ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Cultural differences and values responsible for some of the virtual team problems It is prudent to mention that there were already well established historical and cultural norms in place before the inception of new virtual teams. In any case, a customer team that used to operate under the Celestial Voila umbrella existed before the new changes were implemented. Most of the members who worked with the initial team were drawn from France. One of the main roles played by differences in culture was the lack of proper coordination among various customer teams. The dominant French language could not permit other dialects to penetrate easily. The French language was used to conduct several businesses. Consequently, a feeling of isolation was gradually created among employees who could not communicate in French. The terms and conditions that governed the formation of the new global and virtual teams were negotiated beyond the required limit to protect the cultural interests of certain groups. It is not merely the global strategies that were executed. It is also understood that certain cultures (such as Parisians) received more favors than others. Cultural imperialism was largely blamed on America because it appeared to force its cultural ideals even on non-Americans. The American Celestial people were the pinnacle of macro-level tension that existed between the US and France. Typical problems of virtual teams The laissez-faire style of leadership was a typical problem in some teams. It proved to be quite cumbersome to manage virtual teams that required close supervision in the course of operations. Some teams were affected by a lack of adequate work. Therefore, certain individuals were expected to depart the team at some point. However, it became difficult to determine who would leave any given team owing to minimal work. The latter state of affairs made several team members uncomfortable with their various places of work. Some of them even described the situation as horrible and unfortunate. It is also apparent that lack of collaboration was a major problem as envisioned in this case study. It is only the virtual teams that worked under the ICT department that enjoyed some level of collaboration owing to advances in technology. Nonetheless, coordination was quite poor among the rest of the teams. Virtual teams in this case study also faced the challenge of anxiety in the course of delivering their duties. For example, several contentious managerial issues demanded open forums fo
Different countries went through diverse stages of development before they reached where they are at present. The United States of America is no exception. Regarding this, several authors have tried to write books expressing their different versions concerning the history of the United States of America. This article will focus on Berkin Carol, Miller Christopher, Cherny Robert as well as Gormly James as they render their perceptions concerning the history of the US in the book entitled Making America: a History of the United States since 1865. This book focuses at large on the political chronology of the United States. Regarding the topic of the book, (Making America) the wellbeing of a country depends at large on the kind of leadership being exercised within the country. Looking at leadership, the book commences by focusing on the colonial exercises within the earlier American society. The authors move on to talk about the immigrant society as well as civilization of the earlier individuals within the United States of America. The authors did not only revolve around the political atmosphere of the United States, they went further to explain by reflecting a diversity of personal experiences regarding the ethnicities within the American society. The diverse notions from different authors and chronologists concerning the History of the United States are elucidated on a wider basis. The economical aspect and practices of the people in America has not been left unturned. The authors have tried to elucidate their views concerning the economical practices of earlier American individuals. In writing the book, Berkin and her colleagues have tried vigilantly to uphold their positive views on the significance of political and social movements (32). The book also tries to explain the significance of the colonial society as well as the political dissimilarities within the history of America. Various conclusions may be arrived at after reading this book. However, the major conclusion that one may come up with is that the political disparities, the immigration movements as well as the social movements are indeed very significant. Most authors in different books give diverse opinions on the history of the US. Most of the books tend to give the irrelevance of political dissimilarities and the immigrant society (Oates & Errico 52). This book tends to solely give its positive responses regarding the movements. The authors of this book emphasize on the significance of the earlier social and political movements within the American society. The book has tried to attest that the social as well as political developments were indeed significant stages leadin
Introduction The aim of this paper is to provide an assessment of the ethnolinguistic situation of the major languages used in Rwanda. The country has been selected based on the fact that it uses several languages, which include Kinyarwanda, Kiswahili, English and French (Rosendal 23; Samuelson & Freedman 191-192). Some of the factors contained in the ethnolinguistic vitality model are used to conduct the assessment. Assessment of the Ethnolinguistic Situation Symbolic Traditionally, the Rwandese people used three official languages namely Kinyarwanda, French and English. However, in 2008, the government announced that it was dropping French as one of the official languages in a decision that seemed to have been largely fueled by a diplomatic row with France (Samuelson & Freedman 191). French is still used in many urban areas in Rwanda; however, the government is keen on propagating English as the leading language of science, commerce and economic development in the country and in its interactions with neighboring countries. Demographic Although Rwanda is a multilingual country, most people use Kinyarwanda to communicate. Indeed, “in Rwanda today, Kinyarwanda is described as a critical element in the essence of Rwandan-ness” (Samuelson & Freedman 192). All the local people believe that Rwandans should speak fluent Kinyarwanda, and will readily scold any Rwandese national who is unable to speak it in a clear and coherent manner. This means that anyone who is not competent in using Kinyarwanda is viewed as an outsider in spite of the existence of other languages such as Kiswahili and French. Institutional Even though Kinyarwanda is the dominant language, English-speaking Rwandese people have more access to institutions such as government agencies, schools, industries and the media. As a matter of fact, they dominate the civil service and other government appointments. French-speaking Rwandese people have been relegated to the periphery as the language no longer serves any purpose in public affairs (Samuelson & Freedman 192). Education Rwandese nationals who can speak English well have more access to educational opportunities than their French-speaking counterparts (Samuelson & Freedman 194-196). Although native nationals used to access opportunities of learning by virtue of the fact that Kinyarwanda was taught in school and also used as a method of instruction, the situation has since changed and English is now considered as the primary requirement in accessing educational opportunities. Kiswahili-speaking nationals are also at an advantage since the language is popular regionally as a medium for trade and commerce in the East African Union (Samuelson & Freedman 209). Status and Prestige East Africa is an Anglophone region, thus English-speaking Rwandese nationals are at an advantage when it comes to regional and international matters. Kiswahili-speaking Rwandese nationals are also at an advantage since most trade and commerce in the region is conducted using the medium (Samuelson & Freedman 209). Utility Surprisingly, a substantial number of media hou
Introduction The demographic and economic features of the Chinese market are highly attractive for foreign investors. International retailers are strongly located in the market and it creates intensive competition in the retail sector. Most of the local business firms are adopting a combination strategy with the international partners for avoiding competition. China’s fastest growing economy with the h biggest population in the world with a growing middle class, attracting most of the retail firms in the European and other Western regions. Chinese retail market is the 7 th biggest retailing market in the world. The average annual retail sales increase is at a rate of 13 percent. The current retail market is valued at 430 billion dollars. Economic experts predict that by the year 2010, this will attain a worth of 596bn Dollars. China’s average annual GDP growth rate is 9 % since 1994. This results in an increasing middleclass population. Vast variation in income distribution in the Chinese economy imposes challenges to the retailers in meeting their business goals. The climate and customs of people throughout the region are also showing huge differences. Thus a better understanding of each part of the region is important for successful business launching in the country. Marketing plan for Tesco Limited Tesco is one of the well-established international retailer groups in China and they have business combination with most of the local business firms. For entering the Agri-food retail sector in the Chinese market, a detailed analysis of existing market conditions in China’s agri-food business is necessary. For this purpose, SWOT analysis is an adaptable method. SWOT Analysis For profitable launching in the highly competing China’s retail agri-food sector, the strengths and weaknesses of Tesco Limited have to be analyzed together with the opportunities and threats provided by the market environment. Strengths Strong Company image: In the retail food marketing field Tesco has achieved a strong company image by following accurate business strategies. Customer satisfaction is ensured through localization strategy and business combination with local firms. Diversified product mix: Tesco occupies a wide range of product mixes in the Chinese market which provides greater advantages to the company in entering the new market sector. Tesco is a prominent international retailer operating in the Chinese market. Weaknesses Tesco is affected by the wea
Poverty has not only blighted communities to hopelessness, but it has also proved to be the main stunting menace to growth in the whole globe. There is thus a concerted effort from all world entities towards the fight against global poverty. At the international arena the UN (United Nations) has formulated eight poverty-fighting goals which upon endorsement in the September UN Summit in New York, would provide money-making opportunities and save the lives of the world’s poorest countries (Samuelson 1). The summit will prepare an outline with distinct actions for all governments that will produce real results over the next 5 years. The plan must fight corruption, create new jobs, empower women, improve access to education and healthcare, and increase investment opportunities (Cline 95). The summit would produce a new set of commitments based on mutual accountability and rapport between donors and the developing world. The World Wide United Foundation (a non-governmental organization) boasts of guaranteeing the basic human necessities to every human born into the world. Key among the strategies of this foundation is its oversight role in pursuing the enactment of international laws on political accountability (Root 39). One of the officers in this organization cites that we have international laws that govern violent crimes and ‘crimes against humanity’ yet being impoverished, homeless, unhealthy, cold and naked is not considered a crime for which those in leadership positions should be held accountable. He challenges the international community to enact laws that categorizes the misuse of power ‘which leads to poverty’ as a crime against humanity. He assures that with strict penalties, the enforcement of this international law would ensure a transparent and just leadership (Lodge 97). He also suggests that the adoption of a worldwide health insurance would go a long way in availing quality health care to the poor. A human rights activist says that the main task at hand is to enlighten the public concerning their rights. He asserts that an enlightened citizenry would exercise its democratic right by voting for government officials who would air the plight of the poor. He believes that an informed citizenry would unite to demand for their rights from a corrupt political system. He emphatically challenged charitable organizations not to follow the course of the government, by allowing themselves to be hindered by complex bureaucracies engineered by those who seek to gain from the weak ones (Deen 1). A senator did admit that poverty levels are on the upward trend, attributing this to the complexity of the challenge of poverty. He, however, appreciated the current mechanisms which are in place to reduce poverty levels. He said that better social policies had been drawn by the senate to address the issue, exemplified by the stimulus package bill which has proved to be effective. A community resident attributes the suffering of the poor to the existing bureaucratic system of governance w
To achieve our goal of success, we must want more out of life. To get more out of life we must set goals for ourselves. One such goal would be having a successful career. Even though having a successful career causes us to make sacrifices, it enables us to have “more” money, “more” opportunities, and “more” respect. If we have a successful career that allows us to make more money, we will be happier. Being able to provide for our family will be so much easier because we will not have as much financial stress. We can buy that boat, that camping trailer; that cabin, that house, or that car we always dreamed of having. Not to mention the fact we can take leisure trips to Europe, take cruises to the Bahamas, or just escape for the weekend to our cabin. Our spouse will be happy because there is less stress on our marriage. He or she will not have to worry about bill collectors calling or the bank repossessing our vehicle or home. Also, we will not be one of those families that live from paycheck to paycheck, as long as we manage our finances properly. More money also leads to more happiness not just in our life, but in other’s lives as well. Our kids will be happier because they will not have to do without any of their basic needs. While they are growing up, they will be able to have many memories to reminisce about later in life because they will have been raised in a happy home. They will be able to have a college education because we will be financially stable enough to help pay for it. Being successful in our career also allows us to have more opportunities because we have more choices, as skilled professionals. Since we are more knowledgeable than the average person in our profession, we have less competition. For compensation, our wages are more. Even though we may not be the richest person in the world, more than likely we will never be poor. We will never have to worry about starving or being homeless. Another advantage of having more opportunities is that we have more room for advancing to an even higher position than what we already have. We have health insurance and a wonderful retirement plan. Better benefits mean that we are in better health when we become the age to retire and we have financial stability so we do not have to worry about working the rest of our life. We will be able to live a longer, healthier, happier life. An important aspect of a highly successful career is the amount of respect we receive from our peers. We are respected because of our expertise and our knowledge. We “stand out” above the average person. We are noticed, loved, and admired by many. Our opinion is valued. Other people’s opinions are high of us. In our local community, we are thought of as being vivacious and charismatic leaders. Everyone want
Key Issues of the Company The study focuses on the issues Oscar de la Renta’s company was facing before and during the 2004 rollout of their new line of sportswear which was an attempt to diversify their catalog with relatively inexpensive apparel that would be affordable to the middle-class demographic. While the company did not experience any issues during their period, with 2002 and 2003 being the best years in the history of the company, there were issues of expansion. Oscar de la Renta was always a luxury brand with their largest revenues coming from their Signature line, an average suit in this line cost $3,500. But with the positive changes in management that happened in the last ten years and a visibly increased awareness of the brand, the need to expand the company was clear. This situation introduced a variety of issues, however. One of the debated strategies was whether Oscar de la Renta should have its retail presence in the form of a boutique. Creation of a boutique could present new opportunities to the company such as communicating a clear image of the brand to the customers, raising the profile of the company, opportunity to test the new product, and opening access to the Asian markets. Nevertheless, opening a stand-alone boutique would take a lot of resources because it would mostly serve as a marketing tool, rather than a money-making opportunity. Also, Oscar did not have the breadth of products to sustain a stand-alone store at the time. Another issue that expansion presented was in need to choose where the company should expand. Over the last 35 years, Oscar de la Renta focused primarily on creating their unique style of couture, and trying to copy their competitors at this stage would only hurt the brand. This brand also gained strong respect and adoration in the Latin community. Oscar himself generated an extraordinary amount of pride and was considered a celebrity in this community. The company saw this as an opportunity to expand and monetize the brand, but it revealed a new concern: a company could get “pigeonholed” as a “Latin” brand. By 2004 this “cult of personality” around Oscar started to become an issue in itself. Oscar de la Renta was in his 70s, and even though he made sure to always stay in touch with the needs of the public, the issue of sustaining his legacy could not be ignored. In case anything happened to the leader of the brand a strategy had to be developed. Competitive Edge As mentioned earlier Oscar was an established luxury brand at the time, but it had a unique approach to couture. Oscar himself had a vision of couture clothing that is created with the satisfaction of the client in mind, as opposed to other brands that were focused on selling dresses that were more avant-garde than comfortable. This innovative approach helped his brand stand out among the already established European companies. It was a niche market, but Oscar became a respected brand within it. The Target Market Until 2004 the target audience for the brand w
Theoretical Perspectives influencing the Style- As a Group Counselor/ Leader/Facilitator Group leadership considers many factors. Team building ensures that the group operates wholesomely and effectively. Additionally, collective objectives are timely accomplished through this consideration. As a leader, the value of practicing effective leadership, such as transformational leadership skills, remains critical. This is because, through such skills, team leaders are likely to be motivated to deliver and relate with one another constructively. Values and attributes normally important in group leadership must be highly regarded. These might include the encouragement of novelty, open-mindedness, and inclusiveness. Honesty and commitment to work are also vital leadership factors. As indicated by the respondent, participatory leadership encourages collective decision making. In addition, it motivates individual followers and enables them to be innovative. Good communication systems and mechanisms for feedback must also be established with the help of the group leader. How the Psychologist Became Interested in Conducting Counseling Groups The concerned psychologist indicates that his excellent relationa
Free will is one of the most controversial issues in the history of humanity; as such, human beings feel the need to act freely. In the pursuit of freedom, many theories have come up raging from Absolute Freedom, to Determinism and a more relative and realistic view of Freedom. This paper seeks to present the case of a heroin addict who makes herself and the other people surrounding her suffer evaluating whether she is the one to be fully responsible for her actions or not. As such, in order to establish whether the addict is responsible for her deeds or not, one is going to investigate her motives, circumstances, and her state of mind, in general. According to determinism theory, there is no responsibility whatsoever because all human activities get predetermined even before they think about them leaving no room to do otherwise. If we use this theory, the addict cannot be held responsible for the reason that it was determined that way before her birth meaning one day she would be an addict, and that she would harm others as well as herself by taking in drugs. The second criterion is Absolute Freedom, which asserts that human beings are free to make choices and they are responsible for their decisions. This tread believes in free will; to choose or not to choose is a capacity that is within the moral agent. If we use this theory, the addict will fully be responsible for her actions because she is aware of the heroin effects but, nonetheless, she chooses to take it. The third theory that is more relative asserts that human beings are responsible for some actions while for the others are not. They are responsible for those actions that have causes emanating from within such as desires, appetite, and motives. On the other hand, there are those actions whose causes stem from outside such as culture, cults, and peer influence meaning there is no knowledge about the consequences of such a ‘habit”. According to this theory, the addict is responsible if at first she fully knew the effects of heroin but went on to take it. If this is the case, the addict is responsible for the harm she causes to herself and others around her. On the other hand, if she had no knowledge of the effects of heroin when she began taking drugs, and even she is not aware of them currently, then she cannot be claimed fully accountable of her actions. For example, if this addict was born in a place where drugs are abused, and her conscience does not judge the effects as hazardous, then the society takes a full responsibility for introducing her to heroin. If the addict takes heroin due to a mental problem, she cannot be held exposed too because she is not aware of her actions, and she does not have freedom of what she does at all. All her actions in this case are instinctual and responsibility cannot be claimed on her at all. In conclusion, before judging any case as to whether one claims responsible or not, it is wise to establish the reasons first. This makes the work easier and the chances of getting the truth are very high. It is wise to take the method that is more realistic so that justice is done. Consequently, the above case needs a keen investigat