Saturday, September 7, 2019
Lab Equipment Essay Example for Free
Lab Equipment Essay Measurement Lab 9, 27, 2012 In this measurement lab we attempted to make the most precise and most accurate measurements. We used the materials and equipment that we had to make all of our measurements. We had to deal with significant figures and also, we had to designate each measurement with its proper unit. The objective of this lab was to use all of our equipment we had and make the most accurate measurements as possible. Secondly, we had to put each measurement and convert it to the unit that had been asked for. Materials: Water Equipment: The equipment we used were things such as paper clips, rubber stopper, book, piece of wood, round object, water, pencil, meter stick, lab room, beaker, ourselves, and also a weight scale. In this lab we first converted the length of paper clip from 1.86 mm to 3.45 cm. Secondly we found the mass of a rubber stopper which was 44.70 grams. We then measured the mass of a book in grams which was 117g, also found the volume of a piece of wood in cm cubed which was 45 cm cubed, then we figured the volume of the round object using water displacement method and the volume of the object was 42cm squared. After that we figured the volume of t=a pencil by water displacement which was 49 ml. finally, we measure the length, width height, and volume of the room, the length was 9.6 m, the width was 6.87 m, the height 2.44 m, and the volume was 160.92 m cubed. We measured my height which was168.5 m and 5.53 feet. My weight was 131.4 pnds and 59.73 kilograms. We then measured temperature of water in a beaker which was 70 degree C. We then measured the thickness of 100 sheets of paper which was 2 mm.
Friday, September 6, 2019
Thinking in the workplace Essay Example for Free
Thinking in the workplace Essay Preparation for a career or vocation does not just begin during a schoolââ¬â¢s admissions examinations. It starts right when a child embarks on the road to learning in general. The whole of oneââ¬â¢s life is going to be poured into various experiences a person may encounter. Such is a typical academic life, a life that Chris faces daily. ~ Identify five of Chrisââ¬â¢ greatest challenges as his classes begin. Pursuing an education is an investment for the individual and his family. It is primarily financial, but more than that it includes the entire life of the person. He is preparing for life hence, all of his resources, be they emotional or mental, spiritual and moral, are involved in the whole process. The challenges a person like Chris will encounter as he enters the higher academic life includes financial capability especially with increasing tuition costs, balancing academics and social life as well as other extracurricular activities, and maintaining good health while experiencing various stressors typically met by students right through their academics. ~ Devise a five step plan for Chris to better manage his time. It entails the following procedure: a.) a statement of goals and objectives; b.) know and record your priorities; c.) use a calendar and a guide from which you monitor your schedules, commitments and responsibilities; d.) do evaluation regularly to know where you are deficient and make up for lost time; e.) be accountable to someone who will help you achieve your goals by managing your time (ââ¬Å"Time management,â⬠2007). ~ Research different learning styles, and based on what you know about Chris, make a recommendation to Chris on what may work best from these options: three senses (auditory, visual, and kinesthetic), two reasoning types (deductive and inductive), and two environments (intrapersonal and interpersonal). à Chris is probably the type who is very kinesthetic; hence he must discover his strengths and weaknesses which may affect his approach and attitude towards learning. He usually derives comprehension when he starts from the general to specific (deductive). He is apt to bloom in an interpersonal kind of environment. Thus, Chris ought to tailor his needs to the kind of profession he will be preparing himself to get into. This is the kind of work where his liking for people to people interactions is expected to happen, where he can convey his global reasoning powers (ââ¬Å"What type of learner are you?â⬠2002). ~ Identify three ways that Chrisââ¬â¢ thinking can be improved. He must know how to analyze claims, the falsity or fallacies that other people argue against other peopleââ¬â¢s knowledge also. He has to learn skills like how to take notes, use dictionaries and other tools, develop quality study habits, get rest as often as he can, especially when schedules are inevitably confusing (Harris, 1998). ~ Recommend top five priorities for this weekendââ¬â¢s activities that Chris can find opportunity to do all that has to be done while still having some fun as well. Chris can do that even though he could be one of the busiest people around. Study or skim through all notes that he has taken, schedule a game of badminton with friends, or go swimming, review schedule regularly, forget the coming busy days and instead, to relax and put all worries aside (ââ¬Å"How to have fun while studyingâ⬠). Reference: 1. ââ¬Å"Time management.â⬠Study guides and strategies. Accessed July 20, 2007 http://www.studygs.net/index.htm 2. Harris, Robert. 1998. Introduction to creative thinking. Virtual Salt. Accessed July 20, 2007. http://www.virtualsalt.com/crebook1.htm 3. ââ¬Å"How to have fun while studying.â⬠Wikihow. Accessed July 20, 2007. http://www.wikihow.com/Have-Fun-While-Studying 4. ââ¬Å"What type of learner are you?â⬠Thinking and learning styles.â⬠2002. Accessed July 21, 2007. http://www.new-oceans.co.uk/new/education/learnstyles.htm
Thursday, September 5, 2019
Change Management in Semantic Web Services
Change Management in Semantic Web Services Change Management in Semantic Web Services in Legal Domain using FSM XXM Introduction With the new paradigm of Service Oriented Computing, many enterprises attempt to utilize services as fundamental elements for developing applications/solutions as an additive layer on top of existing components. The Web Service Controller Architecture (WSCA) for service-based, enterprise-scaled business solutions provides exactly this flexibility. The design, exposure and management of services can be accomplished through a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) that supports the usage, composition and coordination of services in a loosely coupled manner. Web services appear to be particularly suitable for addressing these aspects of a SOA. Furthermore, composition languages such as BPEL add value by composing Web services and facilitating the implementation of business processes. As the SOA paradigm brings this big behavior change relying on loose coupling of services it raises new questions in the area of change management. Change management is a central aspect in any software design, but its complexity for Web services is increased by both composition languages and loose coupling. The resulting advantages like composability, autonomy, message-based communication, and the avoidance of combined compilation and binding prove to be deficiencies in this context. In this paper we discuss these elementary challenges of change management in the area of Web services (Web Service Change Management, WSCM). Currently there are no sound mechanisms and engineering principles for changing Web services and their related entities. Through analysis of a suitable scenario, specifically looking at the details of the Web service provider and consumer roles, one can identify the various problems that exist in this domain. Therefore we will start our approach with the consideration of an application scenario from the business domain of application and change management, the addition of Web services in private legal sector. An Overview of a WSCA A WSCA consists of several autonomous outsourced Web services, but acts as a virtually coherent entity. Business entities, in the form of Web services, are often geographically distributed and organizationally independent. While WSCA has a potential to introduce new business opportunities through dynamic alliances, the challenges of fully realizing a WSCA lie in managing changes during its lifecycle through Extreme X Machines (XXM). XXM: In this paper we explore the design changes as made to software projects by the useà of a formal model known as Extreme X-Machines (XXM) [5,6], whichà are based on the work of Eilenberg and Holcombe [7,8]. An XXM model describes the functionality of the software without defining exactly how this functionality is achieved. This perspective allows an analysis of functional change whilst excluding specific implementation or requirements issues. XXM are a state based model, they are intended to be used by developers as a method to designà their systems from at the top level but here, XXM are used as effectively to analyze and incorporate changes in, even addition of new web services. Each model typically consists of a set of states which correspond to screens in the final system and functions which link the screens together. The functions are typically labeled with an enabling action such as ââ¬Å"click_okâ⬠which corresponds to a user clicking the OK button. Figure depicts the architecture of a WSCA. There are two key components and two supporting components in this architecture. The key components include a WSCA schema and a WSCA instance. The two supporting components include ontology providers and Web service providers. â⬠¢ WSCA schema: A WSCA schema consists of a set of abstract services and the relationships among these services. An abstract service specifies one type of functionality provided by the Web services. They are not bounded to any concrete services. They are defined in terms of service concepts in a Web service ontology. â⬠¢WSCA instance: A WSCA instance is a composition of a set of concrete services, which instantiates a WSCA schema. It actually delivers the functionality and performance of a WSCA. â⬠¢ Ontology providers: The ontology provider manages and maintains a set of ontologies that describe the semantics of Web services. A WSCA outsources semantics from an ontology provider to build up its schema. â⬠¢ Web service providers: The Web service providers offer a set of Web services, which can be outsourced to form WSCA instances. The lifecycle of a WSCA is a series of stages through which it passes from its inception to its termination. There are four phases in a WSCA lifecycle: initiation, composition, service-orchestration and termination. The initiation phase is the first stage, where the WSCA is described at a high level. It is initiated when the owner of the WSCA establishes a need for a business objective [53]. The composition phase deals with integrating the selected Web services [42]. After this, the selected Web services are orchestrated to provide the value-added service. The termination phase occurs when the owner of the WSCA decides that the execution of the WSCA is no longer required. To materialize the concept of WSCA, the WSCA must automatically adapt to its dynamic environment, i.e., to deal with changes during its lifetime. Because of the dynamic nature of Web service infrastructure, changes should be considered as the rule and managed in a structured and systematic way [52]. Changes may be introduced by the occurrence of new market interests, new business regulation, or underlying service availability. Such changes require a corresponding modification of the WSCA structure with respect to the functionality it provides and the performance it delivers. Once a change occurs, a WSCA must react in a reasonable time and realign itself to deal with the change. This alignment must be performed in an automatic manner considering the frequent occurrence of the changes to a WSCA. By doing this, the WSCA can not only deal with unanticipated changes to the underlying services and infrastructure, but also maximize its market value, optimize functionality outsourcing, and maintain competitiveness. Problem Formulation The problem with the existing system of legal decision making process is that: There is no universal coalition body to unite the various modules of law in private sector like: A Public Interface to query for a case Online allotment of Advocates to users Judgments Union of India (to export Central Acts and Amendments) State Acts (to export State Acts and Amendments) The whole system of legal enactment starting from user query, allotment of Advocate, and referring judgments is not under a single roof. Due to inadequacy of getting the latest and updated Acts or Amendments, sometimes old acts are cited which later cause problems when the case is taken up in courts. This is a cause of embarrassment to the lawyer. In the existing System there is no spontaneous notification to the legal bodies regarding a change in the Acts. They themselves have to search for it on internet or find them in the latest issues. The problem is that they are not notified about the change in Acts automatically. Proposed Solution The need is to have an automated Legal System in India, at least at the private level. And this automation should be done with the most contemporary and best suited group of technologies. The problem uncovers the major issue of incapability of notification of changed Acts or Amendments to the related bodies. The proposed WSCA model namely LegalCosmos functions to provide a comprehensive Legal Solution that outsources the functionality from various service providers, such as WS_IndianUnionAmmendments, WS_StateActAmmendments, WS_PublicInterface, WS_AdvocateAssociation, WS_Judgments (depicted in Figure 1.2). The user in need of a legal solution makes use of the web service WS_PublicInterface and submits his, here accused, details and the details of the FIR filed by the complainant and forwards the FIR details like Case Crime No, Name, crime, date etc., to the WSCA which allots a Lawyer for the case with the help of WS_AdvocatesAssociation. An interested user (may be lawyer or a normal user) can find the details of the judgments through the WS_Judgments service. When a judgment is made the WS_Judgment web service provides the user with the copy of the order of the judgment. When these services are combined together as a WSCA, the WSCA will invoke the services on behalf of the user. There may potentially be some dependency relationship between them. These dependencies determine the composition of the services. In the case of the LegalCosmos WSCA, users do not necessarily need to provide the information for each service. The input of some services can be derived from the dependency relationship. Like in WS_AdvocateAssociation selected advocate details are directly passed to the WS-Judgments. Fig. Change Reaction for adding two new web services WS_UnionOfIndia, WS_StateActs WSCA Schema using Finite State Machine Definition: FSMis a mathematicalà model of computationà used to design bothà computer programsà andà sequential logicà circuits. It is conceived as anà abstract machineà that can be in one of a finite number ofà states. The machine is in only one state at a time; the state it is in at any given time is called theà current state. It can change from one state to another when initiated by a triggering event or condition; this is called atransition. A particular FSM is defined by a list of its states, and the triggering condition for each transition. Fig. WSCA Schema (A simple XXM) Change Management in LegalCosmos The change management in the proposed LegalCosmos WSCA primarily deals with the change in Acts in the form of Amendments. This change origins from the addition of two web services provided by the ââ¬Å"Union of Indiaâ⬠that produces amendments at the central level and the ââ¬Å"State Actsâ⬠that produces amendments at the State level. Since these changes are initiated by the outsourced service providers and incorporate an alteration in web service. They form the part of bottom up changes. The bottom-up approach for managing changes is highly dependent on the services that compose the WSCA. Therefore, it is necessary to first define the changes that occur to Web services, and then map them onto the business level. These changes include Activation changes that occur at the service level and WSCA changes that are executed at the business level. Finally, we provide rules for mapping triggering changes to their respective reactive changes. In our work, we assume that activation changes occur asynchronously. For instance, the WS_PublicInterface service may not change its data types while the activation change of unavailability is being managed. Another assumption we make is that the service is associated with a set of states. We associate each change with a transition between two states: precondition and postcondition. For example, a precondition for PIââ¬â¢s unavailability is that it was previously available and the postcondition is that it has become unavailable. Activation changes and their respective preconditions and postconditions will later be used to model changes using FSM and XXM. Fig. Activation Changes Non-Functional Changes Non-functional changes represent the dependability, usability, and trust associated with a member service. This information may be stored by a third party, the WSCA, or member services. We assume the information is stored as attributes that are maintained by an independent third party service provider. Changes to the trustworthiness of a Web service relate to the security, reputation, and privacy of a Web service. Changes in usability are dependent on the responsiveness and service cost. Finally, changes to dependability are associated with the availability and reliability of the Web service. Changes to service dependability are binary, because they represent two distinct states. For example, a service may either be available or unavailable. Alternatively, changes to service trust and usability are non-binary. For instance, service cost may assume more than two values during a member serviceââ¬â¢s lifetime. Therefore, we assume that a threshold is set and maintained by the WSCA. This threshold declares the minimum and maximum intervals of a value accepted by the WSCA. For example, the WSCA has the threshold of minimum $5 and maximum $10 for any judgment service cost. Every time a change occurs to the cost of a member judgment service, it is compared with the threshold. Only if the change exceeds the threshold, we consider that a triggering change has occurred. Note that the changes we have defined, such as changes to availability, are applicable to member services only. Once a member service is replaced, it is no longer part of the change management mechanism. For example, the e-Acts member service EA1 may become unavailable, and prompt the WSCA LegalCosmos to select an alternate e-Acts service EA2. After some time, EA1 may become available. However, since it is no longer a part of the Lega lCosmos LCS, the LegalCosmos WSCA does not manage the change in EA1. Table 6.1.1.1 summarizes the non-functional changes in Web services. Non-Functional Changes Fig. Non-Functional Changes Functional Changes Unlike non-functional changes, which are based on attributes, functional changes deal with changes to a serviceââ¬â¢s WSDL description [22]. We represent functional changes as a combined execution of a remove followed by an add. We further classify functional changes into structural and behavioral changes (Figure 6.1). Structural changes refer to the operational aspects of a Web service. For example, a structural change in a PI service can be caused by changing the operations offered to a user. Changes to the behavior of a Web service are indicated by changing its interaction with external entities. Functional changes to a member Web service occur when its WSDL description is modified. We assume these changes are initiated by the service provider. Fig. Functional Changes XXM for Existing LegalCosmos WSCA, when Functional Changes are not introduced (before the removal of e-Acts web service) The key functional changes involved here are: Removal of e-Acts web service (E-Copy of acts) shown in dashed rectangle. It has to be removed as it gives only immutable acts and does not involve latest amendments done by the Bare Acts. This causes problems to the WSCA in maintaining latest updates of the amendments and sometimes leads to false application of acts. A new web service called WS_UnionOfIndia is added to the WSCA which supplies the latest acts and amendments to WSCA. The Union of India is responsible for making and amending acts on the Central level. A new web service called WS_StateActs is added to the WSCA which supplies the latest acts and amendments to WSCA. The State Acts is responsible for making and amending acts on the State level. XXM for WSCA when Functional Changes are introduced (after the removal of e-Acts web service and addition of two new web services, WS_UnionOfIndia and WS_StateActs) Fig. The above figure shows the two newly added web services namely WS_UnionOfIndia and WS_StateActs. WSCA Changes Each activation change will initiate a WSCA change at the business layer. WSCA changes may occur at the composition and service orchestration levels of a WSCA. For instance, a Dt change in the PI service may trigger inconsistencies in the WSCA composition, such as incorrect parameter data types. Alternatively, a Da change may disrupt WSCA service orchestration. We divide the WSCA changes into composition and service orchestration. Fig. WSCA Changes at business level Mapping of Changes A Mapping specifies how changes in one layer correspond to changes in another layer [86]. These mappings must remain consistent in the presence of frequent changes. When a change occurs at the service level, the business layer must react to manage the changes. Triggering changes have a reactive impact on the business layer of the WSCA. Our approach of mapping changes is based on mapping rules. These rules are based on the activation changes and their corresponding business level changes of WSCA. Some changes may have more than one rule associated with them. The rules are depicted in the matrix shown below: Non-Functional Changes Functional Changes Detection of Activation Services Changes Algorithm 1 Change Detection Algorithm 1: ChangeDetection (Input: oldDesc, newDesc) 2: while newDesc do 3: Compare (oldDesc[Functional], newDesc[Functional]) 4: if oldDesc[Functional]!= newDesc[Functional] then 5: GenerateXXM (FunctionalXXM) 6: end if 7: Compare (oldDesc[NonFunctional], newDesc[NonFunctional]) 8: if oldDesc[NonFunctional] != newDesc[NonFunctional] then 9: Threshold = CheckThreshold (oldDesc, newDesc) 10: if Threshold then 11: GenerateFSM(NonFunctionalFSM) 12: end if 13: end if 14: end while 15: ChangeReaction (FunctionalXXM, NonFunctionalFSM) Algorithm 2 Change Reaction Algorithm 1: ChangeReaction (Input: FunctionalXXM, NonFunctionalFSM) 2: WSCAXXM = Ãâ 3: while FunctionalXXM do 4: WSCAXXM = Map (FunctionalXXM, WSCAXXM) 5: end while 6: while (NonFunctionalFSM) do 7: WSCAXXM = Map (NonFunctionalFSM, WSCAXXM) 8: end while 9: while (NonFunctionalFSM) do 10: if (WSCAXXM) then 11: Execute (WSCAXXM) 12: end if 13: end while Algorithm 13 Change Management Algorithm 1: ChangeManagement (Input: executionTime, WSCA concrete service list) 2: time = executionTime 3: while time != 0 do 4: for all each Web Service WSi in WSCA concrete service list do 5: send alive message to WSi 6: if not alive then 7: remove WSi from WSCA concrete service list 8: call (serviceSelection (abstractService (WSi))) 9: break; 10: end if 11: globalDescription = WSi servicedescription from Registry 12: if serviceDescription (WSi) not equals globalDescription then 13: remove WSi from WSCA concre
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
The Role of Art in My Life Essays -- Personal Narrative
The Role of Art in My Life The arts have influenced my life in amazing ways. Throughout my life, art has been the place I run to and my escape from the world. As Iââ¬â¢ve grown older, art has become so much more than that. Every piece of art I create is a journey into my soul. Itââ¬â¢s a priceless way to deal with my emotions and my struggles. I create art not only because I enjoy it and because I want to, but because I have to. Somewhere deep inside there is a driving force, urging me to put my heart down on paper. I become emotionally attached to each of my pieces because they are like dashes on the wall marking my growth. Each one is the solution to a problem I have dealt with and overcome. The summer before my senior year, I participated in Ringling School of Art and Designââ¬â¢s Pre Coll...
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Haitian Culture: Impact on Nursing Care Essays -- essays research pape
Haitian Culture: Impact on Nursing Care à à à à à The Republic of Haiti is in the western part of the island of Hispaniola in the West Indies. It is densely populated and has the lowest per capita income in the western hemisphere (Kemp, 2001). The population of more than seven million is made up of mostly descendents of African slaves brought to the West Indies by French colonists. The horrible conditions in Haiti, such as crushing poverty, unemployment and illiteracy, and high rates of acute and chronic illnesses and child and infant mortality, result in the illegal immigration of many Haitians to the United States, France, and other countries in Western Europe. Most immigrants are adults and teens who leave Haiti in tiny boats, despite the risk of drowning and other hazards. According to Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) 2001 statistics, the number of refugees has declined to several thousand per year since the early 1990ââ¬â¢s. à à à à à Nearly all Haitian immigrants entering the U.S. are poorly educated, illiterate, and speak only Creole, which is seldom seen in written form. Creole is a ââ¬Å"pidginâ⬠language, meaning it is a simplified form of a base language with parts of other languages added. These types of languages were frequently used by sailors, pirates, and other trade people to accommodate the span of communication needs they faced. Haitian Creole is thought to have been derived by combining various native African dialects with the French language of their owners. Very few Haitians (10%) can actually speak French, and oneââ¬â¢s ability to do so is seen as an indicator of social class. Because of Haitian views that Creole is the language used by the poor and uneducated, many will claim to be able to speak French and become insulted if it is suggested that they speak Creole. This can pose a problem for the healthcare worker trying to find a way to communicate. Often the only in terpreters available to a family are their children who have learned English in schools here. This can create conflict within the family therefore a facility provided interpreter usually produces a better outcome. Written materials are often of no use to the Haitian immigrant. à à à à à Socioeconomic status plays a huge part in how Haitians identify themselves, and influences their actions greatly. Many Haitians wil... ...of exercise. These factors all contribute to the young life expectancy of about 49 years (World Health Organization, 2001). When caring for a client of Haitian descent, it is important to be mindful of language and education level, religious and cultural beliefs, and traditional health maintenance practices that may be incompatible with modern medicine. The healthcare provider should respect these cultural differences and be accommodating whenever possible to promote the spiritual and physical well-being of the client. References Ackerman, L.J. (1997). Health problems of refugees. Journal of the à à à à à American Board for Family Practice. 10,337-48. Minarik, P.A. (1996). Culture & nursing care: A pocket guide. à à à à à San Francisco: UCSF Nursing Press. Pan American Health Organization (1999). Haiti: Country health profile. à à à à à Accessed 6/28/04. Spector, R.E. (2003). Cultural diversity in health and illness (6th ed). à à à à à Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall. World Health Organization (2001). Healthy life expectancy rankings. à à à à à Accessed 6/28/04.
Monday, September 2, 2019
Stem Cells in the Treatment of Diabetes Essay -- Diabetes Mellitus Sci
Stem Cells in the Treatment of Diabetes Diabetes mellitus affects 18 million people in the U.S. alone (8.7% of the population) and more than 190 million worldwide. The prevalence of diabetes has increased alarmingly in the past three decades and, corresponding to global dietary and lifestyle trends, is projected to nearly double in the next ten years (1). Although diabetes can be treated, serious complications from improperly managed diabetes are common and can lead to death. Recent reports suggest that one of the most promising potential treatments may come from the use of stem cells, undifferentiated cells that can be coaxed into becoming insulin-producing islet-like cells that reduce diabetes symptoms in mice (2). There is one ethical catch, however: stem cells can be derived from a number of sources, including adult tissues, but the purest source of stem cells with the greatest therapeutic potential is early-stage embryos. The process of deriving stem cells destroys the embryo. Does the human embryo have moral status that would proscribe its destruction, regardless of the potential good that might be achieved? If so, are there still avenues of stem cell research that are both scientifically viable as well as morally permissible? Diabetes is a disease that results from the body's inability to maintain consistent levels of glucose (the main energy source for cells) in the blood. In a healthy individual, blood glucose levels are kept within a certain range by insulin, a hormone that aids the uptake of glucose by cells. The release of insulin in response to blood glucose levels is coordinated by clusters of cells in the pancreas called islets; residing in these islets are the beta cells, the cells that actually produc... ...cell? Journal of Clinical Investment. 111:799-801. 4. Hori, Y. et al. 2002. Growth inhibitors promote differentiation of insulin-producing tissue from embryonic stem cells. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. USA. 99:16105- 16110. 5. Ianus, A. et al. 2003. In vivo derivation of glucose-competent pancreatic endocrine cells from bone marrow without evidence of cell fusion. Journal of Clinical Investment. 111:843-850. 6. Yang, L. et al. 2002. In vitro trans-differentiation of adult hepatic stem cells into pancreatic endocrine hormone-producing cells. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. USA. 99:8078-8083. 7. Meyer, J. June 2000. Human embryonic stem cells and respect for life. Journal of Medical Ethics. 26: 166-170 8. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Donum Vitae. I:1-5. Boston: St. Paul Editions, 1987.
Sunday, September 1, 2019
Analysis and Comparison of Iranian and American Management; the Cultural Dimensions and Values Essay
This report is aimed to represent a brief description of the Iranian management values today and compare the results with a developed country like Unites State. First it will give a description of some of the characteristics of Iran management and culture, then it is tried to categorize these characteristic base on Hofstedeââ¬â¢s Dimensions (1980) (power distance, avoiding uncertainty, masculinity/femininity, individualism/collectivism) and Flowerââ¬â¢s dimensions, Flower 1975, (tribalistic, egocentric, conformist, manipulative, sociocentric, existential). In the next step will be presenting of relative information about United State and at the end the comparison between the results. Most parts of this report is focused on Iran management. IRAN The name ââ¬Ëââ¬ËIranââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬â¢ was used as early as the third century BC by a ruler who described his empire as Iran-shahr and himself as the ââ¬Ëââ¬ËKing of Kingsââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬â¢. The country is highly diverse from every point of view, especially in topography and climate. The population of Iran is estimated at some 70 million, 12 million of which live in the capital Tehran and its suburbs. The official language of Iran is Persian (Farsi) which is an Indo-European language derived from Sanskrit. The country has one of the worldââ¬â¢s most diverse ethnic groups ever assembled in one country: Persian (56 per cent), Turk (Azari) (24 per cent), Gilaki (8 per cent), Kurd (8 per cent), Lur, Baluch, Arab and Turkaman. The religious groups are Shiite Muslim, Sunni Muslim, Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian and Bahaii. At the present, Iran is an Islamic republic, ruled according to a constitution providing for executive, legislative and judicial branches. The political system comprises both elected and un-elected institutions. Iranââ¬â¢s economy is a mixture of central planning, state ownership of oil, large enterprises, village agriculture, small-scale private trading and service ventures. All large industries and the majority of medium-scale enterprises are run by the public institutions particularly the foundations which were set up during the revolution. These entities own some 20 per cent of the countryââ¬â¢s assets, and contribute 10 per cent of GDP (Khajehpour, 2000), however, they are generally mismanaged. Management in Iran Iranian management today is interesting firstly because the country is slowly opening up to the West after two decades of ignorance on the part of Westerners as to sides of life in Iran other than the political and religious aspects. Up till quite recently, the political discourse was dominated by the belligerent official language and images of mobs demonstrating in the streets against ââ¬Å"the devils in the Westâ⬠. Now after twenty years of austere clerical regime, the reform movement is gradually gaining momentum, especially among young people who have not known life before the Revolution. Secondly Iranian management is interesting because most people confound Iranians with Arabs, believing that what they learn about Arab countries is also valid for Iran, and this obviously is a misunderstanding. We begin our discussion with bringing some insights into Iranian society and its culture. Based on Hofstedeââ¬â¢s findings (1980) Iran is classified in near Eastern cluster including Turkey and Greece. A more recent research found that Iran is part of the South Asian cultural cluster consisting of such countries as India, Thailand and Malaysia (Javidan and Dastmalchian, 2003). For a newcomer these findings may seem very different from the image of Iran as a predominant Islamic/Middle-Eastern country which is often confused with its neighbours. The point is that as a country situated in the Middle East, Iran has many commonalities with its neighbour Muslim countries; however, due to its unique historical, linguistic and racial identities it has a different and unique culture. Collectivism A very fundamental issue in every society is the priority given to interests of individuals versus those of collectivity. Hofstede (1980) views an individualistic society as one in which beliefs and behaviours are determined by the individual; whereas in a collectivistic society the attitudes are determined by loyalty towards oneââ¬â¢s group. The manifestations of collectivism and social networking are very common in Iranian management. Personal connections and informal channels seem more practical, whereas formal systems, official institutions and procedures are considered less efficient and even bothering. As a direct result, Iranian society tends to perate rather on the basis of personal relationships among people, than on the basis of impersonal and mechanised institutions. The use of informal channels may imply bending rules and taking advantages to which one is not formally entitled. The popular Persian term for this practice and other forms of nepotism and favouritism is Partibazi, which is a common practice in Iranian organizations. For instance, it would not be unusual for Iranian managers to hire a relative or acquaintance for a job vacancy, even though they could easily employ a more competent but unknown worker. Collectivism has also a significant influence on the communication. An outcome of collectivism is the implicit and high-context communication in Iranian culture. Iranians from an early age learn to be careful about what they say and are advised to use an indirect language for expressing their intentions (Javidan and Dastmalchian, 2003). Persian language and literature are full of nuances and metaphors which should be interpreted in their context and cannot be taken at face value. A particular and very common form of indirect language in Iranian culture is Taarof which can be translated literally as politeness, but has a much more profound significance. In fact, Taarof implies a wide range of complicated and highly polite expressions/behaviours, which should not be interpreted literally. This kind of context-bound communication is very common in Iranian organizations in both written and oral forms. Power distance This orientation concerns the extent to which the less powerful members of a society expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. This orientation concerns the extent to which the less powerful members of a society expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. Results from Yeganeh and Zhan(2007) about ââ¬Ëââ¬Ëhierarchyââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬â¢ reflect the high degree of hierarchical distance among Iranian managers. Hofstede (1980) considers these characteristic as power distance in his research. The antecedents of this high hierarchical distance are deeply rooted in many aspects of Iranian mythology, history, politics, religion and family structure. Manifestations of high degree of hierarchical distance are various and numerous in Iranian management. A very clear example is the over-centralization of the capital Tehran. Despite the diversity and largeness of country, all administrative bodies and decision-makings are concentrated in the capital and other provinces should obey the resolutions. Other examples include top-down management, authoritarian decision-making (Javidan and Dastmalchian, 2003) and hierarchical structure of reward systems. For instance, there is considerable gap between compensation packages intended for people working at the top of organization and those working at entry levels. Managers consider it normal that people at higher levels have more privileges than those at lower levels. An outcome of hierarchical distance, combined with effects of collectivism and family-orientation is the dominance of paternalism in Iranian organizations, which is encouraged also by Islamic virtues. Schramm-Nielsen and Faradonbeh (2002) reported that Iranian employees expected superiors to help them in a variety of issues such as financial problems, wedding expenses, purchasing of new homes, illness in the family, education of children and even marital disputes. Past-orientation Results from Yeganeh and Zhan (2007) indicate Iranian managers tend to be past- rather than future-oriented. The orientation toward past may be crystallized in honouring indigenous managerial styles and their underlying foundations. After the revolution of 1979, there was much emphasis on substitution of modern/western management by traditional/Islamic work-related principles. Therefore, Iranian executives were urged to realign their managerial styles and practices to religious, social and political values of revolutionary ideology. Not surprisingly, most of these managerial styles were not based on rationality and progress, but on old-fashioned and obsolete views which were not efficient and practical. The past orientation can be manifested also in terms of neglecting plans or setting short-time horizon and also relative high uncertainty avoidance. High uncertainty avoidance means that members of the society feel uncomfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity and thus support beliefs that promise certainty and conformity. Activity orientation (being versus doing) According to Yeganeh and Zhan(2007) , ââ¬Ëââ¬ËActivity Orientationââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬â¢ corresponds to masculinity dimension as described by Hofstede (1980). It is argued that in a ââ¬Ëââ¬ËDoingââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬â¢ culture, people tend to view work activities as core to their existence, and they attach much importance to achievement and hard work. In contrast, in ââ¬Ëââ¬ËBeingââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬â¢ cultures peace of mind is cherished and emphasis is placed on immediate and unplanned actions. In reality, it is possible to witness demonstration of both ââ¬Ëââ¬ËBeingââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬â¢ and ââ¬Ëââ¬ËDoingââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬â¢ orientations in Iranian society. For instance, a good deal of Persian literature is devoted to peace of mind, pleasure and frugality. Moreover, affected by Islamic culture, Iranians tend to view the world as an ephemeral step which does not worth hard work and which should be considered as a transitional phase toward eternal life and salvation. While these manifestations correspond to ââ¬Ëââ¬ËBeingââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬â¢ orientation, Iranians are known also for ââ¬Ëââ¬ËMasculineââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬â¢ qualities such as individual achiever (Javidan and Dastmalchian, 2003), militant, hard-working and efficient. Bargaining Whereas doing business always means trying to negotiate the best deal in terms of price and related conditions anywhere in the world, this does not normally in the Western world extend to everyday little purchases. The bargaining represents a tradition that goes back thousands of years. According to this tradition the choice of dealer or business relation is an important one. The tradition is also that you bargain with your usual suppliers. The Western custom of shopping around for the best price and the best conditions is not well accepted. The obvious reason is that it breaks with the golden rule of trust. It takes time to build up a relationship based on trust, and so you need to have a long-term strategy and a lot of patience. Uncertainty avoidance High uncertainty avoidance means that members of a society feel uncomfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity and thus support beliefs that promise certainty and conformity (Daft 2003). According to Ali and Amirshahi (2002) results, the primary values of Iranian Managers are conformist. Flowerââ¬â¢s dimensions Based on a research by Alishahi (2002) which was conducted through istributing twenty-two hundred questionnaires to a random sample of Iranian managers, the primary values of Iranian managers are conformist, sociocentric. Indeed, the outer-directed values (conformist, sociocentric, and tribalistic) are relatively dominant. This result may have its roots in the political and cultural reality. Since the Islamic revolution, Islamic values have been propagated. The emphasis has been on achievement and human dignity and on societal causes, rather than on personal material gains, in alleviating internal problems. Both dimensions reinforce conformity and sociocentric attitudes without discounting the existential outlook and personal growth. The Islamic regime constantly reminds the public about the outside threat and the need to sacrifice personal gains for the sake of society. In addition, the core philosophy of the regime is that the poor and unfortunate segments of the society must have access to political and economic opportunities. It should be mentioned too that the current Islamic regime condones both conformity and sociocentric outlooks. In an era of transition, managers may seek to avoid uncertainty by going along with the public pronouncements of the regime. Nevertheless, certain values differ across some variables, such as size of organization, ownership, managerial position, and fatherââ¬â¢s occupation. For example, manipulative managers were found in larger organizations and in the private sector. A typical manipulative manager relies on building a network of friends and supporters, and on careful political manoeuvres. Large corporations in Iran were public or had been nationalized after the revolution. Both have experienced profound restructuring in terms of power distribution and economic partnership. Perhaps this situation created opportunities for a new allegiance to seize power and gain influence. Sociocentric value is found among lower-level managers and those with peasant, working class, and clergy origins. Those with working and lower class origins, therefore, may have developed an awareness of the enormous social differences, and may nurture the feeling of belonging to ââ¬Å"social classesâ⬠that have little or nothing in common with upper social classes. Perhaps this in turn creates a commitment to humanistic and community causes and strengthens the desire for a just society. United State management American culture is characterized by high individualism with loosely knit social frameworks. In individualistic societies, people are supposed to take care of themselves and their immediate families. Since individualism is high in the United States, work and accomplishments are viewed as person-centred. Thus, issues of individual meritocracy and perceptions of fairness are likely to be more pronounced among American employees. Materialism, according to Abdu K. (2004), conveys the idea that being affluent, prosperous and rich should be encouraged and suggests that a certain product or service will make the user well off. However, the simplistic approach, like in the USA, conveys the ââ¬Å"just enough idea,â⬠which emphasizes ego needs and self-actualization, rather than just material comfort. Pluralism refers to the degree to which national culture fosters simultaneous coexistence of different ethnic groups with strong identities. In a low pluralism culture, minority groups are completely absorbed by the dominant culture. The minority groups either completely replace their identities with those of the dominant culture, or retain weaker cultural linkages with the dominant cultural group. High pluralism on the other hand characterizes simultaneous coexistence of diverse ethnic groups with strong identities. Both Iranian and American culture is non-pluralistic or ethnocentric. Ethnocentrism means that people have a tendency to regard their own culture as superior and to downgrade other cultures. In both countries cultural differences are unified into a coherent, universal work culture. Diverse groups are absorbed into the mainstream work culture to create uniform work norms, beliefs and values. In such a non-pluralistic culture, minority communities have weak identities and legitimacy. Thus, the in-groupââ¬âout-group ideology may not be as prominent in non-pluralistic cultures as in pluralistic culture. Rather than compete with minority cultures, the dominant culture aims at absorbing the minority cultures. Ethnocentrism within a country makes it difficult for foreign firms to operate. Based on a research by Alishahi (2002), prevailing dominant values in the U. S. are, (egocentric, manipulative, and existential; 60% inner-directed). United state is characterized by low power distance a relatively high tolerance for uncertainty and emphasizes shared power and authority, with team members working on a variety of problems without formal guidelines, rules, and structure. Many workers in Iran expect organizations to be hierarchy.
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