The Cultural Homogenisation And Heterogenisation Cultural Studies Essay

The Cultural Homogenisation And Heterogenisation Cultural Studies Essay Taking a unilayered view on culture can easily result in limited equations such as homogenisation does not equal homogenisation, since homogenisation evokes heterogenisation, and both processes are occurring at the same time. Yet, by using Rams concept (2004) of the one-way institutional homogenisation and two-way symbolic heterogenisation level enables us to differentiate where homogenisation and heterogenisation are taking place. Lets consider some examples to grasp this concept. In Rams example, Falafel, Israels national dish, which was on its demise, experienced a renaissance through the arrival of hamburgers. He argues that McDonaldisation represents homogenisation on the institutional level (victory of foreign culture) and the renaissance of falafel represents heterogenisation on the symbolic level (victory of local culture). The examples of the tattoo culture in Japan (Yamada, 2009), and the Toraja culture (Volkman, 1984) exhibit a similar pattern. In the Japanese culture, tat toos have long been appreciated, particularly since earlier beginnings of the mid 18th century, when so called full body suits tattooing started. This culture has been evident in the population groups of lovers, geishas, prostitutes, and criminals. Yet, the Meiji Restauration in 1868 led to Westernisation and changed Japanese attitudes towards tattoos. What was initially viewed as spiritual and stylish suddenly changed to be viewed as abhorrent. Japanese tattoo culture, however, experienced a renaissance through incorporating American one point tattoos. In the case of the Toraja, an ethnic group in Indonesia, lengthy funeral ceremonies experienced a revival. Through improvement in mobility, thousands of Torajans immigrated to Massakar and other places in the 1930s to find jobs. Most of them were open-minded, well-educated young people that had converted into Christianity. When they came back to Toraja they did not try to eradicate traditional funeral practises and replace them with Christian or more cosmopolitan values, in the contrary they were the main promoters to revive the tradition. It is important to understand that the above mentioned revivals did not merely bring back a dying tradition. However, they brought back an old tradition with redefined meanings. This is particularly evident in the case of falafel, which lost its unique taste, is nowadays served indoor, and produced in a standardised manner. Therefore, the feelings attached to buying a falafel are very likely to have changed compared to 50 years ago. Furthermore, one-point tattoos do not bear the same spiritual meaning as full body suits tattoos, and funeral ceremonies in Toraja are nowadays more a practice to attract tourists, and showing off wealth. Put simply, they lost its spiritual meaning and authenticity. Rams concept is a very useful, differentiated concept for understanding the forces that shape cultural homogenisation and heterogenisation. Nevertheless, it is limited in its assumption that homogenisation on the institutional level is a one-way street (Ram, 2004, p. 24). Yet, it is much more a two-way street with different proportions of power as the expressive symbolic level (ibid., p. 23). Polarisation Contemporary scholars such as Appadurai (2006) and Lieber Weisberg (2002) question Samuel Huningtons theory of Clash of Civilisations. Appadurai claims that the theory is flawed since it leaves only geography, instead of emphasising ideology. He therefore suggests renaming the polarisation theory into Clash of Ideocide. Furthermore, Lieber Weisberg argue that the clash is rather within than between cultures. I prefer Appadurais, Lieber, and Weisbergs views, because they shifted the topic from the ethnic to an ideological level and acknowledge deterritorialisation, which will be discussed in the next section. Even though, Huningtons concept is flawed, he might be correct with his notion of polarisation. As an example let us consider Axelrods (1997) experiment in the field of cultural convergence, which contributed to shed some light on this debate. He developed a mathematical model, which he used to find out how many stable homogenised states remain at the end of the experiment (a r un). His model is based on the assumption that the more similar cultures are to each other, the more likely they will eventually homogenise. The number of stable homogenised regions at the end differed depending on the run. His findings indicate amongst others that polarisation increased the more cultural features (cultural dimensions) were used, because of the higher probability of being similar on one of the features. However, the more traits were attached to a feature the more stable homogenised states resulted at the end, meaning less polarisation. For instance, a feature could be the language people speak, and the traits the various alternative languages that might be spoken in that particular state. This model, however, has its limitations like any other model. In my opinion, the model correctly assumes that similar cultures are more likely to become homogenised. But it lacks to consider the inverse effect of heterogenisation, which we could observe in the examples of falafel, Toraja, and tattoo culture. Additionally, his attempt to simulate interconnectedness resulted in regional- rather than global interconnectedness. Nevertheless, the experiment demonstrates that polarisation can take place under certain conditions, and that the outcome of polarisation is ambiguous. This supports the transformalists view that the massive shake out, caused by globalisation, remains uncertain (Giddens, 1996). It is doubtful that cultures become polarised at an ideological level, as individuals have the desire to distinguish themselves from others by nature (Axelrod, 1997). However, it is conceivable that future events, which people associate with religion, could indeed lead to a Clash of Ideocide, leaving two or three clear distinguishable, unharmonisable, and antagonised cultures. Complexity of measuring culture Even though, plenty of research has been done in the field of measuring cultures, e.g. by Trompenaar and Hampden-Turner (2008) or Geert Hofstede (2003), present studies provide us with limited results. To think that we can measure cultures rests on the assumption that there is in any case a definable, lived national culture(Held, 1999, p. 369). Yet, being British or American does not define who you are: It is part of who you are (Legrain, 2003, p. 6). Furthermore, societies do not share values and interests. They are rather contradicting social structures, which are constantly trying to find compromises (Castells, 2009). The phenomenon of deterritorialisation is also particularly making it difficult to determine the trajectory of globalisation. This concept represents the uncoupling of territory and culture through world interconnectedness (Held, 1999). A few clicks suffice to connect with the world and get exposed to the foreign. However, according to Wolfgang Welschs concept of Transculturality (1999) there is nothing absolutely foreign anymore, since everything is within reach. A notion which is in accordance with Appadurais view that there is no distinct we and they anymore (2006). Yet, foreign cultures are not within reach for everyone. There exist huge inequalities between countries and within societies when it comes to internet access (Held, 1999; ITU, 2009). In this context one could ask to which extent the not-haves influence the countrys elite, which is connected to the world? And how much do foreign television programmes and homepages influence a society? To answer this question one could utilise Giulianotti and Robertsons concept regarding migration strategies (2007). It assumes that individuals use strategies to either accept or reject foreign ideas and practices. Taking that as a basis, we can conclude that individuals do not passively absorb foreign cultural traits. They either actively absorb them because of preference or convenience or actively reject them. Lets consider an example to illustrate the complexity of this subject. Think of a Norwegian businessperson who newly drinks coffee at Starbucks in Oslo. Does that tell us how American he has become, if at all? Did the meaning he attaches to coffee change in any way? From this example it should get clear that by only analysing hard facts, such as counting the number of McDonalds, BMWs, Swiss Watches, etc. in a country cannot give us a comprehensive answer of how homogenised cultures are. However, it is beyond doubt that the explicit cultural layer is influencing the implicit one; the question is rather to whi ch extent. To determine the magnitude of this influence is indeed a tough nut to crack. As we discussed earlier in this section, societies are contradicting social structures comprising people with different cultures. Therefore, one can assume that different personalities take different decisions in rejecting and accepting foreign cultural traits. Lets assume an example of a French citizen that regards himself as cosmopolitan, speaks seven languages, travels around the world but is fighting in the front line for rigorous migration policies in his country. In this case he welcomes global cultural flows to France, with the exception of unqualified immigrants and refugees, which make part of the ethnoscape one of Appadurais five cultural flows (Appadurai, 2002). In contrast, another French citizen might feel responsible to help those people in need, however, might reject any foreign ideology that is not in accordance with his religious view. Who in this case is now the cosmopolitan and who is the heartlander (Goh, 1999)? This favouritism towards particular types of global isation flows is also evident in the example of the Israeli businessperson Ezer Weizman. He was a renowned car importer with strong business connections to the US. Yet, he fought at the forefront against the three Ms: McDonalds, Michael Jackson and Madona (Ram, 2004, p. 18). The same particularistic behaviour shows the Indian elite that basically hates American lifestyle, however, sends their children to US universities and tries to pursue the American dream (Appadurai, 2006). In the Middle-East this phenomenon is called Muslim schizophrenia (Lieber Weisberg, 2002). The final example to illustrate my point, uses the case of the Russian youth who welcomes technological advances such as iPods but does not want to emulate the spiritual nature of American lifestyle (Macgregor, 2008). Conclusion This essay demonstrated the complexity of this topic and showed that polarisation, homogenisation, and heterogenisation are simultaneously shaping contemporary society. I therefore support the view of the transformalists who believe that the direction of the shake out, caused by globalisation, remains uncertain. Nevertheless, we might ask which concept is more prevalent in contemporary society. In my opinion it is homogenisation, since the homogenisation process on the structural level is very intense and the heterogenisation process, like Ram stated, rather symbolic. The homogenisation process is mainly driven by communication technology, education, human rights culture, business attempt to eliminate difference, and the desire to increase efficiency through latest technology. It can be expected that those drivers of homogenisation will continue to shape society in the future. Homogenisation, however, will neither reach its pure form nor remain static, as people want to distinguish themselves by nature and will actively reject foreign cultures. At this point, I want to emphasise that the homogenisation trend might shift in some decades towards a dominance of heterogenisation or polarisation. Issues like climate change, wars, shifts in economic and political power, and dramatic events that people associate with religion could have unpredictable outcomes.

Coaching & Leading Essay

One of the major findings of studies on creativity and is that creativity and inspiration are very much correlated with â€Å"intrinsic motivation†, for example, if a person is enjoying what he/she is doing, the person is likely to be highly inspired and creative that when such a person is working so as to attain something else. For instance McGuinness (2007) explains that, Anne Sexton a poet told her producer that though she would like to make lots of money through writing poems, she needs to â€Å"forget everything about money’ so as to really write the poems. Coaching has been known to facilitate intrinsic motivation and inspiration through asking questions and giving observational feedback in a manner that assists those being coached (coachees) to focus on the immediate task. Timothy Galway author of The Inner Game of Tennis: Random House said that, â€Å"it did not appear to matter if he praised or criticized his tennis players, since both of these has a negative impact on the game† (p, 32). Even a well intended praise resulted in the player loss concentration, because the player started judging him/her self and hope that their subsequent shot would be great as the past one. Thus, Gallwey (1997) stopped praising the players. Inspiration and creative flow At its highest, intrinsic inspiration and absorption in inspired work can result to creative flow, which is described by McGuinness (2007) as a nearly automatic, natural, yet greatly state of awareness. Creative flow in a person mind results in peak performance of that person. Coaching is attributed to creating this inspiration that results in creative flow. Individuality (enabling others) Creative individuals are notably idiosyncratic, to them; there is no ‘correct way’ or ‘best practice’ in inventive work. Coaching generally helps in advancing the individuality of a person and enabling him reach his/her peak performance and abilities though guidance and encouragement from the leader (McGuinness, 2007). This can also be done through balancing skills and challenges, the leader can match the task o be performed with the abilities of the employees, through coaching or training these employees can be assisted to overcome their weakness. Goal setting Goals are fundamental to coaching; it has asserted that without any goal, then the leader will not be coaching effectively. For any particular task or assignment, the leader should make sure that goals set are well understood by those involved, and the goals are well balanced between inspiring task and measurable achievement. Crane (2007) note that goal setting is able to inspire an employee. No worry in failing: Empowering Coaching operates on the presumption that it’s fine to make errors, as long as these errors serve as experiences and lessons to the person. Through providing correct feedbacks about the performance of a person and demanding that the person learns for his/her errors, the leader ensures makes sure that failures are reduced and become less repeated and less serious. Through creating a responsible but supportive atmosphere, the leader assist his/her people to spend little time being worried about failing and more time endeavouring for excellence. This Crane (2007) explains is the way coaching empowers employees. The affect and influence of diversity on coaching Pohlman and Gardiner (2000) explain that, business leaders and managers are also part of the wider society and have to deal with challenges brought by diversity in their organizations. Those leaders and managers that are well prepared to deal with these challenges and exploit advantages of diversity will probably be successful by being effectual coaches in a diverse organization. Discriminatory practices are common within the society and, sometimes, these practices emerge in the workplace which could cause critical challenges for leaders and managers. Unjust issues of discrimination usually stem from societal prejudices, stereotypes as well as propaganda. Rather, than carrying on societal prejudices and treating employees unjustly based on the stereotypes and propaganda, business leaders and managers can use leadership and coaching the responds to the diversity by focusing on performance of each group and developing them progressively on the basis of their level of willingness to assume new responsibilities. As Pohlman and Gardiner (2000) asserts diversity cam lead to disaster with advancement programs like coaching and mentoring, the advancement programs such as mentoring and coaching are all an element of work performance and lack of understanding of diversity‘s affect on these processes, including who is being coached and who is coaching him/her, can influence the performance of workers. The issue of diversity requires that coaches examine a person beliefs and values together with understanding the skills that are required to suitably deal with these beliefs and values. Parsloe and Wray (2000) assert that, diversity just like communication is a reality in modern organizations. It is real and permanent; therefore its acceptance is a prerequisite of life if a coach is operate effectively in a coaching situation. Diversity makes work place to be more lively, interesting and less boring. At the same time it makes the coaching experience to be more challenging and very unpredictable. As Parsloe and Wray (2000) observes, it is common for coaches to be become upset by individuals’ actions, attitudes and general behaviours in a diverse work teams and group environment in present day workforce. Some of those actions, attitudes and behaviours nay make the coach or the leader or even other workers uncomfortable since they challenge their strongly held beliefs and values, which have been cemented in their subconscious minds over many years. Since a lot of organizations attempt to improve their productivity as well as competencies against their rivals, one tendency is attempting to cultivate a learning culture in their businesses. In order to attain this attempt, the leaders’ role ought to be transformed to developmental coach or leader who focuses much more on supporting workers to learn and make improvement to their competencies and motivation. To be highly successful in managing a diverse workforce, leaders involved in coaching must lead through incorporating coaching models and effective communication. Leaders should not just be conscious of their leading styles and adapt properly to employees willingness but must be conscious of their won individual traits regarding communication with their employees, this will strongly influence and establish their style of coaching. In a diverse setting Parsloe and Wray (2000) explain that the there are four coaching styles that can be adapted by the leader: †¢ Senser: the leader focuses on action and getting directly to the point †¢ Intuitor: the leader coaches the diverse group by sharing ideas, theories and concepts, and through motivating and inspiring focusing on the future. †¢ Feeler: the leader provides support and attention to the group and talks about the past †¢ Thinker: here the leader stays focused on rules, facts information and stipulated processes The coach has to comprehend emotional intelligence and strive to increase the performance of diverse workforce through self-conscious and being ware of his/her coaching style when leading.

Calvin Klein – Brand Audit Questionnaire

Brand Exploratory Research (Consumer perspective) By doing this research, we intend to find the health of the brand, its sources of equity and suggest improvements if any. Name: Age: Gender: How often do you purchase dresses of the brand Calvin Klein? a. < 4 months b. 4-6 months c. 6-10 months d. Once a year e. Other How would you rate the following brand personality elements associated with Calvin Klein Products? (1-lowest and 5-highest) Brand Element| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| Authentic| | | | | | Excitement| | | | | |Freshness| | | | | | Rich| | | | | | Ruggedness| | | | | | Stylish| | | | | | Smooth | | | | | | Happiness| | | | | | Status symbol| | | | | | Successful| | | | | | Variety| | | | | | Rate the following products of Calvin Klein according to your perception of like/dislike (1-lowest & 5-highest) Product Name| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| Calvin Klein Collection| | | | | | Jeans| | | | | | Kids Wear| | | | | | Footwear & Shoes| | | | | | Perfumes/fragrances| | | | | | Skinny Jeans| | | | | | Underwear| | | | | |Swimwear| | | | | | Suits| | | | | | Polo T-shirt| | | | | | Accessories (handbags, belts, scarves, umbrella)| | | | | | When you think about the Calvin Klein, what product category immediately comes to mind? a. Calvin Klein collections b. Calvin Klein Menswear c. Calvin Klein Women Wear d. Calvin Klein Kids Wear e. Calvin Klein Sportswear What are the brand promotion elements that you have helped you identify Calvin Klein brand? Brand Element| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| Logo| | | | | | Tagline/Slogan| | | | | |Television Advertisements| | | | | | CK Symbol| | | | | | Celebrities| | | | | | Online store/Website| | | | | | Billboards| | | | | | QR Codes| | | | | | Please choose a brand that you believe best describes each quality. Choose none if you feel none of the choice apply Trait| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| Cool| | | | | | Young| | | | | | Contemporary| | | | | | Trendy| | | | | | Charming| | | | | | Upper class| | | | | | Friendly| | | | | | Glamorous | | | | | | Masculine | | | | | | Feminine| | | | | | Wholesome| | | | | |Confidence| | | | | | Cheerful| | | | | | Corporate| | | | | | What is your annual income? a. < 3 lakhs b. 3 to 6 lakhs c. 6 to 10 lakhs d. 10 to 15 lakhs e. > 15 lakhs When you think about your favourite brand of Calvin Klein, does this brand remind you of a person? a. Yes b. No Who makes the majority of purchasing decisions in your household? a. Spouse b. Yourself c. Joint decision d. Other How do you find out the latest product in the market? a. Fashion Magazines b. Television c. Internet d. Shopping Store e. Others

The Importance of Sit-Ins to the Black Civil Rights...

Civil disobedience was key in the pursuit of equality for African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement. Through forms of peaceful protest, African Americans were able to bring to light the socio-economic inequalities they faced and forced the government and general public to do something about it. Sit-ins, one method of practicing civil disobedience, took root in the early 1960s and quickly became a popular and effective form of peaceful protest. James Baldwin makes a very brief note of sit-ins in his essay â€Å"Down at the Cross†. Its brief mention is probably due to the time at which the essay was written, just before sit-ins became a national phenomenon. At first glance, one may think that Baldwin doesn‘t think†¦show more content†¦The popularity of sit-ins can be reflected in the involvement of the N.A.A.C.P. (The National Association of the Advancement of Colored People). An article published by the New York Times talks about planned demonst rations that will occur in New York City which will be headed by the N.A.A.C.P (Robinson 54). This example shows how large the movement had become by summer 1961 because a nationally recognized organization was already actively involved in demonstrating. Another article, printed in late 1961, reports that the national director of the Congress of Racial Equality would begin planned sit-ins nation wide, with a focus in the South and the Midwest (â€Å"Negroes to Broaden† 18). This again proves how effective sit-ins were because a nationally recognized organization was taking the movement and organizing a nation wide effort to end discrimination. Apparently, the sit-in movement was a great success and could not have come at a better time. For Baldwin to not mention or give sufficient credit to the movement is something that must be examined. 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