Culture

The five-paragraph essay is a form of written argument. It is a common requisite in assignments in American schools. The format requires an essay to have five paragraphs: one introductory paragraph, three body paragraphs with support and development, and one concluding paragraph. Because of this structure, it is also known as a hamburger essay, one three one or a three tier essay. The introduction serves to inform the reader of the basic premises, and then to state your thesis, or central idea.

When a thesis essay is applied to this format, the first paragraph typically consists of a narrative hook, followed by a sentence that introduces the general theme, then another sentence narrowing the focus of the one previous. (If the author is using this format for a text-based thesis, then a sentence quoting the text, supporting the essay-writer’s claim, would typically go here, along with the name of the text and the name of the author.

Example: “In the book Night, Elie Wiesel says… “). After this, the author narrows the discussion of the topic by stating or identifying a problem. Often, an organizational sentence is used here to describe the layout of the paper. Finally, the last sentence of the first paragraph of such an essay would state the thesis the author is trying to prove.

The thesis is often linked to a “road map” for the essay, which is basically an embedded outline stating precisely what the three body paragraphs will address and giving the items in the order of the presentation. Not to be confused with an organizational sentence, a thesis merely states “The book Night follows Elie Wiesel’s journey from innocence to experience,” while an organizational sentence directly states the structure and order of the essay.

Still today, there is a continued debate on whether fighting should be allowed or banned in the National Hockey League (NHL). In generalization, most people see that physically fighting someone, fist-to-fist, is a negative conflict. However, in certain sports fighting is the main objective of the sport. For instance boxing, kickboxing, or the rising sport of UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). Then people look at NHL, and point out that fighting is not the main purpose or goal of the sport.

People who disapprove of the fighting also believe that getting rid of the fights in hockey may draw in new fans. Fans that may see this newly constructed form of hockey as “family-friendly”. Although these people are trying to persuade the league into banning fights, there main focus as fans of the NHL, and maybe even the parents of the kids who play hockey, are to argue that fighting invokes a unsafe playing environment for the players, and also gives a bad national image to the sport of hockey and the good fundamentals of sportsmanship in general.

Hockey may be a full contact sport, but many concerned people believe that banning fights in hockey leads to a safer environment for athletes to compete in, and can also have many other benefits to the sport. Although banning fights in the NHL may have its benefits, fighting should not be eliminated from the sport of hockey in the NHL because of the tradition it upholds, the loss of fans, the fact that hockey is already “physical” and entertains people.

So why is the issue of hockey fights being debated in the NHL? It’s mainly due to the concern for the safety of the athletes, who by the way are professionals, which means that money is involved if injury was to occur. With economics being meshed into the issue, fighting becomes a huge reason why this topic is highly argued amongst the fans, players, general mangers, and even the team owners. With possible money issues and athlete injury risks on the line, why not just get rid of fighting now? EVIDENCE SECTION) In my major essay to counter act the fact that fights can lead to money loss due to the injury of a player, I will state that many people that watch the NHL are mostly intrigued and excited by the fights. According to the National Hockey League Fans Association (NHLFA) 91% of the fans oppose the full ban of fights in NHL games (www. nhlfa. com). So with the absence of fights in the NHL, there will be a loss of fans that watch the sport on television, and also a loss in attendance of fans at the sporting event.

With less people interested of the sport, and less people watching the game either at home or at the event, there will be greater economic loss to a team with less revenue and income, than just losing a player for an amount of time. Another piece of evidence that will be brought in is the fact that fighting in hockey is a tradition. By removing fights, you are essentially removing a part of the sport itself. I will also mention that athletes who go into the profession of hockey realize that fighting is tolerated, and are aware of the risks.

Not to mention it’s already a physical sport that involves a lot of risks. Back to fighting being a tradition of the NHL. Fighting has been tolerated for the NHL’s history of 94 years, but I must point out that it is penalized and regulated. So fight someone at the risk of your health, and the risk of your team winning the game. Another way to look at this is that fighting adds flare to the game. Kind of like how dunks in basketball adds flare.

Essentially fighting and dunking are there to make the game more entertaining for its fans/audience, which means that if it’s more entertaining maybe a higher fan base can be achieve. Which of course leads to more money. It’s all about the money! (www. hockeyhistory. org) So why did I choose this topic and why is it an important issue? Personally I have never played hockey (competitively), but I am an avid sports fan and have seen some NHL games on T. V. I was watching ESPN one day and there was a debate on this issue between a hockey analyst and a former player and found the topic very interesting.

This debate/topic is important because in the future if the rules of the game were to be changed, whether fighting stays or leaves, it could drastically change the sport itself, its fan base, and may even hurt the NHL greatly in an economic sense. Bibliography http://www. usatoday. com/sports/2004-09-02-pros-cons-fighting_x. htm http://sports. espn. go. com/nhl/columns/story? columnist=buccigross_john&id=2724254 http://www. nhl. com/ice/news. htm? id=413089 http://www. nhlfa. com/news/nr04_09_07. asp http://www. hockeyhistory. org/

Sports have contributed to the building of civilizations and can be seen as one of he pillars upon which the human civilization was built. Those who belittle of the role of sports in people’s history and culture are not right. The evidence to the role sports played in human culture is clear-cut in the human history. The Roman empire is one of the greatest empires in which sports flourished and was annually celebrated in the Olympic games that set off BC in Olympia in Greece. The role of the Olympic games as one cultural element can never be denied in gathering people.

This was assured once again when the new Olympic games was set off again In the nineteenth entry. Herein, It can be mentioned that stadiums and sports halls became the temples of culture and sportsmen became the bearers of the highest cultural values(Dun]a, et al, 2007). The issue of the relationship between sport and culture Is really awkward because lots believed that sports cannot be part of the culture of any nation. However, this article is specifically focusing on showing that sports are nothing but an original part of the culture of nations.

This article has been decided on to shedding light on culture , its definitions, sports as a component of culture, the ultra of sport in Europe, culture of sport in The Middle East and the culture of sport in Africa because I myself have a strong belief that sports contributed and is till contributing to the culture of any country. This is in addition to discovering that there is very little literature focusing on sport as an element of culture and the relation between culture and sport especially in the MEAN (Middle East and North Africa) region In spite of the so many achievement that have been made by sport and sportsmen In this region.

Definition of culture: A variety of definitions for culture were provided over years. However, each definition represents the personal point of view of the reviewer that provides the definition . Kookier and Chuckhole suggested a number of definitions that exceeded 200 definitions for the concept of culture in their book, “Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions” (Kookier and Chuckhole, 1952). Howard & Sheet (1969), stated that culture refers to the collective mental programming which people in a society have.

Their definition supposes that almost all the Individual’s activities are directed by his or her own culture and sport Is certainly one of those activities. According to Hawkins et al. 1983) culture was defined as “That complex whole which Includes knowledge, beliefs, arts, law, morals, customs and any other capableness and habits acquired by man as a member of society. ” It is important to show here that regular way so it is one part of the culture.

To others culture can be defined as “A way of life of a group of people–the behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept, generally without thinking about them, and that are passed along by communication and imitation from one generation to the next. ” When culture is related to one country, it is to be called national culture. When it is related to one division of a country or community, it can be called sub-culture. When it is concerned with an organization, it is called corporate culture. People are not born with their cultures, but culture is to be acquired and learned.

Sports and culture: It is believed that sports have become a part of culture because some cultures always play a type of a sport that they like. They may have invented some kind of sport and always played it. Let us take one popular example which is the cultural sport of one of the most advanced nations all over the world . Let is the USA. The Americans believe hat one very important part of their culture is the sport of baseball. We can ask any American: boy, girl, old man, student, scientist, or whatever comes to our minds. What is your favorite sport? And nine of each ten will certainly reply Baseball. But, Why?

Because it is their cultural sport. They invented it and lived with it. Baseball and all its components have become part of everyday USA inhabitants’ life. “Baseball remains a uniquely American art, a celebration of folk culture”. Sport and culture in Europe: It has always been known that Europe is nothing but a mix of so many cultures. In other words, the European culture can be described as a chain of overlapping cultures. It is a mix of the East and The west, of the many religious attitudes, of the many political movements of the many arts and sports… Etc. The Europeans are by nature traditionalist in a frame of freedom.

The European nations are several and almost every country or region has its own culture. Each region in Europe is said to be well-known from the others by its type of music, literature, food, clothes, language and if they speak the same language, they have different dialects and accents. Sport is also another part that distinguishes Europe from any other part of the world. Sport in Europe is as very old as its culture. We can say that sport has been an important fact in each part in the European cultural expression. In their culture children from the age of 10 have to go to any kind of sport academy to learn the basics of sport.

So that when they grow up, they don’t have the trouble of adapting to it. Many sports were established by the time of Ancient Greece. Sports in Greece which is the main part of the European culture became such a very important part of heir culture They invented the Olympic Games, which is the most important sports event all over the world and where all the different cultural trends meet. Football is another cultural aspect of the European everyday life. It is almost impossible to find a young man or woman in Europe who doesn’t know about football and who has a team to support.

Football was introduced in its modern issue in Britain, that land of football in the nineteenth century. The Europeans think that Football is not only the most popular sport in many regions of Europe as well as the world but also a social, ancient continent. Football is the most important part of the European sports culture. They follow it eagerly and practice it regularly. European sports and especially football has a huge influence on other parts of the world as well as its influence on the other elements of the European culture. Sports in Europe dominate the economies of the old continent, dominate its music, dance and food.

People eat what the football stars eat and wear what they wear. Football decides to a large extent when marriage ceremonies are held … Etc. As a result of their professional sports. Europeans or people who are involved in their sports, view it as a Job. Which means that the players have to play in any kind of circumstance . Famous as it is with all the forms of sports and well known of the Olympic Games as it is European sports are one main component of its culture. The way people view sports and their importance arises several questions in the minds of those who are unaware of the importance of sport.

The Europeans always think of sports as the gateway to health and fitness. Sport is an everyday habit that must be practiced by those who are willing to feel healthy. And those represent the huge majority of those who live there. Sports culture in the Middle East: The Middle East is the area that includes both of Western Asia and Northern Africa. It includes all the Arab countries. The culture of this area is so rich and has its roots thousands of years ago in the Islamic civilization and pre-LULAS as well. The culture of the Middle East countries is unique.

They have their very traditionalist and restrictive way of living, clothing, music. Sports for people in the Middle East region never was of that importance that I have Just mentioned about it in Europe. It has always been believed that women are not allowed to practice sports because it can be shame that a woman get dressed in short clothes, run, Jump and kick. In the Middle East Area many believes really existed about sport and were inherited to the generations to follow. Some regions considered sports is merely a waste of time.

People there never seemed interested to do sports. The tough living conditions in most of the Middle East area was behind there deliberate negligence for sports till very near decades. The only sports that were done there were horse riding, hunting, wining and running. These sports mainly suited the nature of the desert and sea environments that exist in this region. However, Islam urged people to practice sports and to teach them to their children. Horse riding as one of the traditional and cultural sports in the Middle east has a very cultural and traditional root in the area.

It is worth mentioning that horse riding developed gradually till it became one of the most popular and well-known sports for its achievements. It is known that people used horses in the early days for transportation of their goods and items. With the appearance of vehicles and the gradual disregard towards horses as transports , people began to focus on using their horses in races, and Jumping barriers. These two cultural and traditional sports have their roots in the Middle East area and refer to the greatness of the area.

This was behind the natural lead for the Arabian champions in these ports. The Islamic culture that spread all over the Middle East area encourages people to practice sports at all levels under conditions of following restrictions imposed by the societies on women’s practicing of sports and the way in which people of the Middle East live. It can be noticed that in the recent times many societies of the Middle east began to witness a cultural change due to the dealings and the follow up to Western and their cultural practices.

Many people changed their culture and began to get new concepts and attitudes towards sports. These concepts are said to be set in their own minds and habits and are going slowly to be part of their culture. These changes are supposed to focus mainly on the attitudes towards culture. But by the time we witnessed a great change in the Arabian mentality and attitudes in a way that gave the opportunities to those women to racist and participate in sports teams, these women were also allowed to compete internationally and there are champions whose achievements are unique .

IANAL Al- Metalwork is the Moroccan runner who might have added to the culture of the sports in The Middle east area when she won an Olympic Medal in the 400 meters running competition in Los Angelo 1984 Olympic games. Football is said to be one of the most favorite sports in the Middle East area. Many national teams in The ME region have made a lot of achievements by participating in the Football World cup. People are crazy about football and follow their teams whenever they go and purport by their hearts.

This proves that people of the Middle East face such as the cultural restrictions or the difficult life conditions in such countries as Egypt, they support and practice sports eagerly. Culture and sport in Africa: It can easily be noticed that the African culture is really exciting. Each African nation includes variable and different mixtures of cultures that belong to each tribe. Each African nation is found to include various tribes whose languages and lifestyle are completely different from even the neighboring tribes. Countries as small as Uganda have more than 30 tribes.

The South of Africa has been found to be totally different from The North of Africa in some parts of culture and any other important factor. In the North of Africa, there had been , many civilization. Countries of northern Africa are places where cultures were brought up since the early days of humanity. Egypt is one place where culture is found everywhere in people’s clothes, food, music, sports, language and so The culture of sport in North Africa is inherited. People practice sports everyday and without any restrictions. Of course there are some factors that control the society, however sports are allowed everywhere to everyone.

In Libya Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia sports have been known before lots of things. Football is the most popular sport there attracts millions of practitioners. Sport as a culture is the most dominant idea in the South of Africa. Sports there is something practiced by nature . Due to the nature of life in South Africa, people have to run, Jump, hit and kick to earn their living. They are practicing sports by nature there. In a country such as South Africa which is an apparent mixture of cultures Sport is a great way to unite South Africans different cultural groups.

However, efferent sports enjoy different cultural fan bases (soccer is mostly black-dominated, rugby mostly Afrikaner-dominated and cricket mostly English-dominated). Africans tested and if they are talented enough, the clubs or the any kind of sports institute will take them and develop them to be top class players. All in all, African nations have always been known for their poverty. People work from hand to mouth. The opportunities they have to practice sports are rare. And in case they have opportunities to practice any sport, this sport must be inexpensive and costs them nothing at the same time.

Culturally, this was behind the nature of sports the African rate used to practice. Due to the tough nature of the continent that is characterized by altitudes , long costs, deserts and the forests, people have those very strong bodies and large lungs that enable them to play athletics especially running races, spear throwing, high Jump, all those sports. The Africans are said to excel in these sports and practice them easily and natural because they do not cost them any money and brings them high profits. These sports are encouraged in the African cultures and have roots in their heritage especially those very poor countries of the

South such as Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Nigeria…. Etc. Conclusion: To conclude, cultures have always been referred to as the way in which people live, their norms, values, habits, food, costumes, languages, music and even their sports. This shows the importance of sport as one of the elements composing culture and one of the elements that contribute to the process of making humanity, civilization and the style of people’s life . And since sports are regarded as something that is shared between a lot of cultures, it is important for the survival of these cultures and the individuals that belong to these cultures.

The regions that have been discussed in this articles have things in common when we talk sports. They have all witnessed the importance of practicing sports for the good of the people’s fitness and well- being. People who belong to these cultures have never gone without sports and admitted that sport is a must and its existence in their lives cannot be denied. However, certain differences do exist between these cultures when we stress the element of sport in this culture. Europe seems to be the most moderate place where sports are practiced without restrictions.

People of Europe clearly and biblically admit the importance of sports for their own good. We can rarely find any European who does not practice sports in his everyday life routine. Europeans know and appreciate the role of sports and confess it is part or the main part of their culture. It is alleged at the same stage that their work organization in their organizational culture appreciate and encourages the roles of sport in their individuals’ lives. On the other hand Africa and the ME areas have certain things in common when we refer to the role of sports in their culture.

Both of them have apparent reference to sports in their ancient cultures and heritages. They both have tough living conditions apart from the ICC states. Sports in the African culture depends on the nature of peoples’ lives that is tough. Due to the nature of land and swimming, mountains, altitudes and cost, the Africans excelled in running swimming and jumping. People of the Middle East area especially those of the ICC area have long rooted cultural spots . Horse riding is widely and culturally celebrated and practiced. The Islamic teachings direct people there to teach their children such sports.

The great source of uncertainty and unpredictability in a rationalizing system are people-either the people who work thin those systems or the people who are served by them look up TV show “are you served”.. Same vocabulary as McDonald’s Structure Go to any church is any giant Coors like golden arches Whenever you see cross first thing you think is Jesus, like arches and hamburgers Youth video- Mega Churches group project.. Wreck 15 “A typical Manchuria does not include actual bibles by the seats, but in exchange, a book written by the pastor themselves. This book Is a shortened version of the bible with modern day affairs discussed throughout(adaptability, also pastors can be as nouns as 28 years old to appeal to a more youthful crowd) Jesus Camps Funded by macrophages Point is to help child learn more about god and his love for everyone.

To destroy the child’s old and revive a new person that loves and accepts god Indoctrination at a young age(draw connection to Nazi regime of efficiency? Control? ) Comfortable seating Shorter services Cool, fun Coffee shops in the church Walter of the church world Article-Drop Kick Me Jesus Through the Goalposts of Life: Nationalization,Consumer Culture, and Modern Evangelical Churches J. B. Watson, Jar. Stephen F. Austin State university Point of article This dimension of the Nationalization of religion in the U.

S. Will be examined in this paper, with special attention to its impact on evangelical churches. In particular, the church growth movement embraced by evangelical churches has accelerated the emphasis on consumer-based products and packaged spiritual programs “l think of the old slavery, and of the way the economy has now improved upon It. The new slavery has Improved upon the old by giving the new slaves the Illusion that they are its principles, for it is very humane.

It buys their freedom, pays for it, and then erasures its money back again with shoddy goods and the promise of freedom” Economic Transitions and the Emergence of Consumer Religion Influence of capitalism on the religious organizations Consumption, according to Twitchier, is now essential to the construction of self- identity; the symbolic value of the product exceeds its practical value in most cases.

Twitchier (1999; 2004) airframes the notion of “you are what you buy’ and suggests that consumerism is now strongly woven into the social fabric – it provides products purchased for their practical value, but also for the crucial security value they can revive in an increasingly secular age. Pig 5 The consumer approach to Evangelical Religious practice Branding(point of association with symbols) Structure Pastor acts as CEO. Position themselves as “the last great hope” of resisting colonization It is this position that leads them to increased colonization, contrastingly Colonization-is the process by which religion in a society begins to lose influence and the interest in other worldly or idealistic religious ideas is replaced by greater emphasis on material success and other pragmatic concerns. Shift from moral foundations towards raciest more like American consumerism * Resources for modeling Innovators in Manchuria leaders Bill Hobbes and Rick Warren, have published multiple books and regularly conduct teaching seminars for church leaders “The purpose of all these products is to provide the information and skills necessary to replicate the Willow Creek or Saddlebags model of church growth in any geographic setting.

There are many advantages to having culturally diverse teams in the company. In their book Workforce 2020, Judy and D’Amico discuss some important statistics. They stated that in the US the number of white non-Hipics would decrease from 80 percent of the nation’s population in 1980 to only 64. 3 percent in 2020 (Judy and D’Amico, 1997). This is important for a company to know and understand. A company that is prepared for such a change in demographics will be prepared for the future as the market changes as well as the pool of applicants.

The company will also be able to experience many of the advantages that a diverse workplace can bring. Having a diverse workplace creates an increase in attracting and retaining the most qualified candidates. The Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) study found that 91 percent of respondents think diversity initiatives helped their organisations maintain a competitive advantage. According to the study, 79 percent of the companies believe their diversity programmes improved corporate culture, 77 percent think they helped in recruitment and 52 percent said they fostered better client relations (Pelled et al, 1999:17).

Companies are likely to obtain a competitive advantage of being able to market and deliver their products within different countries and cultures. Having inside information on how to communicate and what a community would like to see in a product is a great asset. According to White, a company employing multicultural workforce can penetrate and widen their markets with the knowledge of political, social, legal, economic and cultural environments (White, 1999:477). Moreover, employing someone within the organisation who can negotiate, understand and speak the language of the country is a very valuable even strategic asset.

For instance, Chevrolet committed a marketing mistake in the Latin America, when the company produced a car, called the Nova. The product was not having success with it in the Latin countries, until they learned that Nova, or “no va” as the Spanish speaking communities perceived it, meant “does not go” when translated from Spanish. Practically, it could have been prevented if the company appreciated the value of multicultural workforce, which in many cases can help avoid instances of cultural blindness. White asserts that “creativity thrives on diversity” (White, 1999:477).

This quote implies that a company with a diverse workforce can experience higher creativity and innovation. When people of different cultures come together to solve a problem or come up with an idea, they are more able to reach a common solution. Different cultures can bring insightful alternatives to the table. Every company is in search of an idea, which will bring them added value. Ideas, which will increase profit for the business, create a competitive advantage and cannot be copied by their competitors are in great demand.

Since only people can create these ideas, the more diverse the company is the greater the chances are for creating these new ideas. One group of people is no better than another at generating these ideas; and no one can say who will come up with the next big idea. Along with new ideas comes an increase in productivity. When people are brought together to achieve a common goal there is an increase in support for it. People who believe in its success will in turn work harder. Finally, a multicultural firm is better able to adapt to change and is more flexible.

For example, a woman is more likely to have a higher tolerance for uncertainty than men. Also, bilinguals are more capable to have a higher level of contrasting thinking and cognitive flexibility than those who only speak the common language (White, 1999:477). From the critical perspective, Adler’s notions regarding frequent lack of productivity among culturally diverse groups are justified because the approach to the management of these groups has been usually inadequate. For instance, the company should understand that usually many people feel threatened by working with people of a different age, sex, or culture.

Unlike dealing with mono-cultured teams, the company’s management must anticipate an increase in the cost of training, in the form of seminars, programmes and lectures conducted to promote diversity in the organisation. Practically, various training programmes are to be integrated at all levels of personnel within the company. Normally such programmes teach employees how to understand and appreciate the personalities and ideas or thoughts of other group members as well as how to deal with conflicts and prejudice in a professional and civil manner (White, 1999:478).

Simultaneously, implementing the emphasis on multicultural teams, the management should be aware that diversity can trigger an increase in conflicts, which usually are not anticipated within single cultural groups. For instance, in contemporary business environment many companies implement the strategy of virtual teams, which proves to be very productive and efficient from the financial perspective. However, in a virtual team communication is a pivotal element for team success. According to Chidambaram (1992) communication is an essential human behavior and one that is necessarily influenced by culture.

Differences may include initiation and coordination mechanisms, temporal orientation and modes of reaching decisions. In real groups, conflict can arise due to prejudice, derogatory comments, etc and as White indicates, “this can produce negative dynamics such as ethnocentrism, stereotyping and culture clashes” (White, 1999:477). Ignorance of exhibited by the management can play a detrimental role in such circumstances, because as a logical result of these conflicts the teams’ performance may suffer (White, 1999:478).

If the management is successful in implementing necessary programmes of cultural tolerance, workplace ethics and communication skills, team members will work harder to gain acceptance by creating a solution or invention first. In addition, these goals can be attained if managers reconcile competing goals, promote in a representative manner, stand behind the minority group member, and act when resources are plentiful and cultural differences are low or well understood (White, 1999:480). As articulated above, mismanaged cultural diversity can have long-reaching effects on company’s productivity particularly on international scope.

It should be also emphasized that cultural minority-group members often feel less valued than do majority-group members due to problems of stereotyping, ethnocentrism, and prejudice. Therefore, when organisation’s management ignores the existence and importance of cultural diversity, conflict can emerge and neither the company nor its employees will realize their potential. Conclusion It is evident that more and more companies in contemporary business environment serve customers/clients of diverse backgrounds in one way or another.

By creating a diverse workplace, managers are not only more capable of dealing with diversity externally in the community, but also facilitate effective organisational learning. When assessing the goals, strategies, advantages, and disadvantages of creating and managing a culturally diverse workforce management should examine if they could accomplish these factors and become a successful diverse organisation. Whilst cultural diversification becomes an acute need for every international company, it implies the application of adequate diversity-oriented managerial approaches and OB techniques.

References Dowling, P. J. , Schuler, R. S. and Welch, D. E. 1994, International Dimensions of Human Resource Management, Belmont: Wadsworth Margerison, P. , Edwards, P. K. , Martin, R. , Purcell, J. and Sissons, K. 1988, Beyond the Workplace: Managing Industrial Relations in the Multi-establishment Enterprise, Oxford: Basil Blackwell Sharpe M. E. 2004. International Perspectives on Organisational Behavior and Human Resource Management. By Betty Jane Punnett: Amonk, New York Hofstede, G. 1995. Cross-Cultural Management. Oxford, England: Butterworth Heinemann Ltd Hofstede, G.

1980. Cultures Consequences: International Differences in Work Related Values. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Trompenaars, F. 1993. Riding the waves of Culture. Chicago: Irwin. Schneider, S. C. and A. De Meyer 1991. `Interpreting and responding to strategic issues: The impact. Strategic Management Journal 12/4: pp. 307-321 Judy, R. W. and D’Amico, C. 1997, Workforce 2020: Work and Workers in the 21st Century, Hudson Institute, Santa Barbara, CA Pelled, L. H. , Eisenhardt, K. M. , ; Xin, K. R. 1999 “Exploring the black box: An analysis of work group diversity, conflict and performance.

” Administrative Science Quarterly, 44, p. 17 White, R. D. 1999, “Managing the diverse organisation: the imperative for a new multicultural paradigm”, available at ; www. pamij. com/4_4_pdf/99_4_4_4_w. pdf; Accessed Jan 1, 2006 McCann, J. E. ; Buckner, M. 2004. “Strategically Integrating Knowledge Management Initiatives. ” Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 8 Brunner, B. 2003, “Bakke and beyond”, available at ;http://www. uis. edu/multiculturalstudentaffairs/bakke_and_beyond. htm; Accessed Jan 1, 2006.

I have not imagined my audience naked but have imagined my audience of 300 persons wearing a clown’s nose which made me smile and helped me control my nerves. Another scenario that Scott mention I can relate to… As the person who creates and assist the senior executives at Atlantis including the CEO, a very funny guy who always pick on someone in the audience to poke fun at and keep his audience laughing throughout his delivery. I made a comment to him about how his humor always keeps his audience entertained and he told me that he uses It to get rid of the butterflies and fear because he gets nervous everywhere he has to speak.

Before any presentations all presenters have a practice session which Includes practicing and rehearsing the time to prepare the presenter before delivering their presentation which helps a lot. We also go to the venue and practice with all of the presenter to get comfortable with the environment and to gauge the time it takes overall. One thing that I always do is keep a backup remote control and a hard copy of the presentation so that when they advance too many slides and lose their position, (which happens with every presentation), I always get them back on track, and the audience never knows what happened.

Also one thing that we do for the presenters is show the count-down timer at the halfway mark and in one minute decline as opposed to from the beginning of their presentation to make them feel uneasy. This book is loaded with Coot’s own personal stories and experiences of his speeches. It is also good to hear that even professional speaker uses Powering to assist them with their speeches and it was refreshing to know that even paid public speakers have their moments of embarrassment; it makes them seem more human. The book is packed with tips and advice for speakers from all backgrounds.

To me he is a highly paid good story teller who is brutally honest and entertains his audience to get his message across. I do not get paid to speak but have received donations from speaking at a few youth organizations at the end of the event. I the book there Is some profanity which I would have skipped because I do not believe that you need to use profanity to get your point or message across. He did teach me the value of being prepared, how to organize my thoughts and Ideas, delivery techniques to make my content flow better and what to do if you forget what cause most of my audience wants to learn something to take away from my speech.

Another good technique that I got from the book is how to deal with difficult people in my class, and how to teach using technology, which I do primarily. Now I now know why most people are terrible at speaking… It’s because they do not use the right tools and techniques to perfect their speeches. After applying some of these skills to my real life situations I realize how important communications skills are for a speaker and that anyone can learn once you deliver the correct content using the racial approach. The book teaches how you can perfect the art of persuasion and not making your speech too boring for your audience.

This can be effectively done using the proper graphics in your Powering, but not to overdo it. If it is a boring topic I do use pictures and animations to engage and grab their attention. Most people’s attention p is for about 10 minutes so you have to find creative ways to keep them entertained so that they do not lose interest in your presentation. Far too many speakers lack relevant content and try to make up for that with fancy Powering presentations. There are some “does and don’t” from using Powering. Many speakers use the wrong style and too much fonts, videos, and graphics.

You do not want to lose your message with too much fluff. If you are going to use Powering you should not put your entire presentation on the slides but use bullet points to talk and add more power to the point. Keep in mind that mistakes will happen but, it is how you recover from your mistakes that matters, and that no speaker is perfect, and to always expect the unexpected. Most mistakes can be controlled if you prepare ND plan your presentations in advance. Remember if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Prepare an outline of what you have to say on paper first and transfer this to your Powering.

The presenters notes section in Powering can help you stay organized and focus on what to say next, but do not use them too much. By practicing you should learn your material backwards. Knowing your material helps eliminate blank spots during your delivery and give you the confidence you need to deliver a flawless presentation. You must go to the venue about an hour or two before your presentation to get to now the environment. This is a good time to test and run the Powering or rehearse on the stage to get comfortable with the room.

Test the lighting and the microphone and any other audio visual equipment that will be used. The worst thing that can happen is equipment failure because you did not take the time to test prior to presenting. Remember that every person in your audience is different and their expectations are different. They all want you to have a successful presentation and get to the end. Use the space in the room adequately. What I did when I had to peak to a staff of 300 even the room could accommodate 500, I had another team member seat everyone in the room.

As they came in I had the back and side rows roped off and told the participants that we were only using a certain section due to the recording of the event. Everyone cooperated and was on their best behavior during the presentation because they knew that they were being recorded and did not want to look unprofessional on video. Another reason was because we did not want to have everyone running to the back of the room like most people would do everyone sat close which gave the illusion that the room was packed.

You should get to know your audience by arriving early to talk to as many participants prior to speaking as possible. Because I had taken the time to get to know them I knew what their interest were which helped me to be more engaging. I found this assist with working the room, I would find the person that I met before the presentation and used that person to connect with and also helped me to smile at them, by connecting with your audience you feel a lot more relaxed and confident. I also involved them in the presentation by using music and dance.

One time during the presentation I had the entire audience dance to a beat that is common in our culture which made them to believe that my performance would be a lot of fun, interesting, and engaging. It gave me a lot of energy to start and set the tone for the rest of the presentation. Just like Scott says in the book, most people are trapped in their seat and will not walk out during a presentation because the focus of attention is suddenly on them. Also you must say what you really feel and not hold back because you over think and ay say the wrong thing to offend anyone.

Let your thoughts flow naturally. People have a tendency to speak honestly and from the heart, others say what they mean and mean what they say whether it hurts or not. You do not want to stray of your topic and start speaking about something unrelated this is what is known as eating your microphone, which makes no sense to me, but that’s what is referenced in the book. This happens to the unprepared speakers. Do not speak with a rushed tone of voice; this is another way to lose your audience. Always speak clearly and take your mime.

That’s why it is import to get to your event and start on time. At the end of the event ask the audience if they had questions that you did not cover during the speech. Ask if they need you to explain something that was covered with a different point of view. If I do not have time to answer all questions I always leave them with my contact information that that can use to communicate with me after. Overall this is a good book that I found to be entertaining, full of humor and techniques to assist me with being a better speaker and presenter.

IntroAttention Getter: By a show of hands who likes to go to work out?

Background & Audience Relevance: Gym culture has been around for a long time but it has recently been growing and more and more people have begun to go and get healthy.

Speaker Credibility: I have been going to the gym for a couple years now and I have done my own research on gym culture.

Thesis: In my speech, we will be discussing what gym culture means to me and what it could possibly mean to you.

Preview of Main Points: First I will be discussing how my object is part of my culture, second the important values it has, and third how I identify with it.

II. Body Main Point 1: To begin, I am going to talk about how this object is used in a way for me to relieve stress and anger.

Sub-point A: Being a full time student and working part time can be very stressful to me as I’m sure it is the same for a lot of college students, but finding at least an hour to an hour and a half to go to the gym or even working out from home can be such a helpful stress reliever. This is because it helps get me out of their my little stress filled bubble and pretty much let loose.

Sub-point B: not only is it a good way to relieve stress but also anger. I know that working in a fast food or retail job can cause a lot of tension and anger especially with the customers, coworkers, and even managers. Of course we are forced to keep it all in because we need this job to put ourselves through school and buy our own personal treats. Well going to the gym is a very good way to take out that anger by pushing yourself hard in that workout.

Transition between Main Points: Now that I have talked about how this object is a way to relieve stress and anger next I will be talking about how it represents my values.

Main Point 2: going to the gym is not only about relieving stress and anger but also and about being healthy and motivated.

Sub-point A: In my opinion going to the gym or being a fit person does not mean that you have to have a six pack or extremely muscular arms or legs. More so it just means that you are feeling good about yourself and being healthy. Since I have started going to the gym I am feeling much healthier and I am not doing crazy diets, but am cutting back on some foods and learning to eat better.

Sub-point B: It also helps with being motivated because slowly but surely you begin to see results which gives me confidence and keeps motivating me to keep going and bettering myself.Transition between Main Points: having discussed how I value going to the gym, I will now tell you how I identify with this culture.

Main Point 3: Influencing myself and other people to come to the gym or work out in general is one way I identify myself with this culture. Another could be the way I can dress to go to the gym a.k.a the fashion.

Sub-point A: going to the gym helps me feel like a good influence to myself and others like my work out partners because I believe I am encouraging them to keep going and feeling healthy and fit because sometimes they do not want to go workout but I convince them to come with me and sometimes it is the other way around, but in the end we help each other to push ourselves in working out and bettering themselves.

Sub-point B: When one starts going to the gym we see that there are many types of way people dress and we start looking for which fashion better suits us and makes us feel comfortable. There is no right or wrong way to dress for the gym it’s just how you feel when wearing a certain outfit. I know that i enjoy my leggings and big baggy shirts because I feel extremely comfortable, but someone else could feel different about that outfit.

III. Conclusion Signal and Review of Main Points: Having discussed how this object is part of this culture, how it represents my values, and how I identify with it you now know what this culture means to me.

Recap Thesis: I have now explained what gym culture is to me.

Memorable Closer: Remember being healthy and fit doesn’t mean you have to be super skinny or muscular it is just about feeling better and more confident in your own body.