Culture Is Defined By Merriam Webster - 894 Words

Culture is defined by Merriam Webster as â€Å"the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group. Also, the characteristic features of everyday existence (as diversions or a way of life) shared by people in a place or time† (Culture). Although I agree with the majority of this definition; however, I do think it is limited by racial, religious or social group because there are more than those three groups that could be considered a culture which is why I would define culture as the latter definition that is any characteristic feature that is by any group of people. Furthermore, these cultures are constantly changing over time because the groups of people will change behaviors and characteristic features depending on how the world around them is changing. For example, with the emergence of technology and globalization, we have many new intersecting cultures present within the most individual cultures, which can create privilege or o ppression for that culture based on the in/out group hierarchical behavior that has been explored through analyzing my previous encounters within a triple dorm last year. The most useful strategies that can be implemented to learn about the norms and expectations include understanding the intersectionality of the cultures, understanding the non-verbal and verbal communicative practices and remaining flexible within the preconceived notations about the norms or expectations of that different cultural group.Show MoreRelatedEssay about The True Meaning of Religion540 Words   |  3 PagesThe True Meaning of Religion Religion is the service and worship of God or the supernatural: a commitment or devotion to religion faith or observance defines the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. According to the Encarta World Dictionary, religion is peoples beliefs and opinions concerning the existence, nature, and worship of a deity or deities and divine involvement in the universe and human life. The definitions of the word religion vary from dictionary to dictionary, country to countryRead MoreInterview With A Professional Nurse964 Words   |  4 PagesBaptist, or are educated or not. Carissa believes that we, as nurses, have to be open to all our patients and not take their decisions and choices personally. These patients will make choices that we may not agree with, most have their own beliefs, cultures or values and we have to honor and respect their choices. Our attitude toward our patients should remain neutral and objective. Carissa’s work day includes talking to her patients and making sure that they understand everything and that she hasRead MoreThe Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn By Samuel Langhorne Clemens1325 Words   |  6 Pagesunderstanding, and the overall confidence of that individual. Words have a strong tie to us as a nation and as a culture, and books are no exception to that. Many books gets banned or challenged because of the language used in the text as many adults find it to be unsuited for children. For example, in 2010 the Merriam Webster dictionary was banned from classrooms in southern California because it defined a word that adults found to be too ‘explicit’ for the classroom. (Leigh, Punchnels) While that is alrightRead MoreShould Society Change And Understand Foreign Cultures Before Passing Judgment?1657 Words   |  7 Pagesof Missouri Abstract Should society change and understand foreign cultures before passing judgment? In American society, we have borrowed many ideal of how to deal with crime and the study of crime through a science. This â€Å"scientific approach to studying criminal behavior† (Siegel, 2012, p. 4) is called criminology and the people who conduct these scientific tests, studies and theories are criminologists. Culture and deviance are like oil and water; they simply do not mix well. What isRead MoreEssay on What Is Literature and Why Study Literature711 Words   |  3 Pagesthing, not knowing that it is in actuality composed of several elements that we all use in our daily lives. In order to get a clear understanding of exactly what literature is, we must first identify the definition. According to Merriam- Webster, literature is defined as the body of written works produced in a particular language, country, or age; the body of writings on a particular subject : printed matter. This definition however is a bit deceiving in truly understanding what literature reallyRead MoreEssay on History of Rumba, Merengue and Salsa1379 Words   |  6 PagesNettleford was correct when he said, â€Å"’dance was a primary instrument of survival’.† As such a vital part of cultural traditions, dance plays and integral role in the history culture. Three of the most influential styles of dance in the Caribbean are the Rumba, The Merengue, and the Salsa. The word Rumba is defined by the Merriam Webster Dictionary as â€Å"a ballroom dance of Haitian and Dominican origin in 2/4 time in which one foot is dragged on every step.† Here, however, Rumba is a collection of percussiveRead MoreManagement vs. Leadership Essay989 Words   |  4 Pagessimilarities, yet there are many differences that separate a manager from a leader. Merriam-Webster defines leadership simply as the office or position of a leader, the capacity to lead, or the act or an instance of leading. They also define manager as a person who conducts business or household affairs, a person whose work or profession is management, or a person who directs a teamÂ… However, Merriam and Webster do not define leadership as it should be. A leader must ensure a healthy organizationalRead MoreBody Mods Are Civil Disobedience Essay752 Words   |  4 Pagescharcoal. Scarification through branding as a cosmetic body alteration likely began in the early days after the i nvention of fire and has been carried on in various ways and by various cultures into the present day. Other forms of body alteration including diverse types of piercing and circumcision are remnants of the cultures from the ancient world. Tattooing and deliberate scarification became other ways of personal expression early on in prehistory, possibly also before fashioned clothing. It isRead MoreAbortion is Not Moral Essay1037 Words   |  5 Pages Abortion; as defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary is, â€Å"the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus. This is the definition of abortion of which I will be reviewing its ethical status. After Roe vs Wade, the supreme court simultaneously decided that women have the right of privacy under the 14th amendment; making it acceptable to abort a pregnancy within the first trimester (Vaughn 119). The main argument on abortionRead MoreThe Mexican And Chinese Cultures988 Words   |  4 PagesCultural diversity is defined as â€Å"the different combinations of cultural and subcultural minorities (e.g. ethnic, racial, national, religious, generational, marital status, socioeconomic, occupational, health status and preference in life partner orientations) coexisting in a given location† (Estes, 2014). The Mexican and Chinese cultures are two cultures from separate geographic continents that I will be an alyzing in this paper. The Chinese culture has numerous different cultures. Hans Chinese will

The Age Of Enlightenment Ideas Lead To Hypocrisy In...

Did Age of Enlightenment ideas lead to hypocrisy in Candide? The â€Å"Age of Reason†, during Europe was a time in history where people started to confide in eachother and themselves when it came to reason and logic; and it was a period when creative ability came to light and it was encouraged. This paper will examine Voltaire s Candide and the way Voltaire mocks religion and how this outlines Enlightenment thought. A decent approach to portray Candide may be the ethical quality play by Voltaire with no ethics. All through the whole play the most exceedingly awful things happen, individuals submit the most shocking acts, kill, assault, genocide, and torment, yet they are depicted in a way that they practically appear to be typical, might†¦show more content†¦Pangloss, a philosopher is depicted all through the novel as an idealistic mastermind who lives by this logic. Candide, who is mentored by Pangloss aimlessly much of the time addresses this reasoning at snapshots of hardship over the span of his life, lastly rejects it, picking to trust that in spite of the fact that the world is not the best of all possible worlds but,â€Å"we must cultivate our garden† (Voltaire 365). Different characters in the book likewise can t help contradicting Pangloss ideals. Jacques who went to Lisbon with Pangloss isn t strong of these ideals. Jacques says â€Å" humankind has corrupted its nature a little, for people were not born wolves, yet they have become wolves. God did not give them heavy cannon or bayonets, yet they have invented them to destroy each other† (Voltaire 309). The book recounts the account of Candide, as he goes through life and endures numerous hardships on account of others. Candide not only suffers, but the people he surrounds himself with suffer the same fate as well. The book does a good job at outlining human suffering that provoked enlightenment ideas to not only challenge it, but to really show their true selves. Each time something bad happens Pangloss shares his idealistic perspective as to why it occurred. The way Candide points these things out, causes the reader to disagree with Pangloss’sShow MoreRelatedA Comparative Study Of Voltaire s And Moliere s Views On Religion1522 Words   |  7 PagesComparative Study of Voltaire s and Molià ¨re’s Views on Religion in Candide and Tartuffe Literary works often reveal their authors views on particular social issues. Tartuffe (1669), a play by Molià ¨re, and Candide (1759), a philosophical tale by Voltaire, both deal with the question of religion in society. Tartuffe is a satire on the attitudes of the bourgeoisie toward religion in seventeenth-century France. Molià ¨re firmly believes in religious moderation and condemns religious hypocrisy and fanaticismRead MoreCandide: a Candid Satire941 Words   |  4 PagesCandide is a humorous, far-fetched story satirizing the optimism promoted by the philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment . Voltaire uses satire as a means of pointing out injustice, cruelty and bigotry that is commonly found in the human society. Although the tale seems light and comical, Voltaire has more serious intentions behind the laughable plot line. Candide can therefore be classified as a satire because it combines humor and wit to bring about a change in society’s view on matters suchRead MoreThe And Candide Essays : Practical Reason Triumphs Logic1382 Words   |  6 Pagesamongst Catholics and Huguenots. This conflict brought many uncharacteristic thoughts in to society. This religious conflict would lead to a new view of the world in the eyes of those who believed in the enlightenment. Moliere and Voltaire were both influential writers who strongly represented the enlightenment beliefs in their works Tartuffe and Candide. The enlightenment brought up a rather youthful philosophy in the early seventeenth century. This philosophy focused on reason and good sense moreRead MoreCompare Candide and Tartuffe5528 Words   |  23 Pagescharacters, which satirized the Neo-Classic belief system.     Ã‚   In  Candide, Voltaires approach is called black comedy. Many devastating factors play into the characters lives that causes the reader to be amused in a cynical way in order to guard their inner feelings. He challenges society as a whole by the way he implements real life occurrences into his writing and makes them come alive. This becomes evident when Dr. Pangloss told Candide what came of Cunegonde at the castle of Westphalia after he leftRead MoreSocial Issues of Poverty and Class Distinction during the Enlightenment Period2339 Words   |  9 Pagesï » ¿Social Issues of Poverty and Class Distinction during the Enlightenment Time Period Introduction Candide takes the form of a classic journey story and Candide must endure a series of misfortunes and trials before he can be reunited with his beloved and regain a qualified kind of redemption. It is in the misfortunes that Candide and others suffer in the novel that Voltaire cuts through the pretensions and hypocrisies of the Age of Reason (Cohen). The philosopher Pangloss, Candides tutor, insistsRead MoreMWDS Candide4817 Words   |  20 Pages Major Work Data Sheet: Candide Title: Candide Author: Voltaire Date of Publication: 1759 Genre: Satire, ‘Conte Philosophique’ (Philosophical Fiction) Biographical information about the author: Francois-Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire, was born in 1694 in Paris, France. Though his father wanted him to become a lawyer, Voltaire long held a great passion for writing, and rather than going to law school, spent his time extensively composing poetry, essays, and historical studies. His widespread

Femininity Free Essays

Images in the media today illustrate an unrealistic and even dangerous standard of ideal female beauty hat can have a powerful influence on the way women perceive themselves. The popular culture influences our ides of femininity to the extent that we hold high expectations of a women’s appearance. Society is driven to judge or neglect a woman if they don’t kick a certain way because they compare them to the unrealistic models seen on magazines, television, music videos, and so on. We will write a custom essay sample on Femininity or any similar topic only for you Order Now The media impacts the ideas of femininity to the extent that women are portrayed as sex objects who exist primarily to service men, or as weak individuals. To initiate, mass media is a powerful tool that is used to impact TTS audience in various ways. For instance, when I’m surfing the internet shopping for clothing in websites such as (Forever 21, Hollister, or H M,) the models I perceive are usually extremely thin. When I look at the model info the height of the model tends to be about 5’8†³ or taller and the waist is typically between 23 and 25. The models shown are always wearing a size extra-small or small, and they always appear very young and beautiful. They have perfect facial features and many times have colored eyes. They never display a model wearing anything bigger than a size small almost as if earring a size medium or anything bigger is unacceptable. The ideal expected body is also perceived in beauty pageants such as the Latin show â€Å"Muenster Bella Latin. † Beauty pageants like these push women to exercise a great deal and follow strict diets in order to meet the ideal weight. In one of the episodes that I watched a girl was eliminated simply because she was about two or three pounds over the expected weight. Common women are compared to these ideal models and society believes that in order for a woman to be sexy or attractive they must resemble these models. As a result, any women are disappointed with their bodies and are forced to exercise excessively, suffer anorexia or other eating disorders because they are obsessed with the idea of thinness. Not only are women disappointed with their bodies, but also fear aging and they are driven to various methods such as surgery or anti-aging creams in order to maintain a young appearance. In addition, advertising adds to the ideal image that is expected of woman. Advertising is a powerful force that surrounds us and influences us subconsciously on a daily basis. Advertisements use Photos and create artificial images of women, and women in real life attempt to measure themselves against those images. It gives women the idea that there’s only one way to look good and receive the attention they want or deserve. For example, bikini or lingerie advertisements always have extremely thin woman hinting that a thicker girl would not look good wearing that. Not only does advertising promote the ideal image of a woman, but it also influences the idea that women are just sex objects, and that they are the weaker sex. In many occasions advertisements utilize sex appeal by illustrating naked omen or men who are in control over a woman. In â€Å"Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt,† Jean Kilojoules asserts that â€Å"Male violence is subtly encouraged by ads that encourage men to be forceful and dominant, and to value sexual intimacy more than emotional intimacy’ (422). What Kilojoules states is that men believe sex is more significant and they forget the sentimental value. It is easier for men to identify women as an object because they justify their violent behavior, and if they perceive a woman as an object they overlook the fact that they have feelings and emotions. Moreover, music is another factor that influences ideas of femininity particularly in a negative way. The lyrics used by rappers constantly degrade women by referring to them as â€Å"pitches† and â€Å"host†. Women using their bodies and sexuality to get what they want are what make these words acceptable. In the passage â€Å"From Fly-Girls to Pitches and Host†, Joan Morgan writes â€Å"but many of the ways in which men exploit our images and sexuality in hip-hop is done with our permission and cooperation† (459). What Morgan states, is that females will be willing to expose their dies in a music video or allow rappers to degrade them simply to make money or get attention. There are countless songs that degrade women such as the song â€Å"Pitches anti chit but hoes and tricks. The name of the song is a phrase that is repeated multiple times throughout the song as if once were not enough. Tag, the artist of this song sings, â€Å"Got this bitchy named Tar, she let me buck her in the car, / Like Kim Sardinian she wane be star. † These lyrics suggest that women are good for sex, and deserve no respect. The worse part of the particular songs is that women listen to the m or dance to hem at clubs because they enjoy the beat of the songs, but they are not conscious of the demeaning lyrics. If women themselves listen to these songs it gives society the idea that they can refer to women in such a way. Due to the fact, because women are degraded in this manner, men believe that women are only good for sex and they fail to love them. Yet some readers may challenge my view by saying that popular culture has a minor influence on society’s ideas of femininity. It’s not so much the media but typical gender stereotypes that impact our ideas of femininity. Gender stereotyping begins t a young age, and little girls believe only girls should wear pink or only girls should play with Barbie’s. Many hold stereotypes that women should look a certain way in order to be identified as a woman. People hold stereotypes that women must be classy, and not trashy. Indeed, stereotyping plays a significant role, but as we grow older it’s not so much about the gender stereotypes but rather about what surrounds us on a daily basis that influences our ideas. Once you get older individuals can decide to ignore or put their gender stereotypes aside, but popular culture is something that Anton be ignored by any means. Popular culture is everywhere go, and without a doubt it’s the primary factor that impacts our ideas. Furthermore, there are various steps that the popular culture can take in order to improve the perceptions of women. For instance, beauty pageants should have models that are more like the average woman who are not extremely thin. Beau’ pageants should choose contestants based on their talents rather than their appearance. Advertisements should be appropriate, and not objectify women because they are human beings. They should eliminate advertisements where women are practically naked. In addition, they should not Photos the image of women in advertisements, but rather display the true image of the model. Women need to speak out about how degrading it is to be insulted in music by rappers, and the songs should be banned from the radio. Women should not agree to be degraded simply because they want to be in the music video of some popular rapper. Females must stand up for themselves in order to be treated with respect. In conclusion, even if We tried to ignore it the popular culture constantly influences our ideas of femininity. If the media was not so powerful society would have more realistic perceptions of femininity. Women should be valued for who they truly are because there’s so much more to femininity then just a physical appearance or sex objectification. Females are sensitive individuals who have feelings and emotions, and deserve to be respected. A woman should not be judged if she does not look a certain way because nobody is perfect, and we all have flaws. Females are not Barbie dolls with a perfect little waist or the ideal face, they are real life individuals. How to cite Femininity, Papers

Organizational Culture and National Culture in Multinational Companies free essay sample

Abstract Multinational organizations are combinations of multicultural employees. Multicultural environments cause cultural shock among leaderships and employees. Organizational culture and national culture are significantly important in current marketing environment. Organizational culture mainly shows the value and the roles inside the organization. However, national culture is the directing of organizational culture and influence both leadership and employees deeply from their personal values. Furthermore, the relationship between organizational culture and national culture has impacts on leaderships, employees, job satisfaction as well as the commitment of employees to the organizations. This essay will discuss the issues above, and make introduction about organizational culture, national culture and leadership, and corresponding impacts on employees and organizations as follows: Firstly, a brief summary of the influence given by organizational cultures and national cultures on multinational companies will be made. Secondly, it will discuss the importance of organizational culture and its influences on organizations, leaderships and employees. Thirdly, it will emphasize discuses the significance of national culture and impacts on organizations, leaderships and employees. Fourthly, it will present how leadership is related to i organizational culture and national culture. At last, it will conclude how national culture is stronger than organizational culture in influencing employees in multinational companies. Globalization has a great influence in the booming of multinational companies. Multinational companies encourage the cooperation of versatile national powers. Doing business in different countries integrates the resource utilization and decreases the costs to a large extent. Multinational companies make the cultures of organization diverse. The relationship between leaderships and employees, which is connected to both organizational culture and national culture, is also influential in the development of organizations. However, national cultures and organizational cultures have some potential conflicts in multinational companies. Under this circumstance, it is vital to consider which culture is more valuable than the other to the development of the multinational company. With the rapid economic development over the past a few years, multinational companies has become one of the primary forms of corporation. The construction of these companies promotes not only universal economic growth but also the progress of globalization. Meanwhile, in any overseas country, the establishment of multinational companies might confront various challenges like different working habits and culture conflicts. It is comprehensible that employees from diverse culture backgrounds would have different perspectives on organizational culture in multinational companies. In this case, organizational culture is the collection of practices, traditions, customs, beliefs and values shared by one generation of employees of the organization to the next. National cultures must be considered if accurate predictions need to be made regarding corporate behavior in different countries. Thus, due to the existence of difference between organizational culture and national culture, multinational companies could not avoid facing the challenges. Most of the leaders and workers in a multinational enterprise are from different races and countries. It is unavoidable to confront the issues of culture conflicts when employees working in cooperation. Organizational culture affects the attitudes of employees towards treating personal and professional aims, and the performance of employees when accomplishing tasks. Organizational culture also has great influence on how people think and make decisions as well as the way they feel, act and express. Peter and John (2004, p323) suggests that organizational culture could influence particular aspects considerably in organizations like performance and commitment. Organizational cultures also combine with various forms of cultures. For instance, Wallach (1983) viewes three perspectives of organizational culture, that is, innovative, supportive and bureaucratic. Martin (1992) identified three forms of organizational culture, including fragmentation, differentiation and integration. Goffee and Jones (1998) define four types of organizational cultures, which is communal, fragmented, mercenary and networked. However, in a company, individuals have personal values and beliefs as well as personal desires. On that account, the attitude of employees and commitment to the companies may result in diversity of achievements. National cultures also have some effects on the values, beliefs and personal desires. A variety of countries have multifarious national cultures, giving rise to a culture shock in multinational companies. Cross-cultural research shows that significant differences exist in national culture characteristic between western and eastern cultures (Hofstede, 1980, 1991; El Kahal, 2001; Chen, 2001). For instance, it is widely known that bureaucratic traditional deep-rooted culture and high power distance exist in Chinese companies (Pye, 1985; Chen, 2001). The management of firms in the west and east makes a world of difference. The reason for that is the distinction between the impact of national culture on individual worth and how individual worth adapts to the organizational culture. Furthermore, after organizations in Hong Kong are mostly in power by ethnic Chinese, the Chinese-style high power distance and values of Confucian may make significant change of the organizational cultures. Confucian thinks that loyalty, respect of authority and obedience to the leadership may well be the most crucial (Peter John 2004, p323). A typical example is that the owner or supervisor in Korean and Chinese companies often makes major decisions. According to Hofstede (1980), Australia and America are both low power distance countries. People regard participation, equalitarianism and democracy as ubiquitous. However, they do not think authority is worth considering. As for decision making in these countries, there is much more democracy and equality. Furthermore, the more flexible the leaderships are, the further improvement of the enthusiasm, participation, productivity and satisfaction of the employees. It cannot eliminate the presence of bureaucratic structure in western firms, however the aim is to coordinate business of all levels and achieve the goal. The organizational culture of a firm, leadership and work satisfaction may be hypothesized by national cultures. Cultures consist of many distinct layers or types, national cultures and organizational cultures are parts of them. Organizational culture illustrates the value which is superior in a specific corporation. According to the comparison of the national culture and organizational culture, Hofstede (1991) suggests that national cultures normally show the gap in ingrained values of the corresponding cultures. Understanding of national cultures is beneficial to the development of the relationship among employees and employers. This could form a balance condition between the leadership and the staff. However, national cultures always cause misunderstandings and distance in multinational companies. Furthermore, due to unlike values, gaps among variety of national cultures are normally found in business in several multicultural companies. The organizational culture in a multinational company could build a bridge through cultural barriers, although the deep-rooted values among people in multicultural environment may always exist. Namely, perhaps employees from diverse national cultures are able to adjust to the organizational culture, still, the national cultures of their own may also be persistent in their daily life and business practice. This makes it difficult for the company to socialize employees from different cultures when the organizational culture is against their national culture. National culture and organizational culture are correlated with the behavior of employees. The research shows that national culture has a greater impacts on employees than organizational culture (Dols Silvius 2010, p13). This reflects the self-selection which occurs at the recruiting stage. Multinationals utilize employee selection process to recruit applicants who are appropriate for their organizational culture. Accordingly, the knowledge of national culure is indispensable, in particular in forms of accurate forecasting of employee behavior. At this point, if an enterprise plans to securely establish an efficient culure, it should considers both of national culture and organizational culture. In the multinational companies, national culture causes barriers to the diversity of a company. It makes an influence on hiring new employees who are not so fit in a corporate environment in certain country background. Leaders want the new employees to bring different cultures to the workplace whilst being adjustable to the organizational culture. Employees are under considerable pressure to conform strong cultures. The range of styles and values need to be restrained to some extent. With the aid of strong culture, an enterprise can reinforce cultural diversity by seeking their core culture to appeal to new employees. However, if the attraction and encouragement are effective, people who holds different values to the organization might become isolated and accept institutional bias. National culture is a culture related to individuals, it is ones original culture roots deeply into ones mind since one was born. However, organizational culture is created by others and one must adapt to and even affected by, but only on condition that it fits ones national culture. Leadership is the most important aspect to both success and failure of the companies. The form of leadership influences employee job satisfaction and commitment significantly. Peter and John (2004, p324) state that the style of leadership is often connected with low power distance and a flatter corporate construction. However, organizations that from Asia have much concentrated power and, whats more, central decision making and policy driven, which makes the situation that Asian companies are more based on position, authority and seniority. For instance, Chinese top boss always require guarantee as a symbol of loyalty to the organizations. Society in Chinese is defined as personalism (Peter John 2004, p324). That is, the relationship among employees and employers may make influences on employees commitment and their team spirit, also, better relationship between people leads to greater job satisfaction. Asian companies seem to be more ruled by person and relationship among person than other organizations in America that ruled by law, business rules and top bosses. Furthermore, in American organizations, leaderships are low power distance and normalized. Abilities are much more important than peoples relationships. The more consideration the leadership style is, the greater commitment and job satisfaction will be provided. To conclude, both national cultures and organizational cultures are imperative for multinational organizations in contemporary global environment. However, national cultures are more influential and deep-rooted in multinational organizations. Even organizational regulations are imposed according to national culture. Furthermore, with regard to decision-making, relationships between employees and employers are significantly inevitable in up-to-date business market. Organizational culture is the method to make the organization more outstanding in the market competition. However, national culture is related to the origin of organizational culture. Both of them have different value to multinational companies. Consequently, as the report has mentioned, owing to the value and power system of the organization are depended on the national culture national culture has greater influence on managers and employees in multinational companies. To identify the relationship between national culture and organizational culture could adjust the relationship between employees and leadership. Whats more, cooperation could gain more profits through internal personnel system.