...same beliefs. Religion is the biggest factor that will cause division and it is already proven between Christianity and Islam. From the ancient times until this very day religion and our beliefs is the cause of war, because we fight for what we believe. Rise of civilization against the other started in the ancient times. And until today, the conflict continues. It will never be solved because we have differences and those differences are what make us unique as a person and as a nation. You may hate someone because of the type of civilization, and you may also like someone because of it. Civilization is the identity of a nation. The Next Pattern of Conflict The source of conflict is not merely ideological or economical, cultural tradition is the greatest reason for division in our world. The western countries had conflicts between princes, their armies, even constitutional is because of their economic stand and the land that they ruled. During the ancient times, the Americans fought for their land because of the British Empire that wants to colonize their land. The Founding Fathers stood against them and later on made a move to make a constitution for their protection. The western civil war is not because of their religion but because of the borders that they can conquer, they want to own more territories for power. The conflict was set because of the difference in our culture, style, and way of living....
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...year for a tremendous challenge. As experts affirmed, the launch of MTV Arabia in the Middle East was the biggest challenge MTV had faced since its foundation. It was a big challenge for many reasons. First, the cultural difference between the Middle East and the west is incredibly different. Second, the Arab acceptance of a western brand could be tough. Then comes the ambiguity about the success of the localization strategy. Also, the possibility of MTV Arabia to be altered by the local programming could be expected. There is a considerable number of existing Arab music channels, thus, the competition might be difficult as they have the same focus as MTV Arabia. Although those challenges, MTV Networks invaded the Arabian market and applied a business strategy that enabled it to build a solid infrastructure. This paper analyzes the challenges that MTV faced during this process and the strategy that it applied to move forward highlighting its pros and cons. We will also analyze its success and survival in the market. Launching MTV Arabia in the Arab world is the most challenging process that MTV went through. Dana El Baltalji, a special Projects Manager, Trends magazine in Dubai said: “MTV has a penchant for airing controversial material and making a mockery of convention. And of course, it’s an American brand. The challenge, therefore, is transforming a notoriously risqué channel into a Middle Eastern-friendly platform for music and creativity without stripping MTV of its edge...
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...Using Cultural Differences to Determine Motivational Techniques Delta State University Choosing a motivational style is such an important aspect of the culture of a company. Not fully understanding the culture of a company can limit the potential success of employees substantially. Alternatively, when a manager creates a culture of both individual and collective human excellence, employee performance increases significantly. In negative, low-performing cultures, there is confusion about goals and roles, conflict among members, disempowerment, and not much listening. Examples of positive, high-performing cultures include those that have a common known goal, an open flow of communication, a passion to deliver results, and clear roles for decision making (Anderson & Anderson, 2010, p. 189). The question is: how do managers take the business culture from the negative, low-performing culture to the positive, high-performing culture? The answer is motivation! All managers must discover what motivates their employees. Managers also must consider what pushes 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...
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...different cultures in a unique way. Differences in clothing can be simply understood by human nature. A quote from the The Psychology of Clothing states, “All dress appears to be motivated primarily by the environment” (Harms). A knight will wear armor to protect themselves. A formal person will suit up for a fancy restaurant. I will wear pajamas when I am going to bed. Between environment and social conditions, I will be comparing clothing of the two countries of Afghanistan and America topically under class, religion, and gender. Clothing depending on social class in America and Afghan are similar in the sense of the wealthy, but the middle and lower class between the two cultures share many differences in clothing. The wealthy class in American society will show off their wealth through cloths and jewelry. A tailored suit with a fancy wristwatch for the men; this is not too different in Afghanistan. The wealthy afghan father, Baba, in Hosseini's novel The Kite Runner is seen “dashing in his black suit.” (Hosseini). On the other hand. Many middle to lower class citizens in America are privileged enough to wear everything they need. While many Afghanistan people in the middle to lower class do not bear the money to afford some clothing. Such as shoes or warm gear for the winter months. There is a noticeable difference between these classes in each culture in terms of wealth. But when money is not a problem in the higher classes, there is more similarities between American and Afghan...
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...Culture and its Impact on International Business Introduction As businesses have grown and expanded to the international level; certain aspects of business have become abundantly clear. One thing that has become the norm when doing business on the international level is dealing with different cultures. Culture, as defined by Geert Hofstede is “the collective programming of the human mind that distinguishes the members of one human group from those of another. Culture in this sense is a system of collectively held values.” The concept of a culture has been around for a very long time; in-fact, when people exist in the same place together they end up following a set of rules. These rules can be called a “social norm” or culture and can be made up of simple things like how to act in certain situations all the way to a very devout set of beliefs or values. This paper will focus on the role that culture plays on multinational businesses around the globe and the differences that culture plays from one area of the globe to the next. An in-depth look will be taken on the obstacles that may arise due to culture, adjustments that need to be made, and any ethical conundrums that may arise due to different cultures. Literature Review D. Elenkov and d. Kirova, state that “MNCs should not underestimate the importance of the cultural specificity of the host countries because different staffing, selecting, training, motivating and compensating practices should be applied in accordance...
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...MTV Networks: The Arabian Challenge 1. Question 1 Experts felt that one of the biggest challenges faced by MTV while launching MTV Arabia was the prevalent culture in the Arab world. Discuss the Arab culture. How is it expected to pose a challenge to MTV? First of all, it is impossible to talk about groups of people without generalizing. At this point it must be emphasized that there is not just “one” Arab culture or society. The Arab world is full of rich and diverse communities, groups and cultures. Each of the Arab countries has different perspectives. That’s why differences exist not only among coun- tries, but within countries as well. With 22 countries formed, the Arab region has in some parts the same religious, politics and ethical views and some are totally different Some people would say that it is known for reacting, and some think over reacting nega- tively to controversial content. For example, within the Arab’s there are three types of religions, Judaism, Islam and Christianity; so these make some things acceptable in some countries and in others not. Furthermore the Middle East offered a huge population of youth with a rich and diverse culture. And exactly these young people can be seen as the target group of MTV. But you also have to be aware in which parts of the Arabian world you are, because religion, for example, is one of the most important aspects on Arabs’ lifestyle, and has something to do in almost every decision Arabs’ take. Not only political...
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...much born in the context of the end of the cold war. The idea of “clash of civilizations” suggests that twenty-first century global order will be characterized by growing tension and conflict between rival cultures or civilizations, as opposed to the political, ideological or economic conflict of old. Huntington furthermore argued that the world was split into 9 different civilizational orders, and the West would clash with all of them, but in particular it would clash with the Islamic world, Japan and Russia. The realists have given little attention to the issue of identity or cultural politics. They focus on the behavior of states. However the liberals have recognized this thesis to some extent. Huntington’s view that the West would clash with the Islamic world was vindicated after the September 11th terrorist attacks, neoconservatives looking for a response distanced themselves from Huntington’s rhetoric. Neoconservative George W Bush was keen to emphasize that not all Muslims were to blame for 9/11, and indeed it was just a tiny minority of extremists holding the Islamic world back. Whereas Huntington had argued that the Islamic world was hostile to western ideas of liberal democracy, George W Bush ignored this insight and fought two wars to try and bring democracy to the Middle East, ignoring Huntington’s claim that there would be a backlash if Western values were spread through force. Thus the neoconservatives would view the war on Terror not as a cultural war, as Huntington...
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...years developed a reputation for its ability to provide localized content without diluting what MTV stood for. However, the company faced the most challenging test in late 2007 with its launch of MTV Arabia in the Middle East, which some experts considered as the biggest launch in the channel’s history. While the market in the Middle East offered MTVN with huge opportunities due to its huge youth populace, MTV’s controversial content that was known for angering religious, political, and conservative communities could easily backfire in the conservative environment prevalent in the region. On the other hand, too much localization to suit the tastes of the region could dilute MTV’s global brand. The case discusses in detail the strategy adopted by MTVN to enter and expand in the Middle East and also the challenges faced by the channel. TEACHING OBJECTIVES & TARGET AUDIENCE The case will help the students to: • Understand the issues and challenges in entering and expanding operations in new markets which were culturally different from the organizations home/traditional/existing markets. • Understand the pros and cons of entering a new market with a standardized/adapted product to suit local preferences. • Analyze MTVN’s strategy in the Middle East, identify challenges and explore strategies that the channel could adopt in the future This case is meant for students of the MBA/MS level programs in the Business Strategy curriculum. The case is also suitable...
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...Bahrain Polytechnic Bachelor of Business BS701Sara Aseeri | Applied Communication | Trompenaars’ dimensions of culture affects international businesses like Pizza Hut. Pizza Hut USA and Pizza Hut Middle East have two different cultures to address therefore the company needs to consider the affecting aspects in order to build an effective marketing strategy for their website. | Table of Contents Introduction 3 Universalism vs. Particularism 3 Neutral vs. Affective 3 Individualism vs. Collectivism 3 Achievement vs. Ascription 4 Sequential vs. Synchronous (Time Orientation) 4 Internal vs. External 4 Applying Trompenaars’dimensions on the websites 5 * Universalism/Particularism 5 * Neutral/Affective 5 * Individualism/Collectivism 6 Profile of Pizza Hut Middle East’s website Gulf Arab audience 7 Recommendations on improving Pizza Hut Middle East website 7 Conclusion 8 References 9 Introduction The purpose of this report is to identify and compare between the website of Pizza Hut Middle East and Pizza Hut USA using the cultural dimensions. Professor Trompenaars has developed seven cultural dimensions ‘dilemmas’ which give key insights for successful businesses when designing sales strategies as buyers and sellers originate from different cultures. The report also analyzes the audience of Pizza Hut Middle East website and scrutinizes ways to conform to variances based on cultural dimensions to better address the Gulf Arab audience...
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...Eaton Professor of the Science of Government and Director of the John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies at Harvard University. This article is the product of the Olin Institute's project on "The Changing Security Environment and American National Interests”. THE NEXT PATTERN OF CONFLICT WORLD POLITICS IS entering a new phase, and intellectuals have not hesitated to proliferate visions of what it will be -- the end of history, the return of traditional rivalries between nation states, and the decline of the nation state from the conflicting pulls of tribalism and globalism, among others. Each of these visions catches aspects of the emerging reality. Yet they all miss a crucial, indeed a central, aspect of what global politics is likely to be in the coming years. It is my hypothesis that the fundamental source of conflict in this new world will not be primarily ideological or primarily economic. The great divisions among humankind and the dominating source of conflict will be cultural. Nation states will remain the most powerful actors in world affairs, but the principal conflicts of global politics will occur between nations and groups of different civilizations. The clash of civilizations will be the battle lines of the future. Conflict between civilizations will be the latest phase of the evolution of conflict in the modern world. For a century and a half after the emergence of the modern international system of the Peace of Westphalia, the conflicts of the Western world...
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...Western world, far away from the Orient, a foundation detailing the components of Orientalism must be constructed. Traditionally, Orientalism’s focus is the depiction of Eastern cultures, or places considered a part of the Orient, such as India, China, and the Middle East by western writers, or writers from the Occident. Defined, Orientalism is “a style of thought based upon ontological and epistemological distinctions made between ‘the Orient’ and (most of the time) ‘the Occident’” (1867). Based upon this definition, many people “have accepted the basic distinction between the East and West as the starting point for elaborate theories, epics, novels, social descriptions and political accounts covering the Orient, its people, customs, ‘mind,’ destiny, and so on”(1867). With the acceptance of distinctions between the East and the West, came a theory of literary criticism that “deals” with the Orient. Orientalism, in short, is a “Western style for dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the Orient” (1868). This is where the application to Disney’s Pocahontas is the strongest. This application is not typical of traditional Orientalism, as the culture dominated and restructured is not in the Orient. However, the colonization of America and the British conquering, or domination of, the American Indians displayed in Disney’s Pocahontas easily...
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...dimensions. Secondary dimensions are considered less central to someone’s social identity. Some examples are: Geographic location, military/work experience, family status, income, education, communication and work styles, and first language/education. 2. With what ethnic, cultural, or other groups do you identify? Describe what members of your social circle have in common. I am associated with many diverse groups of various backgrounds. Culturally and ethnically, I identify with Latino/Hispanic, African American, Caucasian/Anglo and Asian. Being of an “All-American” Caucasian background I am automatically stereotyped as a typical white male, good credit, clean cut, no style, cannot dance or play basketball white boy. These are the prejudices I have experienced. Since living in Yuma, I have been exposed to the Latino culture to include their religion, food, language, and cultural pride. The Marine Corp allowed me to interact with a plethora of cultures and backgrounds. Japanese...
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...The Arab culture is very socially conservative. They stick with their beliefs and live for families and traditions in their culture. MTV, on the other hand, is more a hip-hop explicit music culture. They like to keep up with the new “it”, change constantly with their different form of entertainments (TV shows, music, etc.), and even provocative at times. It is expected to pose a challenge to MTV because they would want to stick to what they are known for as a company but at the same time, meet and please the people in the Middle East without disrespecting the local culture. There is also pressure on the company to act as a cultural unifying force in a region known for its political tensions. As MTV networks launched MTV Arabia to expand the international music brand into a new region of Arabs, to have market globally, this is a challenge for MTVN as they have to apply their western based TV program into a culture that they have never faced before. To avoid cultural difference MTV Arabia effectively designed a localized version of international programs. The company figured out the way to balance the local programs without letting MTV brand name to be dissolved. MTV expanded their business in 179 countries and succeeded in globalizing their brand with 1.5 billion audiences globally. In U.S alone it reached 87.6 billion homes. The target of MTV was youth and they did survey to obtain information. The launch of 60th channel of MTV is to correct the misconception of the region...
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...Figure 1.0 Hofstede’s Five Cultural Deminsions for Germany, UK, USA and Japan. (Data from Geert-hofstede.com,n.d) Figure 1.0 is a bar chart that presents the full data of all four cultures. (Germany, UK, USA, and Japan) Other than two dimensions (Individualism and uncertainty avoidance) that have been discussed in the case, the rest of the three dimensions will be discussed in following article. Masculinity Masculinity shows whether the society is driven by competition or quality of life (Geert-hofstede.com, n.d). According to figure 1.0, all four cultures are masculine culture. USA scored at the lowest of 62, followed by Germany and UK at the score of 66. The highest score in Masculinity is Japan, at 95. Although Japan has an extremely high score at Masculinity dimension, due to its collectivism, there are not much intense competitions between individuals. Power Distance Power distance is referring to how people within the society react to unequal power distribution. The higher the score is, the higher acceptability for unequal power distribution by the society will be. This time, UK and Germany again scored at the same mark of 35, and USA has a slightly higher score of 40. It shows that all three western countries have a low power distance culture, means that people from these culture believes that people should be treated equally, regardless the ranking of the position. Japan however, scored at 54, as a moderate score. It indicates that, Japan has a...
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...given our country’s rich variety of people that our culture would be rather tolerant and appreciative of different schools of thought and races. While there are many individuals out there that have this attitude, there are also many that do not. Granted, our country is still much more accepting when compared to many others. However, discrimination against and persecution of those that don’t fit in or follow the rest of general society is quite a problem. When I think about this problem in our country, there are two groups of people that immediately come to my mind: Muslims and African Americans. Though these two groups are in completely different categories, they face many of the same problems in terms of discrimination in America. Within the scope of this essay, we will learn about some differences between Muslims, African Americans, and various other groups. We will also take a look at their overall experiences, as well as some specific examples of discrimination. Islam and Its Followers in America A Muslim is someone who follows the teachings of Islam, a religion believed to have originated in Saudi Arabia in the 7th century (Pecorino, 2001). What is interesting about Islam is that its roots are in the Middle East and it has stayed very influential there (Pecorino, 2001). Christianity, the predominant religion in America, also has its roots in the Middle East. However, Christianity isn’t nearly as present now in the Middle East as Islam. As a matter of fact, Christianity is...
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