Social communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social communication - Essay Example fight it/Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev/Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc/Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dacron/Dien Bien Phu falls, â€Å"Rock Around the Clock†/Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn’s got a winning team/Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland/Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Krushchev/Princess Grace, â€Å"Peyton Place,† trouble in the Suez CHORUS Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac/Sputnik, Chou En-Lai, â€Å"Bridge on the River Kwai†/Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle, California baseball/Starkweather, homicide, children of thalidomide/Buddy Holly, â€Å"Ben Hur,† Space Monkey, Mafia/Hula hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go/U-2, Syngman Rhee, Payola and Kennedy/Chubby Checker, â€Å"Psycho,† Belgians in the Congo CHORUS Hemingway, Eichmann, Stranger in a Strange Land/Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion/Lawrence of Arabia, British Beatlemania/Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson/Pope Paul, Malco lm X, British politician sex/JFK, blown away, what else do I have to say CHORUS Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again/Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock/Begin, Reagan, Palestine, terror on the airline/Ayatollah’s in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan/†Wheel of Fortune,† Sally Ride, heavy metal, suicide/Foreign debts, homeless vets, AIDS, crack, Bernie Goetz/Hypodermics on the shores, China’s under martial law/Rock and roller cola wars, I can’t take it anymore CHORUS We didn’t start the fire/But when we are gone/Will it still burn on, and on, and on, and on... White Riot: White riot - I want a riot/White riot - a riot of my own/White riot - I want a riot/White riot - a riot of my own/Black people got a lot a problems/But they dont mind throwing a brick/White people go to school/Where they teach you how to be thick/And everybodys doing/Just what theyre told to/And nobody wants/To go to jail! CHORUS All the powers in the hands/Of people rich enough to buy it/While we walk the street/Too chicken to even

Analysis of options and recommendations for action Assignment

Analysis of options and recommendations for action - Assignment Example This change in tourism trend could be attributed to uncertain economic conditions, stagnant salaries, rising inflation, and growing threat of terror attacks. Therefore many of the UK citizens think that it is better to visit domestic tourist destinations that are in close proximity to them so as to maintain a good balance between their income and expenses. Evidently, such an adverse trend change in the tourism sector would negatively affect the travel business. This report will examine how the travel agency could respond to this change and suggest specific strategies to boost sales in the context of the change. The declining trend of outbound tourism in UK poses great threats to travel and tourism businesses that increasingly rely on people visiting overseas countries (Travel Mole, 2014). The recent global financial crisis together with rising daily living expenses significantly contributed to this trend because people strongly believed that outbound tourism would cause them to incur huge costs. In addition, there has been a trend of decrease in the ownership of overseas holiday homes in UK over the last few years. The English people think that visiting domestic tourist destinations is a better way to cut down huge expenses associated with outbound tourism and save for the future. The growing threat of terror attacks across the world also discourages UK citizens to enjoy overseas holidays or to own overseas holiday homes (Page, 2011, p.75). A SWOT analysis is a better tool to analyse the internal and external environments of the travel and tourism sectors. While analysing the internal strengths of the UK travel industry, it seems that the country has a well developed infrastructure that support travel and tourism businesses. High cost of operations is a major weakness of these sectors as this issue negatively affects people’s overseas holiday

Current Definition Of Recklessness Within Criminal Law Law Essay

Current Definition Of Recklessness Within Criminal Law Law Essay Recklessness is a problematic area of the criminal law, since there is no strict definition of what constitutes it. Statutes make provision for the presence of recklessness, but have yet to define it strictly, thus it falls on the hands of the judges to interpret what is meant by recklessness. It is therefore most easily delineated via case law. Judges have had to rely on explanations in important case reports in order to decide what amounts to recklessness. This has meant delving through colossal number recklessness cases in order to find out whether the case in question falls within the confines set out there. Realising this is challenging, the Law Commission have sought to remedy the situation, by releasing several working papers on the issue. One of them gives the following explanation: a person acts recklessly [if] he is aware of a risk thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦exists or will exist [or] à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦when he is aware of risk thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦will occur and it is, in the circumstances known to him, unreasonable to take the risk.  [1]   This assignment will start by putting forward a concise history of intent in recklessness. The development of the law in this area will be looked out with the aid of case law such as Cunningham [1957] Caldwell [1982] and RvG [2003]. This paper will provide an evaluation of the current definition of recklessness within criminal law. In order to identify and understand the concept of recklessness, intention needs to be discussed. The 19th century criminal legislation required that defendants had to have acted `maliciously and `unlawfully when committing an offence. The accused will act unlawfully if he fails to present a lawful reason for his act, he would be considered acting maliciously once he satisfies the level of Mens Rea required for the Actus Reus. The word `malicious introduces the requirement of Mens Rea. The statutory definition of `malice is, requiring an actual intention to do a particular kind of harm that in fact was done, or reckless as to whether such harm should occur or not. The accused has foreseen that particular harm might be done, and has gone on to take the risk. The word `maliciously means in relation to the law of England and Wales `an intent or recklessness  [2]  . Intention is the highest level of Mens Rea. Mens Rea means `guilty mind in Latin. Intention differs from recklessness; intention commands a severe penalty within the criminal justice system, morally intent is considered objectionable, adjacent to recklessness. Recklessness was first used within criminal statute with conjunction to the Motorcar Act 1903. Professor C S Kennys opinion of recklessness required actual awareness by the defendant of the likelihood of the particular harm. Kenny considered it an element additional to awareness of risk, indifference whether the foreseen harm occurred or not. Another view is that an individual is reckless if he takes a known risk, even if he ardently trusts the foreseen harm, will not occur  [3]  . In 1957 the case of Cunningham transformed the interpretation of Recklessness. In R v Cunningham D broke a gas meter to steal the money contained within the meter. Gas seeped from the broken pipe and into the house next door, where Ds mother-in- law was sleeping. The mother-in-law became so ill, that her life was endangered. D was convicted of unlawfully and maliciously administering a noxious thing as to endanger life or inflict grievous bodily harm under S.23 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. Cunninghams conviction was quashed because of misdirection of the trial judge as to the meaning of maliciously.   The Court of Appeal held that malice must not be taken as to mean wickedness, but as requiring either (1) an intention to do the particular harm that was done, or (2) reckless as to whether such harm should occur or not  [4]  . Recklessness in this sense means foreseeing that harm might occur, and going ahead with the act anyway. This is called a subjective test, i.e. the accused is reckless if he realised there was a risk of gas escaping and endangering someone, and went ahead with his action anyway. Prof. Kenny wrote in his first edition of `outlines criminal law that, intent or recklessness had to be proved, as mentioned previously, he also stated that ` it neither limited to, nor does it indeed require any ill-will towards the person injured  [5]  . For a defendant to be guilty under Cunningham recklessness he must have consciously undertaken an unjust risk, he must realise that there is a risk involved. However, if he continues to carry on with his conduct, he is then reckless. The case defined a type of recklessness that the knowledge of appreciation of the risk of some danger must have entered the defendants mind even, though he may have suppressed or driven it out  [6]  . Cunningham is considered the first limb of recklessness the second limb arises from the case of MPC v Caldwell (1982). The second test of Recklessness, Caldwell created a new and wider test. D was an ex-employee of a hotel and held a grudge against its owner. He started a fire at the hotel, which caused some damage D was charged with arson. The old Cunningham test of recognising theres a risk and going ahead anyway, was extended to include a second limb; namely that the D does an act which creates an obvious risk and, has not given any thought as to the possibility of there being such a risk  [7]  . The Caldwell test for recklessness is objective, i.e. the risk must be obvious to the reasonable man, in that any reasonable man would have realised it if he had thought about it. Although, it need not be obvious to the defendant: Elliott v C [1983] and R v Coles [1994]. Lord Diplock stated that the definition of recklessness in Cunningham was too narrow for the Criminal Damage Act 1971, recklessness, should not only include the Cunningham meaning. Lord Diplock stated that a person is reckless as to whether any property would be destroyed or damaged if; he does an act, which in fact creates an obvious risk that property would be destroyed, or damaged. Additionally when the act is committed he has not given any thought to the possibility of there being any such risk, alternatively, he has recognised that there was some risk involved and has nonetheless gone on to do it  [8]  . Hence, for Caldwell recklessness to be satisfied, D does not have to foresee a risk, nevertheless takes a risk that would have been obvious to a reasonable prudent man. The It was deemed that after Caldwell whenever the term reckless was involved, an objective approach would be applied to the case. However this changed with the decision in RvG, as a subjective test was applied, instead of an objective test. It was deemed that a subjective test would be applied because the Caldwell test was seen to be a model direction which contained inconsistencies and lacked precision  [9]  . The RvG case reinstated the subjective test from R v Cunningham  [10]  (Cunningham) and clarified the law on recklessness by overruling the objective test in Caldwell. Additionally one can note that from RvG, this subjective definition of recklessness would be applicable in all statutory offences of recklessness and not the definition which was illustrated in the Cunningham case. The House of Lords decision in RvG enforcing this definition of reckless, illustrated a significant impact by eradicating the definition of recklessness in Cunningham. One can note that this impact of the decision conveyed the problems with the definition of recklessness under Cunningham. For example, within the Cunningham definition, the test only refers to taking risks as a result and makes no mention of taking risks as to a circumstance. However the law commission draft criminal code adds an additional restriction on finding the term reckless. Additionally, under the draft criminal code there is the additional requirement of the awareness of the risk and that the actual damage caused might occur. Thus the reformed definition of subjective recklessness conveys a more acc urate and broad scope of the meaning of recklessness, compared to the Cunningham definition of subjective recklessness. As a result of this reform, a subjective approach will be incorporated when assessing the term recklessness. Consequently it can be seen that the House of Lords in G and another did in fact adopt the better test in terms of policy and principle. Also English law has progressed to the point where there is, almost certainly, now only one test of recklessness  [11]  which is of a subjective nature. Additionally from the Cunningham case, the expression Maliciously was replaced with the expression reckless in RvG by Lord Bingham in the House of Lords. Maliciously was an expression which was formerly recognisable within the House of Lords. This proposal was changed because the term maliciously was seen to be too narrow and with limited scope. However, the expression reckless is considered to have a wider capacity for interpretation. Therefore this modification of expressions portrays a positive impact of the decision of the House of Lords in RvG. The reasonable adult was an issue raised in RvG from the objective approach in the Caldwell test. The issue of a reasonable adult was challenged in a previous case known as Elliott v C  [12]  . This case highlighted the negative aspects of objective recklessness as the person in question was fourteen years of age with learning difficulties. Evidently the risk must be obvious to the reasonably prudent person, and not necessarily obvious to the defendant. Therefore this conveys the problems within the Caldwell test as it does not cover everything, including individual characteristics. In this case the fourteen year old girl was guilty of criminal damage as she failed to consider the risk which would have been obvious to a reasonable person. In Hardie,  [13]  which came after Elliott v C, contradicted the judgement of the latter. Hardie became intoxicated after taking valium, believing them not to be dangerous. While under this influence, he set fire to his ex-girlfriends house, with her in it. Originally convicted, Hardie appealed and his conviction was quashed on the grounds that in itself, the taking of valium was not reckless. This is contradictory because his actual mental state was considered, which was not the case in Elliott v C. Subsequently this issue was raised in RvG, where within the trial, Lord Diplocks direction in Caldwell was used and disagreement occurred as the issue of the reasonable adult was accepted in being aimed at the children of ages eleven and twelve. From this trial, the case went onto the House of Lords, which unanimously answered the conflict of this question. The impact of the House of Lords decision in RvG illustrated great criticisms on the Caldwell test, in where it was noted that the Caldwell case was based on fragile foundations because the law commission report was not referred to  [14]  and subsequently was referred to in RvG. Additionally this impact of criticism upon Caldwell was heavily enforced by other law lords, for instance, Lord Hutton illustrated his criticism nature by expressing Experience suggest that in Caldwell in law took a wrong turn  [15]  and agreeing with Lord Bingham. Therefore conveying Lord Diplocks decision in the Caldwell case was incorrect. Furthermore Lord Diplocks decision in the Caldwell case has been criticised by many academics who have described the decision to be Pathetically inadequate, slap happy and profoundly regrettable  [16]  . Therefore the decision in the House of Lords in RvG illustrated these criticisms by rejecting the Caldwell recklessness approach. On the other hand, one can note that the decision in RvG in the House of Lords has had significant criticism on the basis of the outcome of the case. Academics have criticised RvG that the decision of the case should have been different. For example, Professor Keating criticised the decision of RvG by where in his investigation, he revealed 69% of members of the public do regard behaviour such as that of the boys as criminally blameworthy  [17]   thus illustrating that the boys between ages eleven and twelve in RvG were old enough to appreciate the risks involved. Additionally, the House of Lords decision in RvG has conveyed an impact of a criticising nature. It can be seen that as a result of RvG, there are critics that illustrate that it will be too easy for a defendant to state that they have not considered a risk to others and therefore may by acquitted at their case. On the contrary, the House of Lords have reasserted the subjective test instead of the objective test seen in Caldwell and have also established that if the defendant is voluntary intoxicated, they can be convicted without the awareness of the risk present. In the RvG case, the House of Lords conveyed this to be seen as a special exception in accordance with crimes concerning intoxicated individuals. Evidently this conveys how the House of Lords in RvG took into account of refining the Caldwell test due it being unfair, and achieving justice by taking into consideration, individual characteristics which werent present before in the Caldwell test. As mentioned above, one can note that the House of Lords decision in RvG illustrated criticism thus conveying a negative impact of the case. This can be seen as the RvG case only overrules the objective test in criminal damage, therefore the Caldwell test still applies today in certain cases after RvG, this can be seen in R v Castle (Mark Anthony)  [18]  , in where both the RvG and Caldwell tests were applied. Additionally Simester and Sullivan, both academics argue that Caldwell reckless could still be applied in some offences  [19]  , an example in where Caldwell has been applied can be seen by the Data Protection Act 1998  [20]  . Alternatively, one can suggest that there has been a positive impact of the House of Lords decision in RvG. This can be conveyed by where the courts no longer have to distinguish what type of recklessness has to be applied and the House of Lords in RvG has illustrated that the subjective one will be upheld in future cases concerning recklessness. Therefore this has allowed the courts to scrutinize the expression reckless more easily than seen in cases before RvG. An illustration of this can be seen in Eliot v C as noted above. In addition one can note that RvG case has ruled out a clear distinction between negligence and recklessness. It can be illustrated by previous cases that before the decision in RvG, there was not a clear distinction between both concepts. An example of a case is Chief Constable of Avon v Shimmen  [21]  . Within this case, it was deemed that a person who stops to think will still be liable if he realised there was some risk. Therefore this case illustrates that the Caldwell test made individuals guilty who previously were not guilty due to them being careless, but now after RvG are reckless. Overall, one must appreciate the House of Lords decision in RvG, which has allowed a subjective test to be reasserted when referring to recklessness and introduced a reformed definition of subjective recklessness. Additionally the decision has allowed a clear distinction to be applied when assessing negligence and recklessness cases. Moreover, the Caldwell test has been overruled in relation to criminal damage. Furthermore it can be identified above that there are both positive and negative impacts which have departed from the RvG decision in the House of Lords. Having analysed all of the above facts and cases, it is clear that the law on recklessness has been problematic, and often contradictory in the past. However the case of RvG has gone somewhat to remedy this issue and can be said to have succeeded in many respects. But there is still room for a statutory reform even though it may be vastly difficult to make statutory provision for all potential problems within recklessness. However, in the long run, statutory definitions of all that constitutes recklessness, and explanations of issues surrounding the topic, would be most useful, and save the judiciary time and money. Booth v Crown Prosecution Service (2006)

Nervous System :: essays research papers

Nervous System The two types of the nervous system are the Central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. They are responsible for integrating, processing, and coordinating Sensory data and motor commands the central nervous system, which interprets sensory input and carry information to maintain homeostasis. CNS canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t be regenerate because a CNS consists of the spinal cord that mean if ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s break the spinal cord is break also. The peripheral nervous system consists of the nerves that branch from the brain and spinal cord. It is a thick bundle of nerve fibers located within the spinal cord. The PNS can be regenerate and it will regrow. The brain and spinal cord are the main parts of the nervous system. The brain controls every part of your body and is located top of our head inside our skull. The spinal cord with controls our movement. Nerve cells contain 3 parts: dendrites, cell body and the axon. Dendrite is the receiving part of the neuron. It is a short extension of the cell body And send signals toward the cell body and the cell body conducts nerve impulses which in the transmission of the nerve impulses from the region to the other cell. The axon is a single extension carries the message to the next neuron, which controls all of the nerves. The nerve impulse is response of the neuron. There are 3 classes of neurons: sensory neurons, motor neurons, and interneurons. Neurons are also called nerve cells. A sensory neuron takes information from a receptor to the CNS. A motor neuron takes information away from the CNS. An interneuron transfer information between neurons in the CNS. It also sending out signal to the muscles resulting in contraction or movement. Nerves impulse occurs when an action potential changes rapidly. When action potential occurs, the sodium gates will open as Na+ flowing into the axon the changes from à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"65mV to +40mV, this is call depolarization and during repolarization the charge as k+exits the axon from +40 mV to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"65mV.

North Renaissance 1400

Patronage in northern Europe is different from the one in Italy. In the early renaissance, main patron in Italy is the Medici family. This big merchant family benefits a lot from the fast development of Italian economy. They spent a large number of funds on art region, promoting the renaissance to expand. However, in the Northern Europe, English and France still fought each other in the Hundred-Year war. Two competing Popes still resided in Rome and Avigon. These conflicts influenced the economic system of Northern Europe so patrons were unable to provide funds as much as the Medici did.Dukes of Burgundy were major patrons of that age. Patrons provided financial supports for artists to create while their requirements also influenced and limited the styles and contents. The art works had prominent features for private use. For instance, Some Dukes preferred furnishings and tapestries so the forms of art were influenced. Small altarpieces became popular as well. Because of the interest s of the patrons, the styles and contents of art work were limited. Oil painting became popular because it could facilitate the exactitude in rendering details.With oil medium, artists created richer color than previously had been ossible, giving their paintings an intense tonality, the illusion of glowing light and enamel-like surfaces. Robert Campin was one of the earliest masters of oil painting. His most famous work is Merode altarpiece, a private commission for household prayer. Oil painting allowed the artist to paint every detail subtly. Jan van Eyck was also an artist who paid much attention on details. He used color to depict the soft texture of hair, the luster of pearls and the flashing of gems.In Italy renaissance, artists focused more on the scientific methods combining color using while artists in Northern Europe tended to depict the appearance. Donor portraits, which meant portraits of the individuals who donated the works, were another form of art pieces in that era. In Jan van Eyck's Ghent Altarpiece, two of the exterior panels depict the donors, Jodocus Wd and his wife. Jan van Eyck was the first Netherlandish painter to achieve international fame. He was the count painter of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy.In Italy Renaissance, artists preferred the classical culture and revealed the Greeks and Romes. The sculpture David by Donatello was a good example of their interest. However, in Northern Europe, artists worked more on the religion and bible. For example, Jan van Eyck's Ghent Altarpiece was about the bible. Dirk Bouts was a later Flemish painter. In his â€Å"Last supper†, he did not focus on the biblical narrative itself, but presented Christ in the role of a priest instead.This painting employed single vanishing-point perspective and included four servants in Flemish attire. Hugo van der Goes's â€Å"Portinari Altarpiece† was a rare instance of the awarding of a major commission in Florence to a Flemish painter. Hugo van der Goes was good at the depicting of details and the human character as well. Influenced by the Gothic style, Northern European paintings were more realistic while Italian paintings were more naturalistic. Matthais Grunewald was German Renaissance painter.His works focused on religion, but they also had specific meanings for viewers. In his work â€Å"Isenheim Altarpiece†, Grunewald presented his altarpiece's iconography to be particularly meaningful for viewers at Isenheim hospital. The painting depicted Bosch was the most famous Netherlandish painter. Bosch was the most imaginative and enigmatic painter of his era. Scholars cannot find a universal interpretation of his work â€Å"Garden of Earthly Delights†. This was similar to Leonardo's â€Å"Mona Lisa†. They were both mysterious.But the content should be more similar to Raphael, who did more on humanism. Albrecth Durer was a dominant artist in Holy Roman Empire. His style was more similar to Leonardo. Lik e Leonardo, Durer also did much research on perspectives and the ideal in human proportions. In short, Northern Europe Renaissance occurred after the Italy Renaissance, but it developed its own styles rather than imitate Italian style simply. Due to the regional differences, various styles and cultures made the Renaissance era rich and colorful.

Man 4102 Class Project Part 1

MAN 4102 CLASS PROJECT PART 1 Karen McCarthy Hawn Student, State College of Florida MAN 4102 Class Project Part 1 Per the digital document from Contemporary Authors (Biography), by Thomson Gale, (2004) Gerard Hendrik Hofstede was born October 2, 1928. He is the son of Gerrit and Evertine Hofstede. He married Maaike A. Van den Hoek on the 4th of June, 1955 and had four children.He graduated from Delft Institute of Technology in 1953 and Groningen University, Ph D (cum laude) in 1967. His work history began in 1953 as a lieutent in the Netherlands Army. In 1955 and 1965 included management consultant for Bernschot Consultants and Stork Machine Works, plant manager for Jovanda Hosiery Co. , production manager of weaving for Menko Textile Co. , and director of staff services for IBM (Gale, 2004).After leaving IBM in 1965 he began his career in research and education and was employed with European Education Center as the manager of personnel research through 1971, IMEDE Management Develop ment Institute as visiting lecturer through 1973, European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management as professor of organizational behavior through 1979, Fasson Europe as director of human resources through 1983, and then served as dean at Semafor Senior Management College (Gale, 2004).Hofstede also held several international university positions as a visiting professor or scientist throughout Europe until he assumed his position at University of Limburg in Netherlands. He held the position of director of Institute for Research on Intercultural Cooperation (IRIC) through 1980 and currently is the professor of organizational anthropology and international management (Gale, 2004). The biography listed Geert H. Hofstede as the author on 9 books, contributor on 14 books, and as a contributor to numerous articles to various social science, professional, and management journals in over seventeen countries to date (Gale, 2004).On his website, Geert Hofstede, discusses the reasons he fe els that culture is so important (Hofstede, 2012). Hofstede’s ideas are based on the premise that people share common human nature and as such the shared human nature of all groups is very social, Hofstede (2012). That all groups use empathy and language, all practice collaboration, and all exhibit intergroup competition (Hofstede, 2012). How we all do these things while still being a good member of our various groups is what defines what Hofstede calls the unwritten rules of culture.These cultures include symbols, rituals, laws, taboos, and religions that drive the groups â€Å"moral circle† (Hofstede, 2012). Per Hofstede, (2012) there are said to be unconscious values that change at a slower pace than those of the practices of each group. Hofstede categorizes these groups based on national boundaries, ethnic boundaries, religion, occupation, or academic disciplines and states that the groups are typically classified as either inferior or superior to our own groups (H ofstede, 2012).To get things done we all need to have skills for cooperating across cultures and that enable us to cooperate with members of the globalized world. This concept is addressed in his Hofstede’s book, (Hofstede, Culture's Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations Across Nations. , 2001) and was the outcome of his research during the IBM study. He analyzed employee value scores that were collected between 1967 and 1973 from IBM employees in 70 countries and from this he established the paradigm of cultural dimensions. (Itim International, 2012).In his interview for his biography, Gerard H. Hofstede told CA: Cultures Consequences is my chef d’oeuvre. It deals with differences in thinking and acting among otherwise similar people in many different countries, which was the right subject at the right time. Correspondence with readers about it has become one of my regular side activities (Gale, 2004, page 2). Hofestede’s Cu ltural Dimensions In the course textbook Hofstede’s five dimensions of culture are used to categorize behaviors in different cultures and explain why they differ (Phatak, Bhagat, & Kashlak, 2009).The IBM study of employees from the 70 countries was the basis for the dimensions and has been critized since there was only one company in the data set however, Hofstede’s belief was that using just one company would better reveal the national differences. According to the authors Phatak, Bhagat, and Kashalk (2009), he believed this because the IBM employees were the same in other respects like type of work, job descriptions, and education. This study has been stated to be the most comprehensive study of how values are influenced in the workplace (Itim International, 2012).Itim International, (2012) noted that Hofstede’s work established a paradigm in international economics, communication, and cooperation, from which Hofstede developed the first emphirical model of â €Å"dimensions† for national organizational culutre. The first dimension is Individualism and Collectivism. These are social patterns under which beliefs, attitudes, norms, and values are then organized into one theme. Some countries practice individualism and the members of society are motiviated by their own needs and preferences above the needs of the group.In contrast, countries that practice collectivism are much more closely linked as a group and are motivated by the obligations that are considered norms for the group. Hofstede felt that countries with higher higher per capita gross national product (GNP), were likely countries that would exhibit more individualism than countries with lower per capita gross national product (Phatak, Bhagat, & Kashlak, 2009). The next cultural dimension, Power Distance, is expressed as the extent to which less powerful members of society, institutions, or organizations accept that power will be distributed unequally.Countries with small power distance have subordinates that show a limited amount of dependence on their bosses, there is a relationship based on interdependce, and a preference for consultation when decisions are made. On the contrary, countries with large power distance will likely have subordinates that are very dependent on their bosses, will follow procedures that are dictated by management, and with a reward systems in place that are not equal.There is a correlation noted between cultures that are individulistic which tend to be lower power distance whereas, cultures with strong collectivism will likey have small power distance (Phatak, Bhagat, & Kashlak, 2009). The third cultural dimension in the text is uncertainity avoidance which is described as the extent to which members of society will experience anxiety over uncertainity in their environments and how far they will go to avoid it (Phatak, Bhagat, & Kashlak, 2009).Cultures that are high in uncertainty avoidance will attempt to control these u nstructured situations with strict laws, rules, safety and security measures, and with the use of philosophical and religious beliefs (Itim International, 2012). Uncertainity accepting cultures are more tolerant of opinions that differ from their own and allow many different religious and philosophical ideas to flow concurrently. Masculinity and Feminity is the fourth cultural dimension that compares how societies and cultures are composed based on masculine and feminine tolerance traits.More feminine societies have expectations for both males and females to act in similar manners. Members are supposed to be modest, compassionate, and are expected to stress solidarity through compromise and negotiation. The masculine societies and cultures are driven by material success, money. They expect men to be assertive, ambiutious, and tough. The women of masculine societies are to be tender and hold care taker roles. The masculine society stresses competition, performance and conflicts are r esolved through fights (Phatak, Bhagat, & Kashlak, 2009).The fifth and final cultural dimension is time orientation and it is stated that different societies place a varying emphasis on the value of time. Some cultures value time and are very conscious of how time is spent. Other societies consider time to be unlimited and a resource that they cannot exhaust. This makes the way that multiple countries address puncuality and their sense of urgency very different. Cultures with no time orientation will come across to many other cultures as very casual. The other aspect of time orientation is based on the different cultural views about the future.Cultures with short-term orientations are concerned with things like lesiure time, bottom lines, and have a tendency to use short term investment plans. Their management teams are rewarded for immediate financial outcomes. In contrast the cultures with long-term future orientations have philosphies in which persistence is valued, gratification is delayed, and investments are longer term. In these cultures family and work are not separated and status is respected (Phatak, Bhagat, & Kashlak, 2009).Hofstede’s model of dimensions has been applied in practice to many domains internationally to include public, business, education, and health care and have become widely used (Itim International, 2012). Meaning and Impact of Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions John Bing’s article discusses the impact of Hofstede’s work on consulting and business practices across the globe and states that Hofstede’s findings could be applied to business in general (Bing, 2004). The way that Hofstede organized his dimensions into mental geographies explained how there could e similarities and differences between countries in close physical proximity. He states that Hofstede’s survey research which was employed across a large number of countries created a whole new field of comparative intercultural research. Th e Culture in the Workplace Questionnaire Hofstede created has been used to help individuals understand the cultural preferences of their peers and their own preferences. It is believed that many professionals have benefited from studying Hofstede’s work and being able to apply it’s principles to their own work.The author used Hofstede’s principals in his own work during the development of a prototype for the first Peace Corps cross-cultural manual (Bing, 2004). Hofstede’s work has been the standard to which many others make reference and his past works have characterized much of the contemporary cross-cultural quantative research models. There have been many offshoots from his research even from those individuals who do not necessarily agree with his theory or conclusions. If nothing else they at least acknowledge his work.His work was almost immediately used in attempts to determine how people could be helped to work more effectively in more than one cul ture. Hofstede’s work is sometimes misunderstood or misused when practitioners attempt to predict individual preferences based on the scores of the entire cultures. Bing says that Hofstede likes to make it clear that country scores will not predict an individual’s cultural preferences but will predict the group tendencies (Bing, 2004). Hofstede’s cultural dimensions have influenced how people organize and understand the varying cultural dimensions of the regions they travel to for personal and business reasons.Once Hofstede’s dimensions have been studied and understood the subtle niances of different cultures will become more apparent to the informed observer. Such was the experience of Bing per his article as he traveled to Austria and Japan (Bing, 2004). He also discusses the potential benefit of applying a study of the cultural dimensions to gain a better understanding of why countries resort to war when negotiations and other legal, moral, and conflic t management alternatives may be better alternatives.He notes that sophisticated interpreters of Hofstede’s research have found ways to avoid the application of stereotypes about cultures that have long since changed. The value of Hofstede’s research is found when the dimensions are used to help individual learners to understand their own cultural dimensions first. This then opens the door to a better understanding about the different preferences that others in the organization or workplace will have. (Bing, 2004).The study of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions has opened a door of better understanding for me as Bing referenced. It is easy to grow up learning the known stereotypes of other cultures due to misunderstandings of how those cultures have changed or adapted over time. By gaining a better understanding about how entire cultures have come to their common values, their cultural practices, and even their religious beliefs and how these impact business decisio ns and emotions that people exhibit will enhance my overall effectiveness in business.To have an actual framework such as Hosfstede’s cultural dimensions as tools for analysis to use when trying to understand the objections and barriers that come up while transacting business will makes me a more effective employee. I believe that Hofstede’s research has already changed business pratices for many international workplaces with regard to how they prepare and support their employees who are deployed all across the globe.Most companies have cultural diversity training upon hire or annually to reinforce the need for cooperation and sensitivity to diverse cultures in the workplace. I must admit that being an American woman, raised by a single mother of seven, I rate high in individualism and prefer masculinity to feminity. I prefer to work in organizations with low power distance and like the ability to collaborate but not to work where there is a total lack of individual de cision making capabilities. I do think short-term and have a results oriented, time is money mentality.My uncertainity avoidance level is very low and I move quickly to learn and try new things. As I have read the text and studied the findings of Hofstede I came to the realization that I had preconceived ideas about other women who to me appear to lack self empowerment. I will have to practice applying a study of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions to my assumptions in the future to ensure that going forward I reach out with a perspective of better understanding as to why these individuals may be in that less empowered state.References Bing, J. (2004). Hofstedes’s consequences: The impact of his work on consulting and business practices: An executive Commentary. Academy of Management Executive, 18 (No 1), 80-87. Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations Across Nations. Second Edition, Thousand Oaks CA: S age Publications, 2001. Itim International. (2012). http://geert-hofstede. com/ Thomson, G. (2004). Contemporary Authors (Biography), Thomson Gale Publishing.