...45. Examine the influence, both positive and negative, of Western European and American knowledge and ideals on the Ottoman, Russian, Qing, and Tokugawa states in the nineteenth century. Why would these states be both attracted to and repelled by these influences? The Tokugawa, Ottoman, Russian, and Qing states were slower with acquiring technological advancements than Western Europe and America, which made it quite complex while competing with others. The Tokugawa, Ottoman, Russian, and Qing societies (states) developed flexible cultures that were unable to compete with America or Western Europe. 46. Not surprisingly, losses in wars often are more important than victories. How were the Ottoman, Russian, Qing, and Tokugawa states affected...
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...WHAT DO KUME KUNITAKE’S OBSERVATIONS OF THE WEST DURING HIS TRAVELS WITH THE IWAKURA EMBASSY REVEAL ABOUT JAPAN IN THE 1870S? In December 1871 the prominent Japanese minister Iwakura Tomomi led almost half of the new Meiji government (“the government”) on an embassy around the Western world. Travelling with the ‘Iwakura Embassy’ was Kume Kunitake, a Neo-Confucian scholar and historian. Employed as both Iwakura’s personal secretary and the Embassy’s recorder, Kume along with his assistant Sugiura Kozo (later Hatakeyama Yoshinari) were instructed to record what the Embassy witnessed in the West. The record they produced was to form the basis for Kume’s ‘True Account’ (‘Jikki’) of the Embassy’s ‘Journey of Observations’ (‘Kairan’). Clearly set aside from the Jikki’s narrative in indented sections are Kume’s ‘personal views and observations’ (“Kume’s observations”). Yet these are much more than mere observations. Indeed, before Kume could publish his work he required the approval of Iwakura. While this presumably encouraged Kume to toe the government line, it also gave Iwakura considerable influence over Kume. Considering that the Jikki was revised over ten times before it was approved, it seems that Iwakura fully exercised this influence. Indeed, as Kume’s observations often appear to digress from the main narrative it suggests that they were imposed into Jikki at a late stage of compilation, presumably during these revisions. This suggests that these observations were written...
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...The Judgement of Beauty The judgments of beauty are universally consistent and biologically based, not influenced by culture and individual history. Argue for or against this statement using what you have learned from the course to support your point of view. You may use one or more examples from outside readings to illustrate your points. “Beauty”, as defined in the Oxford Dictionary (2015), is a collection of pleasant qualities, especially those increase the attractiveness of a person or an object. It can be categorized into two different kinds: external beauty and inner beauty (Panek, 2011). External beauty mainly focuses on appearance and body shape (Etcoff, 1999), while inner beauty refers to internal qualities which is considered nice and graceful to others (Perry, 2011). A person described as “beautiful” usually possess a combination of both. While the concept of “inner beauty” is universal, the standard of external beauty is subject to variations (Carla615, 2011), hence would be the main focus of this essay. Some believe that such judgments are universally consistent and based on biological evidence, while others are convinced that culture and one’s individual background may also impact on judgements of beauty. In fact, judgments of beauty are made under a mixed factor of biological intuition, individual history and cultural change. They are not universal across the world. Across centuries, the standard of beauty was always under the influence of culture. Culture...
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...Topic 1: Scientific Management How was Taylorism received outside the USA? Contrast the reception of Taylorism in two different countries, one western, one Asian, in your answer. Introduction Before looking in to whether scientific management has always been successful outside of USA, there is a need to look at scientific management when Frederick W. Taylor first introduced it in the late 1890s and early 1900s. Started experimenting at Midvale Steel Company where he tried to improve the efficiency of the workers for increased productivity, he has then already faced the problems and critics of his scientific management that it is still facing today. This includes the time study of work to define the optimal standards for workers while using stopwatches and other devices; critics are against this as they feel the method in measuring performance violates the fair treatment of workers. While it is safe to say that Taylor was a central figure in the development of management thought where his emphasis on efficiency using scientific management, it must be stressed that many others who have applied it, has also adapt and refine additional methods to suit their needs contribute to the success of scientific management (Wren & Bedeian 2009). This paper seeks to discuss how Taylorism is received outside USA as well as compare and contrast the receptivity of Taylorism in Russia and Japan. The global spread and development of Taylorism in the 1950s and 1960s greatly enhanced...
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...Compare and Contrast Japanese and Western Imperialism in Asia and the Pacific 23 October 2013 at 18:10 The Japanese pursuit for an empire in South East Asia helped changed the balance of world power away from Europe, by taking their most lucrative colonies. Soon after the Japanese defeat in World War II, most of the colonies won their independence from their European masters. This essay will be arguing that despite the vast geographical distance and cultural, racial differences, as well as the different time periods involved, Japanese and European intentions were very similar, and that these similarities contributed to the weakening of Imperialism as a doctrine. To do so, this essay will be examining the reasons for the Japanese conducting policies of imperialism, when they expanded, what methods they use to expand and the systems of government. Japanese Imperialism will be compared to those of a well known European power active in the region, Britain. J.A Hobson’s seminal work Imperialism: A Study puts forward the idea of the ‘Economic Taproot of Imperialism’. A taproot is the largest root in some plants and is the plant’s primary source of nourishment. Military aggression is simply capitalist expansion. He described it as “As one nation after another enters the machine economy and adopts advanced industrial methods, it becomes more difficult for its manufacturers, merchants and finaciers to dispose profitably of their economic resources and they are tempted more and more to...
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...Academic English for Business and Management Compare and contrast the ideas expressed in the two texts. To what extent do these texts show that national and cultural stereotypes are no longer a useful way of examining the human condition and economic activity? Choose an element in the texts which you find interesting and explain your reaction to it by giving examples from your own experience. It is commonly regarded that globalization is a world trend today, thus national and cultural stereotypes are drawing attention. Before reading, the definition of stereotype should be clarified. Stereotypes are traits but different from the country, language, culture and other factors. Furthermore, stereotype is ‘a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing’ (Oxford Dictionaries, Oxford University Press, 2014). This essay will compare and contrast the ideas from two articles named ‘Intercultural communication for sale’ (Piller, 2011) and ‘East meets West: How the brains unites us all’ (Yong, 2009), then consider whether stereotypes are useful to examine people’s mind and business activities. It is shown in two texts that national stereotype is a common topic that both Piller and Yong discussed in their articles. Yong (2009) refers to stereotypes that easterners have a holistic world view, while westerners tend to think more analytically. Piller (2011) uses the ideas of stereotypes and shows how they can be exploited to help sell...
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...employees to maintain higher productivity, have increased job satisfaction, meet organizational goals, and strive to be competitive in the job market today. When a leader can understand what motivates his or her employees, then employees will invest in the improvement of the company (Adler & Gunderson, 2008, p. 184). As the business world becomes more global each and every day, managers must also begin to think more globally. This includes investigating which motivational practices work the best for different cultures. This paper will first describe in depth several highly-used motivational theories and explain why they are so important. It will then discuss the cultures of four different regions of the world, including North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. It will explain how to use those...
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...STRATEGIC INTENT |To: |Professor Friberg | |From: |Michael Dunagan | |Date: |April 27, 2010 | |MGT 512: |Strategic Management | | |of Technology | Focus on Strategic Intent Introduction In the book "Random Walk Down Wall Street", Burton Malkiel took the idea of efficient markets to its logical conclusion, and argued that a blindfolded monkey in theory should be able to perform as well on the stock market as professional brokers. The Wall Street Journal found this argument intriguing, and decided to test the hypothesis by having reporters throw darts to select random stocks. An informal competition was consequently arranged over several months to test how random selection performed against leading stock traders. Luckily for the financial analysts, the latter managed to at least beat the darts on average, but the victory was not deemed sufficiently convincing enough to justify the hefty brokerage fees charged by analysts. Similar criticism has been raised against management consultants, but a performance comparison can in this case not be performed using darts or monkeys. Despite the criticism, consulting is a quickly growing industry and the demand for tools like strategic models are increasing in correlation with the industry. It thus created somewhat of an upheaval when London Business School...
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...country’s culture. We’ll be exploring cultural differences and their effect on business in this chapter. Even if you haven’t traveled to a foreign country, you can still see cultural differences within the U.S. Think about the concept of time for example. How do people on the East Coast view time? You might have answered that East Coasters often see time as a valuable commodity that shouldn’t be wasted. Now, compare that perspective to how someone from the South might view time. Many Southerners still prefer a slower paced way of life. How might these differences affect the way you would do business in each region? Just like you might adapt for differences at home, when doing business in foreign countries, you’ll need to adapt as well. We say that companies must have cross-cultural literacy, or an understanding of how cultural differences across and within nations can affect the way in which business is practiced. It’s also important to consider how culture might affect the cost of doing business in a particular location. For example, some people argue that the Japanese traditions including lifetime employment and long-term decision-making lowered the costs of doing business in the country during the 1960s, 70s and 80s. 3. So, what is culture? The fundamental building blocks of culture are values, or abstract ideas about what a group believes is good,...
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... 2. What is the meaning of leadership? Are western theories of leadership relevant to non-Western cultural settings? Illustrate with examples.2009/2010 3. Are Western theories of leadership relevant in Non-Western cultural settings? Illustrate with examples. 2008/2009 4. Leadership is critical for the success or failure of international operations, and what is effective in one country might be considered as ineffective in another culture. Select two leaders from two different cultures and compare and contrast their leadership styles. Explain why they are different or similar.2007/2008 5. “Leadership is fundamentally the same irrespective of culture.” Do you agree/disagree? 2007/2008 6. How does culture influence the practice of leadership? 2006/2007 Objectives: 1. Describe the basic philosophic foundation and styles of managerial leadership 2. Examine the attitudes of European managers toward leadership practices 3. Compare and Contrast leadership styles in Japan with those in the US 4. Review leadership approaches in China, the Middle East, and developing countries 5. Examine recent research and findings regarding leadership across cultures 6. Discuss the relationship of culture clusters and leader behaviour to effective leadership practices, including increasing calls for more responsible global leadership US and Japan “Getting Americans and Japanese to work together is like mixing hamburger with...
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...CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO GLOBAL MARKETING SUMMARY A company that engages in global marketing focuses resources on global market opportunities and threats. Successful global marketers such as Nestle, Coca-Cola, and Honda use familiar marketing mix elements – the four Ps – to create global marketing programs. Marketing, R&D, manufacturing, and other activities comprise a firm’s value chain; firms configure activities to create superior customer value on a global basis. Global companies also maintain strategic focus while pursuing competitive advantage. The marketing mix, value chain, competitive advantage, and focus are universal in their applicability, irrespective of whether a company does business only in the home country or has a presence in many markets around the world. However, in a global industry, companies that fail to pursue global opportunities risk being pushed aside by competitors. A firm’s global marketing strategy (GMS) can enhance its worldwide performance. The GMS addresses several issues. First is nature of the marketing program in terms of the balance between a standardization (extension) approach to the marketing mix and a localization (adaptation) approach that is responsive to country or regional differences. Second is the concentration of marketing activities in a few countries or the dispersal of such activities across many countries. Companies that engage in global marketing can also engage in coordination of marketing activities. Finally...
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...crossing cultural boundaries 2. The meaning of culture: foundation concepts 3. Why culture matters in international business 4. National, professional, and corporate culture 5. Interpretations of culture 6. Key dimensions of culture 7. Language as a key dimension of culture 8. Culture and contemporary issues 9. Managerial guidelines for crosscultural success > American Football . . . in Europe? There are few things more representative of U.S. culture than American football. It is an extravaganza, complete with exciting halftime shows and peppy cheerleaders. The game exemplifies national pride. The national anthem is played, flags are unfurled, and uniformed players charge up and down the field like an army in the throes of often violent conflict. The teams’ huddles divide the game into small planning sessions for the next play. In the United States, the National Football League (NFL) oversees the sport and, like any successful business, wants to score in new markets. The NFL first tackled Europe in 1991, with plans to establish American football there. After years of failed attempts, NFL Europe emerged as six teams, five of which were based in Germany (such as the Berlin Thunder, the Cologne Centurions, and the Hamburg Sea Devils). Earlier teams established in Spain had failed. Why did American football triumph in Germany but fail in Spain? An excellent metaphor for Spanish culture is the bullfight, an ancient pursuit. In tradition-bound Spain, bullfights are often held in 2...
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...E SSAYS ON TWENTIETH-C ENTURY H ISTORY In the series Critical Perspectives on the Past, edited by Susan Porter Benson, Stephen Brier, and Roy Rosenzweig Also in this series: Paula Hamilton and Linda Shopes, eds., Oral History and Public Memories Tiffany Ruby Patterson, Zora Neale Hurston and a History of Southern Life Lisa M. Fine, The Story of Reo Joe: Work, Kin, and Community in Autotown, U.S.A. Van Gosse and Richard Moser, eds., The World the Sixties Made: Politics and Culture in Recent America Joanne Meyerowitz, ed., History and September 11th John McMillian and Paul Buhle, eds., The New Left Revisited David M. Scobey, Empire City: The Making and Meaning of the New York City Landscape Gerda Lerner, Fireweed: A Political Autobiography Allida M. Black, ed., Modern American Queer History Eric Sandweiss, St. Louis: The Evolution of an American Urban Landscape Sam Wineburg, Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts: Charting the Future of Teaching the Past Sharon Hartman Strom, Political Woman: Florence Luscomb and the Legacy of Radical Reform Michael Adas, ed., Agricultural and Pastoral Societies in Ancient and Classical History Jack Metzgar, Striking Steel: Solidarity Remembered Janis Appier, Policing Women: The Sexual Politics of Law Enforcement and the LAPD Allen Hunter, ed., Rethinking the Cold War Eric Foner, ed., The New American History. Revised and Expanded Edition E SSAYS ON _ T WENTIETH- C ENTURY H ISTORY Edited by ...
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...occasion to read them again a few months ago. They seem to me to have lost none of their power or persuasiveness. Macdonald is concerned with the question of war guilt. He asks the question: To what extent were the German or Japanese people responsible for the atrocities committed by their governments? And, quite properly, he turns the question back to us: To what extent are the British or American people responsible for the vicious terror bombings of civilians, perfected as a technique of warfare by the Western democracies and reaching their culmination in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, surely among the most unspeakable crimes in history. To an undergraduate in 1945-46—to anyone whose political and moral consciousness had been formed by the horrors of the 1930s, by the war in Ethiopia, the Russian purge, the “China Incident,” the Spanish Civil War, the Nazi atrocities, the Western reaction to these events and, in part, complicity in them—these questions had particular significance and poignancy. With respect to the responsibility of intellectuals, there are still other, equally disturbing questions. Intellectuals are in a position to expose the lies of governments, to analyze actions according to their causes and motives and often hidden intentions. In the Western world, at least, they have the power that comes from political liberty, from access to information and freedom of expression. For a...
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...Introduction Walmart's history is one of the best examples of innovation, leadership and success. Walmart was founded by Sam Walton in 1962; it was incorporated on October 31, 1969, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1972. It started with a single store in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962 and has grown to what is now the world’s largest and the most emulated retailer. Some researchers refer to Walmart as the industry trendsetter. Today, this retailing pioneer has annual revenues of over $100 billion, 3,000 stores and more than 750,000 employees worldwide. Walmart operates in each store, from the products it stocks in the warehouse, to the front-end that helps speed checkout. Walmart’s philosophy: provide everyday low prices and superior customer service worked the best. Lower prices also eliminated the expense of frequent sales promotions and sales are more predictable. Walmart has invested heavily in its cross-docking inventory system. Cross docking has enabled Walmart to achieve economies of scale which reduce its costs of sales. With this system, goods are continuously delivered to stores within 48 hours and often without having to stock them. This allows Walmart to refill the shelves 4 times faster than its competitors. Walmart controls its buying power through purchasing in bulks and distributing the goods on time. Walmart guarantees everyday low prices and considers them the one stop shop. Walmart operates in Mexico as Walmex, in the UK as ASDA abbreviation of Asquith...
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