Definitions of Attitudes Essay

Classical conditioning is the process of learning by association, which involves the pairing of stimuli; when one (1) stimulus regularly precedes another, the one that occurs first is a signal for the other to occur. If an individual eats spicy cuisine, which constantly gives them heartburn, they associate the spicy food with heartburn. The individual recognizes that once spicy food is ingested, heartburn will follow next. Hence the attitude towards spicy foods may not be positive. Instrumental conditioning is the process by which the individual learns the difference between rewards and punishments and actions with these consequences as the end result. If a child knows that his/her parent(s) will spank them for breaking a glass, then the attitude towards such an action will be negative, in order to deter punishment, but if he/she recognizes that doing well at school reaps rewards, then the attitude towards studying and excelling will be positive. Observational conditioning is simply developing an attitude from example learning. An attitude is observed and influences and individual’s own attitude towards the subject in question. In a parent-child relationship, children observer their parent’s attitude and often times adopt them. If a child hears their parent making negative comments about an issue, they may possibly develop a negative attitude towards the same issue. Comparing our views to those of others, to see if our social reality is or is not correct, can form attitudes. We often change our attitudes to fit in with everyone else’s so that we do not feel ‘left out’. Political views are an example of this. An individual may hold a particular view on the current political administration, however, while in a group discussion, the general consensus may not be the same as that of the individual, who may then sway his/her attitude, towards that of the groups’ in order to be a part of the discussion and use their views to second guess his/her views. Genetics play a small role in attitude formation. Studies conducted with identical twins suggest that attitudes may be influenced by genetic factors. Daniel Katz proposed a functional theory of attitudes. He thought that attitudes are determined by the functions they serve as they help the individual to achieve their goals. The four (4) functions are the instrumental, knowledge, value-expressive and ego-defensive. Katz’s theory also says that our attitudes change, once they no longer serve its functions and the individual feels frustrated. The instrumental function helps individuals to form negative and positive attitudes by adopting favorable attitudes to maximize rewards and shunning unsavory ones to minimize punishments and help us to realise specific goals. The knowledge function helps us to evaluate surroundings and seeks to give clarity about ideas, objects and persons. The value-expressive function serves to publicly express ourselves. From the way we dress to our religious convictions, this function helps to adopt attitudes consistent with our views.

Eco-Final Paper

Planning and Operating Currently, we are In the middle of moving her photography studio from our home to a new downtown location. The new space Is over 1,500 square feet of studio space with a full basement for storage of props. With such a large space, she has decided to open a boutique store along with her new studio. She Is going to Incorporate the merchandise throughout her space so It still feels Like a studio, but items will be for sale throughout the store,'studio. She is going to be selling some of her most popular items that she uses for props.Instead of buying props, outfits and boutique items for implies to use during the sessions, she is going offer a small boutique line that will be open during the week to the public. The boutique will be open Monday, Wednesday and Friday for shopping, and then she will be holding photo sessions on the weekends. The move will take her business to the next step. This new location will benefit her and it will benefit her pictures. Space is a must when you are working with children and larger groups in photography and this building has plenty of open space to catch all of those fun smiles.This also gives back to the customers, It gives hem a more professional feeling when they show up for pictures. It will be a win for both the customers and the photographer. Market Structure The market structure for photographers would have be a pure competition as anyone can buy a camera and take photographs, but if you are looking for professional pictures or investment prints then you need to look for a professional photographer. If you ask around I am sure you will be able to find a handful of photographers. Many do this as a hobby, others do it for additional income without jumping all the way in.You have the local department stores or grocery stores who offer photos for a small price ad then you have the professional photographers who have their own space and style. Once you get to this level I feel that they fall into the olig opoly. There are a limited number of quality photographers who have a price that is comparable to each other. To get to this level there are obstacles to overcome which makes the barriers to entry a little more complicated, Pricing and Non Pricing Strategies The main marketing tool for her photography business has been word of mouth. I Nils NAS Eden very positive Ana seen NAS a strong Toweling AT clientsWalt ten new location, she is going to be introducing a new referral program. With each order, she will provide eight referral cards to be handed out. For every referral that books a session and follows through with the session, the client who referred them will receive a $50 credit for future sessions/orders. She has also spent a lot of time researching print prices. Each photographer has there own strategy and style, but she has kept with an a-la-cart style with reasonable prices. Staying away from packages of prints or sheets of prints, this will allow each client to specifically order hat they want.With a downtown presence, this will open the door for new prospects outside of word of mouth. While having regular hours, this will allow customers to come in and see her studio, see her photos that she has displayed and meet the photographer. This should create a more personal relationship with customers, the community and other downtown businesses. In Just the few days that we have been in painting two neighboring business have requested company photo sessions. Visibility of the store front is already paying off. Appropriate Course and Credit Market Photography is a luxury for individuals and families.It is an art to be able to create a photograph that someone wants to purchase and frame in their home. Not every family wants to have a professional photo of their newborn baby, but the families who do will receive an assortment of pictures that they will cherish forever. This quality of service that a photographer provides has a price tag though. This profession has many different categories. If you want photos done by J Pennies or Wall Mart, you will be able to receive numerous photos for a small price. These photos re very generic and no time on editing is spent to make sure each photo is special.As a personal photographers experience increases, their prices increase as well. They are selling an investment, a luxury item at a particular price. Her research on boutique items has brought another branch to her business. Her main focus will be baby boutique and she will offer mostly items for babies and small children. The boutique will offer wooden baby teething toys, diaper bags, baby clothing, baby leggings, specialized tote bags and specialized hair clips. Each of these items are airily inexpensive to make or buy so there will be a small outlay of inventory costs.As a boutique shop with specialized products, prices will result in a comfortable net profit per item sold. This will be extra income as she plans to be in the studio during the week already. She will also have space to offer more of her products related to photography. She currently offers many different products for prints such as, mounted photos, canvases, stand out photos and a wooden mounted photo. She also offers baby announcement cards, holiday cards and Jewelry with photos. With the additional space in the studio, she will be able to showcase these products that will have the potential for increased sales.Showcasing products to customers is a great way to have them visualize what they would want in their homes. Profit Maximizing Revenue will increase with any level of sales from the boutique as this will be an entirely new market for the business. Depending on how the items marketed sell, will determine what other item will be offered. As the seasons change, the clothing choices will follow suite. New items will continue to be introduced and marketed as e believe this is a great way to have customers continue to visit the store.Changing merchandise wall create tramcar on a regular Oasis. A Tee ways to reduce ten price AT merchandise would be to develop and produce our own inventory or be able to purchase large quantities of inventory at one time. Since a boutique store is more known for having limited items, being able to purchase wisely or developing and producing boutique items will be the best alternative to reducing merchandise costs. Revenue Due to the fact that the boutique portion of the business is extra, any revenue hat is made on boutique products is a plus.Her main focus is to continue to keep the photographer studio busy because taking pictures is what is going to pay the rent. On the boutique side, she is going to focus on developing different products and merchandise during the weekdays and will continue with her photography work on the weekends and weekday nights. With the limited hours during the weekday, she feels that she will be able to keep up with the local demand. When/if it reaches the level where an add itional employee would be needed, we will look at the numbers to make sure it is Justified.The longer we can keep the business within the family, the better and more profitable we will be. With the boutique items being made and bought from wholesalers, this will create a specialty market which will be difficult for another business to copy. Also with the specialty merchandise, this will warrant a higher price as creativity has a higher price tag. This along with her photography skills, these two businesses will go hand in hand. Each photographer has there own style, and with the creativity that she has will carry over into the boutique business.Conclusion Overall, the photography business will be able to Justify the new space by itself; the boutique portion of the space will allow her creativity to be available to customers that are Just browsing or customers who have a scheduled photo session. No matter how you look at it, the exposure that the business will create by being downtow n will be positive and will hopefully create a broader customer base. Reference McConnell, C. R. , Bruce, S. L. & Flynn, S. M (2009). Economics: Principle, problems, and policies (18th deed. ). New York: McGraw Hill/Larkin.

Reasons for a Dysfunctional Family Essay

Reasons for in case of dysfunctional families/child abuse + neglect * Drugs/alcohol * Parents leaving kids to fend for themselves * Less belonging to churches + moral life lessons * Parent separation + divorce * Baby bonus may encourage people to have children for the wrong reasons What are the positive effects of a positive (good) self-esteem? ]Positive outlook Positive thoughts Good self-esteem level Good confidence Self Confidence 1. Self-confidence is the belief or feeling that a person has about themselves, which assists them to achieve in life. The development of self-confidence may be influenced by culture, environment, age, ability, life experiences, gender, parenting expectations. 2. The factors that may contribute to the positive or negative development is a poor outlook, poor body image, dysfunctional family. Your culture, environment, age, ability, life experiences, gender, parenting expectations. 3. The perceptions of femininity and masculinity on an individual’s development of self-confidence is strong gender classifications and stereotypes can make –girls in particular- feel less than boys. In some cultures, even in our own, females are pushed into a lesser mental state, not being able to achieve as much. 4. A) Achieves poor academics – negative B) Struggles to make friends – negative C) Takes on new challenges – positive D) Feels good about their achievements – positive Heredity 1. Heredity is the variation in individual growth and development is partly a result of heredity or genetic factors. Genes contribute to differences between males and females and between individuals of the same gender. They also contribute to the similarities between people. Accepting physical appearance and difference, along with other inherited traits, is an important part of development. Genes directly determine an individual’s hair, skin and eye colour, and certain health conditions. Heredity also has a strong influence on other individual characteristics, including height, weight, and even personality. Body shape is largely controlled by genetic characteristics and, although it may be altered by factors such as diet and exercise, it cannot be dramatically changed. 2. The factors that may impact positively or negatively on an individual’s development through heredity are: Positive – olive skin doesn’t blush, good health, tall, fast metabolism Negative – inherited disorders/illnesses, fair skin burn easily, very short, slow metabolism – prone to weight gain easily, drug/alcohol – negative traits (e.g. foetal alcohol syndrome), physical appearance that draws negative attention from peers, allergies (e.g. beestings, peanuts, grasses etc.) Environment Environment refers to the external (pressures) factors that influence an individual’s development. Environmental influences on individuals change as they move through their life cycle. Example – Baby is influenced by family, a child is influenced by child care/grandparents/carers, kid/teenager is influenced by peers and teachers at school. * Low socio-economic household * Unhappy/unsatisfied parents (angry household, lack of attention, child may be scapegoat, low esteem) * Loving, secure, stable household

Ethnography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Ethnography - Essay Example Therefore, the degree to which there is a possibility of a researcher becoming a full participant within an experience is dependent partially on the features of the setting under observation. However, a number of ethnographers do not trust that understanding necessitates that they have to be full members of the group under study. In fact, the majority of them have the perception that this must not happen in instances where there is a need of producing a valid, as well as the useful report (Brewer 2000, p.119). These researchers suppose that the ethnographer must attempt being both outsider and insider, thereby remaining on the group's margins socially, as well as intellectually since there is a need for the view of both an outsider while also as an insider. Therefore, there is an emphasis that, apart from seeking to understand, the ethnographer should make an attempt at seeing familiar surrounding as anthropologically strange, the same way someone from another society would see it, t hereby adopting the Martian perspective.The initial yet most significant distinction amongst observational strategies is about the degree to which the observer happens to be a participant in the program activities under study. This is not an easy choice between participation, as well as nonparticipation. The degree of participation happens to be a continuum that varies from complete concentration in the program as a full participant to total separation from the activities under observation thereby assuming a role of a spectator.... of influential policymakers who are at the top, while generating latest analytic insights through the engagement of interactive, team study of often subtle grounds of human difference, along with similarity. Such findings give ethnographers the capability of informing other people of their findings while attempting to derive, for instance, policy decisions or instructional improvements from such a study (Brewer 2000, p.110). Variations within Observational Methods Observational research happens not to be a single thing; rather, the decision of employing field methods when gathering informational data happens to be the initial step within a decision process, which entails a vast number of options, as well as possibilities. When making a choice of employing field methods, this includes a commitment of getting close to the subject under observation with its natural setting, being factual and descriptive when reporting what gets observed, while, at the same time, finding out the viewpoin ts of participants within the domain observed. Once the researcher makes these basic commitments, it is essential to make more decisions concerning which specific observational approaches are suitable for the research setting at hand (Brewer 2000, p.114). Variation within Observer Involvement The initial yet most significant distinction amongst observational strategies is about the degree to which the observer happens to be a participant within the program activities under study. This is not an easy choice between participation, as well as nonparticipation. The degree of participation happens to be a continuum that varies from complete concentration in the program as a full participant to total separation from the activities under observation thereby assuming a role of a spectator. As a

Educational goals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Educational goals - Essay Example I have also learned through experience that it is not only dreams of success that bring people to the field of archaeology. I believe that I have learned through my program of study and experience that an effective leader adheres to a vision of professionalism and integrity while remaining responsible and productive in terms of personal and collective ethics. Through my experience, I am a strong proponent of the belief that the individual must accept responsibility for his/her decisions in the ways in which they affect a team dynamic both internally and externally. I believe in the power of group thinking and the value of ethical imperatives. I know that my education and work experience thus far has prepared me for taking this step towards my ultimate goal of becoming a professional in the field of archaeology. I have learned to use my experience, skills, and education to evince the type of leadership in which will allow me to help others, as well as helping myself. This goal of helping others has been foremost in my mind throughout my educational experiences. My academic tenure thus far has been marked by excellence and positive leadership. My personal strengths are in effective preparation and mediation, and I believe that I have learned a lot in terms of experience and achievement, in terms of concrete skills as well as in terms of the ethical responsibility required of a true leader. In my diligent study as an undergraduate and in my experience working, I have met and exceeded many of my personal goals. At school, I have been lauded for my academic achievements, and was also involved in many extracurricular programs as a leader and positive contributor. At work, I took personal initiatives to further my development in the â€Å"real world.† I returned to undergraduate study when I realized that I needed further

Food Safety Management Systems exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Food Safety Management Systems exam - Essay Example One of the main factors that results in organizational change is the desire for growth (Branson, 2008). Organizations which want to attain certain levels of growth or expansion are always forced to change how they operate so that they are can align procedures with the new status that they want to achieve. A very classic example in the food industry is Subway sandwich chain that began its operations using different names in the 1960s. During this time, the company struggled to achieve its goals or even grows. After changing its name to Subway and also aligning its operations to be able to allow for franchising, it was able to open up several units in the United States of America. This however required the employees to also change the way they carried out their duties so that it was in line with the new desired status. The second factor which results in organizational change is the need to improve processes (Kotter & Cohen, 2002). A food business or venture which wants to implement new production process in order to be more efficient is required to carry out changes that will facilitate this. There are also food production and selling enterprises like Kraft Foods which have implemented leaner production procedures such as sigma six so that they can reduce their costs of operation and enhance efficiency. Food retailing stores like Walmart have also come up with high level service delivery systems which ensures not only the provision of quality services but also enhance and improve the entire operations and processes. The third primary factor for organizational change is the government regulations. Wyman (2001) states that the changes in government regulations directly impact on how businesses are run. Among the food processing organizations, when safety and quality regulations are changed and implemented by the government, it is usually important for the organization to change its

Spiral Jetty by Robert Smithson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Spiral Jetty by Robert Smithson - Essay Example The essay "Spiral Jetty by Robert Smithson" discovers Spiral Jetty, the earthwork sculpture by Robert Smithson. The Spiral Jetty was completed in 1970 and is located in Great Salt Lake, Utah. Museums around the world show pictures of the earthworks created by Robert. Robert was killed in a plane crash in 1973 while overseeing one of his artworks by plane. Robert’s use of the earth to create modern art was a form of larger than life expression and a new way to produce works of art. The works by Robert made him an original contributor and opened a gateway for new artist to express themselves. During the 1970’s this was a time of change. People were expressing themselves more than ever and looking to change the world. Robert Smithson appeared to be much appreciative of the earth and each architectural element the earth was able to provide. Robert traveled around the world searching for specific areas where he could produce earth works and create art that would exert the mo st artistic impact. This is shown in a trip made by Robert Smithson and John Lloyd Stevens. During the trip the two traveled to the Yucatan Peninsula on an expedition in what Roberts hoped to find a new place to create art. This was just one of many trips made by Robert. Roberts contributed too many creative contributions that shaped art in the 1970’s. Spiral Jetty which was created in Great Salt Lake, Utah is a great example of the many creative contributions that Robert created. Spiral Jetty took much man power to create. Spiral Jetty is 1500ft long and spirals. The earth work was made possible by the use of dump trucks, a tractor and 6500 tons of earth (Galenson). What made the earth work so creative was not the work out into creating it but the idea that the Spiral Jetty would not be visible at all times. The Great Salt Lake rises and lowers. This rising and lowering meant that the Spiral Jetty would not be visible at all times. When the Spiral Jetty was finally made visi ble, it was a beautiful piece of art made solely out of earth. Symbolism Each piece of art created by Robert Smithson symbolized so much more than the average art. It has been quoted throughout the life of Robert that he thought of a new way of thinking. This new way of thinking symbolized that art was not something that could only be displayed in a museum (White Duncan). Robert proved this by his way of showing that art can come in any size. It was also very symbolic for an artist to display a form of art that was only visible when the water level was appropriate. This clearly symbolized that art is something that should be appreciated as one may not know when it will be visible again. Meaning of the Works There is much meaning felt behind the works of Robert Smithson and creations like the Spiral Jetty. Robert had a mind that wanted to express art in a new way. Although he was not the only artist to explore using earth to create art, the meaning behind his work leaves one to wonde r the meaning. This could be exactly what Robert wanted to create. He may have wanted those in the future to create their own meaning behind what was created. That is the beauty behind art in itself. Each on looker will develop a sense and feeling toward each piece of work. That makes work like the Spiral Jetty so remarkable. This also gives meaning to words that Robert lived by which explained that art is not something that necessarily has to be kept in a museum. Conclusion The artwork made by artist in the late twentieth century opened many doors and enabled future artist to look at art in a different perspective. Earthworks showed how precious and beautiful earth can be. Showing earths beauty was an important part of life for many in the 1970’

Managerial Control Systems (Take home exam) Essay

Managerial Control Systems (Take home exam) - Essay Example to significantly reduce these emissions (p. 81). The choice of approach depends upon the nature of the business, its motivations and objectives, and the environment it functions in. As a result, there is no one best way by which organizations may achieve their carbon emission targets. The advantages to the firm in the second to the fourth approaches are self-evident, in that energy savings which reduce emissions reduce costs, and the positive publicity enhances the firm’s standing among its consumers. The first approach has to do with the trading of emissions certificates, wherein businesses whose operations require higher emissions purchase pollution permits from other firms who do not need theirs. In this manner, firms who reduce their emission levels have no need for their emission certificates, and may sell them to other firms and therefore earn revenue. Answer to Question No. ... Future-oriented routinely generated information for MCA refers to monetary carbon operational budgeting for short-term decision-making and carbon long-term financial planning long term decision making. Physical carbon accounting (PCA). For PCA, the past oriented routinely generated information includes carbon flow accounting for short-term decision making and carbon capital impact accounting for long-term decision making. The future-oriented routinely generated information for PCA refers to physical carbon budgeting in the short-term and long-term physical carbon planning for the long term. Both MCA and PCA are essentially interrelated. For instance, past-oriented monetary EMA relies on physical information regarding the flow of materials and energy made available by materials flow accounting approaches. On its own, however, past-oriented information is limited. It helps management discern sources of inefficiencies; thereafter, future-oriented information becomes necessary to forecas t the future effects of changes adopted at present (Abdel-Kader, 2011, p. 62). As for short-term information, this is useful where financial data is less volatile. When the data is characterised by high volatility, the long-term focus on carbon-related information becomes more suitable and reliable (Rajapakse & Wang, 2004). Answer to Question No. 3 Various factors influence the volume and type of information that an environmental management accounting (EMA) system provides. Among these are the number, type and functions of managers seeking information from the EMA system and the kind of decisions supported by this information. The structure of the organization and the manner in which its units relate to each other

Discuss the ethical issues of using GM golden rice in the developing Essay

Discuss the ethical issues of using GM golden rice in the developing world - Essay Example Vitamin A is found in butter, milk, liver and kidney, green and yellow vegetables, but only very little in conventional rice. Today, much of Vitamin A can be supplied by the genetically modified rice that offers beta-carotene, a metabolic precursor to vitamin A. In year 2000, researchers in Zurich and in Freiburg, Germany succeeded in creating the yellow rice that has both beta carotene and iron content (GMO Compass). The GM rice research, which was funded by the Rockefeller Foundation by $100 million, took 10 years to produce the genetic strain. It will take million dollars more and another decade of development at the International Rice Research Center before it can reach the fields of farmers. (Shiva, 2000) Genetic engineering is the deliberate, controlled manipulation of the genes in an organism with the intent of making that organism better in some way (What is.com). This is a thoroughly new technology that alters the characteristics of the living organisms by inserting genetic materials manipulated through artificial means. Union of Concerned Scientists said that advocacies of genetically modified food should proceed with care, alternatives examined, and case to case evaluation of genetic engineering applications be done. GM rice has been a source of complex issues. A group of 22 international scientists and experts, in 2009, questioned this issue in an open letter to Professor Russell at Tufts University School of Medicine, who is in charge of the clinical trials of GM Golden Rice testing to adults and children (GM Watch). This group asserted that â€Å"golden rice is inadequately described in terms of biological and biochemical makeup†¦has not been shown to be stable over time†¦.has never been through regulatory approvals process anywhere In the world†. Researchers from Ban GM food worry on the safety of GM rice as it has not been tested to animals. They argued that when pharmaceutical drugs are tested for safety, it should be first tes ted to animals. When no harmful effect is seen in the animal, it is only then that it should be tested to human volunteers. GM rice defenders said that it is intended for humans, so animal test is no longer needed. Same research group argued that since GM rice is engineered to overproduce beta carotene, they are worried that some retinoid derived from beta carotene are toxic and cause birth defects, as studies would show (GM food.org) As controversies grow, research findings conclude that there are many opinions on the negative effect of GM food, but lacks data to support the claim on the potential risks to health (Arpad, et al.) Potential harm of GM foods can be acute to the young, elderly and those suffering HIV, hepatitis or other viral diseases. Those suffering from gastrointestinal tract, allergies and other disorders are further advised not to consume GM food as there is possibility of unforeseen irreversible consequences. For this reason, GM food labeling should be mandatory, research suggested. The emergence of genetically produced crops has generated various policy reactions from different countries as well. Discussion has reached international level, particularly, the World Trade Organization (Nielson & Anderson). Accordingly, both exporters and importers of GM rice will be affected by the biotech policies of the countries within which they operate. Trade relations are affected by the consumer confidence

Business Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 6

Business Ethics - Essay Example It may be argued that the business professional is not solely responsible for proper business conduct, but the organization can assist ethical behavior of a business person by laying code of conduct which may be used for immediate reference when the individual is unsure of the step ahead. Business ethics does not have a typical definition because the rightness or wrongness of a behavior in business is not agreed by all as morally right or wrong, ethical or unethical, good or bad. Ethics has evolved from ancient tradition based on cultural, religious and philosophical beliefs. Business ethics is an argumentative subject with disagreements erupting due to its dynamism, complexity and interdependence in business. Business operations usually involve compromise. There are two basic viewpoints about business ethics: (a) business ethics is inseparable from personal or other ethics and (b) business will not be more ethical than the people who conduct business. There are certain assumptions that form the basis for business ethical and unethical business conduct. It is assumed that profit is not the only motive of business, competition leads individuals to ignore ethics, pressure to compromise ethics occurs often at lower and middle management levels, a person who act ethically has a proper personal code, ethics is highest among youngest and those in the final stages of their careers, individuals with ethical superior tend to behave ethically, workplace pressures to exhibit performance can lead to unethical behavior and more managers and employees identify their ethical behavior with the policies of their organization(Lewis, P.V. 1985 p.377-383). Some scholars define ethics as an inquiry into the grounds and nature of morality where morality is considered as standards, moral judgements and rules of conduct. The confusion in understanding ethics is due to the inability to determine precisely the various factors of business ethics and

Essay on Project Governance Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

On Project Governance - Essay Example Uncoordinated project governance can result to financial loss, delayed completion and collapse of an entire project. Consequently, the project implementers uptake thorough planning and organization of customized ERP system (Abdallah & Albadri 2011). An ERP is a deliberate organizational tool that guides a firm’s vision. ERP systems combine internal information related to finance, management and production. At Microsoft ERP facilitates the exchange of information in business functions. Background Information ERP is an integrated system for small organizations designed to promote excellent practices in business. ERP software’s have varied applications based on the technical aptitude and the definite needs. Each section centers on a definite area such as distribution, marketing, inventory control or HR management. Additionally, ERP is fully integrated to supervise progress and inform business intelligence (Dinsmore & Rocha, 2012). The ERP guides in the decision making of a n organization by guiding project governance. Thus, a well-coordinated ERP system is vital to successful project governance. It provides the most efficient way to conduct business processes. For that reason, systems vary in utility and convenience. Literature Review ERP systems are central business transformers rather than mere IT systems. They align with organizational goals to better provision of services and promote efficiency (Remenyi, 2005). Hence, an ERP has the aptitude to transform project government and may shift the focus of core activities. According to Muller (2009), the need to achieve operational efficiency through consistent implementation emphasizes on the need to form mergers and networks to promote interdependence in the unpredictable market. This heightens the need to establish architectural project governance that promotes growth. Nikookar et al. (2010) asserts that ERP is of competitive advantage to firms globally. It is a dynamic force for inspiring the course of globalization. Resultantly, firms are adopting ERP to guide in better administration and production. Therefore, organizations aspiring to attain standard levels need to invest in efficient ERP systems. This generates a competitive growth oriented atmosphere because it is easier to monitor minor changes. Successful attainment of efficiency is a continuous process that has become the prime credibility measure to modern enterprises (Konsynski & Tiwana, 2004). Companies that successfully adapt with the ERP systems save on time previously spent on documentation, training, and accounting. Therefore, long-term feasibility benefits firm that adapt to the consumer’s preferences. Development stage Microsoft is an organization that develops fully customized ERP systems (Shankar & Bellefroid, 2011). The senior manager and the executive usually guide other stakeholders in coming up with the ERP software’s. Executives at Microsoft engage in the planning and implementation of the system. Primarily, before developing the systems, management conducts research to find the needs of the

The Process of Making a Simple Metallic Water Bucket Essay Example for Free

The Process of Making a Simple Metallic Water Bucket Essay While there are many designs of water buckets in the market made of either plastic or metal, there is the universal design that manufactures tend to use with modifications put in order to create a distinction between this manufacturer and the others. This universal design is the V-shaped bucket, which has got the bottom circumference slightly smaller than the top circumference. Those made of plastic may have or may not have a lid, but the metallic ones do not have lids unless in extreme cases. In a metal-work workshop there are dangerous tools and materials which can cause fatal injuries if the proper safety precautions are not adhered to; therefore one should carefully follow the instructions -that govern the use of any tool. The procedure of making a simple metallic bucket may vary from one manufacturer to another but generally it involves four stages namely; (1) Measurement and Marking stage; (2) Cutting stage; (3) Folding stage, and; (4) Joining Stage. In the MEASUREMENT stage, the correct sizes of the parts that make up the bucket i. e. the bottom part, the curved part that forms the body of a bucket, and the handle are measured and marked on metallic sheets. A metallic measuring tape, inside and outside calipers, and marking knife will be most appropriate tools used in this stage. The measured and marked parts are then carefully CUT using either a cold chisel or metal-work scissors depending on the density of the metal sheet. The next stage involves FOLDING of the cut pieces in order to prepare them for the final stage. Pliers, anvil, measuring tape, and metal-work hammer are the most appropriate tools in this stage. The folded metal pieces are then JOINED together using the most appropriate joint i. e. that is simple and can hold on for along time, double seamed joint may be preferred than riveted joint. The handle is also fixed at this stage; a curved handle may be used because it tends to resist breaking rather than that with edges. Assignment #2 Definition of abstract nouns Nouns to be defined: Loyalty, Bravery, Shyness, Faith. Loyalty: Human beings were created in the image of God, they were given the authority to subdue the earth and they were given rules that governed their relationship with God, among these rules were that they should not eat the fruits of the tree in the middle of the Garden of Eden. God expected them to be faithful (loyal) to him, however, they were deceived by the devil into eating the forbidden fruits and as a result they were heavily punished. In almost every activity we undertake are governed by rules and regulations which we are bound to follow, the Loyalty, devotion, dependent, honest or faithfulness to a cause, thing, person, or to the set rules ensures that we do not rub shoulders with the setting authority or even we do not get punished (suffer). The concept of loyalty is a crucial element of moral ethics that govern the lives of human beings, all the other virtues that makes up a morally upright human being has got their origin to loyalty. For instance, if one is loyal to his/her creator then definitely s/he will love others, help those with problems, respect others etc, in short s/he will be an all round person in regards i. e. being loyal to both earthly and heavenly rules. Jesus Christ asserted that no one should serve two masters at the same time, because s/he will end up loving the one more while hating the other, s/he will devote much time to the one and despise the other. [Mathew 6:24] He explained that serving two masters at the same time will lead to a state of double mindedness and therefore undermine loyalty to a cause. [James 4:8] This therefore forms the basis of loyalty; the very act of showing a hundred percent devotion, faithfulness†¦ to a cause. Disloyalty is the opposite of loyalty; its meaning is therefore the complete opposite of the meaning of loyalty! Assignment #3 Comparing and Contrasting Soccer vs. Hockey Soccer or football is one of the oldest sports believed to have originated from the ancient Greece when young boys used to kick the bladders of slaughtered animals. [historyofsoccer. net/] On the other hand, Hockey, basically referred to as â€Å"the ball and stick game† was played since ancient times in diverse places like Egypt, Scotland, South America and Rome. [historyofhockey. net/] The two sport disciplines vary greatly in many aspects. Using the sequencing method of comparing and contrasting, these variances can be best depicted. Soccer is a sport that is played by eleven players using feet, head, chest and hands for a normal play duration of 90 minutes (divided in two halves of 45 minutes each), while hockey is played by eleven players using sticks, for normal match duration of 70 minutes ( divided in two halves of 35 minutes each). Soccer pitch is larger in size as compared to hockey pitch with measurements ranging from, 100-110m as length and 64-75m as width while hockey pitch measures 75m as length and 35m as width. Soccer ball is made of leather or synthetic material and it is filled with pressure while hockey has a cork that is small in size and it is made of hard material. Soccer players wear jerseys, shorts, shin guards, socks and boots with long studs with the goalkeeper wearing gloves in addition to those other attire, while in hockey a players jerseys, shorts, shin guards, socks and boots with short studs with goalkeeper wearing an helmet, chest guard, loin guard, shin guards, gloves, and large plastic footwear as the extra protective attire. Whereas kicking of the ball is one of the major skills in a game of soccer, in hockey kicking of the cork is a gross violation except when done by a goalkeeper. In soccer aerial balls (passes) are allowed while in a game of hockey balls which are above the waist are considered as dangerous play and are usually penalized. Soccer is run by the FIFA (federation international de football association), while hockey is run by the FIH (federation of international hockey). Assignment #4 Summarizing References: New International Bible, accessed on January 26, 2009 Hokey history, available; http://www. historyofhockey. net/, accessed on January 26, 2009 Soccer history, available at; http://www. historyofsoccer. net/, accessed on January 26, 2009

Mertons theory

Mertons theory Compare and contrast Mertons theory and the labelling theory of deviance. I. Introduction Your Essay Outline Write about Compare and contrast Mertons theory and the labelling theory of deviance in the first sentence. Summarize Mertons Theory in the second sentence. Summarize Labelling Theory of Deviance in the second sentence. Summarize Comparions contrast in the third sentence. Briefly summarize So in short, both theories try to explain crime from a social perspective but one explains why crime begins while the other one explains why crime continues. in the final sentence of the first paragraph. In second paragraph you need to expand on Mertons Theory. Write one sentence summarizing Mertons Theory. Then write two sentences expounding on Mertons Theory. Be sure to back up your argument for Mertons Theory. In the final sentence transition from Mertons Theory to Labelling Theory of Deviance In third paragraph you need to expand on Labelling Theory of Deviance. Write one sentence summarizing Labelling Theory of Deviance. Then write two sentences expounding on Labelling Theory of Deviance. Be sure to back up your argument for Labelling Theory of Deviance. In the final sentence transition from Labelling Theory of Deviance to Comparions contrast. In fourth paragraph you need to expand on Comparions contrast. Write one sentence summarizing Comparions contrast. Then write two sentences expounding on Comparions contrast. Be sure to back up your argument for Comparions contrast. In the final sentence transition from Comparions contrast to your So in short, both theories try to explain crime from a social perspective but one explains why crime begins while the other one explains why crime continues.. In the fifth and final paragraph, summarize Mertons Theory again. Summarize Labelling Theory of Deviance again. Summarize Comparions contrast again. Then write two sentences stating your So in short, both theories try to explain crime from a social perspective but one explains why crime begins while the other one explains why crime continues.. Outline and assess the structionalist themes of crime and deviance Structural theories of deviance are similar to Mertons theory. They explain the origins of deviance in terms of the position of individuals or groups in the social structure. In the 1930s Robert k Merton wrote an article entitled Social Structure and Anomie. It became one of the most influential explanations of crime and deviance. He offered a social rather than psychological or biological explanation. In particular, it was a structionalist theory as it saw the structure of society shaping peoples behaviour. According to Merton, American culture attaches great importance to success and success is measured in terms of money and material possessions. There are norms which define legitimate means for achieving success. These legitimate means include gaining skills and qualifications and career advancement. The American dream states that anybody can make it to the top if they try hard enough. So much emphasis is placed on material success that many people experience pressure to deviate from accepted norms and values. Deviance occurs when they reject the goals of success and/or the legitimate means of reaching that goal. For example, some people are tempted to use nay means of getting to the top-even if that involves criminal behaviour. Merton refers to this pressure as a strain to anomie. Anomie means normlessness it refers to a situation where norms no longer guide behaviour, where anything goes. Despite what the American dream says, not everybody has an equal chance at success. The social structure prevents equal opportunity. In particular, the strain to anomie is most strongly felt by those at the bottom of the class structure. They are less likely to acquire skills and qualifications needed to reach the top. As a result, they are more likely to seek alternative routes to success. Merton identifies five possible adaptations or responses to the strain to anomie in American society, conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, rebellion. Conformity according to Merton, most people conform despite the strain to anomie. Even if they dont make it, they continue to strive for success and follow the normative means of getting there. Innovation, people who adopt the deviant adaptation accept the goals of success but, in Mertons words, they have little access to conventional and legitimate means to becoming successful. As a result, some innovate-they turn to legitimate means, to crime. The pressure to select this adaptation is greatest for those in the lower levels of the class system. Ritualism, people who follow this deviant route abandon the goal of success, but stick rigidly to the rules- for example, people in dead end, white collar occupations that follow their job descriptions to the letter. Retreatism, this deviant adaptation involves a rejection of both the goal of success and the normative means of achieving it. It applies to people who drop out- tramps, drug addicts and habitual drunkards. Rebellion, this involves a rejection of conventional goals and means and their replacement with alternatives. The revolutionary who seeks to change society illustrates this type of deviant adaptation. Mertons strain theory was an early attempt to explain crime and deviance in terms of culture and structure of society. It provided a sociological alternative to biological and psychological theories. In particular, it offered an explanation for working class crime. Whatever its weaknesses, Mertons work provided a spur for the development of further theories of crime and deviance. Mertons theory does raise a number of unanswered questions. First, why do people but not others adopt deviant adaptations? For example, why do some people in the lower levels of the class system turn to crime but others do not? Secondly, Mertons theory focuses on individuals rather than groups. Crime and deviance are often collective activities. How can this be explained in terms of strain theory? Thirdly, crime and deviance are not always motivated by a desire for monetary gain. How can activities such as vandalism and fighting between rival gangs be explained in terms of Mertons theory? In search for these answers subculural theory was formed. Subcultural theories explain deviance in terms of the subculture of a social group. They argue that certain groups develop norms and values which to some extent different from those held by other members of society. For example, some groups of criminals or delinquents might develop norms that encourage and reward criminal activity. Other members of society may regard such activities as immoral, and strongly disapprove of them. Subcultual theories claim that deviance is the result of individuals conforming to the norms and values of the social group to which they belong. Members of subcultures are not completely different from other members of society: they may speak the same language, wear similar clothes, and attach the same value to family life. However, their subculture is sufficiently different from the culture of society as a whole to lead to them committing acts that are generally regarded as deviant. Often, structural and sub cultural theories are combined, as in Albert Cohens analysis of delinquency. The development of subcultures is explained in terms of the position of groups and individuals in the social structure. Cohen was the first sociologist to develop a subcultual theory of working class crime and deviance. He examined delinquent gangs in low-income, inner city areas. Delinquency refers to the criminal and anti social acts of young people. Cohen agreed with Merton that the mainstream value of success creates problems for young working class males. Many do badly at school and fail to acquire the skills and qualifications needed for success. Employing Durkheims concept of anomie, Robert K Merton, an American sociologist, developed his theory of deviance by analysing the American reward system. Mertons argument is that in a well-regulated society, goals and the means of achieving these goals are integrated in that they are available to all in society. In some societies the accepted means of achieving these goals are not available to all, hence those who wish to achieve the goals, but are not able to do so through legitimate means, must adapt to the situation. Merton presented a typology describing the modes of adaptation. The important aspect of the typology is the relationship between the cultural goals and the institutionalised means of achieving them. I will describe the typology in the following paragraphs. Howard S. Beckers labelling theory of deviance asserts that deviance and conformity result, not so much from what people do, but from how others respond to those actions. It analyses how definitions for deviant behaviour are created by social groups. Merton then sets out a typology of modes of adaptation in terms of conformity, or non-conformity, to cultural goals and institutionalised means: 1. Innovation accepting cultural goals but employing illegitimate means, for example, property theft, cheats. 2. Ritualism adherence to means whilst ignoring the goals, for example, bureaucratic adherence to routine going through the motions. 3. Retreatism withdrawal, opting out of socially defined desirable behaviour, for example, alcoholics, addicts. 4. Rebellion not only rejection of goals and means, but a positive attempt to replace them with alternative values, for example, political revolutionaries, religious prophets. Mertons analysis suggests that deviant behaviour is functional. First, for the individuals involved, since it enables them to adapt to the circumstances in which they find themselves. And second, for society as a whole since modes of individual adaptation help to maintain the boundaries between acceptable and non-acceptable forms of behaviour. Criticisms 1. Non conformity, such as ritualism, is not really the same as deviance (indeed with ritualism you do the actions, but have the wrong thoughts its nearer blasphemy). It does not convey the same stigmatising quality as in the label deviant. 2. The assumption of cultural consensus is implicit in the idea of cultural goals, and ignores the possibility of sub-cultures and a pluralistic culture, where cultural goals might differ considerably. 3. It does not really provide a causal theory as to why some groups might adapt via rebellion and others by retreatism. Obviously some form of socialised commitment and differential associations becomes crucial for influencing perceptions of the alternatives to conformity. It does not explain movement into deviant careers. 4. It does not take into account that just as legitimate means to success are limited, that so too are the illegitimate opportunities. Not everyone has equal access to criminal sub-cultures. An analysis of the opportunities for deviant activity is required. However, Merton never claimed that his typology was a total theory of deviance and many of the criticisms of his work were picked up on and improvements attempted by sub-cultural theorists. Conclusion Mertons strain theory is basically an explanation of why people commit crime. His approach involves looking at how people accept reject or redefine our cultural goals according to the means available to them in accepting those goals. So for example, success is the goal, the appropriately accepted way to achieve success in America is through the belief that hard work will get us success. But many people work hard and are not successful. So one adjustment would be to reject the idea that hard work is how to become successful and replace that means of achieving success with an alternative method such as selling drugs. You achieve monetary success without hard work. Labeling theory is also an effort to explain crime from a sociological position. However labeling theory explains why a person continues committing a crime but does not explain why they committed a crime in the first place. So in short, both theories try to explain crime from a social perspective but one explains why crime begins while the other one explains why crime continues.

Concerns in Implementing Biometric Technology

Concerns in Implementing Biometric Technology Though this seems to be an advantage, the integration of this system into the existing system is tedious. Some of the major concerns in implementing biometric technology are as follows, The system relies on complex data processing algorithms which consumes considerable amount of time. Lack of manufacturing and integration of special purpose hardware in the existing system. Adoption of biometric technology in the day-to-day life is slow. A new approach that is gaining attention in the field of biometrics is referred as behavioral biometrics, also referred as behaviometrics. The behaviometrics concentrate on analysis the behavior of the user while interacting with the computer and try to authenticate him. The hardware Mouse capable of monitor the movements of the user and analyzing them to extract a signature, which is unique for every individuals [4]–[6]. Generally there two kinds of authentication mode available in the mouse dynamics, Static authentication Dynamic authentication The main strength of mouse dynamics biometric technology is in its ability to continuously monitor the legitimate and illegitimate users based on their session usage of a computer system. This is referred to as continuous authentication. Continuous authentication, or identity confirmation based on mouse dynamics, is very useful for continuous monitoring applications such as intrusion detection [5]–[8]. II. RELATED WORK Extensive research has been made in the field of utilising the oe of the computer input devices, Mouse, towards the development of user interface design structure [10]. Only in the recent times, the mouse dynamics is further improvised as behaviour biometric technology. The previous attempt ware made to study the user’s identity based on the mouse gesture analysis . Initially, the number of participants for this prgramme is around 48[12].The system is focused on both static and dynamic mode of authentication, but later the system exclusively tried to develop the continuous authentication because for static authentication where in the need of special purpose design of GUI and usage of certain predefined form of signature. Gamboa et al conducted similar experiments to learn the user’s movements while playing a memory game. They are 50 participants involved in the experiment. A sequential forward selection technique based on the greedy algorithm was simply used to find the best single feature later add one feature at a time to the feature vector. Gamboa et al[5] proved that increase in the movements (interactions), the more accurate the identification process would be. But, we cant use this approach to the static authentication type becau se Gamboa et al[5] reported that the memory game took 10-15 min in average. The main issues with these studies are the minimum amount of mouse movements required to authenticate an user was improbable. This method holds well for user reauthentication or continuous authentication but failed in static authentication. So, further work has to be done in the field of Mouse gesture dynamics: a behavior biometric [18], [19]. Our work is to identify the user based on their handwriting patterns. There are considerable amount of research work was made in the field of identifying the user based on his handwriting. The entire work process has been divided into two processes: signature verification and user identification. The pilot experiment where the 50 ample users are allowed to sign and their signature is later used to identify them. The participants are requested to draw eight different gesture and each of them twenty times. The same eight gestures are used throughout the entire process and the users are advised to draw the strokes in a single stroke. By studying pilot experiment meticulously, we can perceive following facts which play crucial role in our work and they are as follows. The average gesture size drawn was made up of 64 data points in a single stroke. Some participant tends to sign faster as they time goes and this cause departure from their normal behavior. The raw data contained noises that must be filtered before processing. The users were advised to be as consistent with the variability in shape and size. These variations were clearly a major source of inconsistency. In our paper, we provide security against shoulder surfing by toggling between the visibilities of the signature and also we provide additional security features like anonymous password feature. III. PROPOSED SYSTEM Based on the facts, we obtained from pilot experiment, we divided our entire work into following modules. Input gesture and sample modules Gesture processing Extraction and acquisition of data points Anonymous Password feature A. Input gesture and Sample modules The input gesture creation module and sample module is simple drawing screen that used to ask the participant to freely draw a set of predefined gestures. The main purpose of this module is to make the participant experienced with the system and to draw them in his own way which is to replicate them later on. So, the gestures are not bound to any specified language and they do not necessarily have a meaning. The input gesture creation and sample module helps the user in two different ways. First, it moves the input drawing to the center of the area. Though the shifting of the drawn gesture is done, the data points are collected without saving these changes. Second, the module moves the gesture spacing to achieve a size of 64 data points. These 64 data points were based on the pilot experiment. As mentioned earlier, we were able to determine the average size of drawing the predefined set of gestures in one stroke. B. Gesture Processing Once, the data is collected how these signatures are modified for further use. What are the steps involved in the process of converting the user signature into their corresponding data points are well briefed in this section. The signature collected from the drawing area consists of three main components, the horizontal coordinate (x-axis), vertical coordinate (y-axis), and the elapsed time in milliseconds at each pixel. Each gesture replication for a given gesture can be identified as the sequence of data points and each of them is represented by a triple consisting of the X-coordinate, Y-coordinate, and elapsed time, respectively. For example, the jth replication of a gesture G can be represented as a sequence Gj = {, , }, where n is referred to as the gesture size (GS) and each where (1≠¤ i ≠¤ n) is a data point. C. Extraction and acquisition of datapoints The extraction and acquisition of data points module involves three main components, namely, data acquisition, data preparation, and data storage and authentication. 1) Data Acquisition: This module presents the gestures, which was created initially by the user in the input gesture creation module, and displays them to the user to replicate. The module records the user’s drawing while he interact with the computer. This module essentially records the signature in three components, horizontal coordinates denoted by xij, vertical coordinates denoted by yij, and the elapsed time in milliseconds starting from the origin of the gesture tij, as explained in the input gesture module. For each user, the application creates individual folder containing all the replication of different gestures. Each gesture must be replicated a specific number of times (eg., 20 times). The user has to wait for minimum 3 s between each replication which is to prevent the user from drawing the gesture too fast. We believed that the wait time and mouse release will force the users back to his normal speed and behavior each time they replicate the gesture. 2) Data Preprocessing: This module is to process the collected data points in such a way it reduces to noise in it. The user’s signature may be shakened or jagged during drawing. They may lead to inconsistencies in the process of data point collections. There are two kinds of normalization techniques which should be applid first before reducing the noise patterns. The first is center normalization which shifts the gesture to the center of the drawing area. The idea behind this tranisition is that the user may tend to draw his signature at any corner of the drawing area so we need to process the signature from any any part of the area. So, it is advisable to move all the gestures to the center of drawing area. The second is size normalization which alters the size of the gesture so that the final size is equal to the size of the template gesture in order to compare the two gestures later. If the size of gesture is larger than the template size then k means algorithm is used to reduce its size. The k means algorithm forms 64 clusters of data points initially, take the centroids of each cluster as the datapoints. To remove the outliners and noise in each replication, data smoothing techniques are introduced. The user cant draw same signature without changing its size and shape under multiple occasions. So, the data smoothing removes the variations in the signature. We use the standard weighted least-squares regression (WLSR) method to smooth the data and Peirce’s criterion [21] to eliminate the outliers. 3) Data Storage and authentication: The collected data points are further stored in the database for each use. The database is capable of storing all the replication of gestures of the user which he entered during the input gesture and sample module. When the user entered the signature during the authentication time, all the replication gesture would be compared. is one of the imminent disaster in these modern technical world. Information extortion occurs when an attacker took the password and other authentication information from the user forcibly. Neither the traditional text-based password system nor biometric systems provide easy way-out of this. No matter the password is a text, fingerprint or iris movements it can be taken by force.

The Power of Working Out Essay -- Exercise Self Image Papers

The Power of Working Out Wherever I go, whenever I go, whoever I see, I am always astonished by the way that people want to present themselves. The principle of working out reminds me of nothing else but a song titled â€Å" wherever, whenever, whoever â€Å" by Shakira. It is for the pure sense that everyone wants to look good and become popular by looking good. The media brings about popularity just by looking this so called â€Å" good. â€Å" Take for example Britney Spears, Christina Aguilara, Shakira, and other teen pop sensations. Many of these pop stars are not even old enough to drink, however they are making millions of dollars from their performances and cd’s that have sold. But it is not just the music that has created such popularity for them. It is without any doubt their appearance just as well. This ethnography will produce the answers to the many asked questions to reasons people even start working out, the multi effects of working out, and to produce the different outlooks of working out by different people. It is the purpose to produce a culture of working out from a masculine and feminine perspective. My research is based on where I work in the weight room located in the building of the JCC located in West Bloomfield, Michigan. It is a very big building perhaps the size of a large high school which is surrounded by a great amount of parking spaces. Inside the JCC there are different facilities. It has a Basketball court, a hall for doing big parties, a rink for roller hockey and the weight room that I am doing. People that are members of this JCC are able to use the weight room anytime they want as well as use the sauna, steam room, they have the luxury of having towels be provided for them a... ... I don’t try to impress the opposite sex as much as I used to. Although it is still nice to have people look at you while your working out I feel that staying fit and healthy is just as important as looking good. â€Å" With the help of my field notes, Keneth Pike’s explanations within etic and emic perspectives, and the interviews I did within these perspectives I was able to realize the true power of working out. The true reasoning that all people are different. Whether some are doing it to stay in shape or to look better, all are doing it for some soul purpose. America is all about working hard and striving to achieve. It is a place of freedom and opportunity. The weight room is an opportunity for people to look better, feel better, as well as socialize with other people. Works Cited: Pike Kenneth. â€Å" A Stereoscopic Window on The World, â€Å"

Introduction to Provencal :: essays research papers

Introduction to Provencal Provenà §al was originally used in all the south of France, as far north as Poitou, Limousin and the Dauphinà ©. Romance language descended from Latin. XIth century Earliest texts (3) survive from XIth century. La Chanson de Sainte Foy (1033) is the only one of real merit. XIIth Century Period of the early troubadours. Dominant genre lyric poetry, especially the chanson (love poetry); also important, sirventes (satire); moral and religious poetry and the partimen (debate poetry). Principal poets: Guillaume IX of Aquitaine, Marcabru, Jaufrà © Rudel, Cercamon, Bernart de Ventadour, Bertran de Born, Arnaut Daniel and Raimbaut d’Aurenga. Wrote for a society where patronage was the rule. Poetry governed by strict conventions as regards rhyme and metre. Music very important. Poets were usually composers as well and set their poems to music. Society destroyed by the Albigensian Crusade (first part of the thirteenth century). Many southern lords destroyed or impoverished and replaced by northern invaders. Deathblow to troubadours, many of whom fled to Aragon and Italy where troubadour poetry continued to enjoy great prestige. Dante admired the troubadours very much. XIIIth century XIIIth century sees poetry continue with poets like Peire Cardenal and there are some surviving poems, which show that there was an epic tradition (Daurel et Beton), and a romance tradition (Jaufrà © and Flamenca). XIVth century Poetry becomes conventional with few outstanding poets, but real efforts to preserve the traditions and language. 1323 foundation of the Consistori del Gai Saber. The Jeux Floraux at Toulouse where prizes were awarded to the best poets. Religious poetry flourished (La Vida de Sant Onorat) and there was some epic poetry (Ronsasvals). Some theatre and prose especially religious (Barlaam et Josafat), but also secular (Melusino, Chronique de Montpellier). XVth century A period of decline in quality and quantity. Some theatre (les mystà ¨res rouergats and alpins), some prose (Chronique des Comtes de Foix et seigneurs du Bearn by Michel Bernis 1445). Period when Provenà §al writers are turning towards French for political and prestigious reasons. XVIth century Despite the à ©dit de Villers-Cotterets (1539) enforcing the use of French in official documents, a period of some revival. Particularly inGascony where the efforts of the navarese Kings to maintain their independence meant some of Gascon. Pey de Garros (1565) wrote Psaumes for Jeanne d’Albret. Guillaume du Bartas (also wrote in French) and Auger Gaillard (Lou Banquet 1583 republished three times) both use Gascon. In Provence Louis Bellaud (1543-88) and Pierre Paul poets of some merit with many followers.

Say No to One Night Stand

Attention Grabber Do you know what does one night stand means? The term ‘one night stand’ means that you have a sexual relationship with a person you meet or possibly a person you never meet before and both of you have no intention to ever meet again or to continue the relationship. It can happen anytime. II. Reveal Topic Today, I would like to talk about some of the harms of one night stand and persuade all of you to stay away from having this kind of action. III.Relevance Statements There are various reason people having a one night stand such as too much of drink, trips away from home, curiosity about one night stand and the likes. Some people who involved in the one night stand are sensible and happy with the situation where no harm is done. Nowadays, this phenomenon is getting more serious than ever. My suggestion is that every human being should prohibit themselves from having one night stand, consider that it could lead to several serious consequences. IV. Preview of Main PointsSome of the harms of having one night stand are: (a) infection of virus and disease (b) unexpectedly pregnancy (c) regretting and guilty feeling BODY I. One night stand causes virus and disease (Packerpack, 2010). * This is the most danger risk of having one night stand. i. He or she may enjoy having sex with you without telling you that he or she is infected. ii. The people might leaving you with some deadly virus like AIDS or HIV. II. One night stand causes pregnancy accidently (Mary, 2009). * Another result of one night stand is a child born. i.Mostly, you can’t get to contact the people you having one night stand because he or she possibly not leaving any contact ways for you since the person has no intention to ever meet you again. ii. You may abortion the baby or give a birth to baby that the child may never know who their father or mother is. III. One or both of the parties regretting what they have done. (Paul, 2008) * Some of the people will say, †˜I know what I’m exactly doing and not regretting of having one night stand. i. They forget that this guilty feeling come after the night goes by. ii.Some of the people involved in one night stand because they are drunk or trips away from home. iii. This will make them regretting and feel guilty to betray their partner of having one night stand with others if he or she are already into a relationship. CONCLUSION I. Summary of Main Points In conclusion, one night stand brings us a lot of negative effects such as: (a) it causes infections and virus diseases (b) it may cause unexpected pregnancy, and (c) it causes us to feel guilty. II. Memorable Concluding Statement Having a one night stand is not love, not a pleasure, not attraction or relationship.If someone is inviting you to have a one night stand whether he or she is your friends or someone you just met, please be polite and just say no to the person.REFERENCES Mary, P 2009, â€Å"Pregnant after a one-night stand: the ac cidental mother†, viewed 20 November 2010, from <http://women. timesonline. co. uk> Pakerpack, 2010, â€Å"The one night stand†, viewed 18 November 2010, from <http://hubpages. com/hub/The-One-Night-Stand>. Paul, S 2008, â€Å"The one-night stand blues: How girls are left to regret brief encounters†, viewed 18 November 2010, from www. dailymail. co. uk

Identification of the Impact of Cultural Diversity

CURTIN UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF HUMANITIES (DEPARTMENT OF CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT) IDENTIFICATION OF THE IMPACT OF HOFSTEDE’S CROSS-CULTURAL DIMENSIONS ON THE DETERMINANTS OF PROJECT SUCCESS AMONG MANAGERS IN PRIVATE SECTOR ORGANIZATIONS IN MIRI, SARAWAK, MALAYSIA Uyi Rapheal Edomwandagbon 7e0b8198/14 Mitrabinda Singh Research thesis presented as a part of the requirements for the award of the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE (Project Management) June 2012 Acknowledgement My most sincere thanks and gratitude goes to my supervisor, Mrs.Mitrabinda Singh for her consistence patience, valuable advice and guidance throughout this final year project in every aspect. In addition, I would like to express my greatest gratitude to all the lecturers in Curtin University who at one time or the other have been there for me throughout the duration of this Master of Science in Project Management course. I would also like to say a Special thanks to all my course mates and seniors for their contributi ons and support in the writing of this research.Last but not least, I would like to thank all of my family both here and back home for giving me this opportunity, Ik and Mathilda for their unrelenting effort in supporting me and Manami for her encouragements and love. Abstract The research focuses on identifying the underlying impact of Hofstede’s cross-cultural dimensions on project success among private sector organisations in Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia. Cultural difference is predominantly existent in most of today’s private sector organisations but the effect has been greatly overlooked.Following the aim of the study a number of questions has been drawn which the research aims to answer and an in-depth analysis of past literatures and studies has been conducted and used for the purpose of the underlying research and a number of hypotheses have been drawn for testing this study. First, an identification of the factors necessary for project success was done, followed by an analysis of cultural dimensions developed by Geert Hofstede (1984).The effect of each of the dimensions in relation to organisations success factors was identified and these were applied to develop a correlation between the cultural dimensions and project success. The research study shall be conducted within selected strata of 20 private sector organisation in Miri with only the managers as participants, employing a quantitative approach using a set of questionnaire containing questions with 5-point likert scale and a demographic section of open and close-ended questions distributed among managers in Private sector organisations located in Miri, Sarawak.The resulting findings and conclusion shall help in establishing this relationship and provide substantial evidence on if cross-cultural differences in Private sector organisations contribute to the success of project in Private sector organisations located around Miri, Malaysia. The relationship as evaluated by Tukiainen et al. (2004) and (Matveev and Milter 2004) is that the heterogeneous group of managers coming from different nations have lower project success and according to Higgs(1996) the heterogeneous group get advantages to get higher project success than the homogeneous group.The homogenous group here is the group of managers who are Malaysians from Miri private sector organizations. To analyse the group differences an independent sample T-test is conducted. Multiple regressions have been conducted to test the hypotheses. Table of Contents Chapter 11 1. 1INTRODUCTION1 1. 2BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY2 1. 3PROBLEM STATEMENT3 1. 4RESEARCH OBJECTIVES5 1. 5OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS AND TERMS5 1. 6METHODOLOGY7 1. 7STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT8 Chapter 29 2. 1INTRODUCTION9 2. 2UNDERSTANDING PROJECT SUCCESS9 2. 2. 1Measuring project success10 2. 3CULTURAL DIFFERENCES13 . 3. 1Understanding Culture and Cultural Difference13 2. 3. 2Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions theory14 2. 3. 3The Effect of Cultural Difference on Project Success16 2. 4HYPOTHESES DEVELOPMENT19 2. 5CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND HYPOTHESIS25 Chapter 326 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY26 3. 1INTRODUCTION26 3. 1. 1Application of study26 3. 1. 2Objectives of the research27 3. 1. 3Mode of enquiry27 3. 2FORMULATION OF RESEARCH PROBLEM28 3. 3CONCEPTUALIZATION OF A RESEARCH DESIGN28 3. 4CONSTRUCTING AN INSTRUMENT FOR DATA COLLECTION29 3. 5SELECTING A SAMPLE31 3. 6WRITING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL33 3. 7DATA COLLECTION34 . 8PROCESSING AND DISPLAYING THE DATA34 3. 9WRITING A RESEARCH REPORT35 3. 10RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT36 Chapter 437 ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH37 4. 1INTRODUCTION37 4. 2DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS37 4. 2. 1Company Profile (Dem1)38 4. 2. 2Number of employees in organisations (Dem2)39 4. 2. 3Employee Nationality (Dem3)39 4. 2. 4Number of Diverse employees in participating Organisations (Dem11)40 4. 2. 5General Language of communication in Organisations (Dem12)41 4. 2. 6Employee perception of Cultural diversity issues (Dem13)42 4. 3PRO FILE OF RESPONDENTS44 4. 3. 1Age of the respondents (Dem5)45 4. 3. Gender (Dem4)45 4. 3. 3Education level of participants (Dem6)46 4. 3. 4Job Profile (Dem7-Dem10)47 4. 3. 5Years in current position (Dem10)48 4. 4SECTION 2: PROJECT SUCCESS FACTORS (Q1-33)49 4. 4. 1Perception of Time, Cost and Quality as measures of Project Success50 4. 4. 2Percentage of Effective team performance51 4. 4. 3Percentage project management process quality53 4. 4. 4Percentage satisfies organisational goal and purpose55 4. 4. 5Percentage perception on benefits to stakeholders, Users and clients56 4. 4. 6Percentage efficient conflict management57 4. 4. 7Percentage benefit to organisation59 4. SECTION C: PERCEPTION OF EMPLOYEES ON CULTURAL DIVERSITY DIMENSIONS (CulD 1-25)61 4. 5. 1I agree that power and authority is being distributed equally among employees in my organisation. 61 4. 5. 2I agree that a certain level of power must be exercised to ensure that team members or employees are dedicated to their work in my organisation (CulD2)62 4. 5. 3I allow my employees to question me or top management when in disagreement with project or work related issues in my org. (CulD3)62 4. 5. 4I agree with the statement that my employees must adhere to my organisations rules even if it jeopardizes our organisational goals. CulD4)63 4. 5. 5I agree with the statement that employee supervision in my organisation is strict (CulD5)64 4. 5. 6I feel I have sufficient time for my family and personal life outside my workplace CulD665 4. 5. 7I agree that my employee appraisal is deserved for doing a good job at my organisation. CulD765 4. 5. 8I agree that an employee with the strongest say wins in matters of conflicts or arguments in my organisation. CulD866 4. 5. 9I like to help others as much as I can. CulD967 4. 5. 10I agree to the statement that working is the only means of livelihood. (CulD10)67 4. . 11I sometimes receive complaints from my employees about being stressed by work load. CulD1168 4. 5. 12I agree that my organisations rules must be strictly obeyed by my employees at all times. CulD1269 4. 5. 13I agree that time is most valuable to my employees when handling tasks. CulD1369 4. 5. 14I agree with the statement that uncertainties and risks are normal features of life. CulD1470 4. 5. 15I believe that simple tasks should be handled first before others. CulD1571 4. 5. 16I allow the contribution of my employees in decision making in my organisations. CulD1671 4. 5. 7I agree that hiring and promotion decisions in my organisations in my organisations should be based on their performance and organisational rules only. CulD1772 4. 5. 18I have a sense of personal satisfaction when I accomplish challenging tasks at my organisation73 4. 5. 19I believe that my employees always follow group made decisions even if their personal convictions are against it. CulD1973 4. 5. 20I have employees who generally prefer to work on their own without their group cooperation (CulD20)74 4. 5. 21I bel ieve that my organisations goals is best measured by the future achievements than the present achievements (CulD21)75 . 5. 22I agree that employee rewards and appraisals should not be based only on their performance (CulD22)75 4. 5. 23I believe that rules should be broken in order to achieve innovation76 4. 5. 24I agree that commitment to my clients and stake holders is important in maintaining my relationship with them CulD2477 4. 5. 25I agree with the statement that my employees value their meal time and breaks even when pressed by challenging tasks (CulD25)77 4. 6FURTHER ANALYSIS78 4. 6. 1Reliability Test78 4. 6. 2Factor Analysis79 4. 6. 3Correlation Analysis81 4. 6. 3. 1Assumptions for correlationError! Bookmark not defined. 4. 6. Test of Hypothesis (H1a – H1e)82 4. 6. 4. 1Multiple Regression Analysis83 4. 6. 4. 2Assumptions checking for regression analysis84 4. 6. 4. 3H1: All the Hofstede’s Cultural dimensions relates to Project Success among managers of private s ector organizations in Miri90 4. 6. 4. 4H1a: There is a relationship between Power distance in managers (in private sector organizations) in Miri and determinants of project success. 91 4. 6. 4. 5H1b: There is a relationship between the Societal Collectivism (Individualistic/Collectivist) attribute of managers (in private sector organizations) in Miri and determinants of project success. 91 4. 6. 4. H1c: There is a relationship between gender differentiation of social values (Masculinity/Femininity) among managers (in private sector organizations) in Miri and determinants of project success. 91 4. 6. 4. 7H1d: There is a relationship between uncertainty avoidance or the fear of unknowns among managers (in private sector organizations) in Miri and determinants of project success. 92 4. 6. 4. 8H1e: There is a relationship between Long term orientation for goal accomplishment among managers (in private sector organizations) in Miri and determinants of project success. 92 4. 6. 5Test Of Hypothesis (H2): Independent Samples Test93Chapter 594 Recommendation and Conclusions94 5. 1Conclusion95 5. 1. 1Identification of the impact of Hofstede cultural dimension on determinants of project success among managers in private sector organizations in Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia. 95 5. 1. 2Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and project success96 5. 1. 3The Identification of whether heterogeneous group of managers coming from different nations get higher project success than the homogeneous groups. 97 5. 1. 4Conclusions relating to the main aim of the study97 5. 1. 5Value of the research98 5. 2Recommendations for future research98 References99 Appendix A104 Appendix C105 Appendix C110Appendix D111 Appendix E113 List of Figures Figure 2. 1:Research Model25 Figure 4. 1: Company profile38 Figure 4. 2: No of Employees in organisations39 Figure 4. 3: Nationality of Respondents40 Figure 4. 4: Number of Diverse employees in participating40 Figure 4. 5: Number of diverse staffs in organi sation41 Figure 4. 6: Respondent language of communication in organisation41 Figure 4. 7: Language of communication42 Figure 4. 8: Do you feel your organisation has no culture problems43 Figure 4. 9: Do you feel these issues do not affect your organisation43 Figure 4. 10: Does your organisation have plans to handle issues in their organisations43Figure 4. 11: Do you feel these issues do not affect organisational objectives44 Figure 4. 12: Participant Age45 Figure 4. 13: Participant Gender46 Figure 4. 14: Education level of respondents46 Figure 4. 15: Job position of Respondents47 Figure 4. 16: Participant work schedule47 Figure 4. 17: Number of years of Respondents have worked in their organisations48 Figure 4. 18: Number of years working in same position49 Figure 4. 19: Bar chart of respondent response on Cultural Diversity (Culd 1)61 Figure 4. 20: Bar chart of respondent response on Cultural Diversity (CulD 2)62 Figure 4. 1: Bar chart of respondent response on Cultural Diversity ( CulD 3)63 Figure 4. 22: Bar chart of respondent response on Cultural Diversity (CulD 4)64 Figure 4. 23: Bar chart of respondent response on Cultural Diversity (CulD 5)64 Figure 4. 24: Bar chart of respondent response on Cultural Diversity (CulD 6)65 Figure 4. 25: Bar chart of respondent response on Cultural Diversity (CulD 7)66 Figure 4. 26: Bar chart of respondent response on Cultural Diversity (CulD 8)66 Figure 4. 27: Bar chart of respondent response on Cultural Diversity (CulD 9)67 Figure 4. 28: Bar chart of respondent response on Cultural Diversity (CulD 10)68 Figure 4. 9: Bar chart of respondent response on Cultural Diversity (CulD 11)68 Figure 4. 30: Bar chart of respondent response on Cultural Diversity (CulD 12)69 Figure 4. 31: Bar chart of respondent response on Cultural Diversity (CulD 13)70 Figure 4. 32: Bar chart of respondent response on Cultural Diversity (CulD 14)70 Figure 4. 33: Bar chart of respondent response on Cultural Diversity (CulD 15)71 Figure 4. 34: Bar char t of respondent response on Cultural Diversity (CulD 16)72 Figure 4. 35: Bar chart of respondent response on Cultural Diversity (CulD 17)72 Figure 4. 36: Bar chart of respondent response on Cultural Diversity (CulD 18)73Figure 4. 37: Bar chart of respondent response on Cultural Diversity (CulD 19)74 Figure 4. 38: Bar chart of respondent response on Cultural Diversity (CulD 20)74 Figure 4. 39: Bar chart of respondent response on Cultural Diversity (CulD 21)75 Figure 4. 40: Bar chart of respondent response on Cultural Diversity (CulD 22)76 Figure 4. 41: Bar chart of respondent response on Cultural Diversity (CulD 23)77 Figure 4. 42: Bar chart of respondent response on Cultural Diversity (CulD 24)77 Figure 4. 43: Bar chart of respondent response on Cultural Diversity (CulD 25)78 Figure 4. 44: Scatter plot for PS and HCD81 Figure 4. 5: Scatterplot85 Figure 4. 46: Histogram85 Figure 4. 47: scatterplot of standardised residual against power distance86 Figure 4. 48: Histogram for assumptio ns testing88 List of Tables Table 1. 1 Structure of the research8 Table 2. 1: Five cultural dimensions [as referred by Hofstede (2005)] and attributes drawn from the literature17 Table 3. 2: Coding/Item Generation From Literature To Measure Project Success (DV)30 Table 3. 3: Coding/item generation from literature to measure Cultural Diversity(IDV)30 Table 3. 4: Participating Organizations (Coded)33 Table 4. 1: Respondent perception of Time, Cost and Quality50Table 4. 2: Employee perception of effective team performance51 Table 4. 3: Respondent perception on project management process quality53 Table 4. 4: Respondent perception on satisfying organisational goal and purpose55 Table 4. 5: Employee perception on benefits to client, stakeholders and users56 Table 4. 6: Respondent perception on efficient conflict management58 Table 4. 7: Respondent percentage on benefit to organisational60 Table 4. 8: Cronbach Alpha for project success (PS)78 Table 4. 9: Cronbach Alpha for Cultural Divers ity (CulD)78 Table 4. 10: Factor analysis for project success80Table 4. 11: Factor analysis for Cultural diversity80 Table 4. 12: Pearson correlation of variables82 Table 4. 13: Correlation statistics82 Table 4. 14: Descriptive statistics of correlation81 Table 4. 15: ANOVA88 Table 4. 16: Model summary89 Table 4. 17: coefficients table89 Table 4. 19 : Independent Sample Test93 1. 0 INTRODUCTION A diverse workforce, built of so many people of different backgrounds has a high contribution to how organizational objectives and goals are achieved due to the availability of a mix of people with completely different understanding, emotions, thinking and attitudes.But does this affect the success of projects executed in these organizations? Thus, an understanding of the impact of different cultural dimensions is effective in identifying how organizations with cultural diverse employees attain successes in project undertaken in their organizations and knowledge of whether the differences in culture or nationality have a positive or negative effect on their organizational success is important.The increasing globalization trend today is coupled with surge for the need of skilled labor and has seen the global migration of people from every part of the world to different countries creating a web of organizations with so many cultural diverse employees working together in the same organizations. The impact of the cultural differences is fast becoming the focus of so many researches as it tends to have a relationship with how organizations employing cultural diverse staff function.This research explores the relationship between the well known cross cultural theory of Hofstede and the determinants of project success outcomes among Private sector organizations in Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia with an emphasis on Private workplace employee relationship and interaction and how the differences of their culture helps or stands as a barrier in their actualization of their goals and objec tives.BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY The differences that are inherent in people such as their dressing, religion, languages and behaviors in their society and organizations values and shows how this differences in people is related to the way they interact with their environment, environment in this context refers not only to their physical environment but also to the people they have to deal as they go along with their everyday life.Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia is located on the eastern part of Malaysia with a population of about 300,000 people of the 25,581 approximate Malaysia population (Salleh 2007), consisting of Iban, Chinese, Malays, Berawan, Lumbawang, Malanau, Indian, Kayan, Kenyah, Kelabit, Bidayuh, Penan and other non-indigenous groups such as Europeans, Arabs and Africans etc. f different diverse backgrounds and religions and this collection of people are the overall make up of most of the Private sector workforce located here. The impact of these diverse work forces of people is sometimes overlooked and ignored which tends to undeniably affect how managers and employees relate with their counterparts of different cultures. This has an effect on workplace relationship can be a limiting or contributing factor to how their organizational goals are achieved on the long run.However, there have been a lot of researches carried out on cultural diversity among manager and on organizational themes, but the true impact of its effects on these organizations performance is quite limited to a wider sphere of cross-country organizations and not attributed to places such as Miri. Just as a the combination of different sounds produce music(good) or noise(bad), so does a combination of people of different diverse background could also have results that could be positive or negative in organizations.PROBLEM STATEMENT During a formal peer coaching session with some colleagues of different cultures, it was easy to recognize the effect that working in Malaysia with others of di verse backgrounds had on diverse employees in carrying out their daily work, in other words, general job satisfaction and if this views could be shared by others of different cultures working in similar multi cultures environments.Were they generally satisfied with their jobs or are they just there â€Å"working to get their daily bread†. A study of the effects of cultural diversity on a joint Russian and British project showed that there is a relevance of cultural differences to project success and that it could affect the output of the project (Murray-Webster and Simon 2004).Their analysis of the project led to the discovery that although all factors that are necessary for the success of the project were in place, there was an underestimation of how diverse teams could guarantee the success of that project and that it is appropriate that organisations conducting projects should have relevant understanding of the differences in work behaviour and individual preferences of th e diverse project teams.Success of projects in organizations has been attributed to the existence of a comfortable work environment that encourages a workforce where employees feel empowered to exert maximum efforts that enable job satisfaction and comfort, with the ability to be able to deal with uncertainties that may arise. This also puts a stress on the organizations managers and insists that manager should be able to create an atmosphere were goals are clearly nderstood and employee participation is high (Belassi 2007). Kendra (2004) attributes that there is a high rate of failure in projects in organizations which was due to factors such as poor working relationships between employees, lack of trust among team members and proposes that the importance of organizations promotion of a shared cultural value could help in improving their project success rate.Kendra’s suggestions were based on organizational culture but on an individual level of analysis (were cultural divers ity is less observed from) could be related and the impact could be seen from a much expanded view as these refers to groups of people with different backgrounds and understanding based on their cultures.Following Geert Hofstede (2005) in showing the way countries react to different cultures, there are some outstanding views on the application and adaption of the 5 dimensions of Hofstede on the basis that, although, it was correct, it seemed to be based on just Hofstede assumptions using only country values and it has to be seen from other perspectives which they broke down to be individual, organizational and country (Kirkman, Lowe, and Gibson 2006).An analysis of the individual level of cultural diversity would help in justifying this statement and thus this research shall be aimed at the individual and organizational level of cultural diversity with managers as our focal point. The willingness of employees to accept and succumb to the issues from difference in culture has a high impact in organizational success. mployees in cultural diverse organizations should have an understanding of their culturally diverse counterparts as it helps to improve their team efficiency and communication which are essential to induce success in the organization, thus cultural differences should not be ignored but appreciated and welcomed in cultural diverse organizations, in other to attain their organizational goal and objectives (Frey-Ridgway 1997).In other to achieve favorable outcomes by organizations, it is necessary to assume differences in people in an individual sphere and not in the category of culture based differences that is accomplished with a comfortable work atmosphere portraying equality between people (Day 2007), with an understanding and respect for the individual differences that are inherent in people and embedded in the organizations everyday processes (Magdaleno and Kleiner 1993).In the Malaysian context, the Malaysian employee is said to be Collectivist by nature, and are more open to their local subordinates than an outsider or foreigner in their workplace, but does this have an impact on their culturally diverse counterparts in the same workplace. Nelson and Quick suggests, the Malaysian culture is collectivist in nature but only a section or department of these people (Nelson and Quick 1997). The question arises here is â€Å"are managers from Miri private organizations have the same value for Hofstede’s cultural dimensions? † RESEARCH OBJECTIVESThis research aims at identifying how Hofstede’s cultural dimensions in Private sectors of organizations in Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia affects the determinants of project success and the main objectives of this research are as shown below * Identification of the Impact of Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions on determinants of Project Success among Managers in Private Sector Organizations in Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia * Whether heterogeneous group of managers coming from different nations get higher project success than the homogeneous group from Miri private sector organizations.The objectives will be achieved by doing a study on Managers from Miri private sector organization, which at least employ 2 managers from different nationalities. OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS AND TERMS The following terms are associated with this research, Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, project, project management process, project success, intercultural communication. A proper definition of these terms would provide a better understanding in the research. Hofstede’s Cultural DimensionsHofstede’s cultural dimensions developed (1980-2001) as a measure of culture is the dominant metric of culture as it closely relates to many cultural attributes from many different countries. This study also had used the largest sample for an empirical study on employees of IBM with employees belonging to 66 countries. This study helped to a large extent in bridging the gap between two different/dissimilar cultures (Yoo, Donthu, and Lenartowicz 2011). The five different dimensions are Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Collectivism, Long-Term Orientation, and Masculinity.The last dimension was taken from ‘Confucian work dynamism’ (Yoo, Donthu, and Lenartowicz 2011). Culture defines an individual in terms of distinction of people from another group (Kelley and Fitzsimons 1999). (Gomez-Mejia and Palich 1997) suggests that to measure differences in culture we need to calculate the cultural similarity indicators. The five dimensions of Hofstede in this study will be taken as the cultural similarity indicators. Cultural Difference The cultural differences refers to the individual differences in the cultures of people living together in a common society.By neglecting cultural differences and the refusal for its acceptance has been a problem and as Garcia (2011) suggests in her study of the long non-acceptance or recognition of cultu ral diversity in Europe and how it stands as a problem to the new Europe and the need for an understanding and education on the issues of cultural diversity for promotion to individuals of the future so as to cultivate an early awareness of it. The cultural difference in this study is identified from the nationality of the participants (managers from private sector organizations). Project SuccessProject success can be said to have been achieved when a project is completed with all objectives and goals being fulfilled. Defining project success can be in different ways, for software developers it could be on-time delivery, for designers it could be appreciation of a design, for a project manager it could be on-time, budget completion that meets the required quality of the output. Project success in this research is being defined by success factors which serve as characteristics by which the objectives of the project can be said to have been successful completed.These factors used in t his research as a defining measure of success for projects are, time, cost, budget, efficiency of the project teams, conflict management and project management process, ability to satisfy the organizations goals, finally, benefits to stakeholder, clients and users. Project A project can be defined as any endeavor that has been undertaken to achieve a goal (Project Management Institute 2004). Project Management process A process is a set of interrelated activities and actions performed to achieve a predefined result.Project management processes are activities that are taken to achieve a project objective. The project management process quality as used in this research refers to the effectiveness of the project management process in the execution of the project. METHODOLOGY The study was carried out following the approach as suggested by Kumar (Kumar 2005) listed below: * Formulate research problem * Compile literature review * Develop the project schedule * Establish a research desig n * Collect and Analyze and process the data Suggestions and improvements * Establish research conclusions * Finalize report STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT The report comprises of 5 chapters and is structured in table (Table 1. 1) below: Table [ 1 ]. 1 Structure of the research Chapters| Description| Chapter 1. 0 Introduction| This chapter gives us an overview of the report and introduces us to the background of the research, aims and objectives of study and operational definitions of the terms used in the research. | Chapter 2. Literature Review| This chapter consists of reviews of available literatures on project success and Hofstede cultural dimensions. | Chapter 3. 0 Research Methodology| This gives an idea of the overall research process while. It gives us a summary of how the research will be undertaken including the research design, literature review, population and sample, data collection instruments and process. | Chapter 4. 0 Analysis of Research| This chapter presents a detailed analysis of the study based on findings in addressing our aims and objectives and answering our research question| Chapter 5. Recommendations and Conclusions| This chapter gives a summary of the findings in the research study and addresses the value of the research with recommendations for future researches| 1. 0 INTRODUCTION This research shall be accomplished using management studies and articles from past researches by Authors with a focus on Cultural Diversity and Project Success, the identification of past findings in the study of cultural diversity and project success and an exploration of how these findings are related and contribute to this study.Subsequently a look into the main aims of project management in accomplishing project within the confines of time, costs and quality, management responsibilities as well as the contribution to achieving organizational project success. UNDERSTANDING PROJECT SUCCESS The Project Management Institute defines a project as a temporary en deavour undertaken to create a unique product, service or result (Project Management Institute 2004). From this definition, it can be clearly seen that the word temporary means that it has an end time or duration and being unique means that it has an expected level of requirement or quality.The goal of every project is to be completed within the confines of time, cost and quality and a failure in any of these factors usually has a relational effect on the others and can undermine the overall goal of that project. For a project to be successful, an understanding of the project objectives and scope by the project team is essential. Recognising the actual needs of the client and satisfying those needs is what actually counts in saying the project was completed successfully, and these all depends on the three factors of the project completion in time, within the budget and with the required quality maintained.Although, it is inarguable about the Time, Cost and Quality factors for projec ts success, Dennis Lock suggests that the success of a project, though judged from these three objectives depends on some other factors and actions undertaken during the project and certain of these factors relate directly to employees in the organizations, such as; a strong support for the project and its manager from higher management, sound organizational quality culture, good project communication, well motivated staffs and a quick and fair resolution of conflict (Lock 2007).These views of other related factors that contribute to project success are instrumental to the measurement of project success and a project that is successful can be subsequently tagged as successful if these factors are met. Measuring project success In the determination of project success, it is essential to establish how we define it. The most common measurement of project success is by the measures of the success factors and the critical success criteria’s. From previous studies there is an unden iable difference between both terms. uccess factors are said to be measures that are put in place to ensure that the project becomes successful i. e. what must be done right to achieve the project success, while the success criteria are the indicators or benchmarks that are used to refer to a project as being successful (Cooke-Davies 2002), in other words, what has been achieved in the project that allows us to say that project has been successful. Basing the measurement of project success as used in this research is based on the simplicity in understanding it as they can easily be recognized and applied.There are so many factors that can be used to define project success (Prabhakar 2008) and these project success factors are industry dependent, thus there is a contrast in measuring the success of an IT project, a construction project or projects from other industries. A brief literature on the factors for measurement of projects from three industries will help to provide a connecti on between these factors or a general success factor for these project completions.For this purpose a look at the factors used in measuring project success from these industries, the construction industry, IT industry and a World Bank project. Chan (2001) developed a framework which he used for measuring construction projects, and he suggests that the success of a construction project can be measured by factors beyond the project management goals of time, cost and quality. Construction projects are different from other types of projects in the way they are taken and rely on different processes that might not be significant in other industries projects such as the IT or software development projects.Factors such as safety might not be important in describing a software development project success as it doesn’t have to deal with the use of equipments or machineries that are hazardous and although they could be considered but their impacts are too minimal to really have an impac t. Baccarini (2004) suggests that project success is dependent on criteria’s based on two components which he called product success and project management success. He discussed that project management success depended on the project processes and stresses the importance of stakeholders and a good managerial process being in place.Product success has to deal with the final product or output of the project and how it satisfies the purpose of execution. Both of the components identified by Baccarini consists of underlying criteria’s which he used for the measurement of project success which are quite similar to the same criteria’s used by other researchers and are listed below. Project management success component * Meeting time, cost and quality requirements Project management success component * Meeting time, cost and quality requirements * Project management process quality Satisfying stakeholder project management process expectations * Project management proc ess quality * Satisfying stakeholder project management process expectations Product success components * Meeting project owners strategic organizational objectives (client) * Satisfying user needs * Satisfying stakeholder where they relate to the product (users/customers) Wateridge (1998) suggests that in the IT industries, project success can be measured by some factors which he observed from studying other researchers work on project success measurements.His (Wateridge 1998) research led to his conclusion that IT projects success can be measured through the factors of; Meeting user requirements, achieving purpose, meeting timescale, meeting budget, user satisfaction and quality. An analysis of World bank projects (Ika, Diallo, and Thuillier 2012) suggests that the failure rate of these projects in Africa was at about 50% until 200 and also that these failures can be attributed to managerial and organizational factors, including poor project design, stakeholder management, delays, budget and in execution coordination.The findings from the study suggested that project success criteria’s that are effective in accomplishing success in these projects can be said to be in the measures of Time, cost, clear objectives, countries, benefits, impacts, sustainability. Atkinson’s studies (1999), on project success, have been widely used as a model by most researches in the measurement of project success. Atkinson’s model for measuring project success was derived from the primary project success measurement criteria of time, cost and quality and he accomplished his by dividing project into three stages, the delivery stage which was concerned with the efficiency of the project management process measured by Time, Cost, Quality and efficiency of the project management process; the post delivery stage which measured the product (resultant system), the product requirements and its benefits to stakeholders and another post delivery stage which measured th e benefit and impacts to users and customers (Atkinson 1999).Based on these arguments, a list of project success factors that can be used as effective measures of success in projects are listed below, * Time, cost and quality are essential for project success * Efficient team participation is necessary for project success * Efficient project management process helps in improving project success and establishing a clearer objective * Ability to satisfy the organisations goals and purpose * Benefits to the user * Benefits stakeholder * Good conflict management * benefits to the clientsCULTURAL DIFFERENCES Understanding Culture and Cultural Difference Edward Hall defines culture as â€Å"the way of life of a people, the sum of their learned patterns, attitudes and material things† (Hall 1980). Geert Hofstede (2005) defines culture as â€Å"the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the member of one group or category of people from another†. Programming of the mind as proposed by Hofstede refers to the thinking patterns of every individual developed by their learning through their lifetime.Following Hofstede’s theories on cultural diversity, it can be inferred that there is an underlying impact on organizations and while some researchers argue that, cultural differences brings creativity and innovation into organizations, others seem to contend that it leads to complexities and indecisiveness. Explicably, these theories will be applied into this research to understand the role of cultural diversity in an organizational framework. The cultural differences refer to the individual differences in the cultures of people living together in a common society.By neglecting cultural differences and the refusal for its acceptance has been a problem and as Garcia (2011) suggests in her study of the long non-acceptance or recognition of cultural diversity in Europe and how it stands as a problem to the new Europe and the need for an unders tanding and education on the issues of cultural diversity for promotion to individuals of the future so as to cultivate an early awareness of it. Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions theory Hofstede’ 5 Cultural DimensionsGeert Hofstede’s (2005) studies on cultural diversity helped in proposing a systematic framework for Identifying cultural diversity based of the different values of people which is known as the cultural dimension theories. His work on cultural diversity by breaking down the different values into 5 dimensions by studying different cultures has been accepted by so many researchers in the study of cultural diversity and has become one of the focal points in the study of cultural diversity.Hofstede’s cultural dimensions divided cultural diversity by comparing values between countries and he observed that different countries had different cultural values which he grouped into Power distance Index, Individualism, Masculinity, Uncertainty avoidance an d later on, Confucian dynamism or Long-term orientation. EXHIBIT-1 ____________________________________________________________________ Power distanceHofstede’s (Hofstede and Hofstede 2005) power distance dimension explores the extent to which the less powerful members of an organization or institution within a country expect that power is distributed equally or unequally. This dimension stressed that individuals in a particular institution or organization in a country were not equal and points out the views of power holders in the country and the general acceptance by other less powerful members of the country. Individualism This dimension emphasizes the degree to which members of a society maintain interdependence among its members.Hofstede (2005) used the relationship of a society of being individualistic or collectivists by nature, individualistic cultures tend to have the attribute of being self committed and are more concerned with their self values and also their immed iate families only. Collectivists on the other hand are more group oriented and members of the collectivist society are expected to be loyal to their groups. Loyalty in a collectivist society was important and overrides societal rules and regulations. MasculinityThe masculine society is driven by competition, achievements and success with an emphasis on being on top, this dimension stresses the manliness of cultures and their zeal in trying to be the best. Collectivist societies on the other hand tend to demonstrate a leaning towards feminine values of caring for others and quality of life. This dimension clearly identifies societies and cultures with distinction between male and female roles in the society and stresses on sexual inequality between the male and female species of human beings (Hofstede and Hofstede 2005).Uncertainty Avoidance This dimension illustrates how a society accepts the unknown, Hofstede (2005) defines it as a the extent to which members of a culture feel thr eatened by ambiguous or unknown situations and have created institutions and beliefs that try to avoid these unknowns. Rules and norms are usually much emphasized in societies with high uncertainty avoidance rates and there is a fear for taking risks. Time Orientation This dimension was adapted from the teachings of confusions and was meant to illustrate the rapid economic development of some Asian countries.This dimension emphasizes on the societal values of having a long-term or short-term orientation, and this dimension stressed on how these orientation helps to achieve success using china and other Asian countries as a focus (Hofstede and Hofstede 2005). Organizations today usually promote a long term orientation or short term orientation, long term orientation tends to work with the idea of future success and goals. ____________________________________________________________________ The Effect of Cultural Difference on Project SuccessCultural differences amongst team has been attributed with some negative outcomes such as conflicts, misunderstanding and poor performance (Matveev and Milter 2004). The study suggests that cultural diversity created problems in communication, coordination and control, team dispersion within teams and further suggests that an intercultural competence model for use with multicultural teams depends on three components; cultural knowledge, skills, and personality orientation.Cultural knowledge relates to the understanding of cultural diversity amongst teams and a recognition of cultural differences in communication styles and interaction, fostered by being skillful in understanding and communicating among cultural diverse members and their personal orientation towards accepting what is represented as culturally diverse, in other words, their reaction towards diverse cultured members based on their emotions and behaviors. Previous studies tend to show an alignment to this understanding of the effect of the differences in cultura l dimensions on Project success.Tukiainen et al. (2004) also affirms that cultural differences in project organisations produces creativity in problem solving but it also leads to problems of higher ambiguity and suspicion among members of global project teams. They also argue that cultural differences, in global projects, leads to problems in the outcome formulation of projects, project execution and outcome assessments, suggesting also that the existent of locus of power also affects the interaction between project teams. Table [ 2 ]. : Five cultural dimensions [as referred by Hofstede (2005)] and attributes drawn from the literature Cultural Diversity| High Index| Low Index| Power Distance| * High discipline within employees. * Poor employee-top management relationship. * Poor group decision making. | * Greater awareness of their responsibilities. * Poor group supervision. | Individualism (Low Individualism is usually collectivist). | * Poor decision making based on individual ju dgment. * Low conflict identification. * Poor teams. * Good decision making due to greater creativity and innovation. * Emphasis on team work. * Better conflict resolution. * Good group relationship. * And interdependence. * Higher job commitment. | Uncertainty Avoidance| * Low acceptance of innovative ideas. * Low creativity. * High Risk avoidance. * Better product quality. * Less ambiguity| * Better precision in handling tasks. * Better job satisfaction. | Masculinity (Low Masculine Index are Feminist)| * Greater efficiency in handling task. Good productivity. | * Better work relationship between employees. * Better decision making. * Lower job stress. | Long Term Orientation (Low index are short term)| * Task executions are based on attainable ideas. * Adherence to tradition * Persistency in achieving goals. | Greater goal orientation. | The effect of cultural diversity in teams can be seen from Higgs’ (1996) study based on 4 of the cultural dimensions of Hofstede. He sugg ests that each of the dimensions have underlying advantages.It was easier to see the impact of cultural differences through the identification of patterns in management styles and motivations and effective cultural diversity management is related to certain positive factors of team performance which he stated as; a shared understanding and commitment to team goals and objectives, a clear understanding of team member roles and contribution, an understanding of the value of diversity and an effective pooling of knowledge and skills (Higgs 1996). The 5 Cultural dimensions and their nderlying characteristics are shown in table 2. 1. HYPOTHESES DEVELOPMENT H1: All the Hofstede’s Cultural dimensions relates to Project Success among managers of private sector organizations in Miri The above hypothesis is drawn based on the past findings of a relationship between Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and its influence on managers and project success. Based on this hypothesis a regres sion model has been generated to test the varying relationship between each of the 5 dimensions of Hofstede as shown below, Y= 0+1 X1t+2 X2t+†¦ p X5t+et Where p= no. of independent variables and t= no. of respondents. A hierarchical regression analysis will be conducted based on the model below with the 5 cultural dimensions of Hofstede as predictors. PSt = 0+1 PD1t+2 IND2t+3 MAS3t+4 UA4t+5 OAS5t+et (Where PSt = Project Success, 0 is a constant (the intercept) that describes the value of PSt when all Xs’ are 0, PD = Power Distance, IND= Individualistic, MAS = Masculinity, UA = Uncertainty Avoidance, LTO = Long Term Orientation, t= no. Of respondents, et = error term)H1a: There is a relationship between Power distance in managers (in private sector organizations) in Miri and determinants of project success. The above hypothesis is drawn from the following literature review; In a project organization context, Power distance can be a negating or contributing factor to how t heir project goals are accomplished that depends on how the relationship between subordinates of different organizational level such as managers and employees influence the achievement of their organizational goal.K’Obonyo and Dimba (2007) in his study of the impact of cultural diversity on human resource management in Kenya claimed that the impact of the Kenya high power distance index creates a barrier between managers and employees in which employees see themselves as different from managers, while the managers are reluctant to allow the employees to engage in such things such as decision making. High power distance relates to the difference in equality between employees and top management which in turn affects how decisions are made in such organisations, decision making is not collective and the top management makes all the decisions.This emphasizes that in countries with a high power distance index, decision making is not a collective process and most decisions are usua lly taken by top management alone without the employee involvement. Power distance is relational to poor employee-top management relationship, with decision making only done by top management. Uncertainty avoidance high dimension was attributed with the non acceptance of innovative ideas and behaviors and low job mobility, that is, employees were more satisfied with their current job situations (Kundu 2001).Another study on the effect of cultural diversity using Hofstede’s first 4 dimensions was done on construction industries in Singapore and china (Pheng and Yuquan 2002). They suggested that low power distance is prone with less supervision of employees and decentralisation of task. High Power Distance was relevant and would have a similar effect on quality effectiveness in both high and low power distance cultures. (Kull and Wacker 2010) Higgs (1996) suggests that each of the dimensions have underlying advantages.Low power distance index in organisations tends to create aw areness on employees responsibilities and a high power index creates discipline. H1b: There is a relationship between the Societal Collectivism (Individualistic/Collectivist) attribute of managers (in private sector organizations) in Miri and determinants of project success. The above hypothesis is drawn from the following literature review; Individualism and collectivism illustrates the nature of relationships between peers in different countries.Individualism relates to countries in which there was a low relationship between individuals and is more centered on self while collectivism were countries that are more group oriented (Brewer and Sunil 2011) . Thus, it can be inferred that collectivism contributes to better decision making based on the collection of minds and the interpersonal relationship that exists between them. Kundu (2001) suggests that high individualism contributes to individual decision- making, while collectivist nations had less individual decision making.Vosede k (2007) researched into the effect of cultural diversity on outcomes of work group tasks based on the individualistic and collectivist dimensions of Hofstede in relation to group and task conflicts. He (Vodosek 2007) suggests that when it comes to cultural diversity in organizations, three types of conflicts were present which he referred to as Relationship conflicts; characterized by incompatibilities between members of culturally diverse organizations and having the attributes such as tension and annoyance.Task conflicts were characterized by group member disagreements based on the non acceptance of decisions, ideas and opinions and lastly process conflict which was characterized by disagreement on how task should be done or handled. He also suggests that there was a general acceptance of opinions between people of the same group, than those of other outer groups and aligns that the organizational outcomes where harder to actualize in culturally diverse groups due to problems in their process, errors in communication and perceived prejudice that is associated with cultural diverse groups.Cultural diversity from his studies was related to group satisfaction and indicates the way the group performed in handling tasks. K’Obonyo and Dimba (2007) also suggests that employees in collectivist nations were more involved with group decision makings due to the good relationship and closeness between employees but were very poor at top management appraisal to employees.Subsequently, Kokt (2003) in his studies of the impact of cultural diversity on team performance in south Africa, suggests that team formation was more negatively realistic in cultural diverse groups than culturally homogeneous groups and that the problems in cultural diverse teams was more based on language, communication (Canen and Canen 1999) and the non recognition of the ability of cultural diverse individuals to be loyal to their groups but, that cultural diverse teams were also attributed with a better management of conflicts and engaged more diverse ways in problem solving and creativity which was positive to organizational success.His findings also suggests that assertiveness which is an individualistic nature had a negative impact on quality effectiveness as it was characterised low group decision making and poor conflict identification. (Kull and Wacker 2010). Collectivists are generally more committed to their jobs (Higgs 1996). H1c: There is a relationship between gender differentiation of social values (Masculinity/Femininity) among managers (in private sector organizations) in Miri and determinants of project success. The above hypothesis is drawn from the following literature review;Higgs (1996) suggested that while masculine dimension tends to promote efficiency and increased productivity, feminine dimension tends to personal service and custom building. The view of cultural diversity as an edge to gaining competitive advantage by organizations is important in achieving organizational goals. Feminine dimension tends to contribute to better job satisfaction with organizations of countries of high index as it stresses more on interdependence between employees and reduced stress (Brewer and Sunil 2011).Low masculinity dimension countries had a good decision making process and lower job stress, while High masculinity cultures had a higher work performance K’Obonyo and Dimba (2007). H1d: There is a relationship between uncertainty avoidance or the fear of unknowns among managers (in private sector organizations) in Miri and determinants of project success. The above hypothesis is drawn from the following literature review; A low uncertainty index is associated with lesser ambiguity and lesser fear of tasking risks, with a staff who were less ambitious (Pheng and Yuquan 2002).Uncertainty avoidance dimension is effective in improving quality as cultures with high uncertainty avoidance index are more aware of their process controls and ensured the use of quality standards based on the international organisations for standardization (Kull and Wacker 2010). Higgs (1996) found out that high and low uncertainty avoidance creates lower innovation and precision respectively. H1e: There is a relationship between Long term orientation for goal accomplishment among managers (in private sector organizations) in Miri and determinants of project success.The above hypothesis is drawn from the following literature review; An important factor associated with project success is Quality which depends on an effective quality management system. Study of (Kull and Wacker 2010) on quality management in Asia based on the Globe dimensions which are adapted from Hofstede’s dimensions suggests that future orientation (Hofstede Long term short term orientation) is not significant in improving quality, though, short term orientation are more goal oriented while long term orientation depended on past ideas which are more attainable.T he long term orientation is being used in this correlation but it was not used in Hofstede’s research on Malaysia and so there is no scoring available for the dimension in Malaysia, but can be significant if we derive any result for this particular cultural dimension.Hofstede (2005) in his study suggested that this dimension in workplaces had an emphasis on family values, in which these organizations where seen as closely knit families with attributes such as having a sense of thrift (saving for future), shame (fear of losing face which breeds commitments in Long term orientation), persistence in achieving goals and respect for tradition (sticking to traditional rules that could impede innovation). H2: There is a group difference between Malaysian and non-Malaysian managers (in private sector organizations) in Miri and determinants of project success.This hypothesis is developed to find out the inherent difference that exists between Malaysian Managers and Non-Malayasian mana gers in Miri in actualizing their project success based on this question, Do Malaysian managers get better project success than non-malaysian managers?. Appendix B shows an illustration of the past studies and the possible relationship between Hofstede’s cultural dimensions at workplace and the project success. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND HYPOTHESIS H1c Project success Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions, (Power distance, societal collectivism, Gender Differentiation, Uncertainty Avoidance and Long term orientation)Power distance Individualism/Collectivism Masculinity/Feminism Uncertainty avoidance Independent Variables Dependent Variable Long term orientation H1a H1b H1d H1e H1 Nationality (Malaysian/Non-Malaysian) H2 Figure [ 2 ]. 1:Research Model Figure 2. 1 shows the conceptual framework above shows the relationship between the dependent variable and independent variables. The development of hypotheses is directed at answering the research questions and to investigate the relationship between Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and determinants of project success. * RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 1. 0 INTRODUCTIONKumar (2005) suggests that a research project type is categorised based on three perspectives, which he listed as, * Application of the study * Objectives of the study * Mode of enquiry used in conducting the study This research type has been classified based on this three perspectives and this suggestion is being applied to how this research has being undertaken. Application of study In view of what this research seeks to find out, the research study is an applied research, applied research involves the use of traditional research methods in the collection of information in other to find out or enhance a phenomenon.Objectives of the research The research is a correlation research. Correlation research is done to discover a relationship between two or more aspects of a situation (Kumar 2005). Thus, this research is deemed to be correlation because i t seeks to explore the relationship which Hofstede’s cultural dimensions have on project success among managers in Miri. Stangor (2010) suggests that an advantage of a correlation research is that it can be used in assessing behavior as it occurs in peoples’ everyday life by measuring the research variables and trying to find the linking relationship between the variables. Mode of enquiryThis research employs a structured approach to how it is undertaken. A structured approach involves a research in which all the research process is predetermined. This research employs the use of quantitative research methods for data collection. A content analysis has been carried out to define the constructs and variables that will be used in creating the questionnaires for the quantitative analysis. (Hseih and Shannon) suggests 3 approaches of qualitative content analysis namely; conventional, directed, or summative. We have used directed approach which starts with a theory or relev ant research findings as guidance for initial codes.Due to time constraint the other two approaches cannot be taken which may have more error free coding. The justification for the use of quantitative method is based on the sample collection method, which involves the use of a set of self completion questionnaires aimed at measuring project success and identifying the different existing dimensions of cultural diversity. The research process used is based on research guidelines and operation steps as suggested by kumar (2005), as listed below * Formulate research problem * Conceptualization of a research design * Constructing an instrument for data collection * Selecting a sample Writing a research proposal * Collecting data * Processing data * Writing a research report FORMULATION OF RESEARCH PROBLEM The research was formulated based on the notion to identify an understanding on how cultural diversity can be used as a determinant of how success in projects is achieved in organisatio ns with cross-cultural employees of different diverse background. The cultural dimensions of Hofstede has been used in the identification of different cultural characteristics that are inherent in employees and these has been used as an underlying construct in investigating how it affects project success in these organisations.Kumar (2005) suggests that a main function of formulating a research problem is to decide what you want to find out in the research. CONCEPTUALIZATION OF A RESEARCH DESIGN A research design helps to provide a workable and doable detail on how a research question will be answered. It involves detailed information on the how, when and where a research is going to be carried out. An in-depth review of past literatures and studies concerned with a research is fundamental to creating a research design and a timeframe in which the research is going to be carried out is instrumental in establishing duration of the research.This research is carried out by identifying how managers in private sector organisations located in Miri view the impact of cultural diversity in their organisations on project success. The timeframe of this research is developed from the time-frame that was given by the department for the completion of this research and is shown in Appendix A. Kumar suggests that a thorough literature review helps to bring clarity and focus to the research problem, as well as improve the research methodology, broaden the researcher knowledge on the research area and conceptualize the research