Philosophy †Religion Essay

Explain and illustrate two criticisms of the claims that the universe shows design Many philosophers have suggested that world shows design to the extent that there can be no other conclusion other than there is a God who created it. This argument has come to be known as the teleological argument (from the Greek ‘telos’ meaning ‘purpose’). The argument is an inductive one, a posterior (knowledge gained from experience) and is put forward to prove the existence of God. Design can refer to qua regularity and qua purpose. The former focuses on order and regularity in the world and the latter focuses on purpose and beauty but does this hold up to scrutiny? One criticisms was put forward by Hume in his Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion says that there is no evidence for order in the world. In fact the evidence given seems to suggest an evil creator; the arbitrary destruction in the world that affects everyone included innocents seems to suggest that there is no design or order in the world. Tsunamis, hurricanes and earthquakes can all be cited in Hume’s attack. This is made even more apparent from the fact that modern physics isn’t as ordered as the predominant supporter of the design argument, William Paley. Paley gave examples such as the planets and seasons and even gives backing from science saying that Newton’s laws govern the very body of nature. However this has been proved to be wrong by Princeton University and their study called ‘The Dome’, the study in itself shows that Newton’s law’s are non-deterministic meaning that a ball can drop from any apex (as did in the experiment) without a cause. This shows that even science isn’t ordered as Paley made out. Another criticism is which is also put forward by Hume is that Paley’s argument (that there is, indeed, design in the world) is that this is a disanalogy. Paley gave the example of watch stating that it had purpose (it could tell us the time), regularity (evident through second, hour and minute hand) and design (the mechanisms) and he claims that this is analogous to the world. However this is a clear disanalogy according to Hume; for we have experience of watches and we know that they have designers and thus know that they must be designed, we can not however say the same for the universe, as we only have one and we are contained within it. If we were transcendent and had access to more than one universe or even if we had witnessed them being designed we may have been able to accept Paley’s claims. Hume also says that it’s not analogous because a watch’s purpose is axiomatic but this is unlike the universe where it is subjective. For a Christian, the purpose of life is to create a relationship with God so that they can be eschatologically reunited and the universe allows this (it’s purpose) however a humanist would say that the universe has no purpose and that we are here to live our lives to the full. Thus Paley’s claims are left redundant. To conclude, these two criticisms have shown that there is question as to whether there is design in the world. Hume has shown that design qua (in relation to) purpose and regularity are merely positions which are nothing more than falsities. Explain and illustrate two claims that God’s existence is incompatible with the existence of evil Evil has come to pose one of the single largest threats to theism, indeed, many such as John Stuart Mill and David Hume concluded that God no longer existed because of the existence and the incompatibility of it. Evil has been defined to be the â€Å"absence of good† by Aristotle but it mainly refers to two types, either natural evil which entails natural disasters such as tsunamis or moral which refers to morally wrong actions and intents taken by humans such as infanticide or examples such as the Holocaust. Some try to reconcile the ideas of evil and God (in what has come to be known as theocies) but it is questionable whether they have succeeded. Hume puts the first criticism forward which is known as the logical problem of evil, a deductive argument, by first reissuing the statements as a theist would accept them; 1. God is omnipotent. Omniscient and omnibenevolent 2. Evil (and thus suffering exist) Hume claims that the one and two are incompatible. For if he loved us then he would stop suffering and thus he can not be omnibenevolent. Hume developed his argument through his ‘inconsistent triad’ which states that God is either unable to stop evil which means they he is not omnipotent; that he does not know about the evil which means he is not omniscient. This leads us to the conclusion that God’s existence is logically incompatible with the existence of evil and Hume to say that one of the sides of triangle (attributes of God, considering that evil objectively exists) and so Hume says that it is the â€Å"death† of classical theism. The answer to this could be that evil exists so that we can allow us to spiritually grow, for it is true that we can not become courageous unless an instance of danger arises, similarly we can not gain compassion without suffering. So the criticism is solved through God wanting us to experience suffering so we can go though a process of soul-making (this marks the basis for Iraneus’ theodicy). However this leads to the second criticism which is predominantly put forward by William Row, Charles Darwin and David Hume says that even if we were to accept that evil should exist and it is compatible, the sheer amount and the distribution of it shows that the existence of God and evil is less probable. This inductive argument cites points in history that show that the distribution doesn’t seem to amount justification for soul-making; it can accept the death of an adult, but what of the Gulag and Holocaust? Rowe also notes that there are evils which do not lead to spiritual growth such as people who never recover such as child who has had his whole family burned. Rowe also gives the example of a fawn who burns in a forest but no one is around to see it, who is growing spiritually, what compassion has been encompassed? This anthropocentric approach (by implication) also fails because it leaves animal suffering unanswered. Thus, the view that evil and God’s existence is compatible is made redundant not only in the face of the incompatibility of God’s very nature and the existence of evil but the sheer amount and distribution of it.

Strategic Hrm

Cornell University ILR School [email  protected] CAHRS Working Paper Series Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies (CAHRS) 4-1-2006 Strategic Management and HRM Mathew R. Allen Patrick M. Wright Cornell University Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons. ilr. cornell. edu/cahrswp This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies (CAHRS) at [email  protected] It has been accepted for inclusion in CAHRS Working Paper Series by an authorized administrator of [email  protected]For more information, please contact [email  protected] edu. Strategic Management and HRM Abstract [Excerpt] The purpose of this chapter is to discuss this intersection between Strategic Management and HRM, what we know, and future directions for SHRM research. We will begin by briefly discussing the concept of strategy and the popularization of the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm. Next we will address its role in creating the link between HRM and Strategic Management including key questions that the RBV has raised in relation to SHRM.We will then examine the current state of affairs in SHRM; the progress made, and key questions and concerns occupying the attention of SHRM researchers. Finally, we will conclude with our views on future directions for SHRM research. Keywords CAHRS, ILR, center, human resource, studies, advanced, link, information technology, business partner, strategic role, competencies, HR, HRM, HR professionals, management Comments Suggested Citation Allen, M. R. & Wright, P. M. (2006). Strategic management and HRM (CAHRS Working Paper #06-04).Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies. http://digitalcommons. ilr. cornell. edu/cahrswp/404/ This article is available at [email  protected]: http://digitalcommons. ilr. cornell. edu/cahrswp/404 CAHRS at Cornell University 187 Ives Hall Ithaca, NY 14853-3901 USA T el. 607 255-9358 www. ilr. cornell. edu/CAHRS WORKING PAPER SERIES Strategic Management and HRM Mathew R. Allen Patrick M. Wright Working Paper 06 – 04 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04Strategic Management and HRM Mathew R. Allen Patrick M. Wright Department of Human Resource Studies School of Industrial and Labor Relations Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853-3901 April 2006 http://www. ilr. cornell. edu/cahrs This paper has not undergone formal review or approval of the faculty of the ILR School. It is intended to make results of Center research available to others interested in preliminary form to encourage discussion and suggestions. Most (if not all) of the CAHRS Working Papers are available for reading at the Catherwood Library.For information on what’s available link to the Cornell Library Catalog: http://catalog. library. cornell. edu if you wish. Page 2 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 Abstract Page 3 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 Strategic Management and HRM Introduction It has been said that the most important assets of any business walk out the door at the end of each day. Indeed, people and the management of people are increasingly seen as key elements of competitive advantage (Boxall & Purcell, 2003; Pfeffer, 1998; Gratton, Hailey & Truss, 2000).Spurred on by increasing competition, fast paced technological change, globalization and other factors, businesses are seeking to understand how one of the last truly competitive resources, their human resources, can be managed for competitive advantage. This idea that the human resources of a firm can play a strategic role in the success of an organization has led to the formation of a field of research often referred to as strategic human resource management (SHRM).This relatively young field represents an intersection of the strategic management and human resource management (HRM) literatures (Boxall, 1998; Boxall and Purcell, 2000). Wright and M cMahan (1992) defined strategic human resource management as â€Å"the pattern of planned human resource deployments and activities intended to enable the firm to achieve its goals† (1992, p. 298). The purpose of this chapter is to discuss this intersection between Strategic Management and HRM, what we know, and future directions for SHRM research.We will begin by briefly discussing the concept of strategy and the popularization of the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm. Next we will address its role in creating the link between HRM and Strategic Management including key questions that the RBV has raised in relation to SHRM. We will then examine the current state of affairs in SHRM; the progress made, and key questions and concerns occupying the attention of SHRM researchers. Finally, we will conclude with our views on future directions for SHRM research. Strategy And The Resource-Based View Of The FirmThe field of strategy focuses on how firms can position themselves to c ompete, and its popularity began increasing exponentially in the mid 1980s with two books. First, Peters & Page 4 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 Waterman’s (1982) In Search of Excellence provided a practitioner-oriented analysis of excellent companies and the common threads that united them. However, Porter’s (1980) Competitive Strategy presented a more academically based analysis of strategy, but in a way that practitioners/executives quickly gravitated toward.This Industrial/Organization Economicsbased analysis primarily focused on industry characteristics, in particular the five forces of barriers to entry, power of buyers, power of suppliers, substitutes, and competitive rivalry as the determinants of industry profitability. While this analysis did propose four generic strategies (cost, differentiation, focus, and ‘stuck in the middle’), the bulk of the analysis focused on external factors that determined company profitability. This f ramework seemed to dominate strategic management thinking of the early 1980s.However, with the advent of the resource-based view of the firm (Barney, 1991; Wernerfelt, 1980), strategic management research moved to a more internal focus. Rather than simply developing competitive strategies to address the environment, the resource-based view suggested that firms should look inward to their resources, both physical and intellectual, for sources of competitive advantage. Though others had addressed the concept of the RBV previously, Barney (1991) specifically explicated how firm resources contribute to the sustained competitive advantage of the firm.He suggested that resources that are valuable, rare, inimitable and non-substitutable will lead to competitive advantage. Value in this context is defined as resources either exploiting opportunities or neutralizing threats to the organization and rarity is defined as being a resource that is not currently available to a large number of the organization’s current or future competitors (Barney, 1991). Inimitability refers to the fact it is difficult for other firms to copy or otherwise reproduce the resources for their own use.Finally, non-substitutability means that other resources cannot be used by competitors in order to replicate the benefit (Barney 1991). When all four of these conditions are met, it is said that the firm or organization possess resources which can potentially lead to a sustained competitive advantage over time. Page 5 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 The resource-based view has become almost the assumed paradigm within strategic management research (Barney and Wright, 2001).It has been the basic theoretical foundation from which much of the current strategic management research regarding knowledge-based views of the firm (Grant, 1996), human capital (Hitt et al. , 2001), and dynamic capabilities (Teece, Pisano, & Schuen, 1997) are derived. In fact, Priem and Butler (2001) ma pped RBV studies against eighteen strategy research topics, demonstrating the breadth of its diffusion within the strategic management domain.More importantly from the standpoint of this chapter, the resource-based view has become the guiding paradigm on which virtually all strategic HRM research is based (Wright, Dunford, & Snell, 2001). In spite of the wide acceptance of the RBV, it is not without criticism. Priem and Butler, (2001a, b) have leveled the most cogent critique to date suggesting that the RBV does not truly constitute a theory. Their argument focuses primarily on two basic issues. First, they suggest that the RBV is basically tautological in its definition of key constructs.They note that Barney’s statement that â€Å"if a firm’s valuable resources are absolutely unique among a set of competing and potentially competing firms, those resources will generate at least a competitive advantage (Barney, 2001: 102)† essentially requires definitional depe ndence. In other words, without definitional dependence (i. e. â€Å"valuable resources†) the diametrical statement – that unique firms possess competitive advantages – does not logically follow. Their second major criticism of the RBV as a â€Å"theory† focuses on the inability to test it (Priem & Butler, 2001b). They note he necessity condition of â€Å"falsifiability† for a theory. In other words, in order for a set of stated relationships to constitute a theory, the relationships must be able to be measured and tested in a way that allows for the theory to be found to be false. This relates directly to the tautology criticism, but brings the debate into the empirical realm. In spite of these criticisms, even the critics agree that the impact of the RBV on strategic management research has been significant and that the effort to focus on the internal aspects of the organization in explaining competitive advantage has been a useful one (Preim & B utler,Page 6 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 2001b). While the debate might continue as to the theoretical implications of the RBV for strategic management research, it is clear that it has made a significant contribution to Strategic Management and, more specifically, SHRM research (Wright, Dunford & Snell, 2001). A Brief History Of Strategic HRM Wright and McMahan’s (1992) definition of strategic human resource management illustrates that the major focus of the field should be on aligning HR with firm strategies.Jim Walker’s (1980) classic book, Human Resource Planning, was one of the first to directly suggest considering a firm’s business strategy when developing a human resource plan. Devanna, Fombrum, and Tichy’s (1981) article, â€Å"Human Resources Management: a Strategic Perspective†, added to the foundation. These attempts tended to take an existing strategy typology (e. g. Miles and Snow’s (1978) prospectors, analy zers and defenders) and delineate the kinds of HRM practices that should be associated with each strategy. These attempts to tie HRM to strategy have been referred to as â€Å"vertical alignment† (Wright & McMahan, 1992).Beer, Spector, Lawrence, Mills and Walton (1984) introduced an alternative to the individual HR sub-function framework for HR strategy. They argued that viewing HRM as separate HR sub-functions was a product of the historical development of HRM and current views of HR departments. They proposed a more generalist approach to viewing HRM with the focus on the entire HR system rather than single HR practices. This led to a focus on how the different HR sub-functions could be aligned and work together to accomplish the goals of HRM and a more macro view of HRM as whole rather than individual functions.This alignment of HR functions with each other is often referred to as â€Å"horizontal alignment† (see this Handbook, chapter 19. ) The combination of both vertical and horizontal alignment was a significant step in explaining how HRM could contribute to the accomplishment of strategic goals. However, given the external focus of the strategic management literature at that time, HR was seen to play only a secondary role in the accomplishment of strategy with an emphasis on the role that HRM Page 7 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 layed in strategy implementation, but not strategy formulation. Lengnick-Hall and LengnickHall (1988) stated â€Å"strategic human resource management models emphasize implementation over strategy formulation. Human resources are considered means, not part of generating or selecting strategic objectives. Rarely are human resources seen as a strategic capacity from which competitive choices should be derived† (1988, p. 456). A shift in strategic management thinking would be required to change that perception and open the door for further development of the SHRM literature.The diffusion of the resource-based view into the Strategic HRM literature spurred this paradigmatic shift in the view of the link between strategy and HRM. Because the resourcebased view proposes that firm competitive advantage comes from the internal resources that it possesses (Wernerfelt, 1984; Barney, 1991), the RBV provided a legitimate foundation upon which HRM researchers could argue that people and the human resources of a firm could in fact contribute to firm-level performance and influence strategy formulation.This resulted in a number of efforts to conceptually or theoretically tie strategic HRM to the resource-based view. For instance, Wright, McMahan, and McWilliams (1994) suggested that while HR practices might be easily imitated, the human capital pool of an organization might constitute a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Lado and Wilson (1994) argued that HR practices combined into an overall HR system can be valuable, unique, and difficult to imitate, thus constituting a resource meeting the conditions necessary for sustained competitive advantage.Boxall (1996, 1998) proposed a distinction between human resource advantage (advantage stemming from a superior human capital pool) and organizational process advantage (advantage stemming from superior processes for managing human capital). The resource-based view also provided the theoretical rationale for empirical studies of how HR practices might impact firm success. One of the early empirical studies of this relationship was carried out by Arthur (1994). Using a sample of steel mini-mills, he found that a specific set of HR practices was significantly related to firm performance in the form of lower Page 8 of 26Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 scrap rates and lower turnover. Huselid (1995), in his landmark study, demonstrated that the use of a set of 13 HRM practices representing a ‘high-performance work system’ was significantly and positively related to lower turnover, and higher profits, sales, and market value for the firms studied. In a similar study, MacDuffie (1995), using data from automobile manufacturing plants, demonstrated that different bundles of HR practices led to higher performance, furthering the argument that the integrated HR system, rather than individual HR practices, leads to higher performance.Delery and Doty (1996) similarly demonstrated the impact of HR practices on firm performance among a sample of banks. This vein of research quickly expanded in the U. S. (e. g. , Batt, 1999; Huselid, Jackson, & Schuler, 1996; Youndt, Snell, Dean, & Lepak,, 1996), the U. K. (e. g. , Brewster, 1999; Guest, 1997; Guest, Michie, Conway, & Sheehan, 2003; Tyson, 1997), elsewhere in Europe (e. g. , d’Arcimoles, 1997; Lahteenmaki, Story, & Vanhala, 1998; Rodriguez & Ventura, 2003) and Asia (e. g. Bae & Lawler, 2000; Lee & Chee, 1996; Lee & Miller, 1999), as well as in multinational corporations operating in multiple international environment s (Brewster, Sparrow, and Harris, 2000). In sum, the RBV, with its focus on the internal resources possessed by a firm, has given the field a theoretical understanding of why human resources systems might lead to sustainable competitive advantage and provided the spark to generate empirical research in this vein (Guest, 2001; Paauwe & Boselie, 2005; , Wright et al, 2005). Key Questions Raised By The Application Of RBV To SHRMIn spite of the significant amount of research demonstrating a link between HRM practices and firm performance, there are several key questions regarding the RBV and its implications for SHRM research that remain unanswered. First, there is some question as to whether current research on HRM and performance is truly testing the RBV. Second, there is still a general lack of understanding around the concept of fit, and its role in the link between strategy and HRM. Third, there are still unanswered questions regarding HRM and whether orPage 9 of 26 Strategic Manag ement and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 not HRM defined as systems of HR practices truly constitutes a resource under the conditions outlined by Barney (1991) and, specifically, whether those resources are truly sustainable over time. Finally, there are several measurement and methodological issues that, while not within the direct scope of this chapter, are worth mentioning as they are pertinent to our discussion of this intersection between Strategic Management and HRM research. Testing of the RBV within SHRMWhile the SHRM research just discussed has used the RBV as a basis for the assertion that HRM contributes to performance, it has not actually tested the theory that was presented in Barney’s (1991) article (Wright, Dunford & Snell, 2001). Most of this research has taken a similar view on how HR practices can lead to firm performance. The model generally argues that HRM in the form of HR practices directly impacts the employees either by increasing human capital or motivation or bot h. This in turn will have an impact on operational outcomes such as quality, customer service, turnover or other operational level outcomes.These operational outcomes will in turn impact firm-level outcomes such as financial performance in the form of revenues, profits or other firm-level measures of performance (Dyer, 1984). In a similar vein, Wright Dunford and Snell, (2001) point out that there are three important components of HRM that constitute a resource for the firm that are influenced by the HR practices or HR system. First, there is the human capital pool comprised of the stock of employee knowledge, skills, motivation and behaviors.HR practices can help build the knowledge and skill base as well as elicit relevant behavior. Second, there is the flow of human capital through the firm. This reflects the movement of people (with their individual knowledge, skills and abilities) as well as knowledge itself. HR practices can certainly influence the movement of people. However, more importantly, the types of reward systems, culture, and other aspects of HRM influence the extent to which employees are willing to create, share, and apply knowledge internally. Page 10 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04Third, the dynamic processes through which organizations change and/or renew themselves constitute the third area illustrating the link between HRM and the resource-based view of the firm. HR practices are the primary levers through which the firm can change the pool of human capital as well as attempt to change the employee behaviors that lead to organizational success. There appears to be a general consensus among SHRM researchers around the general model of the HR to performance relationship and the role of HR practices, the human capital pool, and employee motivation and behaviors as discussed by Dyer (1984) and others.The implications of this for RBV and SHRM research is that while separate components of the full HRM to performance model have been tested such as HR practices (Huselid, 1995; McDuffie, 1995) and human capital (Richard, 2001; Wright, McMahan & Smart, 1995), a full test of the causal model through which HRM impacts performance has not (Wright, Gardner, Moynihan, & Allen, 2005; Wright, Dunford & Snell, 2001; Boxall, 1998). Current research has established an empirical relationship between HR practices and firm performance, but more remains to be done.By testing the full model, including the additional components of the human capital pool and employee relationships and behaviors, a more complete test of the underlying assumptions of the RBV could be established, thus adding credibility to the theoretical model of the relationship between HRM and performance. Fit and the Resource-based View of the Firm In the Priem and Butler (2001) critique of the RBV, one of the points brought up as a theoretical weakness of the RBV is lack of definition around the boundaries or contexts in which it will hold.They point out that â€Å"relative to other strategy theories †¦ little effort to establish the appropriate contexts for the RBV has been apparent† (2001 p. 32). The notion of context has been an important issue in the study of SHRM (Delery & Doty, 1996, Boxall & Purcell, 2000). Most often referred to as contingencies (or the idea of fit), contextual arguments center on the Page 11 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 idea that the role that HRM plays in firm performance is contingent on some other variable.We break our discussion of fit into the role of human capital and HR practices. Human Capital and Fit. The most often cited perspective for explaining contingency relationships in SHRM is the behavioral perspective (Jackson, Schuler & Rivero, 1989) which posits that different firm strategies (other contingencies could be inserted as well) require different kinds of behaviors from employees. Consequently, the success of these strategies is dependent at least in part on th e ability of the firm to elicit these behaviors from its employees (Cappelli & Singh, 1992; Wright & Snell, 1998).Going back to the distinction between human capital skills and employee behavior, Wright and Snell (1999) noted that skills and abilities tend to be necessary, but not sufficient conditions for employee behavior. Consequently, any fit to firm strategy must first consider the kinds of employee behavior (e. g. , experimentation and discovery) required to successfully execute the strategy (e. g. , focused on offering innovative products), and the kinds of skills necessary to exhibit those behaviors (e. g. , scientific knowledge).Obviously, the workforce at Nordstrom’s (an upscale retailer) is quite different from the workforce at Wal-Mart (a discount retailer). Thus, the resource-based application to SHRM requires focusing on a fit between the skills and behaviors of employees that are best suited to the firm’s strategy (Wright et al. 1995). While this idea of fit focuses on across-firm variance in the workforce, Lepak and Snell (1999) developed a framework that simultaneously addresses variation across firms and variations in HR systems within firms (see this Handbook, chapter 11).Their model of ‘human resource architecture’ posits that the skills of individuals or jobs within a firm can be placed along two dimensions: value (to the firm’s strategy) and uniqueness. Their framework demonstrates how different jobs within firms may need to be managed differently, but it also helps to explain differences across firms. For instance, within Wal-Mart, those in charge of logistics have extremely valuable and unique skills, much more so than the average sales Page 12 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 associate.On the other hand, at Nordstrom’s, because customer service is important, sales associate skills are more critical to the strategy than those of the logistics employees. HR Practices and Fit. The t heoretical assumption that the skills and behaviors of employees must fit the strategic needs of the firm in order for the workforce to be a source of competitive advantage leads to the exploration of how HR practices might also need to achieve some form of fit. With regard to vertical fit, as noted previously, business strategies require different skills and behaviors from employees.Because HR practices are generally the levers through which the firm manages these different skills and behaviors, one would expect to see different practices associated with different strategies. For instance, one would expect that firms focused on low cost might not pay the same level of wages and benefits as firms focused on innovation or customer service. Horizontal fit refers to a fit between HR practices to ensure that the individual HR practices are set up in such a way that they support each other (Boxall & Purcell, 2003; Baird & Meshoulam, 1988, Delery, 1998).An example of this would be a selec tion process that focuses on finding team players and a compensation system that focuses on team-based rewards. Theoretically, the rationale for horizontal fit suggests that (a) complementary bundles of HR practices can be redundantly reinforcing the development of certain skills and behaviors resulting in a higher likelihood that they will occur and (b) conflicting practices can send mixed signals to employees regarding necessary skills and behaviors that reduce the probability that they will be exhibited (Becker & Huselid, 1998).There appears to be some agreement in the literature that both types of fit are necessary for optimal impact of HRM on performance (Baird & Meshoulam, 1988; Delery, 1998; Delery & Doty, 1996; Boxall & Purcell, 2003), but not necessarily empirical support for these types of fit (see this Handbook, chapter 27; Wright & Sherman, 1999). Potential Pitfalls of Fit. The idea of fit, whether it be vertical or horizontal, raises two important questions for SHRM res earchers. The first question focuses on empirical support forPage 13 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 the idea of fit. Second, even if fit has positive consequences in the short term, does fitting HRM practices with strategy or other contingent variables universally lead to positive results? That is, are there negative implications of fit? As previously discussed, numerous researchers have argued for fitting HRM to contingent variables. However, the efficacy of fit has not received much empirical support (Paauwe, 2004; Wright & Sherman, 1999).Huselid’s (1995) landmark study sought to test the fit hypothesis using a variety of conceptualizations of fit, yet found little support. Similarly, Delery and Doty (1996) only found limited support across a number of fit tests. The lack of empirical support may largely be due to focusing only on a fit between generic HRM practices and strategy, rather than the outcomes, or products (Wright, 1998) of the HRM practices (sk ills, behaviors, etc. ). Thus, it seems that it may be too early to draw any definite conclusions about the validity of the fit hypothesis.However, while fit between HRM practices and various contingency variables might enhance the ability of HRM to contribute to firm performance, there is also the possibility that a tight fit between HRM and strategy may inhibit the ability of the firm to remain flexible enough to adapt to changing circumstances. Firms are increasingly required to adapt to environments that are constantly changing, both within and outside the firm. A tight fit may appear to be desirable but during times of transition and/or change a lack of fit might make adaptation and change more efficient (Lengnick-Hall, Lengnick-Hall, 1988).Wright and Snell (1998) developed a framework in which HRM contributes to fit and flexibility simultaneously without conflict between the two, but this framework has yet to be tested and the question remains as to when and where fit might be more or less appropriate. The second question raised by contextual issues surrounding SHRM and the idea of fit is related to the efficacy of fit. Regardless of whether or not fit can have a positive effect on organizational outcomes, there is still some question as to whether or not true fit with key contingencies is feasible.Large organizations operate in complex environments, often across Page 14 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 multiple products, industries and geographies. This complexity leads to questions regarding the ability of the firm to fit HRM practices to all of these diverse and complex circumstances (Boxall & Purcell, 2003). In addition, Boxall and Purcell, (2003) argue that there are competing ideals within a business that require trade-offs in fit.They describe fit as â€Å"a process that involves some tension among competing objectives in management and inevitably implies tensions among competing interests† (2003, p. 188). A simple example o f these tensions can be seen in attempting to fit a strategy of commitment to employees with a hostile or extremely competitive operating environment. A firm with a strategic commitment to the well-being of employees operating in an economic downturn or time of increased competition may be forced to make choices between commitment to employees and a need for estructuring, layoffs or other non-friendly actions toward employees in order to stay solvent. In these situations, compromises will have to be made on either the fit with the strategy or the fit with the environment or both, raising the question again as to whether or not a true fit with contingencies is feasible. These questions regarding the ability to achieve fit and the desirability of achieving fit do not diminish the importance of understanding contextual issues in SHRM research.Understanding the contextual issues surrounding HRM and its impact on performance remains critical. In spite of the interest in the role of conte xtual issues and fit in SHRM, findings in support of contingency relationships have been mixed (Wright & Sherman, 1999). Much of this criticism could be due to ineffective methods used in the measurement of HRM or the contingency and performance variables studied or that the correct contingencies have not yet been studied (Becker & Gerhart, 1996, Rogers & Wright, 1998; Wright & Sherman, 1999).In addition, Boxall and Purcell (2000) have argued that more complex and comprehensive models of contingency relationships are needed in order to understand the impact of context on the HRM to performance relationship. Regardless of the reasoning, it is clear that the impact of context on this important relationship is not yet completely understood and more research is Page 15 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 needed to understand the role of context, as well as questions surrounding models of fit in SHRM research.HRM Practices and Sustainable Competitive Advantage Another issue that has been raised by the RBV and its application to SHRM research is the sustainability of HRM as a competitive advantage. Whether one focuses on bundles of HR practices as an HR system, the human capital pool or employee relationships and behaviors, there remains the question as to whether HRM as a resource meets the inimitability and nonsubstitutability conditions that are required in the RBV for sustained competitive advantage (Barney, 1991).According to Barney (1991), there are three general reasons why firm resources would be difficult to imitate: the resources are created and formed under unique historical conditions, the resources are causally ambiguous, or the resources are socially complex. Labeled as path dependency by Becker and Gerhart (1996), the unique historical conditions under which HRM is formed in individual firms may make its understanding and replication extremely difficult, if not impossible.HR systems are developed over time and the complex history involved in their development makes them difficult to replicate. The development and implementation of a single HR practice such as a variable pay system takes place over time including time to solicit management input and buy-in, work out discrepancies, and align the practice with current strategies as well as firm culture and needs. The end result is a practice that reflects the philosophies and culture of the firm and its management, created to solve the specific needs of the company.Compound that single HR practice with a whole system of practices each with its own history and evolution specific to a particular firm, its philosophies and current situation and you have an HR system that cannot be bought or easily replicated without a significant investment both of time and financial resources. Causal ambiguity implies that the exact manner in which human resource management contributes to the competitive advantage of the firm is either unknown or sufficiently ambiguous Page 16 of 26 Stra tegic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 so as to be difficult or impossible to imitate.According to Becker and Gerhart (1996), the ability to replicate a successful HR system would require an understanding of how all of the elements of this complex system interact and in turn impact the performance of an organization. Given the previous discussion of the basic HRM to performance model and the manner in which it is expected that HRM contributes to firm performance, it is difficult to imagine how the intricate interplay among various HR practices, human capital and employee behaviors, employee outcomes, operational outcomes and firm-level outcomes could be understood by a competitor in a meaningful way.Finally, Barney (1991) points out that competitors will find it difficult to replicate a competitive advantage based on complex social phenomena. Given the nature of HRM and its direct relation to employees, almost every aspect of the HR system, the human capital and especially the emplo yee behavior and relationships has a social component.The way in which HR practices are communicated and implemented among different departments and parts of the organization is influenced by the various social relationships involved; top management to general managers, general managers to department heads or managers and those managers to employees as well as interactions between departments and employees. The complexity of the social relationships in the case of HRM makes it difficult for competitors to imitate it. Finally, for a resource to constitute a source of sustainable competitive advantage it must be non-substitutable.This implies that competitors should not be able to use a different set of resources in order to achieve similar results (Barney, 1991). This concept has not yet been tested, but could provide for interesting research in the area of contextual factors and SHRM. If, in fact, it is found that a particular set of HR practices is positively related to performance in a given context, then, a follow-on question to that which would get at the substitutability question might be whether or not there is another set of HR practices for which the results are similar.This could lead to discussions about strategic configurations of HR Page 17 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 practices rather than universal high-performance work systems that have dominated past research (Delery & Doty, 1996). Regardless of whether there is one or many ways to achieve similar results in different contextual situations, the testing of these possibilities would lead to an increased understanding of the relationship between the RBV and SHRM research and the sustainability of HRM as a strategic resource.Measurement and Methodological Issues In addition to key questions surrounding the RBV and SHRM research, there are also several measurement and methodological issues which have hindered our ability to better understand the relationship between strategy and HRM. Measurement issues relating to the HRM, competitive advantage and key control variables have made the comparison of results across studies and interpretation of findings difficult (Rogers & Wright, 1998; Dyer & Reeves, 1995).In addition, there are questions around the appropriate level of analysis within the firm at which to test these relationships as well as issues related to the mixing of variables measured at different levels of analysis (Rogers & Wright 1998, Becker & Gerhart, 1996). Finally, as was pointed out, the majority of research to date has focused on the relationship between HR systems and firm-level performance and, while the findings indicate a positive relationship, there is insufficient evidence at this point to be able to infer that the relationship is causal (Wright et al. , 2005).A full discussion of these issues is beyond the scope of this chapter and a more thorough discussion may be found in other chapters in this text (see particularly chapters 26 and 2 7), but it is important to note in discussing key questions in SHRM that they exist and need to be addressed or at least considered in future research. Future Directions Research on SHRM management over the past decade has made significant progress in developing our understanding of the role that HRM plays in firm performance. The field now has a significant foundation upon which to build future research.In our opinion, future research should focus on both answering key questions that remain in understanding the relationship Page 18 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 between HRM and performance and by expanding or broadening what is considered SHRM. Such extension would encompass both other resources and other theories currently studied in strategic management research. Key Unanswered Questions The previous portion of the chapter pointed out several key questions that have been raised as a result of the application of the RBV to SHRM research that are not yet answered. First, research that directly tests the concepts outlined in the RBV has not been done (Priem & Butler, 2001). Thus future research should focus on testing the concepts of the RBV by testing the full model through which HRM leads to competitive advantage or firm performance. Do HR practices impact the human capital pool and the relationships and behaviors of the employees and do those outcomes in turn impact both operational and firm-level performance? Answering these questions by testing the full causal model would be a significant contribution to our understanding of the strategic nature of HRM.In essence, this reflects the â€Å"black box process† that Priem and Butler (2001) argued must be addressed by RBV theorists and researchers. Second, future research should focus on understanding the contextual questions surrounding the HRM to performance relationship. Mixed results in past contextual research is not reason enough to abandon the question all together. It is highly l ikely that HRM matters more or less in certain situations or under certain conditions. Efforts should be made to continue to test established models of HRM in new and unique situations.In addition, more thorough tests of moderating variables in the HRM to performance relationship should be tested. Given the complexity involved in the measurement and testing of these relationships and the mixed results of past research in this area it is likely that researchers will need to seek out contexts with reduced complexity such as departments within large organizations or small businesses where reduced complexity will provide more meaningful measures of potential moderating variables and more meaningful tests of the moderating relationships can be performed. Page 19 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04Another step that needs to be taken in understanding the role of context in the HRM to performance relationship is to move away from universal-type models of HRM such as highperform ance work systems and high-involvement work systems and develop and test different configurations of HR practices that might apply to specific situations. In doing this, researchers will be able to better understand the specific bundles or HR practices that are applicable or fit with different types of organizations or situations, thus making a significant contribution to our understanding of the types of HRM that will matter in a given situation.Expanding the Role of SHRM Future research in SHRM should focus on conceptually expanding what is considered to be the role of SHRM. Historically, SHRM has been viewed as the interface between HRM and strategic management (Boxall, 1996) with the focus of much research being on understanding how the HRM function (namely HRM practices) can be strategically aligned so as to contribute directly to competitive advantage.This implies a concern with how HR practices can contribute to strategy implementation without addressing the larger question o f how HRM can contribute or play a role in strategy formulation (Lengnick-Hall & Lengnick-Hall, 1988). Wright et. al. (2001) argued that it is the human capital (the knowledge skills and abilities of the human resources) as well as the relationships and motivation of the employees that leads to competitive advantage. The purpose of HR practices is to develop or acquire this human capital and influence the relationships and behaviors of the employees so that they can contribute to the strategic goals of the irm. Future research should examine human capital and the social interactions and motivations of the human element within a firm (Snell, Shadur, & Wright, 2002), not only as independent variables but also as mediating and dependent variables. A focus in this area will bring the field more in line with contemporary views in strategic management. Research in this area will also help us to get beyond questions regarding how HR practices can facilitate the strategic goals of a firm an d begin to understand how organizations can understand the resources found in their human element and use that Page 20 of 26Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 understanding to influence or even drive their decisions about their strategic direction. For instance, IBM’s strong HR processes/competencies led it into the business of offering outsourced HR services. This was an internal resource that was extended into a new product line, and illustrates how an understanding of such resources can influence strategic direction. Along these same lines, another way to break away from this notion of HRM as a facilitator of the strategic direction of the firm is by focusing on some of the resources currently salient to strategic management researchers.In their review of the RBV and SHRM relationship, Wright, Dunford and Snell, (2001) argue that the RBV created a link between HRM and strategic management research and that as a result of this link the two fields were converging. Be cause of this convergence, the potential impact of SHRM research on mainstream strategy issues is tremendous. Increasingly, strategy researchers are focusing on knowledge and knowledge-based resources (Argote, & Ingram, 2000; Grant, 1996;), human capital (Hitt et al. 001), social capital (Inkpen & Tsang, 2005; McFadyen, Ann, & Albert, 2004), capabilities (Dutta, Narasimhan, & Rajiv, 2005), and dynamic capabilities (Teece, Pisano, & Schuen, 1997), as critical resources that lead to organizational success. While HRM practices strongly influence these resources, the SHRM literature seems almost devoid of empirical attention to them. Only recently have researchers began to explore these issues (Kinnie, Swart, & Purcell, 2005; Thompson & Heron, 2005). Additional research in these areas would provide tremendous synergy between HRM and strategy.In addition, alternative theories such as ‘learning organizations’ (Fiol & Lyles, 1985; Fisher & White, 2000), real options theory (Mc Grath, 1997; Trigeorgis, 1996) and institutional theory (Meyer & Rowan, 1977) can be combined with SHRM research to enhance our understanding of the strategic nature of HRM. For instance, Bhattacharya and Wright (2005) showed how real options theory can be applied to understanding flexibility in SHRM. In addition, Paauwe and Boselie (Chapter 9) provide a detailed analysis of how institutional theory can better inform SHRM research. The use of these in addressing questions in SHRM research willPage 21 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 provide new lenses through which researchers are able to view the HRM to performance relationship, potentially providing new insights and ideas that will further our understanding of SHRM. Conclusion While the field of strategic HRM is relatively young, significant progress has been made at a rapid pace. Researchers have provided great theoretical and empirical advancements in a period of just over 25 years. Much of this progress is the r esult of the RBV and its emphasis on the internal resources of the firm as a source of sustainable competitive advantage.The RBV and its application to SHRM research created an important link between strategic management and HRM research. Its application has been followed by a significant amount of research using the RBV as a basis for assertions about the strategic nature of HRM. However, the link between HRM and strategic management can be strengthened by breaking away from the focus on HR practices. Other key resources currently being researched in strategic management have the potential to be directly influenced by HRM, but their coverage by SHRM researchers has been minimal, leaving a tremendous opportunity for future research in this area.In addition to this, new theories relevant to strategic management have yet to be combined with SHRM research, leaving potential for additional contributions to our understanding of the intersection between strategic management and HRM. Page 22 of 26 Strategic Management and HRM CAHRS WP06-04 References Argote, L. , Ingram, P. , Levine, J. M. , & Moreland, R. L. (2000). Knowledge transfer in organizations: Learning from the experience of others. Organizational Behavior & Human Decision Processes, 82(1), 1-8. Arthur, J. B. (1994). Effects of human resource systems on manufacturing performance and turnover.Academy of Management Journal, 37(3), 670. Bae, J. , & Lawler, J. J. (2000). 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M. , & Lyles, M. A. (1985). Organizational learning. Academy of Management Review, 10(4), 803. Fisher, S. R. , & White, M. A. (2000). Downsizing in a learning organization: Are there hidden costs? Academy of Management Review, 25(1), 244-251. Grant, R. M. 1. (1996). Toward a knowledge-based theory of the firm.Strategic Management Journal, 17, 109. Gratton, L. , Hailey, V. H. , & Truss, C. (2000). Strategic human resource management. New York: Oxford University. Guest, D. E. (2001). Human resource management: When research confronts theory. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 12(7), 1092-1106. Guest, D. E. , Michie, J. , Conway, N. , & Sheehan, M. (2003). Human resource management and corporate performance in the UK. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 41(2), 291-314. Hitt, M. A. , Ireland, R. D. , & Hoskisson, R. E. (2005). Strategic management competitiveness and globalization (6th ed. . Mason, Ohio: Thompson South-Western. Hitt, M. Bierman, L. , Shimizu, K. & Kochar, R. (2001). Direct and moderating effects of human capital on the strategy and performance in professional service firms: A resource-based perspective. Academy of Management Journal, 44, 13-28. Huselid, M. A. (1995). The impact of human resource management practices on turnover, productivity, and corporate.. Academy of Management Journal, 38(3), 635. Huselid, M. A. , Jackson, S. E. , & Schuler, R. S. (1997). Technical and strategic human resources management effectiveness as determinants of firm performance.Academy of Management Journal, 40(1), 171. Inkpen, A. C. , & Tsang, E. W. K. (2005). Social capital, netw orks, and knowledge transfer. Academy of Management Review, 30(1), 146-165. Jackson, S. E. , Schuler, R. S. , & Carlos Rivero, J. (1989). Organizational characteristics as predictors of personnel practices. Personnel Psychology, 42(4), 727-786. Lee, J. & Miller, D. (1999). 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Globalisation of Tesco - Research Paper Example The start of Tesco as a retailing business was not a glamorous one. They had started as a chain of market stalls, and then expanded by opening shops. Currently they are the biggest retailing store in England as they now consists of extra stores, hyper markets, metros, home plus and Tesco Express. If the current situation of Tesco is to be considered, they have dwindling profits. The main reason for that can be explained by some of their marketing strategies that backfired causing some serious controversies. The most prominent controversy involved the selling of halal meat and horse meat that was found in the burger patties being sold by Tesco. Despite these controversies when it comes to the global level, it can still be seen that Tesco leads ahead in comparison to Carrefour. Tesco is no more a departmental store, but has many other businesses under its wings. The basic reason behind the success of Tesco in the international market is its partnerships with local companies. The tactic used by Tesco involves establishing its business with local retailers so as to get access to the local masses easily without the need of creating their brand presence prior to establishment. Except for Japan, Tesco has been generating decent profits in the Asian region. Tesco however, sold its operations in Taiwan to Carrefour stating that they would concentrate in all those regions where they have a strong market. This marketing strategy would help Tesco establish a strong market presence. Another key factor that makes Tesco appealing to customers is that it sells its products under its own brand, rather than stocking products from different vendors. This makes it shopping at Tesco very appealing to the customers, for every necessity can be found at their stores (Zoratti & G allagher,

Every Child Matters Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Every Child Matters - Literature review Example The Children Act 2004 obliges schools and children's service agencies and other agencies, such as police, prisons and NHS trusts to protect children and promote their welfare. The agenda includes everything from "maltreatment, neglect, violence and sexual exploitation, accidental injury, and death, bullying and discrimination, to crime and antisocial behavior."   The areas of focus have been an educational failure, ill health, substance addiction, teenage pregnancy, abuse and neglect, crime and anti-social behavior among children and young people.The policy includes five main aims   of focus - be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution to society and achieve economic wellbeing. The aims of the program have been good health (mental and physical, health lifestyles), skills development, community and society participation, economic well-being, creating Sure Start Children’s Centres in at-risk neighborhoods. The Sure Start children's centre programme offers early learning opportunities for children. The program is based on the belief that high-quality play and books at early age help in further learning effort at later stages of schooling. This helps to identify early learning abilities of children and prevent any possible defects. Along with other planned activities the policy aimed to boost child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) through creation of a Young People’s Fund. The policy also targets improvement of speech and language therapy. There are also many other activities planned to boost the level of child protection and development.  

Solidarity and Soviet Declaration of Martial Law in Poland Essay

Solidarity and Soviet Declaration of Martial Law in Poland - Essay Example Terrorists are freedom fighters, repressive governments become saviours, and right becomes wrong in the semantic battle. The implementation of martial law in Poland was a move made by the government to preempt a strike by the independent trade union Solidarity, a strike which would cripple many facets of life in the country and effectively tip the balance of power in the favour of the trade union and other anti- governmental organizations. The basic facts as given above were subjected to vastly opposing interpretations by the Soviet Union and America. While the Americans upheld the right of the trade union workers to rebel against an oppressive and incompetent government, the Soviets condemned the â€Å"subversive† and anti- Polish activities of the group. The Americans look at the struggle as a freedom fight, as a heroic struggle against the unjust. This is immediately evident from the tone of the articles written in the New York Times. Drew Middleton’s article1for example justifies Solidarity’s strikes and bid for power by comparing the events of the time to the history of Poland’s struggle against Russia. He follows the story of Polish insurrections against Czarist rule, emphasizing the brutality of their control over the Poles, using phrases like â€Å"†¦.when he crushed the Polish insurrection of 1830†¦Ã¢â‚¬  when describing the Czar Nicholas the First’s reign. He goes on to impress upon the reader the terrible nature of Russian governance – He builds up a picture of the subjugation of Poland by Russia in the 19th century, from an analysts point of view, implying the parallel with current (i.e. 1981-82) Communist governance. He clearly sees the Polish Solidarity workers as heroes and valiant fighters against injustice; phrases like â€Å"as regularly as the tides, Polish resistance to Russian domination has been reborn and has flourished† clearly point to his comparison between Imperial Russia and

Claude debussy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Claude debussy - Essay Example If we consider Debussy’s music carefully, we can note the transition from the romantic compositions of the late 19th century to the modern music of the 20th century. Debussy was very much influenced by a movement called Symbolism which is shown in the art and culture of his times. The son of a small businessman and a seamstress, musician Claude Debussy was born in France in a locality known as St. Germain-en-Laye. His father owned a china shop. It was the time of the Franco-Prussian War and Debussy accompanied his pregnant mother to Cannes- the rest of the family moved to Paris. There Debussy was given piano lessons starting at the age of seven, paid for by his paternal aunt. His talent bloomed and at the age of ten, he was sent to the Paris Conservatorie, where he spent the next eleven years of his life, fortunate to study under such illustrious names as Ernest Guiraud (composition), Emile Durand (harmony), piano (Marmontel), organ (Cesar Franck) and Albert Lavingac (solfege) . While he was clearly talented, his argumentative nature and refusal to conform to the teaching guidelines did not win him support at the academy. His penchant for introducing intervals and dissonances was frowned upon. The summers of 1880-1882 were spent by Debussy in the company of one of Tchaikovsky’s patronesses, Nazedhde von Meck, as she travelled to Russia with her children. On her sending Debussy’s ‘Danse Bohemienne’ to the Russian composer for his opinion, the reply given was that it was ‘too short, seemed incomplete and lacked unity’. Madame Vasnier, a singer he had met and her husband supported Debussy financially and emotionally at this time. Debussy’s composition ‘L’enfant prodigue’ was fortunate to have won the 1884 Prix de Rome award. He was entitled to a four year scholarship at the Villa Medici, the French academy in Rome, where he went to further his studies during 1885-1887. He found life there sti fling and abominable, and often went into bouts of depression wherein he was unable to compose anything. By June 1885, Debussy eventually decided that he would go his own way, for he was too fond of his own ideas and a keen proponent of artistic freedom of expression. Debussy’s music has been noted for its new form of tonality which consists mainly of parallel chords, bi-tonal chords, whole tone and pentatonic scale, unprepared modulations and glittering passages and webs of figurations. He combined the effects of melodic tonality with harmonies that are similar, yet distinct from harmonic tonality (Parks, 87). Debussy was also influenced somewhat by Wagner’s music as it was in vogue after Wagner’s death in 1883. It appears that Debussy was reluctant to associate himself with the Impressionist Movement since it was not receiving positive support from the critics at that time. But it was Debussy’s ‘Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune’ (Prelude t o the Afternoon of a Faun), a composition truly original in terms of both form and execution. It was to catapult him to the height of fame in the music world. Over his musical life, Debussy wrote 6 orchestral compositions, 4 for ballet, 16 soloist pieces, 9 for chamber, 29 for solo piano, 8 other piano, 64 for voice and piano, and 9 other vocal pieces. Commenting upon two of Debussy’s most well known compositions, we have Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun (1894) and Pour le piano (1901). The first said piece was

The Condition of Twenty-First Century Societies Essay - 3

The Condition of Twenty-First Century Societies - Essay Example There is a certain kind of instability that law would display as a social institution in the twenty-first century. Apart from this, there would also be a certain privileging of diplomatic ties between nations. This would lead to a situation of anarchy within the society that one is a part of.  Ã‚   Many have argued that law is not a viable mode of controlling society in the event of societies being controlled by pragmatic forces rather than the law. Diplomatic ties and the maintenance of economic structures can then be looked upon as the reasons as to why the law is adhered to in the society of the twenty-first century. In cases where the law does not facilitate this, it may be flouted with the consent of the very people and institutions which had created them. This flexibility in the operation of the law is a phenomenon that is expected to continue in the twenty-first century. The possibilities of chaos thus remain even in the twenty-first century that shows no signs of effecting a change in this regard. This has implications for the way one views social institutions and their methods of functioning. This also implies a change in the conventional notions of what constitutes a civilization and civilizational ethos. By the time of the end of the cold war itself, â€Å"it was cl ear that law could not constrain the external behavior of nations in any serious way; only the use of force was respected. If realists were correct that states were rational, unitary actors concerned with their own survival, then they would be loath to enter into agreements that in any way constrained their ability to act.† (Raffo et al. 2007, 5). Here, what is important is the primacy of politics in shaping the way the world is.  Ã‚  

Leadership Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Leadership - Research Paper Example suring the smooth flow of operations of the organization, among others. In order to achieve sustainable development, companies need to be conscientious of the environment and people they would exploit in the name of business. A healthy balance between attaining resources from the environment and the social and moral compromise it will have on the people affected should be struck. It should not come to a point wherein resources are abused without any attempt to replenish it for future use. Ways and means are thoroughly considered as to the sustainability of current developments and innovations of the organization. Wastage of time, effort resources and trust gained from stakeholders should be avoided as much as possible and a shared vision towards the achievement of goals should prevail among the members of the organization. ... They pride themselves of having taught other companies which has sustained its growth with their 20 years of Global leadership in their area of expertise. Just what does it take for companies to achieve sustainable development? In motivating a reluctant CEO of leading his organization towards sustainable development, I could refer him to the article of Costanza (1999) wherein the author painted four visions of possible futures of society. Showing the reluctant CEO the â€Å"Mad Max† version of a bleak and dreary future of consistent deterioration due to neglect and irresponsible decisions and actions of people could push him towards positive action. Unto his hands rest the future of the organization and the corresponding quality of life it will bring to his team and their stakeholders. Thus, he needs to get his act together, as he is burdened with a great responsibility. Costanza (1999) talks about technological optimism and technological scepticism. People should be hopeful o f the innovations brought about by technology and progress. One could not argue how the invention of computers and the internet has pushed man to the new millennium armed with great knowledge derived from such tools. Information and computer technology (ICT) has improved the way people do business, because it has made it possible to seal business transactions more conveniently and at a quicker pace. At the same time, people should be wary about the neglect of human resources and depletion of natural resources that technological innovations can cause. Such developments of technological innovations greatly depend on natural resources such as energy and by-products of nature for materials. It has been known that the abuse of the environment has caused humankind much devastation in

Stress response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Stress response - Essay Example His personal history was also significant. He was a chronic smoker and had smoked 20 cigarettes per day for many years. On admission, general examination of the patient revealed that he was anxious and agitated, but orientated to time and place. His skin was pale and cool to touch. Heart rate was 116 beats per minute and irregular, blood pressure was 140/95mmHg, temperature was 37.8 C (cool peripheries), respiratory rate was 28 per minute, abdominal pain score was 6/10 and approximate weight was 68kg and height 163cm. Disruption of homeostasis through physical or physiological stimuli is known as stress. The normal homeostasis is defined by the range of certain blood parameters. These include pH of 7.36 to 7.45, bicarbonate of 21- 27.5 m mol per liter, oxygen saturation of >97% and glucose concentration of 3.6 to 6.8 m mol per liter. During a stressful condition, the body takes some measures to restore normal homeostasis and these are called the physiological effects of stress (Tortora & Derrickson, 2006). There are many stimuli which can cause physiological stress in a person. These can be either physical (trauma, pain, extremes of temperature, disease, dehydration, infection and excessive physical activity), psychological (deep emotions, anxiety, apprehension and fear) or physiological (pregnancy, delivery, post-partum, lactation, sexual activity, menstruation and pre-menstrual tension) or chemical (excessive intake of alcohol, drug abuse and drug over-dose). These stimuli can either cause immediate effects, or delayed effects or even chronic effects on the body. When the body is exposed to a stressful condition, the hypothalamus situated in the brain secretes adrenocorticotrophic releasing hormone (CRH). Hypothalamus is concerned with the secretion and control of the different hormones of the body. The CRH which is released is a peptide and is produced by the neurons in the paraventricular nuclei in the

The Environment Should Be Protected Because and Only Because Human Livelihoods Depend Upon It Essay Example for Free

The Environment Should Be Protected Because and Only Because Human Livelihoods Depend Upon It Essay The environment should be protected because and only because human livelihoods depend upon it. The essay will treat the different problems that exist, nowadays, between environment and human beings, their difficulty to coexist, and mostly the ethical issues that result from it. Introduction â€Å"There is a sufficiency in the world for man’s need but nor for man’s greed†- Mohandas K. Gandhi. This sentence is getting all its meaning since the previous decades. Nowadays, the question of environment, and its relation with human beings is one of the most central issues. Many things impact people’s life, but protecting the environment and the planet should be important to everyone all around the world. The questioning of environment was an ignored issue through time, and human beings hadn’t put this problem on top of his priorities. For many years, people have satisfied their needs, without showing any concerns or awareness about the care of our planet, the way we treat our environment is described by some, like murder. Thus, it is natural to ask ourselves if the environment should be protected because and only because human livelihoods depend upon it or the opposite, that us, humans, exist only because of our planet, and that we should do all our best to save the air we breathe, the ground we live on, the entire environment that surrounds us. First of all the study will begin by what the environment is through time, then it will show the obvious relationship between environment and human beings and its issues, and it will finish by the question of ethics about human and nature. The nature of the environment In recent years, the term environment has replaced the term nature, environment may be understood by what is surrounding us, it can be separated into living components: fauna and flora, and non-living components. Environment provides resources that ensured the well being of each species in the world, it is a real support for all the living organisms that exist on our planet. According to Raymond Williams, that is one of the most famous Britain writer and philosopher, the nature can be defined as â€Å"the material world itself, taken as including or not including human beings†, it means that nature includes everything that lives, and that human beings are fully part of nature. There are two ways of thinking, on one hand, the ecologists who focus on environment and living being relationship in general and on the other hand the ones who focus on human beings and its relation with the environment. Firstly, the traditional meaning of nature was that God created it for all the living organisms, but basically, through history, people used to think that humans had a central place in it, like a king on his realm. As times has passed, with the industrial revolution, environment has another position in the society, and nowadays, human being is the one responsible for the environment’s change. According to Michel de Montaigne, French philosopher and writer of the 16th century: â€Å" Let us a little permit Nature to take her own way; she better understand her own affairs than we. Montaigne tried to explain that nature could be by itself, and that it had always done. For decades, man gives itself the right to do everything, everywhere without any concerns for the planet. Before the creation of man, the environment was evolving by itself, and now, a new reliance emerges, the well being of the environment almost depends on man. The issue is that human nature didn’t respect what was offered to it. The relationship between environment and human beings Firstly, it is crucial to realise that humans have a unique position in nature because of the exceptional ability they have to adapt, to transform, to create. In the beginning, man could be compared to other animals; nature was the one who dictated where living beings was. Humans lived with fishing, hunting, gathering vegetables; nature was the only dominator. Through time, humans continuously evolved in their way of living, they succeeded in creating new materials; they understood what the environment could provide them. The relationship between man and nature had gradually changed, through the evolution of the agriculture, man begins to control his environment, he modified his needs, and his frequency. However, the most important redefinition of the term nature was after the industrial revolution until today, man is now able to have a total control over it. The evolving of new technologies, of new mores, and the rising of the population created a new world. Since the 20th century, and the birth of the consumer society, the relation man-nature totally changed, man doesn’t only need nature in order to survive, but he needs it to satisfy different inexistent needs. The issue of energy is almost the most important, as it was said previously, evolution and energy are two reliable term, concerning man. The most famous ones are fossil energies, for years, man has used these energies indefinitely, and this phenomenon has grown abruptly because of our society. A new reliance was created, man plundered every resource on Earth, and a new dependence was born, nowadays, nature almost needs man. Moreover, another fact has to be pointed out: the massive decrease of certain species because of man, especially the decline of fish, as it is shown in the documentary: â€Å"The end of the line† by Rupert Murray, which highlights all the problems caused by humans in the maritime world. Even if man has to satisfy his natural needs, it is obvious to say that, in the 21th century, there is a big issue, because man acts without any concern about what the environment provides The questions of ethics about the relationship: man-nature Human beings are part and parcel of nature, which is part and parcel of the universe. Nowadays, new issues comes up about environment, a lot of scientists agree that human beings succeed in creating an alarming disaster on the planet. Since few decades, man realised what happened, and the mores about environment preservation began to change, it is now a well-known fact. However, there are some real ethical questions that have emerged: who is responsible of the environment degradation? Does it have to concern every man on Earth? Was it legitimate for human beings to use what nature can offer without any awareness of the damage? As it was previously said, it is necessary to understand that man is unique compared to other living species. In the mean time, nature created every living organism, included man, thus, these ones have to give it some respect; it is the basis of the ethics. Unfortunately, the issue is the nature of men, they didn’t respect the contract, and they even abused of the environment’s creed. Human beings basically exploit nature to gratify their selfish instincts; they are ignorant of what universe had provided them. The fact is that the development of our society takes over the good preservation of our planet, when man undertakes to create new technologies, he doesn’t have any concern about the environment, because it is included in human nature. Moreover, it is difficult to satisfy everyone’s needs, and thinking about the protection of the environment at the same time, but today, human beings are facing a really new type of dimension concerning environment. At first, man deeply depended on nature, and it is the opposite in this day and age, nature deeply depends on man. What is central to highlight, it is that all flora and fauna is degrading, man destroys living life, and today, we are on the ledge of nature bankruptcy. Human beings have to be more and more implicated in the protection of Earth; it is crucial for them to save the living and non-living organisms for the reason that even if man doesn’t protect the environment for himself, he has to do it for all the species that exists in the world, and that he threatens. Conclusion â€Å"I dont understand why when we destroy something created by man we call it vandalism, but when we destroy something created by nature we call it progress† – Ed. Begley Jr. This quote really points out the fact that it is unconsciously acknowledged in humans minds that using all the resources that nature has to offer is normal and moral. The way of thinking is starting to evolve these days, because people are realizing that it’s for their own sake that the environment should be preserved. This shows all the duality of the problem, people start caring only when their own interests are at stake, and not due to the fact that it is ethical and moral to try and protect the living things around us. Ecologist have now a very powerful plea, which is that letting things going the way they are will harm us, but this means that telling people that we should protect the environment just because it is a beautiful living thing that we should try to coexist with, wouldn’t work. The consequence of people starting to care is good, but if they are doing it for the wrong reasons, selfish reasons, is that really the morality that we should adopt?

The Analysis of Body Language Intercultural Communications

The Analysis of Body Language Intercultural Communications Abstract With the international communication becoming closer,except the verbal communication in daily life, we may encounter many body languages. These body languages can express their mood or even substitute one sentence. Therefore, in order to understand the intercultural communication better, this dissertation first introduces the relationship between culture and language, then briefly explains what body language is and its function in intercultural communication, subsequently, briefly analyses the differences of the same body language in different cultures. At last, the dissertation suggests that when studying English language, one cant ignore the huge body language, it will be helpful with our English study. Key words: Language; culture; body language; intercultural communication I. Introduction With the international communication becoming more and more frequently, Chinese people may have many chances to get in touch with foreigners. They always use many body languages with their talk. It is a funny phenomena. Shakespeare said Theres language in her eyes, her cheek, her lip, Nay, her foot speaks. Indeed, these body language not only can make their word lively, but also express the speakers mood, or even substitute a sentence. What the body language means when they use for communication?This is the necessary knowledge of English study. Any kind of body language is formed on the foundation of culture. Without understanding the true meaning of a body language, it will embarrass or make mistake. Therefore, this dissertation will analysis the differences of same body language in the different cultures and suggest to study English on the premise of understanding their culture. II. Literature review 2.1 Culture and language 2.1.1 Culture The definition of culture is evolving as time passes. In the west, at first it was used to describe some ability of person which represent a form of act. Then culture used to describe the real achievement of a instructed person. And in 1952, a book of Alfred L. Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn named Culture. A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions was give a general definition based on more than 160 kinds of cultures definition which was identified by modern east and west academic circle. And in China, its meaning was that with the understanding of all phenomena of human social, govern the world with instructing and inspiring. In the Confucian concept, wen not only means word, but also refer to all the rules of etiquette and music in general. In ancient Chinese language, culture meant guiding people with ethics. Culture is a complex concept and changing with human social. However, the word culture is most commonly used in three basic senses: Excellence of taste in the fine arts and humanities, also known as high culture An integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for symbolic thought and social learning The set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization or group 2.1.2 Language Language is the important thinking and communicating tool of human being. With language people can keep and pass human civilization achievement. In general, any nation has its own language. It is a notable character of a nation and has long history. Language is closely related with thought. It is the carrier and exhibition form of thought. Language is a social phenomenon with stability and nationality. Though many animals can make sound to express their emotion or deliver message, these sounds are regular without change. Only person have language and can combine all the sounds that have no meaning to become a meaningful morpheme, then put these morphemes together in many ways to form utterance. Using infinite changing form to express infinite changing meaning. 2.1.3 The relationship between language and culture Culture and language are mutual dependence and can not be separated. Language is part of culture, it is the media of culture communication. We use language to communicate, and language is largely influenced by culture. The relationship between culture and language is on the foundation of nation. A nation produces language, at the same time produces culture. Edward Sapir thought that language can not exist without culture. The culture we talk about is social custom and belief. It can decide our life structure. Linguistician Palmer said that language faithfully reflects all the history and culture, game and amusement, belief and prejudice of a nation. As a part of nations culture, language reflects the nations visage, at the same time, language reflects the content of culture as form. Language is the important carrier of culture. Other carriers such as historical site, book, or painting, only show part or even a corner of culture. But language stores all the information of culture comprehensively. Language consists of voice, vocabulary and grammar. Vocabulary, especially the notional word, bear the important responsibility of carrying culture. Time passes, and many new words are coming into being, such as virtual floating, means netizens put their worries and secrets in the virtual bottle without knowing who will get it. All of these are anonymous. And kickback, the original of this word is that the International Olympic Committee will open an ethics investigation into Issa Hayatou over allegations the African football official took kickbacks from FIFAs former marketing agency. But these new words hardly possible become part of culture. Only those language fact that integrate into the bottom life deeply, chosen and washed out by history, enter the basic nation voc abulary is the sign of language affect culture profoundly. For example, Buddhism have been spreaded about 2000 years. Some words like free, retribution, disengagement, hell are coming from Buddhism. These words have already integrated into Chinese become part of it. Culture has effect on language semiotic system itself, language concept, thought and expression, and language learning. Nation culture is decided by the meaning of vocabulary. Different culture tradition and mentality have definitively function to it. Such as dragon, the western people have no favor to it, they thought it is monster, cruel person, stand for devil. But in ancient Chinese culture it stands for the son of heaven and the emperor, lucky and honorable. The reference content and way of culture are decided by the cultures person and persons culture. For example, Cantonese cant see snow for the whole year, so they do not distinguish ice and snow in concept. The northman say à ¥Ã¢â‚¬  Ã‚ °Ãƒ ¦Ã‚ £Ã‚ , and Cantonese say à ©Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃ‚ ªÃƒ ¦Ã‚ Ã‚ ¡. But the Eskimo who live in arctic pole always contact with snow and have a perceptive. There are more than 20 kinds of words used to describe different snow. As the carrier and express tool of thought, language promote the developm ent of thought, on the other hand, language is restricted by thought. For instance, Chinese say à §Ã‚ Ã‚ «Ãƒ ¨Ã‚ ½Ã‚ ¦, that is à §Ã‚ Ã‚ « and à ¨Ã‚ ½Ã‚ ¦, looking into the physics function of à §Ã‚ Ã‚ « and à ¦Ã‚ ±Ã‚ ½. But in English, there is railway train, look into the move way of rail and track. To understand the culture of English countries is the important step of English study. The research of language and culture is divided into language culture and language in culture. So culture is divided into two part: big culture and small culture.(Bright, 1976) Here is a form: language Big culture other cultural phenomena Culture Verbal language Small culture Non-verbal language Body language is the important part of non-verbal language. Non-verbal language and culture are learned behaviour and social custom that rich in long history heritage. The relationship between both have these characters in someone like Samovar etals eyes: culture and non-verbal language can not be divided. Many non-verbal languages are the result of learning culture. The shaping and impacting of non-verbal behaviour are always decided by determinate culture environment. It is very important to understand the relationship between culture and non-verbal language. (Samovar etal, 1981) Samovar thought that through understanding the basic represent mode of some cultures non-verbal language, we can search peoples behaviour and attitude. Through non-verbal language mode can understand a sort of cultures value system. Through the research of non-verbal language can exclude the narrow ethnocentrism. The most realistic signification of researching the relationship between culture and non-verba l language in intercultural communication is to resolve the culture conflict in non-verbal language. People always do not realize the learning of their own culture, but very sensitive with other cultures non-verbal language and easily produce misunderstand. Worth the whistle, the culture conflict brought by non-verbal language is serious than that brought by verbal language. Because non-verbal language always is the expression of sensibility and emotion. Samovar put forward that to resolve the non-verbal language culture conflict in international communication should remember the follow three principles when understand the meaning of other cultures non-verbal language: 1. When pay attention to the behaviour of a non-verbal language can not ignore that there are manifold non-verbal language cooperative work in real communication. 2. Anyone can not list and describe all the non-verbal language in any culture. But if we can understand exactly the information of some usually used non-verbal language under the international communication environment, it will be helpful to understand the necessary information. 3. Only understand our cultures non-verbal language first, can we understand other cultures behaviour. Under international communication, to identify the message of non-verbal language should avoid modal or only notice superficies. Be sure to keep in mind that any non-verbal language does not appear lonely, nor deliver any message consciously. Pay special attention to that when study foreign language, international communication activity, and international research, for the need of communicating, studying and researching, people have to make a summation and generalization of the non-verbal language of the same country and the same language nation to sum up some representative non-verbal language. However, in real communication, people must find that the non-verbal language in the same country and nation are not just the same. Even in the same area, it is differ in thousands of ways between the people in different occupations, different age groups and different culture levels. Such as America which is famous for multinational immigrant living together, their non-verbal language are ver y hard to be consistent. So as the different English country, the differences are more further. III. Body language 3.1 Definition Body language is a way of communication that body movements which use head, eyes, neck, hands, arm, foot or other parts of the body to express peoples thought and emotions. Facial expressions, eye contact and other postures and gestures are the commonly used body movement. In a general sense of word, body language includes facial expression, in a narrow sense of word, body language only includes the meaning expressed by body and four limbs. The assortment of body language was advanced by Ruesch and Kees in 1956 according to the basic component of non-verbal language. It involves sign language, action language, and object language. The other assortment was advanced by M. Knapp in 1978 through the analysis of some pertinent researching and literatures. That are body motion and kinesics behaviour, physical characteristics, touching behaviour, paralanguage, proxemics, artifacts, environmental factors. Subsequently, Jensen advanced another statement: body motion and gestures, attitudes to ward time, attitudes toward space, general habits in communication. The research of human body language can trace back to Aristotle in Greek. The formally research was beginning from Darwin. In his 1872 book The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals put forward that man and animals have many similar expressions. The systemic research of body language must come first Ray Birdwhistell. His 1952 book Introduction to Kinesics put forward the theory of kinesics. Made the body language become a coding system like verbal language to study the relationship between body movement and communication. Body Language of Julius Fast is a representative work that reflects the research result of body language. This book is known as the summary of the scientists research in the body language field. From then on, body language becomes a boundary science and produces new research result continuously. According to estimates, human body can make out more than 270,000 kinds of posture and movement. This is far more than the sound made out by human body. These postures and movements meaning are very complex. Some are definite and material as some are general and blurry. Some are used to communicate as some are used to self-express. Some are expressing emotion message as some are reflecting character and attitude. So the sort of body language is very complex. The body language classification method of Ekman and Friesen has important effent in non-verbal language communication educational circles. According to all the movements origin, usage and code, they divided human face and bodys continuous movement into five parts: 1. Symbolic movement: these movements have clearly meaning, such as the gesture express OK and victory. Symbolic movement always used to substitute verbal language. In general, they have distinct culture character. For example, the movement means suicide, in Japan, people use hand to simulate dagger to thrust the abdomen, and in America, people use hand to simulate a gun shot temple. 2. Illustrative movement: these kind of movements cooperate with verbal language directly to explain the meaning of the talking. For example, to emphasize a sentence, describe a thought, indicate a material, depict a space relationship, characterize a things rhythm and speed, portray a phenomena , describe a body movement, explain a sentences meaning, etc. 3. Emotion revealing movement: mainly through facial expression to show emotion or mood, of course the other part of body can also express these emotion. Express the emotion can repeat, exaggerate,deny the verbal language, or may be no relationship with it. Express the emotion always deliver the message of communication unconscious, but also can use it in communicating conscious. 4. Modulation movement: this kind of movement is used for maintaining or adjusting the talk in the face-to-face talk. It drops a hint that the speaker can keep talking, repeat again, explain further, speak fast or more lively, let other people have a talk, etc. In recent years, people pay attention to the research of the turn-talking in chat. Turn-talking means that telling the opposite side I want to talk; stopping the speaker changing the topic; asking the other side to give me a speaking chance; let the other side keep talking; telling the others that I have finish my talking and you can speak. The usually used movement is head and eye movement. 5. Adaptable movement: Ekman and Friesen divide it more further: 1). Self-adaptable movement: this kind of movement always happen on personally, such as, holding own hand, rubbing hand, grabing, scratching, clutching, nipping, whisking or gathering the cloth. In general, the emotion is more disconcerting, the pretty actions are more distinguished. Picking nose and wiping eyes belong to this kind. 2). Transformational adaptable movement: this kind of movement take place in the connect with other people. Such as, bringing or delivering, attacking or protecting, close or away. Leg movement can react that encroach, footsie or attack. Shaking hand or foot means fidgety that the person want to avoid talking. 3). Object adaptable movement: this kind of movement always relate to the using of material, such as smoking and writing. 3.2 The function of body language in intercultural communication As the necessary communication tool, body language has important function in intercultural communication. Bradford J. Hall(2002) summarized the mainly function of body language language: 1. Repetition: Body language can reinforce the verbal language by repeating the verbal message nonverbally, such as using a gesture, it can help the receiver understand the message easily. For example, when someone ask you where is the restaurant, you can point a certain direction when you say, the restaurant is north the library. Or we point to the question on the book we just ask. 2. Substitution: Body language can be used to replace some verbal language to deliver a certain meaning. When your friend meet a sad thing that make him cry, you can give him a hug. This is more powerful than any soothing words. 3. Contradiction: Body language sometimes can betray the speaker by sending contradictory message to the verbal language. The body language is often regarded as the powerful word than the spoken words. For example, we cant keep our face from blushing even say we dont nervous or we cant slow down our heartbeat if we are scared. And the teacher can find a student is wandering from the eyesight even though his eyes are staring the blackboard. So the body language is reliable than the verbal language sometimes. 4. Accentuation: It can force the power when you add a body language with your talk than only use verbal language. When you apologize to someone, if an apology show on you face, this can make your apology more conviction. In addition, body language can provide a complement to the verbal language. In some countries, you can up you thumb as the same time you give a admiration to your friends for his good performance. 5. Regulation: The body language also helps us to control the situation of our talking. For example, when we need a quiet, we can put our finger on our lip. IV. The analysis of the differences of the same body language in different cultures 4.1 The different meaning of the same body language in different cultures Here contrast some body languages that usually used but have different meaning. If you use a very awful body language, this might bring a badly result. 1. In China, up the thumbs means good to praise you are doing a good job, bravo and so on. It is same in many countries. If thumbs down means disagree, finish or youre game over. But in Australia, no matter it up or down is obscene. 2. Protrude the index finger means wait a minute in America, but in Australia it means one more beer. 3. Protrude the little finger means cowardly man in England as bet in America. 4. The V for victory or peace sign in America if made with the palm facing inward is taunting or sneering in England. It is very offensive to societys morals. 5. American people sometimes up head, palm facing down, index finger across the throat, it means Im full. I cant eat anymore. But it means decapitation in China. 6. When Chinese people communicating with foreign people, the most antipathetic movement is using index finger point the others casual. Indeed, the movement is in bad taste and impolite to western people. This is reproof and rebuke. 7. Chinese male like to put hands on other mans shoulder for a long time. And Chinese female frequently take other womans hand closely for long time. These shock the foreigners because they consider this gesture means homosexual. 8. When Chinese people receive or send a cup of water or a gift, they will use two hands to accept it to show appreciate and admiration. But American people dont care about whether use one or two hands. 9. When talking with American people Chinese like to put their hands crossed behind their back or into their pockets. But these gestures make the American think you are hiding guns in your hands. 10. Chinese may scratch their noses when feeling uncomfortable. This is confused the western people because in their culture this movement means Im telling a lie. 4.2 Some embarrassing examples due to misunderstanding of body language Under the same culture, people may have misunderstanding because of the body language, even the different culture. Culture difference in different countries, so the body language can express different meaning. If we do not understand the other peoples meaning, it will have misunderstanding and displeasure. For Examples: Tom is the manager of an American company in China. Recently, Li Lei, one of the Chinese staff makes a mistake at work. He is very upset about what had happened, so he comes to Toms office to apologize. Entering the office with smile. He says: I feel terribly sorry for the mistake. I am here to make a sincerely apology to you and promise that it will never happen again. When he said this, the smile always on his face. But Tom feels it is hard to accept and ask himAre you sure? Li says yes with smile. Tom is angry and saysYou dont look sorry at all. If you really feel sorry, how can you still smile? Li feels so embarrassed and does not know what to do. A Chinese student Wangdan and her friend, the American student Judy who studys in China were on the way to store. They saw a boy fell down on the ground. He tried to stand up while the surrounding people laughed. Luckily he was ok. Judy was worried but found Wangdan was smiling too. She was very curious and asked how could you laugh when someone else fell down. Why dont you help him to stand up and ask him whether he was hurt. Wangdan said, Because they know he was not hurt too much. But Judy still couldnt understand. She said, In my culture, if this was happen, we would do anything but laugh. The former examples are all about the smile. In daily life we usually smile, but in different culture, this ordinary movement can bring misunderstanding or some more serious results. When western people come across these situations, they will with solemn face to apologize or come to console the boy. Though smile means happy, it is the symbol for people in general, but in different culture, smiling in the communication are different. The western people think smile always means happy, high in spirits or think something is funny. But Chinese people often smile, because it not only means humours and satisfaction, also means embarrassment and protection, even a kind of evadable. So it confuses the western people, they say it is too hard to understand. In China, people sometimes use smile to eliminate embarrassment, also means never mind, and the person smile to self-mockery or play a joke. But if the affair is very serious, people will provide help but laugh out of court. So for the peopl e who do not know the meaning, this kind of smile will make them unhappy even produce antipathy. A Chinese student went to a American family and sent present to the child of this family,when he beckon to the little boy, yet the boy back off him. The hand movement is very abundant and with infective. Every gesture has its particular function. In the case, the Chinese student used Chinese gesture, which palm facing down and making a scratching motion with fingers to beckon. This is different in America that means to go away. When they let somebody to close up, their palm facing up or only move index finger. This is opposite to Chinese and may bring Chinese peoples repulsion. V. Conclusion After the briefly analysis of the analysis of body language in intercultural communications, we have a knowledge about the relationship between culture and language, and the influence of body language in the communication. The body language in our daily life is incalculable. Every one can use his body to represent himself. Body language is the same as verbal language to be the carrier of culture that may cause misunderstanding in the international communication because of culture difference. As an English major, to understand the culture of the target language is very important. Having the knowledge of body language will be helpful to us in intercultural communication.