Monday, January 27, 2020

To which extent do host country effects influence HRM

To which extent do host country effects influence HRM In the past century, globalisation became a buzzword. The economy growth entailed workplaces and standards of living. National based companies became multinational companies, which included a change in the old fashioned way of doing business. Nowadays, companies have to face the local needs of different countries while focusing on the companys global goals. Finding the right mix of these two forces is one of the main challenges for the Human Resource (HR) management department of a multinational company. Discussion Facts about cultural differences There are different ways of responding to the local needs of different countries. Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) are companies which have mostly autonomic subsidiaries in their operating countries. These subsidiaries work independent and are so called stand-alone businesses. They want to satisfy local needs and address the customers directly. However, MNEs are still influenced by the parent company, but, vice versa, the subsidiary also affects its parent company (institutional effects). Multinational companies have a high responsiveness and a low global efficiency (Snell Bohlander, 2007). The high responsiveness affects the Human Resource department of a company. The main challenge for the HR department in a multinational enterprise is to find the balance of global standardization and localization. Global standardization mainly focuses on the companys culture and its strategy and structure, which finally leads to its goals. Localization is more concerned on the host country itself including cultural and institutional environment. Both modes deal with the firm size and maturity (Zagelmeyer, 2010). The cultural environment of a country consists of the education, social structure, values and ideologies, communication, and religion (Snell Bohlander, 2007). These factors are very important for company decisions. Therefore, it is the task of the Human Resource departments to face the five factors, which are defined by Geert Hofstede: 1 Power distance, which deals with how power is distributed in a country and how the inhabitants accept this distribution. 2 Uncertainty avoidance, which is about how uncertainty is tolerated in a country. 3 Masculinity describes the role of genders in a country. 4 Individualism examines to which extent people are integrated into a group. 5 Long-term orientation is about the degree to which people plan and consider the future and how important values and traditions are for them (Nevins, Bearden Money, 2006). Other factors which influence cultural differences are: 6 Human orientation which refers to the degree to which inhabitants of a country are fair, altruistic, generous, caring and kind to others (Zagelmeyer, 2010). 7 Assertiveness is about the degree to which inhabitants are assertive, confrontational and aggressive in the relation with others. 8 Future orientation, to which degree people behave future oriented. 9 Performance orientation discusses to which degree people are able to receive and give performance outcomes analyses (Zagelmeyer 2010). Impact of cultural and institutional differences on HRM All these nine factors define the culture of a country and the company operating in this country and therefore Human Resource management should adapt when needed. To get a closer understanding of how these factors influence Human Resource management, we have to analyze its different practices. It starts with recruitment and selection. In countries like the United States, the Human Resource departments look for employees who are able to work in a collectivistic work environment. Team players are highly wanted. Here, collectivism plays a major role whilst it is the opposite in countries like China as these societies are low in group-collectivism (Zagelmeyer, 2010). The Human Resource department would look for someone who is able to accept decisions and rules from above without questioning them. Past individual achievements are very important for job selections in individualistic countries. The different education systems (public and private) also influence the recruitment and selection process. This also affects the training and development practice, which is another Human Resource management task. The challenge is to find the right mix of masculinity in a country. In some countries like the United Kingdom it is normal that women are in high positions, whilst other countries like Japan do not accept females in such an extent. The compensation of employees also differs from country to country. The main task for HR is to find the balance between a fixed- or a performance-based salary depending on the uncertainty levels of the host country. High on uncertainty avoidance implies that employees tend to prefer a fixed salary and in societies with low on uncertainty avoidance, employees are more risk tolerated and therefore accept performance-based salary like bonus payments (Zagelmeyer, 2010). Countries with high uncertainty avoidance are for example Russia and Japan, which stand in contrast to countries like Sweden and Great Britain. The institutional effects are influenced by state regulations such as minimum wages, which HR has to take into consideration, too. The last Human Resource management assignment is about task completion. In this tool, collectivism versus individualism plays a major role. In a country like the United States, tasks are often completed in groups where teamwork is very important. In China, this is rather unusual as individual performance is much more important. In terms of the institutional context, this means that tasks are gender divided according to the host country. These are just some examples how host countries effects influence Human Resource management. These examples show that there is a high effect on Human Resource management, especially if countries differ in their dimensions. Generally, it is easier for a parent company to open a subsidiary in a country with similar cultures, traditions and regulations. Conclusion Nowadays, companies have to go abroad to stay competitive, and therefore a country analysis like the one made by Geert Hofstede can help to identify potential conflicts and define different approaches to individual tasks. However, one has to say that the effect of a host country towards Human Resource management is huge and comprises a high degree of potential conflicts but nevertheless there are many ways to balance these issues. As mentioned above, finding the right mix between companys interests and cultural awareness is crucial to survive in a globalized world.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Hamlet’s First Soliloquy

Hamlet’s soliloquy in Act I Scene 2 is the first time that the reader fully understands Hamlet’s character, his inner thoughts and opinions. The general tone of this soliloquy is very personal and emotional revealing Hamlet’s despair over the current situation and his depressing state of mind. It sets the stage for the rest of the story, being Hamlet’s hatred of Claudius and resentment of his mother. Previous to this soliloquy we learn that King Hamlet’s brother, Claudius, has become the new king of Denmark by entering into an incestuous marriage with Queen Gertrude, the late king’s wife. Claudius has made a grandiose, eloquent speech presenting him and his wife to the court, manipulating and distracting his audience from the abnormality of the situation. Hamlet, naturally still mourning his father’s death, is shocked by how quickly everyone has forgotten and refuses to play along with Claudius’ show. Hamlet interrupts the speech with snide, witty comments like, â€Å"a little more than kin and less than kind,† addressing the unnatural relationship that him and Claudius now have. The King and Queen turn to Hamlet and encourage him to get over father’s death and to stay in Denmark under the pretense of loving him. When Hamlet again interrupts with spiteful words against both his mother and Claudius, Claudius publicly humiliates Hamlet by making a speech, highlighting the reasons why Hamlet cannot be king. Instead of refuting Claudius, Hamlet becomes compliant to his mother’s wishes and agrees to stay in Denmark. Shakespeare utilizes situational irony at this point in the story where once Hamlet is left alone we expect him to explode into anger, but instead he falls into a passive state of self-pitying. â€Å"O, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew. In this line Hamlet expresses his desire to commit suicide which alerts the reader to his depressive state. The way in which he describes the act as â€Å"melting† also alerts us to his sedentary disposition, in that even the taking of one’s own life is inactive. In the next line Hamlet informs us that he cannot commit suicide because of his religious views. â€Å"Or that the Everlas ting had not fixed his canon ’gainst self-slaughter! † Hamlets inability to commit a sin shows us that he has a high moral standing and an air of innocence. In this soliloquy Hamlet is deeply conflicted and unable to resolve to commit himself to a course of action as is seen through his cyclical thought process. Hamlet employs many allusions within this soliloquy to make a comparison between Hamlet Sr. and Claudius. Hamlet uses mythological characters to compare his father to Claudius saying that â€Å"So excellent a king that was to this Hyperion to a satyr; so loving to my mother that he might not beteem the winds of heaven visit her face to roughly. Hamlet believes that comparing his father to Claudius is like comparing Hyperion, the Titan God of Light to a half-man, half goat. Through this analogy we realize that Hamlet has a very idealized view of not only his father but also Hamlet Sr. and Gertrude’s marriage. This builds in him a resentment of Gertrude for so easily moving on and an even greater hatred of Claudius for corrupting his mother. Hamlet then goes on to contrast his father and Claudius by comparing himself to Her cules, unintentionally associating himself with Claudius. My father’s brother, but no more like my father than I to Hercules. † This line further shows the deterioration of Hamlet’s self-image. Hamlet’s first soliloquy helps the reader to understand the source of Hamlet’s action throughout the rest of the play. It introduces his self-destructive ways and tendency to refrain from acting. It also introduces a later recurrence of Hamlet’s deep disturbance of his mother and Claudius’ relationship.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

The Rise of Tablet Computers

THE RISE OF TABLET COMPUTERS In today’s digital world, tablet computers are the leading mobile devices for daily usage. Eagerness for buying a tablet is spreading around the world. In subways, in restaurants more and more people are seen with a tablet in the hand. Some of them play games, some navigate through the Internet. Today, most people prefer to buy a tablet computer instead of a notebook or netbook. The question is why people buy tablets? They are not cheap, relative to their notebook and netbook equivalents. They cannot perform all the functions of a typical computer.Is the key of tablet computers’ success efficiency or marketing strategies and competition? I guess both of these are important factors in the success of tablet computers. The main reason why people buy tablet computers is the efficiency factor of tablets. Tablets are easy to use, they are lightweight and they consume small amount of space. They have touchscreens and they open instantly. People jus t take it out and do what they need to. Many people think that a tablet computer is the ultimate all-around mobile device. Tablets can do whatever users want.Entertainment, business and Internet features in the same device are attracting people towards tablets. It is safe to say that in near future, tablets are going to overthrow the dominant handheld gaming consoles such as Nintendo 3DS and Sony PS Vita. Tablets feature a lot of easy and addictive games and network support for them. These little games are usually free or they cost so low, such as 1 dollar. The worldwide phenomenon Angry Birds costs a dollar for the end user and the sales figures show that this game sold over 160 million on all platforms.This example shows that many people love low-cost and addictive games on tablets. Other than games, tablet computer users can be entertained by watching movies on their tablets. Today’s tablets usually offer high resolution displays, so watching movies on a tablet computer is a pleasurable experience for many users. Another important thing is the business purposes of tablets. Many business people buy a tablet for doing business on the go. These business people can check their e-mail, check business related information on the Internet or have a video conference.Users can even write, edit and read text documents on tablets. The last big feature of tablets that it brings the whole Internet to the user. Portable Internet is the biggest need of daily life in today’s world. People do everything on Internet. Watching YouTube videos, updating your status on Facebook and Twitting becomes simple when you have a tablet. Users can navigate through the Internet as they are at home. Proliferation of public wireless networks makes free Internet access possible from nearly everywhere such as cafes, malls and buses.All these things make a tablet computer the most efficient technologic device in the market. Tablets bring functionality and compactness together. Tha t’s one answer to the initial question: â€Å"How it sells a lot? † Every company can make a revolutionary product. The important thing is for this company is the ability of selling it. Today, there is a tablet market thanks to Apple. Apple is a great company with great products and they have a lot of marketing geniuses in their company. One day, Apple made a product called the Apple iPad. It really was revolutionary. It was the first modern tablet computer.Because of it was a new technology, it had missing essential features like multitasking, Adobe Flash support and a camera. Even though these lack of features, iPad became a hit. Who made it a hit? One of the most experienced marketing experts in the sector and an influential CEO, Steve Jobs was the key to the popularity of iPad. His â€Å"reality distortion field† once again proved itself. What did Apple do after the first iPad? They produced a successor, Apple iPad 2. It had a retina display and some other t hings as new features. But there was no sign of a real evolution in iPad 2 except a camera, multitasking and a couple of things.IPad 2 wasn’t real different from its predecessor. IPad 1 was released at March 28, 2010 and iPad 2 was released at March 25, 2011 but even fresh iPad 1 owners buy iPad 2. It eventually had a bigger success than iPad 1. After iPad 2-mania, Apple recently introduced The New iPad, a. k. a. iPad 3 to the market. It offered even better improvements to its predecessor, but some reviewers are still not satisfied by the improvements that have been done. For example, Apple didn’t introduce a 128 GB version, didn’t make a new design and didn’t integrate Siri which was highly anticipated by the end user.Besides just not meeting the expectancies, The New iPad actually degenerated in some way. It was heavier than its predecessor about an ounce. Knowing that it has a lot of new features that consume more power such as Retina display, better c ameras and a faster processor, it is obvious that it needs a bigger battery to keep the battery life same. An ounce is not a big difference but it is significant because it shows that Apple’s Research & Development department is not really focusing on the â€Å"Development† part especially in hardware. Apple engineers are capable of doing better.From this example, it can be understood that marketing strategies helped the tablet market to grow. Other thing which helped the market to grow was competition. Rival companies of Apple started to produce their own tablet computers instantly after witnessing the success of the first iPad. Those tablets exploited missing features of iPads such as third party software support and deeper customization. A lot of companies produced tablets similar to iPad. The main rivals of Apple are RIM, Samsung and ASUS. With all these options, the market grew exponentially and tablets became available for a wide range of users.It is importan t to deliver a new product to a lot of people. Cheaper tablets made this easier. And in total, tablet computer sales got closer to notebook and netbook sales. In conclusion, some key factors like efficiency, marketing strategy and competition helped the tablet market become what it is today. People are tending to buy a tablet in these days because of the easiness of use in daily life and such things. It is not hard to see that also marketing strategies confuse the users and make them buy tablets. In near future, more and more tablets are going to be sold and tablets will dominate the mobile device market.

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Literacy Is Not Just A Term, It s An Existence - 797 Words

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