Retail Industry in the UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Retail Industry in the UK - Essay Example In the year 2010, the industry was responsible for the creation of additional 12,750 full time jobs and the total number of jobs increased by 2.1% in comparison with the previous year. The total number of people employed by the industry in the year 2010 was 2.9 million which roughly accounts for the 11% of the total workforce in the UK. From this fact, it can be inferred that the retail industry holds a very prominent position in the economy of the UK. From economic activity to employment, the retail industry affects a number of factors in the economy of the UK. In 2010, there were 286,680 retail outlets in the UK and the number has grown in the year 2011. More than a third of the total consumer spending the region goes through shops. Retail industry generates around 5% of the Gross Domestic Product of the UK. Consumers are also taking interest in shopping over internet and the sales over internet account for around 7% of the total retail sales and the number is estimated to grow sig nificantly. FINDINGS Retail industry is one of the strongest industries in the UK. The industry has witnessed significant growth in the recent years. Every industry is influenced by certain economic and social factors and in case of retail industry the most important economic factor is inflation. With the rise in inflation, the prices of consumer products also rise. Thus the consumers refrain from buying and the overall retail sales go down. Other social factors that may influence the retail industry may be the prevailing trends in clothing and the weather conditions. Such are the indicators that help the retailers take steps proactively in order to save themselves from any significant impact. The following review of the retail industry in the UK would also focus on the impact of such economic and social factors in the last quarter of the year 2011.... With the rise in inflation, the prices of consumer products also rise. Thus the consumers refrain from buying and the overall retail sales go down. Other social factors that may influence the retail industry may be the prevailing trends in clothing and the weather conditions. Such are the indicators that help the retailers take steps proactively in order to save themselves from any significant impact. The following review of the retail industry in the UK would also focus on the impact of such economic and social factors in the last quarter of the year 2011. REVIEW OF RETAIL INDUSTRY FOR THE LAST QUARTER OF 2011 The start of the last quarter of 2011 was slow for the retail industry in the UK however the sales grew significantly towards the end of the quarter. There were a number of economic and other factors responsible for the trend of sales observed in the last quarter of 2011. One of the most important factors behind this trend of sales volume was Christmas which always impacts the retail industry positively. A boost in the internet sales was also witnessed in this quarter. Following is the month by month review of the retail industry in the UK for the last quarter of 2011. Retail Industry in October 2011 The overall retail sales volume increased by 0.6% in the month of October as compared to the previous month. This increase was higher than what was expected by the economists. The absence of any social factors to cause an increase in the sales volume led the economists to estimate a decline in the sales volume in comparison with the previous month but the sales volume increased. The benefit of this increase in sales was enjoyed mostly by the small retailers while the large stores had to lose their overall sales

Tim OBrien’s The Things They Carried Paper Essay Example for Free

Tim OBrien’s The Things They Carried Paper Essay Introduction The Things They Carried by Tim OBrien is replete with several themes in the story but this paper will tackle the particular â€Å"things† that O’Brien’s characters carry, whether literal or figurative. As one reads through the novel, the reader sees the different emotional load that each of the character carries and which become hindrances to the way they behave in battle and even after they go back to their own homes. Theme In particular, this paper looks into the theme of mental luggage that each man brings into the war, whether they are objects or beliefs, which basically hinder them from functioning effectively in battle. III. Characters’ Burdens and Anxieties   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Starting off with Henry Dobbins, who may be just a minor character who even exhibits a kind and gentle spirit, yet is found to be superstitious as he carries his girlfriend’s pantyhose around his neck. This can be funny as one reads it first, but there is this firm belief on his part that this practice will protect him wherever he goes. The pantyhose, thus, becomes a thing that literally is carried by Dobbins all throughout the novel.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One main character that ends up tragically because of the emotional burdens that he carries is Norman Bowker. He is portrayed as a quiet soldier, keeping things to himself, aggravated when Kiowa dies, prompting him to return to his hometown aloof and restless. He puts up a front, as if nothing is wrong with him, but this is where he succumbs in the end. His only alternative to unburden himself is when he is able to tell his story, even asking Tim to write his story for him the travails of his life at war. Yet, when the story ends up unsuccessful, Bowker finds no meaning in life at all and eventually kills himself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another character who carries a burden is Jimmy Cross. This time is starts with a mental burden of thinking about Martha, a girl he loves deeply back in New Jersey. Martha does not return this love at all, yet Cross carries this to war and because of the distraction that this entails, he is not able to save a man who died. Thinking that it was because his mind was preoccupied with the thought of Martha, Cross never forgives himself because of this incident and how irresponsible he is to his men. He tries to come to terms with Ted Lavender’s death and seemed forever burdened with this even if he was no longer fighting in the war. He also literally carries compasses and maps during the war. Effect of Emotional Burdens   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The author demonstrates how silently carrying one’s burdens like painful memories can hinder one from enjoying life to the fullest. Cross’ character is shown to even suspect that the â€Å"Love† signed at the end of Martha’s letters is just a figure of speech. Lavender’s death is imprinted in Cross’ mind and heart and this is aggravated again by the fact that Cross discovers that in reality, Martha never really cared for him at all.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Even Ted Lavender carries his anxieties with him in war as he smokes marijuana and takes tranquilizers. In fact, the men in this war carry their anxieties and fear with them, just repressing them because they are in battle. But the preoccupations of their minds and hearts are sometimes even bigger than the battle at hand. In sum, these soldiers have a difficult time in telling their experiences and the repression of their experiences are carried long after the war has been fought. The tragedies and horrors of the war are carried back to their own homes, leaving them distraught all the more. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Indeed, the story emphasizes the havoc that war brings after they go into battle. These men â€Å"carry† emotional burdens that continue long after they go back to their own homes after the war. The conflicts in their minds continuously eat away on their victims’ minds for the rest of their lives. Work Cited OBrien, Tim. The Things They Carried. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990

Graffiti - The Unlawful Art :: Urban Art

One day in the afternoon while I was surfing on the Internet, one of my friends forwarded a really interesting website addressed www.stillfree.com to me. At the beginning, I thought it was some kind of shopping promotional website but after clicking on it, an interesting video popped up. I saw a man being video recorded while he was climbing up a fence of a military airport. Then, he ran quickly towards the Air Force One, which is the personal aircraft of the President of the United States, and tagged a graffiti drawing on the jet. It gave me a big shock after watching the video because that man actually sneaked in to the US military airbase and tagged the Air force One aircraft. The event was being broadcast on some major TV channels. After making everything clear, I realized that video was not really took place at the US airbase and it was actually made up by a prominent fashion designer Marc Ecko. The whole process of the video was so real, but it came up as a campaign video to promote the art of graffiti. There are many different points of view on graffiti and it has always aroused arguments on its legalization. Graffiti can be recognized as a form of art, or crime. Graffiti consists of inscriptions, slogans and drawings scratched, scribbled or painted on a wall or other public or private surface. According to The Dictionary of Art, the word "graffiti" is derived from the Greek term "graphein" (to write) and the word "graffiti" itself is plural of the Italian word "graffito." Graffiti is also a form of self-expression. It is the means used to express the artist's identity, feelings, and ideas. The art of graffiti is also a kind of communication that links people regardless their cultural, lingual, or racial differences. When graffiti was first becoming popular, the tools being used were mostly wide tipped markers and spray cans. Graffiti can also be analyzed according to the elements of lines, color, and structures that are present in the work in order to produce a narrative about it. The graffitist first does a sketch, and then he or she plans out characters and selects colors. Next, the artist selects his or her surface and does a preliminary outline, followed by a filling in of colors and ornamentation, and then the final outline is completed. However, graffiti is not readily accepted as being art like those works that are found in a gallery or a museum.

An Analysis of Intercultural Negotiations between the East and West Essay

Executive Summary: This report provides an analysis and evaluation of an intercultural negotiation between USA’s Brown Casual Shoes and China’s Chung Sun Manufacturing, provides a literature review of a prominent theory from the field and suggests recommendation to improve the process of intercultural communication between these two countries and companies. As the Case Study was identified as subpar negotiation, all issues from the Case Study were allocated into Intercultural, Verbal and Nonverbal. Following this, Hofstede’s Cultural Model was introduced in the literature review and critically analysed. This model included five dimensions: 1. Uncertainty Avoidance 2. Power Distance 3. Masculinity vs. Femininity 4. Individualism vs. Collectivism 5. Short Term vs. Long Term Some strengths of the model included a large sample size, indexes for all nations and easily formulated hypotheses. Alternatively, some limitations were an alleged sample misrepresentation, not adequately analysing people on an individual level and a time lapse since dimension formulation. Major issues from the negotiations were then further investigated and included: Rushing the negotiations and failing to form an adequate relationship Causing offence by giving a gift to the Chinese representative Not respecting the hierarchy of the Chinse culture Failing to hire an interpreter for the negotiations Touching the Chinese associates inappropriately Recommendations suggested preventing further intercultural issues and fixing current issues as noted above included: Hiring an interpreter and cultural adviser Translating all written materials into Chinese Creating transparency within the negotiations process by asking for a joint strategy 1 Introduction Intercultural communication is becoming increasingly important within a global context for businesses. In one study within China – the country being analyzed, all respondents to a survey agreed that it is critical to the success of the organization (73.9 strongly & 26.1 moderately) (Goodman & Wang, 2007). In the following report, the success of an intercultural negotiation between China and USA will be assessed to ascertain all issues occurring across intercultural, verbal and nonverbal and how they can be fixed. This will be done by providing recommendations based on current literature in the field. Additionally, The issues of the case will be identified and analysed and a literature view will be undertaken of a relevant prominent theory in the field. 2 Identification of Problems/Issues Within the negotiations between Brown Casual Shoes and Chung Sun Manufacturing, there were several intercultural communication issues that offended the Chinese through what appeared to be a blatant disregard for their cultural barriers. These issues have been partitioned into three sections general, verbal and nonverbal. 1 Intercultural Issues The first error in their intercultural interaction was the letter given by Mr  Brown to Mr Deng. In addition to gift giving in the Chinese business culture being unacceptable due to it being seen as bribery (UONI, 2011), it is especially offensive for a gift to be wrapped in white paper – as red is the norm (Kwintessential, 2013). The fact that Mr. Deng refused the gift three times before opening it aligns with the fact that Chinese may refuse a gift three times before opening it – but not a fourth (Kwintessential, 2013). Another contributing factor is the point that Chinese don’t like to say no, and will often say yes just to save face (World Business Culture, 2013). The following mistake made by Mr. Brown was offering the first toast of the evening. In Chinese cultulre, it should always be the host who makes the first toast of the evening (Kwintessential, 2013). Additionally, Mr Brown’s lack of knowledge on who should leave the meeting first may have caused offence. As per Chinese culture, the foreigner should always leave first when a meeting is finished (UONI, 2011). Mr Browns misunderstanding of this could have caused discomfort for the Chinese. Mr Brown’s perception that the initial meetings with the Chinese would have resulted in a negotiation early was a fundamental misunderstanding – as he failed to realise that the Chinese often forge relationships with individuals before partaking in business (Goodman, 2013). 2 Intercultural Verbal Communication Issue Although Mr Brown and his team participated in lots of small talk with Mr Deng, further small talk could be encouraged to avoid causing offence and giving the impression that the negotiators only care about time – and not forging a lasting relationship (UONI, 2011). An additional verbal error made by Mr. Brown was his failure to hire a interpreter. In China, this is often viewed as a sign of disrespect for their culture (Fang & Faure, 2010). This lack of an interpreter and an overall lack of comprehension of English could have been the reason for the large amount of questions rather than the impression formulated by Mr. Brown that they were not serious about the business (World Business Culture, 2013). Furthermore, the fact that Mr Brown and his team didn’t make the effort to learn any Chinese at all for the negotiation might give off the impression that they are ethnocentric about their culture (Goodman, 2013). 3 Intercultural Nonverbal Verbal Communication Issues Although there were not many nonverbal communication errors, one fundamental nonverbal communication error made by Mr. Brown was his touching of the arm of Mr. Deng. Culturally, Chinese dislike being touched by strangers (Gao et al, 1996). As they were only just meeting and not yet properly acquainted, this may have been perceived as offensive. 3 Literature Review Hofstede’s model has been used as it was utilized a starting point for many additional cultural models. Below, figure one shows the convergence of this model with other notable ones from the field of cultural communication studies. It can be deduced from this that Hofstede’s model is the most diverse and complete framework as it encompasses all factors of other relevant models and shows evidence for the theoretical relevance. Figure 2: Comparison of Hofstede’s cultural framework with other models Source: Soares, Farhangmehr & Shoham, 2007, p. 281 One assumption of this model is defining identity through nation. Many scholars (Steenkamn et al, 1999l Hofstede, 1984; Parker, 1994; Hoover et al., 1978) support this approach. 1 Literature Review Hofstede’s cultural dimension is a model crafted to identify the key differences across different cultural workplace values. Gert Hofstede formulated this model through complex statistical analysis on more than 100,000 IBM employees across the world. The results of this suggested that five dimension anchors could be used to describe most important differences among cultures worldwide. These anchors provide points of comparison for each culture and allow different nations cultures to be contrasted and their disposition measured based on key traits (Lewicki, Saunders & Barry, 2011). These anchor points are: Individualism/Collectivism, Power Distance, Masculinity/Femininity, Uncertainty Avoidance and Short Term/Long Term. Figure 1 below shows how this is commonly measured. Figure 1: Source: Hofstede, 2001 The first dimension of the model is Power Distance. Power distance reflects the attitude a society holds on power inequality and authority relations in society. This anchor can influence hierarchy, dependence relationships and organizational context (Soares et al, 2007). A low score is indicative of a society with little respect for unequally distributed power and decisions are often spread through the organisation with feedback to bosses appropriate. Alternatively, a high score shows that the society depends highly on hierarchical structures and may concentrate decision making at the top (Hofstede, 1980). Uncertainty avoidance is the second dimension of this framework. This dictates the extent to which people feel threatened by uncertainty and ambiguity and due to this avoid situations that may cause these feelings to occur (Hofstede, 1991). People with high uncertainty avoidance often have well defined rules for prescribed behaviours (Soares et al, 2007) and if these are not in pla ce for new situations, they will strive to immediately move towards establishing them. Alternatively, those with low scores on this anchor will be less affected by situations that may be ambiguous (Lewicki, Saunders & Barry, 2011). The next dimension – individualism vs. collectivism, describes the relationships people have in each culture (Soares et al, 2007). In individualistic societies, people tend to act independently and look after only themselves and their direct families. In collectivist societies, members of the society hold a large degree of interdependence (Hofstede, 1980) and take care of their group in exchange for loyalty. Masculinity vs. Feminity is the scale anchor that differentiates societies where achievement and success is paramount (high – masculine) and those where caring for others and quality of life is more important (low – feminine) (Hofstede, 1994). Feminine societies are ones where quality of life is often more desirable than standing out from the crowd (Hofstede, 2014). Lastly, Long-term vs. Short Term is the dimension, which shows countries preference towards future rewards and perseverance or towards  short-term gain and fulfilling past or present traditions (Hofstede and Bond, 1988). 2 Strengths Some strengths of Hofstede’s model is the thoroughness and time points of his research – which includes 116,000 empirical questionnaires from over 60,000 respondents across seventy countries in various decades (Hofstede, 1984; Hofstede, 1991; Hofstede, 2001). This is the most robust model in terms of sample size and variety (Smith et al., 1996). He links his dimensions with various external and internal factors, such as demographic, geographic, economic and political, and assigns indexes to every nation – a feature unmatched by other frameworks (Kale & Barnes, 1992). In addition, the framework is highly useful in formulating easy hypothesises across a range of purposes and it continues to be the norm used in international marketing, psychology, management and sociology studies (Engel, Blackwell & Miniard, 1995; Sondergaard, 1994). 3 Weaknesses Although some critique Hofstede’s research due to its alleged sample bias and its lack of inclusivity of the richness of cultures due to its sample size being based only on those working at IBM (Lewicki, Saunders & Barry, 2011), they fail to take into account further revisions of the model by Hofstede. At the International Institute for Management Development Hofstede administered the test to international managers from over 30 countries from a variety of both private and public organisations. The results yielded in these proved significantly similar to those in his original sample – solidifying his original hypothesis (Geert, 2008). Another prominent critique is the fact that in both of these cases, there was a disproportionate level of males, members of the middle class were over represented and education levels were much higher than average (Lewicki, Saunders & Barry, 2011), Additionally, some argue that in the model nation differences only account for 2 to 4 percent of variance in individual values, leaving at least 96 percent- if not more, unexplained. One scholar from the Academy of Management suggested that the model was incongruent with his own knowledge on psychological phenomena and suggests that an  alternative methodology be drafted (Ailon, 2008) to account for this 96 percent. Some academics claim that Hofstede’s culture dimensions are flawed due to their categorizations of people into national stereotypes rather than individual character. This is especially applicable for people living in ethnically diverse countries. (Venaik & Brewer, 2013). Lenartowicz and Roth (1999), however, contend that no single methodology across any model is able to address the inclusive set of criteria relevant to cultural assessment in business studies. Lastly, it could be suggested that due to the time that the initial dimensions were formulated was so long ago they may be out-dated and no longer relevant. Others argue that the change in cultures occurs so slow that significant changes would not likely affect the model for a long perio d (Sivakumar and Nakata, 2001) – perhaps until 2100 (Hofstede, 2001). 4 Case Analysis Five issues have been chosen out of the initial ones identified and have been linked up with their relevant theories. 1 Issue 1 The first issue is Mr Brown’s rush to finalise the negotiation and his final comment suggesting impatience with the negotiations. As China’s culture is predominantly long-term orientated (87 vs USA’s 26) the Chinese representatives may take longer to finalise the negotiations due to having a disposition towards long term relationships (Zhang & Toomey, 2009). In addition to this, Chinese negotiators often need to form a relationship due to their low temperament to individualism – 20 vs USA’s 91 (Hofstede, 2014). This haste showed great disrespect for the Chinese’s efforts to form a long-term relationship with the company, an aspect commonly necessary for business arrangements to succeed in China (Fang & Faure, 2010). 2 Issue 2 As China is a highly particular culture on Trompenaars seven dimensions of culture model (Luthans & Doh, 2009), meaning that deciding on what is right and wrong or acceptable and unacceptable is highly dependant on the exact situation and relationships involved (Trompenaars, 1997) it was a grave issue not to hire a translator to help overcome this barrier. Hofstede provides support for this theory by ranking China very low on the uncertainty avoidance scale (30), meaning that their rules may be very flexible and unique culturally (Hofstede, 2014). 3 Issue 3 As China is a high context society (Hall, 1985), the failed gift-giving incident could correspond with a clash of this high context. Hall notes that within a high context culture messages are often covert and implicit, there is much non-verbal communication and the expression of reaction is frequently reserved and inward. The message that Mr. Deng did not want to accept the gift was most certainly covert and non-verbal and his reaction to the incident stayed reserved and inward – most likely to save face (Goodman, 2013). 4 Issue 4 Hall’s theory additionally links to an important issue within the negotiation process. As Mr. Brown continually touched Mr. Deng’s arm during negotiations, this may have been perceived as breach of Space (Hall, 1985). The proxemics of the Chinese culture dictates that touching is rarely acceptable (Communication Studies, 2014). 5 Issue 5 Another issue arising from the negotiations is both Mr. Brown toasting first at the dinner and him not leaving the dinner first. What he failed to consider when doing this was China’s high power distance (80 vs USA’s 40) (Hofstede, 2014). This suggests that China strongly values hierarchical institutions. Toasting first and disrespecting the Chinese cultural norm of the guests leaving dinner first could be perceive as disrespectful to the order of the Chinese leadership and their subsequent authority. 5 Recommendations Three recommendations have been suggested to improve Brown’s Casual Shoe’s negotiation with China in analysis of the Case Study 1 Recommendation 1 The first and most important recommendation for Mr. Brown would be to hire a corporate communicator or interpreter. Although it would not be wise to hire a complete agent – as it may detract from the personal relationship needing to be crafted between both parties for successful business undertakings, USA negotiators should hire an interpreter at the least or a cultural adviser at best to cut through the high context culture of the Chinese, show the  Chinese that they care about their culture and to offer priceless advice on the negotiation process to ensure an optimal outcome for both parties (Lewicki, Saunders & Barry, 2011). 2 Recommendation 2 The USA negotiators should in future hire a translator to succinctly translate all of their written material including business cards, marketing presentations, business proposals, company history, product information and anything else relevant to the trip to Chinese using simplified characters (Fang & Faure, 2010, p. 138). This takes away room for misinterpretation on any element of business and eliminates any concept of ethnocentricity that could have been perceived as well as showing respect for their culture and language (Kwintessential, 2013). 3 Recommendation 3 The final recommendation is to identify whether either parties or both parties will adjust their style of negotiation to the other parties cultural style. Confusion can sometimes arise when both parties are trying to adjust to the others negotiation style (Lewicki, Saunders & Barry, 2011, p. 245). A simple affirmation of whether this will be done can save much confusion and create an air of transparency. In many cases a secure middle ground (sometimes called joint strategy) can be agreed upon. This could be asked through an email or letter prior to negotiation commencement, or if this is not appropriate, they could ask to speak privately with the highest authority of the Chinese party to respect their hierarchical institutions. To do this, you could simply stay around after a meeting and ask personally to speak with the leader to help him save face (Goodman, 2013, p. 177). 6 References Ailon, G. (2008). Mirror, mirror on the wall: culture’s consequences in a value test of it’s own design. The Academy of Management Review, 33(4), 885-904. Communication Studies (2014). Proxemics. Retrieved from http://www.communicationstudies.com/communication-theories/proxemics Dawar, N., & Parker, P. (1994). Marketing universals: consumers’ use of brand, name, price, physical appearance and retailer reputation as signals of product quality. J Mark, 58(April), 81-95. Engel, J., Blackwell, R., & Miniard, P. (1995). Consumer Behaviour. n.p.: The Dryden Press. Fang, T., & Faure, G. O. (2011). Chinese communication characteristics: A Yin Yang perspective. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 35(3), 320-333. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2010.06.005. Gao, G., Toomey, T. S., Gudykunst, W. B., & Bond, M. H. (1996). The Handbook of Chinese Psychology – Chinese communication processes. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Goodman, M. B. (2013). Intercultural Communication for Managers. New York, NY: Business expert press. Goodman, M. B., & Wang, J. (2007). Tradition and innovation: the china business communication study. The Journal of Business Strategy, 28(3), 34-41. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02756660710746256 Hall, E. T. (1985). Hidden Differences: Studies in International Communication. Hamburg, GE: Grunder and Jahr. Hofstede, G. (1984). Culture’s consequences: international differences in work-related values. Newbury Park, CA: Sage P ublications. Hofstede, G. (1991). Cultures and organizations – software of the mind. New York, NY: Mcgraw-Hill. Hofstede, G. (2001). Cultures Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviours, Institutions & Organizations Across Nations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Hofstede, G. (2014). China. Retrieved from http://geert-hofstede.com/china.html Hofstede, G. (2014). Geert. Retrieved from http://www.geerthofstede.com/geert.aspx Hofstede, G. (2014). United States. Retrieved from http://geert-hofstede.com/united-states.html Hoover, R., Green, R., & Saegert, J. (1978). A cross-national study of perceived risk. J Mark, (July), 102-108. Kale, S., & Barnes, J. (1992). Understanding the domain of cross-national buyer-seller instructions. Journal of International Business Studies, 23(1), 101-109. Kwintessential. (2013). China – language, culture, customs and etiquette. Retrieved from http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/china-country-profile.html. Lewicki, R. J., Saun ders, D. M., & Barry, B. (2011). Essentials of negotiation (5th ed). New York, NY: Mcgraw-Hill. Luthans, F., & Doh, J. (2009). International Management. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Rubin, J. Z., & Sander, F. E. A. (1991). Culture, Negotiation and the Eye of the Beholder. Negotiation Journal, 7(1), 249-254. Doi; 10.1111/j.1571-9979.1991.tb00620.x Sivakumar, K., & Nakata, C. (2001). The stampede toward Hofstede’s framework: avoiding the sample design pit in cross-cultural research. The Journal of International Business Studies, 32(3), 555-574. Smith, P., Dugan, S., & Trompenaars, F. (1996). National culture and the values of organizational employees – a dimensional analysis across 43 nations. The Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 27(2), 231-264. Soares, A. M., Farhangmehr, M., & Shoham, A. (2007). Hofstede’s dimensions of culture in international marketing studies. Journal of Business Research, 60(3), 227-284. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2006.10.018. Sondergaard, M. (1994). Research note: Hofstede’s consequences: a study of reviews, citations and replications. Journal of Organisational Studies, 15(3), 447-456. Steenkamp, J. (2001). The role of national culture in international marketing research. International Market Review, 18(1), 30-44. Trompenaars, F., & Hampden Turner, C. (1997). Riding the waves of culture: Understanding Diversity in Global Business. New York, NY: Mcgraw-Hill. University of Northern Iowa. (2011). Business Communication with China. Retrieved from http://business.uni.edu/buscomm/inte rnationalbuscomm/world/asia/china/china.html Venaik, S., & Brewer, P. (2013). Critical issues in the Hofstede and GLOBE national culture models. International Marketing Review, 30(5), 469-482. World Business Culture. (2013). Chinese business communication style. Retrieved from http://www.worldbusinessculture.com/Chinese-Business-Communication-Style.html Zhang, H., & Toomey, S. T. (1998). Communicating Effectively with the Chinese. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishing.

What Was the Cause for Segregation in the South?

Lemar Griffin Reconstruction April 28, 2011 Professor Eisenberg What was the cause for segregation in the south? The Day Freedom Died and When did Southern Segregation Begin are two books that cover events that happened during the Reconstruction period. Charles Lane through his political and social analysis shines an illuminating light on one of America's more sordid events. The Colfax Massacre gained national attention so much that the event is now an interracial group that commemorates an event.John David Smith the author of When did Southern Segregation Begin takes a straight forward approach in his book and explains multiple reasons for why this may have occurred. People often assume that segregation was a natural outcome of Reconstruction which can seem somewhat believable depending on your knowledge of the subject. But in all actuality scholars cannot agree on which events at the end of the nineteenth century mark the beginning of formalized Jim Crow. Studies show how blacks an d whites learned to be civilized when they encountered each other.The division of the two races happens soon after the end of the Civil War. This essay will attempt to analyze when southern segregation begin. Following the Civil War, Colfax, Louisiana, was a town, like many, where Negroes and whites mingled uneasily. But on April 13, 1873, a small army of white ex-Confederate soldiers, enraged after attempts by freedmen to assert their new rights, killed more than sixty Negroes who had occupied a courthouse. There were barely armed former slaves that were knifed, burned, smoked out of a courthouse, and gunned down by a white posse angry over an 1872 Republican election victory. the Ku Klux Klan declared. Its goals were â€Å"to protect the weak, innocent and defenseless,† and â€Å"to protect the constitution on the Untied States. [1] The United States passed the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, putting an end to almost 250 years of slavery. Following the Civil War, Colfax, Lou isiana, was a town like many where African Americans and whites mingled uneasily. When you look back at the events that unfolded in many towns like Colfax, Louisiana you start asking yourself: â€Å"What was the reason for all this. Throughout the year we learned more as a class why whites did horrible things to blacks, and about why Reconstruction is important to our America history. I feel that this goes back to a text we read earlier by Howard Fast in his book Freedom Road. The hypothesis that I have came up with is from a scene in Fast’s book. I believe that to some extent whites were afraid of blacks becoming independent and educated. I feel this way because I believe that money and power are two of the most important things in America, in my opinion. To gain money and power you must have the skill set to enable yourself to do so.This comes with knowledge, meaning that you would have to be very well educated to put yourself in a position to acquire power. Having knowled ge is one of the most powerful weapons you can have as a human, and the somewhat educated blacks were aware of this. I have this idea because of the fact that from taking this class I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about why slavery lasted so long and have the whites kept the blacks in control of such a long period of time without losing control of everything. That brings me to power, education, and money. Back in the day White was making a very good amount of money from slavery.If you look at slavery in the context I am for my hypothesis it will make more sense. I’m looking at slavery from a business aspect. If you dehumanize blacks and block out the fact that you’re hurting people, and that it is morally wrong to enslave people then you have what I call a â€Å"unethical business. † When whites feared that blacks could learn how to read and write it would scare them because is all blacks were able to read and write then they would have the knowledge th ey needed to realize that with the right plan and the will power and motivation that they could free themselves from slavery.I feel this way because from all the books we have covered in class I started to notice a pattern. It was starting to come more clearly to me after every book we finished in class. Education is important in the forthcoming of Reconstruction; the same also is true for knowledge. Changes were made by black people that were educated or people that have enough knowledge to understand the situation and see the way to fix it. Money is key factors in many choices many people in this country base their decisions off, morally and ethically.With money come the number one thing that all counties want let alone just individuals, power. With the right person in power everything thing can be either perfect for a certain group of people, as well as with the wrong person in power everything can be horrible for a certain group of people. To sum up my hypothesis if blacks would have had the chance to become educated then the world would be a totally different place, in my opinion. This separation of blacks and whites took without a doubt took time and a lot of effort by white southerners to make sure that it all went according to plan.This begins to happen soon after the end of the Civil War. The churches and schools were the main places and probably some of the first places to be spilt. During the time, neither place was to be segregated by law. Both places became segregated by the choice of the public. This is an early example of how the blacks separated themselves from the whites to start to own life as free people. The black communities were all against any law that would be restricting them from everyday rights and everyday conveniences that they felt they were entitled to as humans.However, many whites also were not satisfied with the thought of Jim Crow Law. These laws were unlike the black codes which had been done away with ten years earlier. The Jim Crow laws brought segregation to public schools, public places, and public transportation. It also separated restrooms, restaurants, and drinking fountains from blacks and whites. The U. S. military was also segregated. For more than 200 years before the Civil War, slavery existed in the United States. But after the war things began to get worse for blacks.The south thought they needed to do something. The Southern legislatures, former confederates, passed laws known as the black codes, after the war, which severely limited the rights of blacks and segregated them from whites. The south gradually reinstated the racially discriminatory laws. The two main goals they wanted these laws to achieve: disenfranchisement and segregation. To take away the power that the blacks had gained, the Democratic Party began to stop Blacks from voting. There were many ways to stop blacks from voting.Some of these things were poll taxes, fees were charged at voting booths and were expensive for mos t blacks, and the literacy test. Since teaching blacks were illegal, most adult blacks were former slaves and illiterate. â€Å"A favorite ploy was to change the registration site without notifying colored voters; some registrars demanded that elderly Negros prove that they were over twenty years old, not easy for those who had no birth certificates because they were born into slavery. †[2] This was something that was common back when the blacks would go and try to vote to make a change. Registered colored voters outnumbered whites 776 to 630 in Grant Parish. †[3] The white were doing everything in their power to cheat and make sure that the blacks did not win anything that they had put their vote in for. Voting is a powerful tool which goes back to my hypothesis about how power is important in America. They have said that this still goes on in America the power of the votes are suppose to be in the hands of American people but sometimes the polls don’t reflect o n what who really went out and cast their vote on election day.The power to change things that normal people have no control over is something that has been going on for a long time now in America. ———————– [1] Charles Lane, The Day Freedom Died, (New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, LCC, 2008) Pg. 3 [2] Charles Lane, The Day Freedom Died, (New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, LCC, 2008) Pg. 65 [3] Charles Lane, The Day Freedom Died, (New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, LCC, 2008) Pg. 66