Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Culture - Essay Example However, it is often debated as to whether the religion is a part of the culture or culture is part of the religion. The historical roots of every religion suggest a very strong correlation between the culture and religion as most of the religious rituals are finally being shaped by the culture of the society within which the religion evolve. It is therefore because of this fact that Historian Dawson claim that "The heart of Western civilization says Historian Dawson, is its Christian culture. By this he means not the Christian religion but its impact on the social life and institutions of the West. Today that Western heart is not beating at the center of things, where it belongs, but is fluttering on the fringes, and Western civilization is sick with a bad case of secularism." (www.time.com). Thus there is very strong historical evidence as to how the religious values and culture has shaped the overall form of Christianity which is prevalent today. As defined above that culture is a set of patterns of an individual's life which portray the human activity and present a symbolic representation of that person's or group of persons' lives. In its essence, culture is a collection of values commonly practiced by a large number of people sharing a common heritage. The first definition of the word culture came in 1871 when in his book "Primitive Culture" he defined culture as "complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society" (Tylor). Culture is considered therefore as a powerful human tool necessary for the survival of the human beings but it is also considered as fragile too as cultural bondages define not only common heritage but common sentiments and emotions too. It is often believed that there are various layers of the culture also commonly known as subcultures. First layer is called the cultural traditions which effectively distinguish and specify a society from others whereas second layer of culture is called subculture which is often considered as the very own identity of the individual. The third layer of culture is called cultural universals and is considered as shared behaviors which are being used by all the humanity across all the geographical regions of the world. Cultural Difference As discussed above that culture have three different layers. This very fact clearly suggests that culture is itself diverse in nature. This diversity creates cultural differences between the various societies and within cultures even. These cultural differences can sometimes be the source of great embarrassment for people who are relatively alien to that culture or even present a great opportunity to create an environment where society can be shared by various cultures belonging to different regions etc. Since "Culture is vital because it enables its members to function one with another without the need to negotiate meaning at every moment. Culture is learned and forgotten, so despite its importance we are generally unconscious of its influence on the manner in which we perceive the world and interact within it. Culture is significant because as we work with others it both enables us and impedes us in our ability to understand and work effectively together." (Learning). Thus

Staff Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Staff Management - Essay Example If we take these factors into consideration, we find that in hotels there is usually a respect for authority which makes the employees defer to their superiors and operate in the circle of ownership that they have over their jobs. Hence, what can be done within their purview, they do that well and leave the rest to the control system to tell them their specific duties. By empowering employees at all levels, Becker has introduced what can be called uncertainty in the decision-making the process as the case highlights how employees are unsure of what they are supposed to do and hence seeking direction on even the minute aspects. Though the intention here is not to belittle empowerment, there are places where employees need to be assigned specific jobs with clearly defined roles and responsibilities and this is one such instance (Joiner, 2001, 238). Individual behavior, in this case, is a classic example of how empowerment leads to the wrong results if not managed properly. The case ill ustrates the need for direct supervision along with clearly defined roles and responsibilities for the staff that stems from a command and control system with each level doing what they are supposed to do under strict conditions of regulation. Though the intentions of Becker are noble, he just happened to have implemented them in the wrong manner leading to the outcomes described in the case. In conclusion, it can be said that Becker was in the wrong place at the wrong time and with the wrong set of people. Organizational Culture The culture of the organization before Becker took over is an example of top-down control with limited autonomy at each level and employees at all levels being clearly told what to do and how to do it. Once Becker took over and started the process of empowerment, there was a "culture" shock in the hotel which led to chaos and confusion and loss of productivity and direction. These are all symptoms of how an organization reared in the culture of authoritarian decision making and centralized authority reacts when there is a shakeup in the way the organization goes about its business. As mentioned in the previous section, the intentions of Becker are noble but they just happened to be applied to the wrong organization (Ashkanasy, 2003, 303). The point here is that hotels can be run in autonomous fashion provided they have a culture of openness right from the beginning. And if changes to the culture are supposed to be brought in, they must be done in a gradual and graduated manner instead of introducing them all at once. This saves the organization and the employees in it a lot of trouble as culture shocks can be managed and the transition to another organizational culture done in an orderly and smooth manner. Hence, when introducing changes to the organizational culture, care must be taken to follow the due diligence process and not jump into unchartered territory (Schein, 1990, 90). The hotel described in the case was being run in an efficient manner with the culture being one of command and control with elements of delegation and role definition is clearly laid down. So, when Becker took over and started his reorganization methods, it did not go down too well with the employees who were used to a different