Essays on Individualism

The American democracy attributed to majoritarian considerations. Primarily, the government aims at giving the majority rights in order to govern themselves. Similarly, majority governance is centered on the principles that ensure maximum participation of the citizens in deciding which policies become laws. The system of ideology that may be conservative, populist, libertarian or liberal is common in the U.S. Ideology allows people to determine the state’s course of action.
Individualism characterizes the fabric of American democracy. The state’s efforts are concentrated on the culture and the individuals’ themselves. Under the circumstances of individualism in a democracy, the Continue reading...

IHRM

Introduction
Firms that do not have the quality human resource face challenges in managing its operations globally and in attracting quality human resource (Farndale, Scullion, and Sparrow, 2010). Therefore it is critical for firms to manage their human resource. For this reason, the practices of human resource management are decisive in the success of the organization. As firms expand their operations to different countries, organizations have to consider a lot more factors than they have to when they are managing an organization that operates in only one country (Adler, 2002). Therefore, the role of international human resource management practices Continue reading...

Hellenistic Greece

Hellenistic Greece is the period between 323 BC and 30 BC. This is the period that marks by diminishing of the Greeks’ dominance and prosperity before the Roman Empire. This is when the influence Alexander on Greeks came to an end due to his death. After the death of Alexander, Roman Empire took over dispersing the Greeks. Hellenistic culture originated when the Greeks mixed with other cultures especially from the Asia and Middle East. One of the notable arts of this age is the Venus de Milo (Kousser, 4). This is a piece of architecture sculpture of a woman Continue reading...

The setting of the novel is in a small law office on the Wall Street. The focus of the narrative is more on the personality of one employee, Bartleby. The author tells the story through a narrator. The authors use of a narrator in the novel ensures that the reader gets as close as possible to Bartleby. This approach enables the reader to perceive everything through the senses of main character’s employer thereby identifying with the feelings of the narrator. This approach evokes the emotions of the reader in a way that the reader feels duty-bound to try Continue reading...

The Bourgeois society sprouted from the ruins of feudal society, which comprised class antagonisms. From the serfs in the Renaissance there came the chartered burghers of the earliest towns, which gave rise to the first elements of the bourgeois. The Bourgeois played a significant role as a driver of change, which transformed society in the Renaissance. Rulers established it in order to challenge feudal lord’s authority that rebelled against them. In order to motivate middle class, the rulers gave them charters to trade in foreign countries and take the responsibility of the administration cities established.
Gradually, the rising Continue reading...

The film, Sleeping with the Enemy reviews interesting ideas that are relevant to the modern society. The film highlights that many developments happen in a society with the aim of improving people’s welfare. However, the ethical backgrounds of the events in the lives of common people dictate many elements about the relations of the people with their environments. Political and economic differences among the people lead to social deviations and disagreements among the people in the society. The ideas of death and social distractions are apparent in the film, sleeping with the Enemy. This film depicts a perfect Continue reading...

Throughout history, philosophers have often clashed heads in regards to the definition and understanding of the human self. Many have formulated a myriad of theories that attempt to decipher the true meaning and motivations of the human self. Two of the moist prolific philosophers of the exploration of this aspect were Immanuel Kant and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson was an American philosopher born and raised in Massachusetts. On the other hand, Kant lived in an earlier era and was German by birth. It was Kant’s original transcendental deductions that later acted as an influence to the New England Continue reading...

Jane Austen is known as one of the greatest novelists from England. Born in 1775, it is no surprise that her novels are still in print. She is best known for writing pride and prejudice. Back when she wrote pride and prejudice she was a teenager who did not want to come out as an author. She published this book back when a female’s entrance into the public eye was considered was considered not very lady like. Jane’s distinctive literary style relies on a combination of free indirect speech, parody, irony and to some extent realism. Both Continue reading...

English

The majority of contemporary Americans do not believe in cooperation and unification of ideas for the betterment of society as a unit. Americans further adopts the concept of self-empowerment and self-enrichment to the expense of the larger society. In fact, the factor of humanity and community inclusion is rarely practiced in the modern American world. What is more, Americans will go to length in getting the best from others for personal interests and gains. The issue of brotherhood and sisterhood is relatively losing its meaning in American culture. Additionally, there is division of American society on the basis of Continue reading...

Introduction

When it comes to organizations, then there are certain things and provisions always be convicted accordingly. Organizations always strive hard for the economic prosperity and no organization wants them to distract from their core mantra. Organization is termed as a place where-in people belong to different demographics and mindset works together merely for the achievement of a single and pre-specified goal.
There are certain issues that may interfere in the operations of the company, or it could be said that these issues may pamper them not to expand positively and effectively. The main perspective of this assignment is to Continue reading...

In Chapter 3 of Generation Me, “You Can Be Anything You Want to Be,” the idea of the self-centeredness of this current generation is addressed. According to Twenge, the current timbre of American culture promotes a sense of individuality over a sense of collectivity and societal cohesion: “Even when schools, parents, and the media are not specifically targeting self-esteem, they promote the equally powerful concepts of socially sanctioned self-focus, the unquestioned importance of the individual, and an unfettered optimisim about young people's future prospects” (72). To that end, Twenge notes a decided increase in focus on cultivating children’s Continue reading...

In our contemporary, scientifically-influenced world, technology is seen as being essentially good. Nevertheless, as “The Travel Habits” by Joseph P. Schwieterman points out, this has led to an exacerbation of individualism, where everybody is set into a trance by their own personal portable devices. The fact these artifacts allow you to access whatever you want, entails a rupture of communication with the outside world, leaving individuals to face their own, self-made reality. Another important component in this process is the modern push for everyone to strive for their own goals, which are always set farther, and thus alienate them Continue reading...

- Introduction
Chinese and Japanese cultures have overlapped in practically all characteristics including political, cultural, business, and technological despite their immense historical differences dating back centuries. Yet their demonstrations of business characteristics are expressed diversely that their historical concepts of collectivism and individualism have often paralleled. Interestingly Chinese and Japanese business is extensively culturally driven by different reasoning even they seek the same result, but from different approaches even though they are geographically in close proximity of each other. Similarly as to how many ancient civilizations began, China and Japan have long histories of similar empirical rulership and value Continue reading...

Moral development over an individual’s lifespan remains a major topic of interest for psychologists. There are many theories that have been developed over time but one of the most well-known was developed by Lawrence Kohlberg. Kohlberg expanded the work of Jean Piaget and modified it to explain moral reasoning and how it develops. While Piaget described a process of moral development that occurred in only two stages, Kohlberg’s theory grew to include six stages within three different levels. Kohlberg proposed three these six stages and three levels that moral reasoning was a process that continued through an Continue reading...

Communication

Shaping interpretations of reality: Cultural values
Cultural values upheld by the society dictates the understanding of reality. Perceptions and beliefs form the basis of cultural value integration. Perception can be described as the state through which an individual connects and understands the physical world. The adherence of specified perceptions and beliefs in the society cultivates diversity in cultural values. A good example is reflected by frankness of Western people and privacy of Japanese in relation to public expression. There is a chain-link pattern among culture, perceptions and character of an individual. On the other hand, beliefs form the basis Continue reading...

Overview of Hofstede’s “Four Dimensions of National Culture”

Hofstede’s four dimensions of national culture or the cultural dimensions theory refer to the framework developed by Geert Hofstede. Hofstede completed one of the most researches relevant to the effects of the culture of a nation or society on its members. The four dimensions of national culture comprise the specific dimensions or traits that provide differentiations among various cultures. The research conducted by Hofstede provided several aspects of the effects of culture on individuals belonging to different societies in the workplace. Hofstede analyzed and evaluated the data collected from the employee database of IBM from 1967 to 1973. Continue reading...

[Class Title]

Introduction
Despite the call for increased environmental awareness, most people remain unaffected by environmental concerns. Although it is an accepted fact that the environment is everyone’s concern, most individuals and organizations take their social responsibility to nature for granted. Most environmental programs are not taken seriously. For instance, most people knew that throwing litter could adversely affect the environment yet evidence show that this awareness is of no effect or is taken for granted. Cigarette butts, for example, still constitute the largest percentage of street litter, which according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is the Continue reading...

Wilding is a term coined by Charles Derber in his book “The Wilding of America: How Greed and Violence are Eroding Our Nation's Character”. In the book, Derber tackles the concept of the American dream and how individualism is glorified at the expense of the common good. Success as depicted in the American dream is tantamount to the amassing of material wealth gained by doing everything within one’s power to achieve it regardless of harm caused to others. Derber regarded this phenomenon as wilding and defined it as a degenerate of individualism which encompasses a variety of antisocial Continue reading...

On the surface, the novel The Great Gatsby tells of a desperate love that a man has for a woman. However, beneath the surface is a smorgasbord of sociological issues well intertwined and fused which characterized the corruption of what should have become an era of great opportunity to reach for the American dream. At a time when anyone, regardless of the social background, could become wealthy, people drenched themselves with the pleasure brought about by a new sense of materialism. What could have been a great love story, both sweet and passionate, ended up in a tragedy for Continue reading...

The dark ages in the European history could be attributed mostly to having made no worthwhile positive contribution to the development of the continent. It was a period that was characterized by stories of stagnated growth in the educational, cultural, as well as the artistic cultures of the time. Like the era was referred later on in history, it was an era most people do not want to say was part of their history. The dark ages were a period that is accepted to have begun with the fall of the Roman Empire and lasted until the advent of Continue reading...

Philosophy is an interesting discipline as it tries to find answers to several challenging aspects of man and the processes of nature. Since time immemorial, man has been in a quest to find the self and understand the surrounding in which they reside. In the West, realism and romanticism were two competing cultural thoughts and artistic styles aimed at communicating the interactions/relationships between mankind and nature. Romantics associated with Plato emphasized on individual heroic achievement, power of emotions and mysticism dominating the European intellectual life while realists associated with Aristotle focused art and literature to more tangible matters with Continue reading...

Question # 1

One of the major concepts of Confucianism is “Jen” and in Confucianism, Jen is what makes individual an individual. It is what gives self its humanity and dignity. In Confucianism, the concept of self is not an isolated one. In Confucians teaching, it is not possible to be an individual without the society and the concept of the self emerges only in the relation to others. Confucianism gives much more value to the whole society rather than individualism as it considers individuals to be a constituent of society instead of isolated objects. Confucianism propagates strong hierarchical order and persuades Continue reading...

1. What is Civil Disobedience? How did Thoreau utilize this process? What was he protesting against? What is his critique of American society? How was his idea practiced in other movements?
Henry David Thoreau asserts that people should not allow the government to atrophy and overrule their conscience. The government has to govern the least. In fact, a government that does not govern at all tend to be the best (Thoreau 99). Civil disobedience refers to nonviolent resistance and the need to prioritize personal conscience over what is dictated by law. In most cases, civil disobedience entails active and Continue reading...

Introduction

The United States of education system offers a real field of choices for America and students in a global world. A lot of schools, programs, and locations both publicly and privately institutionalized crops and thrives in major states. It shares much of its structures with both the British and German education system. However, its character is profoundly influenced by three major philosophical beliefs that shape the American public life. It includes ideals of limited governmental and freedom of expression, states, religious communities, capitalism and the belief of rationality of markets and the widespread commitment to equal opportunity and social Continue reading...

Introduction

The debate of Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine regarding the human nature and psychology is of great interest due to the opposing views presented by both the experts. The human nature debate of these two experts is of critical importance in forming the pillars of a society. The government policies are based on similar concepts related to human nature and actions.

Analysis of the Debate

Edmund Burke was a famous individualist. As per his point of view, a reason is individual’s reason and an interest is the private interest. His individualism was combined with his belief regarding natural sociability of man. According Continue reading...

Introduction

Brazilians are free-spirited and gracious with an unbelievable enthusiasm for life. Predominantly, they are very creative and risk-oriented. In Brazil, families are often large that they used to have extended family members. Socioeconomic, family and education backgrounds are significant towards Brazilians (Bertsch and Ondracek, 2010). Generally, firms’ handshakes are exchanged among men. Typically, a female associate kiss other female on cheek but on the other hand women extends her hand first to a male. As long as they avoid the subject of politics, self-effacing meeting people are typically getting down to the reason of a meeting. There are many Continue reading...

Introduction

One of the challenges faced by supervisors is the management and practice of ethical decision making. An organization presents itself with several ethical dilemmas. Most ethical decision making frameworks have three factors impacting decision making. Ethical dilemma may be presented by the conduct of an individual or an organization in general, the systems used for judgement or ethical reasoning and the manner in which an ethical issue is perceived (Husted & Allen, 2008).

Ethical dilemma

Supervisors often face situations of ethical dilemma when they are operating in a cross cultural environment. This dilemma is highly impacted by collectivism and individualism. The clash Continue reading...

JAPANESE POLITICS, ECONOMICS, AND/OR SOCIETY BETWEEN 1868-1920

JAPANESE POLITICS, ECONOMICS, AND/OR SOCIETY BETWEEN 1868-1920
The period of 1868-1920 saw some changes in the history of Japan. These changes had significant impacts on the political, economic and social aspects of the society of Japan. They influenced the perceptions of individuals during that period concerning political and economic elements of the society. The Japanese developed various attitudes towards these changes and had various thoughts concerning these changes. There was a correlation between the as some of them had significant influences on others. That is; some of the political changes experienced during this time played a role in the Continue reading...

‘Instructor’s Name’

‘Subject’
Italy - Cross culture
Introduction
The culture of Italy is unique that has both the charm of the old world and dynamism of the modern era. The success of the Italian brands such as Prada, Armani, Rodeo and Lamborghini are examples of the modernity and professional approach of the Italian manufacturing and supply chain management. On the other hand, the large number of family-owned businesses and the scale of small firms sectors highlight the importance of old-world social and familial values in the Italian firms. In short, Italy has a culture that is a rich mix of corporate Continue reading...

Hofstede was one of the first scientists to create a comprehensive theory that helped to understand differences across cultures. His model describes cultures in terms of 4 dimensions: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity and individualism. Trompenaars capitalised on Hofstede’s work and developed 7 distinct dimensions that together form a cultural profile: universalism/particularism, individualism/collectivism, neutral/emotional, specific/diffuse, achievement/ascription, attitudes towards time, attitude towards environment. Hall viewed national culture as an iceberg, where the upper part is the visible aspect of culture, such as food, traditions and arts, while a much greater part of it is hidden below the surface and Continue reading...

The cultural dimension theory proposed by Geert Hofstede, a Dutch cultural psychologist, has laid down a detailed structure for cross-cultural communications between distinct societies using five different dimensions. This essay will attempt to draw a comparison of the cultural differences between the United States and India and discuss the impact of these differences on leadership in the two countries.
Power Distance – This factor refers to the extent, importance and acceptance of hierarchical relationships in an institution. From the graph in the Appendix, one can see that the US has a low power distance score of 40 compared to India Continue reading...

Assignment culture 3

The philosophies of Dr. Hofstede's dimensions are distance versus power, collectivism versus individualism, avoiding uncertainty, femininity versus masculinity and short term orientation versus long-term orientation (Sergiu, 2011). Over the years after he came up with these dimensions, there has been a variety of arguments. Some scholars are for, and some are against; to understand the basis of these arguments, it is first imperative to understand Hofstede's approach to cross culture application (Zaiț, 2002).
Dr. Hofstede's approach is used mostly in cross-cultural management (Zaiț, 2002). Cross-cultural management is the direct result of the world turning into a global village. Due Continue reading...

All accounts and stories of how man came to be showcase humans as being good in nature. From the accounts of creation, to those who believe the origin of man to be from the gods, man has always been portrayed as being pure. The accounts explain that a man was sinless when he came to be. The reason is that nature played a crucial part in maintaining the divineness of man until he regrouped to form a society. Nature was depicted as being filled with goodness. In nature, everything is devoid of any evil or sin. What remains is Continue reading...

In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements in

Executive Summary
Introduction
Globalization is one of the major factors that influence the way people and groups such as organizations go about their lives today. Essentially, globalization refers to the integration of people, organizations, cultures, and sectors around the world. Progress and development, particularly in technology, facilitate globalization in that it creates small communities that interact and brings about various outcomes. In the business sector, globalization has made possible the development of the multicultural or diverse workplace. As organizations transition into multinational companies and as they acknowledge the advantages and contributions of diversity to their business, businesses look for Continue reading...

‘Instructor’s name’

- Groupthink
A groupthink is a phenomenon whereby the in-group pressure leads to deterioration of effective decision making. For example, a group member may try to achieve an informal goal just to preserve his/her friendship with other group member. Groupthink prevails when there is a need to conform. The ‘Bay of pigs’ operation is a classic example of the groupthink paradox. In this case, the drive for consensus precluded analyzing crucial information necessary for the achievement of the ultimate goal. The first step to avoid groupthink is to put together an effective team, which has a range of personalities Continue reading...

Implicit in any writer’s work are the ideologies of the culture under which the writer was raised. American culture has values, which place emphasis on the individual. In an essay like Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” the self-sufficiency is the topic explored. In other essays, like Malcolm Gladwell’s “Small Changes: Why The Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted” this individual autonomy from groups is an assumption that Gladwell assumes the audience would share with him when he analyzes the impact of social media on identity and it’s limitations in driving individuals to action. William F. Buckley Continue reading...

Modes of Entry into Japan

Determining the mode of entry is a long-term solution, which is not easy to change. So, the choice of the appropriate mode among the existing number of different alternatives should be approached with the utmost care and attention.
The easiest mode of entry into a foreign market is to export. Irregular export is a passive level of involvement, when the company exports its surplus and sells products to local wholesalers from time to time, representing foreign companies. Active export occurs in cases where the company sets the goal to expand its export operations in a particular market. In both Continue reading...

International Business

Question One: Implications of cultural literacy on business location
Cultural literacy may be defined as the development of awareness through the acquisition of knowledge on matters that relate to a particular culture. In that regard, such knowledge is fundamental in ensuring the sustainability of relationships during cultural interaction. In essence, international corporations such as Multinational Corporations (MNCs) should be culturally literate. The need for cultural literacy for MNCs has direct implications on their costs of business. Hence, it is important for the management of an MNC to carry out substantive research that would help divulge issues regarding cultural dynamics. Continue reading...

Answer 1

The major outcome or result of the negotiation that the Japanese manager wishes to achieve as a result of the negotiation is understanding, integration and acceptance. The Japanese manager wishes to close a deal that will see the firm supply and sell its electronics in the giant store. The negotiations seek to integrate the two cultures of the two organizations and make them have the correlation that will enable them conduct business. Moreover, the result of the negotiations would be to form an understanding and acceptance. The manager would want the firm based in the United States to accept Continue reading...

Chapter 4

- Universalism vs. Particularism
- Individualism vs. Collectivism
- Neutral vs. Emotional
- Specific vs. Diffuse
- Achievement vs. Ascription
- Sequential vs. Synchronic
- Internal vs. External control

Chapter 5

Boeing/McDonnell Douglas
Chapter 4
In essence, the Trompenaar's model of incorporates seven dimensions of viewing societal cultures. In essence, this part of the paper seeks to evaluate how Germany has measured-up to the seven components as shown in this discussion.
- Universalism vs. Particularism
Understandably, Germany has experienced two phases of governance and societal orientation. Before the Second World War, Germany was ruled by a dictatorial regime that imposed rules Continue reading...