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Reflection on ESL Teaching Methods

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Reflection on ESL Teaching Methods

The information covered in the ESL 3303 course undoubtedly supports the lesson conducted by the instructor in the video that is the subject of discussion. The course is meant to train and equip first-time learners from a non-English speaking background with English skills. Students who do not speak English as their main language tend to have difficulty transitioning and fitting into classes where English is the main language of communication. The instructor covers important topics such as sentence construction. Learning about sentence structure is important for both written and spoken communication. As such, first-time language learners need to learn about the basic parts of a speech before everything else. Sentence structure is important because communication becomes easy once learners know what adverbs, adjectives, nouns, and verbs are.

After watching with video, I feel okay with the possibility of taking up an English class with newcomers that do not speak English as their first language. I realize that it would be a good fit for me because I have the virtue of patience. Before today, I was skeptical about taking such a class, but now I am confident in my ability to deliver and obtain desirable results. While teaching language is not an easy task, it is certainly rewarding and fulfilling. Teaching first and second-time language acquisition is not for the faint-hearted. It requires strategy and sometimes even using a native language to expound concepts. The key takeaway from watching this lesson is to seek meaningful feedback from the learners. After explaining a concept, I noticed that the teacher would give an example and take a moment to ask if they understood and if the task was easy or hard. Another takeaway is to let the students contribute to the discussion rather than imposing ideas on them. Allowing learners to contribute to the discussions helps them understand concepts better.

Cultural Diversity Aging Family

Cultural Diversity Aging Family

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Introduction

Aging has been one of the most debated issues in the contemporary world. Of course, there is ambiguity as to what should be encompassed in discussions about age. Nevertheless, aging does not revolve around a single experience, rather it also incorporates the manner in which the society views other people based on their looks and actions. This chapter examines how ethnicity and culture interplays with various factors that impact on older families and aging.

Summary of 3 prominent points of the article

One of the key points in the article is that while the media is rife with images of lonely old people, over half of adults aged 65 are married. However, there are variations in the marital status of men and that of women. While the ratio of old women to that of old women is 141: 100, old men have a higher likelihood of being married than their female counterparts (Karasik & Hamon, 2007). This discrepancy may be explained by the variation or difference in life expectancy, sociocultural expectations pertaining to marriage and remarriage, as well as divorce.

The second key point is that the relationship between siblings increases at old age despite a decrease during the child-bearing age. However, the type and amount of contact that siblings have in their later life is mediated by the geographic proximity, individual differences and gender, as well as race. Siblings play a crucial role in enhancing the social support networks pertaining to older adults that are culturally diverse (Karasik & Hamon, 2007).

Third, as much as grandparenthood has become a universal aspect amongst many people, the intimacy and interaction between grandparents and grandchildren has been changed tremendously. This is because of gaps in the cultural values and language differences among other factors. While it is accepted that the grandparents would take an active role in bringing up the grandchildren, research shows that the role incorporates a considerable stress level. However, varied factors such as family support and context of caregiving moderate the stress that the grandparents experience in caregiving (Karasik & Hamon, 2007).

The sociology of the family looks at the family as a unit and institution of socialization via varied sociological perspectives. This article has outlined the interplay of various aspects of the family in the issues pertaining to aging and old age. The authors acknowledge the traditions of numerous groups concentrate on the collectivity and interdependence where the needs of the collective are prioritized over those of the individual (Karasik & Hamon, 2007). This material cemented my knowledge and understanding of the potential roles that the grandparents would play in the lives of their grandchildren. These roles mainly revolve around being teachers of the young generations or being their role models. They can be either companionate grandparents or involved grandparents and break the barriers such as geography, cultural values and time to reach out to the grandkids so as to enhance the quality of their lives (Karasik & Hamon, 2007).

Another issue that crops up in aging families is the companionship bit. It is well established that a large number of old people are married and not lonely. However, it is noteworthy that a large number of these people are men. While there are various explanations to this fact, it is noteworthy that social and cultural expectations pertaining to marriage have been the key cause of the disparity (Karasik & Hamon, 2007). The pool of men who would be willing to marry the widowed women is diminishing while that of men is endless, thanks to the media which still depicts men as ageless while women are shown as unattractive. In essence, most men remarry and remain married in their old age while their female counterparts stay single and lonely thanks to the expectations of the society (Karasik & Hamon, 2007).

Personal effect of the information

The information presented in this chapter is extremely insightful as far as cementing knowledge on the interaction between old age and culture. One of the most insightful things in the material revolves around the positive impact that parenting African American grandparents may have in the lives of their grandchildren. Such relationships have potential strengths such as involving grandchildren in the community, offering socioeconomic support, playing a part in the education of the grandchildren, maintenance of effective communication, eliminating the grandparents’ vulnerabilities, as well as allowing for the participation of the extended family and acknowledging that the biological parents are not present (Karasik & Hamon, 2007). It is worth noting that research shows that while numerous grandchildren would acknowledge that there exists a gap between them and their grandparents, their grandparents would be unlikely to acknowledge the gap. This may be surprising especially considering that most research on this research involves self reporting. However, it could be implying that the grandparents have not evolved as to meet the new or emerging demands and needs of their grandchildren as far as their relationship is concerned.

Another insightful aspect revolves around the fate of a sibling or family relationships. The article has noted that family relationships were arguably the most enduring. However, this trend would be likely to change as the size of the family decreases in the contemporary world (Karasik & Hamon, 2007). This is dreadful especially considering that siblings are a crucial component of the mutual support networks for old people. While there is a difference in the relationships between siblings across races, it is imperative that issues such as immigration are dealt with in a conclusive manner so as to cement the sibling relationships that exist among old people.

References

Karasik, R.J & Hamon, R.R (2007). Cultural Diversity and Aging Families. New York: Sage Publications

Pepsi’s Marketing Mistakes in the Philippine Market

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Pepsi’s Marketing Mistakes in the Philippine Market

Marketing mistakes tend to affect international marketing, as was in the case of Pepsi Company described in the article. A small error in marketing promotion ended up costing the company up to $20 in losses, including legal, brand, and physical costs and a plummeted market share that would take to rebuild. In the early 1990s, Pepsi made a move to expand into the Philippine market, where Coca-Cola was dominant. At the time, the Philippine market was the 12th largest market for soft drinks, with an increasing population of 62 million. They came up with a promotion whereby they put numbers on soda bottles. There would be numerous small winners and two grand winners of $40 000. The number 349 was set as the winning number for the grand prize

However, they were one simple problem; none of the people who won the $40, 000 prizes would get their reward. There was a computer glitch with one of the vendors who made them produce 800, 000 bottles, with each containing a “349” number. As a matter of fact, Pepsi themselves were the ones who would manufacture the two winning bottles and ship them to the Philippines market. This meant that 800, 000 people had received the winning number as opposed to anticipated two winners which made it difficult for Pepsi to award the $40, 000 prize tag. They had accidentally sent winning caps worth $32 billion and meanwhile, the winners were going bananas at the thought of the prize tag money. The marketing strategy was momentarily effective as Pepsi’s market share reached 24.9%, more than 4% within two months. Pepsi realized the optics were not looking good and they had made a terrible mistake as the population, which mainly comprises poor people had begun forming action groups and demonstrating across Manila in their local headquarters and government buildings. Because they could not just simply walk away from the situation, they offered to pay $18 to the 800, 000 winners, at the cost of $8.7 million as opposed to the original budget of $2 million, but the deal was still not enticing enough. This shows how even the smallest marketing mistakes are likely to affect international marketing for companies.

Cultural diffusion

Cultural diffusion

Cultural diffusion is the spreading of cultural items and beliefs from one group of people to another. Historically this occurred as a result of war, trade, intermarriages and various social activities. Other the years, different activities such as sports have assisted in the spread of cultural diffusion.

There are mainly two types of cultural diffusion; direct cultural diffusion and forced diffusion. The difference between the two is that direct diffusion is voluntary and either group is not bid to accept the change. On the other hand forced diffusion also known as expansion diffusion occurs when one group is more superior at the time and forces the other to change or assimilate the there culture. Both types of cultural diffusion have had major contributions in history in relation to social, economic and political sectors. Forced culture diffusion was more common in the early when colonialism was wide spread and migration was more rapid. A good example of forced or expansion cultural diffusion is the settling of Spanish in 16th and 17th centuries on American lands which later forced most American to convert to Roman Catholicism. However, irrespective of the type of cultural diffusion history shows over the years the effect or results achieved are quite similar.

Most developments noted in most countries relate to agricultural, technological, social or economic sectors. All of these sectors strongly relate to cultural diffusion because it has over the years influenced agricultural stage, industrialization, technological regimes and even political stability that called for democracy. Cultural diffusion involve exchanging tools, beliefs and even ideas such as metal which could be improved to be weapons or even tools in agriculture. Beliefs that helped change lives of societies to civilization and even improve living standards. Its worth noting that cultural traits themselves do not assist in development but the variation is respective strengths of groups in cultural assimilation and diffusion dictate the heterogeneity further becoming instruments of economic development.

The four ancient river valley civilizations are a perfect example of the effect and achievement of cultural diffusion. The four ancient river valley civilizations refers to the Egyptian, Tigris- Euphrates, Huang He (yellow River) and Indus civilizations. These were noted in Egypt, India, China and Mesopotamia over the years beginning in 300 BCE on wards but flowering more in 1900 BCE. The Indus valley civilization was the first and was as a result of cultural diffusion through trade among the countries along Indus River. This was closely followed by the civilization in China which according to historical records it began as early as 16th century. Where by the Chinese turtle shells with markings reminiscent from shang dynasty. These interactions with countries along the yellow river valley saw China be one of the worlds strongest over the years. Ancient Egyptian closely followed in civilization and economic development, considering they were located in the north eastern part of Africa they were able to trade with other groups from eastern dessert, Red sea coastlines and Penninsula dessert. In that light, the four river valley civilization was the beginning of civilization. The four early river civilizations assisted in providing the model of civilization. This is where languages were developed, writing types began, and agriculture was first practiced and besides communities started.

Cultural diffusion was noted the four river civilization, as people gathered due to dwindling opportunity there arose need for food thus hunting and gathering was adopted and the need to accumulate food was essential. Since some groups had metal while others provided pieces land farming was made easier. Trade could ensure that people without metal but had land could gain from the trade and thus get metal to made farming tools. Further due to better agricultural methods and grater food production more people could now live in a small area. As an example the Chinese started to farm rice in large scale through trade with the Asian countries along the Pearl River valley of China. Large numbers of phytoliths started to farm rice thus resulting to better living standards and enhanced trade.

Farming and husbandry were the main activities in most countries in the early years but with the various skills and expertise the activities were enhanced to the industrialization and agriculture we have today in the modern society. For instance, the floods on most rivers in the four river civilization were better utilized to improve agriculture that also improved economic status of different groups. The sundial that was the idea of the Egyptian assisted in knowledge of those that interacted with them and they also gained from the spear Greeks to improve security and make art that was also fro trade.

With that analysis its evidence that the four early civilizations developed as a result of technology growth and food storage they gained through improved agriculture. Channeling water and developing laws to enhance peace and prosperity were also major key factors. Socioeconomic classes, astronomical calendars and writing also played a major factor in these civilization stages. All these factors were enhanced through interaction and diffusion of cultures thus tapping civilization as we know it today.

OpEd on Racism

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OpEd on Racism

Racism tops the list when it comes to the problems experienced in American society today. Racism has existed for decades now since the days of American civilization and civil wars. We can say that the burden of racism has decreased over the years but the truth is that the war against this vice is far from over. American racism is very much alive and more so today, there is heightened attention to the matter particularly in the wake of movements such as Black Lives Matter among other movements that continue to advance the equality agenda not only in the United States but in many places around the world. There have been plenty of discussions regarding the contributing factors to racism, police brutality, and unequal treatment of people of color in the U.S today and this piece provides my thoughts on the same.

I once knew of a lady who used to work for us as a house manager. She was a kind and sweet soul; the kind that every child would want to be their nanny. She took great care of me and the family loved him. My mother got so accustomed to her that she now considered her as part of the family. The nanny had a son who used to work as a gardener for a prominent white family in one of those elitist neighborhoods. The nanny and her son were both of African-American descent. The two did not have much in life, they were not very fortunate to get an education. The lady’s son had dropped out of college a while back due to lack of financial muscle to put him through the entire college education and all they did now was work to afford a decent living and a meal at the end of the day. It happened that the son run into trouble with his employers. One day, the eldest daughter of the white family where he worked as a gardener accused him of rape. Being, in a position of power and with many resources at their disposal, the family did not hesitate to have the gardener arrested. When our nanny received the news, she was at our place. She was confused by the whole fiasco. She knew for a fact that her son was incapable of doing such a thing. She did not know what to do and at this point, my mother offered to help her and made arrangements to have our family lawyer take up the matter. It was discovered that the daughter had made up the story because the gardener had refused her sexual advances. She was accusing him falsely as payback to him. The family never bothered to investigate the matter and they believed their daughter and they pulled strings to have the gardener arrested and prosecuted. They knew there was little he could as he did have money to hire a good lawyer.

Racial injustice against people of color is a serious issue that needs to be addressed at its root if we are to win against this war. It is clear that the gardener’s race placed him at a disadvantage to the extent that he did not stand a chance to even defend himself. In American society, there is negative stereotyping which affects people’s perceptions of people of color. People of color are viewed as poor and violent beings and they are seen as deserving of unequal treatment. For such a long time, in the history of the U.S. black people did not have rights including voting rights. There was the social separation of people based on color and this notion does not seem to have changed much. White supremacy position white people as dominants which warrant unequal treatment of black people in society. It is for this reason that the gardener found himself as a victim of racial injustice. Law enforcement will be quick to make an arrest when the person presumed to be the perpetrator is a black person. Additionally, it is important to note that white people comprise the majority of the American population. Hence, it goes without saying that majority of the police workforce is white people. As such, this brings prejudice when it comes to enforcing the law. It is assumed that people tend to behave and act positively when they are dealing with a person they consider to be from their group. This means that white police will are lenient when dealing with white law offenders than when dealing with black offenders. The battle against racism is far from over. As a society, we must come together and collaborate if we want to see change realized.

Cultural Differences in Team Members

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Cultural Differences in Team Members

Introduction

Increased globalization has led to the diversification of work environments and more than ever, employees are expected to partner with peers from different cultural backgrounds. This has culminated the rise of culturally related conflicts. The sensitivity of the conflicts has had far reaching implications on the performance of the corporations and in severe instances; it has threatened the very wellbeing of the organizations in respective locations. In order to enhance sustainability and ensure that employee practices are harmonic and supportive of each other, it is imperative to reconcile the inherent differences that would keep the conflicts at bay. It is against this background that this paper explains actual scenarios in which culturally related communication issues on a team caused misunderstandings and problems within the team. In addition, it underscores practical measures that were undertaken by the relevant authorities to address them.

In the first scenario, the team comprised of employees from China, Japan, the United States and Canada. At one point, the Japanese lady missed important training sessions that had been organized by the top management from the United States. She did not seek for permission before leaving and did not inform any of her colleagues about her absenteeism for a period of four days. When she came back, the training session was almost over and the management needed to know the reason for her absenteeism. She explained that she was forced to leave immediately because one of her family members had passed on. However, she expressed this while smiling and the message did not go down well with the authorities that were from the United States. They openly expressed their discontent with the reasons she was giving for her absenteeism from duties. Apparently, the European found this cold, inhuman and therefore untrue (Brubaker & Verdok, 1998).

With time, this strained the relationship between the Japanese lady and the top management who began to doubt her degree of dedication to the firm. After a period of two weeks, she was put on probation by the management in order to re evaluate her performance. It was at this stage that the regional management explained to the top management that the lady’s expression was in line with her cultural values. Essentially, LeBaron (2010) indicates that the Japanese consider it inappropriate to inflict any degree of grief and or pain in other individuals. This explained why the lady expressed her ordeal while smiling and but the management thought she was making up the story and therefore decided to take stringent measures against her. After this explanation, the lady was returned on duties and the top management apologized to her.

The second conflict was between two employees; one from France and another from Europe. The two employees shared an office and were expected to carry out most of the duties jointly. After being in the office for a period of one month, the European employee started complaining of a degree of coldness form his partner. In addition, he indicated that the French counterpart was disinterested in his duties and in most instances, he preferred working alone. This had made the European employee frustrated and was having adverse implications on his performance. The employee from French on the other hand considered the relationship normal and affirmed that he was satisfied with the working conditions.

On scrutinizing the scenario, it was found out that the inherent conflicts were culturally inclined. In his review, LeBaron (2003) indicates that the French were naturally accustomed to spacious living and working conditions. This was also reflected in their conversations in which they preferred maintaining some considerable space between them and the individual that they communicate with. The Europeans on the other hand are used to relatively small living and working spaces. Likewise, this is reflected in their communication mannerisms in which they prefer sitting or standing close to other persons during conversations.

In this case, the latter was not comfortable with the French’s habit of creating space. He interpreted this as lack of interest and coldness. Based on these assumptions, he found it difficult to initiate close relations that are essential for enhancing team performance. To counter the scenario, the management was forced to carry out a cultural training in order to educate its workforce about the inherent culturally differences. According to Bibikosa and Kotelnikox (2001), this could also be carried out through information dissemination and sharing with respect to culture.

Conclusion

From the preceding analysis, it is certain that cultural differences are typical of working environments of international organizations. If left to persist, they do not only impact on performance but they also threaten the organizational welfare. The management plays an important role in reconciling these differences in ordered to enhance output. In addition, the employees need to be informed about the differences in order to avoid conflicts that can stem from the misunderstandings. Of great importance would be for them to exercise some degree of tolerance for them to accommodate each other.

References

Bibikosa, A. & Kotelnikox, V. (2001). Managing Cross Cultural Differences. Retrieved 13th June, 2010 from: HYPERLINK “http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings/cross-cultural_differences.html” http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings/cross-cultural_differences.html

Brubaker, D. & Verdok, T. (1998). Conflict Resolution Training in Another Culture: Some Lessons from Angola. Retrieved 13th June, 2010 from: HYPERLINK “http://www.odihpn.org/report.asp?ID=1100” t “_blank” http://www.odihpn.org/report.asp?ID=1100.

LeBaron, M. (2003). Culture and Conflict. Retrieved 13th June, 2010 from: HYPERLINK “http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/culture_conflict/” http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/culture_conflict/

LeBaron, M. (2010). Transforming Cultural Conflict in an Age of Complexity. Retrieved 13th June 2010 from: HYPERLINK “http://www.berghof-handbook.net/articles/lebaron_hb.pdf” t “_blank” http://www.berghof-handbook.net/articles/lebaron_hb.pdf.

NAFTA, WTO, EU & Third World

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NAFTA, WTO, EU & Third World

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is a controversial trade pact that eliminated majority of the tariffs among other trade barriers on services and products passing between Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The pact that went into effect in 1994 stayed in force until 2020, when it was replaced. NAFTA pact managed to effectively create a free trade zone for the three countries, making it an important feature in the bilateral relationship between Mexico and the United States (Villareal and Ian, 33). NAFT gives coverage to services excluding maritime, transport, and basic telecommunications. The pact also incorporates the protection of intellectual property on various areas including trademark, patent, and copyrighted material. NAFTA’s government procurement provisions apply to the goods and contracts for construction and services at the federal level. Moreover, United States investors are assured of equal treatment for domestic investors in Canada or Mexico. NAFTA makes it possible for companies to ship goods that qualify to be shipped to Mexico and Canada duty-free. Under NAFTA rules, goods can qualify in numerous ways. It can be due to products getting whole produced in a NAFTA party or because of a lack of sufficient amount of materials or work needed to make a product what it is during exportation.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an international institution that was formed in 1995 to manage global trade rules among nations. The WTO functions on agreements that have been signed by numerous trading nations in the world. The primary function of the World Trade Organization is to assist producers of services and goods, as well as importers and exporters, manage and protect their businesses. The World Trade Organization had 164 member countries as of 2021, with Afghanistan and Liberia as the youngest members, having joined in 2016. WTO also has 25 observer governments and countries. Essentially, WTO is an alternative dispute entity that oversees international rules for trade organizations by giving them a platform to negotiate and resolve trade matters.

The European Union is an international entity that comprises 27 European countries that oversee common social, economic and security policies. The members of the European Union include Belgium, Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, and Cyprus, Estonia, Denmark, Finland, Greece, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Ireland. Latvia, Luxembourg, and Lithuania, the Netherlands, Malta, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Spain, Slovenia, Slovenia, and Sweden. The United Kingdom, one of EUs founding member existed the organization in 2020. The European Union was formed by the Maastricht Treaty that took effect on 1st November 2023. The treaty was meant to enhance economic and political integration in Europe through the creation of a single currency (euro), having common rights for citizenship, unified security and foreign policy and advancing unity in matters of asylum, immigration, and judicial affairs.

The Third world is a term that has been historically used to refer to a category of economically developing nations. Although the terms have since been outdated it is part of a four-part section categorization used in describing the economies of countries according to economic status. The third world comes after the First World and Second World countries but well ahead of the Fourth World, which was barely recognized. Nowadays, the preferred terms used to refer to third-world countries are underdeveloped countries, developing nations, or middle or low-income countries (Ayoob, 14). Generally, nations are characterized by employment growth, domestic product, unemployment rate and employment growth. Underdeveloped countries are monitored closely by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), which seeks to give a aid for the purpose of improving economic and infrastructure systems comprehensively.

Works Cited

Ayoob, Mohammed. “The third world security predicament.” The Third World Security Predicament. Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2022.

Villareal, M., and Ian F. Fergusson. “The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).” (2017).

Cultural Competence in Health Care Emerging Frameworks and Practical Approaches

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Cultural Competence in Health Care: Emerging Frameworks and Practical Approaches

Health is an important factor in determining a nation’s productivity. Thus, in economically productive nations, access to health facilities is a right to citizens. However, ethnically and racially diverse nations are facing a challenge in ensuring adequate provision of healthcare to citizens. This is particularly of concern in the United States where approximately twenty eight percent of the population is minorities, but they are not equally represented in the healthcare institutions. Increasing world migrations in search of employment opportunities and better livelihood is an indicator of the need for culturally diverse Medicare systems.

Despite being a challenge to many countries, healthcare provision to racially diverse society is improving in certain cities in the United States. Sunset Family Park Center in Brooklyn is properly advancing its systems to adequately offer services to an ethnically diverse community. The facility puts into consideration the socioeconomic status of its neighborhood by making flexible its service hours so as to ensure equal access to health care. Creating links with community leaderships help enhance trust between healthcare providers and patients; this makes it easy for the community to embrace services from the facility. Apart from offering satisfactory services, the facility is embracing cultural competence through celebrating diversity and training its staff and relating to community based organizations.

Cultural competence is a sure way of achieving satisfaction on healthcare provision. Promoting racial and ethnic diversity in the healthcare workforce improves trust between service providers and users. It equally enhances understanding of the needs of different races as well as elaborates on their expectations from service providers. Cultural diversity in the healthcare workforce; gives communities a sense of belonging and acceptance, as they can access services in their native languages. In addition; consumer satisfaction is an important aspect for consideration through, training of healthcare personnel on cultural competence and evaluating level of satisfaction from the society. Moreover, educational, business as well as religious institutions need to consider facilities having cultural competence when insuring their staff.

On the light side, cultural competence in health care provision is receiving attention from different institutions in the United States. Academic, government, managed care, and community health care programs are all initiating cultural competence into their systems. This is through providing translations in languages spoken in their environs, training facility workers, as well as including cultural competence in their curriculum. Increasing the number of languages used in providing services to communities makes it easy for consumers to access a facility and rely on its services. Moreover, training professionals in different languages increases ease in providing Medicare and enhances understanding of different cultural practices.

Statistics from population census show Unite States as a country which brings together different racial and ethnic groups. However; no language unites these people, this creates a barrier in communication, limits access to services by the minority and widens the socioeconomic difference among people. As a result; implementation of cultural competence in healthcare is one approach that promotes unity as it makes health services accessible to everyone and increases trust among people. Involving communities in activities promoting proper healthcare provision not only makes them confident in the services but also creates unity. It is thus in order that; people acquire a positive attitude towards enhancing cultural competence in healthcare and use it as an approach to improving community livelihood.

Managing the Appraisal Interview

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Managing the Appraisal Interview

In my viewpoint, performance reviews tend to do more harm than good to organizations. There is a high possibility that they do not help companies get the most out of their employees. Performance appraisal sometimes tends to feel more of an interrogation than an open coaching session. Although most employees will not admit to this, they do not appreciate this style of feedback from employees. As a matter of fact, a survey carried out by Gallup showed that only 14% of the study participant believed the delivery style improves performance. One of the main reasons why performance reviews do more harm than good is that there are high chances that managers do not give employees feedback on a regular basis. So, by the time each employee hears their correction or praises, the issues will be in the past. The feedback will be irrelevant as either the issues will have been resolved or are in the past. In essence, it is unnecessary to rehash painful times or praise that comes as an afterthought. As a matter of fact, almost half of employees receive feedback from their performance appraisals a few times every year or less. Most managers will wear the hat once a year. Additionally, some managers do not have training for performance review, which explains why they do not provide their employees with feedback. They lack a plan that tends o lead to unnatural conversations where employees feel as if their viewer is different from the colleague they are used to working with. Another reason why performance reviews do not bring the best out of employees is that they try to accomplish too many goals with a single conversation (Alsuwaidi, Muhammad, Barween, and Said, 16). For instance, performance reviews are used to decide on a promotion, give feedback for improvement, set a raise or bonus and justify future hiring. Although performance appraisals have proved ineffective, they have persisted for long.

Works Cited

Alsuwaidi, Maryam, Muhammad Alshurideh, Barween Al Kurdi, and Said A. Salloum. “Performance appraisal on employees’ motivation: A comprehensive analysis.” International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Systems and Informatics. Springer, Cham, 2020.

CULTURAL CHANGE

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CULTURAL CHANGE

According to Pearson, culture encompasses beliefs, attitudes, values behavioral patterns that are held by a certain group of people and transmitted from one generation to another (24). In addition, Diamond states that it is the totality of human behavior and way of life that is shared in a society (N.pag). Civilization is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as the process of refining or enlightening. Diamond also highlights that it is a process of modernization where societies are separated from nature and propelled to apply modern technologies and ways of living.

According to Stutz, cultures do not remain static; changes in the environment also propel people to change their ways of life, beliefs and values hence, culture changes (32). One of the reasons why culture has changed over time is due to discoveries and inventions that have led to the development of new ideas and attitudes (Stutz, 40). Another reason is that as the population increases, people intermingle and tend to adapt to other people’s way of living, which leads to diffusion of culture. However, cultures remain complex making it difficult for one to adapt easily to another person’s culture. As the population grows it brings about people with varied behaviors and personality that are difficult to understand. Complexity also arises due to differences in how societies are structured and led; each society with different systems of governance.

The hunting and gathering cultures of the upper Paleolithic have changed over time due to invention and technology. The technology has led to food production that has done away with the need to hunt and gather in order to survive. Furthermore, with population increase, hunting and gathering alone cannot provide enough food to cater for the increased number of people.

Works Cited

Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs and Steel. New York, NY: Norton & Company, Inc. 1999. Web

Oxford Dictionary. Civilization. Farlex: Princeton University. 2012. Web

Pearson. Culture and Change (PDF). New Jersey: Pearson Press. 2013. Web

Stutz, Aaron. “Culture and Politics, behavior and Biology: Seeking Synthesis among Fragmentary Anthropological Perspectives on Hunters and Gatherers.” Reviews in Anthropology. 41.1(2012): 23-69