...floor. Basically what this implies is we break down something in its simplest form, and all we have left are tiny bits of string, which is basically similar to “String Theory”. string theory uses a model of one-dimensional strings in place of the particles of quantum physics. These strings, the size of the Planck length vibrate at specific resonant frequencies. The formulas that result from string theory predict more than four dimensions but the extra dimensions are "curled up" within the Planck length. In addition to the strings, string theory contains another type of fundamental object called a brane, which can have many more dimensions. In some "braneworld scenarios," our universe is actually "stuck" inside of a 3-dimensional brane, called a 3-brane. Common Sense tells us we live in a world defined by three spatial dimensions and one dimension of time. Mainly, it only takes three numbers to pinpoint your physical location at any given moment. On Earth, these coordinates break down to longitude, latitude and altitude representing the dimensions of length, width and height (or depth). If we put a time stamp on those coordinates, we are pinpointed in time as well. To strip that down even more, a one-dimensional world would be like a single bead on a measured thread. You can slide the bead forward and you can slide the bead backward, but you only need one number to figure out its exact location on the string: length. Where's the bead? It's at the 6-inch mark, a world that...
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...Modeling Culture in Trade: Uncertainty Avoidance* Gert Jan Hofstede Wageningen University gertjan.hofstede@wur.nl Catholijn M. Jonker Delft University of Technology c.m.jonker@tudelft.nl Tim Verwaart LEI Wageningen UR tim.verwaart@wur.nl Keywords: trade, culture, agents, uncertainty avoidance, negotiation Abstract A model is presented of the way that our cultural attitude towards the unknown influences the decisions we make in trade. Uncertainty avoidance is one of Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions. The paper presents a model of how this dimension affects trade. This influence has been explicated for the decisions regarding trade: partner selection, negotiation behavior, trust, and the interpretation of the trade partner’s behavior. It has been verified in simulations showing that the generic tendencies as attributed to uncertainty avoidance are reflected in the simulation results. Our approach is an example of instantiating generic knowledge on the influences of culture on decision-making in general. INTRODUCTION The international food economy is rapidly changing. Important issues are concentration and globalization, growing information intensity, consumer demands, and social responsibility [Kinsey 2001]. An important issue in current food trade research is the emergence and performance of international supply chain networks [Lazzarini et al. 2001]. Agent-based modeling extends the understanding of processes in society and economy. It enables simulation of the emergence...
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...Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions: A Comparison of Greece and U.S. Human Resource Management Approaches By Kelly M. Mistretta MBOL2 MBA 533, Human Resource in Management Dr. James C. Dumville Saint Leo University – Center for Online Learning September 9, 2012 Name: Kelly Mistretta Title: Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions: A Comparison of Greece and U.S. Human Resource Management Approaches Date: September 9, 2012 Abstract Globalization continues to become more important in the business culture in our world. No longer can management focus only on companies within their own country. Businesses are forced to compete with companies from other countries. With the increased global competition, a business must understand other cultures if they hope to remain competitive and have continued success. There are several models that show the influence of cultural differences between nations. Hofstede’s model, called the theory of cultural relativity of organization practices is the most recognized model. Hofstede’s model focuses on cultural influences and work behaviors in five different dimensions. Each dimension has important implications in understanding business. This paper will compare the Hofstede analysis of Greece and the United States. Biographical Sketch Kelly Mistretta is currently an MBA student at Saint Leo University. Mistretta has a BA in Accounting and plans to obtain an MBA to equip her with improved business skills to better contribute to society...
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...strategy. This way of thinking balances a focused analytical perspective with the human dimension of strategy making (as documented by the Park Li Group). These practices, coupled with a commitment of management time to engage the entire business in a strategy dialogue, lay the foundation for building winning organizations that can define, commit, adjust and adapt strategy quickly.[3] Strategy execution The analytical dimension and the human dimension Leaders face the continuing challenge of how they can meet the expectations of those who placed them there. Addressing these expectations usually takes the form of strategic decisions and actions. For a strategy to succeed, the leader must be able to adjust it as conditions require. But leaders cannot learn enough, fast enough, and do enough on their own to effectively adapt the strategy and then define, shape and execute the organizational response. If leaders are to win they must rely on the prepared minds of employees throughout the organization to understand the strategic intent and then both carry out the current strategy and adapt it in real time.[4] The challenge is not only producing a winning strategy at a point in time but getting employees smart enough and motivated enough to execute the strategy and change it as conditions change. This requires the leader to focus as much on the process used to develop the strategy – the human dimension, as the content of...
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...saving and uses this money for borrowing purposes. All manner of people from the ordinary laborers and workers to the rich land owners and businessmen can keep their money safely in banks and earn savings on it. People decide which Bank to associate with depending upon its different features or attributes. The importance that customers give to each attribute, however, differs from one consumer to another. The ability to identify the importance of different attributes of banks from the consumers’ perspective is essential for improving an existing bank or establishing a new bank. The purpose of this study is to identify the positioning of major banks in India. The study makes use of the multidimensional scaling technique to identify (a) the dimensions underlying of customers’ evaluation of banks, and (b) the potential opportunities for the new bank in the perceptual map of the consumers’ mind. Keywords: Multi-Dimensional Scaling, Banks in India INTRODUCTION Banks are the heart of a nation’s economy. Firstly they promote savings through offering saving rates. Secondly, they invest this savings either through direct investment or loans to promote the economy of the country. In India, commercial banking has played a vital role in driving the economy for almost 200 years. Pre liberalization, the banks in India where nationalized in order to reach the masses. Later during the post liberalization, retail banking sector saw a rapid growth along with the economy of India. Retail banking...
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...Canada is working to increase the participation of Aboriginal peoples in the forest management process through the National Forest Strategy. The plan is to discuss how the forests of Canada will be managed over the next, 5-year term coordinated through the Canadian Forest Service. The discussions can include conservation of biological diversity; the maintenance and enhancement of forest ecosystem conditions and productivity; the conservation of soil and water resources; the forest ecosystem contributions to global ecological cycles, multiple benefits to society; and accepting society's responsibilities regarding sustainable development. About more than three-quarters of Canada’s indigenous communities reside in forested areas (Nair 2009). The forest products industry employs more than 17 000 indigenous people directly and indirectly; though many are still developing skills for the job. This is much more than what we would find in The United States since many are privately owned lands. “The forest industry does business with more than 1 4000 firms run by indigenous people and about 1 000 forestry operations are owned by indigenous people” (Nair 2009). Still, many forests hold important cultural and symbolic values whether or not how many indigenous people own a part of a land. The fact that forests are so important to our day-to-day lives and to the ongoing functioning of the global ecosystems is reflected in the importance forests and trees hold in virtually all cultures (Martin’s...
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...taken at face value without much reliance on unspoken context. While high-context cultures communication relies a lot on the underlying unspoken context, which has the same important as the words used. 2) Describe the differences among the dimensions of Hofstede’s framework. The seven factors of the dimension approach are: power distance, individualism, collectivism, masculinity, femininity, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientation; which are also the five dimensions of culture. Power distance extent to which less powerful members within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. Individualism perspective is that the identity fo an individual is fundamentally her or his own. Collectivism is the idea that identify of an individual is primarily based on the identify of her or his collective group. Masculinity is the sex-role differentiation for males. Femininity is sex-role differentiation for females. Uncertainty avoidance is the extent to which members in different cultures accept ambiguous situations and tolerate uncertainty. Long-term orientation emphasizes perseverance and savings for future betterment. This approach has endeavored to overcome limitations such as the context only representing one dimension and cluster approach as relatively little to offer regarding differences among countries with one cluster. 3) How would you define corruption? Corruption is the abuse of public power for private benefits usually in the form of bribery. ...
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...Assignment IT/205 10/10/2013 Week 1: Checkpoint Assignment What are the three dimensions of business problems? Provide an example of each. There are three dimensions of business problems which are people, organization, and technology. They are much related in many ways to make a system perform properly. 1. People Dimension: People are the backbone of a company. Without knowledgeable, trained, and skilled employees to input information and maintain the information technology infrastructure, a company’s system will not perform efficiently. 2. Organization Dimension: Organizations are set up with a set infrastructure of several different levels of people from upper-level employees which are management, professional, and technicians, and the lower-level is made up of the operational personnel. There are also many different departments in an organization. Many times problems can occur from within the departments, such as if one department does not input information properly. Another problem that can exist in an organization is if network technician does not maintain the system properly the system will fail. 3. Technology Dimension: is a system made up of computer hardware, software, data management, and networks. With the use of technology all a company’s information is stored in one place, so that the information can be used and shared with other departments, such as management, payroll, human resources, and many others. If the technology is outdated it can slow down progress...
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...Cultural Context of IHRM Intercultural Management Studies Our world is filled with many different and unique countries, all with their own customs and cultures. In International Human Resources Management, it is the IHRM Department’s job to educate any expatriate about the foreign country they will be moving too. The main reason to do this is preventing cultural shock causing a smoother transition for the expatriate. Culture can be defined as “the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time” or is a more business related sense “a way of thinking, behaving, or working that exists in a place or organization.” Throughout the years there have been many intercultural management studies and there are four most widely accepted theories: The Hofstede study, The GLOBE study, The Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner study, and Hall & Hall’s cultural dimensions. These studies broke down cultures and behaviors around the world and are valued resources for IHRM departments. First, there is the Hofstede study. Geert Hofstede was a professor who conducted an extremely comprehensive study of how different cultures place value in the workplace. It was Hofstede who first made an empirical model and had different dimensions of national culture. These dimensions were: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, femininity vs. masculinity, individualism vs. collectivism, and long-term orientation. Each different country would get scores in each section and from...
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...Readings in Psychology and Culture Article is brought to you for free and open access (provided uses are educational in nature)by IACCP and ScholarWorks@GVSU. Copyright © 2011 International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology. All Rights Reserved. ISBN 978-0-9845627-0-1 Dimensionalizing Cultures: The Hofstede Model in Context Abstract This article describes briefly the Hofstede model of six dimensions of national cultures: Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Individualism/Collectivism, Masculinity/Femininity, Long/ Short Term Orientation, and Indulgence/Restraint. It shows the conceptual and research efforts that preceded it and led up to it, and once it had become a paradigm for comparing cultures, research efforts that followed and built on it. The article stresses that dimensions depend on the level of aggregation; it describes the six entirely different dimensions found in the Hofstede et al. (2010) research into organizational cultures. It warns against confusion with value differences at the individual level. It concludes with a look ahead in what the study of dimensions of national cultures and the position of countries on them may still bring. This article is available in Online Readings in Psychology and Culture: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc/vol2/iss1/8 Hofstede: Dimensionalizing Cultures: The Hofstede Model in Context Introduction...
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...The power behind the recent surge in Asia’ economy may have developed from the s tenets of one of that continent’ earliest philosophers. s The Confucius Connection: From Cultural Roots To Economic Growth Geert Hofstede Michael Harris Bond J n 1968,the late Nobel-prize-winning mist Gunnar Myrdal published Asian Drama that described tions into the failure in South ment policies different Korea, econo- a book entitled his investigadevelopAsia. a very South however, countries Malaysia, some South and Southeast Asian besides Singapore, such as India, Thailand, and Indonesia drama), (the very also show signs of of economic scene of Myrdal’ s and Southeast drama: Kong, Japan, Twenty years later, we are experiencing kind of Asian Taiwan, Hong an economic takeoff. World Bank data on the average annual growth product rate of per capita gross national the East Asian (see Exhibit 1) confirm and Singapore are now outperforming the United States and Western Europe economically. Western markets are flooded with high-quality, hightechnology products “made in Asia”; the production of cameras, TV sets, and domestic appliances has all but ceased in many Western countries, the automobile business has suffered severely, and President Reagan has had to violate his free-trade principles to save the U.S. microchip industry. It is true that most of the competition is from East, rather than from South or Southeast Asia; lead. The Five Dragons, as these countries...
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...Globalization Note Series Pankaj Ghemawat and Sebastian Reiche National Cultural Differences and Multinational Business The eminent Dutch psychologist, management researcher, and culture expert Geert Hofstede, early in his career, interviewed unsuccessfully for an engineering job with an American company. Later, he wrote of typical cross-cultural misunderstandings that crop up when American managers interview Dutch recruits and vice versa: “American applicants, to Dutch eyes, oversell themselves. Their CVs are worded in superlatives…during the interview they try to behave assertively, promising things they are very unlikely to realize…Dutch applicants in American eyes undersell themselves. They write modest and usually short CVs, counting on the interviewer to find out by asking how good they really are…they are very careful not to be seen as braggarts and not to make promises they are not absolutely sure they can fulfill. American interviewers know how to interpret American CVs and interviews and they tend to discount the information provided. Dutch interviewers, accustomed to Dutch applicants, tend to upgrade the information. To an uninitiated American interviewer an uninitiated Dutch applicant comes across as a sucker. To an uninitiated Dutch interviewer an uninitiated American applicant comes across as a braggart.”1 Cultural differences, while difficult to observe and measure, are obviously very important. Failure to appreciate and account for them can lead to embarrassing...
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...Submitted by: Jamaica Kathleen P. Salcedo 2m4 The Prodigal Son Luke 15:11-32 11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. 13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and...
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...Customer Experience and Employee Satisfaction Afshan Naseem1, Sadia Ejaz Sheikh2 and Prof. Khusro P. Malik GPHR3 1,3 Department of Engineering Management, Centre for Advanced Studies in Engineering, Islamabad, Pakistan 2 COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Attock, Pakistan Abstract– Employee satisfaction is considered weighty when it comes to define organizational success. Employee’s satisfaction is central concern particularly in the service industry. Need to enhance employee satisfaction is critical because it is a key to business success of any organization. In the present milieu, employee satisfaction has come under limelight due to stiff competition where organizations are trying to carve competitive advantage through the human factor. The purpose of this study is to observe the relationship between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction and to examine the impact of both on organizational success. This study scrutinizes the effects of different factors of organization which affects the employee satisfaction. This is a cohort study in which qualitative research methodology was used. The data was collected through selfadministrated questionnaire which contains multiple choice questions and open-ended questions. Results of the principal component analysis (PCA) based on correlation matrix revealed a great deal of employees (hotel workers) satisfaction among surveyed cohorts where customers also had expressed satisfaction with existing services. Mainly environmental...
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...traits. In today’s world people are more willing to engage in global business and for this reason they need to be able to adapt to the different cultures. As the cultures vary from country to country, people around the world may face many difficulties during their communication. Many businesses have failed due to the fact that they failed to fully assess the market they were entering in. The paper will portray three different approaches that will aid in understanding cultural differences that can be utilized as effective tools in conducting global business. These approaches are known as the context approach, the cluster approach and the dimension approach. 1. Context Approach: This is one of the three main approaches to understand cultural differences. Context approach is considered as the most straightforward as it relies on a single dimension. In addition, there are two parts of the context approach, known as: (i) High context cultures and (ii) Low context cultures. The two types of contexts have different cultures, values, norms, and ways of thinking. In low-context cultures such as North American and Western European countries, communication usually takes place at face value whereas, in high-context cultures such as Asian and African countries, communication relies upon unspoken condition. They rely more on the non-verbal communication. For example, countries that are considered high context...
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