Navigating another culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Navigating another culture - Essay Example 2. I belong to the district of Gangnam that is located in the country of South Korea and the culture of Gangnam has been highly influenced through various elements. One of the elements that have mostly influenced the culture of my region is education. Education is given immense importance in my region mainly for the purpose of the development of the self of the people of my region. The education has transformed my region into a place where people have become quite materialistic and prefer spending a luxurious and wealthy lifestyle. The main purpose due to which education is promoted in my region is that it is believed that education will help us attaining better standards of life. The popular culture of my region is another aspect that has mighty impact on the culture of Gangnam. The district has been a host and part of various musical videos as well as movies. The region has been used for the purpose of shooting videos and that is one reason why the neighborhood of Gangnam is always bright and colorful. It is a place where people come to enjoy and especially witness the night life of the region (Willett 1). 3. I have been living in the region of United States since I was only 15 years old. My main purpose of moving to United States was attaining higher education as it is one of the main elements that is promote by my culture and my society. When I first came to the United States I faced various difficulties but unlike people belonging to collectivist cultures, I faced little difficulty in understanding the culture of United States and assimilating in their culture was fairly easy for me as compared to other immigrants. The main difficulty that I experienced when I became a part of the United States was my failure to communicate in English Language with the natives of the region. Due to this I used to feel left and alone and I used to even experience

Arabic Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Arabic Culture - Essay Example Religious beliefs and traditions give ample freedom to the males in Muslim culture so that they can control or regulate the freedom of the Arabic women. â€Å"Koran says girls must stay home and that it is right to beat women if they disobey their husbands† (Chu). In other words, Koran undoubtedly gives the authority to men over women in Arabic culture. It is difficult for the Arabic females to engage in all types of activities as their men counterparts do. Driving is prohibited for Saudi women even though it is allowed in other Arabic states. â€Å"A Saudi woman sentenced to be lashed 10 times for defying the countrys ban on female drivers. The woman, named as Shaima Jastaina and believed to be in her 30s, was found guilty of driving without permission in Jeddah in July, 2011†(Jones). Even though the Saudi King interfered in the matter and removed the punishment of Shaima Jastaina, the above incident revealed the extent of oppression faced by women in Saudi Arabia and in other Arabic countries. No Arab women, especially the Saudi women, can go out without covering their entire body. It should be noted that in countries like America or Britain, women have the right to wear any clothes they like. In fact women in western countries cover their body less, compared to their male counterparts. Women in western countries take part in kind of social activities just like men whereas in Arabic culture, it is difficult for the women to enjoy such freedom. It should be noted that Arabic men can marry more than one girl and keep more than one wife at the same time. However, Arabic women do not have the right to keep more than one husbands at the same time. In other words, in Arabic culture, all the customs and norms were formulated to safeguard the interests of the male community whereas in other cultures, the interests of both the males and females are respected in equal measures. To conclude, the status of

The Sustainable Event Management Environmental Sciences Essay

The Sustainable Event Management Environmental Sciences Essay This report will general introduce what is sustainability and to link all the concepts and theories to the Beijing Olympics. All the sustainability policies will link to the Triple-Bottom-Line theory and with suitable recommendations. The general idea of what International Olympic Committee IOC is about and the role of IOC play with the Olympic. All the economic, environmental and social impacts that did by Beijing during the Olympic Games. The environmental successful point and failures that the Beijing Olympic faced. How Beijing can improve or how the London Olympic can learn from Beijing Introduction The purpose of this report is to critically analyse concepts and theories of sustainability relevant to the events industry. All these sustainability policies will link to the Triple-Bottom-Line theory and suitable recommendations will be shown. Sustainability development means to protect the environment, but still meet the need of human, without compromising the future generations need and development. The term sustainability derives from a political and socially constructed terminology that supports the universal policy of sustainable development (Dresner, 2002; Rogers et al., 2008). In more recent times with a greater appreciation by nations of environmental matters and a move to a more sustainable society, the IOC requires the Olympic Games host country to implement strategies to protect the environment, observe concepts of equity and social justice and, where possible, minimise consumption of energy and water. The wastes minimise and to ensure that it is recycled as much as possible are the critical factors for selection when a country is bidding for the Game. The Beijing Olympic was the greenest Olympic ever, and will prove by articles, journals, etc. The aim and objectives To critically analysis the sustainability policy of the Olympics, create linkage to the Triple Bottom Line theory and provide sustainable recommendations for critical appraisal of the Olympics sustainability policy. International Olympic Committee IOC The Olympic were nearly ended in 1976 Montreal Olympics, Canada. Due to the large venues built and the investment was 10 times over from the original budget. Olympics not only need to carry a heavy debt burden but also damage the environment. Therefore, Olympics now focus on the sustainable development when the cities bid for the Olympics (Aim of Olympic 2008). One of IOC roles is to encourage and support a responsible concern for environmental issues, to promote sustainable development in sport and to require that the Olympic Games are held accordingly (IOC 2011) The Olympic Movement Agenda 21 was examined during the third IOC World Conference on Sport and the Environment in Rio in 1999, and approved by the IOC session in Seoul in June 1999. The goal of Agenda 21 is to increase the participation of local residents, to improve the social-economic and health benefits they derive from it, strengthen international cooperation projects for sustainable development, help combat social exclusion, encourage new consumer habits, promote a sports infrastructure which is even better adapted to social needs, and further improve the integration of development and environment concepts into sports policies (IOC 1999). The Beijing Olympic 2008 The idea of Green Olympic in Beijings bid was the strongest element to win the right to host the 2008 Games. The Beijing Organising Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG)s environmental programme was focused on improvement, protection and awareness-raising. The Olympic venues were constructed by environmentally friendly and energy-saving building materials. Beijing has put significant efforts to improve air quality, expand forestation, enhance public sewage and waste treatment systems.(IOC 2012) When Beijing was awarded the Games in 2001, the IOC Evaluation Committee noted: Beijing currently faces a number of environmental pressures and issues, particularly air pollution. However, it has an ambitious set of plans designed, which are comprehensive enough to greatly improve Beijings overall environmental condition. These plans and actions will require a significant effort and financial investment. The result would be a major legacy for Beijing from the Olympic Games, which include increased environmental awareness among the population. (IOC 2012) As the first developing country to host the Olympic Games, US$17 billion was invested on environment initiatives by China for the Games. China was not only to fulfil its original promises in the bid, but also to gain great achievement on environment sustainability (UNEP, 2009). Greenpeace has made a evaluation conducted that the BOCOG and the Beijing government had created a positive legacy in terms of environmental initiative for the city (Greenpeace, 2008). The Beijing Olympics made a great environmental achievements, therefore, the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau and BOCOG won the first-ever IOC Award for Sport and the Environment for Asia at the 8th World Conference on Sport and the Environment in Vancouver (Benjamin, 2009). According to Managing Business Ethics, Triple Bottom Line was defined as the impacts of economic, social and environmental (Trevino Nelson, 2011). The triple bottom lint of the sustainable development referred to the simultaneous pursuit of economic prosperity, environmental quality and social equity. Economic Impact The Olympics always help to improve not a city, but also a countrys economy. Such mega-event requires considerable investments in infrastructural developments, sports venues, and other types of industries. Therefore, these will bring both short term and long term effects on the chinas economy and publicity. Beijing reached its highest economic growth rate of 12.8 percent, a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of USD 6,331, and the fixed assets investment of USD 3.527 million in 2007. Based on the criteria issued by the World Bank, Beijings socio-economic development is graded on a world ranking in the range of the upper-middle level, recognizable for example by the increase of the average annual wage of 109.4 percent from 2001 to 2007. For the Infrastructure Projects, according to the Beijing Olympic Action Plan, Beijings total investment in Olympic-related projects is expected to reach USD $180 billion and is divided into three different elements. The first part was used in the Olympic competition venues and the related facilities; the second was spent on citys infrastructural development; the third part was invested in projects, such as environmental protection and transportation. One of the largest projects was the enlargement of Beijings international airport, which became one of the worlds top five busiest airports during the Olympic season. In order to meet the high demand of air transportation a new terminal is being constructed amounting to a value of USD 2.1 billion, which will be the worlds largest terminal with a direct connection to the downtown area in 15 minute intervals. With the Number 3 Terminal being completed in February 2008, the three terminals of the airport will have a future total annual handling capacity of approximately 82 million passengers. Beijing has spent USD 700 million on upgrading its public transportation system, in order to avoid the traffic conjunctions during normal or rush hours. There are several projects helped to ensure the Olympic tourists enjoyed an easy, fast and safe travel from one sporting event to another. Six new expressways will link the downtown area and the airport as well as other cities of China. Six new subway and light railway lines will allow for better travel connection. Additionally, several bus lanes have been introduced whereby, during rush hour, all vehicles except for public buses must keep clear. All construction sites were using environmentally friendly technologies and measures. For example, all old buses replaced with new ones that possess updated catalytic converters. Recommendation Beijing should push the industrial technology to a cleaner production. Renewable energy technology as solar lighting, geothermal heating and solar PV systems should be promoted widely during the Game. Smart design and energy efficient technologies must be used as the building standards for new buildings. Although the BOCOG has introduced environmentally friendly policies guidelines for construction or purchasing materials, because it is not mandatory, companies may not follow the guidelines. Environmental Impact Improve infrastructure to both run the 2008 Green Olympics needs, the need for sustainable development to achieve the capital. For the environmental aspects, the BOCOG had set a comprehensive framework in order to coordinate all the sustainability projects. BOCOG started in early 2002 to design an Environmental Management System (EMS) complying with the international standard ISO 14001. (UNEP, 2009) The ISO 14001 standard is to establish an organized approach to reduce the impact of the environmental aspects which an organization has under its control. This standard helps the organizations to minimize their operational negative impacts on the environment (for example, air, waste, water), and continually to improve their environmental performance. The Committee passed the ISO 14001 certification audit in September 2005 and one year later was also certified according to the new 2004 release of the standard. Beijing has launched a new vehicle emission standard to EURO IV for the Olympics in order to improve the air quality. This emission standard is the strictest standard in the world. During the Games, 20% of the Olympic venue electricity was purchased from wind power station which supplies with clean wind sources. The first Beijing wind power generation station can generate 100 million KHz of electricity per which, that means this capacity can meet 100,000 families demand. 27 air quality sampling stations were set up, in order to monitor the index of sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM10). 18 temporary sampling stations were added during the Olympic Games. The Beijing air quality was improved by these measures. The air pollution was decreased by 50 percent in 2008, and SO2, CO, NO2 and PM10 were decreased respectively by 30%, 12%, 32% and 32% compared to1998. Beijing has built 14 sewage treatment plants and put in operation. The sewage treatment capacity rise from 320 million cubic metres in 2001 to 800 million cubic metres in 2008 and sewage treatment rate increased from 38 per cent to 90 per cent during the same period. By 2008, 57%of the citys waste water had been treated and reused. In addition, the citys forest coverage of more than 51.6%, the green coverage rate reached more than 43% of the urban centers, and the nature reserve area of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹8.18% of the total area of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹the city. (United Nations Environment Programme, 2009) Recommendation Although the BOCOG has introduced the Olympic timber purchasing environment guidelines, they lose the opportunity to introduce the internationally recognizable timber purchasing policy, for example Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards for construction material. The landfill development and waste incineration were the failures, for Beijing to use as an opportunity of the Game to move towards a zero-waste policy. Although Beijing had launched many long term measures to improve the citys air quality, they used temporary measures, for example reduced the vehicle numbers and industrial production were shut down. To make sure that during the Game the air quality meets the standards. Beijing could launched more clean measures to other cities, in order to improve the air quality and the air quality will meet the standards in long term. Social Impact Education (United Nations Environment Programme, 2009) BOCOG focused its projects on raising awareness of the environment in both primary and secondary schools, thereby targeting the younger generation of Chinese. The major educational initiatives include: The Beijing 2008 Primary and Secondary School Olympic Education Programme This program was worked with the Ministry of Education, 0.4 billion students involved and the aim of this program is to establish the Olympic Model Schools (to teach, practice and promote the value of Olympic). This program encourages the students to live in an environmentally friendly way. 200 Beijing schools out of 556 were nominated as Olympic Model Schools. The Reserve a Barrel of Water this Summer Initiative This project carried out in the primary schools. The aim is to develop initiatives of water saving and to promote the importance of water saving. Communication (United Nations Environment Programme, 2009) BOCOG has developed several initiatives to spread the message of environmental values among the general public. Among the major projects, it is worth highlighting: The Green Community and Green Home Campaign The aim of this project is to raise the environmental awareness among Beijing families and communities, for example to reduce the using the water and energy saving, waste sorting and green consumption. The Campaign launched in Beijing and 886 communities were involved by the end of 2006. The One Day, No Engine Sounds Campaign This project aim to encourage Beijing citizens to use public transport more than private cars, and to raise their awareness about the air and noise pollution. 504 institutions joined the Campaign after this has launched. The Beijing Green Map Initiative The project was developed by BOCOG and the Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, encourages Beijing citizens to label the environmental and cultural facilities around the city. The Green Olympics, Green Action Team BOCOG was launched this team in 2004, and the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau to promote Olympic environmental values, sustainable development principles, good energy saving and water saving practices and environmental awareness in general. Lectures and promotion activities were hold by this team in different places, for example, in schools, factories, universities, libraries and communities Olympic sponsorship maker Coca-Cola and Samsung are each given a commitment to the environment. The Coca-Cola Company has committed that natural refrigerant was used by all Olympic venues freezers and vending machines, excluding the climate change will increase greenhouse gases HFCs (HFCs). Samsungs commitment that all Olympic series phones SGH-F268 phone will not contain toxic material polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominates flame retardants (BFR). Recommendation All the Olympics sponsors who using the refrigeration equipments such as Coca-Cola, McDonalds, etc, failed to seize the opportunity not to use hydrogen fluorocarbons (HFCs) natural refrigeration equipment. Electronic equipment sponsors, such as Lenovo and Panasonic missed this opportunity, as they failed to provide products which contain without polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominates flame retardants (BFRs) and other toxic substances. Conclusion Beijing should continue the successful achievements on environment after the Olympic Games. Beijing had developed mass transportation and to implement the environmental policies and regulations are encouraging signs that the government understand the environment more. The Greenpeace urges that when the Chinese cities are devising economic development policies, they should consider environmental protection. As China is one of the fast growing economies country in the world and now China is facing serious environmental challenges, the environmental achievements of the Beijing Olympics, especially the long term infrastructural improvements, need to be spread to other cities in china.

Their Eyes Were Watching God: Summary Essay -- essays research papers

Their Eyes Were Watching God: Summary   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A caterpillar crawls along a desolate branch. His many appendages grip the gray bark as he undulates his body along the path in the shade. Creeping steadily forward he is looking for the proper place suitable enough for him to change his identity. Upon finding a twig sprout where he can get bilateral support, he builds his cocoon. After his cocoon is finished the caterpillar crawls in for his metamorphosis. If one is to see a cocoon on a tree it does not resemble beauty, it is a bland piece of wound thread like material with a hole in the top. When one sees a butterfly they may look twice or stop what they are doing all together and chase it around following each of their sporadic movements as the hot sun illuminates and watches from above. Identity has changed. What once was a little ugly caterpillar that kids would go around squishing and people would flick from trees when given the chance, went on to be an ignored sack secured to branch. Nobody pays attention to the fact that beautiful butterflies are the results of these common eyesores. As the caterpillar grew older it matured and changed, from being stuck on land to airborne, from being ugly to beautiful, from being young to old. All living things mature, all things change, wherever time is a variable identities are changing. Janie is no different from these things, she too has a changing identity that can be traced throughout four...

Managerial Skills

Time is an important resource in an organization; and a manager has to concentrate on effectively handling this resource.   One of the biggest problems in an organization would be to manage the time allocated to complete the work.   Only a few managers are able to handle this resource effectively.   A manager would have to determine the time taken for each process to be completed.   He would then have to determine ways in which the processes can be speeded up, and the effects the process of speeding up the workflow would have on the quality and the staff members.The manager may have to allocated several resources to effectively handle time such as human resources, logistics, support systems, IT systems, etc.   He would also have to identify the factors responsible for wasting time including telephone calls, personal visitors, unnecessary meetings, chatting of the staff members, indecisive staff, procrastination, problem situations, crisis situations, lack of communication, lack of rest, stress, poor technical knowledge and skills, poor planning and strategic management, not having a proper assistant to perform work, etc.   The organization may also have to change its policies in order to better manage time.   The manager should ensure that the staff members are not stressed too much (Total Success, 2007).A pretest measurement would help to determine the baseline data, before any activity is conducted.   It can be later compared to the posttest measurement.   The results would demonstrate the effectiveness of the activity.   In this way the manager would be studying the effectiveness of the activity.   Before a manager has a time management system in place, he would have to conduct a test to determine the baseline data (SBU, 2007).  A good pretest tool would be a questionnaire given to each staff member of how they manage time.   This is a good example of a pretest tool (SBU, 2007): –1. Time spend on sleeping:2. Time spend on per sonal hygiene3. Time spend on cooking/eating:4. Time taken to travel:5. Actual time spend in the office:6.   Time spend to complete one unit of work7.   Actual time allocated to complete the work:8.   Quality standards achieved:9.  Ã‚   Quality standards required:10.   Time spend in the office doing personal work:11.   Ways in which the time gets wasted:The staff members could also use a time used chart, in which every alternate hour or so they would enter the activity preformed (UMD, 2006): –The management can improve the time management using several strategies: –Having a strong plan in mind.   The manager should ensure he takes into consideration the resources available and the processes that would be involved during the performance of work. Using interactive software tools that can help the staff members to identify what has to be done, and within what amount of time it should be completed. Managers can have certain schedulers to help them plan the pe rformance of tasks and even use of hardware devices.Managers and the staff member should effectively complete the task at that particular moment than wait and keep it pending.   In this way procrastination can also be reduced. Focusing and concentrating on the tasks.   The staff members should be constantly prompted of the targets that have to be achieved.The manager should plan on short-term goals, which would effectively be in line with the long-term goals. Using assistants to perform the less important task, effectively saving the time of the staff member. Prioritizing the work that has to be performed and given importance.  Having activity logs and submitting work reports (Sonic, 2002 & Total Success, 2007)After implementing the time management improvement techniques, the manager would have to use same test tools.The results obtained should be determined.   This should be compared to the pretest data.   The effectiveness of the managerial skills in bringing about appro priate time management can be determined.References:Mind Tools (2007), Time Management, Retrieved on September 29, 2007, from Mind Tools Web site: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/main/newMN_HTE.htm?Sonic (2002), Time Management Tools, Retrieved on September 29, 2007, from Sonic Web site: http://sonic.net/~mfreeman/time.htmTotal Success (2007), Time Management Manage yourself, not your time, Retrieved on September 29, 2007, from Total Success Web site: http://www.tsuccess.dircon.co.uk/timemanagementtips.htmUniversity of Minnesota Duluth (2006), Time Use Chart, Retrieved on September 29, 2007, from UMD Web site: http://www.d.umn.edu/kmc/student/loon/acad/strat/time_use_chart.html

Companies should spend money on improving the work skills of their employees Essay

Companies should spend money on improving the work skills of their employees as it is to be seen from the leading top businesses that this will result in high success. Firstly, the more investment is made in improving a certain aspect, better results follow. By spending money on improving the skills, it will allow more productive workers making the production rate efficient which all leads to increasing profit. The word â€Å"skill† is quite broad since it could be any kind of skill and it will all differ for the employees depending on which position they are in the company. This can also bring the company a good image. Example, the skills of marketing in a company are to comprehend with the customer to satisfy them. By learning these skills, they may pass on the positive energy to the customers leading to word of mouth and Increase Company’s reputation. Secondly, it will be a lot more financially beneficial to develop current workers than to bring skilled workers from outside. It can also bring the company a bad atmosphere and less bonding which is a negative factor as bonding is important between each worker to work as a team to produce goods or services. Example, it will create much better synergy for the teams to help develop skills together than to have one of their fellow worker get fired and have one replace the place. Thirdly, it will improve personal skills and confidence. By obtaining the extra skills it will almost immediately increase the confidence of the worker allowing the worker to even perform well in their personal life. These personal skills may also help the unstable society where anything can happen the next day. Example, this worker who may have been trained and have improved skill of comprehending, can help talk to a person who is trying to suicide in the middle of the street. The worker can persuade the person not to jump off the bridge with their ability to persuade or talk well who dealt with A/S problems in a company. To conclude, for the aforementioned reasons, any kind of training that may benefit a worker’s ability to complete their job is highly likely to be beneficial.