...Problem Definition Culture clash is a condition that occurs when the rules and norms of an individual's culture conflict with the role demands of conventional society. Justification for Problem Definition A culture clash is when two cultural groups get together and differences in their values or beliefs create misunderstandings or other problems. Merged companies are an excellent example of culture clashes, which clearly observed on salaries rate, dress code and perks Alternative course of actions Describe clearly the current merge and how everything is going to be. Try to understand the other side different culture. Altering organizational practices and procedures. Evaluation of Alternatives Describe clearly the current merge and how everything is going to be , this can be achieved by clearly and honestly identify the current merge and try to get a feedback , listen to the others who mainly faced that conflict , this may help to find a solution that may decrease this conflict. Try to understand the other side culture , how things was and how it’s going be and try to predict their response to be able to get ready for better solution , and if possible try to keep things that can be in the middle of both cultures i.e. compromise solution . Altering organizational practices and procedures, often the organizational structure reflects the norms of just one culture and inherits the cultural conflict. In such cases, structural change becomes necessary to make the...
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...In various cultures and traditions, sneezing has long been associated with malign behavior. A sneeze can signify a disruption in biological harmony, as a forerunner to a cold or the plague. Religiously, sneezing is thought to drive away evil spirits from entering the nostrils, "a gateway between the spiritual and physical" (Examiner). Saying "bless you" or "gesundheit" is considered the proper social reaction and centuries of habit has deeply ingrained this behavior into society. It has developed a sort of "functional autonomy" meaning that the modern implication of "bless you" is detached from its roots (Psychology Today). Acknowledging a stranger, be it holding the door or elevator, is not only tied to the impression an individual gives, but it has become a norm and an expectation in everyday behavior. Some may even be offended or hurt when others do not conform, leading to a dispute like the one between Robin and Michael in Seinfeld's "Good Samaritan" episode. Analyzing the social context makes it apparent that society uses norms to guide behavior and pressure people to conform while frowning upon those who stray from expectations. In a Seinfeld scene where Robin, Michael, Elaine, and George have dinner at a moderately classy restaurant, Robin sneezes and George hesitates before saying "bless you." George then proceeds to joke that Michael, who is Robin's husband, ought to have the responsibility of saying "bless you" first (Seinfeldology). George points out Michael's lack...
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...Deviant Behavior Course Project Option Four: Mini Research Paper Breaking Folkways For this assignment I chose this particular research option because I am very interested in people’s reactions to experiencing things they are not used to, I also do not embarrass easily. My research involved intentionally violating common folkways in the presence of family, co-workers and strangers. After breaking common norms I than analyzed the results and recorded them below. Day One – Hugging co-workers rather than saying hello In our culture, when in the workplace, it is appropriate to greet fellow employees with a “hello”, “hi” or handshake. For the purpose of this assignment I decided to greet my coworkers with hugs, rather than saying hello and shaking their hand. Clearly the norm which I violated here were keeping the greeting casual and possibly invading my co-workers personal space. Americans are usually very adamant about not getting too close to others while in public and vice versa, so this one was fun for me. Throughout my work day, whenever I encountered a fellow employee I gave them a semi-long hug with a pat on the back, this included both male and female co-workers. I really enjoyed this one. The reactions from the people whom I greeted with a hug, rather than a simple “hello” or hand shake ranged by the particular individual and were usually along the lines of what I expected. All of the females I hugged responded with a return hug, meaning my hug...
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...Running Head: ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE INVENTORY Organizational Culture Inventory: A Review of the United States Army’s Culture, Expectations and Behavioral Norms Organizational Culture Inventory: A Review of the United States Army’s Culture, Expectations and Behavioral Norms Introduction Founded in 1784, the United States Army is a branch of the United States Department of Defense which is largely responsible for land based military operations. The Army's primary mission is to provide necessary forces and capabilities to the Combatant Commanders in support of the National Security and Defense Strategies (Schoomaker & Harvey, 2005). An all volunteer force, the Army is comprised of over 1 million men and women serving in three different operational sections that include the Active Army, the Army Reserve, and the National Guard. The three main purposes of the Army are to promote peace, resolve conflict and deter war, and if all else fails, fight and win a war. As such, the operational foot print of the Army is quite extensive and extends from the continental United States to many other countries and provinces across the world. This paper is constructed to provide a synopsis of the Army’s current culture, Targets for Cultural Change, Potential Benefits & Risks of Cultural Change, followed by a Conclusion and Reflection statement. Current Culture The culture of an organization is comprised of the assumptions, values, norms, rituals and beliefs of organization...
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...Professor Monica Sosa SOIC 1301 11 April, 2016 Breaching Experiment Many people feel that it is uncomfortable standing closely to someone during a conversation, in an elevator or while walking. I have chosen this social norm violation because it really happens to many people. As I walk around people or when I’m in an elevator my first thought is to be mindful of their personal space because all humans have boundaries. Many people feel if their personal space is disrupted they are being attacked. Trying to keep a comfortable amount of distance between ourselves and strangers is very hard because there are many reason for one not knowing others’ cultural customs, religion belief, professional regulations, and even gender preferences. But the norm of personal space is what make us unique as Americans. Other cultures may not have the same expectation when it comes to personal space. In some cultures, greeting complete strangers with a hug and a kiss on each cheek is not only normal, but also expected. Other cultures find it completely normal to stand very close to someone you don’t know while talking to them. If either of these things happened to us in America we would be shocked and probably very uncomfortable. In America, personal space is a social norm that will definitely receive negative sanctions if violated. We also refer to our personal space as our “bubble”. Because when someone is facing us, they must be a certain distance away or we begin to feel uncomfortable...
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...Misbehaviour". From my personal understanding prior to the class, I have always thought that any misbehaviours are usually trigger or due to the situational factors such as poor family upbringing, peer pressure, social norms and other environmental factors. This could be due my belief that people are kind in nature gathered from the first verse of a Chinese Classic text, Three Character Classic. After the discussion on the topic, I have gain a new perception on the cause or reasons that misconduct is not only attributed by situational factors but complemented by individual factors. From the readings, case presentation and class discussion, I have gain a deeper insight into three correlations between biological traits and misbehaviour, On top of that, I have also gain knowledge of how situational factors influence the correlation of the two. They are discussed in the lesson includes the correlations between physical appearance (biological) and misbehaviour, personality traits (biological) and misbehaviour, and cognitive ability (Biological) and misbehaviour. Firstly, for the physical appearance, from reading the article "Ugly Criminals", I have learnt that there is a positive correlation between being ugly looking (from the perspective of the social norm) and higher tendency in committing crime. In the study, it shows that respondents that are considered good looking have lesser records or tendency to commit crimes. Looking at the statement or correlation without understanding...
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...Taking my Boyfriend Out on a Date Social norms in society are typically unwritten rules on how to behave. Social norms provide us with an expected idea on how to behave in a particular social group or culture. These rules may be explicit or implicit. Violating social norms can result in consequences. It is said that people who do not follow these norms may be shunned or suffer some kind of consequence. Social norms change according to the environment or situation and may change or be modified over time. In sociology, we were given an assignment in which we were required to violate a social norm. On Friday, January 22, I chose to violate a social norm by asking and taking my boyfriend out on a date, while paying for the tab as well. Routinely,...
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...Assignment 3: Nonverbal Communication – Violating Social Norms Assignment 3: Nonverbal Communication – Violating Social Norms When I started this assignment I was totally lost. I couldn’t find which direction to go in until I researched the title and read over the chapters in the book a little more for a better understanding. Then it hit me and I realized how cool I was going to make this assignment. Before I get into the first scenario I want to briefly go over what I learned about nonverbal communication and social norms. Nonverbal Communication Nonverbal communication is “behaviors and characteristics that convey meaning without the use of words” (Floyd, 2011, p.179). How I interpret the meaning of nonverbal communication? In my opinion these are emotions that are not consciously controlled but an instant reaction off of one of our sudden perceptions. Our senses pick up this vibe. This is why people lean towards respecting nonverbal communication better than what a person actually says out of his/her mouth is because nonverbal communication is more honest. It’s an automatic reaction in most cases like a reflux (123helpme.com, 2000). Using of nonverbal communication. An example of nonverbal communication is “for instance, if someone asks you for directions to the bookstore and you point and say “It’s that way”, your nonverbal behavior (pointing) clarifies the meaning of your verbal message” (Floyd, 2011, p. 179). “In contrast, if you say “It’s...
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...Norm Violation Analysis A social norm, or folkway, is a guideline for how a certain society thinks or behaves. A violation of a social norm is when a person has an abnormal way of thinking and violates the acceptable behavior in that society. Often, we do not realize that folkways exist because we are so accustomed in the ways that we are taught at a young age. I have undertaken the task of breaking a social norm with a neighboring university campus. I chose to walk on the left side of the sidewalk several times during class changes at Appalachian State University, on the most congested part of campus. I would act like I was oblivious to the fact that I was on the left side of the sidewalk, either being on my cell phone or looking at my...
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...Social norms are the unlimited list of unwritten rules that everyone follows everyday without even thinking. When was the last time anyone thought twice before putting shoes on before leaving the house, or eating with a fork instead of their hands. Here in the United States these are perfectly normal actions that people do daily, but in different cultures around the world these norms may vary dramatically. You have asked us to go out and break a social norm, and pay attention to the peoples reactions. This is a huge eye opener for me, and I am sure the others in the class as well. The concept really is a great way to examine yourself, your culture, and to think about how these normality’s have come to be. As for me this proved to be a little nerve racking as I probably fall into the slightly shy category. So I started thinking about some of these things I do everyday, and decided I was going to take my dog for a walk. But this time instead of looking forward as do most human beings, I would walk backwards, and let my dog lead me through the park. This was my first idea and I figured I would give it a try and see if I got reactions from people. The park where I was walking was completely packed with people because it was a Saturday morning. I couldn’t help but crack a smile as the people around me started to stare at me like I was completely retarded. I’m sure in some ways they were right. I kept walking, nearly trampling over an old man who was power walking...
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...Perpetual children on the Island of Suburbia. In “Pastoral Paradises and Social Realism: Cinematic Representations of Suburban Complexity”, Rupa Huq cites the “lynch-mob mentality of vengeance seeking angry suburban dwellers” (p101) as a feature of the film, Little Children. What is the nature of this “vengeance” and what it is a product of, and how do children fit into the regulation of the social order? In his 1516 book Utopia, Thomas More describes an island with only one entrance and only one exit, with those who belonged to this island knowing how to navigate their way through the treacherous openings safely and unharmed. The façade of this island has diverged and developed over centuries to its contemporary apparition of white picket fences tended by the authoritarian Father of his Nuclear Family, and has permeated into existing countries under the guise of “suburbia”. However, those who belong to the Island of Suburbia tend to experience difficulty locating the exit; and have thus created a stagnant population polluted by muted frustration, impatience and intolerance (McCarthy 1998:41, as cited in Huq, 2013). The exclusivity-induced isolation of the Island has created a homogenised mindset, impervious to outside influence or discourse, which is spherically bequeathed to younger inhabitants; a breeding ground for prejudice and unawareness disguised as social mores. The adverse consequences of this uneducated and uninterrupted mind-think is delineated...
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...Describe and evaluate two definitions of abnormality. In your answer you must refer to how Dr Padawl might explain definitions of abnormality to the volunteers. (12) Dr Padawl may start explaining that abnormality is defined as ‘deviation from a norm or a standard’, and that by labeling a person or behaviour as ‘abnormal’ implies something undesirable and requires change. One definition of abnormality that Dr Padawl could use is social norms. He could ask the volunteers to come up with some examples of what they think social norms are. Then provide them with the correct definition that every society sets up rules for behaviours based on moral standards. They can be explicit (i.e. breaking the law), or implicit (unwritten rules i.e. table manners), and breaking these laws would be considered as abnormal as they are seen as rare in the population. After doing so, Dr Padawl could consolidate by asking the volunteers to label their examples whether they are explicit or implicit. Dr Padawl may also wish to evaluate social norms as a definition of abnormality. One weakness is that cross-cultural misunderstandings are common, as a behaviour that is considered as normal in one society may be seen as abnormal in another, due to cultures and time. i.e. homosexuality was considered as a mental illness until 1973, but it is now acceptable amongst the society. Another weakness Dr Padawl could mention is its subjectivity, as biased judgement is often necessary i.e. the situation factors...
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...This hiring situation puts Green in an awkward position with Davis and off on a bad foot from the get go. Davis’s expectations were not only very different from what Green anticipated would be expected of him but it also seemed that Davis may have expected Green to perform better than what would have normally been expected considering the hiring circumstances. In addition to this subliminal expectation on the part of Davis, he also seemed to have a very different work style than Green. While Green wanted the freedom to be creative and go where he deemed best on any given day, Davis wanted Green to report frequently and post to his Outlook calendar whenever he changed his schedule (Sasser & Beckham, 2008, p. 4). Although this was clearly a cultural norm for the whole of the organization, Green did not seem to care and was determined to do things his own way. This could have been a reflection of Green’s age or a character flaw in general; regardless it was not a smart move for Green as a new employee hired in by the boss’s boss. It would appear that the individual agenda of Green was to...
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...What should Jane do about her top performer’s mean streak? Step 1: Understanding Her Current Organisation and Its Practices Jane should spend a lot of time with her Manager and other Senior Members in the Organisation. It is very important for her success to understand the organisations style of functioning. Jane should stop discussing and depending on the advice of Rick. Jane has just joined the organisation and Rick doesn’t understand the new company’s Value and Culture. Jane should rather depend on the advice and counsel of her seniors in her current organisation rather than Rick. Step 2: Start Leading It is very important for Jane to settle down quickly in her new role and understand her deliverables .She should hold meetings/communication sessions with her team members jointly and separately to discuss her vision and expectations from the team. She should also understand the team’s expectations from her as a leader. This will make everybody clear that she is the leader and she is the one who will call the shots and will lead the team to glory. Step 3: Dialogue with Andy Andy is on the most promising team member of Jane and her success depends largely on the contribution of Andy. She has to ensure that while she gives Andy more responsibilities in line with his strength and also keep rewarding him for his superior performance. But on the other hand, it is important that she does the tough talking. Jane should tell Andy that good numbers are not enough and that...
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...Challenging the Social Norm. “Story Of An Hour” by Kate Chopin is a telling story about a woman, Mrs. Mallard, who’s given the horrible news that her husband has passed away in a train wreck. Devastated by her husband’s sudden death, she excuses herself and immediately rushes to her bedroom; this is where readers see a different side of Mrs. Mallard. In time she has taken on a different angle of life. Although obviously upset about her husband’s sudden death, Mrs.Mallard has something to be happy about. In 1894 when the “Story Of An Hour” was written, women didn’t have a say over anything and because of her husband's death; Mrs.Mallard learns the cost of both freedom gained, and freedom lost. Kate Chopin lived in a time period when women really did not have any rights. Therefore her stories typically focused entirely around the theme of female characters who dealt with these problems; Chopin was well known for writing about these society blocks. However in her stories the women usually take on a more conventional side than what would be expected. Normally they chose their own path rather than what society would want. One theme in Chopin’s story is freedom (Mayer, 95). In the beginning of “The Story of an Hour” the scene opens up and readers are introduced to Mrs. Mallard, who has been told that her husband has died in a horrible train wreck.She reacts to this news like any other wife would -- yes, she is clearly upset so she excuses herself and rushes off to her bedroom...
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