Does gay marriage threaten the family Essay Example for Free

Does gay marriage threaten the family Essay The question is clear does gay marriages threatens the family? To my belief yes it does with a capital Y. It is for a very simple reason that it nullifies the basic web of the society, the family. By the term alone, for instance if a two male person established among themselves what they so called â€Å"conjugal love or the so called domestic partnership â€Å"who would be called the mommy and the dad. If they have children by adoption or from the other partner would that child not be confused that his or her mom is physically and physiologically like his dad? In this aspect it also waters down the dignity of a man and that of a woman. For all we know yes we are created equal but were given recognition that each one has his and her role to play. And that part cannot be taken away by some whims of only few individuals. In fact, it is everyone’s concern to value his masculinity and for the woman her femininity. Those who can not recognize this fact is in no way no longer care for respect for the right reason. Ralph Wedgewoods justifications are like a mens rea. Justification does not eliminate one’s malicious act. He justifies gay marriages by attacking the evils in marriages. He could have forgotten that he is once a product of a basic family of a union between a man and a woman. Divorce, children born out of wedlock, abandonment, etc. are ills to our society but must not be taken into account that since we have this evil, marriage is doomed. In fact, a holy marriage is a sanctuary, a place where we could raise good citizens of the world. When love is lacking between a complete man and a complete woman, how can we be so sure that love between the same sexes is less chaotic? I do not deny the value of clean friendship here; same sexes could love each other in a platonic and respectful way. Giving into licentiousness already debases the human dignity, and that dignity is for everyone. Perfect union is only enjoyed by legitimate love. Anything outside of it is simply lust. And when lust diminishes convulsion of consciences regains unless that conscience has had hardened its heart not being able to conceive what is right and what is wrong. Maggie Gallagher’s discusses in her book â€Å"What is Marriage for? †. That gay marriage is nothing new. It could be accepted in Massachusetts and may infiltrate the 50 states of America. Marriage is defined as giving a legal ground for sexual desires of adult individual but it has more to offer. Well it is not simply institutionalizing a marriage and begetting children. It is beyond that. Moreover it is not only for the elite. But justice dictates that if a man and a woman can not properly raise a child it is better for him and her to live continence. Many have fallen into the ifs’ and buts’ of marriage, but if we could only look at one direction and try to research what it really mean to be. Finally, everyone could have a conclusion that marriage is never a license but more of a gift of faith and love. Matrimony is defined in the Humane Vitae (Human life) as Married love which is far from being the effect of the result of blind evolution of the natural forces in which husband and wife through mutual gift of themselves perfect themselves as one in cooperating with God for generating new lives. It is a love that is total. How many have come in to marriage without valuing this basic requirement? They are the ones on the event of sorrows of daily life ran away from their commitment. It is them who forget that married love is faithful and exclusive until death. They never thought that it is a real commitment and not just a sharing of domestic problems. â€Å"Marriage and conjugal love are ordained toward procreation and education of children which are the supreme gift of marriage. † (VI, 1968) This always includes responsible parenthood and the observance of the natural law. Marriage between same sex is not only a direct defiance to God’s will who have created the whole universe but a rendering injustice to ones self. A man with a common sense knew that anything unnatural is a hoax. Never would a man find complete ecstasy on any union that is filled with guilt and full of perversion. In Kerry Howley`s debate, she stresses more on the political side of the issue. The author could have forgotten one dimension of marriage. This social institution is not only bounded by a certain state but is treated more of a sacrament. The unions between spouses are not only by civil norms but out bounds the soul. Religion, the church, and God who created you and me have institutionalized marriage to be the seed of His elects. Here we are not negating the rights of lesbians and homosexuals, in fact our society of today are more civil with them and accepted them as creative and respectable individuals. But to carry on an error of licentiousness we are just debasing their human existence. There are always limitations where we can not be what we want but in the eye of a believer of truth he could see beyond even if his eyes are closed. Let consciences be heard and man will bend his knees, for all we know something out there is of greater value, more precious than gold. Our soul and its eternal end.

Military Discipline Essay Example for Free

Military Discipline Essay Bring out uniformity in cooperating for the attainment of a common goal. This uniformity is obtained when an individual understands how to fit into an organization as a whole. To understand one another through the sharing of common goals. To ensure effectively of a group not only for specified purposes but also for emergencies. To install responses automatically without panic in an emergency. D. Principles of Effective Discipline Men fell wore secure if they knew that reward and punishment come to them because of behavior and not because of an officers word, mood or preference. An officer must be loyal to his men and worthy, takes an interest in them and makes sure they are granted rights and privileges. An officer commands publicly and reproves and reprimand privately. He gains the confidence of his men and is worthy of it. An officer/leader must set an example. E. Military Courtesy it is the accepted form of politeness in the military service. The foremost of this special form of courtesy is the salute. It is the expression or manifestation of consideration for others. F. Whom to Salute Commissioned officers of the AFP, National Flag, Colors, and standard not cased. Officers of foreign Armed Forces whose government is recognized by the republic of the Philippines. All civilians who are entitled by the custom to the salute. G. Proper Manner of Saluting Except when walking one should always be at attention when saluting. The right hand is raised smartly until the tip of the forefinger touches the lower part of the headgear or forehead and slightly to the right eye. Thumb and finger are extended and joined. The palm is turned slightly in front of the body. The forearm is inclined at 45 degrees angle and the hand and wrist are in straight line. The first position of the hand salute or the nearest point of approach is more or less six paces. The first position of the salute should be held until the person saluted to have passed or the salute is returned. The hand salute under the naval custom is accompanied by a word of greeting such as good morning, Sir/Maam depending on the time of day. Naval custom permits saluting with left hand when a salute cannot be rendered by the right hand. H. Major Fault in Saluting Bowing the head as the salute is given. Dropping the hand salute before it has been returned. Holding the hand awkwardly high or letting it sag too low. Saluting while on the double time. Avoiding the gaze of the person saluted to. Saluting with a pipe, cigar, or cigarette in the mouth or in hand. I. Honors to the Colors and Anthem Whenever the National Anthem is played and you are not on formation and not in a vehicle, come to attention and at the first note, face the flag and render the prescribed salute. If no flag is nearer, face the music and salute. Vehicles in motion are brought to halt. Troop formations, riding in vehicles do not disembark. If outdoors and uncovered, attend at attention and face the flag. If indoor, officers and enlisted men will stand at attention. The passing of being passed by an uncased color, which is being paraded, presented or in its own formal display, a salute at six paces before and until it has passed you. In uncovered, stand at attention when passing by uncased color. The marks of respect above are also rendered to the national anthem of any friendly country when played upon an official occasion. Discipline 1. Training to act in accordance with rules; drill. 2. Activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill; training 3. Punishment inflicted by way of correction and training. 4. The rigor or training effect of experience, adversity 5. Behavior in accord with rules of conduct; behavior and order maintained by training and control

Social Inequality and Exclusion Knowledge in Social Care

Social Inequality and Exclusion Knowledge in Social Care How can a knowledge of social inequalities and social exclusion assist social workers in their practice? In some respects the topic of this essay reflects both the heart and core of the philosophy behind social work. There are some who would argue that it is the recognition and appreciation of the inequalities of society that are the driving force behind most of the social legislation in this country today. (Powell, J et al 1996). The definition of social inequality can be made on many different levels – philosophical, intellectual, socio-economic, cultural and health related, to cite but a few and a complete discussion is clearly beyond the scope of an essay such as this. In the same way social exclusion can be due to a myriad of causes – cultural, religious, behavioural, criminal, socio-economic, age, immobility and illness are a few of the more common factors. The fact of the matter is that in practical terms, both social inequality and social exclusion tend to overlap a great deal and in many cases, one is the cause of the other. (Lovelock, R et al 2004) Because it is completely impractical to consider all of the possible causes of both social inequality and social exclusion we shall approach the issue by considering a number of different examples and discuss them in the context of the question. In general terms, disability (both physical and mental) is a major cause of both these phenomena. We shall begin by considering the impact that disability has on both social inequality and social exclusion. To it’s credit, the Government has recently taken a number of steps to try to combat the inequality and the exclusion elements that are inextricably linked with disability. In order to be technically correct on the matter, we should note that the World Health Organisation actually subdivides the term â€Å"disability† into three different elements Problems in bodily function or structure, which they used to call impairment; problems relating to activities, or disability; and problems related to social participation, which they called handicap. (Ramcharan P et al 1997) For our purposes however, such a definition is hardly helpful in terms of examining the problems of the disabled. We would suggest that a definition in social terms is probably far more practical. Some commentators (Clasen J 1999), have observed that: The treatment of disability as if it was a single problem may mean that disabled people receive insufficient or inappropriate assistance. The problems that disabled people have in common are not so much their physical capacities, which are often very different, but limitations on their life style. In the context of this essay Goodin (et al 2000) adds the observation that: Their income tends to be low, while disabled people may have special needs to be met which require increased expenditure. Socially, disabled people may well become isolated, particularly as their health declines and they struggle progressively to manage on the resources they have, and they may be socially excluded. For our purposes in this essay we shall use the word â€Å"disability† in its English grammatical sense (a la Clasen and Goodin) rather than in the narrower WHO definition above. Perhaps the first observation that we should make, is that disability, or the perception of disability, is very culturally dependent and to some extent is culturally determined. The cynic might suggest that the stereotype caucasian British white male might consider that a disabled person is the responsibility of the social services and the state, who can look after him, provide him with carers and organise a regular income in the form of some type of protected benefit. Equally, the stereotypical Asian family might consider the disabled family member to be the responsibility of the family itself and would only look to the state for advice and resources. Clearly both of these stereotypes are cartoon exaggerations of the reality of the situation, but we use this to illustrate the cultural elements of the expectations of both the disabled person and their families or carers. In the context of our considerations here, we need to consider how a knowledge of the social inequalities and social exclusion can assist the social worker in their practice. In order to do this in the specific area of disability, we should examine The Disability and Discrimination Act (1995). Many would argue that this has been a piece of legislation that was long overdue as it addressed a need that has been demonstrably present from time immemorial (Baldock J et al 1999). The fact of the matter is that the ability to discriminate on the sole grounds of race has been illegal in the UK for a considerable time. As Spicker (P 1995) has observed: The ability to discriminate on other, arguably more fundamental features of existence, still remained an option that did not have the sanction of the law. In this respect, the Act has proved to be a valuable piece of legislation as it has helped to directly tackle many of the areas of social inequality and social exclusion. Many consider the Act to be simply aimed at the discrimination practices that were rife in the workplace, but the reality of the situation is that it is, in real terms, a far reaching piece of legislation which has implications for most areas of society and social interaction (Alcock P, 2003). The social worker will clearly need to have a working knowledge of the provisions of this Act if they are to be able to function effectively in this particular area. The social worker, in their daily practice, may very well come across clients with disabilities of various types, and these clients may look to them for help, support and guidance if they have an appreciable element of social exclusion in their lives. We can point to research which shows that the disabled have a substantial burden of discrimination when it comes to employment. (Chapman P et al 2004). Jowell (R et al 1998) demonstrated a 7 fold increased incidence of unemployment when compared to their able bodied counterparts. It generally follows that greater levels of unemployment are associated with lower levels of income and this, in turn, is associated with greater levels of social exclusion (McKernan SM et al 2005), The professional approach of the social worker will be to assess all of the possible factors that may contribute to their isolation and consider practical ways of breaking down the barriers to inclusion, whether they may be in the workplace, on the social front or even in terms of simple physical mobility. (Haralambos M et al 2000) Another major area of social inequality, which again has repercussions on social exclusion, is the area of health in general. In this context the (then) Health Secretary, Frank Dobson, made the very pertinent comment : Inequality in health is the worst inequality of all. There is no more serious inequality than knowing that you’ll die sooner because you’re badly off (Dobson 1997) There is a direct and demonstrable link between social depravation and ill health. It follows from this that social inequalities have a direct effect on both morbidity and mortality. This is most marked in the children from deprived backgrounds. (Black 1980) The Black report (cited above) was largely adopted and expanded in the publication of â€Å"The Health Divide† (Townsend Davidson 1988), which further quantified the areas of social inequalities as manifested in morbidity rates in the population and correlated them to social stratification. The Report came to the conclusion that these social inequalities were not being adequately addressed either by the Health Authorities or the Social Services. These identified inequalities later emerged, further modified, in a document â€Å"Independent Inquiry into Inequalities in Health† ( IIIH 1998), and were associated with 39 separate recommendations. These were subsequently criticised for a lack of prioritisation, (McKernan SM et al 2005), where† the fundamental role of poverty was lost in a sea of (albeit worthy) recommendations ranging from traffic curbing to fluoridation of the water supply.† Obviously, the findings of this succession of reports does not only impact upon the Social Services, it equally impacts upon other providers such as the Health Service and indeed the Government itself. We have examined two specific areas of the whole picture of social inequality, and it is prudent to also consider an overview before leaving this area. The trend to socio-economic inequality can be considered to be either rising or falling depending on which criteria of assessment one takes. If we consider the number of people who are living in low income households, there has been a measurable downward trend in the last decade, this is partly due to the fact that there are progressively fewer people in workless households (Chapman P et al 2005) Equally, if one considers the number of families on out-of-work benefits, this has risen by 30% in the last 6 years (JRF 2005) If one considers the impact of the association of low income and increased morbidity, then we can cite studies that show that there has not been any significant reduction in these health related inequalities in the last 9 years. (McKernan SM et al 2005). There is also the geographical factor. We can show that virtually all the indicators of both social socio-economic inequality and social exclusion are more prevalent in the north-east of the UK and they tend to progressively reduce as one moves towards the south-west. The only notable geographical anomaly in this respect is London which has a peak of low income and unemployment problems and Scotland which has a peak in health-related issues. (JRF 2005) In conclusion, although it is accepted that we have only examined a few small facets of the whole potential area related to both social inequalities and social exclusion, we would suggest that we have presented sufficient evidence to be able to suggest that the social worker cannot reasonably be expected to practice in the modern environment without a thorough knowledge and appreciation of these factors. It is not so much a case of â€Å"Does this knowledge assist the social worker in their practice?† but â€Å"This knowledge is essential to be able to practice effectively.† References Alcock P, 2003,  Social policy in Britain,  Macmillan 2003. Baldock J et al 1999,  Social Policy,  Oxford University Press 1999 Black report (The) 1980,  DHSS,  HMSO: London 1980 Chapman P, Euan Phimister, Mark Shucksmith, Richard Upward and Esperanza Vera-Toscano, 2004,  Poverty and exclusion in rural Britain: The dynamics of low income and employment,  Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Prentice Hall : ISBN1 899987 67 3, Clasen J (ed) 1999,  Comparative social policy: concepts, theories and methods,  Blackwell 1999   Dobson F 1997,  Department of Health: The NHS Plan. A Plan for Investment. A Plan for Reform. Cm 4818.  London: The Stationery Office 1997 Goodin R, B Headey, R Muffels, H-J Dirven, 2000,  The real worlds of welfare capitalism,  Cambridge University Press 2000. Haralambos M, M Holborn 2000,  Sociology: themes and perspectives,  Harper Collins 2000. IIIH 1998,  Independent Inquiry into Inequalities in Health (1998),  Department of Health,  HMSO: London 1998 Jowell R, J. Curtice, A. Park, L. Brook, K. Thomson C. Bryson (eds.) 1998,  British and European Social Attitudes: how Britain differs. The 15th BSA Report,  Ashgate Publishing, Aldershot. (1998) JRF 2005,  Low pay, and poverty,  Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Prentice Hall: 2005 McKernan SM, Ratcliffe, C 2005,  Events that trigger poverty,  Social Sceince Quarterly Vol. 86, Number 5, December 2005, pp. 1146-1169 (24),  JRF 2005 Millar J and Karen Gardiner 2005,  Low pay, household resources and poverty,  Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Prentice Hall: ISBN 1 85935 257 X Townsend Davidson 1988,  The Health Divide,  London: Penguin Books 1988 Ramcharan P et al 1997,  In: Empowerment in Everyday Life: learning disability, Jessica Kingsley (EDS),  Oxford University Press 1997 Lovelock, R. and Powell, J. (forthcoming, April 2004), ‘Habermas/Foucault for social work: practices of critical reflection’, in Lovelock, R., Lyons, K. and Powell, J. (eds), Reflecting on Social Work – Discipline and Profession, Aldershot, Ashgate, pp. 183–225. Powell, J. and Lovelock, R. (1996), Reason and commitment: is communication possible in contested areas of social work theory and practice?, in Ford, P. and Hayes, P. (eds), Educating for Social Work: Arguments for Optimism, Aldershot, Avebury, pp. 76–94. JRF 2005,  Joseph Rowntree Foundation 2005 April 1998 Ref 418 Poverty and exclusion in rural Britain: the dynamics of low income and employment

My Childhood Memory of My Role Model :: Childhood, Memory, aunts, single mothers,

Since the age of 12, I have struggled to remember what my childhood was like; from time to time I regained a little memory about my life. I was brought up by my grandparents, who worked hard every day to make ends meet for me. However, my life changed on May 25, 1995, when I received a call from Belinda, a friend of the family, saying that my grandparents were in a bad car accident, and that they did not make it out alive. It seemed as though the world around me had come crashing down. Then my aunt Joyce, a mother of three children and a postal worker stepped up as my care giver. She eventually became a person that I looked up to as a great role model in my life. Joyce is a hard worker, generous, and a supporting person who gives good advice. By 13, I was being raised in a second household my aunt Joyce was a single mother of three children. Joyce was a generous person to me; she went out of her way to give me extra attention when no one was there to console me late at night when I had bad dreams about the tragic loss of my grandparents. Even though my aunt had expenses for three children, she still found ways to earn extra money, to give me the experience of attending gymnastics and other activities. In her career as a postal worker, she has a reputation as a hard worker. She progressed from a mail carrier to working inside the Post Office serving the public as a mail clerk. There were times when she had worked long hours on holidays so that she could buy me nice gifts. I must say, Joyce is a team player. She has patience to take the extra time to explain to the new employees how the job operates. In addition, to being a hard worker my aunt is an excellent role model to me. She told me in order to be successful in life you must set goals to accomplish. The one goal I chose to accomplish was finishing high school with a 3.5 grade average. When I had a minor setback my 12th grade year, and got pregnant with my son, my aunt told me never to give up; one setback is not a life lasting ordeal but a hurdle to overcome.

The Role of Women in The Canterbery Tales :: Canterbury Tales Essays

The Role of Women in The Canterbery Tales Chaucer, in his female pilgrimage thought of women as having an evil-like quality that they always tempt and take from men. They were depicted as untrustworthy, selfish and vain and often like caricatures not like real people at all. Through the faults of both men and women, Chaucer showed what is right and wrong and how one should live. Under the surface, however, lies a jaded look of women in the form that in his writings he seems to crate them as caricatures and show how they cause the downfall of men by sometimes appealing to their desires and other times their fears. Chaucer obviously had very opinionated views of the manners and behaviours of women and expressed it strongly in The Canterbury Tales. In his collection of tales, he portrayed two extremes in his prospect of women. The Wife of Bath represented the extravagant and lusty woman where as the Prioress represented the admirable and devoted followers of church. Chaucer delineated the two characters contrastingl y in their appearances, general manners, education and most evidently in their behaviour towards men. Yet, in the midst of disparities, both tales left its readers with an unsolved enigma. The Wife of Bath represents the "liberal" extreme in regards to female stereotypes of the Middle Ages. Unlike most women being anonymous during the Middle Ages, she has a mind of her own and voices herself. Furthermore, she thinks extremely highly of herself and enjoys showing off her Sunday clothes whenever the opportunity arises. She intimidates men and women alike due to the power she possesses. Because of her obnoxious attitude Chaucer makes her toothless, fat and large. Doubtlessly, she is very ugly, almost to the point of "not-presentable. This to me shows how Chaucer depicts what men don't want. The Prioress, on the other hand, serves as a foil to the Wife of Bath. Chaucer describes her as "tender-hearted" who cannot bear the sight of pain or physical suffering. She will cry at the thought of a dog dying. It could represent that she has a frail soul with low tolerance for pain and suffering. The latter description carries over into the modern stereotypes about wome n as skittish and afraid members of society who need to be cared for. The Role of Women in The Canterbery Tales :: Canterbury Tales Essays The Role of Women in The Canterbery Tales Chaucer, in his female pilgrimage thought of women as having an evil-like quality that they always tempt and take from men. They were depicted as untrustworthy, selfish and vain and often like caricatures not like real people at all. Through the faults of both men and women, Chaucer showed what is right and wrong and how one should live. Under the surface, however, lies a jaded look of women in the form that in his writings he seems to crate them as caricatures and show how they cause the downfall of men by sometimes appealing to their desires and other times their fears. Chaucer obviously had very opinionated views of the manners and behaviours of women and expressed it strongly in The Canterbury Tales. In his collection of tales, he portrayed two extremes in his prospect of women. The Wife of Bath represented the extravagant and lusty woman where as the Prioress represented the admirable and devoted followers of church. Chaucer delineated the two characters contrastingl y in their appearances, general manners, education and most evidently in their behaviour towards men. Yet, in the midst of disparities, both tales left its readers with an unsolved enigma. The Wife of Bath represents the "liberal" extreme in regards to female stereotypes of the Middle Ages. Unlike most women being anonymous during the Middle Ages, she has a mind of her own and voices herself. Furthermore, she thinks extremely highly of herself and enjoys showing off her Sunday clothes whenever the opportunity arises. She intimidates men and women alike due to the power she possesses. Because of her obnoxious attitude Chaucer makes her toothless, fat and large. Doubtlessly, she is very ugly, almost to the point of "not-presentable. This to me shows how Chaucer depicts what men don't want. The Prioress, on the other hand, serves as a foil to the Wife of Bath. Chaucer describes her as "tender-hearted" who cannot bear the sight of pain or physical suffering. She will cry at the thought of a dog dying. It could represent that she has a frail soul with low tolerance for pain and suffering. The latter description carries over into the modern stereotypes about wome n as skittish and afraid members of society who need to be cared for.

Free Essay on Romanticism and Intuition in Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter :: free essay writer

The Scarlet Letter: Romanticism and Intuition During the romanticism period, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote the novel, The Scarlet Letter, which used the romanticist idea of deep intuition and inner feelings, allowing the characters to have insight of the plots and secrets hidden in the strict Puritan community that they lived in. Throughout the novel many of the characters have this intuition, making the book more alluring to readers when trying to figure out what each character really knows. At the beginning of the novel, we are shown Pearl's natural child-like instincts for the Preacher, who is actually her father. When Pearl was first a baby, Hester and she were shamed on the scaffold while Reverend Dimmesdale, her father, preached to the awed crowd of the deep sin committed by Hester. Pearl reached out for him, "and held up its little arms," (pg. 68) as if reaching for her father. In another instance, they were all discussing Pearl at the Governor’s house and Pearl, totally out of her independent character, went over to Dimmesdale and "taking his hand in the grasp of both her own, laid her cheek against it." (pg. 118) That was really unlike Pearl, who was a "wild and flighty little elf," (pg. 118) that didn't display affection like that. Both of these bonding experiences occurred while she was younger and neither time caused speculation by the townspeople in general.. Not only Pearl, but Mr. Chillingworth, Hester's husband, had the intuition of knowing, rather sensing that Dimmesdale was the father. It was never told to him by anyone, or even speculated that the preacher was the sinner, but he could sense it anyway and knew he had to become close to Dimmesdale to figure him out. He also knew, not as a doctor, but as an evil man, that when Mr. Dimmesdale grabbed at his chest it was caused by something greater than an illness, it was caused by something Chillingworth knew how to provoke. The most amazing of his intuitions, would be at the end of the novel when he was already aware of Hester and Dimmesdale's plans to leave with Pearl on a ship to England. The mariner first informed Hester of his plans when explaining to her "that this physician here- Chillingworth, he calls himself- is minded to try my [the mariner's] cabin-fare with you [Hester].

Cultural distance assignment Essay

CDj is the cultural distance between the host country (j) and the home country (in this case Germany). It is calculated with a summation of 4 different variables indicating different cultural dimensions. These are uncertainty avoidance, power distance, individualism/collectivism and masculinity/femininity. is the country j’s score on one of the four cultural dimension is the score of the home country (in this case Germany) on this dimension. is the variance of this particular dimension. Firstly, the distance on each dimension between the host country j and the home country (in this case Germany). Secondly, this number is squared. After squaring minus each variable is divided by the variance of that variable. And finally, all these four variances are added together and divided by 4. 2. What is the difference between mean and variance? Can you explain the example given in the lecture in your own words? Mean and variance are both about distribution, but mean refers to one measure of the central value for a probability distribution. It is the average of a set of measurements. On the other hand, variance is a measure of how far a set of numbers is spread out. In a statistical probability graph the difference in variance is made visible in the height of the graph. A low variance indicates that the data points are close to the mean. This can be recognized in a normal distribution graph where the curve is either flatter or steeper. A flat curve indicates a high variance as data points are far away from the mean, whereas a steep curve indicates a small variance as the data points are close to the mean. 3. Calculate the distance on each dimension between Germany (our home country) and a specific host country using the Excel program.? Tip: you can use the formula editor in Excel to calculate the distance on e. g. power distance between Germany and Argentina, the first country in the sample. You can copy-paste the formula in the other rows/columns. Power distance: Argentina – Germany: 49-35 = 14 Uncertainty avoidance: Argentina – Germany: 86-64 = 21 Individualism / collectivism: Argentina – Germany: 46-67 = -21 ? 21 Masculinity / femininity: Argentina – Germany: 56-66 = -10 ? 10 4. The Kogut-Singh index of cultural distance also contains the variance of each dimension. Answer the following questions: a. In the bottom row of the columns you will find the variance for each culture ? dimension. What dimension has the highest variance? Individual – collectivism b. What does a high variance mean Tip: to calculate the variance yourself, you can use the formula editor of Excel and search for â€Å"variance†. A high variance means that the date points are very spread out from the mean and from each other 5. Calculate the cultural distance using Kogut and Singh formula while using Germany as the home country. Tip: follow the different steps as explained in the main lecture, and first calculate the difference, ? the squared difference, the variance, and the overall cultural distance. Cultural distance = 0,547 ? [(14*14)/507,68 + (21*21)/559,42 + (-21*-21)/621,34 + (-10*-10)/329,58)]/4 6. Which four countries have the lowest cultural distance to Germany? Switzerland, Italy, South Africa and Luxembourg 7. Which country has the highest cultural distance? Guatemala 8. What is the average cultural distance between Germany and these 57 other countries? 1,6046894 9. Pick a host country and relate the cultural distance score between Germany and that ? host country to the 7 points of critique raised by Shenkar as discussed in the lecture. We picked Egypt, which has a cultural distance score of 1,748. 1. The illusion of symmetry: you cannot assume that the cultural distance from Germany and Egypt is similar to the cultural distance from Egypt to Germany. Because of recent conflicts in Egypt it is probably less attractive for other countries, including Germany, to do business or invest in Egypt, whereas for Egypt itself, it is not hard to do business in Germany. 2. The illusion of stability: Cultural distance is measured at a single point in time, but cultures may change over time and therefore, cultural differences may also change over time. Currently the conflict in Egypt is still ongoing which makes cultural difference between Germany and Egypt bigger. However, if this conflict ends, the cultural difference may shrink again. 3. The illusion of linearity: in case a German MNE already had an entity in Egypt and is considering a second one, the obstacle of starting a second entity is lower than it would have with the initial entity introduction. The effect on cultural distance therefore depends on the experience already gained and is not a linear process. 4. The illusion of causality: Kogut and Singh’s formula only focuses on cultural difference, but distance is a multidimensional construct and should be studied not in isolation but together with the other three dimensions of distance, namely; institutional/administrative distance, geographic distance and economic distance. For instance, the cultural difference between Germany and Egypt is 1,748 and the geographic distance between Germany and Egypt is 3208 kilometer. The cultural difference between Germany and Australia is 0,320 (a lot smaller than 1,748) and the geographic distance between these two countries is 14482 kilometers (a lot further than 3208 km). 5. The illusion of discordance: the assumption is that all cultural aspects of the cultural distance between home and host country matter equally, but depending on the country, some dimensions of a culture matter more than others. Take language and religion. Both cultural aspects, but when Germany does business with the Netherlands difference in language would matter a lot more than difference in religion, whereas when Germany does business with Egypt, the religion factor would weigh a lot heavier. 6. The assumption of corporate homogeneity: by using national cultural measures, the CD concept only incorporates variance in the national culture but does not consider possible variances on a corporate level. National culture vs. organizational culture is left out. In Egypt, a company which employs employees of many different nationalities will have less cultural differences with a German company in comparison to a company which only employs Egyptians. 7. The assumption of spatial homogeneity: when examining the cultural differences on the basis of national level scores, possible cultural variances within that same country are left out. In Egypt it would not be correct to look at the country as a whole, since within the country (city versus rural areas) there are different cultures and sentiments based on different takes on for example Muslim religion. This could affect the way different companies do business and therefore reduce or expand the cultural difference between Germany and Egypt. 10. Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the Kogut and Singh measure of cultural distance. Kogut and Singh have made an effort of creating an overview on the cultural distance between countries. The overview is quite meticulous and based on empirical research, taking four dimensions – created by Hofstede – of cultural distance into account. Although the measure of cultural distance should provide realistic information for organisations that seek new markets, it is not able to do so. The measure should be seen as an indicator of cultural distance rather than an absolute number. Supported by Shenkar’s seven points of critique1, the weaknesses of Kogut and Singh’s theory will be assessed. Supported by Kim and Gray’s article, its strengths will be assessed2. As Shenkar researched effectively, Kogut and Singh’s measure is quite ambiguous. It creates several illusions of cultural distance. Deriving from these seven points made by Shenkar, the measure cannot be used in practice. The differences between reality and theory are too large. For example, as Shenkar explained in point 5; â€Å"The implicit assumption that differences in cultures produce lack of â€Å"fit† and hence an obstacle to transaction is questionable. First, not every cultural gap is critical to performance. As Tallman and Shenkar (1994, p. 108) note, â€Å"different aspects of firm culture may be more or less central, more or less difficult to transmit, and more or less critical to operations†. Second, cultural differences may be complementary and hence have a positive synergetic effect on investment and performance. ’3 Companies are shown one CD number, but the importance of the various dimensions creating this number is different for each company. For example, a company involved in financial derivatives that seeks to create a subsidiary overseas may be less concerned about the individualism/collectivism-dimension than about the uncertainty avoidance-dimension, as these companies are inherently making money of uncertainty. Thus, the CD number does not suit the function implied by Kogut and Singh. Singh and Kogut create an illusion that this CD number helps companies finding a suitable strategy for expanding abroad. The CD number should provide hard data for finding this strategy. Due to the difference between theory and practice, this number cannot provide practical data. However, the measure is suitable for other goals. For one, the measure can explain corporate behaviour in new markets. Kim and Gray researched the applicability of the CD measure. They concluded that relationship between the CD measure and corporate behaviour has some plausible consistencies. 4 The ownership mode a company takes in a new market is indeed dependent on the cultural distance between the host and home country. Kogut and Singh’s measure is thus accurate, but not practical. In conclusion, the measure of Kogut and Sing is accurate enough to explain corporate behaviour in hindsight, but cannot be seen as a practical calculation for choosing a business strategy. A company may tend to get confused by the calculation method, as it equally takes all dimensions into account. However, in the end, a company will probably handle appropriately to the new market’s culture. This is shown in Kim and Gray’s research.