“Fast Food, Fat Profits” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViZQkCYfufk).
The documentary featured several people implicated, in one way or another, with the fast food business or with the so-called obesity epidemic in America. The documentary channeled its materials through several frameworks (Goffman), which were employed in various ways from the beginning to end.
Your assignment for this week is to (1) identify at least two frameworks through which the documentary filtered its materials, objectively laying out how the documentary’s message was crafted into a cohesive and unitary whole. Please do not editorialize or make evaluative statements. I simply want you to identify what the frameworks are. Then, once you have objectively described two frameworks, I want you to (2) utilize “radical doubt,” which means you do not accept what is communicated at face value, that you assume the documentarian and the interviewees in the documentary have concealed information or they are providing a faulty representation of social reality. In other words, I want you to assume there is strong incentive to lie, mislead and evade.
It should be mentioned that practicing radical doubt is absolutely necessary for the growth of knowledge, in the generic sense, and for your own sociological growth, in the more specific sense. There are good reasons to practice radical doubt. For this assignment, your task is to show me what those reasons are. What is the value added of maintaining a cynical, doubting stance toward an author, authority, professor, expert, etc? Are there limits to the practice of radical doubt, of framing social reality through radical doubt?
SAMPLE ANSWER
Radical Doubt
This paper seeks to evaluate the “Fast Food, Fat Profits” documentary that features people and corporations that are implicated in the prevalence of obesity in America. These people have been seen to fund and develop a new fast food culture that has seen the development of cheaper foods in place of the traditional home made food. Their actions have resulted in the development of the fast profit fast food industry that has led to the obesity epidemic in America. The paper will analyze the documentary in terms of its structured frameworks that were employed in the development of the documentary from start to end. Radical doubt will be utilized in the content of the documentary to conclude that the documentary has strong incentive to mislead and lie to the public about the obesity pandemic and eating habits of the American people.
Two frameworks that were identified within the documentary that objectively laid out how the documentary’s message was crafted included the inability for access to real foods and the lack of nutritional education about the food and eating habits of most American people. The paper seeks to defy the claims made by the documentary by stating that it simply communicated the issues at face value and the participants of the documentary were individuals providing faulty representation of the actual social and health situation of America.
The inability for access to real foods has been regarded as a prominent factor that has led to the obesity pandemic. However, this is just in relation to city dwellers. It has been noted that many fast food restaurants are usually located in and around cities in place of grocery stores that once existed in the same location. In the suburbs and rural towns in America, the situation is however different. People did not lose their traditional eating habits and as a result, still conform to a regular home cooked meal; and a trip to the many grocery stores around town. These towns have minimal fast food establishments as many dwellers do not consume fast foods. As much as the people in the urban centers insist that fast foods are the cheapest form of food available, this is considered untrue. Many researchers have come to the conclusion that raw food bought from the grocery stores is sometimes cheaper than the ready meals bought in supermarket stores.
It has also been shown through studies that the lack of nutritional education has about the food and eating habits of most American people to alarming rates. Food culture has changed and people do not eat to live but live to eat. Sauce and soups in modern day foods are made of fats and oils which make them fatty. The availability of television advertising and easy access to cheaper fast foods has caused the change in food culture. People eat more and yet they rarely cook natural food in their own kitchens. The death of real food outlets and the prevalence of the middleman fast food corporations have resulted in the lack of sound nutritional education.
These corporations spend billions of dollars in food advertising budgets that brainwash the public on new eating habits that are not necessarily cheaper or even good for their health. The corporations have been acting as middle men between the farmers and the American public by getting the real food from the farmers at very cheap rates, in a concept termed as adding value to the food through processing it and selling it to the public thereafter. The argument being that the fast food corporations have brought food closer to their customers and have made eliminated the need of shopping from the farmer and preparation of this food for the client.
The second framework that was discussed in the development of the documentary was Nutritional education to the American masses. Nutritional education has been focused on clinical interventions, population studies and obesity regulation. These programs are aimed at educating health care providers who take care of patients with weight problems. The prevalence of the importance of nutrition in weight management has been a way of increasing revenue for nutritional and health care experts. Even though they claim that weight management and nutritional management can lead to safe and effective interventions to reduce and eliminate the obesity pandemic. They claim that it will help us more effectively deal with this most pervasive health problems relating to food and nutritional issues.
Nutritional education is at its peak in America. Many working professionals have joined the health and fitness bandwagon. These individuals have also been seen to be dieting and exercising on a daily basis which reduces their chances of getting obese. The American media has also been instrumental in using fit and light weight actors and models in their programmers and advertisements to ensure that people aspire to live their lifestyles and live as healthy and fit as possible as thee celebrities. All in all, this paper will conclude that the responsibility of nutritional development and education should not be left entirely to these fast food establishments. Parents are advised to ensure that their children eat healthier. They should also ensure that they increase their physical activities.
• What is cultural intelligence, according to the books or journal articles you found?
• Why is cultural intelligence important for HR practitioners?
• What are three recommendations to help develop one’s cultural intelligence?
• How well-developed is your cultural intelligence, and what tells you that?
• Considering what you read on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s site, why is cultural intelligence important, even if your career is exclusively in the United States?
SAMPLE ANSWER
What is cultural intelligence?
Cultural intelligence spells out an individual’s capability to work or relate across different cultures in an effective manner (Winn, 2013, p. 10). In essence, it refers to the natural ability exhibited by an individual in interpreting unfamiliar gestures in the same manner that the person from the specific culture would (Stening, 2006, p. 74). Cultural intelligence has gained popularity over the years as the world increasingly becomes a global village and cross-cultural organizations continue to emerge (Livermore, 2010, p. 3). Individuals must therefore be in a position to understand others effectively in order to communicate and co-exist effectively.
Importance of cultural intelligence for HR
The relevance of cultural intelligence for HR practitioners in indisputable, as portrayed by various studies which have sought to identify the significance of culture on managerial behavior (Winn, 2013, p. 10). This is often driven by the fact that workplaces are becoming increasingly multicultural and managers must therefore understand cultural impact and how to deal with it positively to promote organizational performance (Winn, 2013, p. 11). Human resource practitioners should definitely be interested in cultural intelligence as it helps them make effective decisions during selection, recruitment, training and development of their employees (Stening, 2006, p. 74-76). Before sending employees on assignment as expatriates for example, the HR manager would need to determine who are best suited for the assignment, as well as the kind of training required for the individuals to effectively interact with persons from a different religious, ethnic and linguistic background. Effective understanding of cultural intelligence is also of great importance in promoting a cohesive workforce, resolving intercultural conflicts and addressing ethical dilemmas (Livermore, 2010, p. 2).
Developing cultural intelligence
The following three recommendations can help an individual to develop cultural intelligence.
Have the drive: Developing cultural intelligence calls for one to have motivation or interest to understand and learn another culture. When interest is shown towards a particular aspect, the mind also opens and allows for learning to take place (Livermore, 2010, p. 5).
Acquire knowledge: Understanding another culture is not an easy task and someone must therefore invest in acquiring relevant knowledge (Livermore, 2010, p. 5). This includes learning how culture influences behavior, beliefs and values. Knowledge can be acquired through constant interaction with members of different cultures and groups, reading cultural history and literature on beliefs, values and behavior, observing behavior of people from different culture especially when they interact with each other and learning foreign languages (Stening, 2006, p. 76).
Action: This refers to how you utilize acquired knowledge and generally portray your cultural intelligence. In essence, it involves utilizing the knowledge learned during one’s interactions with people from different cultures, gaining experience and learning from mistakes (Livermore, 2010, p. 5-6). With time, an individual becomes naturally capable of intercultural interaction and hence becomes culturally intelligent.
My cultural intelligence development
I consider my cultural intelligence quite advanced; having lived, schooled and interacted with people from vast cultural backgrounds. I do not have major difficulties in interacting with people from different communities and I am able to adapt to my surroundings quite easily. In most circumstances, I can effectively build rapport with people from different cultures without any difficulty. This is because I have taken the time to interact with others from similar cultures and learn more about their behavior, values and expectations. In addition, I can effectively pick out peoples’ needs and emotions through cultural intelligence by being in tune with their beliefs, values, attitudes, expressions and body language. Through cultural intelligence, I have learned to monitor my own actions and refrain from judging others and relying on stereotypes. Instead, I always take my time to observe and adapt to my behavior according to the people I am interacting with. While I may not be an expert in every culture, I often use my observation, intelligence and empathy to understand people and situations and thus understand the behavior of others.
Importance of cultural intelligence
Cultural intelligence is of great importance even for people whose careers will be exclusively in the United States. Having read on the Southern Poverty Law Center, it is apparent that this institution handles people from numerous social and ethnic backgrounds and having cultural intelligence is of great relevance to people who work in such organisations. This is mostly so because of its popularity in dealing with victims of hate groups, discrimination and racial segregation. Each individual requiring civil rights litigation comes with the expectation that they will be understood and treated well by those serving them despite of where they come from. Accordingly, possessing cultural intelligence would ensure that individuals can be treated with empathy and that their needs can be identified effectively in order to provide the required assistance. As noted by Winn (2013, p. 12), cultural intelligence is highly important in understanding the behavior of others; which in turn plays an important role in the development of interpersonal interactions. The more an individual is exposed to people from different cultures, the more culturally intelligent they should be in order to work well with others and also ensure that they can fit in anywhere without many challenge.
Choose one country from the following: China, Egypt, India, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey or United Kingdom. Using the country comparison tool on the Hofstede Center’s Web site (http://geert-hofstede.com/the-hofstede-centre.html ) compare your selected country’s cultural dimensions with that of the United States. Explore your chosen country’s cultural attitudes toward:
• Individualism versus collectivism.
• Power distance.
• Masculinity versus femininity.
• Uncertainty avoidance.
Respond to the following:
• What do your chosen country’s attitudes on these dimensions tell you about the culture?
• How do these dimensions impact how you will think about communication, supervisor-employee relations, gender, and principles?
• How do these dimensions compare with those of the United States?
SAMPLE ANSWER
Introduction
Different nations have different cultures that can be oriented to different aspects such as individual versus collectivism, power distance, and masculinity versus femininity as well as uncertainty avoidance among others. In this paper the comparison of the Egypt culture is compared with that of the United States in view of the general orientation of the cultures, impact on how one may think about the community and the supervisor employee relationship.
Individual versus collectivism: This aspect of national culture touches on the degree of interdependence among the citizens of a given country. According to 6-D models, Egypt scores little on the individualism. This denotes that the culture in Egypt does not encourage individualism. This implies that there is a lot of collectivism in the culture of Egypt. Thus, people are not encouraged to just look after themselves and their immediate families; rather there should be a show of concern to the neighbors that is embedded in the culture of the people of Egypt. Things are totally different in the US. The US scores very high in the individualism. This implies that the national culture in US entertains individualism in the sense that people images are viewed in the perspectives of ‘I’ and not ‘we’. Beekun & Westerman (2012) assert that; The US culture encourages people to mind about themselves and their immediate families without much concern to the neighbors. Hence, there is a lot of collectivism in Egypt while in US, individualism dominates.
Power distance. This aspect of national culture orients to the fact that people are not equal. This reality emanates from the uniqueness of every individual. The inequality then suggests that there is exertion of power by some people towards the others. In the 6-D model, Egypt scores very high in the power distance. This denotes that there is a huge gap in the people that exercise power over the others and those that the power is exercised on them. This denotes hierarchical structures in the societies whereby everyone is grouped according to the power they able to exercise. It denotes the acceptance of the citizens of the unequal distribution of power. Kwok & Levitt (2009) maintain that; the hierarchical structures exist without many questions because it something deeply embedded in the culture of the people. This is very much against the US. The US, according to the 6_D model, scores low on the power distance. This means that there is little gap between those who exercise power and those to whom the power is exercised. It denotes less hierarchical structures in the society.
The differences in the scores of power distance denote differences in the thoughts of supervisor employee relationship. In Egypt, the high scores on power distance portray exertion of a lot of power from the supervisor to the employee. This leads to a negative relationship. The lower score in the same by the US portray a positive relationship between the employee and the supervisor following the less preference of hierarchies involved in the employment relationships.
Masculinity versus femininity: Masculinity orients to the attitude of people towards competition, achievement and success. Success in this dimension is defined by the best person in the field. On the same note, femininity denotes the orientation of a society towards caring for others and the quality of life. Egypt scores low on the masculinity aspect of national culture. This implies that it is much oriented to the femininity. This means that the culture of the people of Egypt is very much tilted towards caring for others and higher quality of life. Success is not defined by the achievement of good quality of life and the appreciation of what one does. Standing out in the crowd does not matter. This is very much unlike the US whereby, the attitudes of competition are displayed right from home to school to the work places. One is encouraged to be the best that they can be. Quality of life is not given much concern; rather it is about being the best because the winner is believed to take it all.
Uncertainty avoidance: This aspect of national culture touches on the way a country deals with the realization that; the future can never be known. Different countries respond differently to the realization that the future can be very much unpredictable. Egypt score very high in this dimension. The implication is that, the culture in Egypt is oriented to structures that resist change. Innovation is not much encouraged as this comes with more uncertainty. Mostafa (2012) notes that; at the individual level, there is much orientation to seek security due to the fear of the future; hence, there is more hard working habit among the individuals. The US scores relatively low in the uncertainty avoidance. This means that there are structures for tackling the uncertainties whenever they happen. It denotes fairly higher degrees of acceptance of new ideas. Innovation is very much encouraged because it is seen as a way of tackling the uncertainty. However, terrorist attacks have led to much fear in the US, hence, the average score due to the need to provide security.
References
Beekun, R., & Westerman, J. (2012). Spirituality and national culture as antecedents to ethical decision-making: a comparison between the United States and Norway. Journal Of Business Ethics, 110(1), 33-44. doi:10.1007/s10551-011-1145-x
Kwok Kern, K., & Levitt, C. E. (2009). THE IMPACT OF NATIONAL CULTURE ON VALUE BASED DECISIONS: COMPARISON OF SAUDI ARABIAN, EGYPTIAN, AND AMERICAN HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS. Academy Of Health Care Management Journal, 5(1/2), 79-96.
Mostafa, D. S. (2012). Popular Culture and Nationalism in Egypt: ‘Arab Lotfi and Egyptian Popular Music. Journal For Cultural Research, 16(2/3), 261-282. doi:10.1080/14797585.2012.647673
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Building an Organization that Recognizes Everyone’s Uniqueness
Case study: Building an Organization that Recognizes Everyone’s Uniqueness
Order Instructions:
Please see attachments
SAMPLE ANSWER
Building an Organization that Recognizes Everyone’s Uniqueness
Case study
The chosen case study is about the Herman Miller Company, a Michigan-based company that produces high-class and innovatively designed office furniture. At Herman Miller, team-learning practices were used to support change in the organization through valuing and appreciating the uniqueness that each member of staff brought to the organization. Herman Miller Company made an effort to understand diversity and to assist individuals work together more effectively. A number of workshops were held to talk about pertinent issues on diversity.
Several managers from Herman Miller attended a seminar to learn skills and concepts of diversity, quality, and change. The organization also designed workshops that are focused on offering a process for common understanding as well as creating a common language. The discussions were kept personal and gross generalizations and gross stereotypes were avoided. According to Hunt (n.d), the pattern of thinking and expression of every person is unique and if everybody wants to work effectively, then they have to learn to communicate with those who have dissimilar patterns. During one exercise, a group of African Americans, or a group of men was pulled out and placed inside a circle to discuss their experiences as others listened. Such an exercise helped to create awareness and to convey issues of the group. In workshops, the subject of gender balance was also covered. It is imperative to avoid to stereotype since women and men are not different when talking. In the workshops, Herman Miller’s staffs talked about the differences in communication styles between men and women and this was effective in supporting change in the organization (Hunt, n.d).
The useful methods to experiment with my organization include holding workshops that focus on offering a process for mutual understanding as well as creation of a common language, and to encourage Latino women and Native Americans who work in the company to come forward and talk about their experiences as others listen. This will help to create awareness of their experiences and to bring to light issues that they face. The other method to experiment is to hold a meeting to discuss differences in communication styles between male and female employees in my organization. This will help to improve communication between men and women and avoid stereotyping basing on gender.
Two questions that I have about this assignment are:
How does this assignment help in understanding issues of gender in the workplace?
How does this assignment bring to light ways of resolving issues regarding stereotyping different groups of people
References
Hunt, M. (n.d). Building an Organization that Recognizes Everyone’s Uniqueness. Team Learning.
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For this essay (entry) it is required to maintain a weekly journal, documenting important aspects of leadership they encounter over the duration of the module. Entries into the journal may include examples of leadership personally witnessed or insights gained through readings or class discussions.
1)I want 2 entries each one is around 100 words, and each entry is in separate word document.
2)Entries should be placed in a journal.
3)Entries should be based on your learning experience after reading the attached files.
4)You are free to follow your own format as long as it is logically structured.
5)Note:To prepare for this essay please read the required articles that is attached.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Week 7 Journal Entry
Relationship between leadership and culture
Nowadays, business is becoming more and more global and interlinked by means of communications technology as well as increased geographic accessibility. Therefore, the impact of culture becomes increasingly significant for leadership. I have learned that the relationship between leadership and culture could be understood in various ways. At the basic level for instance, good leadership requires the leader to have the knowledge of other cultures. Leaders need to not only recognize, but also acknowledge the distinctions between cultures and respond aptly. Having an understanding of other cultures can certainly assist leaders of business organizations to work with difference and aid communication between dissimilar ethnic groups.
Moreover, I have learned how various cultures around the world perceive leadership behaviours in other cultures. Cultures of Southern Asia and the Middle East score highly in self-protective behaviours such as ensuring both the security and safety of a leader, and score low in participative leadership behaviours which entail involving other people in decision-making as well as implementation. Conversely, Latin America, Latin European, and Anglo culture clusters score low in autonomous leadership behaviours and high in value-based/charismatic leadership.
Journal Entry 1:
Journal Entry 2:
Cultural differences that affect leadership practices: the UK and Saudi Arabia
Culture plays an essential role in improving leadership practices and sticking to infringing cultural practices may result in negative impact on the organization. I have learned the way the United Kingdom compares with Saudi Arabia in terms of how cultural differences affect leadership practices. In Saudi Arabia, religious activities and festivals have a major influence in leadership practices and help in ensuring that leaders actually have good skills for guiding and leading their people (The Hofstede Center 2015). In Saudi Arabia unlike in the United Kingdom, male dominance is valued and most business leaders are male. In the UK, both women and men are valued equally and many women hold leadership positions in business organizations.
Outstanding personalities of leaders
I have also learned how to describe the personalities of various leaders using the three theories of Allport’s Trait Theory, Eysenck’s Personality Theory and Freud’s Tripartite Theory of Personality. For instance, Sir Richard Branson Personality could be evaluated using Freud’s Tripartite theory of personality into 3 constituents: superego, the ego, and the id.
In our day-to-day interactions and activities, we encounter various issues that affect the way we live and execute our duties. Behaviours of workers follow different systems already established. Theories as well enhance our understanding of these behaviors. Many researchers have applied different theories to guide their research and make sense of their various findings. Therefore, understanding various concepts of theories, ways of contributing to theory, types of theories among many others is important in understanding the way people work and even the way culture affects people behaviors at their work place. This dissertation therefore, deliberates on the different concepts and understanding of theories. The first part of the paper discusses scholarly views on nature and types of theories by comparing and contrasting views that constitutes of a theory incorporating Gelso (2006), Wacker (1998) and Harlow (2009) and other peer reviewed articles. The second incorporate Ellis & Levy (2008), and Harlow (2009) to establish how both qualitative and quantitative research contributes to theory. Ways that research contributes to theory is also deliberated. The last section deliberates on cultural competency theory in a work place, how it contributes to our understanding of the field and deliberates on two areas of controversy that relate to the theory.
Literature review
Part 1
For many years, different scholars have elicited mixed views of what constitutes a theory (Wacker, 1998; Gelso, 2006., &Harlow 2009). This discussion, has contributed to the development of huge chunks of information and ideas on the same. For that reason, a number of researcher use classification systems and typologies to describe different types of theories in the context of their functions, purpose goals and boundaries. Despite the fact that these controversies exist, comparing and contrasting their views enlarges our understanding of the theories. Gelso (2006), Wacker (1998) and Harlow (2009) capture the three major views that constitute a theory. Wacker (1998) argues that operationalization of the definition of a theory should be tied to the appropriate components of a theory, “Operationalization of the definition of theory should directly be tied to the necessary components of theory” (Wacker, 1998, p. 363). Wacker argues that a theory is composed of four major components. One of the components is definitions, second is domain of applicability, third is a set of relationships of variables and lastly specific predictions or factual claims. A theory need defining to understand what it s meaning. It should be able to provide assistance or be applied in a given field. A theory should as well be able to create a relationship between various variables and should be able to provide predictions specifically relevant to a certain situation. The views held by Gelso (2006) are developed from those of Ryschlak (1968) who claimed that any good theory require to be explicitly stated with the intention of formulating a logical consistent and mutual interdependent body of knowledge. He further stated that a theory serves a number of functions. These functions include delimiting, descriptive, generative and integrative. Gelso (2006) develops this thought and argues that any theory is expected to have a scientific value and should be broad hence, go beyond simple propositional level. Theories therefore need not to describe and explain phenomena effectively only but should have or place a limit on what is examined and as well should be generative to stimulate in-depth or further investigation. Gelso (2006) therefore has developed eight constructs that guides his definition of theory. The construct that make up a theory include the following; explanatory power, descriptive ability, testability, heuristic value, parsimony, integration, comprehensiveness, clarity and delimitation. The construct are based on the assertion that any theory has the capability to generate research and the research generated can refine the theory. A theory even though need to have integrative function to accommodate various contradictory propositions, it must as well exhibit characteristics of parsimony meaning that it should have ideas and constructs that can aid in explanation of the phenomenon under investigation. Harlow (2009) on the other hand holds the view that a theory need not to have a universal or fixed meaning but need to consider the competing research paradigms. Therefore, this implies that a theory has the capability to suggest a determining law, laws or systems in natural sciences or can elicit constructs set that aid in understanding phenomenon.
Despite these views from these three scholars, many more researchers have developed their own ideas and constructs of what they do understand about theories in relation to the competing world paradigms (Gay & Weaver, 2011). Different taxonomies exist in relation to theory due to various approaches to theory, conflicting assumptions, competing conceptions and intellectual curiosity based on their individual worldviews. According to Gay and Weaver (2011), the approach to theory that researchers decide to apply depends on the research goals and assumptions. This means that researchers will utilize certain theories and ignore others based on the goals they want to attain and the individual assumptions about the importance of the goal to the current situation faced. Conceptual development of a theory is an informed concept framework that researcher can employ to have an initial understanding and explanation of the nature dynamics concerning an issue, phenomena, problem, that the theory focuses on. DiMaggio (1995) provides three views of what he perceives a theory needs to be. One is that a theory should cover laws, theory is enlightenment and it is a narrative. This means that a theory is abiding and provides a sense of direction or knowledge and is written in a narrative way to enhance understanding of what it means.
Even though there are many competing views, examining the relationships between theory and related paradigms, concepts, hypothesis, models is important to gain an explicit view on the types and nature of theory. Kerlinger (1986) states that a theory consists of two or more constructs, concepts, abstracts, definition, propositions hypothesized with review of phenomenon to predict and explain the phenomena. Theories therefore have theoretical propositions and hypothesis that come from these propositions. According to Sutton and Stow (1995), hypotheses are important bridges between theory and data. Propositions on the other hand are statements used to express the relationship of two or more concepts. Concepts on the other hand according to Bachman and Schutt (2007) means ‘mental image that summarize a set of similar observations’ (p. 72). Models even though are employed by researchers to demonstrate or indicate connectedness of variables within a theory they are not part of the theory. Paradigms on the other hand are general ways of how researchers view the phenomenal world while on other hand, theories are defined as systematic sets of interrelated constructs and statements used in explanation of some aspects that relates to social life (Gray & Weaver, 2011, p, 26).
Part 2
Theory plays a central role in research and there exists a relationship between theory and research. Even though, in most instances, theory guides research, they are interrelated and dependent on each other when it comes to making sense of a phenomenon. Similarly, research may contribute to some significant levels to explanatory power of a theory, when it comes to increasing or building knowledge effectively, research process is developed using a theoretical framework. Therefore, having research knowledge helps in theory contribution more incrementally as it adds more lexicon of facts on the already body of knowledge.
The core definition of research is that it helps to collect and analyze new data or information hence helping to enhance the body of knowledge (Ellis & Levy, 2008). Therefore, theory is applicable in the normal living situation as it gives meaning to various stakeholders. According to Harlow (2009), to develop a theory, it is expected that the researcher develop a test hence an indication of their inter-linkage. Therefore, the relationship of a theory and research is based on the fact that the two require building and testing. Another connection between a theory and research starts with problem definition and the generation of research idea. Research projects starts by reviewing literature appropriate allowing the researcher to engage the same using existing theoretical explanations of the topic in that question (Harlow, 2009). The construct or theory requiring testing informs the kind of cases that will be studied, data to be gathered, methods of data collection and the ways of analysis in the data. For instance, in inductive research strategy, the researcher develops a theory from the existing data and this can be a good starting point in the case where there is limited theoretical knowledge pertaining to a specific phenomena. Inductive strategy therefore allows researcher to build their own cases to come up with a new theory from the already existing data while deductive researcher theory testing finishes the cycle as researcher use research data/information in testing of the theory.
There are various ways research contributes to theory. Ellis and Levy (2008) have taken an interesting in this area and have deliberated on seven ways where original research contributions can be incorporate or transformed into body of knowledge. The contribution are summarized using various constructs; examination of elements, establishment of casual relationship, ways of product creation through developmental study, predictive model development, constructs development, efficacy evaluation and examination of impact of time on the nature of the problem already documented in the study. Sometimes researcher is expected to reframe and test ideas to ensure that conclusions reached are trustworthy and reliable. Building any theory require rich empirical research data hence such theories produced are guaranteed to be interesting, accurate and testable in any research environment. Ellis & Levy (2008) argues that in order for anything or endeavor to be categorized or considered as research it needs to demonstrate the potential of developing new ;knowledge that is identifiable (p. 23). Therefore, research helps researchers understand a phenomenon. It is through inquiry of a given aspect that allows a researcher to discover new knowledge and information that provides deeper understanding.
Discussion
Part 3
Even though, different researchers have come up with different views concerning a theory, for the sake of this discussion, Wacker (1998) theory fits the topic of the dissertation. Wacker (1998) states that a theory is able to provide framework to analysis, facilitate development of academic field, hence require application in real life to solve problems. A number of articles published in the previous five years help to create the applicability of theories relating to cross cultural aspects in the work place in US.
Cultural competency theory is one of the theories that provide deeper insights on the workplaces in US. US has people from various cultural backgrounds hence the workplace enhances diversity. Cultural competency theory is derived from a constructionist view. The theory therefore refers to the ability of people from different cultures and eve socio-economic backgrounds to interact effectively at their workplaces it advocates for integration and working together of people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Cultural competences have various components; one is being aware of one’s cultural worldview, second is the attitude towards cultural differences, knowledge of different worldviews and cultural practices and cross-cultural skills. Therefore, understanding cultural competencies allows people to understand each other, communicate and as well interact with the other people.
This theory by the fact that it is derived from the constructionist view, it implies that people generate knowledge and meaning through the ideas and experiences they have had. Understanding the cultures and the operations of an organization, it requires workers to have a positive mental orientation about other people. Workers as well embrace one another easily if they know and understand their culture and other people cultural backgrounds. Therefore, this constructionist view is the foundation of cultural competency theory which aides in the achievement of the cultural competent.
This theory relates to various views and nature of theory discussed in the literature review. The constructs developed by Gelso (2006) provides a guide when it comes to defining this theory. The constructs that make up cultural competence theory include explanatory power, descriptive ability, testability, parsimony, heuristic value, integration, comprehensiveness, clarity and delimitation. These constructs asserts that any theory has the capability to generate research and the research generated transformed into a theory. The theory has explanatory power as it provides an insight about the theory. It is also descriptive because it provides a clear description of cultural competence. It can be tested to ascertain whether it is true through research.
It also exhibits attributes of parsimony as it has constructs and ideas that aid in explanation of the phenomenon. It has integrative function because it accommodates contradictory. The theory is compressive as it captures various aspects that pertain to culture. It is also clear and his enhances its understanding. People can easily understand the theory meaning and implications. It has as well heuristic value implying that is can be adopted through speculative formulation to guide in the investigation and in solution of problems. Organizations can adopt this theory to gain a deeper understanding of the cultural environment of an entity.
The theory has been adopted in various researches by researchers hence, a clear indication of its significance in enhancing understanding of cultural dynamics in the workplace. . Various peer reviewed journals help to develop propositions and constructs that help them to generate knowledge pertaining to cultural competence theory. In the study, Chrobot-Mason (2012), ethnic and racial identify theory is adopted to provide insight on the topic of study (p. 201). The theory argue that people progress through a number of stages as they develop attitudes and beliefs towards their racial group and other groups they belong to. Therefore, such a theory provides a foundation for the researcher to understand indeed, the way ethnic group of an individual helps them identify themselves and cope with others. Furthermore, this theory helps the researcher to have an in depth understanding of the topic. The theory as well provide a framework to analysis the issues of cross culture and facilitates development of academic information that others can use in their own life. Organizations can be able to use this information to ensure that they make some improvements to promote diversity at the workplace.
Controversies as well exist on how the theory has been used in research. The area of controversy that relates to the theory is the aspect of explanation and predicating as the purpose of research. The four components that make up this theory is definitions, an aspect of how it can be used /applied, sets of relationships with the variables and lastly to have specific prediction or claims that are factual. Therefore, the theory has some issues or questioned that are not well answered. One of the question concerns the central points that makes up a theory. The theory is expected to generate idea, it should also be in a position to generate hypothesis and provide an interpretation of the study findings. The concept of heuristic value helps to explain contradictory preposition through formulation of speculations on how the theory can help to solve a problem in the organization is misinterpreted. This may contribute to false assumptions and results.
Recommendation
It is indeed evident that the relationship between theory and practice is important as they both direct each other. There are still some controversies, issues and assumptions on how a theory can be transplanted into practice. It is therefore important that theories are well formulated to provide solutions in real life. This will help to manage knowledge transfer problem. Dialogue and information sharing among scholars and even practitioners is essential in addressing the misassumptions that may be there between theory and research and practice. Researchers as well need to understand that theories and research have relationship and they help to create understanding and knowledge on different aspects or phenomena. Theories require frequent updates and it is therefore, recommended that researcher keep in touch on the development of theories. As new one are developed some of the previous ones become obsolete. Old theories can be retested to be in a position to build new and updated ones.
Conclusion
Theoretical concepts are many as researchers continue to conduct research-using theories. Therefore, understanding theories and their constructs, paradigms among others is important for any researcher. There exist interlinkage between theory and research. These interrelations are essential in helping enhance understanding of various aspects and concepts or phenomenon. Theories provide explanatory advantage on various problems, present innovative features and provide predictive utility. Various researchers have as well provided different approaches and understanding of theory. These comparisons and contrasts have helped to increase understanding of theories in research work. Some of the theories have some bridges or gaps that are filed by other researchers or theorists. Various peer-reviewed journals have deliberate in-depth on the issues of cross-cultural competencies in work place in US. Most of them have employed different theories to enhance understanding of their topics.
References
Bachman, R., &Schutt, R. (2007).The practice of research in criminology and criminal justice (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Chrobot-Mason, D. (2012). Developing multicultural competence to improve cross-race work relationships. The Psychologist-Manager Journal, 15(4), 199-218. Doi:10.1080/10887156.2012.730440
DiMaggio, P. (1995). Comments on what theory is not‘. Administrative Science Quarterly, 40, 391-397.doi: 10.1177/0092070306291975
Ellis, T. J., & Levy, Y. (2008). Framework of problem-based research: A guide for novice researchers on the development of a research-worthy problem. Information Science: the International Journal of an EmergingTrans-discipline, 11, 18-33.
Gay, B., & Weaver, S. (2011). Theory building and paradigms: A primer on the nuances of theory construction. American International Journal of Contemporary Research, 1(2), 24-32. doi: 10.1111/j.1469 -5812.2007.00349.x
Gelso, C. J. (2006). Applying theories to research: The interplay of theory and research in science.In Leong, F.T., &Austin J. T. (Eds.).The Psychology research handbook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Harlow, E. (2009). “Contribution, theoretical.”Encyclopedia of Case Study Research. Retrieved from
Kerlinger, R. (1986). Foundations of behavioral research. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston.
Rychlak, J. F. (1968). A philosophy of science for personality theory.Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin
Sutton, R., &Staw, B. (1995). What theory is not.Administrative Science Quarterly, 40, 371-384. doi: 10.1234/12345678
Wacker, J. (1998). A definition of theory: Research guidelines for different theory-building research methods in operations management. Journal of Operations Management, 16 (4), 361–385.doi:10.1016/S0272-6963(98)00019-9
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Please see attached an exercise based on an actual situation in Hungary.
How you would handle the situation ?
SAMPLE ANSWER
Cross-cultural Conflict Case Study
One of the cross cultural issue that has resulted in conflict between Mr. Hovarth and Kovacs is communication. Communication has been unveiled as the endeavour behind the conception of an image of an establishment and the arise conflict can be learned from the way others reflect into various media (Walters, 1994). Granting to the case study the conflict between the two would have occurred as a result of vague language that Mr. Kovacs used in an American slang against Horvath. The retaliation of Mr. Horvath in response to Kovacs vague slag continued to sustain the existing dispute between them. The other cultural issue is being egocentric. They conceive of themselves and generalize others as inferior. This is seen as both retaliates of each others background.
In order to solve the situation there is a need of an intermediary who will have to mediate the resolution process. By adopting and learning a conflict resolution principles, a mediator will greatly enhance the two conflicting parties for a better understanding and communication process (Walters, 1994). It is typical that the two will argue a great deal since they pretends to be superior to each other. Thus, they should be mindful of cultural beliefs, values and views. Both the two parties must be neutral and ready to reconcile and also change their egocentric beliefs on each others background.
If I’m the one to mediate this dispute, I will guarantee there is peace and completely solve the difference. I will guide them through the conflict resolution process. They will have to apologize to each other for the weird responses they have used. Admitting a mistake done is one part of solving a dispute (Bijaoui, Sultan & Shlomo, 2011). Conflicts create a barrier to good communication, hence communicators must learn to forecast on circumstances that will exacerbate conflict and to build up an effective communication program (Bijaoui, Sultan & Shlomo, 2011
References
Bijaoui, I., Sultan, S. & Shlomo, Y.T. 2011, “The progressive model, an economic reconciliation process for regions in conflict”, Cross Cultural Management, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 293-312.
Walters, J. 1994, “Communication: Antidote to conflict”, Communication World, vol. 11, no. 9, pp. 35.
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In the ((COMPARISON COUNTRY)) choose: united Kingdom
2)Identify and describe some of the cultural differences in the two chosen countries and how it affects leadership practices.
3)Analyze the effect such cultural features have on leadership practices.
4)Evaluate the effectiveness of your own country’s leadership practices with regard to acknowledging and understanding these two other cultures.
Also,
1)The answer must raise appropriate critical questions.
2)Do include all your references, as per the Harvard Referencing System.
3)Please don’t use Wikipedia web site.
4)I need examples from peer reviewed articles or researches.
Note: To prepare for this essay please read the required articles that is attached
Appreciate each single moment you spend in writing my paper
Best regards
SAMPLE ANSWER
Comparison of Saudi Arabia and United Kingdom
Exploring the culture of Saudi Arabia will obtain different sets of drivers that affect the leadership practices in relation to other countries. Power is one of the elements that are being pursued at each level (Akers, 2007). The dimension of the power in general claim and prove the fact that every human being living in a community is equal. This reveals how we should take our culture as we practice it amongst ourselves (Akers, 2007). Therefore, in Saudi Arabia the cognition of power distance as a way of culture has been referred as the extent to which the less powerful members of the organization or institution in the Saudi Arabian country would expect and also they accept that power has been distributed equally (The Hofstede center, 2015). As a way of life the people living in the country have accepted the hierarchical order that has provided each individual a place and they need no further jurisdiction.
The practice of individualizing exists in the people of Saudi Arabia as the degree of interdependence is maintained (The Hofstede center, 2015). These people are taking care of themselves compared to the other states where there are organs of the government undertaking the role in protecting their citizens (The Hofstede center, 2015). Also the organization behavior of of the citizens in relation to the practice of culture is that there exists a society being driven by achievement, competition and success (The Hofstede center, 2015). The critical issue in here is, what motivate the people to do the best? They are masculine and they live to work. Also Saudi Arabia culture has proved that of pragmatism encourages effort and thrift in today’s education as a way out to prepare for the future (The Hofstede center, 2015). Another challenge that exists in human beings is the degree into which little children can socialize (The Hofstede center, 2015). The rate of indulgence in the Saudi Arabian country is high, in its definition is the extent to which the citizens try to control their own desires and impulses according to the way they were raised (The Hofstede center, 2015).
Cultural differences affecting leadership practices
Saudi Arabia is one of the nations located in the Middle East region where majority of its citizens are Muslims (Domina, 2009). One of the most convenient cultural practices that Muslims do is the art of festival activities. There are a number of festivals that Muslims participate according to their calendar. In relation to the United Kingdom, it is not an Islamic based nation as the majority of the citizens in this nation are Christians (Domina, 2009). The consideration of these numerous festival activities in the Islamic country does have an influence in the leadership practices (The Hofstede center, 2015). Leaders in Saudi Arabian country are aware of the religious activities that are pertaining the celebration practices as in the United Kingdom each individual take part in the celebrations in their own ways (The Hofstede center, 2015). Islamic festival occupies a large base in leadership practices as they also play a substantial role in ensuring leaders have good skills to guide and lead citizens (The Hofstede center, 2015).
The use neo-charismatic leadership in the United Kingdom compared to the culture that have adopted the use of power distance in Saudi Arabia affects leadership practices (LEADERSHIPS LEARNING PA N 1 CBE IRU, 2013). The use of visionary or neo-charismatic leadership style will be affected by engaging in a culture of power distance like the one being adopted in Saudi Arabia (LEADERSHIPS LEARNING PA N 1 CBE IRU, 2013). The culture being shaped on in the United Kingdom involves challenging different processes, modeling most of the ways to participate in and also encouraging or inspiring citizens as a leader. Therefore, observing and adopting the culture of the United Kingdom which is effective, will improve on the leadership qualities for the people of Saudi Arabia (LEADERSHIPS LEARNING PA N 1 CBE IRU, 2013). Culture plays a vital role in improving leadership practices, hence adhering to infringing cultural practices will bring up negative impact on leadership practices (LEADERSHIPS LEARNING PA N 1 CBE IRU, 2013).
Also, another cultural practice that is being practiced in Saudi Arabia that is highly condemned in other world states is the inconsiderate or undermining of gender bias (Aimar, 2007). Saudi Arabia as an Islamic state they do value male dominance hence infringing the woman gender (Aimar, 2007). The other states have advocated for freedom and equality of gender on any field that individuals wish to participate. Women have been segregated from leadership activities in Saudi Arabia while in United Kingdom there is equality of leadership practices (Aimar, 2007). Therefore, gender bias influences leadership activities and it should be abolished. There is need for equality on all genders in the world to ensure effective leadership practices is achieved (Aimar, 2007).
Effect of cultural features of leadership practices
The fundamental issue behind individualism is that people will not be able to think about others as they portray a self image that have to keep (Svensson, 2005). In a culture, it it recommended to care about others as much as they do care about themselves. Individualism practices affect negates the value of leadership practices, hence people should step up and care others as much as they do to themselves (Amnuckmanee, 2002). Also the availability of ambiguity that is brought forward by the use of uncertainty avoidance in a culture brings the onset of to deal with the fact that the future can never be known hence there should control measure (Amnuckmanee, 2002). Lack of control of the future will bring about the uncertainty avoidance that affects leadership practices too. More so the effect of uncertainty avoidance affects the leadership practices through being unaware of the future and the lack of ways to control it (Amnuckmanee, 2002). Lastly, cultural practices to indulgence has been seen as another feature in Saudi Arabia that’s affected leadership practices. In individuals it has been revealed that they try a lot to control their impulses and desires, but yet it is not easy (Svensson, 2005). Indulgences affect leadership activities through the creation of desires that are irrelevant to other people (Svensson, 2005).
Effectiveness of your own country’s leadership practices
Leadership practices in my country largely depend on the societal norms hence they are considerate in many ways (Fisher, 2002). The exercise of various characteristics and values in my country renders the daily activities being performed to be accurate (Harris, 2005). There is the existence of neo-charismatic leadership, hence following of cultural values cannot be influenced. The use of charismatic leadership should be exercised in all countries since it is the best way to consider the value of diverse cultures (Harris, 2006).
References
Aimar, C., & Stough, S. 2007, “LEADERSHIP: DOES CULTURE MATTER? COMPARATIVE PRACTICES BETWEEN ARGENTINA AND UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”. Academy of Educational Leadership Journal, 11(3), 9-43. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/214228068?accountid=45049
Akers, D.S. 2007, “SAUDI ARABIA: Culture and Customs of Saudi Arabia”, The Middle East Journal, vol. 61, no. 1, pp. 173-174.
Amnuckmanee, A. 2002, “Demographic influences on the leadership practices of chief faculty officers during the period of reform (Order No. 3053216). Available from ABI/INFORM Complete. (305470852). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/305470852?accountid=45049
Aziz, S.F.A., Silong, A.D., Karim, N.A.A. & Hassan, H. 2012, “Leadership Practices in Public Sector in Selected Countries: An Integrative Literature Review”, Journal of Management Policy and Practice, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 113-126.
Fisher, R. 2002, “Social cohesion in the United Kingdom: a case report CIRCLE-CCRN Round Table 2000]”, Canadian Journal of Communication, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 161-166.
Harris, L.L. 2006, The relationship of leaderships’ communication to employee engagement and intent to stay, University of Minnesota.
Harris, P., Rettie, R. & Cheung, C.K. 2005, “ADOPTION AND USAGE OF M-COMMERCE: A CROSS-CULTURAL COMPARISON OF HONG KONG AND THE UNITED KINGDOM”, Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 210-224.
LEADERSHIPS LEARNING PA N 1 CBE IRU2013, , Experian Information Solutions, Inc, Costa Mesa.
In the ((SELECT COUNTRY)) choose: United Arab Emirates
In the ((COMPARISON COUNTRY)) choose: Saudi Arabia
2)Identify and describe some of the cultural differences in the two chosen countries and how it affects leadership practices.
3) Analyze the effect such cultural features have on leadership practices.
4) Evaluate the effectiveness of your own country’s leadership practices with regard to acknowledging and understanding these two other cultures.
Also,
1) The answer must raise appropriate critical questions.
2) Do include all your references, as per the Harvard Referencing System.
3) Please don’t use Wikipedia web site.
4) I need examples from peer reviewed articles or researches.
Note: To prepare for this essay please read the required articles that is attached
Appreciate each single moment you spend in writing my paper
Best regards
SAMPLE ANSWER
This paper seeks to identify and describe some of the cultural differences between the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. This paper also seeks to analyze how this difference affects leadership practices. Studies on how different cultures perceive leadership and leadership behaviors. This paper also provides an analysis of the effect such different cultural features have on leadership practices. Finally, an evaluation of the effectiveness of the United Kingdom’s leadership practices with regard to acknowledging and understanding of both the cultures of the UAE and Saudi Arabia will be made.
In identifying cultural differences that affects leadership practices between the two countries, a comparison conducted by the globe studies identified dimensions of leadership behavior in relation to culture. They included Charismatic or value based leadership, team orientated leadership, participative leadership, human orientated leadership, autonomous leadership and self protective leadership.
Cultural features have also been proven to have various influences on leadership practices. For examples, many cultures in the Middle East such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have self protective characteristics which are indicative of authoritative and autonomous leadership styles where the leader comes first in society then everybody else follows coupled with a lack of participative leadership behavior which involves the inclusion of everyone in decision making and implementation.
As compared between Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the UK, it is clear that culture and power distance play a major role. Power distance is the extent at which the less powerful members of a society expect and accept that power is unevenly distributed. In the United Arab Emirates people accept pecking orders in which everybody has a place in society and everyone should be content with that place to maintain stability. The power distance is lowest in the UK but highest in Saudi Arabia. Individualism as a cultural attribute also plays an important role.
Individualism is the degree of interdependence a society maintains among its members. In Individualist societies people are supposed to look after themselves and their direct family only while in collectivist societies in the Middle East such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia, people belong to societies as manifested in close long-term relationships like family and extended family. For example the employer and employee relationships are made in gentleman and moral terms and hiring and promotion take account of where the employee is from and who they know.
Masculinity however has no much difference in the three country comparisons with the United Arab Emirates scores 50 in this dimension indicating that it is neither masculine nor feminine. Where uncertainty avoidance is concerned, the United Arab Emirates has a high preference for avoiding uncertainty indicating that the extent to which the members of the culture feel threatened by unknown circumstances and try to avoid them while the United Kingdom has the highest.
Works Cited
Foster, Dean Allen. The Global Etiquette Guide to Africa and the Middle East Everything You Need to Know for Business and Travel Success. New York: J. Wiley & Sons, 2002.
Harris, Philip R., and Robert T. Moran. Managing Cultural Differences. 6th ed. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann, 2004.
Khan, Marryam. Gender Dynamics from the Arab World an Intercultural Service Encounter. Orlando, Fla.: University of Central Florida, 2013.
CulturalEthical and CSR Implications on Change Order Instructions: I need an essay in the following subject: This assignment puts you in the role of a change manager.
Cultural Ethical and CSR Implications on Change
You will take on the role of internal change agent for a hypothetical organization that is planning a significant restructuring, and you will analyze options for using HRM concepts and practices to manage the change. Part 1 of this assignment asks you to analyze the cultural, ethical and CSR implications of the planned organizational change. For your Assignment, choose from one of the following scenarios:
•A manufacturing company has recently acquired two new subsidiaries that manufacture new product lines, each in a different country.
•A global chain of coffee shops is closing fifteen of its locations in six different countries but is expanding into two new countries with eight new locations.
•A large, multinational banking and finance company has decided to outsource its technical support and helpdesk functions, eliminating the internal departments that handle these functions. At the same time, the company is hiring an outside vendor to develop an online self-service portal that staff can access to answer the most basic technical support questions.
•Instead of choosing one of these scenarios, you may create your own; obtain approval on your scenario from your Instructor before proceeding with the assignment.
To complete this Individual Assignment:
Complete an 1100-word analysis of the cultural, ethical and CSR issues present in your scenario. Add detail to your scenario as you choose to clarify the situation and help highlight possible cultural, ethical and CSR issues faced by a company in such a situation. Use the following general outline:
1.Scenario: Describe your chosen scenario, adding detail about the company, its location(s), history, strategic goals, staff characteristics and other features that might be relevant to the scenario. Be creative!
2.Cultural issues: What issues related to culture (including national culture, organizational culture, etc.) might the company in your scenario face?
3.Ethical issues: What ethical issues related to staff and stakeholders might the company in your scenario face?
4.CSR issues: What issues related to CSR might the company in your scenario face?
5.HR implications: What are some of the implications of these issues for staff and the HR function in the organization?
The following conditions must meet in the paper
1) The answer must raise appropriate critical questions.
2) The answer must include examples from experience or the web with references from relevant examples from real companies.
3) Do include all your references, as per the Harvard Referencing System,
4) Please don’t use Wikipedia web site.
5) I need examples from peer reviewed
articles or researches.
Appreciate each single moment you spend in writing my paper
Cultural Ethical and CSR Implications on Change Sample Answer
HRM.W9.ASS: Analysis of cultural, ethical and CSR implications of the planned organizational change
Introduction
Change in any organization is inevitable and adopting appropriate strategies is important to ensure successful change management. Appropriate HRM concepts and practices come in handy in the process of managing change. Various aspects require consideration when contemplating or planning significant restructurings such as culture, ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Therefore, the paper uses Toyota Company to provide an analysis of various factors such as culture, ethics and CSR and their implications on planned change of acquiring new subsidiaries that will manufacture new products lines in two different countries.
Scenario
Toyota is a multinational company that manufactures automobiles. The company has recently acquired two more subsidiaries that manufacture new product lines in two countries as an initiative to expand and to accrue huge profits. The company headquarter is in Tokyo at Toyota City but has regional offices in UK, US, and other countries. The employees of the company are approximately 320,000. Kiichiro Toyota founded the company in 1937 to create automobiles (Toyota. Com, 2015). Since then, it has grown steadily to earn its status. The company is headed by a president who oversees its operations. The company’s vision and strategic goals are to create outstanding products that will promote sustainable growth. The company is committed to honoring the laws, cultures, and customs of all the nations in which it operates. It aims to remain the leading automobile in the future and take the largest market share of the automobiles in the countries of its operations.
Cultural issues
Culture is the beliefs or ideologies held by individuals or certain groups of individuals. These behaviors or beliefs are not biological but learned from environment and passed to generations. It is therefore important for any organization that restructures or implements change to consider the cultural aspects that will affect their operations (Church 2014). Every country has its own national culture and therefore, Toyota must beware of this to ensure that its culture does not clash with the host country. Examples of national culture the company might face are the language, national values, company registration process, tax and other legal regulations in the country among many others (Parker 2000). For instance, the national language that the host country speaks may be different from that of the company that wants to set a subsidiary (Black, 2003). This, therefore, may lead to challenges in communication and would require the company to recruit officers that are proficient in the language spoken by the host country. National values as well may differ between the two countries something that may cause misunderstanding between the two countries. The process of registration of a company may also differ in terms of the time and the requirements for eligibility. This may also cause challenges that may require the two parties to enter into negotiations to agree on the terms. Organizations as well have their own culture or rather their way of functioning. Organizational cultures normally vary from one company to another. It, therefore, becomes prudent for the company to understand its culture to ensure that it delivers its services and products better. Organizational culture is based on various factors such as the company’s history, organizational structure, ownership, critical business incidence, technology and environments, dressing codes, among many others. The organizational culture should reflect the needs of the customers and stakeholders. In this case, it is therefore apparent that the company will face a number of organization cultural issues such as changes in relating with people, dressing code changes, time management challenges and leadership problems because of the structure of the organization among many others. The company may as well require training of its staffs in the country to equip them with relevant skills to execute their tasks as the organization wants.
Ethical issues
Business ethics is an important part of any business as it enables adherence to good behaviors. Any business whether small or large must adhere to ethics when dealing with its customers, staffs, competitors and other stakeholders. Adhering to ethical standards allows a business to grow as it embraces healthy competition (Papa et al. 2008). Toyota is as well likely to experience ethical issues related to staff and stakeholders as it expands its subsidiaries in these two countries. One of the ethical issues is the poor quality of products. The company may deliver products that are of low quality to sell them at low prices to win over the competitors hence, unethical practice. Another ethical issue is a denial of staffs to form unions to fight for their rights. The company may not permit unions hence denying the staffs their rights. The other ethical issue is poor working condition coupled with low salaries and long working hours (Vanhala & Ahteela 2011). The company may focus on profitability without thinking about the welfare of the workers. This is unethical as it infringes on the rights of the staffs. Other ethical issues likely to surface in the company are favoritism in providing employment opportunities to staffs and involvement in corruption to win over contracts and to get favors from various institutions.
CSR Issues
The corporate social responsibility concept has gained more approval in many organizations. Organizations nowadays voluntarily take part in initiatives to ensure that the society they operate in benefits from their activities (Owazuaka & Obinna 2014). The company as well has become committed to ensuring a safer and cleaner environment. Companies need to be sensitive to the needs of their stakeholders even as they pursue their operations (Labbai 2007). The company will therefore be expected to work closely with the community. It will have to support the local communities by giving them opportunities to work in the company in various departments. The company must take part in the environmental conservation initiatives (Angus-Leppan, Metcalf & Benn 2010). It will be obliged to put in place measures that will reduce negative impacts to the environment as it carries on with its operations. Furthermore, it needs to manufacture safe and quality products for the consumers. The products will require testing and verification by the consumer watch bodies in the countries to ensure that they meet the standards. The company as well will be expected to get involved in charitable contributions, among other initiatives.
HR Implication
Human resource has the responsibility to ensure that the organization has the right people and systems to make the process function smoothly. In change initiatives, human resource management plays a critical role in many ways. It ensures that appropriate strategies are adopted such as recruitment of staffs to ensure that the process succeeds (Bloom, Genakos, Sadun & Van Reenen 2012). Ethical, cultural and corporate social responsibilities issues are important aspects to consider when restructuring an organization. In this case, these issues have implications for the staffs and the HR functions as they contribute to the success and achievement of the organization objectives and goals. One of the implications is that, HR must come up with the best plans to ensure efficient and smooth transition. Recruitment of staffs is also very important. The process should be fair and free and should consider cultural aspects. The staffs that have the right qualifications should be retained. Diversity must manifest in the recruitment process to avoid future resentments and complaints. The vision of the company as well must be maintained through adoption of best practices throughout the process of change. Staffs should get better salaries that resonate with their skills and their levels of input. The working condition must be good and the products must be of high quality. The company as well stands to gain approval and to build positive image if it participates in CSR.
Cultural Ethical and CSR Implications on Change Reference list
Angus-Leppan T, Metcalf, L, & Benn, S 2010, ‘Leadership styles and CSR practice: an examination of sense making, institutional drivers and CSR leadership’, Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 93 no. 2, pp. 189-213.
Black, R 2003, Organizational Culture: Creating the Influence Needed for Strategic Success, London UK
Labbai, M 2007, ‘Social Responsibility and Ethics in Marketing’, Paper presented at the International Marketing Conference on Marketing & Society, 8-10 April, 2007, IIMK
Parker, M 2000, Organizational Culture and Identity, London: Sage.
Papa, M., et al. 2008, Organizational Communication Perspectives and Trends (4th Ed.). Sage Publications.
Toyota. Com 2015. About us. Retrieved from: http://www.toyota-global.com/company/
Vanhala, M, & Ahteela, R 2011, ‘The effect of HRM practices on impersonal organizational trust’, Management Research Review, Vol. 34 No. 8,,pp. 869-888
