Assessing The Impact Of Over Fishing Environmental Sciences Essay

Assessing The Impact Of Over Fishing Environmental Sciences Essay Nowadays the demand of marine resources constantly grows. The growing demand stimulates the development of fishery and other marine resources exploitation. However, the unreasonable use of marine resources can cause the fatal damage to some ecosystems and to the global ecosystem of the world ocean. The over fishing is a main concern. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, or FAO, provides the statistics about the global production from capture fisheries in the world. Within the recent two decades (starting from 1985) the reported landings of marine capture fisheries have fluctuated between 80 and 86 million tones per year (DKNVS report, 2006) However, the constantly increasing contribution of developing countries and China leads to the progressive growth of captive fisheries volume. At the same time, the overfishing in some regions has already led to ecosystem degradation and some species extinction. Analytics think that at the nearest future the fish will stay the inc reasingly high-value commodity, and the global demand to the fish and marine products will continue to grow. The usage of other marine resources, like energy resources, minerals, and gene pool, also grows and can lead to overuse and ecosystem degradation, too. In the aggregate the human exploitation of the marine resources and other factors of human influence, like the water pollutions and coastal agriculture, can lead to the irreversible changes in the ecosystem of the ocean up to the total degradation. Nowadays the technological potential of humankind doesnt have the technologies of marine ecosystem resurrection. The thesis of this paper the following: the human exploitation of the marine sources has to be controlled to prevent overfishing and other kinds of overuse, or the ecosystem of the global ocean can be irreparably damaged. Human exploitations: earth vs sea Humans are the link in the food chain so the human activity has an impact on ecosystems. Even early human societies changed the surrounding ecosystems. Nowadays the growth of human population and its impact on the environment escalated the problem on the global scale. Sure, the exploitation of the land resources is more active than the exploitation of the marine sources. There are many terrestrial ecosystems damaged and ruined with human factors. However, the lower speed of marine life cycle causes harder resurrection of the pelagic sources. The principal difference in the human exploitation on the land and on the sea is the following: on the land the humankind rebuilt the structure of terrestrial ecosystems and replaced the wild species with the domestic species. In the sea the important species werent replaced. They became extinct and the extinction of some marine species led to the degradation of marine ecosystems. Despite the existing fisheries regulations, the last majority of t he fish stocks throughout the ocean are overfished. Not only fishes but marine animals like turtles and whales and some species suffer from population reduction up to 40% comparatively to the population volume a century ago. Some popular species are almost approaching extinction, for example, blue-fin tuna. There are three types of overfishing, or three kinds of direct effects of captive overfishing. To make the maximal gain per recruit the fish should grow to the proper average size. The fishery of the smaller fish is a growth overfishing. To replenish the population it is needed the proper percent of mature adults. The shortage of mature adults in the population to the lower the level of reproductive capacity is a recruitment overfishing. The change in the balance of ecosystem caused by fishery and preventing the population growth is an ecosystem overfishing. All three types of overfishing have the negative impact on the ecosystem. Thus, the exploitation of marine resources should be more careful and reasonable because of lower temp of resurrection. Ecosystem effects of overfishing Overfishing as a treat to biodiversity There are also some indirect effects of overfishing, and the decrease in biodiversity is one of them. The loss in biodiversity is a serious treat to the ecosystem in a whole. The cumulative loss of species-from inconspicuous worms to large fish-sharply reduces the ability of sea life to resist diseases, filter pollutants and rebound from stresses such as overfishing and climate change (Blankenship, 2006) The numerous studies show that higher rate of biodiversity is the base of health and stability of ecosystem, as well as its ability to recover. However, the overfishing and the collapse of some the most popular species create the trend, which can lead to the total collapse of ocean ecosystem in 2048 (Blankenship, 2006). The careful fishery management can prevent the total collapse but the strict limits and bans should be implemented without delay. The alternations in the food chains Italian scientist Lorenzo Camerano outlined the dilemma of double-sided regulation in 1880 year. The dilemma is following: the high amount of birds can decrease the population of the insets in ecosystem, however, the number of birds can be high only on those regions were the large amount of food (mainly insects) is available. (Sheffer et al, 2005)This particular example illustrates the top-down and bottom-up mechanism of regulation in the ecosystem. The bottom-up regulation is the main mechanism of natural regulation and the marine ecosystems are no exception. However, the human interference is an important factor of top-down regulation, which changes the natural regulation in ecosystems including marine ones. The nature of food chain is similar in every ecosystem: solar energy and inorganic compounds are transformed by autotrophs, chemotrophs and litotrophs through photosynthesis and chemosynthesis to organic compounds. Then the organic compounds are transformed by heterotrophs into the more complex organic compounds. The predators are the highest link in the pyramid. Usually the number of predators is regulated by the number of low-level organisms. The disappearance of predators from the food chain can lead to the unrestrained growth of low-level organisms population. The marine ecosystems have their specific features. The role of photosynthesis isnt as significant as in terrestrial ecosystems. On the other hand, the majority of chemotrophic organisms inhabit the ocean. The primary producer in the marine ecosystem is phytoplankton and the fish is a main natural predator. Nowadays the top positions in the food web of all ecosystems are occupied with people. The overfishing, or the extinction the main natural fishing, can lead to trophic cascading effects changes in the ecosystems. The recent example of trophic cascading effects caused by overfishing The ecosystem of Canadian East Coast, hardly damaged with cod overfishing, suffers from the particular changes in the ecosystem. The east coast of Newfoundland was historically known as the region of fishery. The article in the Greenpeace archive tells that in 1497 year the explorer John Cabot wrote the huge cod school virtually blocked his ship. Five centuries after the Canadian government totally banned the fishery in this region because of the collapse of ecosystem. After the decrease of large fish population following level of the food web small fishes and large invertebrates, such as northern shrimp and northern snow crab significantly increased the population volume. The growth on this food-web level caused the shortage on its nutritive base, large plant-eating zooplankton (> 2 mm). The decrease of zooplankton, in its turn, became the reason for phytoplankton population volume increase. The unexpected (but natural) consequence was the exponential increase in seal populations. The large fishes like cod compete with seals in the food web for the nutrition base. The extinction of main competitor allowed growing the seal population. The economic consequences of cod overfishing were also significant. Thus, the cod stocks have started to recover in areas south of 44 degrees north. The strict bans can help to recover the cod population and to return the ecosystem to its initial state. However, other areas north of 44 degrees North the cod stock failed to recover despite a nearly complete shutdown of cod fishing. The coastal communities of Newfoundland still suffer from the job loss and struggle to recover. The changes in marine ecosystem lead to the shift in commercial fishery to the low-level of food-web, smaller fishes and crabs. Nowadays the economic value of the shrimp and crab fisheries is more than the earlier value of the cod fishery. Other indirect effects There are also some other indirect effects of oversifishing that are not so visible, but they also contribute to the general problem. The loss of macrofauna leads to the loss of ecosystem structure and the rise of pests. Generally pests are the species detrimental to humans. In the case of degraded marine ecosystems pests are the invasive species. With the lack of restrictive factors such species are able to congest the ecosystem and force out almost all native species declining the biodiversity. For example, European green crab, the native inhabitant of Baltic sea and the northern part of the Atlantic ocean, became the invasive specie in the seas of Australia, South Africa and South America. The ghost fishing is effect from fishing nets lost of left in the ocean by fishermen. The nets are almost invisible in the dim underwater light. They can drift for a long distance. Fishes, marine animals, sea birds and even human divers can be caught and entangled with the net. The net restrict movement and can cause the disease, starvation and suffocation. The volume of ghost fishing can hardly be evaluated because the most victims go down the ocean bottom. Methods of overfishing prevention The importance of fishery management increases simultaneously with the fishery development. The most popular methods of over fishing prevention are the implementation of fishing quotas, limits and bans, the development of fishing farms instead of captive fishery, the coastal zone management and some other measures. Fishing quotas, limits and bans Studies and analyses show that in the nearest future the sustainability concerns will increase due to environmental controversy. The growing demand will require the increase of fishery but the protection of marine ecosystems will require the strict bans, limits and control. The developed countries should implement the environmental regulations and institutions first and provide the same norms to the developing countries. The use of fishoil and feashmeal should become the important issue of the national policy. For example, China bans the fishery in the South China Sea for the certain period every year. However, all the quotas and limits cause the protests and resistance from fishermen. Fishing farms The fishing farms are rather new but successful kind of fish production. According to FAO statistics, the contribution of aquaculture to global supplies of fish, crustaceans and molluscs continues to grow, increasing from 3.9 percent of total production by weight in 1970 to 29.9 percent in 2002. Worldwide, the sector has grown at an average rate of 8.9 percent per year since 1970, compared with only 1.2 percent for capture fisheries and 2.8 percent for terrestrial farmed meat-production systems over the same period. (DKNVS report, 2006) the shift to the fish farming from the captive fishing is rather slow. However, the fish farming can help to protect and even prevent the extinction of marine species. Thus, last year in Australia the first land farm of southern blue-fin tuna was established. The blue-fin tuna is very popular fish because of its buttery meat, for this reason this species is almost collapsed. The land farm fishing is a real fishing alternative and should be developed. Coastal Zone Management The Norwegian experience shows that coastal zone plans for every municipality can be very useful. These plans should designate the zones for tourism and recreation, for agriculture; for certain fishery related activities and protected zones. These plans should be revised within a certain number of years according the results of activities. Other methods of fishing control The pelagic stocks should be protected not only from overfishing but form the pollutions and the issue of global ocean environmental protection will receive more attention worldwide. The use of fish products in the terrestrial agriculture (like the use of fishoil as the nutritional supplement) should be reconsidered and reduced. Among the other measures of pelagic stocks protection should be the reduction and mitigation of the environmental impacts of intensive aquaculture. At last, the global institutions worldwide should develop the programs of poverty reduction on the seaside zones. It is necessary to reduce the volume of the captive fishery, both legal and illegal, and shift the fishery to fish farming. Exploitation of other marine living resources The overfishing is in the focus of this research; however, it is necessary to mention other kinds of marine resources exploitation. Besides the biomass resources like fish, plant and marine invertebrates, the marine resources include the raw resources (underwater deposits of oil, gas and minerals and the minerals dissolved in the sea water), the energy resources (thermal energy, wave energy, etc), and the gene pool. The development of underwater oil deposits (offshore drilling) started in the 19s century. For more than a century it became clear that offshore drilling changes the marine ecosystems in the region. The recent accident on the BP oil platform in the Caribbean Sea attracted the attention of global publicity to the problem of offshore drilling environmental impact and renewed the hot debates regarding the issue. The oil price growth stimulates the offshore drilling development, but the environmental damage of it overweighs the profits from oil trade in the long-term perspect ive. The genetic potential of marine sources also attracts the attention to the marine sources. The biological and chemical diversity of the pelagic sources are well-known. Unique chemical compounds have a great potential for the cosmetic, pharmaceutics, and agrochemical industries. The global ocean also hosts more than 300,000 species of plants and animals, and the scientists claim the majority of deep-water species is still undiscovered. Thus, the gene pool of marine biomass is a field of active research. The observations in Norwegian marine industries provide the information that a relatively small number of marine plants, animals, and microbes have already yielded more than 12,000 novel chemicals. Some of the marine bioactive substances (with industrial applications as technological compounds, laboratory tools or ingredients in cosmetics) are already marketed and generate high benefits to mankind (and investors) (DKNVS report, 2006). Thus, the chemical compounds arabinosides extracted from the sponge, Tethya crypta, can be used in antiviral pharmacology and as the medicine in the acute myeloid leukemia treatment. It has a market potential up to $50 million annual sales. The further research of the marine species and their potential will lead to the additional attention to the marine resources. However, the exploitation of any marine resource can be carefully managed and controlled to prevent the collapse of ocean ecosystem. Summary and conclusion The researches of marine resources discover new and new potential of its commercial use. The gene pool and the variety of chemical compounds in the ocean open new possibilities in pharmacology, industrial chemistry, cosmetics, etc. Modern technologies allow the development of offshore drilling and the underwater mining. However, the overuse of these possibilities can lead to the collapse of marine ecosystem. The example of overfishing shows the possible consequences of marine sources overuse. The fishery exists as long and humankind, thus its consequences are the most obvious and significant. The overshishing causes the decrease of diversity in ecosystems, the tropic cascading effects, and even the collapse of some species. It is the treatment to overall ecological unity of the ocean. The fishery management can slowdown the ecosystem degradation and prevent the irreparable damage. The modern techniques of fishery management include fish quotas and bans, fish farming, coastal zone management and some other global management like the struggle with poverty in the coastal zones. The human factor already created the trend to the collapse of ocean ecosystem, and the immediate measurer are necessary to prevent it.

Retail Analysis Mcdonalds

Table of Contents Executive Summary3 Introduction5 Explain about the retail store6 Explain why you have chosen this retail store7 Explain about your scenario as a mystery shopper and what you did at the outlet8 Describe the retail store’s customer service with your knowledge of Pet Peeves and 14 factors of company culture. 10 Suggest some solutions to improve the retail store’s customer service14 Conclusion15 Executive Summary Acting as a â€Å"mystery shopperâ€Å" we have evaluated one of the McDonalds’ retail shops. We have chosen a McDonalds retail shop by reason of its obvious success.McDonalds has got a yearly profit of approximately 5. 5 billion USD by trading with fast-food. Our evaluation shows us there is one certain reason of its success: Constancy! Customers know what they get at McDonalds, wherever they are in the world and apparently they appreciate this constancy. Nonetheless there are some obvious Pet Peeves, which are related to the three level s of factors of a company culture. Level one describes what you obviously feel, see and hear. Level 2 is about the communication between employee and customer. Level three contains factors that are not obvious but ake us like McDonalds subconsciously, is very tough to find in our outlet. Regarding these Pet peeves and the factors of company culture we come up with three different suggestions to improve the retail store’s customer service. 1. The company can become more ecological, by producing less rubbish. Especially in order to enhance its reputation. 2. Friendlier and politer staff 3. Achieving a nicer environment in its outlets Regarding its success it seems quite unnecessary to make some changes, but in order to keep the company’s customer service competitive little changes are recommendable.Introduction McDonalds. The company is already one of the most successful companies in the world and still growing. The main product the company sells is fast-food. How is thi s possible? How can a company, that is selling fast food, be this successful? What is the secret of its success? We threw ourselves into one of its outlets and experienced the secrets and services of McDonalds. In our following assignment we will explain about our scenario as a mystery shopper, we will describe and debate the retail store’s customer service, considering the factors of company culture.Finally we will suggest some solutions to improve the retail store’s customer service and make a conclusion of our results. Explain about the retail store â€Å"McDonald's is the leading global foodservice retailer with more than 33,500 local restaurants worldwide and 1,7million employees, serving nearly 68 million people in 119 countries each day. † (McDonalds) So far, McDonald's in China employs more than 1000 restaurants, the 2013 restaurant number is expected to reach 2000. The company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDona ld in San Bernardino, California. Wikipedia, 2012) McDonalds’ total profit of the year 2011 was approximately 5,5billion USD (finanzen. net). Explain why you have chosen this retail store McDonalds is one of the most popular fast-food chain companies in the world. You’ll find McDonalds in every little city, in every crowded Shopping Mall. It surely is a very famous and successful company (Llopis, 2011) And this makes it interesting. How can a company that â€Å"just† trades with fast-food be this successful? How can you achieve a yearly profit of 5,5billion USD by trading with Burgers?Apparently McDonalds has got a successful marketing and sales concept, which makes the company very interesting to write an assignment about, considering the roots of its success, debating about its ways to make me purchase again, although it obviously has got some â€Å"Pet peeves†. Explain about your scenario as a mystery shopper and what you did at the outlet It is Sunday afternoon, 4 o’clock when I enter the McDonalds restaurant. It’s not a typical dinner time; consequently the restaurant is not crowded. Nevertheless most of the many tables are covered, and there is a small line n front of the area, where you place the order. On the first view the restaurant seems very clean and you notice a strong smell of food and loud background music. As soon as I enter the outlet, i notice a various number of employees. 4 employees take the order, another 4 employees collect the order together, and approximately 3 employees are responsible of clearing up tables. Additionally there is a bunch of employees cooking and preparing the food, and a couple of employees cleaning the sanitary fittings. It is impossible to give an exact number of employees, but there is definitely a huge amount of workers.Furthermore the employees wear a uniform. The greeting is short and not remarkable friendly, the employee makes the impression that he is pushing me to or der as soon and as fast as possible. You find a big, easy watching menu board behind the back of the Seller, which makes it easy to find a suitable product. Consequently the employee won’t ask questions to find a suitable product, he or she only asks for an upgrade for bigger fries and beverages. Anyway I have to order on my own initiative. Finally I pay for my dish, without getting a student discount and find myself in another line, waiting for the food.After I have got my food I start looking for a table, which I find at the very end of the restaurant. It’s a nice place in front of a big window. Later I’ll figure out that the chairs are quite uncomfortable, but the first impression is good though. While having a suit I notice that my table is still dirty, so I have to wipe down the table by myself. Unfortunately my burger has become cold, which is an opportunity to ask an employee for an exchange. The employee surprisingly shows me a lot of understanding and e xchanges the burger immediately. The new burger is surely satisfying.There is one remarkable point I must mention. The taste of the food is exactly the same taste as all the other times I had been at McDonalds; it doesn’t matter in which country or in which city. At the same time I notice that the interior is also pretty much the same. After we finished our food we found ourselves in front of a big bunch of waste, although we have just eaten two burgers and two medium-sized fries. Finally we left, without clearing up the table. Leaving the outlet is not commented by the staff. In summary it can be said, that the restaurant: †¢ Is basically clean Has got the same interior everywhere †¢ Strong smell of food †¢ Noisy †¢ Employees wear uniforms †¢ Seats are not very comfortable Describe the retail store’s customer service with your knowledge of Pet Peeves and 14 factors of company culture. At first I’d like to mention some so called â€Å"P et Peeves†, that are obviously disturbing and noticeable as soon as you enter the McDonalds outlet: †¢ Tense and noisy environment †¢ Disturbing sounds coming from the kitchen †¢ Unfriendly/ impolite employees that seem very impatient while you are ordering After we ordered and picked up our food we noticed some further â€Å"Pet Peeves†: Left tables are not cleared up and wiped down by employees(dirty tables †¢ Cold food †¢ Uncomfortable seats †¢ One dish creates a big amount of rubbish Considering the factors of company culture in order to evaluate the performance of this particular outlet, I? d like to difference the company culture into three levels (Tobias Amely, 2009) This three level model is invented by Edgar Schein. The information below are based on the Internet page Wikipedia. org. At the first and most cursory level of Schein's model is organizational attributes that can be seen, felt and heard by the uninitiated observer â€⠀œ collectively known as artifacts.Included are the facilities, offices, furnishings, visible awards and recognition, the way that its members dress, how each person visibly interacts with each other and with organizational outsiders, and even company slogans, mission statements and other operational creeds. The next level deals with the professed culture of an organization's members – the values. Shared values are individuals’ preferences regarding certain aspects of the organization’s culture (e. g. loyalty, customer service). At this level, local and personal values are widely expressed within the organization.Basic beliefs and assumptions include individuals' impressions about the trustworthiness and supportiveness of an organization, and are often deeply ingrained within the organization’s culture. Organizational behavior at this level usually can be studied by interviewing the organization's membership and using questionnaires to gather attitudes ab out organizational membership. At the third and deepest level, the organization's tacit assumptions are found. These are the elements of culture that are unseen and not cognitively identified in everyday interactions between organizational members.Additionally, these are the elements of culture which are often taboo to discuss inside the organization. Many of these ‘unspoken rules' exist without the conscious knowledge of the membership. Those with sufficient experience to understand this deepest level of organizational culture usually become acclimatized to its attributes over time, thus reinforcing the invisibility of their existence. Surveys and casual interviews with organizational members cannot draw out these attributes—rather much more in-depth means is required to first identify then understand organizational culture at this level.Notably, culture at this level is the underlying and driving element often missed by organizational behaviorists. (Wikipedia, 2012) R elated to level one, the â€Å"obvious† level which determines what you hear, see and feel: †¢ McDonalds has got the same interior in every restaurant †¢ the staff is wearing the same uniforms †¢ it always smells in the same way †¢ you have got the same products all over the world †¢ menu board format is the same and easy to understand †¢ you can see the McDonalds â€Å"M† symbol everywhere in the outlet †¢ Loud music in the background †¢ Rather young people and kids †¢ People eat alone without feeling awkward All parts of the McDonalds â€Å"sales areas† are constant all over the world. People know what they get and they appreciate it. They consider McDonalds as a clean, trustworthy fast-food restaurant. The second level is about the communication between employee and customer. †¢ Less communication; the communication is restricted to the order process †¢ In case of a complaint about food, the employee exch anges the product instantly †¢ Not remarkable polite, no advices †¢ The leaving is not commented The third level, which contains factors that are not obvious but make us like McDonalds subconsciously, is very tough to find in our outlet.Some factors might be: †¢ The speed of taking the order and getting the food †¢ The noises which make us hurry up(we are not supposed to feel comfortable and stay for a long time †¢ constancy The secret of McDonalds’ success is clearly the constancy. Wherever you are, you’ll find the same food, the same service. Humans apparently like and need constancy as a factor of safety and subconsciously McDonalds gives us this feeling. Suggest some solutions to improve the retail store’s customer service Shortly after entering the restaurant I noticed a various amount of Pet Peeves. Consequently our suggestions are based on at the beginning ofQuestion 4 mentioned Pet Peeves. At this point we have to make clear that it is hard to improve an outlet of a company, which is one of the most successful companies in the world. As a result solutions have to be considered as a subjective suggestion. Our first suggestion is based on an environmental aspect. In times of global warming and increasing pollution it is important to provide ecological products. One part of it is avoiding a lot of rubbish. As mentioned McDonalds is producing a lot of rubbish, so one improvement might be less production of waste, which is also recommendable for the company’s reputation.Another improvement can be trainings of employees to assure polite and patient staff, because this is definitely a negative aspect of our observations. Finally we can highly recommend to get rid of all these annoying sounds coming out of the kitchen. This can lead to a more relaxing environment, which is even recommendable for a fast-food chain company. Conclusion At the beginning of our assignment, we asked the question why a company that is selling fast-food can be this successful, although they are just selling fast-food. The explanation for its success is short and easy: constancy!Wherever you are in the world, McDonalds provides you the well-known and expected food. This constancy makes us purchase subconsciously. By examining a McDonald’s outlet as a â€Å"mystery shopper† we noticed a lot of pet peeves, which mostly lead to a tense feeling. But, at this point I have to make clear that these factors are not very obvious. We got used to them and accept them by keeping on purchasing at McDonalds Nevertheless there are some points which can be improved. 1. The company can become more ecological, by producing less rubbish.Especially in order to enhance its reputation. 2. Friendlier and politer staff 3. Achieving a nicer environment in its outlets If McDonalds can achieve these goals they will most likely stay as successful as they are. Customers don’t go to McDonalds because of its customer ser vice, but McDonalds should be aware of the fact that customers also might not come because of the customer service. Consequently little changes and improvements in customer service can be useful and should be considered in the near future. Bibliography Wikipedia. (2012, 08 24). Retrieved from http://en. ikipedia. org/wiki/McDonald%27s Wikipedia. (2012). Von wikipedia. org: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Organizational_culture abgerufen finanzen. net. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. finanzen. net/bilanz_guv/McDonalds Llopis, G. (2011, 12 9). Forbes. Retrieved from http://www. forbes. com/sites/glennllopis/2011/09/12/the-most-successful-companies-embrace-the-promise-of-their-culture/ McDonalds. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. aboutmcdonalds. com: http://www. aboutmcdonalds. com/mcd/our_company. html Tobias Amely, T. K. (2009). BWL fur Dummies. Weinheim: Wiley.

Hofstede’s cultural dimensions of Australia and China Essay

Mismanaging cultural differences can render otherwise successful managers and organisations ineffective when working across cultures. As stated byOsland (1990, p. 4) â€Å"The single greatest barrier to business success is the one erected by culture†. Hofstede (1983) defines culture as â€Å"the mental programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another† (Hofstede 1983 p. 25). Through the comparison of Chinese culture and Australian culture using Hofstedes five cross-cultural dimensions: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, individualism, and long-term orientation an insightful view into the differences and similarities of the cultures can be obtained (Chong & Park 2003). Human Resource Management (HRM) activities such as: recruitment and selection, career planning and development, employee motivation, and compensation and benefits need to be performed in alignment with national culture as effectiveness of a human resource management practice hinges on the degree to which it fits the values and beliefs of people in the host country. By exploring the differences and similarities of Chinese and Australian culture from a HR perspective strategies aimed at achieving organisational goals can be better achieved. The inherent weaknesses of Hofstedes framework will also be discussed to emphasise the importance of other methods for determining culture. Greet Hofstede’s (1980) landmark study involved more than one hundred thousand IBM employees in forty countries. From those results, and later additions, Hofstede developed a model for classifying national cultures and analysing work behaviour according to five underlying dimensions: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, individualism, and long-term orientation (Chong & Park 2003). Hofstedes analysis of each country can provide a better understanding into the national culture that is specific to each country. The significant findings of Hofstedes analysis of Australia include a low power distance score of 36 (ITIM International 2003). Societies with low power distance are characterized by the norm value that inequalities between people should be minimized, and, to the extent that hierarchies exist in such societies and their organizations, they exist only for administrative convenience. Subordinates and superiors regard each other as like people, who have equal r ights and representation (Hofstede 1983). In  comparison China has a relatively high power distance of 80 (ITIM International 2003). By contrast, high power distance societies are characterised by the acceptance of inequality and its institutionalisation in hierarchies which locate people in their â€Å"rightful places†. In high power distance societies, superiors are expected to lead and make decisions, and subordinates are generally afraid and unwilling to disagree with their superiors (Hofstede 1983). As a result of the significant difference in power distance between Australian and China Human Resource activities such as performance appraisals will require different approaches. In Australia and many western cultures performance appraisals are generally linked to the job description and individual career development plans. In Australian 360 degree feedback is often incorporated using feedback from management and peers. Constructive criticism is also another important component in the performance appraisals used i n Australia which is vital for identifying gaps in learning and development and is accepted by employees as the norm (Harrison 1995). By contrast performance appraisals in China are less frequent as both managers and workers in Chinese enterprises want to avoid blunt confrontations; it is understandable that they would try to minimise the frequency of such conflict-prone encounters in the workplace (Huo 1995). Peer evaluation, frequently used in Australian organisations, virtually does not exist in the China. This may be attributed to the traditional authoritarian leadership style prevalent in Chinese enterprises where only supervisors are deemed qualified to evaluate subordinates’ performance (Huo 1995). Performance appraisals generally involve two-way communications which is not embraced by Chinese culture as the large power distance found in China indicated that to challenge authority of superiors is not considered appropriate for subordinates (Huo 1995). Therefore when conducting a performance appraisal in China it is expected that the evaluated will be more subjective. A straight forward form of apprais al would be better received and employee participation should not be forced. Of significant interest is Australia’s high individualism ranking of 90 (ITIM International 2003) . High Individualism implies a society believes that people should largely remain independent from groups, and that people should have a self-concept of being an independent individual rather than a  dependent member of a group(Harrison 1995). In comparison China ranked extremely low with a score of 20 in the individualism ranking (ITIM International 2003). This is as a result of the society fosters strong relationships where everyone takes responsibility for fellow members of their group with an emphasis on a Collectivist society as a result of the Communist rule (Hofstede 1980). As a result of the different stance of each culture on individualism human resource activities such as compensations and benefits will need to be approached in a different way. In Australian rewards are geared towards pay for performance which motivates the individual to stand out from the crowd in particular at more senior management levels. Compensation is not just related to salary but can include bonuses, commissions, and other merit based reward programs for individual contributions. In contrast Chinese tend to focus on the goals of the collective rather than individual goals. Group approaches have been a dominating influence on Chinese social and working life, including team work, group decision making, group reward, group cohesiveness and group consultation (Satoe & Wang 1994). Chinese employees do not want to stand out from the crowd. Thus it has been suggested that Western business practices, such as personnel incentives, do not work (Myers, 1987). Therefore when conducting business within the Chinese culture compensation and benefits should be based on a collective theory where there are less individual incentives rather a focus on the performance of the group or work units. In a field experiment which combined team duties with group incentives, the team responsibility system proved to have a positive effect on members’ expectancy, achievement attribution, morale and satisfaction (Satoe & Wang 1994). The great distinction between Australia’s score of 31 for Long Term Orientation compared with Chinas score of 118 suggest great cultural differences (ITIM International 2003). Long Term Orientation is a measure of the degree the society embraces, or does not embrace long-term devotion to traditional, forward thinking values. As Australia has a low score this indicates that change can occur more rapidly as long-term traditions and commitments do not become impediments to change (Harrison 1995). In contrast to this a country with a high score such as China value long-term  commitments and respect tradition. This is thought to support a strong work ethic where long-term rewards are expected as a result of today’s hard work (Harrison 1995). These types of diverse cultural views towards long term orientation will impact of the way human resource activities such as recruitment and selection are carried out. In Australia it is common for employees to have several difference employers in there working career and even several changes in industry. Recruitment and selection practises in Australia are aimed at aligning the best fit between employees and the organisation in terms of goals and competencies. Recruitment and selection in Australian generally includes interviewing, psychometric tests, assessment centres and other measures of assessment. In contrast with this Chinese employment pattern has traditionally been life employment with three guarantees â€Å"guaranteed job assignment, guaranteed pay irrespective of performance and guaranteed tenure of senior positions† (Lewis 3003) . Selection criteria seem quite different from the West. For example, Easterby-Smith et al. (1995) found that selection criteria for managerial appointments in their case study organisations were â€Å"good moral practice; adequate competence; working hard and excellent performance records; political loyalty and harmonious relationships with others†. Longevity in a job in Australia is not necessarily seen as a good thing and can be construed as complacency whereas in China it aligns with the cultural drivers of loyalty and tradition. When conducting recruitment and selection in China it must be kept in mind that they traditionally do not place too much emphasis on the interview and almost never employ psychometric tests and assessment centres. Rather than acting out against the traditional job for life concept by replacing current staff with more qualified candidates managers should perhaps ensure sound training and development programs are in place to achieve a fit between employee and organisation. Hofstedes measures of Masculinity and uncertainty avoidance for both Australia and China were similar in score. Masculinity stands for a societal preference for competition, while femininity represents a tendency to place relationships with people above money to help others, to care for the weak and to preserve quality of life (Harrison 1995). Australia scored 61 compared with Chinas score of 66 (ITIM International 2003). Similarly the  measurement of uncertainty avoidance which indicates to what extent a culture programs its members to feel either uncomfortable or comfortable in unstructured situations are quite close in score with Australia at 51 compared with China at 30 (ITIM International 2003). The small difference in uncertainty avoidance suggests that within Chinese culture there is a more relaxed and tolerant attitude towards the unfamiliar as compared with Australia where there is less tolerance towards uncertainty and ambiguity. This may impact on human resource activities such as career planning and development. In Australia career planning and development is generally quite structured and directed as employees like to have a clear career path while in Chinese culture they more comfortable with a less structured approach to career planning and development and expect they career will progress in time. Despite its widespread familiarity and influence, Hofstede’s work has been extensively criticized. One reason is that he used the employees of a single large multinational company to represent the cultures of different nationalities. It is clear that such a sample, no matter how large, may not be representative of the respective countries’ national cultures (Mcsweeny 2002). The national culture of China as identified by Hofstese is quite general and it must be kept in mind that the averages of a country do not relate to individuals of that country (Mcsweeny 2002). There are always exceptions to the rule and Hofsteds analysis does not allow for this and therefore should only be taken as general guidelines. It must also be kept in mind that these studies were conducted over 25 years ago. Due to the inherent weaknesses of the frameworks discussed it is vital that other factors be taken into consideration when analysing national culture. It is important to remember that the culture of a country changes over time, either by internal or external influences. Although the measures identified that China has a collective society and it is though as a generalisation that that collectivists are more cooperative was not supported by experimental results. It was found that subjects from the more individualistic region, Beijing, were more cooperative in working toward mutually beneficial outcomes than were subjects from the more collectivist region, Wuhan (Koch & Koch 2007). This research alludes to the conclusion that the Chinese generally have a collective society within the community  they are familiar with but to some degree are less willing to have a collective frame of mind with a group they are less familiar with. This type of social behaviour would be important for management of Chinese culture in circumstance such as group work where participants may not be as eager to participate as once thought within unfamiliar groups. With the inherent weaknesses of Hofstedes framework it is important to consider a broader range of issue in order to obtain an accurate and current insight into national culture. As Coen Heijes states â€Å"no matter how interesting standardised dimensions may be, without a specific knowledge of history, language and education, cross-cultural understanding is doomed from the start† (Heijes 2007 p.94). Hofstedes five cross-cultural dimensions: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, individualism, and long-term orientation provide an insight into the national culture of both Australia and China. National culture is important to consider when performing human resource activities as the effectiveness of a human resource management practice hinges on the degree to which it fits with the values and beliefs of people in the host country. Human Resource activities that need to be aligned with cultural factors include: recruitment and selection, career planning and development, compensation and benefits, and performance appraisals. In comparing the performance appraisal process, Australians are likely to be more responsive to a 360 degree type feedback with much interaction between managers and subordinates where Chinese employees are likely to be more responsive to a more subjective performance appraisal with little contribution in the form of feedback from peers or personal contributions due to the difference in the power distance of each culture. Compensation and benefits in Australia can be geared towards pay for performance of individuals and may include bonuses, commissions, and other merit based reward programs for individual contributions. Whereas in the Chinese culture compensation and benefits should be based on a collective theory where there are less individual incentives and rather a focus on the performance of the group due to difference in Hofstedes individualism measures. Recruitment and selection practices comparisons between the two countries are impacted by the difference in long term orientations. The recruitment and selection process  in Australia is important due to the frequently changing roles of employees and the importance of finding a fit between organisation and employee whereas in China recruitment and selection aligns with the cultural drivers of loyalty and tradition. When conducting recruitment and selection in China it must be kept in mind that they traditionally do not place too much emphasis on the interview and almost never employ psychometric tests and assessment centres. The slight difference in uncertainty avoidance dimension impact on human resource activity of career planning and development. In Australia career planning and development is generally quite structured and directed as employees like to have a clear career path while in Chinese culture they more comfortable with a less structured approach to career planning and development and expect they career will progress in time. While Hofstedes dimensions cross-cultural dimensions have been critiqued as being to some degree too generalised, small sample sizes, out dated, over simplifying complex tasks. Therefore the framework discussed should only be used as a rough guide to understanding national culture. As suggested by Coen Heijes (2007) other factors such as political and legal systems, religion, education, language, ethics, and motivation among many others must be considered to obtain a current insight into national culture. Reference list: Easterby-Smith, M., Malina, D. and Yuan, L. (1995), â€Å"How culture-sensitive is HRM? A comparative analysis of practice in Chinese and UK companies†, International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 6 No. 1, pp. 31-59. Harisson, G. (1995), â€Å"Satisfaction, tension and interpersonal relations: a cross-cultural comparison of managers in Singapore and Australia†, Journal of Managerial Psychology, Volume 10, Number 8, pp. 13-19Heijes, C. (2007), ‘The Broad Dimensions of Doing Business Abroad’, The Business Review, Vol.8, No.1, pp 93-99Hofstede, G. (1980), Culture’s Consequences. International Differences in Work-Related Values, Sage Publications, Beverly Hills, CA., . Hofstede, G. (1983), â€Å"The cultural relativity of organizational practices and theories†, Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 14 No. 2, pp. 75-89. Huo, P. (1995), â€Å"On transplanting human resource practices to China: A culture-driven approach†, International Journal of Manpower, Vol. 16 No. 9, pp. 3-15. ITIM International 2003, Geert Hofstede BV, the Netherlands, viewed 12th August 2008, < http://www.geert-hofstede.com/index.shtml>Koch, B. Koch, P. (2007) ‘Collectivism, individualism, and out group cooperation in a segmented China’, Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Vol. 24, No.2, pp 207-225Lewis, P. (2003), â€Å"New China – old ways? A case study of the prospects for implementing human resource management practices in a Chinese state-owned enterprise†, Employee Relations, Vol. 25, No. 1,pp. 42-60Mcsweeny, B. (2002), ‘Hofstede’s Model of National Cultural Differences and Their Consequences: A Triumph of Faith – A Failure of Analysis’, Human Relations, Vol. 55, No. 1, pp. 89-118Myers, H. (1987), â€Å"The China business puzzle†, Business Horizons, July-August, pp. 25-8. Osland, G.E. (1990), â€Å"Doing business in China: a framework for cross-cultural understanding†, Marketing Intelligence and Planning, Vol. 8,No. 4, pp. 3-15. Satow, T.Wang, Z. (1994), â€Å"Cultural and Organizational Factors in Human Resource Management in China andJapan: A Cross-cultural Socio-economic Perspective† Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 9 No. 4, pp. 3-11

The Contribution Of Coretta Scott King - 1303 Words

Take a second to reflect on who you consider an inspiration or hero. Is it someone who is nationally known or is it someone in your personal life? An individual who is truly known for her determination and strength is Coretta Scott King. Coretta was born April 27th, 1927 in Marion, Alabama by her two parents Obadiah and Bernice Scott. She grew up on her parents farm where she hoed and picked cotton for her family to obtain money. As a young child she had a growing interest in singing and music specifically with the violin. She attended Lincoln High School in Alabama and graduated valedictorian of her class in 1945. (). After she graduated high school she immediately began her successful journey by continuing her education at Antioch†¦show more content†¦During the time period of the 1950’s, it was considered normal for a woman to stay home when there were children involved. However, nothing could stop Coretta in the end as she accepted roles of being a mother and a wi fe, but did not stop against advice to end her activism. She did acknowledge a role in being a wife in which she sometimes stood in the shadow of her husband supporting him in everything he was conquering, but she did not stop there. During the 50’s and 60’s Coretta worked right along side of King with his monumental actions. For example, she took part in the Montgomery bus boycott, helped lead with him the Civil Rights Movement, was by his side as he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, marched town to town next to King for the sake of voting right laws. Coretta even went to the extent of traveling to Ghana with King due to the marking of the nation s independence and ventured to India on a pilgrimage all in support of her husband. Her dedication to her husband and motivation was represented just days after Martin s death where Coretta brought her children with her while she lead thousands of individuals in a march to honor her husband. While supporting King, Coretta also lead her own path by being heavily involved in the work of passing the civil rights Act which occurred in 1964. Remarkably, even during her involvement in Civil Rights, she continued her pursuit to advocate forShow MoreRelatedDr. Martin Luther King1647 Words   |  7 PagesKing was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, to the Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. (1899–1984) and Alberta Williams King (1904–1974).[1] King s legal name at birth was Michael King,[2] and his father was also born Michael King, but the elder King changed his and his son s names following a 1934 trip to Germany to attend the Fifth Baptist World Alliance Congress in Berlin. 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