Cultural Competency Assessment Paper Essay Example for Free

cultural Competency sound judgment Paper Essay refinement is a rattling difficult term to define. However, certain nation keep up gone on and defined gloss well by saying that it is a set of sh atomic number 18d values, opinions and practices of a community or group of sight. (Definition of Culture) The importance of the understanding of a socio-ethnical environment of any country is imperative to attaining business benefit and eventually translatable success.This understanding of socio-cultural environment is then translated effectively into business practices so that they appeal to the local anesthetic crowd and create a positive image of the firm in their minds. (ethnical Barriers) More and more organisations mightily away face a dynamic and changing environment. This, in turn, requires these organisations to adapt. Hence, it is important to consider the changing nature of the progress toforce. about organisations, today, have to adjust to cope up with a multi-c ultural environment.Hu gay resource policies and practices have to change in order to attract and keep this more diverse workforce motivated and go outing to work. And many organisations have to spend large amounts of money on training to upgrade various skills of the employees. There is a decided downside to the resistance to change and that is hindrance to the process of adaptation and progress. It doesnt necessarily surface in a standardized manner. Resistance can be receptive, implicit, immediate, or deferred (Robbins, 2004).It is easiest foe the management to deal with resistance when it is overt and immediate. For instance, a change is proposed and employees quickly respond by voicing complaints, engaging in a work slowdown, threatening to go on a strike, etc. The greater challenge is managing change when it is implicit or deferred. Implicit resistance efforts are more subtle, like, loss of loyalty to the organisation, loss of motivation to work, increased errors or mistake s, increased absenteeism, etc (Robbins, 2004).Similarly, deferred actions cloud the link between the source of the resistance and the reaction to it. Empathy is the ability to understand the activated makeup of other people. Empathy is the trait that enables a leader to be an expert in building and maintaining talent. It enables him to spread over people according to their emotional reactions. This is why he can be successful in acquiring the most out of the talented people that work under him it thus makes him a better man manager.He is able to manage and lead people from various distinct backgrounds and enculturations, belong to various brotherly and economic classes, i. e. it increases the cross-cultural sensitivity of the leader himself. With the businesses and economies globalising, leaders have to lead and manage people belonging to different cultures which is the major reason why change management in such a scenario is very difficult, however, if only a leader can empath ize with his followers, it makes the job half as difficult as before.The Cultural Competency Assessment Responses portrays a wonderful picture of the cultural competency assessment outpouring the responses were positive and the personal taking the test were satisfied with this tool, Cultural Competency Assessment as exhibited in their responses was informational, people started thinking in a different direction, and enhanced learning amongst different culture, it is essential when we are dealing with human lives in terms of health, healing wellness. Cross -cultural communication utilizes words and culture to general anatomy human behaviour and facilitating them.In fact the two also influence each other. Cultural impacts on human behaviour are widespread and influence important aspects of human behaviour. In comparison, influence of language on human behaviour is subtle but still significant. Further Cultural Competency Assessment includes life cycle events add value to the progra m by helping people of different culture hold on the cultural diversity of adolescents or the elderly, which prepare individual to interact with people of diverse culture for the betterment of their tendinger in medicine.Gathering good history of the patients is significant for finding and giving the right treatment, using deductive reasoning to arrive to a diagnosis. So life cycle events enhances the health care delivery process for its betterment. Cultural competence is the capability to interact efficiently among individuals of diverse cultures. It encompasses four components esteem of ones own cultural worldview, approach towards cultural differences, Knowledge of different cultural practices and worldviews, and cross-cultural Skills.Building cultural competence results in an capability to comprehend, communicate with, and efficiently interact with people across cultures. These components if implemented justly are very effective in Building cross cultural communication compe tence. Further, when an transcription focuses on developing such competences in their employees, the benefits are more then the cost incurred as high-impact managerial teach builds personal effectiveness amongst worker, Improve communication, efficiency, and productivity for persons, teams, and the whole of the organizations.Further better understanding of the needs of people from different cultural backgrounds will help employees to work as a team more effectively. To comprehend the Cultural competence, Diversity training should be given to the employees for Building cross cultural communication effectiveness, Cultural competence have become essential at present era when our organization are sound of people of different culture which has led most management to cater diversity management of the organization by taking such measure for the betterment of the organization.The recommendations I would like to state for the facilitation of the organization is Cultural competence Diversi ty training which will facilitate in designing strategies, action plans, development, and training matched to peoples current state of affairs. Further to develop the ability to correspond with other people of different culture which will help in building team effectiveness, team building by implementing adapt strategies to cater each diverse teams needs.I would like to conclude by adding that Cultural competence will add value to the organization operation and will lead to the betterment of the organization. References 1. Robbins, Stephen P (2004). Organizational Behavior. learner Hall. 2. Cultural Barriers to Effective Communication. (n. d. ). Retrieved from www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pubmed/9461923

Technology and Innovation Essay Example for Free

Technology and Innovation EssayAccording to Sakiki Fukada-Parr the prominent author of a UNDP melodic theme on engine room and development suggests, electronic talks help make societies less hierarchical. He quotes no one can see the cut of your suit, and no secretary blocks your path to the ministers office. Junior employees who would never adjudge d ard knock on a chief executives door might send him an idea electronically.(The Economist (US), Nov 10, 2001)Cetron Davies, 2001) believes businesses bind come to rely on technology for increased production efficiency and much appropriate communion operations. Competition is mounting in the business world and agreements must take advantage of the latest technology in dissimilariate to improve their business functions. Organisations must change the way they act, think and operate internally as their work environment becomes more technologically advanced. All businesses across the world have fit communications tools that make spheric management much easier. Devices such as e-mail, fax machines and satellite communication are all tools that enable managers to communicate at an extremely high pace.(Heiko 1989) suggests that technology instruction execution go away be heavily influenced by hea hence positionors, such as technological advances amongst foreign operations. He observed that Just-In-Time approach of inventory management has been favourably received in Japan, leading to coarse savings. However, this is non the case in opposite countries and believes this is down to unique cultural conditions in Japan such as concern for space, and a deep group oriented devotion to duty, all of which match the requirements of (JIT ) techniques. In decisiveness (Heiko 1989) states that the Japanese culture can provide a environment where JIT techniques can expand and develop. (Klien and Ralls, 1995) adds that the more complexness facing an organisation, concerning culture, the less testamenting the orgainisation is to implement technology on a wider basis. This may lead to great opportunity costs by non adopting the latest techniques across various units, for fear that the results are uneven.Although orbicular firms can benefit from global efficiencies, it is non always appropriate where technology is concerned. Nike for instance has a adjust in Indonesia where labour costs are low and have access to better distri simplyion channel and production costs are also low. (Samli, 1985) argues that although there are benefits, consideration has to be given to the fact that labour skills are extremely low and learn of employees will have to occur in order for them to do their job.On the other hand (Dougherty 1995) suggests that the exchange of technology across national borders is essential. Ford not only transfers technology to foreign countries but also tries to learn from locals. The exchange of expertise and information among mickle from around the world assists in broade ning perspectives and also assists look and development in transferring information amidst divisions successfully. This increases the key mass in RD so that organisations are able to attract better people.Innovation enables organisation to improve the quality of their output, enter new markets, try out new technologies and develop alternative applications for existent product categories. For organisations must adapt to changing competition, markets, and technologies.(Dougherty 1996)(Venkatraman, MacMillian and McGrath, 1992 Shane 1995) suggest that innovation within global organisations may be hampered by cultural barriers. It is most-valuable not to block innovation by organisational rules or routines. Based on findings from Hofstedes cultural indices they suggest that cultural barriers may soft down transfer from one unit to another(prenominal) in a multinational organisation(Cox,1991 argues that using cultural heterogeneity leads to greater innovation and more efficient merch andising strategies for the different types of customers worldwide. He also suggests that because employees come from different backgrounds different perspectives are achieved, hence creating improvements. (Mejia Palich, 1997) also argue that heterogeneous teams function better than homogenous ones because of cultural differences learning experiences.On the other hand (Keller and Chinta 1990 Snodgrass and Sekaran 1989) argue that expertise and technical know-how are more difficult to develop when differences in cultural backgrounds exist. They state that this plays a study(ip) role in the transfer of technology between business units. Empirical research by Davidson and McFetridge 1985) also supports this belief that cultural relatedness enhances the flow of technological know how and the sacramental manduction among business units of a global organisation.MARKETINGAccording to (Barlett 1996 Beamish, Killing, Lecraw and Morrison 1994) they are all in agreement that distinct consu mer preferences will go away due to cultural differences. This is expected to lead to the requirement of customisation of the marketing mix and product strategies. This suggests that production in one country may not suit production in another. High Uncertainty turning away Countries like to buy reliable, predictable goods. In addition to this, although there are divisions ( condenseuchei Porter 1986) believe culturally related countries such as (the States Canada) can more successfully partake in market activities and knowledge than those in culturally unrelated countries such as (America India).With the capacity to cross-sell products in culturally related markets, which reduces information concourse expenses and the uncertainty linked with targeting markets that are totally unrelated. Culturally related countries may find it beneficial to share knowledge regarding market research, sales forces service networks, distribution and advertising, therefore lowering costs. Howev er, (Alder, P 1987) argues that this kind of sharing is a lot more demanding, suggesting that the differences are not just language but that it is a guinea pig of values, mind set and market reactions Take for instance the advertising campaign concerning the Marlboro Man. This campaign suited America as society is seen as individualist according to (Hofstede 1984). On the other hand, this campaign was a unsuccessful person in Columbia because society is seen as CollectivistThis now leads on the disclose of marketing normalisation. This issue has been defined by (Banerjee, 1994 as the determination of common communication objectives and budget whereas (Wills Ryan, 1997) let ins in there comment creative and media decisions involving the whole corporation.The issues of marketing standardisation and global marketing have usually been considered in damage of the reliability of the marketing mix elements for a comp all that enters numerous outside(a) markets. Since the 1960s, stan dardisation of international marketing strategy has been the focus of some(prenominal) studies (Elinder, 1961 Buzzell, 1968 Jain, 1989), It is still unclear however, whether it is done for the savings linked with standardisation or for the maximisation of the firms products, but the underlying principle of standardisation is to maintain a global image.Rau Preble, 1987 has carried out considerable research on this topic. Multinational Corporations are faced with difficulties when deciding standardisation of advertising across different countries. (Boddewyn, 1991 Jain, 1989). According to (Solberg, 2000) there are two important organisational factors that relate to the degree of standardisation in international markets. Firstly, market knowledge at the level of headquarters (HQ) of local market conditions and secondly HQs regard of subsidiaries i.e. (Influence on their marketing decisions). In addition (Martenson, 1987 Rau Preble, 1987 Tai Wong, 1998 suggested that MNCs needed to have a certain degree of control over their subsidiaries in order to implement decisions.(Hite Frazer, 1998) state that, MNCs with a well-known and global image i.e. (Coca cola) black market to apply more control over their subsidiaries in order to maintain the image of the corporation or product (Hill James, 1990) especially if perceptions of consumers are similar across countries. (Britt, 1974, Jain, 1989). However, in the case of Matsushita in the electronic industry this was not the case as each subsidiary had a separate identity, which resulted in major success. This then leads on to market development. (Jain, 1989 Duncan Ramaprasad, 1995) suggest if similar levels of market development are achieved in both shell and drove countries marketing standardisation would favour MNCs. However, this would depend on the competitive positions in home and host countries of the MNC. Higher degrees of marketing standardisation may be adapted (Jain, 1989 Henzler Rall, 1986) if simila rities prevailed in the competitive context that would deliver HQs to make easier decisions regarding competition and to enhance control over the subsidiary and to adopt more beneficial standardisation strategies. (Doz and Prahalad, 1984 Michell Bright, 1995).STAFFING AND TRAININGAs multinational firms globalise they must learn to co-ordinate efforts among an increasingly culturally assorted workforce and environment. Nowadays people tend to be very defensive of their cultural identity and management by others has to be taken so that insult is not caused. Through the years success of Japanese organisations global strategies has encouraged American firms. Although many point out the advantages, cultural miscellany may leads to conflict, misunderstand and lack of cohesion.Organisations are becoming more alert of the importance of diversity to their business activities and acknowledge that by recruiting, promoting and training a respective(a) range of individuals in the long-ter m are a major asset to the organisation in reaching out to their customers. (Tung, 1993) states that cross cultural training process, helps in the development of building relations between individuals or groups, especially individuals/groups with diverse cultural backgrounds. (Welch 1998) defines cultural training as any form of guided experience helping people to live and work more contentedly in another culture.Such training encourages understanding about differences and acceptance of the multicultural work environment and helps puddle and retain effective work teams and expertise in dealing with multicultural management (Hartenian, 2000) describes the multi-cultural workforce as a workforce that excludes no one, from top-level management to low-level employees. He sees the multi-cultural workforce has one of the main opportunities for an organisation. Take for instance the IBM perspective. IBM have established research labs around the world because the issue of a globally dive rse workforce is of the highest importance. This in turn allows the organisaton to gather ideas from people who experience different economies and culturesAlthough multi-cultural workforces are beneficial to organisations in relation to performance and profitability, they can be very hard to manage. According to (Hill, 92) the key to managing multi-cultural workforces is the realisation that mass and minority cultures do not always share experiences. To solve this managers can adapt different strategies such as developing programmes that promote awareness of different cultures, recognise common links among different social groups and express concerns and confusions. (Hill 1992) believes that if organisations use these strategies, economic benefits will be reaped. This may be easier said than done, (Harisis Kleiner, 1993) argue that the implementation of such workforces are extremely difficult. They say that not only within American society and businesses but on a world wide scale there are widespread barriers. Such barriers include unwritten rules and double standards for success which are often unknown to women and minorities, stereotypes and their associated assumptions and lack of communication about differences.In global organisations it is essential that effective cross cultural training occurs in order to help individuals compass both the knowledge and the tools needed to reduce misunderstandings and improper actions (Black Mendenhall 1990) suggest that multi-cultural training provides individuals with greater self self-confidence and decreased narrow-mindedness about people from diverse cultures. In addition (Barlett and Ghoshal 1990) also pointed out that establishing a multicultural training programme improved the companys ability to operate more efficiently in different cultural environments. Although many multicultural training programmes are undertaken to enhance cultural diversity they are not always successful. According to (Woods 1992) a s ystematic approach should be taken towards training. (Woods 1992) established a cardinal step cycleFirstly was to specify certain job task of individuals and assess the needs of the bodied culture. Secondly is the identification of training objectives. Thirdly was the establishment of the proper training content in which the quest was usedsensitivity training, cultural awareness and orientation programs. In addition(Cox, 1993 Gamio Sneed, 1992 Tung, 1993) introduced the communication competency program. In the final stage (Milkovich Boudreau 1991) stated that training programs need to verify whether the training is successful in petty(prenominal) members of staffs performances at work. The cycle used was concerned with the effectiveness of the training, however, (Mendenhall Oddou 1986 Tung 1981) found factors that deterred individuals.These included lack of specialise trainers, cost and perceived lack of usefulness. Research carried out by (Gamio Sneed 1992) found that the deterrence factors are of major importance. Take for instance the catering industry. Mangers in restaurants may blame high staff turnover rank on lack of multi-cultural training, therefore using these rates as the reason to ignore the need for training programs. (Jackson 1991) believes that heterogeneity among team members contributes to high turnover rates within organisations. Researchers may find that the relationship between cultural diversity and staff turnover is of major importance to all organisations.According to (Kossek Lobel 1996) the topic of diversity has raised considerable attention over the past decade and is a must for all businesses.In todays business world global leadership is critical not only for global strategies but for ensuring cultural diversity, which involves in depth knowledge from business ethics to cultural motivatiors. Organisations are going global because of slow growth in domestic markets and to capitalise on areas such as marketing, research and development, training, technology, production and many more factors. Organisation are fast realising the importance of diversity. Cultural diversity is the idea that cultural identities should not be ignored but in contrast be maintained and respected.The literature which is going to be presented in this paper will examine four main issues. In my opinion these issues are of major importance for global firms. The first issue is the strategies which global firms adapt follw . Secondly, the concept of Technology and Innovation. This section will in detail provide literature from researchers who believe global firms benefit from cultural diversity in this field. It will examine how technology is changing the business world. Thirdly, the marketing issue.This section will provide applicable literature on how global firms can benefit in relation to standardisation of marketing and how advertising campaigns are perceived by different countries. Lastly, the concept of Staffing and Training. This in my view is one of the most important issues. Global organisations can have all the capital in the world but with out the counteract leadership and staff, failure is certain. This topic will in detail will put forward the image of cross-cultural training and will examine whether or not this is a good idea for global organisations. All the topics mentioned above will have cases for and against by the relevant researchers in each field. I discover this is necessary in order to establish a good understanding of the literature review I am conducting. According to (Tallman Jiatao 1996) diversity has gone from being a moral/legal issue are both into a business necessity.

Melody in the Middle Ages Essay Example for Free

symphony in the Middle Ages EssayIn the early Middle Ages, melodic or textual embellishments added to plainsong were referred to as prosulae. In your own words, summarize the types of plainchant to which prosulae were most often added and the reasons for those additions.The Book of Hymns is one crest example of a prosulae. Plainchant was being sung day in and day out by the monks, who had already added some slight melody, alone was still not easy to memorize. By adding some hertz and separation in syllables throughout the melody, a new way to not only memorize the verses, but also present them, was born. In the early Middle Ages, melodic or textual embellishments added to plainchant were referred to as prosulae. In your own words, summarize Notkers description of how and why he came to add words to melismas, and his teacher Isos response.Notker agnize as a young child that he wanted to find a way to reckon the words to certain melodies, but with them being so long, he coul d not. When he came across a adult male with sequenced verses he was at first excited, but soon disappointed as they did no better than the long, humdrum melodies he remembered as a child. When he decided to add words to these verses and took them to his teacher, Iso, he both comprehended and pitied Notker. He went back and corrected some mistakes pointed out by his teacher, and these changes proved to be successful. The new verses were deemed decent and copied to a roll for the all of the boys to sing.

How Social Media Influences Your Shopping Essay Example for Free

How Social Media Influences Your Shopping EssayAt the present beat mixer media is the cardinal of the most powerful ways to shop and advertise online via the use of web-based and mobile technologies it transforms online communication into an interactive dialogue. Quester, Pettigrew and Hawkins (2011) delimit social media as media for social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable communication techniques.According to Vithoulkas, social media is much than just the hardw be or software which enables it, instead he argues that it is more of a philosophical musical arrangement of communication where honest and transparency is required and information is shared and has the potential to spread virally very readily. For the consumer, social media rotter be a continual bombardment of advertising and promotion all(prenominal) time we use communication modes, such as the net or mobile, which may be infuriating for the consumer nonwithstanding increases the market e xposure for the seller. This report intends to analyse the effectiveness of social media in influencing the general population to buy more than presently in front.When large companies, such as Pepsi, invest 50% of their annual advertising cipher into Social Media it is obviously a worthy idea for the discussion of marketing professionals worldwide. The emptor behaviour system has been challenged in ranges of high involvement and low involvement alike. Consumer control is now the focus of consumption, when before it was severely regulated institutionally. Although social media is an inescapable part of every day life it cannot be assumed that it allow for deputise other forms of communication.A great number of community of all ages use social networking sites before purchasing a harvest-festival, especially in high involvement grease ones palmss. Seidma (2010, p11) has demonstrated that the large majority of people are engaged in some form of social media, showing its consi derable societal word meaning merchandising magazine publisher online tells us that Facebook has more than 400 million active users. Every minute, 24 hours of tv set is uploaded to YouTube. An estimated 510 thousand Twitter accounts are opened per day, showing that when information is directly prepare by a population 20 times that of Australia there is serious product awareness to conglomerate. Quester et al. (2011) stated that there are fives stages of decisions making processes prior to making the choice in buy a product or service. These include problem recognition, information search, evaluation and selection, store choice and purchase and post purchase processes. When consumers recognise a need or identify a problem which may exist, they then undertake an information search on the product or service with their behaviour influenced by internal and external factors, Consumers evaluate the various alternatives after they have gathered all information, and afterwards they ta ke hold a selection of retail outlets for the actual purchase of the good or service.Lastly, the consumer compares the product performance against their expectations and go down whether they satisfied or dissatisfied with it. In last few decades, traditional media such as television, radio, newspaper has been the and way to promote and communicate with the target market, but now it appears that the trend has changed. As seen in diagram one (below) consumer control is now the driver in the marketing segment.As seen in graph one (below), it can be seen that on average people spend more time when choosing and product and general spend more money, suggesting that when purchasing online the products will be a high involvement purchase. Marketing Magazine online tell us For 35% of shoppers, the process starts with online search 30% of consumers read user reviews on retailer websites as a part of the shopping process.In the U.S.A. alone there are 95 million people who admit to frequentl y using social-media in their purchase decisions. Hub Magazine found that more than 40% of American adults currently use social media as part of their shopping experiences, with further info showing most consumers increased in use of social media for shopping within an annual period. Hub magazine also found that 39% have strongly agreed with the statement that they can learn a lot more about a brand by seeing what everyday people are saying about it online in comparison with only 22% percent of non-social media shoppers agreeing with the statement. This clealy shows us that Social Media can obviously affect buying habits.However, social media may not be the first choice for every business or organisation for their marketing strategy. In December 2009, COM Score released a report of their node survey that showed peoples views on social media in comparison to traditional forms of media. Overall, they found that 28% of respondents were likely to beak advertising on social media and less than that 23% are likely to trust the advertisements they notice. Those numbers trust social media websites at 5 on the list behind television, print, news and corporate websites. In the analogous findings it also showed that only 28% of those who had began their holiday shopping this season indicated that social media has influenced their purchases specifically consumers said their influences were indication a consumer-generated product review (13% of respondents) Reading an expert product review (11 %) pastime a fan page on Face book to take advantage of special offers and deals (7%) Influence by a friends Face book status update referring to a particular product (6%) Following a company on Twitter to take advantage of special offers and deals (5%) A friends tweet about a product influenced their purchase behaviour (3%)Given the exposure to the internet that we in the western world undergo every day versus time spend watching television, it is odd that only 13% saw t he high consumer involvement in reading reviews of products. What is even stranger is that these consumers have shifted from rely expert reviews to peer reviews. In traditional media reputable sources were usually quoted to give weight to a plastered product. It seems in the days of social media, peer influence has replaced the trustworthiness of reputable sources. Thus changing the buyer behaviour process.Social Media may influence and change the buyer behaviour process but it is not necessarily a replacement for tradition media. Although it is a change to the normal standards of media, it will never replace traditional media given the system of interaction in our society. The interesting thing, as discussed in this essay, is the change in the high involvement purchase process and the consumer control over purchases. It is effective to some degree, given the ripe(p) target audience and consumer group, but in our society with the lack of general literacy (21.1% of the world are i nternet literate) and dramatic choices for consumers it is not the answer to the change of the consumer buyer process.

Two Cheers for Materialism Essay Example for Free

Two Cheers for Materialism EssayRegardless of where we live, where we grew up, and where we be going, its specify has played an important role in our lives. Whether we know it or not, philistinism is one of the most prestigious forces we interact with. In his strive Two Cheers for Materialism James Twitchell discusses the history, location, and impact philistinism has had on society. With the procedure of the view points from many academics and historical figures, Twitchell offers insight into materialisms effect on how we function in todays world. He concludes all of this with the idea that materialism is not just the desire to put one over commodities, but its a force that truly repoints the advancework forcet of society. From the days of horses and buggies, to modern day positioning quo of Hondas and Toyotas, the value of the commodity, both economically and personally, as drastically changed. The economic changing of materialism is obviously obtainn in the inflat ion of everything we buy (cloths, foods, cars, ect. ) whereas the value these items have to our identities is not as obvious.In the essay, Twitchell desexualizes his major point by saying that over time materialism has morphed from what we have, to what we arethat is, materialism is our identity. Twitchell focuses a good portion of the essay on the development of materialism, and how it has become part of our identity. An important part of this idea, and how Twitchell views it, is that unlike how many academics view it, materialism is not this horrid idea that breaks us down into little soul-less robots, as depicted in The owing(p) Gatsby.Twitchell argues that materialism is what makes us different thence our pre-20th century selves. As Twitchell says The exit of material life is no longer preordained by coat of arms, pew seat, or trust fund. (289) by this he means that materialism is now a choice. We toilette use it to decide who we are, by what we buy. No longer are we innate( p) into what we are. This allows us to be cool, hip, with it, with the in crowd. (289). I agree with Twitchells theory on this, and moreover can add that this change overtime of materialisms role has led to groups such as yuppies, indies, and preps. Without materialism, then we couldnt purchase certain items that make us into the groups we require to be in. Materialism gets rid of the disadvantages we are born with, as anyone can fork over some money for knock off goods, or even splurge for the real version.Because of this, materialism has become our identity, and the beauty of it is, unlike genetics, we can change the impart were dealt. Twitchell says it best in this passageWe live through our things. We create ourselves through things. And we change ourselves by changing our things. (282). Materialism is us. We are materialism. Along with suggesting this major role materialism plays in our lives, Twitchell makes various points on the academics that have critiqued materialism ov er the years. He scorns those who look down upon the materialistic world, while using their critiques to make points about it. I believe this condescension of academia goes hand in hand with his praise of materialism, as he points out, the academic world looks at themselves with such a high regard, they dont see the hypocracy in their statements.Twitchell gives the example of the Volvo driving critic who will spend hours criticizing the bourgeois fascination with materials, but neglects the decals on his car, which prove to be just as materialistic. Along with scorning these critics, Twitchell praises many in their contributions to his essay. He uses an academic, Stanley Lebergott, to show the outcome of materialisms effect on us. As Lebergott says, most Americans have spent their way to contentment. This goes very far in enforcing the positives of materialism, and further scorns those who are against it. Twitchells use of other writers is very handsome in this essay, and very imp ortant in evaluating the essay as a hole. From history changing men like Karl Marx, to circle-known French sociologists Pierre Bourdieu and Jean Baudrillard, Twitchell while reading this essay, it feels like Twitchell quotes anyone who ever wrote the word materialism on a published document before. This strategy makes me very skeptical of Twitchells knowledge.While I agree with most of the points Twitchell makes, I think he relies too heavily on the thoughts of others, which overall ends in a weak backing of his main point. Twitchell gets stuck between .. All in all, Twitchell makes a very important point about materialism that to me saves its reputation in American culture. Regardless of what we think about materials, materials show how far weve come. No longer are we born into a role, materials make it possible to become who we want to be become.

International Politics Essay Example for Free

International Politics EssayTrans realizeationis nonpargonil of the some words which could be used in ordinance to define and describe the current maculation of the multinational club. In every parts of the world, transformation is currently occurring from the simple acquisition of ace increase to an separate. Such situation could be one of the few examples of the changes which argon present in the current society. In the modern society, boundaries and limits had now been erased collectable to the technology including the anesthetises facing roughly states in the global community. The past terminus ad quem of states in surpassing territorial boundaries of their own state is now removed. Such hindrances are non a concern any longer. The gaps in which divides states are now being linked therefore making severally and everyone of us connected. The far away lands of Africa or Europe could now be reached through one chitchat of a button. The then complicated processes o f communication as intumesce as the process of outside(a) dealing had changed due to globalization. The process of globalization became a significant change in the relations of states.In addition, states are not only the actors in the transnational community. The active participation of non-state actors had been highlighted in the past events which had recently occurred much(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) as state of wars, conflicts and surroundingsal phenomenon. In the past such as the events of the World War I, nations were the only actors in the war. Decisions were only influenced by the leaders of the states convoluted. Although international organizations were present in providing aid to the victims of the war, they were not equally involved in the decision making process.But as these events unfold, it is evident that international organizations are similarly active with the political issues at hand. In the principle of realism, the briny actors were only states h owever in the view of the liberalism guess, other actors such that of international organizations, trans-national organizations, multinational corporations and the likes. In the book of Baylis and Smith, the authors stated that in Realists emphasize states ruthlessly self-interested hunt club for territorial, military and economic resources (Baylis and Smith, 2008).On the other hand, Liberalism or Idealism pursues to promote internationalism during the inter-war period (Baylis and Smith, 2008). The opening of liberalisms main idea is to attach government together with good governance which will execute a connection between states and the societies of the global community. Liberalism promotes the need for the world to unite and commune with the issues of the international community equally. However, unlike the liberalism, realists approach the view of internationalism is translated as anarchy.(Baylis and Smith, 2008) Evidently, the world is already shifting and adopting another f orm of ideology other than realism which was mainly utilized in the past. In the inter-war years, the liberalist theorists started to promote their perspective in which advocates that international institutions should encourage the values of having govern, justice, liberty and toleration in spite of appearance the relationship of states. It was believed in such theory that the conflicts between states could not only be resolved through the use of force and warfare.International institutions or organizations ofttimes act as mediators when conflicts are at hand. In addition, such international institutions must be the realm of discussion for the spring that it could create other actions in resolving disputes in a much objective manner. Therefore, the liberalists were able to influence every state in creating an international organization which lead to the origination of the League of Nations in which became the fundamental foundation of the United Nations.Although the ideas of t he liberalists were idealistic, each state must be a member of the organization in order to fully accomplish and pursue the goals of the international organization. (Baylis and Smith, 2008) In our ever-changing world, the past conflicts and issues of a state are realized to in any case be affecting the world. The recent war on terror had been actively participated by divers(prenominal) states in order to deter the effects of terrorism. aft(prenominal) the war on terror, many states changes their view point which such situationsfollowing the chief state which proclaim the war.The war on terror became a global issue due to the involvement of diametric states. Additionally, international organizations became a great factor in such war. The war in Afghanistan for example, the United Nations became one of the main decision maker and supporter of the war. The United Nations launched protocols and written agendas in order to promote action against the feral ruling and the storage of the weapons of mass destruction of Saddam Hussein. In the incident given, the United Nations played a great role in encouraging and promoting in the issue against terrorism.United Nations became one of the main actors is countering against terrorism unlike in the past. (Bredel, 2003) Another issue which is currently in debate until this day is the issues concerning the global environmentclimate change. This issue is one of the most controversial and debated issues because it is one of the problems of the world which passes the boundaries of states. Climate change not only affects the climate and the environment but also the politics and economics of each state. nonpareil of the few very specific problems under climate change is pollution.Pollution had been a great problem for unlike states for the reason that it encompasses the boundaries of states. It is known that most industries or factory excretes smoke which turns out to be air pollutants due to the machineries used to create products and the likes. Water pollution also has the same situation for the reason that it flows although out different forms of water and continuously flow to the water of other states. The problem obviously passes through the limitation of the international law and protocols available.The problem becomes a trans-national issue that requires states to cooperate and coordinate with each other in order to solve such crisis. With the issue of climate change, trans-national entities are the most reliable organizations in laying vote out such issues. Trans-national organizations brook states a much immediate and larger picture of the issue. Due to the personality of trans-national organization, different organizations that aim for the same goals as others come together to be able to solve the dilemmas at hand.With the issue of climate change, the main agent which is very much focused is the United Nations. The international organization created a branch which focuses on the issues of environment which is the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The branch of United Nations provides answer to the ineluctably of each state in order to address the problem. The UNEP together with the states and other organizations with the same advocacy such as Green Peace and other local organizations with in the various states to be able to provide answer to the issue.The role of non-state actors and trans-national networks had become significant in the international community due to the promotion of international organization during crisis. The power given to non-state actors as well as trans-national networks enable these agencies to freely interfere with the conflicts of states and within states. Therefore, these groups provide their own view points, influencing states and individuals with their perspective. Most of the time, such organizations changes the civil society which then results to the change of the government.One example that could be cited is the pursuance of NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) in Asia to promote change in the civil society, therefore promoting knowledge within the society. It is stated by Harriet Bulkeley and Michele Merrill Betsill (2005) in their book that the international, regional, national and local interact with actors influencing the activities of different levels at the same time (cited in O Riordan and Jordan 1996). With the statement given by the authors, it is evident that the role of non-state actors as well as trans-national organization is equally important as the responsibility of states.Therefore, the international order is changed due to the additional actors that are also acting in the international community. Currently, the international community is evidently reliant to non-state actors as well as to the trans-national networks due to the important role that it is undertaking with conflicts and decision making processes of a state. Non-state actors and trans-national networks had become one o f the main components of international relations whether it may be in conflict resolution or in times of celebration.Such groups empower and support positive ideology due to the idealistic nature of most non-state and trans-national networks. The usual state-only theory had now been changed into a new form of relations of states which brings together actors that has the same goals to strain making the relations of states peaceful. Although most non-state actors and trans-national networks aims to create a united international community, there are also groups alike that promotes otherwise.One well known group is the Al-Qaeda which seeks to promote terror and violence from the look of most states. Although Al-Qaeda is seen as an extremist group in promoting change, it is also considered a trans-national network for the reason that it encompasses the boundaries of its home state and promotes their ideology to the world. The group creates networks in different parts of the world while maintaining a balance relation with other networks associated to the group.Due to the negative effects they such trans-national network is creating it definitely changes the order of the international community. Not only it brings terror to the whole global community but the group promotes role and conflict within the global society. (Pearlstein, 2004) In conclusion, the issues that the international community is facing are now get over the boundaries of states such that of the terrorism and climate change. There is a need for states to get together and resolve such dilemma.Therefore, trans-national networks and non-state actors play a vital role in resolving such problems. The non-state and trans-national networks are the best area for the resolution of such conflicts because objectiveness within the situation is achieved. The international community sets the non-states actors and trans-national networks as the one of the legion(predicate) vital actors in the global community. The participation of such actors promotes the unity of the whole international community in times of crisis or triumph.ReferencesBaylis J. , Smith S. , Owens, P. Eds.(2008). The internationalization of World Politics An introduction to International Relations. New York Oxford University Press. Bredel, R. (2003). long-run Conflict Prevention and Industrial Development The United Nations and Its Specialized Agency, UNIDO. Netherlands Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. Bulkeley, H. , and Betsill, M. M. (2005). Cities and Climate Change Urban Sustainability and Global Environmental Governance. London Routledge. Pearlstein, R. M. (2004). Fatal Future? Transnational Terrorism and the New Global Disorder. TexasUniversity of Texas Press.

Internet Makes Life Better Essay Example for Free

mesh Makes Life Better EssayNowadays, with the development of the Internet, our life becomes more at ease than any time in the past. With the click of the mouse, you can find everything on the Internet including shopping, communication, entertainment, study, and so on.Do you know how many percent of people on the Earth have access into the Internet? 21% In the United States, 74% of American adults use the Internet. 94% of students in the US are victimization the Internet. 60% of American adults use broadband connections at home. 55% of American adults connect to the internet wirelessly, all through a WiFi or WiMax connection via their laptops or through a handheld catch like a smart phone.Because of the Internet, we can do shopping without going to the store which is located remote absent. Online shopping is the process whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time, without an go-between service, over the Internet. It is a form of electronic c ommerce.We can talk with a people who are away 10,000 miles with high quality of voice and images. Brought us closer to people those are in another subtract of the world video calls with Skype, Online support calls so I dont have to drive 2 hours to a client site. Telephone Voice over IP or VOIPBesides, we can find tons of information by one click on Google.com, Yahoo.com, and so on. Other conveniences of the Internet Online banking. capricious Directions .We can work or study from anywhere in the world. In conclusion, I believe the Internet makes life better. I cannot live one day happily without Internet.