...Question 3 Choose a brand where its core product is primarily for kids e.g. The Wiggles, Thomas and Friends, Hello Kitty etc. Write a paper on how it has diffused throughout the product categories and how it has extended to other categories as well. Do a case study of its success (or failure) and how it has changed the landscape of product innovations. For example, Thomas and friends has clothes, stationery, household products, jewellery etc. *** She is a successful independent woman, who lives in a world of pink, where she owns a dream house in Malibu. Every day, she wears high-heels to work, and even runs a fashion chain under her name. For many, she was the influential icon of American culture in the late 20th century. Until now, I dare say that her image is still very potent worldwide. Who is she? Never before has she ever starred in a Hollywood movie or performed at a famous fashion show. Surprisingly, she never exists in real life and she is literally a toy. Yes, it can hardly be any other toy but Barbie. Nowadays, girls can be seen wearing Barbie clothing, using Barbie perfume, carrying Barbie backpacks, and sleeping in Barbie pajamas, not to mention cosmetics, sneakers etc. (Morgenson 1991, 66). Mattel, Inc., the mother company of Barbie, should feel proud of her. Because on average, an American girl has ten Barbie dolls, a British or Italian girl may own seven, while five is the number of Barbie that a German or French girl has. It was Mattel’s purpose and will...
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...revolution was bathed in Nationalism. It is Mao’s love for China’s independence coupled with agrarian reforms that put Mao on the road to power. After 1949, Nationalism would reappear in Mao’s cultural policies, his relationship with Moscow and underdeveloped countries. Mao feared nothing and no one. Using Marxism-Leninism as a framework, Mao proposed the use of peasants to create his revolutionary elite. His innovative thinking was unpopular among many of Mao’s Communist comrades; they believed the proletariat to be the key group (Cheek, 11). Mao also championed women’s liberation from masculine authority of husbands as well as clan, temple, and general religious oppression (Cheek, 11) also unacceptable position for a Communist to take. Mao’s breakdown of the rural classes into poor, middle and rich peasants demonstrated the Nationalist impulse rooted in his personality. His attachment to China led him to cooperate with the Guomindang, a nationalist group (Cheek, 10) and in the resistance war against Japan guided Mao to power (Cheek, 13). After standing up to his abusive father Mao said, “…I learned that when I defend my rights by open rebellion my father relented, but when I remained meek and submissive he only cursed and beat me the more” (Cheek, 1). During an interview with Snow, Mao adds, at the same time it probably benefited me. It made me most diligent in my work; it made me keep my books carefully, so that he should have no basis for criticizing me (Snow/Cheek, 191)...
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...Study Questions for Exam 1, Fall 2012 Theme 1: The Japanese Family System, structure and functions Please remember to use your class readings when applicable to answer the following study questions. Where relevant, think which reading and /or video would illustrate your answer. Why is the family important to study? How have its functions changed and why? The family is important to study because it is the primary agent for socialization. It is the first unit that teaches the rules of society to children. One of the two social entities recognized universally, the other is religion. The function of family has changed over time because it has shifted from an extended family to more of a nuclear family. The functions of a family: Protection, affection, procreation, production, education transfer of status. What are the three important differences between family systems in East Asia and the United States? Explain each. 1. Confucian values- places emphasis on loyalty and obedience to the group and its leader, where the United states has individualism 2. Gender Inequality- In east asia there is a patrinlean and multi-generational system, with the inheritence rights traveling down the male line, where in united states its bi-lateral and emphasis is placed on nuclear family. 3. Demographic Transition- Change from high fertility high mortality to a low fertility and mortality rates causing an aging population. Same in US but there is more immigration to...
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...situation would be different because they both have different communication style. Research says that “Starting in childhood, girls and boys are generally socialized to belong to distinct cultures and thus, speak in ways particular to their own gender’s rules and norms” (Johnson, 2000; Tannen 1986, 1990, 1995.) This pattern of gendered socialization continues throughout our lives. As a result, men and women often interpret the same conversation differently. Culturally diverse ways of speaking can cause miscommunication between members of each culture or speech community. These cultural differences are seen in the simple purpose of communication. This is one of the major reasons of difference in communication. Some differences in the masculine and feminine...
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...Chapter 3: Cultural dynamics2- interactions, mindsets and behaviors Concept of the self and other: * it is largely about people within a society responding positively and unconsciously to membership. * The concept of the self is a modal view of what people are in society and therefore what they are allowed to do. Assumptions are related to the main sociodemographic categories (age, sex, social class) idealized conduct in particular role(the perfect partner, businessman, child). * The concept of the self has major implications in the area of consumer behavior. Briefly, our possessions are a major reflector of our identities, as we ascribe meaning to what we buy and consume, we strive to assert, complete, or attain our “ideal” self through out possessions. * Most studied of self-concept across cultures is the tendency toward an independent or interdependent self-construal. The two relatively stable self-construals which emphasize the degree to which people see themselves as separate from or connected to others. They described the western or individualist self as independent Is human nature good or bad? * How should we treat unknown people? Unknown people are considered favourably or treated with suspicion when met the first time. * Appraising others, emphasis placed on: age, sex, social class * Assume human nature is good, friendly and open-minded to people we don’t know. Australians have a strong positive belief about new people, who are assumed...
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...Sociology & Family Theorizing and Researching 1. Structural Theories a) Materialism & Conflict theory Marx & Engles -changes in family lives reflect material change (ex, the mode of production, industrialization) macro-micro focus -power differences characterize society at all levels (ex, capitalism creates: exploitation of men in the workforce; oppression of women b) Political Economy -assumes the power of the one class over another (social control), capitalist relations of production -a more concentrated focus on how economic and political processes shape society and history and therefore family, families c) Structural Functionalism Parsons & Bales -the social institution of the family - family is seen as a function, and different parts of society helps it move along -the nuclear family performs functions -they saw the families as a main faction, economic support, these functions that happen in nuclear families include economic support -equilibrium, all parts help it work as a whole -hierarchical generations and role specialization within families produces harmony -the different roles that men and women take on, allows the family be a harmony -parsons and bales, gendered perspective on families, families having instrumental roles such as achieving income, feed the family, cloth the family, this would be men 2. Symbolic Interactionism Mead & Cooley - individuals create their own family realities through micro level interactions -from...
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...persistence of these issue has been slightly alleviated. However, even with this alleviation gender inequality is constantly a pressing issue that can be found under the microscope of many sociologists and social science professionals. As well as being a formal and academic issue, many individuals from all walks of life argue over civil rights daily to mitigate these social problems. Equality is something that should be freely allowed to people of all social and cultural groups, gender included. However gender inequality manages to impose on even this most simple ideal. The idea to be unfair or unjust to the opposite sex is not one that we are born with, but the gender roles we are raised within might have influence on our later actions toward one gender or another. From a young age we are given, taught, shown, or influenced to act with a feminine or masculine behavior. Little girls are present with dolls and china sets, while little boys are given trucks and toy soldiers. When entered into the world of athletics young girls are often entered into ballet or gymnastics, on the other hand boys start playing baseball or basketball. It is now becoming more common to see just as many girls racing down soccer fields as boys, and as many boys in dance classes as girls. Over the years the media has deluded the very specific gender roles it once commonly depicted in a positive way. Wherein the women would stay at home cooking, cleaning, and raising the children. Meanwhile the men...
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...business. Culture plays a large role in the motivational scheme, weather you look at America as a salad bowl or a melting pot the country has applied its own influences upon different ethnic groups as to what works for motivation and what will not. Knowing this now tells us that we must examine what works for the cultures in the purest sense on their original soil. This will not only help us in the sense of a global expansion, it will allow us a basis of comparison back at home as well. In recent years when someone mentions manufacturing, invariably China comes to mind. This manufacturing powerhouse boasts a labor base of almost 1.3 billion people. With a limited infrastructure they have been able to undercut most developed countries bids when it comes to manufactured goods. When it comes to motivation the strict structure of the government and more importantly Chinese culture come into play. It has been noted that while China focuses on moral motivators for the average worker, “that extreme reliance upon nonmaterial incentives causes morale and production to suffer” (Riskin, 1973). As the Chinese continue to advance their methods and infrastructure something else has happened. Riskin notes that the tenants of communism do not mix well with large scale business or as Edwin Reischauer stated “I think Mao or else people close to him . . . just did not want to admit that people were people and were going to act like human beings. That is one of the great failings of communism...
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...1GameStop brief profile of the firm The GameStop Company, an American video game and entertainment software retailer, ranked 262 on the Fortune 500. GameStop represent as GME on the New York Stock Exchange. In 2011, GameStop stock price is $24.70 ended January 27, 2012, a 23 percent growth compared to $20.05 ended January 28, 2011. Compared to many firms that restore its business difficultly from Financial Crisis, GameStop have significant growth for its overall operating. One of the major reasons that GameStop can quickly recovered from economic recession is its international business. Product GameStop Company major operations are selling new and used video game systems such as console, handheld video game devices, and mobile; software and accessories, PC entertainment software and related accessories. typical market for your product GameStop have its retailer store and online video game retailer. Detail how large the company is GameStop’s recorded $4847.4 million as company’s 2011 ending assets, and recorded $1807.2 million. Lower liability compared to its assets, lower risk to operating its business. Which can prove that GameStop have capability to doing business internationally. Data from GameStop 2011 annual report showed GameStop’s total revenue can be divided into 4 major parts. New video game software, which is $4,048.2 million, takes total 42.4 percent for its total revenue. New video game hardware took 16.9 percent. Used video game products took 27.4...
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...HOFSTEDE: Cultures And Organizations - Software of the Mind Culture as mental programming In Western languages 'culture' commonly means 'civilization' or 'refinement of the mind' and in particular the results of such refinement, like education, art, and literature. This is 'culture in the narrow sense; 'culture one' Culture as mental software, however, corresponds to a much broader use of the word which is common among social anthropologists: this is ‘culture two’. In social anthropology, 'culture' is a catchword for all those patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting referred to in the previous paragraphs. Not only those activities supposed to refine the mind are included in 'culture two', but also the ordinary and menial things in life: greeting, eating, showing or not showing feelings, keeping a certain physical distance from others, making love, or maintaining body hygiene. CULTURE It is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another. It is a collective phenomenon, because it is at least partly shared with people who live or lived within the same social environment, which is where it was learned. Culture is learned, not inherited. It derives from one's social environment, not from one's genes. Culture should be distinguished from human nature on one side, and from an individual's personality on the other: 1 Cultural relativism there are no scientific standards for considering one group...
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...Culture Impact on German Negotiation Style Chen Shuqi SEIB Abstract As the increasing frequency of international trades， international negotiation skills draw a lot of attention. Regarded as a major barrier for cross-cultural communication, understanding culture difference is of signification . This essay will firstly introduce the study history and relevant definitions of international negotiation and how culture factors impact on negotiation style. Considering the gradual closed trade relationship between Germany and China and the commonly acknowledged differences of national cultures between them, this essay would firstly analyzes images of Germans for the general Chinese in a book, Die Langnasen . Further, it clarifies German negotiation style basing on analysis from Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory. We find out that some of German business behaviors from the theory don’t fit with our general impression as the book concludes. After discussion about the deficiency of the theory or possible stereotype of the book, we try to present a modification of the prevalent impression about German negotiation style, and give some suggestion about how to carry out a better international business negotiation with Germans. It may be possible to provide us a better understanding in successful negotiation process with Germans. Key words: International negotiation, German culture, German negotiation style 德国文化对其谈判风格的影响 陈舒祺 国际商务英语学院 2011级国际商务管理 摘 要: 随着跨国贸易的频率迅速增长，国际商务谈判技巧尤为重要。...
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...The Connection between National Culture and Organizational Culture Kyb Fugfugosh San Francisco State University IBUS 681 (01) Date 12/10/2012 2 The Connection between National and Organizational Culture The term “culture” is generally ascribed to societies in a country, or ethnic and regional clusters within a nation, but can also be assigned to organizations, institutions, and family. Social organizations, whether national cultures, or institutional cultures develop because members’ behavior is not arbitrary, and can sometimes be anticipated and calculated. Organizations are bound by culture, which includes the individual behaviors of members and the collective purpose of the organization. In his frequently referenced book, Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work-related Values (1984), Geert Hofstede provided a methodology for the cross-cultural studies of nations, and the organizations that develop based on cultural values. Cultural concepts, as they relate to organizational studies, are borrowed from anthropology, in which views vary, and there is no consensus. Therefore the application of the “cultural perspective” to organizational studies also varies, and is based on assumptions about the nature of both “culture” and “organizations” (Smircich, 1983). Pettigrew (1979) advocated the use of cultural concepts borrowed from sociology and anthropology in the examination of organizational behavior. He advanced “longitudinalprocessual” studies of organizations...
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...HOFSTEDE: Cultures And Organizations - Software of the Mind Culture as mental programming In Western languages 'culture' commonly means 'civilization' or 'refinement of the mind' and in particular the results of such refinement, like education, art, and literature. This is 'culture in the narrow sense; 'culture one' Culture as mental software, however, corresponds to a much broader use of the word which is common among social anthropologists: this is ‘culture two’. In social anthropology, 'culture' is a catchword for all those patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting referred to in the previous paragraphs. Not only those activities supposed to refine the mind are included in 'culture two', but also the ordinary and menial things in life: greeting, eating, showing or not showing feelings, keeping a certain physical distance from others, making love, or maintaining body hygiene. CULTURE It is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another. It is a collective phenomenon, because it is at least partly shared with people who live or lived within the same social environment, which is where it was learned. Culture is learned, not inherited. It derives from one's social environment, not from one's genes. Culture should be distinguished from human nature on one side, and from an individual's personality on the other: 1 Cultural relativism there are no scientific standards for considering one group...
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...Middlesex Marte Rognstad http://www.duo.uio.no Trykk: Reprosentralen, Universitetet i Oslo Abstract This thesis presents an exploration of the representation of gender in Virginia Woolf’s Orlando and Jeffrey Eugenides’s Middlesex mainly in light of the theories of Judith Butler. The focus will be on how the two novels challenge the traditional concept of gender and gender categories, and in what ways the novels can give us new perspectives on the concept of gender. The theoretical focus will be on Judith Butler, more precisely her idea of gender as performance, and her deconstructionist approach to identity categories. I will present Butler’s proposal for a “new feminist genealogy,” and through my investigation of the representation of gender in Orlando and Middlesex I will show how both novels take on a “Butlerian” understanding of the concept of gender. By looking at various issues related to gender explored in the two novels, and pointing to similarities and differences between the two works, I hope to show how the protagonists, Orlando and Cal/lie, break down and transcend the fraught categories of male and female, thus disrupting the traditional gender norms and conventions, showing them to be socially and culturally constructed. Judith Butler’s hope is for every human being to be acknowledged as a subject, no matter which gender and/or sexual identity he or she has, and my aim is consequently to present how Orlando and Middlesex, through their representation of gender,...
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...1. Chapter 3: Differences in Culture 2. Have you ever visited another country? If you have, think for a minute about some of the differences you may have seen. Perhaps people dressed differently or ate different types of foods. How did people get around? By car, by train, by motor bike? Was there a particular religion that influenced how society worked? What language was spoken? Did you notice any forms of unspoken language? Your answers to these questions will give you some insight to the 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...
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