airtime. â€Å"Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella† Take a step back in time with this understated Christmas classic. â€Å"Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella,† is believed to have originated in France in the 16th century and was translated to English in the 19th century by E. Cuthbert Nunn. This Christmas carol includes a playful reminder to those gathered around Jesus to be quiet, so as to let him sleep. The song is upbeat and filled with excitement, as you can hear with the lyrics â€Å"Christ is born, tell the folk of the village/Jesus is sleeping in His cradle.† â€Å"Good King Wenceslas† If you’re looking for a carol with a reminder to help others, then consider adding â€Å"Good King Wenceslas† to the mix. The song was written by John ... Essay -- While it’s not truly the holiday season without hearing Mariah Carey’s â€Å"All I Want for Christmas is You,† you might want to branch out a bit if you plan to do some caroling this season. What’s a caroling group to do? Instead of singing old favorites like â€Å"Frosty the Snowman,† consider shaking things up a bit with the following six Christmas carols that don’t get enough airtime. â€Å"Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella† Take a step back in time with this understated Christmas classic. â€Å"Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella,† is believed to have originated in France in the 16th century and was translated to English in the 19th century by E. Cuthbert Nunn. This Christmas carol includes a playful reminder to those gathered around Jesus to be quiet, so as to let him sleep. The song is upbeat and filled with excitement, as you can hear with the lyrics â€Å"Christ is born, tell the folk of the village/Jesus is sleeping in His cradle.† â€Å"Good King Wenceslas† If you’re looking for a carol with a reminder to help others, then consider adding â€Å"Good King Wenceslas† to the mix. The song was written by John ...

Report on Case Study: Walmart Japan Essay

Question 1: How would you characterize Wal-Mart’s approach to global management? The trademark of Wal-Mart’s global management approach focuses on 3 main strategies: low price, best value, large selection of goods & high quality service. Being the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart will enter the international market by providing a wide variety of products at a lower price than its domestic competitors. In addition, one of the common strategies of Wal-Mart is to partner or acquire a local supermarket retailer who has already had a good knowledge of the market in order to save time & money. Wal-Mart is also famous for its great use of distributor network. They pay a lot of attention to choosing a good location when expanding their business, a strategy which has been proven successful in its original US market. Question 2: Do you agree with Wal-Mart’s entry strategy in Japan? What are some of the inherent risks? Do you think that a faster market entry would be more effective? In my opinion, Wal-Mart’s entry strategy in Japan (slow-and-steady) is quite appropriate with Japanese retail environment and economic situation. However, there are many challenges need to be overcome in this potential market: 1. Socio-cultural Differences: In Japan, consumers often equate bad quality with low price. Changing consumer perceptions is not easy or cheap. In addition, Japanese customers demand a quick entry and exit from the stores which makes cutting costs by eliminating staffs from the retail process unadvisable. 2. Fierce Competition: It is unavoidable that there are many strong domestic rivals in a highly potential retail market like Japan. 3. Distribution System: Traditionally, Japan’s multilayered distribution networks have notoriously made selling merchandise more expensive for retailers. Wal-Mart’s desire to remove middle man and wholesalers from this network is quite challenging. These above obstacles bring about unfavorable risks to Wal-Mart and it requires time to deliberate and make the right decision in grasping the cultural quirks. The bit-by-bit approach has proved its rightness in entering a wholly new market in case of Wal-Mart. Thereupon, a faster market entry wouldn’t be more effective but might be a path to another failure of Wal-Mart. Question 3: In your opinion, what is the single most important  thing Wal-Mart can do to ensure success in Japan? Explain. In our opinion, the single most important thing Wal-Mart can do to ensure success in Japan is to streamlining its supply chain, or to skip the middleman in other word, then it should be able to pass lower costs along to the custo mer. Therefore, Wal-Mart would have a huge advantage over its local competitors in its ability to price low. Moreover, the Japanese market appears to be ready for value chains. Wal-Mart is confident it can make significant inroads in Japan under its low-price model, but the challenge will lie in its ability to convince Japanese consumers that its everyday low prices don’t translate into poor product quality. Fortunately, Japanese customers are becoming more value conscious, there arises a huge opportunities for discount retailers to capitalize on changing cultural conditions. Entry strategy of Wal-mart in Japan: slow and steady. It had learned from past mistakes and knew that getting to market faster didn’t necessarily equate to being better. For example, in Germany, where retail regulations and swift price competition are both fierce, Wal-Mart reacted before it inventory systems were in place, and the result was substantial operating losses. Driving the strategy is the installation of Wal-Mart’s Retail Link operation, a JIT inventory replenishment system shared between retailer and supplier, effectively eliminating the wholesaler and speeding up payables and receivables collections. Wal-Mart believed Seiyu was the partner best suited for its entry strategy because by working through a local partner, Wal-Mart believed it could better wade through Japan’s long and costly network of suppliers, which has long frustrated many other foreign investor. Since only the biggest Japanese retailers have the leverage with manufactures, partnering with an existing market leader should prove invaluable when attempting to negotiate direct deals. Moreover, Wal-Mart avoids having to build stores and can take advantage of Seiyu’s well-recognized brand. Question 4: Do you think Wal-Mart is doing enough cross-cultural training with its Seiyu employees? What are the greatest challenges Wal-Mart faces in relating to its Japanese employees? In our opinion, in such a different market like Japan compare to the US’s, Wal-Mart is doing enough cross cultural training with its Seiyu employees, but will take time to make employees to adapt changes. First, to reinforce the importance of selling correctly, Wal-Mart has put store managers through weeklong training sessions and has  flown hundreds of Seiyu workers to company headquarter in Arkansas. This hopefully can be successful in training Wal-Mart Japan’s employees to learn global management and selling style which meet the world standard according to Seiyu’s CEO said. Nevertheless, according to the case, Wal-Mart arranged just a few cultural training classes to teach the employees to be more outspoken, upbeat and goal-oriented while encouraging employees continually praising co-workers. Apparently, Wal-Mart somehow is not applying a right strategy. Japan is a country where people highly appreciate humbleness. Therefore, appraising co-workers is considered as an inappropriate action which cannot be easily accepted by large number of employees. As a consequence, this might cause difficulties especially for trainee to adapt a new perception within a short term. The greatest challenges Wal-Mart is facing regardless of its Japanese employees should be the culture differences, they have to find out how to deal with the resistance to change of workers. The second problem is maintaining the budget for retraining staff, sending them to foreign environment to learn new management methods to increase sales of Japan Wal-Mart Stores, which may take long time. Question 5: How can Wal-Mart respond to some of the negative impressions of its employment practices in the United States so that these perspectives do not follow it as it expands internationally? With the problem of sex-discrimination lawsuit in 2001, Wal-Mart has fought to class action decision as recently as early 2007. However, its attempts have been unsuccessful. Besides, in order to counter the negative publicity of the discrimination lawsuit, Wal-Mart also opened a diversity office in November 2003, enhancing their claim that: â€Å"Wal-Mart is a wonderful place for women and minorities to work and isolated complaints do not change this fact† Despite the complaint of lowing workers’ standard of living that lead to the negative impact on Wal-Mart’s image, the company has little trouble keeping its shoppers with low prices or attracting workers with the promise of a career in a fast-growing company. Nevertheless, Wal-Mart offers a very promising promoting op portunity to each of its staff. At Wal-Mart, anyone, without a high school degree start as a cart pusher in the parking lot can end up being a store manager, district manager or a regional vice-president. Those reactions ensure a future for Wal-Mart as the biggest private retail employer in the world.

The Islamism: Origin, Ideology, Aims & Objectives

Nations around the world follows different ideologies to generate a direction for themselves. An ideology is a way of thinking, a set of beliefs, aims and ideas. It sets the vision for the group attached to it. Its purpose is to bring a specific change or carry out a certain task among its followers in accordance with a thorough thought process. When ideologies differ it gets difficult for the people belonging to a certain group to stay coherent. Ideological differences have triggered such events that were found to be powerful enough that they have shrugged the atlas several times. Wars had been fought by those who reject leading their life in the ways that conflicts with their own ideological beliefs. Islamic Ideology Islam is a religion of having faith in the oneness of God, finality of Prophet-hood, following the code of conduct according to the principles mentioned in the Holy Book and practicing the preaching of Holy Prophet. Islam emphasizes on building individual characters in an exemplary way so that a foundation of an ideal society could be laid. All Muslims have been ordered by their God Almighty to follow instructions prescribed in their Holy Book Quran, the purpose of this guidance is to lay down a way of life in which the laws mentioned in the book regulates a men’s relationship with other men and with his God. It provides a guideline for a man to maintain his social life along with his communion with the God. It indicates to a Muslim in his quest for knowledge, principle that enhances his capability to observe universe and nature with more understanding. Quran is not a book of science; it’s basically a book that deals with the basic principles of human life it preaches belief in oneness, immateriality, absolute power of the creator, charity for needy, brotherhood among mankind, subjugation of passions, the concept of accountability of human actions in the life after death, a system that teaches men to be grateful to all those who help and development of a sense of social consciousness by carefully performing those actions that are sensible and right and avoiding those that are forbidden and harmful for self and others. Islamism Islam provides Muslims a code of conduct that has been written in the Holy Book. Muslims are supposed to understand and follow it and when it comes to understanding there are different possible interpretations of the same text. Islamism is not a single concept rather it’s a product of different ideologies that exists within the umbrella of Islam. Islam is a religion that provides guideline for the Muslims around the world. Islamism has ideological conflicts. In general all these ideological groups call them Islamists, a group of people that completely rejects accepting secular governments and institutions and aim to align the entire world and its establishments in accordance to Sharia, the Muslim Law. One single society could have several directions of Islamism contributing to the fact that it’s been initiated by different groups trying to enforce their own ideologies and they seemed to never cooperate. Islamism expects its followers to align his life in complete adherence to the sacred law of Islam and completely rejects any foreign influences that may try to force any law or code of conduct that contradicts what is being mentioned in Islamic law. Islamism has in its root anger for non-Muslims and it condemn west to greatest extent. What it aims is to convert a religion into a kind of ideology. Origin of Islamism A little more than just 200 years before Muslim world was considered the hub of science and literature. Muslim scholars have laid such foundations that were later used by European researches to build extremely beneficial artifacts that have amazed the world. During the prime era of Muslims, there were mathematicians, doctors, scientists, philosophers, researchers and artists that people from around the globe used to come and learn from them. The theories presented by Muslim scholars are the basis of most of the modern scientific inventions and innovations. The downfall arose when the Muslim world interacted with the Europeans; its dated around 200 years back in 1798 when Napoleon landed in Egypt and the Muslim worlds came in contact with the Europe. From here came the influence and impact of European culture and civilization on the Muslims. The two nations are not incompatible but the ideological differences became evident when conflicts triggered events that lead to development of anger and hostile feelings among contradicting nations. According to Daniel Pipes: This confrontation was clearly shown in the aftermath of the fatwa by Ayatollah Khomeini against Salman Rushdie. Contrary to popular expectation, the lines in 1989 were drawn not between Muslim and Westerners, but between those who supported the ayatollah, or in some fashion sympathized with him, and those who were against him. One found many Muslims and Westerners on both sides. This illustrates how it is ideas that count, not religion. (Distinguishing between Islam & Islamism, 1998) The origination of Islamism is neither a single event nor responsibility of a particular person. It is the fundamentalist Islamic approach carried forward by those Islamic radicals that completely rejects the western culture and way of thinking. Series of events in history builds such anger among the Muslims that were once the most successful nation on the map of earth that they started to rebel and participate in destructive activities so that world could again come in their control, this time if not by education or technology then by force and devastation. Aims and Objectives There can’t by another explanation of Islamism but just that it’s like the other utopian schemes that have been proposed and adopted world wide and provides its followers ways and guidelines to control a state, take measures that help running a society and extend philosophies in order to re-make human beings inhabiting that state. The concept has been given an Islamic touch but over all it’s a totalitarian scheme. It embodied a complete transformation of the actual traditional Islam. It has an element of modernization, for instance it deals with issues related with a modern society, address problems arises in urban living and modern day women issues, and it provides guidance for the non-traditional problems faced by my occupations. It completely ignores Islamic principle of restricting laws and regulations to the individual and society rather it tries to inject geographically restricted rules in its effort to come at par with western style geographic law. It’s not a system that has evolved as result of poverty and money. It’s a reaction to modernization by those thinkers that try to find their own ways out in changing world environment and politics. Many educated people are Islamists and running their states according to their own ideology. Islamism has been evolved lately as a huge force that is responsible for running countries like Iran, Sudan and Afghanistan. In Algeria, Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, and Palestine they exists as the strong opposition force. Though its been observed that Islamists are not in majority but even if they consists of minority it’s a very active one. The countries where they have establishments they are very successful and they not only run their own territories but they also interfere in their neighborhood and participate in overall world politics. Its been feared that if they grow their powers they will be responsible for contraction of economic stability, women oppression world wide, human right violation, terrorism and arms race. The ideas presented by Islamists belonging to different countries differ in ideologies and they are very difficult to predict. All Muslims are all well aware that they were the superior military and cultural force in the world for centuries, and the reversed situation in the modern ages hurts the pride of Muslims. As many Muslim countries have tried to copy both the capitalist system, and others the socialist system, and all have seen little but marginal success, Islamists are working for re-establishing what the promote as a â€Å"third alternative†; a political system that they claim is similar to the one which once made unknown tribes grow into becoming lords of empires in a few decades. But in order to create such a society, the Islamists are not rejecting modern technology, and are very concerned about implement this on a grand scale in an Islamist society. And because of the technology, the Islamists believe that the coming Islamist society will be an even better society than the one of the Golden Age. (Islamism, 2008) Even if what Islamists are trying is to bring the Golden period of Muslims back they are overlooking the fact that being intolerant, conservative and violent is something that was even practiced by Muslim rulers of history who ruled the world. A liberal Islam that encourages peace and harmony has always been the pride of a Muslim. Islam in its fundamental teachings promotes tolerance and love. Islamists have originated from people having moderate background living in cities. Mostly youngsters have are its prime followers. They don’t consider themselves to be the revolutionaries rather they say they are bringing the lost values back to the culture and society. Islamism condemns the economic system that world follows and suggests the Islamic economic system where interest rates should be replaced by investments made on profit and loss basis. When it comes to women they have contradicting views leading from conservatives to liberal. Sometimes they encourage women to work outside and sometimes they advocate women taking care of their families as their prime concern. The Islamist ideology could in no way support democracy, dictatorship is what they profess. A leader is responsible for listening to people’s problems and solving them accordingly. The Islamists have started to adopt a violent approach towards addressing different issues and demands for almost last two decades and are considered responsible for many destructive activities killing thousands of people worldwide. Nowadays, Islamists have been feared as a long term threat as there are growing powers day by day with more and more young people joining their force.