ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction The manner of communication in the business environment is of great importance. Various nonverbal elements used by supervisors may have either motivational or demotivational influence, while through their tone, gestures, and language, employees can demonstrate their compliance and respect. Description of Supervisor-Employee Relationship In this paper, I will discuss nonverbal communication in the relationships with a manager who supervised me at one of my previous workplaces. At that time, I was a trainee in the office, and she was a senior manager responsible for the whole department. The given relationships fall under the category of employee-supervisor relationships because of the difference in the status of involved parties. Significance of Nonverbal Communication in the Given Category As stated by Richmond, McCroskey, and Hickson (2012), the distinctive features of employee-supervisor relationships are the higher authority given to the supervisor, demand for respect paid by subordinates to a higher-status person, and functioning within the reward and punishment system. In the context of such hierarchical relationships, there are certain behavioral expectations imposed on both employees and supervisors. Such nonverbal messages as the tone of voice, gestures, touch, seating, use of time, etc. can indicate the status of the individual in the organization. For instance, it will be considered inappropriate if a person of any status will sit in an excessively relaxed pose, leaning back in his or her chair and spreading arms and legs in different directions. Managers still may enjoy a certain degree of freedom in choosing postures and gestures, yet they should meet the boundaries of what is permitted. However, if an employee and especially a newly recruited trainee will behave unrestrainedly, i.e., speak or laugh too loud, approach others too close, etc., it will be regarded as an expression of disrespect. Evaluation At my workplace, both the manager and I followed the norms of nonverbal behavior appropriate for the social situation in which we were. The difference in our statuses was especially notable during direct communication. The manager kept her head raised, in a slightly relaxed posture, reservedly moving her hands while speaking. At the same time, I usually communicated with her keeping my hands down, standing or seating straight. When conversing, I tried to show attention by looking directly at her. I could look away time after time, but any moment the manager gave me a direct eye contact I always tried to do the same. The manager controlled both my and her nonverbal behavior. Her vocal behavior set up the tone of the whole communication. She sounded relaxed and confident. Her voice was sufficiently loud. Additionally, she encouraged mutual dialog which I perceived as a sign of a democratic leadership style, and it showed that although we interact in a formal environment, I can have some freedom of self-expression. Touch and Immediacy Although we communicated frequently, we always were at sufficient distance from each other, so we did not touch each ot
Build Bridges, not Walls Introduction During the past decade, numerous concerns have been raised all around the world about global migration issues. In particular, the problem affects highly-developed and wealthy countries that are especially appealing for the citizens of poor states, seeking a better life and perspectives for themselves and their families. The United States of America is often referred to as a land of liberty and dreams coming true. For many years it has been attracting millions of newcomers, which resulted in forming the most culturally diverse country in the world. There is no doubt that the increasing number of people of various nationalities, cultural and religious backgrounds means as well an increasing number of economic and social issues. The most urgent subject for the US at the moment concerns its neighboring state and the biggest source of migrants, which is Mexico. The American-Mexican migration policy caused numerous debates expressing an uneasiness of the US citizens regarding the influence of illegal migrants on the economic crisis, employment, and national security. Some were affected by it so deeply that the idea of building the wall between two states has occurred and won a lot of public support. The phenomenon of migration does raise fear and frustration amongst people, nonetheless, it would be unwise to ignore the benefits of cultural and intellectual diversity for the prosperity of the United States, and the Wall would more likely to hinder these processes, rather than solve the current problem. Main text Keeping the state’s economy on a high level is one of the major aims of those in favor of building the Wall. However, the presumable cost of such an operation requires billions of dollars that would damage the economy even more. In terms of that probable outcome, the suggestion has been made, that Mexico is to pay for the border, which inevitably had led to major indignation and argument. “We have enormous necessities and much more important uses for the public budget, which comes from the taxes that Mexicans pay,” says the Secretary of Finance, Luis Videgray Caso (Shoichet & Trucco 2016, para. 5). Neither Mexican, nor American economy would benefit from spending financial resources on the Wall, and the same goes for the wellbeing of their citizens. More than that, projects of such nature are bound to infringe on basic human rights. Casey and Watkins (2014, p. 3) mention the rise of “The tide of American racism” and elaborate: “Citizens of the neighborhoods, cities, towns and entire states – despite being enlivened by Mexican culture and sustained by the hard labor of Mexican workers are turning against those of Mexican descent.” Following the chosen migration policy government would have to think about how to manage the millions of Mexicans that already live in the US. It will have to ruin lives, deport and split families, which, apart from being completely dehumanized, is hardly manageable on such a scale. Physically, the building process would be challenging as well, since it will interfere with the local environment. It will affect ever
Introduction High quality and superior customer service is one of the principal requisites for success in business within the private sector, as well as the public sector. Even though the public sector is not an absolutely for-profit outfit, it is also facing challenges of the need to offer high quality services to the members of the public partly because provision of public services under various ministries is no longer an exclusively preserve of the state (Birkland 2010, p.32). This paper is a report on customer service operations and excellence of the Meriden Hospital in Coventry, Warwickshire in the UK. An overview of The BMI Meriden Hospital The Meriden Hospital is one of the many hospitals and clinics belonging to the BMI Healthcare organization owned by the General Healthcare Group PLC (GHG) (Moore 2002, p.155). BMI Healthcare situated in Coventry, Warwickshire, is the largest private hospital group running about seventy hospitals across the UK (BMI Healthcare 2011). General Healthcare Group (GHG) came into being in 1993. The Meriden Hospital is sufficiently equipped with state-of-art medical facilities and has fifty-two patient bedrooms. The BMI Meriden Hospital offers various healthcare services ranging from ordinary routine checks to complicated surgery, thanks to its integration of the latest technology, as well as its on-line customer support services round the clock. BMI Meriden Hospital Quality of customer service Superior customer service, as well as overall success in business, is certainly an outcome of strategic planning, strategic management, and well designed marketing schemes that are informed by concrete knowledge of the target markets. As mentioned earlier, even though the performance of a given player in a particular Industry depends on a range of factors, the quality of customer service is imperative to profitable performance of an organization. However, it is pertinent to note that there is a direct relationship between employees’ satisfaction and the quality of customer service offered by a certain organization (Kuballa 2007, p.6; Phongkusolchit 2008, p.28: Allen & Wilburn 2002, p.1). In other words, there is an evident link between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction (Kuballa 2007, p.6).In reality, this connection explains the differences in client base between various organizations offering the same services in a particular sector or industry. Evidence available shows that a happy and satisfied workforce is more likely to offer superior customer services than a demoralized and de-motivated staff. Virtually, every citizen yearns to have prolonged good health. In fact, governments from welfare economies shoulder the responsibility of providing quality healthcare services to the citizens where healthcare is more of a basic human right than a commodity for sale. Nevertheless, private healthcare sectors are key players in healthcare service provision in all societies including high-income societies like the Britain. There
Abstract Higher education has experienced a significant transformation in recent years due to globalization. The majority of students in universities study in cross-cultural settings facing carious factors that facilitate or obstruct the learning process. The purpose of the present project is to identify determinants that affect the academic achievements of students from minority groups in higher education institutions in cross-cultural settings. The literature review identified a significant gap in research, which the current paper aims to address. The present study makes five hypotheses and tests them using quantitative methods, including two-samples t-test, correlation analysis, and regression analysis. A total of 94 students were surveyed to gather relevant data using a six-item questionnaire designed specifically for the present research. The research results revealed that a grade point average of students from minority groups is influenced by relationships with parents and tutors, discipline on campus, and communicativeness. The present paper provides an in-depth review and analysis of recent literature concerning the subject, describes the methods that were used for the present research, discusses and evaluates its results, and draws conclusions with recommendations for future research. Introduction Globalization has significantly affected the education process worldwide due to the increased number of students studying in cross-cultural settings. The number of international students worldwide is growing exponentially every year, which poses significant challenges to higher education institutions. UNESCO reports that the number of international students has grown from 2 million in 2000 to 5.3 million in 2017 [1], which is more than 250% in 17 years. Moreover, immigration is also an essential factor that contributes to the fact that modern higher education institutions need to adapt to provide services for students with diverse cultural backgrounds. According to Kumi-Yeboah and Smith, the number of immigrants in the United States was over 14 million in 2014, and it is growing rapidly [2]. The children of immigrants represent around a quarter of all the students in the United States [2]. Considering these two factors, the problem of providing high-quality cross-cultural settings is of extreme importance for higher education institutions. In order to organize a learning process in an adequate manner, it is vital to appreciate the barriers students can encounter. Cross-cultural settings may be associated with significant issues concern
It was at his bleak hour in jail when Martin Luther king junior chanced to come across an open letter addressed to him by some clergy leaders from Birmingham. He was in jail after launching a public action without a permit as the law required. The clergy was criticizing his advocacy for racial injustice as “unwise and untimely” (Luther 1). It was the weight of this letter that stirred his mind to respond to the clergy with sharp yet mild bristles of his genius. He composed a lengthy letter in a full week on toilet papers and scrap newspapers; yet, the wording of the letter is full of hope, faith and love. The king’s cry for justice through nonviolent means is expressed eloquently with reasonable and passionate voice that leaves three issues firmly engraved in our minds: nonviolence, civil disobedience and the church. This paper evaluates Luther’s justification for civil disobedience and nonviolence. We start by asking ourselves, is civil disobedience ever necessary or valuable? Most people are always for the idea that we must always obey laws for peace to prevail. Laws are made by men who ought to be knowledgeable and who possess objective purposes in a society. Since laws are supposed to guide all members of a society, then they are deemed to cater at least for the interest of both minority and majority members. In the making of the same laws therefore, all members are supposed to be involved in representing their interest. As Martin Luther king justifies “‘any law that degrades human personality is unjust’ and segregation law is so because ‘it distorts the soul and damages the personality’ by imposing a false superiority mentality on the segregator, and imprinting false inferiority complex on the segregated” (Luther 3). Luther argues that, in the making of segregation law, there was no representation for the Negros and it cannot be said that there was democracy (Luther 1). Since this law was born of ill motives; by one race to peripherize another on social, political and economic grounds, it is “out of harmony with the moral law” and thus unjust (Luther 3). Therefore, any just law has a right to be obeyed because it is able to justify that it deserves such an adherence and on the other hand, an immoral action cannot be justified no matter how many followers it garners. For instance; the law to acquire a permit; which Martin Luther disobeyed, looked just on the face but in its application it was used to preserve the very act of segregation by denying a “privilege of peaceful assembly and peaceful protest” (Luther 3). Therefore, the legal nature of an action cannot make it just and moral and this is where Martin Luther gives the strongest example to prove his point that in Germany, all what Hitler did was backed by law (Luther 3). He is trying to put across the point that, law is not always moral as some people would think and it takes faith, wisdom and open-mindedness to discern this fact. It is therefore sometimes n
Introduction The injustices inflicted by societies in the past on minority groups such as women and people of color have led to the establishment of policies that protect them. These regulations ensure that the marginalized people in society receive appropriate education and employment opportunities as compared to their privileged counterparts. In the United States, groups that have been assisted by affirmative action programs include Black Americans, Asians, Latinos, and women. However, after several decades, society has become enlightened, and now people understand that everyone has equal capabilities. This realization enables them to treat their colleagues fairly and without bias. A change in attitudes is one of the factors that now make affirmative action programs inappropriate. When countries implement such a policy among their citizens, they introduce negative feelings, create stigma, and encourage laxity. The disparities associated with affirmative action programs justify an intensive examination of the policy’s disadvantages, which include the hatred, stigma, and laxity that are often witnessed after its implementation. Hatred While the initial intention behind the establishment of affirmative action is the promotion of marginalized social groups, it eventually generates negative feelings among other citizens. In the United States, the issue has become the basis of heated debates involving many individuals. When people fail to be accepted by their preferred institutions of higher learning or to find employment, they gradually build up a level of hatred directed towards the favored social groups. Therefore, instead of being a solution to the problem of marginalization, the policy leads to marginalization spiraling out of control. Currently, many people see the advantages accorded to communities deemed to be underprivileged as unjust. A famous case involved Allan Bakke, a man who failed to be admitted to study medicine at the University of California because 16% of the remaining slots were reserved for Black Americans (Anderson). Although this measure may appear to show fairness to minorities, other citizens may develop a negative attitude towards them, a phenomenon that aggravates the challenge of discrimination. Stigma Although affirmative action programs have played a significant role in enabling people of color to enjoy equal training and job opportunities in the past, affirmative action is slowly losing its original relevance. Many Black Americans, Asians, Latinos, and women are working hard and, in some cases, surpassing their counterparts in schools and workplaces. However, due to the policy, their achievements are not recognized because other people believe that they cannot succeed without assistance. As such, instead of promoting the marginalized, the initiative has encouraged people to consider the race or gender of individuals first before assessing their achievements, a concept
Introduction The world is changing due to the changes brought about by technology. Business environment is increasingly getting competitive. Firms are finding it difficult to manage this competition due to a number of factors. According to Handlechner (2008), it is practically impossible to find the best strategy that would last a lifetime and will not need regular adjustment. The ability of a firm to adjust to changes within the environment will always determine its success or failure within that market. Coming up with the right strategy should always be followed by swift implementation in order to achieve the desired result. Marketing planning can be a very challenging task, especially in new markets. The planning will also depend on the size of the firm and the product offered to the market. Marketing products of a hospital will be very different from electronic products. Similarly, marketing of a Volvo will be different from the way bread is marketed. When developing a marketing plan, it is always important that the concerned individuals understand the nature of the product and the target customers. As McLaughlin and Aaker (2
Thesis on guns, germs, and steel According to Eurasian civilizations, the impact of disproportionate distribution of power and wealth in the society and the effect of “positive feedback loop” emerge as critical issues of concern. The argument that farming, domestication, innovation, and population density and patterns could harm society is evident in the author’s explanation of the emergence and survival of Eurasian civilizations. The thesis is highly supported by the arguments aligned to the fact that differences among state technological and economic powers give an undue advantage to some countries. Military supremacy and injustice result in bad governance. Powerful military groupings help to prove that the Eurasian civilization is a major issue of concern in the society. In the book, it is apparent that the technological and military disparities between the Europeans and the Guinean people and not the presumed genetic superiority of the Europeans help to enhance the survival of the Eurasian civilizations. Summary of the main thesis Inappropriate and un-proportional allocation of power proves that Eurasian civilizations cause a lot of challenges to the overall unity, economic development, and welfare of citizens both in Europe and other regions. This fact is proved by the argument that originally, the Eurasian people highly dominated other communities in terms of their wealth, technological know-how, political power, and economic welfare. The Eurasian people have a lot of political and military advantages as explained in the unfair relationship between the European people and those of Guinea, China, and other states. The issues of the existence of colonizers are reinforced by the argument that ever since the ice age, the early development of the agricultural sector is proof of the existence of “dominant colonizers”. Powerful military organizations and strong dictatorial leadership approach mainly to enhance the economic, political, social, and technological dominance of some countries or regions. The division of the world between the rich and the poor and how the rich control major world economies is proof of the degree to which the Eurasian civilizations suffer in the modern world. This fact is effectively expl
Oversees Rotation agreement is undertaken by the department of the Army (DA) is making the process of oversees deployment easy. Rotation agreement policy is dealt with Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Army assigned to the responsibility limiting civilian employment in foreign areas to five years except for cases of specific positions. The policy of five-year limitation allows for the continuous assessment of civilian workforce requirements and also works effortlessly to promote the efficiency of worldwide operations. Extensions that are availed to civilians for the period of more than the stipulated five years, is designed to provide management flexibility to meet the defined mission requirement that not adequately be met within the DOD criteria. DA work together with DOD to recognize the USAREUR mission and to provide flexibility in availing employees as circumstances warrant. The U.S does not provide adequate education to its employees recruited in foreign countries in terms of risks involved in carrying out their duties, especially Middle East countries such as Iraq. What is does is provide hefty allowances to employees. Do military employees get to enjoy the allowances allocated to them in risky environments? (Civilian Personnel Directorate online) (Tafoya, p. 3). Department of Defense provisions and defense apply to the office of the Secretary of defense, Defense Agencies (DOD, Army, Navy, Air force and Marine Corps) and the Military departments. The policy provides that  1. Each Military Services commander shall employ a civilian manpower mix-U.S citizens and local nationals-that blend financial prudence when Using Civilian staffing support in overseas areas that conformance with host country agreements or treaties, availability of qualified local national personnel, and the desired low-key presence of the U.S Government abroad” (Armor 19).  2. When a Military service commander is employing civilian employees in overseas areas, they should do so by recruiting the U.S and non-U.S citizens available locally. It can only recruit people outside the U.S by treaties and agreements availed to them that give preferential treatment to local nationals, unless so, preference should be given to military and local civilian personnel as provided by DOD instructions. Any kind of transfer of personnel recruited in the U.S should only be availed to key personnel, those people that important for security reasons or