Alexs Restaurant, an ethnography Essay - 2644 Words

Alexs Restaurant, an ethnography The Wiseguys (scene one): *These four old guys (definitely into their late sixties, early seventies) sell cars at one of the dealerships on the boulevard. I would bet fifty dollars that they all work for Cadillac. They come in once a week, on Friday afternoons. They love me. They like to give me a hard time, ask why I don’t love them anymore, when I’m going to run away with them, etc, etc. They are caricatures of car salesmen but are obviously unaware of this. They hold court in Eat Well like it’s 1965 at the Sands, talking in loud voices and telling stories about one another to each other. (â€Å"This guy here, one time he says to me, ‘Paulie’†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ) It has been suggested to me that perhaps these old†¦show more content†¦Customers are not technically obliged to treat me with deference, and this can result in difficult situations. Eat Well’s clientele is roughly 75% male, if not more, and although we have a lot of gay customers, our typical patron is a middle-aged, heterosexual, white, working-class male. The strangest thing is that the balance of power seems to shift, from myself to the customers and back again. Sometimes I feel violated or threatened when a customer is overtly ogling me, and other times it seems to enhance my power over them. These are palpable undercurrents that are difficult to put into words, but are quite clear both to the customers and myself. To hazard a guess, I’d say that the power shifts to me when the male customer in question is frank about his actions. When he seems comfortable acknowledging that he is, in fact, leering at me, the ball is in my court. He has, in a sense, conced ed his edge. However, when a man such as S (see next scene) comes in, I feel threatened, cornered, irritated. The unspoken and poorly concealed lechery is much more intimidating when an attempt is made to ignore or gloss over it. I am obliged to participate in the charade and this is the situation that I resent. Michele Rosaldo states, â€Å"This distiction between power and culturally legitimated authority, between the ability to gain compliance and the recognition that it is right, is crucial†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p.21) In either situation, unfortunately, the balance of power is controlled byShow MoreRelatedStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesAmerican Express recently turned Joan Weinbel’s worst nightmare into a nonevent. It was 10:00 p.m. Joan was home in New Jersey, packing for a weeklong trip, when she suddenly realized she had left her AmEx Gold card at a restaurant in New York City earlier in the evening. The restaurant was 30 miles away. She had a flight to catch at 7:30 the next morning, and she wanted her card for the trip. She called American Express. The phone was quickly answered by a courteous and helpful AmEx customer service

Important Role of IT/Network Managers

Question: This project will introduce you to an important role of IT/Network Managers: To select an IP PBX solution for the new call center at a companys headquarters based on the evaluation of the companys needs and vendors' VoIP product features. The Chief Information Officer (CIO) would like an 8- to 10-page document (double-spaced, font size 12) that addresses the following tasks. After a numerical-matrix evaluation, select one solution from a list of vendors, containing features and capabilities to potentially meet your company's requirements. Justify your recommendation by writing an analysis that supports such a selection based on an overall evaluation of the product and the benefits it will bring to the company. Answer: Introduction This will introduce the document for the readers. It will provide the readers with enough information to quickly glance what the document is all about, its different sections and what the readers can get out of it. Background This section will provide information about the company for the intended audience. It will contain a brief overview of the company. It will include information about the different departments of the company, key processes, statistics, client demographics among others. Apart from this, it will also provide information about people who will be using the given system. This section furthermore will have three different sub-sections i.e., the purpose for which the given system will be needed. It will also possess information about the existing solutions already implemented in the company as well as provide the reader with enough reasons as to why the existing solution fails to meet the requirements posed by the company. Purpose This section will give a brief overview of why does the company needs such a system. It will also include information regarding how does the company uses or will use such a system. Existing Solution If the company already has a system in place, then its description will be given here. It will include brief information on the existing solution, its features, usecases and technical aspects. It will also include information regarding how is the system used. Reasons This will provide details regarding why the above solution fails to satisfy the needs of the company. It will be brief but include all the relevant details regarding the ineffectiveness of the existing solution. Requirements This section will be based upon and continuation of three sub-sections given in the background i.e., purpose of the system, the existing solutions and the reasons why it fails to satisfy the needs of the company. It will present requirements and expectations of the company from the new system. It will include the following information but not limited to it such as the experience and connectivity expected out of the system, the experience of the company, platform support, the size of the business it can support, connectivity to legacy systems, multimedia support, email, chat and voice mail support, then IVR, outbound dial, CTI integration, browsing support, integration with popular CRM systems and must also have a suitable pricing. Current Offerings This section will provide a brief information about the current offerings in the market. It will list down some of the most popular enterprise solutions for IP PBX. It will also have two different sub-sections that will present a brief industry scenario and system analysis for the recommended solutions. Industry Scenario In this section, an industry overview will be given regarding the IP PBX solutions. It will also present latest developments, trends and some best practices regarding the same. System Analysis This section will provide an analysis of the systems which have been narrowed down based on a numerical matrix evaluation. Recommendations This will be the last section of the document. Based on the numerical matrix evaluation done earlier, this section will provide the recommendation of the final choice. It will also present features and benefits of the final choice as well as the improvements it will bring to the company.

Theories of Convergence

The increasing globalization of modern businesses has posed a problem of integrating the headquarters of enterprises with their subsidiaries.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Theories of Convergence specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More At the point, there are many approaches and models helping us understand the nature of cross-cultural management as well as those strategies which business administrators should adopt in order to make the company more productive. This paper will discuss the theories of convergence, divergence, and crossvergence that show how different cultures interact with one another. Overall, the theories of convergence postulates that the key driver of value formation in any international organization is technology and economic development, which means that a less industrialized society tends to adopt the values of a more technologically or economically advanced country. For example, if a U.S.- based company has a subsidiary in India, China, or Taiwan, the value system of the subsidiary will resemble that one of the headquarters (Ralston, n. d. p 5). One should also mention the so-called divergence theory which opposes the idea of convergence. According to it, socio-cultural differences between the headquarters and the subsidiary can hardly be minimized (Ralston, n. d. p 5). Furthermore, they should be managed according to the principles that are habitual for the employees of a certain country or culture. Finally, one has to speak about the idea of crossvergeance. According to it, values of organization as well managerial strategies have to be based on a certain business ideology and socio-cultural innfluences (Ralston, n. d. p 6). The advocates of this approach assume that that the management of an international company depends on the demographic trends in a certain region, the age of employees, their religion, the product of a company, and certainly their culture. Overal l, the knowledge of this theoretical framework allows the manager to better coordinate the effort between the headquarters and the subsidiary. On the basis of this research, one would be able to pinpoint a certain idea which would unite members of the personnel, irrespective of their cultural or ethnic origin.Advertising Looking for assessment on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The theories of convergence are similar to other approaches to cross-cultural management. For instance, one can mention Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. Hoftededy argues that culture shapes work-related values such attitude to hierarchy, relations between the employees, assessment of one’s performance and so forth (Hofstede as cited in Johann, 2008, p 5). Nonetheless, the theories that we have discussed, are more oriented toward practical needs of international companies, in other words, they are aimed at answering the question how people of different cultures can work together. If I had been faced with a task of integrating headquarters with subsidiaries, I would have applied the theory of crossvergence as a guide. In my view, this model is the most beneficial one because it urges the managers not to overlook the importance of employee’s age, gender, religion, political system in the country, and so forth. Furthermore, this framework differentiates between the work values of an individual and the team and this aspect is frequently overlooked by other theorists. A manager who is trying to integrate the headquarters with subsidiaries would have to come up with a certain value that would appeal to each employee, for example, the uniqueness of the product or excellent quality of the services, offered by the company. In other words, each of the workers must be proud to be employed the company. Only in this way, one would be able to find a common denominator between cultures. References Johann. R. 2008. Cross-Cultural Management: The Case of the DaimlerChrysler Merger. GRIN Verlag. Mead, R and Andrews, T.G. 2009. International Management 4th Edition. NY: John Wiley and Sons Ltd.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Theories of Convergence specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Ralston. D. (n. d) â€Å"The Crossvergence Perspective: Reflections and Projections†. University of Oklahoma. Web. This assessment on Theories of Convergence was written and submitted by user Mess1ah to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Free Essays on The Way Of The World

â€Å"The Way of the World† as a Restoration Comedy: Restoration Comedy is a type of Restoration Drama, which is related with the manners and attitudes of the characters and what the audience laugh at them after the pursuit of sex and money. In a way, the Comedy of Manners is a witty, and cerebral form of dramatic comedy that depicts and often satirizes the manners and affectations of a contemporary society. A comedy of manners is concerned with social usage and the question of whether or not characters meet certain social standards. The plot of such a comedy, usually concerned with an illicit love affair or similarly scandalous matter, is subordinate to the play's brittle atmosphere, witty dialogue, criticism and commentary on human foibles. â€Å"The Way of the World† which is written by William Congreve, is a restoration comedy play with its witty dialogues between the characters, criticism of the upper class people’s manners and also satiric and effective scenes such as lady and maid; unmasking scene of male libertine and proviso scene that ends in a lyrical celebration of unity. â€Å"The Way of the World† (1700), in fact â€Å"a world of wit and pleasure inhabited by persons of quality and deformed neither by realism nor by farce† (Congreve, p.401) which has come to be regarded as one of the great comedies in the English language. The plays of Congreve are considered the greatest achievement of Restoration comedy. They are comedies of manners, depicting an artificial and narrow world as explained above, peopled by characters of nobility and fashion, to whom manners, especially gallantry, are more important than morals such as Mirabell, Lady Wishfort, and Fainall. No doubt, Congreve’s view of mankind is amused and cynical. His characters are constantly engaged in complicated intrigues, usually centering around money like Mirabell, which involve mistaken identities like Mrs.Marwood, the signing or not signing of legal documents, ... Free Essays on The Way Of The World Free Essays on The Way Of The World â€Å"The Way of the World† as a Restoration Comedy: Restoration Comedy is a type of Restoration Drama, which is related with the manners and attitudes of the characters and what the audience laugh at them after the pursuit of sex and money. In a way, the Comedy of Manners is a witty, and cerebral form of dramatic comedy that depicts and often satirizes the manners and affectations of a contemporary society. A comedy of manners is concerned with social usage and the question of whether or not characters meet certain social standards. The plot of such a comedy, usually concerned with an illicit love affair or similarly scandalous matter, is subordinate to the play's brittle atmosphere, witty dialogue, criticism and commentary on human foibles. â€Å"The Way of the World† which is written by William Congreve, is a restoration comedy play with its witty dialogues between the characters, criticism of the upper class people’s manners and also satiric and effective scenes such as lady and maid; unmasking scene of male libertine and proviso scene that ends in a lyrical celebration of unity. â€Å"The Way of the World† (1700), in fact â€Å"a world of wit and pleasure inhabited by persons of quality and deformed neither by realism nor by farce† (Congreve, p.401) which has come to be regarded as one of the great comedies in the English language. The plays of Congreve are considered the greatest achievement of Restoration comedy. They are comedies of manners, depicting an artificial and narrow world as explained above, peopled by characters of nobility and fashion, to whom manners, especially gallantry, are more important than morals such as Mirabell, Lady Wishfort, and Fainall. No doubt, Congreve’s view of mankind is amused and cynical. His characters are constantly engaged in complicated intrigues, usually centering around money like Mirabell, which involve mistaken identities like Mrs.Marwood, the signing or not signing of legal documents, ...

The Public Campaign No More Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Public Campaign No More - Case Study Example As the paper outlines, started in 2013, the NO MORE campaign started in recognition of the fact that although millions of people face domestic and sexual assault every day, little is done to create awareness about the issue. It remains hidden and is less of a concern to the public. A group of people from the domestic and sexual assault prevention came together and realized that when people unite and fight the problem, it could create more public awareness on the issue. The campaign’s blue â€Å"vanishing point† symbol originated from a phenomenon of zero domestic violence and sexual assault inspired by Christine Mau, a survivor of such assault. Organizations fighting against domestic and sexual assault had to come together and partner with the NO MORE to organize and make the campaign possible. The NO MORE PSA Campaign is headed by the Joyful Heart Foundation partnering with NO MORE and is directed by actress, Mariska Hargitay. The face of the campaign is a team of more than 50 celebrities and public heads who are at the forefront in creating awareness and asking the public not to standby, but engage in the campaign. Participants of the campaign mainly comprise of celebrities and other organizations that are at the forefront of fighting domestic violence and sexual assault on people. Other non-profit organizations that are dedicated to ending domestic violence and sexual assault also have active participation in the NO MORE campaign. The NO MORE PSA campaign is a three-year public awareness campaign that is set to create public awareness in the importance of reducing domestic and sexual assault among families. The campaign is set to go across the US and other international markets. Among the tools to be used in creating the awareness include print, outdoor, online and other forms of broadcast advertising. The awareness will be made public in train stations, airports, and medical facilities.  

International Relations of Global Environmental Change Essay

International Relations of Global Environmental Change - Essay Example It is important to understand however the problems of implementing stern policies. The consequences of these policies on environment will be highly negative and this may decrease international trade drastically. Developing world is lacking the technology to produce environmental friendly products (Matsumura, A. 2010). They are taking initiatives but it will take a lot of time for any major change. In such situation where developing world in lacking resources, the strict policies for environmental protection can cause damage to their economy and to the world as well. Reducing global trade can lead the world into a financial crunch. This is why World Trade Organization cannot take up strict policies regarding global trade. International trade needs to be encouraged in order to maintain the economic prosperity in the world. Countries like South Korea and Taiwan have an export oriented economy. If the global trade is reduced then their economy will suffer badly. Also the world cannot just ban products from the developing world because they are producing high quality cheap products. The same products cannot be produced with similar costs in the developed world.This means that the world economy will also suffer if developing countries are forced to abide by the environmental protection law. People all over the world will have to pay high costs for products and economies of developing countries will suffer as a result of strict restrictions on global trade. This is the reason why global trade cannot be curtailed over environmental concerns. ... Reducing global trade can lead the world into a financial crunch. This is why World Trade Organization cannot take up strict policies regarding global trade. International trade needs to be encouraged in order to maintain the economic prosperity in the world. Countries like South Korea and Taiwan have an export oriented economy. If the global trade is reduced then their economy will suffer badly. Also the world cannot just ban products from the developing world because they are producing high quality cheap products. The same products cannot be produced with similar costs in the developed world. This means that the world economy will also suffer if developing countries are forced to abide by the environmental protection law. People all over the world will have to pay high costs for products and economies of developing countries will suffer as a result of strict restrictions on global trade. This is the reason why global trade cannot be curtailed over environmental concerns. Also devel oping countries are not in favor of environmental protection laws. They argue that the developed world was allowed to use the methods of production and this contributed to their growth and dominance today. Now when the developing world is following in their footsteps then they are being rebuked and stopped. Environmental laws are seen by many as methods by which developed world is trying to hinder the economic growth of developing world. This is another reason why tensions exist between environmental protection and global trade. Developing world sees this as an opportunity to expand its economy while any strict environmental policies will do

Describe the main grievances of the Russian people Essay Example for Free

Describe the main grievances of the Russian people Essay In the early 19th century Russia was still a typical pre-modern society. A century later it had been transformed. The main changes that effected the Russian community took place in the late 19th century and early 20th centuries. Although the country was prospering in terms of economy, 80 per cent of the population were classified as peasant who lived in small farming villages that were using primitive farming methods. At the beginning of the 20th century, half the Russian population was illerate. This may have been due to the fact that until the 1860s the peasants had not been set free, although the Emancipation Act was attempting to correct this, not much had changed. Industrial growth after the abolition of serfdom did not really help progress the economy. One school of thought expected that the abolition of serfdom would create a spontaneous upsurge in industrialisation. The Emancipation act did nothing to stimulate a sudden upsurge in industrialisation, but it did not entirely block economic progress either. Though the size of peasant allotments did remain roughly equal, the amounts they actually farmed did not, because poorer households, with insufficient labour or livestock to farm their own allotments, rented them to wealthier peasants who could farm extra land. Industrial production did not grow rapidly, and by the 1900 Russia had a well-established base for further industrial development and an extensive railway network. The record for the agricultural sector was unimpressive, even though agriculture remained by far the largest sector of the economy. Growth was thus rapid but unbalanced. While industry expanded, the living conditions of large sections of the peasantry declined. Industrial development was therefore felt for the most part as a decline rather then a rise in material living standards. The problem for most people was how to cope with deteriorating economic conditions. The increased tax burden was combined with growing land shortage. Between 1860 and 1900 the average allotment per male peasant had declined about 46 per cent. At the same time, a growing number of poor peasants did not have the livestock necessary to work and manure their land. Declining land holdings and rising taxes had a profound effect on the peasantry. They meant the peasants who in the past had been able to support themselves mainly from the land, now had to adopt one of two strategies, either sell their grain for cash, or seek monetary incomes/wages. Russian industrial development favoured not the manufacture of consumer goods, but that of producer goods such as iron. In other words it did little to increase the availability or cheapness of consumer goods or increase material living standards. On the contrary, it affected people above all through an increase in the taxation necessary to pay for industrial development. Although the country was prospering in terms of economy, eighty per cent of the population were classified as peasant who lived in small farming villages that were using primitive farming methods. At the beginning of the 20th century, half of the Russian population was illiterate. This may have been due to the fact that until the 1860s the peasants had not been se free, although the Emancipation Act was attempting to correct this, not much had changed.