Baby Data Drop

Learning Of Other Cultures…

Tonya Smith — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 18:15:17 +0000

I had to write this article because I could not believe the Wedding I attended last night. It was totally unbelievable!

Unbelievable because of these two facts. First, they were Greek Orthodox which in itself means that the Wedding and Reception is going to be totally decorated to the Max and the Wedding and Reception will be nothing but fun! Second, all of these people are Gypsy’s! No, I am not calling them Gypsy’s… they told me that what they preferred I called them. With those two facts, Greek Orthodox and Gypsy’s, I knew I was really in for a treat, and really almost a culture shock.

And I was exactly right. It was quite a wild night and celebration! Let me tell you a little about how Gypsy Greek Orthodox families party.

Well first, the Reception takes place before the Wedding. Now I understand that this is not true for normal Greek Orthodox people, however, this is true for Gypsy Greek Orthodox families.

During the Reception there is tons of dancing. And when I says tons of dancing, I mean, they don’t stop dancing for literally 4 hours straight. I saw this lady dancing the same way, with a type of Maypole in one hand and a huge diamond crown with a veil in the other hand and about 3 hours into her dancing I asked her “Why have you been dancing so long without a break and what are these things your holding?” She told me that she was holding the crowned veil and dancing with it because it is tradition for her, one of the Aunts to dance around with the crowned veil in her hand because it is to bring them good luck and that at the end of the dancing she will crown the Bride and will pray over the crown and will put a blessing on her and her new husband. As for the maypole, she told me that it was because May 1st was the Greek Orthodox Easter and this was them celebrating this Easter season of their traditional heritage. I really enjoyed learning all of this culture information. How fun to have something a little different at a Reception.

So the Reception continues and everyone is dancing. All of the sudden, after 2 hours of dancing, the music stops suddenly. It was quite jolting to my system because I had been hear and the same song played over and over again for literally 4 hours. It was fun. But when the music stopped I was thinking to myself, “What’s going on?” Everyone rushed over to the tables and started munching away on what I really thought was a feast. Gourmet steaks, potatoes, salad, cheesecake, casseroles, etc. The menu went on and on. I couldn’t believe it. Dinner seemed to be over quickly.

Once it was done a few men including the Grooms Father, Grandfather and a few of his Uncles went around to each table carrying a single bread basket asking for a donation for the Bride and Groom. Each person gave a t least $300! I couldn’t believe the generosity. Quickly the bread basket because a mobile savings account, and when it was all said and done, the Patriarchs had collected close to $10,000 total from the guests. It was quite amazing.

So, I thought that was the end of the evening. The Reception was to go from six to eleven at night and it was fifteen minutes until eleven o’clock. So I start to wind down when all of the sudden the traditional Wedding March song started playing on the overhead and all the sudden down the stairs come the bride in a beautiful white dress, which was a surprise to me because the Bride was dressed in a pink gown all night which I though was just another tradition. With no advanced notice the Bride and her Father start walking between all the guests and walk to the dance floor. Once they arrived at the dance floor the song changed from the Wedding March to Butterfly Kisses, which is a very popular Father-Daughter dance song right now. They dance for about one minutes, and during the rest of the song the Bride gets passed to over 25 guys from her Groom, to Uncles, Cousins, Friends, you name it! She dances with so many people, it was like a whirlwind. Once that was done, everyone at the Reception gets in a circle and dances one last time to the tradition Greek song and goes in circle singing “Op” and “Opa” every now and then. Once the songs ends all the Aunts and girl Cousins run over to the Bride and bobby pin the huge crown to the Brides head, once that’s done the run over to the cake, cut it, feed each other a slice, take a sip of wine, and all the sudden a Greek Priest appears, pushes his head to the Bride and Grooms, whispers something in their ear for about 30 seconds and then pronounced them married. Everyone screams, the Priest ties a red ribbons around the Bride and Grooms arms to show them joining together. All the family pushes the newlyweds over to a leafy arch and tons of people take pictures with them within 3 minutes. After, the Bride and Groom suddenly run off and jump in a limo and the party totally dies.

Literally from the end of the bread basket to the limo taking off, they did all of that in fifteen minutes. I could not believe it!

I learned something really valuable last night. I remember thinking, “Geez, this is not romantic! They just rushed though all the important romantic stuff.” However, I remember looking at all the guests and seeing how happy they all were and I thought, “Humm… you know what? This is their life, it is their culture and who they are.” After that I was so happy for them and learned to enjoy the whole night and just soak up all the different culture things I was being exposed to, and for me, that was really, one of the best Weddings I have ever attended.

Learning Of Other Cultures…

Tonya Smith — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 12:07:58 +0000

I had to write this article because I could not believe the Wedding I attended last night. It was totally unbelievable!

And I was exactly right. It was quite a wild night and celebration! Let me tell you a little about how Gypsy Greek Orthodox families party.

Well first, the Reception takes place before the Wedding. Now I understand that this is not true for normal Greek Orthodox people, however, this is true for Gypsy Greek Orthodox families.

Literally from the end of the bread basket to the limo taking off, they did all of that in fifteen minutes. I could not believe it!

Destinys Child Survivor Pop Music CD Review

Tonya Smith — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:35:44 +0000

The exceptionally talented Pop group Destinys Child have released their CD entitled Survivor. I am very confident and happy to announce that I believe Destinys Child fans, and Pop fans alike will be pleased with this one. With the release of Survivor their artistic excellence is on full display as they have once again delivered a brilliant collection of tracks that could very well be their best work to date.

Sara Evans Restless Pop Music CD Review

Tonya Smith — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:46:10 +0000

The exceptionally talented Pop artist Sara Evans has released her CD entitled Restless. I am very confident and happy to announce that I believe Sara Evans fans, and Pop fans alike will be pleased with this one. With the release of Restless Sara Evans’s artistic excellence is on full display as Evans has once again delivered a brilliant collection of tracks that could very well be her best work to date.

Gerald Levert Do I Speak for the World Pop Music CD Review

Tonya Smith — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:20:18 +0000

Gerald Levert has released his most recent CD entitled Do I Speak For The World.

Win Friends & Influence People Through Music — Is It Possible?

Tonya Smith — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 05:25:03 +0000

The idea that studying music improves the social development of a child is not a new one, but at last there is incontrovertible evidence from a study conducted out of the University of Toronto.
The study, published in the August issue of Psychological Science was led by Dr. E. Glenn Schellenberg, and examined the effect of extra-curricular activities on the intellectual and social development of six-year-old children. A group of 144 children were recruited through an ad in a local newspaper and assigned randomly to one of four activities: piano lessons, voice lessons, drama lessons, or no lessons.
Two types of music lessons were offered in order to be able to generalize the results, while the groups receiving drama lessons or no lessons were considered control groups in order to test the effect of music lessons over other art lessons requiring similar skill sets and nothing at all. The activities were provided for one year.
The participating children were given IQ tests before and after the lessons. The results of this study revealed that increases in IQ from pre- to post-test were larger in the music groups than in the two others. Generally these increases occurred across IQ subtests, index scores, and academic achievement.
While music teachers across the country greeted the new research enthusiastically, in fact, many other studies have previously shown a correlation between music study and academic achievement.
In 1997, well known music researchers Frances Rauscher, Gordon Shaw and their team at the University of California (Irvine) reported that music training is far superior to computer instruction in dramatically enhancing children’s abstract reasoning skills, the skills necessary for learning math and science. A group led by the same two scientists had earlier showed that after eight months of piano lessons, preschoolers showed a 46 percent boost in their spatial reasoning IQ.
The March 1999 issue of Neurological Research published a report by another group of researchers, also at the University of California (Irvine), who found that second-grade students given four months of piano keyboard training, as well as time playing newly designed computer software, scored 27% higher on proportional math and fractions tests than other children.
Students with coursework and experience in music performance and music appreciation scored higher on the SAT, according to a Profile of Program Test Takers released by the Princeton, NJ, College Entrance Examination Board in 2001. This report stated that students in music performance scored 57 points higher on the verbal and 41 points higher on the math, and students in music appreciation scored 63 points higher on verbal and 44 points higher on the math, than did students with no arts participation.
Another part of this same study shows that longer music study means higher SAT scores. For example, students participating in the arts for two years averaged 29 points higher on the verbal portion and 18 points higher on the math portion of the SAT than students with no coursework or experience in the arts. Students with four or more years in the arts scored 57 points higher and 39 points higher on the verbal and math portions respectively than students with no arts coursework.
Another study also found support for a relationship between math achievement and participation in instrumental music instruction. The researchers found that students who participated in instrumental music instruction in high school took on the average 2.9 more advanced math courses then did students who did not participate.
In fact, various studies over the last 10 years suggest teaching kids music can heighten their aptitude for math, reading, and engineering. (One explanation for improved ability in mathematics is that music theory is based on mathematical truths. Rhythms are divided into fractions – half notes, quarter notes and eighth notes. Scales have eight tones, and the steps between them follow an equation.)
A McGill University study in 1998 found that pattern recognition and mental representation scores improved significantly for students given piano instruction over a three-year period. The researchers also found that self-esteem and musical skills measures improved for the students given piano instruction.
And data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 revealed music participants received more academic honors and awards than non-music students, and that the percentage of music participants receiving As, As/Bs, and Bs was higher than the percentage of non- participants receiving those grades.
In 1994, a report entitled “The Case For Music Study In Schools” was printed in Phi Delta Kappan, the professional print journal for education. It included details of research conducted by physician and biologist Lewis Thomas, who studied the undergraduate majors of medical school applicants. Thomas found that 66 percent of music majors who applied to medical school were admitted, the highest percentage of any group.
The same report asserted that the very best engineers and technical designers in the Silicon Valley industry were, almost without exception, practicing musicians.
The world’s top academic countries also place a high value on music education. In a study of the ability of fourteen year-old science students in seventeen countries, the top three countries were Hungary, the Netherlands, and Japan. All three include music throughout the curriculum from kindergarten through high school.
St. Augustine Bronx elementary school, about to fail in 1984, implemented an intensive music program, and today 90 percent of the school’s students are reading at or above grade level. And a ten-year study at UCLA tracked more than 25,000 students, and showed that music making improves test scores. Regardless of socio-economic background, music-making students get higher marks in standardized tests than those who had no music involvement. The test scores studied were not only standardized tests, such as the SAT, but also in reading proficiency exams.
Music training helps under-achievers as well, according to research published in Nature magazine in May 1996. In Rhode Island, researchers studied eight public school first grade classes. Half of the classes became “test arts” groups, receiving ongoing music and visual arts training. In kindergarten, this group had lagged behind in scholastic performance. After seven months, the students were given a standardized test. The “test arts” group had caught up to their fellow students in reading and surpassed their classmates in math by 22 percent. In the second year of the project, the arts students widened this margin even further. Students were also evaluated on attitude and behavior. Classroom teachers noted improvement in these areas also.
In 2005, it appears the pace of scientific research into music making has never been greater. The most recent evidence from the University of Toronto confirms what many other researchers have already detected – that music boosts brainpower, academic achievement,socialization skills, and emotional health.
It’s logical, when you think about it. People who learn to play an instruments are in groups—bands, choirs, orchestras, combos, worship teams, etc. And working and making music with others is bound to help relateabilty with people and foster close bonds with fellow musicians.
So it appears that learning to play music, whether guitar, piano, or some other instrument, actually does contribute to your ability to “win friends and influence people.”

Michael Jackson Legendary Pop Music Idol and Dancing Machine Dies at Age 50

Tonya Smith — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 07:04:46 +0000

Everyone remembers where they were when something important or life-changing breaks in the news, it is almost as if time stands still just long enough to leave its indelible impression. Yesterday, millions of people the world over were left shocked and utterly speechless upon learning about the untimely death of legendary pop music icon, Michael Jackson. There are some in Jackson’s close personal circle who have come out in the press saying that while it was shocking, they were not truly surprised. Michael Jackson first broke into the music industry at the tender age of five and achieved a career that spanned a lifetime, reaching heights that one can only dream about. His songs are memorable, his dance moves were incredible, his stage presence intoxicating and vibrant. He was a consummate professional and his appeal was universal and widespread, reaching all four corners of the globe. Throughout his long and prosperous career he had an impressive total of 13 songs that climb the charts to number one, released 12 albums, 6 films and 13 music videos. The music was cut short on June 25th, 2009 at 2:26 p.m., when Michael Jackson was pronounced dead at UCLA Medical Center in California. The apparent cause of death was first attributed to cardiac arrest, but media reports are speculating now as to the underlying reason Jackson died. Some are saying it was due to the stress of performing a series of sold-out concerts set to begin in July, others are sighting something more sinister was behind the demise of the musical genius. With parallels being made to the tragic details surrounding the sad deaths of Anna Nicole Smith and Heath Ledger, Michael Jackson may have met his end due to misuse of prescription drugs. How bad was Jackson’s addiction to prescription drugs? Some would say the descent into prescription drug abuse first began in the early1990’s, as a result of Jackson’s image beating in light of child molestation charges. It is speculated during this time that he began taking prescription painkillers, Valium, Ativan and Xanax to cope with the stressful allegations that were made against him. During the fall of 1993, some allege Jackson was in full-blown drug addiction. At some point during this time frame, Jackson’s good friend Dame Elizabeth Taylor was instrumental in getting him into drug rehabilitation. With the mounting investigation and accompanying personal humiliation, Jackson further descended into a dangerous pattern of behavior. He is said to have ceased eating and suffered a significant weight loss, further suffering dangerous health related complications. Due to the debilitating stress, his financial advisors and legal counsel urged him to settle the matter out of court, believing he could not physically withstand the rigors and shame of a lengthy trial played out in the public eye. News of continued drug use was brought to light again in 2007, during which time a deposition Jackson gave in regards to business agreements signed with former manager Dieter Wiesner. He denied any knowledge of signing his name to contracts, and when asked in a court deposition about being under the influence of prescription drugs, Jackson replied weakly,” I could have been.” Other questions about his personal drug use elicited responses of “I don’t know,” or “I’m not sure.” For Michael Jackson to publicly on record, admit to being “impaired” to the point of memory loss is a startling testimony to how possibly serious his drug use had grown over the years. In 2006, the entire Jackson family is said to have harbored a great concern and fear about Michael’s growing dependence on prescription medications. According to various media sources, the Jackson’s staged an intervention in Las Vegas which is said to have gone terribly wrong and backfired on the family. Michael Jackson was said to have been angry and denied having a drug problem at the time. More recently, those close to Jackson sited the singer being “listless” and experiencing a decline in health due to the physical exertion required to train for his upcoming world tour. In recent months the singer had been looking gaunt and fragile, which he tried to hide by wearing heavy make-up and surgical masks when out in public. Currently, the body of Michael Jackson has been moved to the Los Angeles, California coroner’s office for autopsy and toxicology testing. The death of one of the world’s greatest entertainers is shrouded in secrecy and controversy, to which one can only ponder and question. Was his death the results of physical exhaustion and stress coupled with prescription drug misuse or was it just a simple sudden, tragic passing? The world waits on baited breath for further information.

CULTURE DIFFERENCES IN BUSINESS RELATIONS:THE CASE OF CHINA AND AFRICA

Tonya Smith — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 10:32:43 +0000

INTRODUCTION What does culture have to do with business? Many business majors and practitioners immersed in questions of financial forecasting, market studies, and management models have turned aside from the question of culture and how it affects business. But more and more organizations are finding themselves involved in communication across cultures, between cultures, among cultures; because they are doing business in foreign countries, perhaps, or because they are sourcing from another country, seeking financing from another country, or have an increasingly multicultural workforce. The globalization of the world economy, on one hand, has created tremendous opportunities for global collaboration among different countries; on the other hand, however, it has also created a unique set of problems and issues relating to the effective management of partnerships with different cultures. It can also be observed that most of the failures faced by cross-national companies are caused by neglect of cultural differences. With the increasing importance of the China market in the world economy, many businessmen rushed to enter China to explore business opportunities. It was reported that the great barriers caused by cultural differences like difficulty of communication, higher potential transaction costs, different objectives and means of cooperation and operating methods, have led to the failure of many Sino-foreign cooperation projects. Here is how arise some issues on “how to understand China” and “how to settle business” with Chinese people. Predominantly motivated by the quest for material inputs (oil and other primary commodities) required for its infrastructural investments and booming manufacturing sector, Chinese presence in Africa is rapidly growing. The rapid growth and significance of enhanced Chinese participation in Africa has important implications while talking about cultural aspects. To clarify the differences between China and Africa, I will focus on Hofstede’s four cultural dimensions: power distance, individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, and uncertainty avoidance and Bond’s dimension about long-term/short-term orientation also called “Confucian Dynamism”. Hofstede is one of the first to adopt a pragmatic problem-solving approach in the field and relates culture to management. He defines culture as a kind of “collective programming of the mind, which distinguishes the members of one category of people from another” (Hofstede, 1980). He explained that culturally-based values systems comprised four dimensions: power distance, individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, and uncertainty avoidance. Michael Bond (1989) in a further research discovered another dimension called long-term/short-term orientation. China and Africa differ greatly with regard to their economic systems, political systems, social values, and laws, despite the substantial changes that have occurred in China during recent years. Some differences can be found according to Hofstede studies on culture differences. First, in terms of power distance, China is centralized (though it has shown some tendency toward decentralized power) while Africa is relatively decentralized. In high power distance cultures, authority is inherent in one’s position within a hierarchy. There are strong dependency relationships between parents and children, bosses and subordinates and a significant social distance between superior and subordinate. In low power distance or power tolerance cultures, individuals assess authority in view of its perceived rightness. Second, we notice in both cases that contrary to western countries which have a strong individualism, China and Africa have a strong collectivism. Individualism-collectivism refers to the relative importance of the interests of the individual versus the interests of the group. In collectivistic societies, the interests of the group take precedence over individual interests. People see themselves as part of in-groups and the in-groups look after them in exchange for their loyalty. In individualistic cultures, the interest of the individual takes precedence over the group’s interest. Third, Africa has higher value than China in masculinity, which indicates that Africa is medium masculinity while China is medium femininity. Masculinity-femininity or goal orientation pertains to the extent to which “traditional” male orientations of ambition and achievement are emphasized over “traditional” female orientations of nurturance and interpersonal harmony. Cultures differ on what motivates people to achieve different goals. Cultures of the aggressive goal behavior type (masculinity) value material possessions, money, and assertiveness whereas cultures of the passive goal behavior type (femininity) value social relevance, quality of life and welfare of others. Fourth, China and Africa have higher values for uncertainty avoidance the West. This shows that in both sides, people are relatively risk-avoiding while western people are relatively risk-taking. Uncertainty avoidance captures the degree to which individuals in a culture feel threatened by ambiguous, uncertain, or new situations. Cultures are characterized as either high or low on uncertainty avoidance. Whereas low uncertainty avoidance cultures prefer positive response to change and new opportunities, high uncertainty avoidance cultures prefer structure and consistent routine. Last, Africa has a short-term orientation while China has a long-term orientation. Also called “Confucian dynamism”, this last dimension assesses a society’s capacity for patience and delayed gratification. Long-term oriented cultures (China and Hong Kong) tend to save more money and exhibit more patience in reaping the results of their actions. Short-term oriented cultures (African countries) want to maximize the present rewards and are relatively less prone to saving or anticipating long term rewards. It has been widely accepted that cultural differences greatly affect human thinking and behavior and thus business organizations in which people interact on the basis of shared values. Management is embedded in a wider societal setting, and is heavily influenced by local historical and cultural norms (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983). The significant differences between Africa and China seem to affect some aspects of their business management practice. Cultural Differences in business Strategies Because entrepreneurs mature within a societal context, their attitudes toward cooperation are likely to be influenced by the underlying values of their society (Weaver, 2000). As discussed above, Africa and China have a strong collectivism. People depend more on groups or institutions to determine what they should do and emphasize loyalty to the group. They are more likely to cooperate with others to avoid risks and reduce responsibilities. However due to the medium masculinity, Africans sometimes are reluctant to cooperate because their masculine culture view cooperation in general as a sign of weakness and place a high value on independence and control. In the process of cooperation, Chinese tend to pay more attention to relationships. I have to mention that the term “guanxi” which in English means relation or connection is at the center of businesses in China. In Weaver’s studies (2000), I found that entrepreneurs from societies that are masculine and individualistic have a lower appreciation for cooperative strategies as compared to entrepreneurs from societies that are feminine and collectivist in nature. Cultural Differences in Conflict Management In order to solve conflicts, Chinese and Africans have different ways. For Chinese where harmony and personal relationship are very important, they don’t like open conflict; therefore they use indirect ways to work out problems. Anytime there is conflict, they use the authority to end up with it or settle things in private. Negotiation and compromise are determinant for them in this case. Contrary to them, Africans managers like Europeans or Americans, will directly confront problems and bring them out in the open. To resolve problems, everybody is involved in order to bring rational arguments and ideas to suggest solutions. We can notice that Chinese avoid this method because for them that will create disagreement which is very undesirable. African managers are reluctant to devote their time and efforts together in solving business conflicts. Other people’s help is needed. In contrast, according to Bond (1991), the strong collective orientation and uncertainty avoidance values in China encourage Chinese managers to use indirect forms of influence that involve the assistance of a third party. Indirect forms are used by Chinese managers to deal with a difficult or controversial request. In this way, they avoid losing face or damaging “guanxi”. Cultural Differences in Decision-making Risk-taking/Risk-avoiding Chinese and African managers differ from in the attitudes toward risks when they make decisions for their different values in uncertainty avoidance. Chinese managers with a high uncertainty-avoidance have a lack adventurous spirit and the sense of risks. Immediate decisions which make them lose the opportunity to compete in a market are avoided in the case they feel the circumstance is uncertain. Most of the time, they want to be safe by taking less risky decisions. For African managers, it is almost the same. Middle and lower level supervisors are less willing to make decisions without deference to superiors. The result is that decision-making takes much longer than anticipated and requires more input from players at various social and professional levels. Uncertainty Avoidance measures for Africa indicate low risk taking and a resistance to change which can further delay projects which encounter problems mid-cycle. Levels of Participation in Decision-making The decision-making process involves making sense of ambiguity and taking risks (Jackson, 1993).The decision maker is working on the information available about what has already happened, what is assumed to have happened or is happening. The second aspect is future oriented (Brady, 1990). A risk is being taken because one is applying a perspective based on (often assumed) knowledge of the past, and projecting this to what might happen in the future if a certain course of action is followed. Chinese managers or African managers have different level of participation in decision- making. In China, decisions are participatory. Employees accept decisions handed down by their supervisors. Because of their unquestioning attitudes towards their supervisors, they resist participation in decision-making. In Africa, managers make individual decisions. They don’t consult with others but can defer to their supervisors. They value personal equality. To summarize, I can say that Chinese managers adopt the no participatory approach to decision-making. The decisions come from the higher superiors to the subordinates. However, since the reforms in China, things are changing. More and more, participatory decision-making is starting to be used in a certain number of companies. Cultural Differences in Work-group Characteristics The first difference about the work-group characteristics is the concept of “brotherhood, network, family feeling” which is at the heart of all Chinese interactions. In African business style which is quasi the western business style, managers focus on the deal, the possibilities, the risks and so on. There is less focus on the people they are doing business with. They may encourage their group members to learn from each other, to focus on task rather than on social and interpersonal relations, and to build the confidence required for superior performance. They make difference between personal relationship and work. In China, it is the opposite. Chinese managers may initially focus more effort on building social and interpersonal relations (guanxi) before entering into business or contractual relationship. They would like to spend time developing and maintaining guanxi during the process of interaction and consider it as a prerequisite to do business. What sort of person you are is more important than what you do. A good deal of time is spent exploring people’s characters. People want to know your background, your family situation, your likes and dislikes. A good deal of business is conducted in banqueting halls. Chinese believe a person’s true character comes out during these moments. The only purpose during these meetings is to see people’s other side, the human side. If they are comfortable with you, and if they think they can trust you, that you can be invited to “join the family”, you and your business are made. Chinese managers are not interested in short term; they want long, life-long business relations. However, as the economy has become increasingly marketized, privatized and competitive, the value and effectiveness of the Guanxi system has greatly deteriorated. In industries that have been substantially deregulated or privatized, or where there is vigorous competition, business is business, and Guanxi has been neutralized or marginalized. Relationships or connections now resemble that which we find elsewhere. Cultural Differences in Motivation Systems In business contexts, the motivations of employees, partners, superiors, contractees, social associates, and members of a society spring from cultural values, or what people think is important. In order to understand how to do business with members of another culture, it is necessary to understand what motivates them, to know where to begin and what you need to cover all necessary bases. According to Aguinis (2002), employees can be rewarded according to their performance (principle of equity), equally (principle of equality), or based on their needs (principle of need). In general, the equity principle is common in individualistic cultures while the equality principle is widely used in collectivistic cultures. Pay for performance and pay equity are the two main differences in motivation systems. From the 1950s until the 1980s, every aspect of China’s economic activity was planned, controlled and operated by the government. There was no private ownership of any property or asset, and, consequently, no profit motive for individuals or enterprises. The government would allocate everyone a pre-defined slice of the “big pie.” If anyone wanted more than what was allocated to him/her, it meant circumventing that system and getting someone in that “allocation chain” to provide a special favor. People were obliged to sacrifice their individual interests for those of the society. Cooperation, interdependence, group goals that create group harmony are applied in China. The sense of belonging and devoting to the group are important for Chinese people. Focusing on the view that one’s success is mainly based on group work; they believe that one cannot claim the reward just for oneself. Contrary to what some Chinese researchers argued on this part, I can say while setting salaries Chinese managers will not pay more attention to the working experience and academic qualifications of employees. In that case, the equality principle is reflected in the motivation system. For African managers, individual achievement is important. They are expected to achieve success only by their individual efforts. Value competition, achievement and personal goals are their main motivations in order to have plans to recognize their individual contributions. Their success relies on their own efforts. Talents and work performance of the employees will be considered by their superiors for salary increases and promotion. CONCLUSION As a result, understanding other cultures is more important than ever. If we consider that people from the same economic, political, and cultural background have problems communicating effectively; we can appreciate the difficulties and challenges that people from diverse cultures face when trying to communicate. Misunderstandings will always be a part of cultural aspects. The objective of this topic is more or less to minimize misunderstandings through an awareness of the priorities and expectations of business partners. In this period of Globalization, examination of cultural factors and the subtle ways in which culture affects business practices and patterns of market behavior should command increased attention from businessmen. Companies need to think outside the proverbial box when formulating their business strategies and when collaborating and forming business partnerships. As sometimes companies move to do business in other countries, a greater sensitivity to culture will be required and an understanding of cultural realities should facilitate business transactions. Knowing another culture is a legitimate concern of businesses. More than that, it is essential. Those who make effort the effort to understand another culture gain knowledge about how to behave in that culture. Otherwise, if you know what people value and understand their attitudes, you won’t unintentionally do something that offends and diminishes your chances for business success. In today’s global businesses’ context, the winners are not those who study the markets they deal with even if it’s important but those who study people they deal with. REFERENCES Adler, N. (1991), “Cultural Dimensions of Organizational Behavior”, Thomson Publishing Company Adler, N. (2001), “International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior”, South-Western Pub, 4th Edition Blunt, P; and Jones, M.L (1992), “Managing Organizations in South Africa”, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. Beamer L. and Varner Iris, (1998) “Intercontinental Communication in the Global Workplace”, New York: John Wiley & Sons Beamer L.(2003, “Directness, Context and Facework in Chinese Business communication”, Journal of Business and Technical communication, Vol. 17, No. 2, 201-237 Beamer L. (1998) “Bridging Cultural Barriers”, China Business Review 5-6 1998, pp.54-58 Boon, M. (1996), “The African Way: The Power of Interactive Leadership”, Zebra Press, Stanton Cohen R., (1991) “Negotiating across cultures: International Communication in an Interdependent World”, Raymond Cohen Dia, M. (1991), “Development and cultural values in sub-Saharan Africa”, Finance and Development Hofstede, G. (1997), “Cultures and Organizations”, McGraw Hill Hofstede, G.(1984) “Culture’s consequences”, Sage, London and Beverly Hills Hofstede, G.(1991) “Cultures and Organizations”, New York: McGraw-Hill International Hofstede, G. (1980), “Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work Related Values”, Newbury Park, CA: Sage Kalafatis, S.P. (2000), “Buyer-seller relationships along channels of distribution”, Industrial Marketing Management, Vol. 31 No.3, pp.215-28. Koopman, A. (1991), “Transcultural Management”, Oxford: Blackwell. Kovach K.A. (1987), “What motivates employees: workers and supervisors give different answers”, Business Horizons Vol. 30 No.5, pp.58-65. Levitt, T. (1983), “The globalization of markets”, Harvard Business Review, May-June, pp. 92-102. McCoy, F. (1995), “Doing Business in South Africa”, Black Enterprise, May, pp. 58-68. McLeod R. (1988), “China Inc.: Doing Business with the Chinese”, New York Bantam Books Mbigi, L. (1994), “The Spirit of African Management”, in P. Christie, R. lessem & L. Mbigi (eds), “African Management, Knowledge Resources”, pp. 77-92. Mitchell C. (1999), “International business culture: building your international business through cultural awareness”, World Trade Press Prime, N. (1994), “Culture, temps et négociation commerciale”, Ph.D Thesis in Business Administration, Université Pierre Mendès France, Ecole Supérieure des Affaires, Grenoble Richmond, Y. & Gestrin P. (1998), “Into Africa: Intercultural Insights” Intercultural Press. Robert Y. (2004), “What is Culture in Organizations”? Project Management Community Industry Article 3/2/2004 Storey J. (2000), “Cultural theory and popular culture: An Introduction”, Prentice Hall 3rd Edition Song Li (2004), “Gateway to Intercultural Communication”, Harbin University of Industry Press Victor D. (1993), “International business communication”, Harper-Collins

How to Establish yourself as a Music Teacher

Tonya Smith — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 06:18:01 +0000

Many people who put their heart into music, put their business into music teaching. There are many fields of music education and if you are proficient in one or more you will surely find work. The first thing that a music teacher has to do is choose what he or she will focus on, be it an instrument, voice coaching, music theory or even music history. Next comes the time to assess your own knowledge on the topic. If you have a degree of Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Music Education or Master of Music, you are probably comfortable enough teaching at any level. However if your learning did no go that far, you should be teaching at a more basic level. In any case, be sure you are qualified and are honest about your qualifications with your clients. Consider also who you want to teach. Maybe you would love to help young children take their first steps in music. Or maybe you want to work with older kids or adults on continuing or just starting their education. Be sure you adapt your teachings and, if you need to, talk to pedagogues so you know how to deal with a child. The planning of the classes can be tricky and do not think for a second that only adults can spot if you did not prepare the lesson. A kid will notice and can get bored and even give up if they feel you are not making an effort. Scheduling can also be difficult. Whatever you do, do not book more than one student for a time slot and try not to extend the lesson pass its designated time. It just screams that you are unprofessional. Remember during which hours kids are in school and are not available. Moreover, keep in mind that a 6 year-old attention span is not the same as a 16 year-old’s so the time which lesson takes depends very much on the student. It also depends on you personally and on your teaching method. On that topic, there are a lot of different music teaching methods out there. One of the most popular is the Suzuki Method, but others include the Dalcroze Method and the Yamaha Method. Even if you choose not to follow any of these, it is very interesting to learn a bit about each. It will open your eyes and you will see your work under a whole new prism. In the end, you probably will take some directions from these methods, even if subconsciously. These are the basics you should take into account when setting up as a private music teacher. Others are simple, practical choices like the place you want to teach, the prices you will charge and how to keep your financial books. However, most of it comes from practice and time. You are a music teacher, so you know that everything does.

Sara Evans Restless Pop Music CD Review

Tonya Smith — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 15:04:29 +0000