Standardized Testing and Assessments and Alternative Testing Essay Example

Standardized Testing and Assessments and Alternative Testing Essay The paper is concerned with the identification of the characteristics and effects of different testing methods on individuals and how these practices are reflected at international level. Therefore, a comparison between standardized testing and alternative testing is offered, but the particular case of the students with special educational needs is taken into consideration as well. The nature of each process is discussed, its impact at individual and country level is reflected and recommendations are suggested. In educational context the problem of assessment and standardized testing are key matters. In the US, the law â€Å"No Child Left Behind Act† signed by President Bush on January 8, 2002 makes explicit call for educational accountability. The law focuses on ways that lead to academic progress and reinforces the use of tests and assessments at the state level to monitor student progress toward 100 percent proficiency for all students by 2014. As a result, districts, schools, and teachers have placed a new emphasis on tests and additional assessments to monitor student learning and ensure that students can do well on state tests (The nature of assessment: A guide to standardized testing, retrieved from site). The standards underlie the quality of assessment practices used by teachers, state and federal agencies to measure student achievement. Standardized testing is the most important part of a systematic type of assessment, involving the collection and interpretation of educatio nal data. Concisely expressed by Popham (1999) standardized testing is a quality of a test of being â€Å"administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner†. The standardization refers to the identical administration of the test, requiring the application in the same conditions every time. Such a strict control of other variables leads to the possibility of inferring that the results may be attributed to students’ performance. Moreover, this allows for a further comparison of schools, districts, or states regarding the performance on tests. A great advantage and a strong point of these tests are the psychometric qualities (test study, design, and administration) standards for reliability, validity, and lack of bias (Zucker, 2003; Joint Committee on Testing Practices, 2004). Reliability refers to the possibility of administering the test repeatedly and getting approximately the same score; validity means that the test measures accurately the construct that is intended to measure. These qualities of standardized tests explain their use on a large scale and support inferences and comparisons between groups of learners. We will write a custom essay sample on Standardized Testing and Assessments and Alternative Testing specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Standardized Testing and Assessments and Alternative Testing specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Standardized Testing and Assessments and Alternative Testing specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The premises which reinforced the necessity of this type of testing concern the perception that effective education requires information about learning at different points during the process. Therefore, two kinds of assessment have evolved—formative and summative. Formative assessment provides information about learning in process. It may consist of weekly quizzes, tests, essays given by teachers to their students. The results of formative assessments help teachers and students understand how students progress in learning and what adjustments need to be made in instruction. (The nature of assessment: A guide to standardized testing, retrieved from site). Summative assessment refers to â€Å"high-stakes†, â€Å"standardized† testing carried out by the states and created a great deal of controversy in the educational field. Summative assessment is focused on the state of student learning at certain end points in a student’s academic career—at the end of a school year, or at certain grades such as grades 3rd, 5th, 8th, and 11th. It is a standardized form of summing up students’ learning experiences. The term â€Å"high-stakes testing† has been coined to label the consequences to schools (or students) that, as a result of state testing, fail to maintain a steady increase in achievement across the some categories of students in schools (i.e., minority, poor, and special education students). Thus, it becomes obvious there is a great amount of pressure on schools to demonstrate academic progress, and this pressure comes mainly in the form of standardized testing, since high-test scores have become a primary criterion against which the worth of an educational system is judged (Pawlak, Julie). The characteristic forms of standardized tests are: multiple choice, fill in the blank, and true/false tests. Criticisms has been put forth on these assessment forms as they are considered to measure only a few of the standards, at the same time providing only single measures of student learning at a certain point in time. Though efforts have been made to create more sophisticated multiple choices tests it remains true that this kind of tests â€Å"are clearly limited in the kinds of achievement they can measure† (Zucker, 2003). Another type of tasks integrated in standardized tests is the open-ended test in which students are asked to respond either by writing a few sentences in a short answer form, or by writing an extended essay. The â€Å"constructed response† allows students to display knowledge and apply critical thinking skills, but it is more difficult to score. At this point several types of large-scale standardized tests should be mentioned. Among these are: N ational Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), certain international tests such as Trends in International Mathematics and Science study (TIMSS) and the program for International Student Assessment (PISA), college admissions (SAT, ACT), and combined program of courses and examination of which Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) are representative. Of these, NAEP is representative as it covers a large spectrum of subject matters and US states. The test covers various subject areas and is administered to students in 4th, 8th, and 12th grade every two years in reading and mathematics and at longer intervals in other academic subjects such as science, history, and geography. Fifty-one states and territories now participate in NAEP. Returning to the debate concerning standardized tests, another issue is the group-administration of these forms of evaluation together with the decontextualized form in which they assess and promote learning have been another major disadvantages underlined by teachers and researchers. The high-stakes considered in the context of state tests have been identified as yet another soft point of the national educational systems, since certain researchers consider these type of tests a way of boosting the scores, or an opportunity for educators to â€Å"devote most of their energy to raising students’ scores on conventional achievement tests† (Meisels et al., 2003). Such line of reasoning highlights other arguments for criticism of standardized testing such as the fact that they are intended to assess the current status of student’s achievement and are not designed to determine appropriate instructional strategies. The nature of instructional strategies is influenced in a negative way by such standardized tests, since it relies mainly on the use of worksheets, narrowing the curriculum and the acquisition of (cognitive) skills. In what concerns educators, they are most often held responsible for the performance of their students. The sanctions or rewards to which they may be exposed are provided as a result of exposing the results of a school’s performance to the public in newspapers and on television; the comparative framework is often use in order to emphasize the performance of schools considered as â€Å"failing†. In such a context, it has been underlined that all kinds of comparisons are encouraged, from urban to rural schools, this leaving place for inaccuracy and misjudgment notwithstanding the same scale is used (Natriello, 2000; Meier, 2002; Darling-Hammond, 2003, cited in Pawlak J.). A negative effect has also been attested on children in the form of test anxiety provoked by the â€Å"high-stakes†. Reasons which maintain high levels of anxiety in children have been identified in the form of: the duration of testing two or three hours of each test-taking day, the unfamiliar se tting, their knowledge that the state-wide curriculum is evaluated by an end-of-the-year test, and, of course, the consequences that accompany stressful evaluative situations. Grade retention and denial of diplomas are two possible negative consequences that impact greatly students’ further academic achievement. As showed above the major criticism against standardized testing is the restriction imposed to the educational opportunities of students. This is an argument for gaining awareness that this method, though practiced on a large scale, and attested by the United States educational system as the most objective and scientific way of assessing performance, is not the only existent measure of performance. The preoccupation with standardized tests coexists in the educational area with other forms of assessment of a more traditional, formative nature, based on the students abilities to recognize, recall or apply newly learned knowledge. In such context educators have felt the need for a more authentic assessment, which would highlight improved strategies of teaching and learning. Authentic assessment, also referred to as performance assessment, portfolio assessment, curriculum-embedded instruction, or integrated education, represents an alternative to standardized testing. Alternative assessment has been described as â€Å"an instructional-driven measurement in which students’ actual classroom performance is evaluated in terms of standards-infused criteria† (Meisels, 2003). Such type of assessment is rather multidimensional, evaluating students learning by taking into account broader concepts of intelligence, ability, intrapersonal, and interpersonal abilities and learning through visual, auditory, kinesthetic modalities. The skills become an integral part of the instructional cycle, and feedback provided by the teacher is meant to be formative (used for immediate feedback into learning and teaching) r ather than summative (summarizes where students have reached in their development at the end of the topic). The distinction between standardized testing and alternative testing may be circumscribed in formative and summative terms as described at the beginning of this paper. These types of tasks aimed at assessing performance are contrasted to multiple choice exercises since students are encouraged to express their knowledge by making use of open-ended questions, essay, portfolio, story retelling, writing samples, projects/exhibitions, experiments/demonstrations etc., and integrated performance assessments which require higher-order thinking, authentic tasks (tasks that are meaningful, challenging, and engaging, relevant in a real context), integrative tasks (tasks that call for a combination of skills across curriculum), and constructed responses (values the process as well as the product of the answer) (Callison, 1998, cited in Pawlak, J.). As opposed to the limitations of standardized testing in the form of traditional multiple-choice, short answer, true/false, or fill-in-the-blank tests that only evaluate a single measure of student learning and consider only narrow portion of students’ abilities, the curriculum-embedded performance assessment that encompasses developmental guidelines and checklists, portfolios, summary reports etc. provides a more comprehensive evaluation and facilitation of learning and progress. This line of practice is very different from the standardized one since the latter is based on government regulations that include annual targets for academic achievement, participation in assessments, graduation rates for high schools. The debate arises mostly from the fact that the targets established must be applied to the major racial and ethnic groups, the economically disadvantaged, special education students, and students with limited English proficiency (Jewell, M.). These being taken into co nsideration, it becomes clear that the form of alternative assessment is more efficient when working with students with special needs since including a variety of types of assessments provide students with ample opportunities to demonstrate their abilities at their own pace. Moreover, each individual is taken into consideration, the performance is assessed using multiple sources and instruction may be adapted to ones’ special learning needs. In standardized testing, the format is more rigid, fosters stress and a universal learning pace, assessed as a summary of one educational stage. The assessment is carried out in groups and the individual is offered the possibility to obtain a numeric score which allows him to pass or fail. The consequences of this type are the only feedback individual students receive in standardized testing. In alternative assessment feedback is very important and reinforces learning, stimulating performance on a gradual long term basis. On the other hand, a possibility to improve the performance of the students with special needs is the preparation in advance and a familiarization with the content. Jewell, M. insisted that schools should ensure that special education students and students with limited English proficiency receive the appropriate accommodations permitted by the test. In addition, thorough instruction of students in appropriate test taking strategies will help improve test performance and reduce test anxiety. Arnold, N. acknowledged the necessity of including the students with special educational needs in the assessment and accountability system and of critical importance is therefore to ensure appropriate allocation of resources and learning opportunities for these students. After considering the individual differences in testing and the relationships with various testing formats, an important matter to be discussed is the comparison of the US assessment standards with those of other countries. The US educational system consists of different levels primary school, secondary school, undergraduate level and graduate level. The major assessments are carried out usually at the end of a school year, or at certain grades such as grades 3rd, 5th, 8th, and 11th. The majority of students are enrolled in public schools. More specific, the students are measured annually in reading and math from third through eight grade and at least once during high school (Education in the United States, 2002, cited in Huang, Kelly). The main goal of such testing is to indicate if a school has been improving or not. Another type of standardized testing exists in the country that applies to students planning to attend a postsecondary education. Usually during high school students are required to take either the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or the American College Testing (ACT) in order to qualify for most universities (Education in the United States, 2002). On the other hand, in China, standardized testing has a greater impact on students further education. Junior high school students start to prepare to score high enough on the national senior high school entrance exams at the end of the 8th  grade, so that they can attend one of the most prestigious senior high schools in the country (â€Å"Education in the Republic of China,† 2005, cited in Huang, Kelly). After getting into a senior high school, the main goal is to score well enough on the national university entrance exams, in order to attend a four-year university. If they fail the exam, then they cannot apply to any of these schools. China and Japan assessment systems are similar to the US by making use of standardized testing. However, it appears that these countries place an even stronger emphasis on standardized testing than does the US. Due to the strong reinforcement of high-stakes testing in China and Japan, the negative effects among students are even more prominent that for the US students. Japanese and Chinese students study a longer period of time that their American counter parts, are exposed to higher levels of stress, are more anxious in evaluative situations and have a stronger sense of academic achievement. Such high academic expectations in these countries lead to low self-esteem, high rates of depression and suicide among students (â€Å"Education in the Republic of China,† 2005). However, there is a difference in outcomes as well, in performance, between the three countries since Japan and China score higher that American and other international students at different testing sessions. Moreover, another distinction is made in terms of curriculum and instructional strategy. In Japan for instance the teachers teach on the same curriculum, and use the same instructional strategies. They strive to teach the same thing in the same way. In the US, however, teachers manifest a greater flexibility towards the curriculum and instruction. They also make use of alternative te sting and feel free to use any kind of strategy or material they consider would help instruction. In what concerns the European educational system, a general aspect is the fact that final year exams are very common (example: France and Germany). Added to this, several European countries (the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Lithuania) combine school-leaving examinations with university entrance examinations. Similar to the US, tests are carried out at a national level and based on curriculum. The preoccupation with examinations linked to explicit national (or state) standards are doubled by the concern for an alignment with international expectations reflected, for instance the indicators in Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) or the results of multinational assessments such as the Third Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) (Crighton, J.). The debate in the US education concerning national testing is also heard in the UK, for instance where student performance on national curriculum key stage testing at ages seven, eleven, fourteen, and si xteen has led to the publication of league tables listing schools in order of their students performance. The analysis of various educational systems as reflected in testing practices may be summarized by identifying two major tendencies: the focus on national standards and the focus on competences. The focus on national standards is reflected in the summative approach to education and is less adequate when it comes to students with special educational needs. The emphasis on competences is better illustrated by normative or alternative assessments and instructional practices. This kind of approach is more adequate for students with special needs since allows for multi-source assessment and is concerned with individual performance being able to monitor progress. However, individuals and countries differ when it comes to such issues. When teachers and students are concerned, it is important to take into account both sides of assessment the objective, standardized one, and the more qualitative and subjective one. Both are important to assess students and are relevant for developing further instructional strategies and governmental policies. The category of students with special needs benefits more from a qualitative approach. In what concerns the countries, differences arise in terms of system organization and emphasis on standards or competences. But however, the belief systems and values of a nation have a great impact on educational assessment (for instance the case of Japan) Bibliography 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Popham, J. W. (1999). Why standardized tests don’t measure educational quality. Educational Leadership, 56(6), 8-15. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Meisels, S., Atkins-Burnett, S., Xue, Y. (2003). Creating a System of Accountability: The Impact of Instructional Assessment on Elementary Children’s Achievement Test Scores. Educational Policy Analysis Archives, Vol 11 (9). 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚     Huang Kelly. Standardized Testing, Retrieved from site on March 22   http://sitemaker.umich.edu/finalhuangk.356/standardized_testing 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Crighton, Johanna V. Standardized tests and Educational Policy, Retrieved from site, March 22 http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2505/Testing.html 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Zucker, S. (2003). Fundamentals of standardized testing. San Antonio TX: Harcourt Assessment, Inc. 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Joint Committee on Testing Practices. (2004). Code of fair testing practices in education (Revised). Washington D.C.: American Psychological Association 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚   The nature of assessment: A guide to standardized testing Retrieved from site on March 22 www.centerforpubliceducation.org/site/c.kjJXJ5MPIwE/b.2506203/k.680A/Standards_and_testing.htm 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Jewell, M. No Child Left Behind: Implications for Special Education Students and Students with Limited English Proficiency Retrieved from site on March 22 http://www.newhorizons.org/spneeds/improvement/jewell.htm 9.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Arnold Nancy, Introduction to Alternate Assessments Retrieved from site on March 22   http://www.newhorizons.org/spneeds/inclusion/teaching/arnold.htm 10. Pawlak, Julie, Standardized Testing vs. Authentic Assessment, Retrieved from site on   March 22 www.bankstreet.edu/gems/neweducators/standardizedtestingvs.doc

History of the Drug War essays

History of the Drug War essays The first act of America's anti-drug laws was in 1875. It outlawed the smoking of opium in opium dens. This was a San Francisco ordinance. The basis on passing this law was that Chinese men had a way of luring white women to their dens and causing their "ruin", which was the association with Chinese men. Later, other Federal laws such, as trafficking in opium was illegal for anyone of Chinese origin. The opium laws were directed at the smoking of opium. The law didn't effect importation of the drug because opium was a common medical drug. This law was specifically targeted at the Chinese, for the smoking of opium was a Chinese custom. The Harrison Act had started as a licensing law that required sellers to obtain a license if they were going to handle opiates or cocaine. The law contains a provision that nothing in the law would prohibit doctors from prescribing these drugs in the legitimate practice of medicine. The people who wrote the Harrison Act and Marijuana Tax Act in 1937 agreed that a prohibition on what people could put into their bodies was an unconstitutional infringement on personal liberties. Marijuana was outlawed in 1937. The reason for it being outlawed was that the plant had a violent effect on the degenerate races. The American Medical Association testified that they were opposed to the law. The law would never have passed without the endorsement from the AMA, but when the supporters of the law were asked about the AMA's view on the floor of congress, they had stated that the AMA was all for it. When the law had passed, the AMA protested, but the law was never repealed. It is difficult to determine how many people in the US use drugs. The Federal Government's Household Survey on Drug Abuse is the most common set of statistics on the use of drugs. According to the latest surveys, conducted by the DEA, there are about 12.7 million people who have used an illegal drug in the past month, and about 30 - 40 mil...

Strategies for Teaching Writing to Elementary Students

Strategies for Teaching Writing to Elementary Students One of our most important tasks has is to introduce their young students to the written language and how to use it creatively and effectively in order to communicate. Whether you teach primary or upper elementary grades, your administrator is counting on you to teach your students to quantifiably improve in writing this school year. Here are a few effective teaching strategies to try out in your classroom implement a few or try them all. 1. Writing Instruction Doesnt Have To Be Intimidating   For You Or The Students Many educators find teaching writing a real challenge. Sure there are all the rules of grammar and punctuation, but outside of those boundaries, there are as many stories to be told as there are people in the world. How do we corral our students enthusiasm and creative minds so that their writing is coherent, engaging, and purposeful? 2. A Strong Beginning Is Crucial Then Move Onto The Basics Start by teaching your students how to write a strong beginning to their stories. With this skill in hand, your students will then be ready to learn about the importance of word choice and avoiding boring, flat, overused words. 3. More Advanced Descriptive Techniques Dont Have To Be Hard To Teach Even the youngest elementary school students will enjoy trying their hand at tongue twisters. And what do tongue twisters have to do with writing? Well, its an easy way to introduce the concept of alliteration. Achoo! Slam! Kaboom! Not only do children love sound effects, but they come to the classroom with a strong familiarity with this subject. Sound effects add power and imagery to writing, and not to mention its easy to teach students how to appropriately use this skill to kick their writing up a notch. 4. Writing Applications You Might Not Have Considered Obviously, writing enters into all aspects of human life, especially nowadays in the age of the Internet and email. Use a pen pal program to teach your students how to effectively communicate with their peers in letter format. Its an invaluable skill and a dying art. Or, try practice letter-writing and compile weekly parent newsletters all in one fell swoop! Thats another time-saver that practices writing skills at the same time. Another important aspect of language arts is oral communication and listening skills. Through this easy and fun impromptu speeches lesson, your students will write a speech, perform it out loud, and practice listening to each other. 5. A Well-Rounded Writing Curriculum Is Within Your Grasp These real life, classroom-tested  writing lessons  are proven, fun, and easy-to-implement. With practice and diligence, you will watch your students writing soar and improve daily. Edited by  Janelle Cox

Dreams websites evaluation Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Dreams websites evaluation - Term Paper Example Dreams are part of a human being’s life.It is said to be products of the subconscious mind, defined and described in numerous ways by experts and those who subjectively experience the dream itself.So much is the impact of dreams to man, that he struggles to remember and find the meaning of such reverie as he awakens. Many have tried to interpret dreams, as these illusions are surprisingly connected between individuals through common objects and events. Two different websites, visited on March 22, 2011, regarding dreams will be tackled in the present paper, evaluating them according to several factors. Websites on dreams As mentioned, the websites visited concern things as dreams and nightmares, finding their meanings and interpreting them. The first site can be found at http://dreamsleep.net/, Dream Meanings - Interpreting the Hidden Meaning of Dreams, created and maintained by Craig Hamilton-Parker T/A Q.K.E. Ltd. The website is full of materials and multimedia that would aid the Internet user in analyzing his or her dreams. In addition, they have live psychic readings, where the dreamer can choose a specific psychic through the profiles given in a particular section of the website. The other website, Dreams & Nightmares, can be found at http://www.dreamsnightmares.com/index.html. No name of the individual or corporation who or that established it is found, but it is hosted by Theorem.ca. It also has several sections emphasizing on dream analysis, symbols, common instances, et cetera. The author(s) of the text written in the site answer certain dream situations with the emphasis of the dreamer’s â€Å"personal touch,† reminding that the interpretation of each reverie is subjective and relative. It gives links to books that may be purchased if the Internet user wants to read more on a certain topic. Appraisal Dream Meanings has several sections that are easily located. The main page also has a video of Craig Hamilton-Parker, who orients the website visitors of the community he and his team have prepared to help dreamers in finding meanings and interpreting their visions psychologically or spiritually, whether they be common or unusual dreams. Links to several dream videos and articles can be found on the right side of the page, and other resources are also accessible by merely clicking on topics which you want to browse. When opening a specific section, one can see that there are other sets of resources and multimedia available. There are visible ads and psychic reading numbers as well. The website is overall â€Å"visitor-friendly,† with easy to read fonts, font sizes and appropriate colored layout that would not visually strain the visitor. Dreams & Nightmares has less resources compared to the previous site. Sections that deal with interpretation, symbols, et cetera, are also available. The main page is bare compared to the other, comprising only of text explaining dreams and nightmares, with small pictures. The font and font size make the text readable, but its fineness placed on a white background may make it hard to read among website visitors who have visual problems. Promotions of certain books and reading materials that could be purchased online can also be found there. As noticed, the style in the sections are usually the same, where someone expresses his or her dream and the author answers the concern and how the dream could be interpreted according to the context of the dreamer. Generally speaking though, it is not hard to go through the site, but an individual trying to dig the most information he or she can about a certain dream may not be satisfied with the content of the website. Comparison In comparing both sites, I would personally recommend Dream Meanings over Dreams & Nightmares. At first glance, the former appears to be more â€Å"visitor-friendly† than the latter. To those who are deeply bothered by their dreams, Dream Meanings somehow flaunts that it can cate r to their needs. For instance, there are videos that can be watched to help the

Contemporary Issues in International Business Essay - 1

Contemporary Issues in International Business - Essay Example Thus, inter-dependency of states has become a critical factor that necessitates evolution of monetary system for currency exchange in the inter-state trade practices. In the post WWII era, Bretton Wood System had addressed the issue of international finance and currency relationship to promote stable trade amongst the countries. As a result, international agencies like International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank had emerged. IMF’s major objective was to facilitate and promote international business and stabilize foreign exchange through balance of payment for countries that were unable to meet their debt payments. At the same time, World Bank provides grants and low interest or interest free loans on easy term to credit worthy under developed and developing countries in the areas of poverty alleviation, health, education, environment conservation, sustainable development etc. The bank gets its finance from the donation from its member countries and the repayment of loans and interest money. In the recent times, the roles of these two agencies have come under lot of criticism. Thus, the roles of IMF and World Bank need to be analyzed and evaluated for introducing to make them more effective in the contemporary environment of global values. IMF is primarily a monetary system that was created in 1944. The initiatives taken in the Bretton Wood System had promoted US dollars as major currency because at that time, America was economically strong and was seen as a major facilitator of economic growth and opportunities. Another major factor was that the dollar was backed by huge reserve of gold deposit in America. IMF provided the necessary impetus to the international trade and economic cooperation amongst nation through mechanisms that included multilateral system of payment by member countries, stability in foreign exchange and supporting economically weak member nations with short term problems of ‘balance of payment’. It had also extended long term funds to developing countries which had faced the balance of payments problem during the structural changes that were needed to promote the socio-economic development of the region. World Bank was also an important actor in the socio-economic development process of under developed and developing countries. While it extended soft term loans and grants to these countries, it is also a commercial lender and is not totally dependent on the developed nations for its financial viability. It has relatively huge foreign exchange reserve and is therefore able to meet its various obligations. But in the recent times, many of its creditors have failed to repay the loans. Oxfam has claimed for 100% debt relief to 33 highly indebted poor countries (Mallaby, 2004). At the same time, emerging new economies like India and China have developed huge foreign reserves of their own and rely less on these agencies for funds. Most importantly, the transforming global economy has disturbed the d ominant position of US dollars. The fast emerging economies like India and China have challenged the American monopoly in the global market. It has not only not remained a major donor to the international agencies but the deteriorating economic conditions of America with a large foreign debt and deficit account balance, have adversely impacted dollar. The fixed exchange rate of currency has collapsed under new market based economy. The diktats of free trade and liberalization of economies across the globe have become important factors that demand new mechanisms for creating mutually beneficial trade practices. With market enforced floating currency rates, the political legitimacy of IMF and World Bank has become highly controversial. These agencies need to redefine their goals vis-a-vis new market

The Caste System of India

The Caste System of India The album of the modern world is portrayed by class and caste systems, the mere reflections of social inequality in human society. Class and caste are the form of the social stratification. The division of society into classes or strata, which form a hierarchy of prestige and power, is an universal feature of social structure. In this paper mainly focus on the basic concept of caste and class of society and in Indian context the changing trend of the caste system. What is Caste: Caste is the name of an ancient social institution that has been part of Indian history and culture for thousands of years. Wikipedia states that, A caste is a combined social system of, endogamy, culture, social class, and political power. Any of the hereditary, endogamous social classes or subclasses of traditional Hindu society, stratified according to Hindu ritual purity, especially the Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaisya, and Sudra castes. The nature and function of the caste system: The statutory commission report in 1930 stated about the nature and function of the caste in India as, Every Hindu necessarily belongs to the caste of his parents and in that caste he inevitably remains. No accumulation of wealth and no exercise of talents can alter his caste status and marriage outside his caste is prohibited or severely discouraged. Renowned scholar Paul H. Landis has remarked as, No ambitious young Indian of a lower class can ever hope to be a Brahmin. Here the class differences are strong that the lowest class, the untouchables are not allowed even to touch the garments of the highest or Brahmin class. They (untouchables) die in the hope that they will be reborn into a better class. From the various statements it becomes clear that caste continue to be an overpowering influence in the social, economical and political life of the country. The Indian village system is tied up with caste hierarchy. Origin of caste: some views Caste or more precisely varna for which the former a Portuguese synonyms, has come into wide use in comparative literature in recent years. It has been an invariable dimension of the social evolution in india during the last 3500years. During the Rigvedic period the Aryan community had started splitting into classes Brahma, Kashata and visa. It is only in one of the later hymns purushasuktha that a reference has been made to the four classes of Indian society. The names of the four classes were given in the sukta as Brahma, Rajanya, vaisya and sudra. The earlier division into these groups or section or varnas represented division of labour and division of social product. The original in habitants, portrayed as blackish people were called as Dasas by the Aryans, the invaders. These Dasas were over powered by the Aryans and when the conquered class were transformed into a service class, new relations of production came into being. The Dasas were known as the Sudras the fifth caste in the Aryan fold of the Indian society. Phules theory of the caste system was that it was created by the Aryans or Iranis Bhats or Brahmins. Before the coming of Irani Brahmins, Indian society was a casteless or classless agricultural community. The Grammarian Patanjali (Bc.200) commenting on panninis rule classified the countries of his times as Abrahmaniko Desah'(non-Brahmin countries) and vrshalak desah'(Brahmin countries). Dr. B.R. Ambedkar attempted to prove that the sudras originally constituted the solar Kshatriya caste of the vedic Aryan society, but that since the Brahmins refused to perform upanayana for them they were pushed down to the fourth caste. Definitions of caste: The word caste is derived from the Spanish word caste, meaning breed, race, strain or heredity. The Portuguese, when they came to India used the term to identify the caste divisions. In the words of Madan and Majumdar, caste is a closed group. To C.H Cooley, When a class is some what strictly hereditary, we may call it a caste. The most commonly cited defining features of caste are the following: Caste is determined by birth a child is born into the caste of its parents. Caste is never a matter of choice. One can never change ones caste, leave it, or choose not to join it, although there are instances where a person may be expelled from their caste. Membership in a caste involves strict rules about marriage. Caste groups are endogamous, i.e. marriage is restricted to members of the group. Caste membership also involves rules about food and food-sharing. What kinds of food may or may not be eaten is prescribed and who one may share food with is also specified. Caste involves a system consisting of many castes arranged in a hierarchy of rank and status. In theory, every person has a caste, and every caste has a specified place in the hierarchy of all castes. While the hierarchical position of many castes, particularly in the middle ranks, may vary from region to region, there is always a hierarchy. Castes also involve sub-divisions within themselves, i.e., castes almost always have sub-castes and sometimes sub-castes may also have sub-sub-castes. This is referred to as a segmental organisation. Castes were traditionally linked to occupations. A person born into a caste could only practice the occupation associated with that caste, so that occupations were hereditary, i.e. passed on from generation to generation. On the other hand, a particular occupation could only be pursued by the caste associated with it -members of other castes could not enter the occupation. Social structure and cultural aspects of the caste system: The nature of caste system in India can be studied as a social structural system and as a cultural system representing the unique feature of Indian cultures: Social Structural Aspects: The caste system is a hierarchy of values in terms of the concept of purity and impurity. It is organized as a characteristic hereditary division of labour. It is committed to organic coordination with the larger communities. Dumont, the French sociologist used the term homo-hierarchy meant for the minority opposition and mutual repulsion in the inter-caste relationship. There is a lot of cooperation especially in the socio-religious lines between various castes. Cultural Aspects : The cultural or symbolic system of caste has the following important things: A hierarchy of values in terms of the concept of purity and impurity. Hereditary transmission of psychological traits with in caste groups. The concepts of karma and punarjanma giving ones attitudes and ways of life. Commitment to caste occupation of caste style. Tolerance of different styles of life of other castes. What is Social Class? A social class may be defined as a stratum of people of similar position in the social status continuum. The social position of the George is not the same as that of the college president; a student will not greet them in exactly the same manner. Most of us are deferential towards those whose social position we believe to be above our and are condescending to those whom we consider socially below us. The members of a social class view one another as social equals, while holding themselves to be socially superior to some and socially inferior to others. The members of a particular social class often have about the same amount of money, but what is more important is that they have much the same attitudes, values and ways of life. Social class is a very important from a social stratification. Class system is universal phenomena. Nowadays classes are in increasing and new classes are coming into being in various parts of the world. Class system in a society in determined by economic cond itions, occupational conditions, abilities, hereditary factors, educational factors etc. Every society is gradated into various social classes and each class has its status in society. To understand more about social class one has to depend on some definitions given by social scientists. Definition of Social Class: T.H. Marshal defined by stating that A system or structure of social class involves first, a hierarchy of status groups and secondly the recognition of the superior-inferior stratification and finally some degree of permanency of the structure. In the word of Ogburn and Nimcoff, By a social class we mean one or two or more broad groups of individuals who are ranked by the members of the community in socially superior and inferior positions. To Lapiere, a social class is a culturally defined group that is accorded a particular position or status within the population as a whole. Characteristics of the Class: Social class is a very important from of social stratification in the modern times. Following are the main features of class: Hierarchy of status groups: In the class system , everyone has its own status. In other words social class is a status group. Based on their features and resources, some people occupy high status, some middle status and yet some others rest at the lowest position. In modern complex society each class feels that they belong to a specific group. Class- Consciousness: In the class system every social class develops class consciousness and the status consciousness results in psychological separation. Open system: Social class system is an open one in society. The social position of one individual is based up on the factors like his profession, personal merits, dignity and wealth. The more an individual develops his abilities so as to be useful to society better he is placed in the social hierarchy. In the class system a person can move upward or downward, depending upon his personal attainments, merits and demerits, abilities and disabilities. Objective Factors: Economic condition, profession position, education, health, race etc are objectives factors of the social class system. Class consciousness resulting from the feeling of superiority and inferiority are to the called as subjective factors. When these subjective factors integrated into the objective ones, class organization occurs. Class is not only an economic division: Karl Max and Engels have the opinion that class division and economic inequalities alone lead to class difference. According to them social classes originate only from economic conditions. But our sociologists like Mac Iver mention that economic factor is only one of the factors for the origin of class system. Class is not only an occupational division: It is wrong to consider social class is an occupational division. It is restricting the scope of the social class. The criteria of high and low, superior and inferior cannot be specifically applied to professions. Social mobility: Class system involves greater scope for social mobility. According to A. Sorokin, social mobility is of two kinds; Horizontal and Vertical. Horizontal social mobility is movement from one social status to another social status of the same level. E.g. An engineer who is working in the Ford motor company goes to general motors co. as an engineers of the same grade. Vertical social mobility is the movement upward or downward e.g. A Director moves down to the position of an Assistant Director. Social Class: Marxian View The basic frame work for the dynamic of social change was laid down by Karl Marx through his materialistic interpretation of history and theory of class struggle. Opening the first chapter of their communist manifesto, Karl Marx and Engels stated: The history of all hitherto existing society(i.e. all written history) is the history of class struggle. Marxian theory, materialistic and economically oriented, views class attitudes and class consciousness as fundamentally a reflection of economic conditions. Under the Marxian concept there are only two classes namely petty Bourgeois capitalists and the proletariats or the working class. Marxs distribution of the classes was mainly on economic basis that had comes as a subject of criticisms to sociologist like Mac Iver. Karl Marx conceived the relation between these two classes essentially based on the means of production, followed by the exploitation of the Bourgeoisie class up on the working class. Regarding classes and their relation with each other Marx has set three assumption in selected correspondence. Classes are bound up with particular historical phases in the development of production. Classes are bound to lead a struggle between two classes namely Petty Bourgeois capitalists and the working class. The class struggle between those two classes necessarily leads to the dictatorship of the proletariats by over throwing the ruling capitalist from power. Marx and Engles have described classes as economic conflict groups that are divided on the basis of the possession of the various instruments of production. Thus it is believed that an industrial society is connected with two classes- petty Bourgeoisie capitalist and proletarate workers. Before the industrial revolution there were only two classes, Landlords and the Agriculturists. Class system in India: In village India, where nearly 74 percent of the population resides, caste and class affiliations overlap. According to anthropologist Miriam Sharma, Large landholders who employ hired labour are overwhelmingly from the upper castes, while the agricultural workers themselves come from the ranks of the lowestpredominantly Untouchablecastes. She also points out that household-labor-using proprietors come from the ranks of the middle agricultural castes. Distribution of other resources and access to political control follow the same pattern of caste-cum-class distinctions. Although this congruence is strong, there is a tendency for class formation to occur despite the importance of caste, especially in the cities, but also in rural areas. In an analysis of class formation in India, anthropologist Harold A. Gould points out that a three-level system of stratification is taking shape across rural India. He calls the three levels Forward Classes (higher castes), Backward Classes (middle and lower castes), and Harijans (very low castes). Members of these groups share common concerns because they stand in approximately the same relationship to land and productionthat is, they are large-scale farmers, small-scale farmers, and landless laborers. Some of these groups are drawing together within regions across caste lines in order to work for political power and access to desirable resources. For example, since the late 1960s, some of the middle-ranking cultivating castes of northern India have increasingly cooperated in the political arena in order to advance their common agrarian and market-oriented interests. Their efforts have been spurred by competition with higher-caste landed elites. In cities other groups have vested interests that crosscut caste boundaries, suggesting the possibility of forming classes in the future. These groups include prosperous industrialists and entrepreneurs, who have made successful efforts to push the central government toward a pro-business stance; bureaucrats, who depend upon higher education rather than land to preserve their positions as civil servants; political officeholders, who enjoy good salaries and perquisites of all kinds; and the military, who constitute one of the most powerful armed forces in the developing world. Economically far below such groups are members of the menial underclass, which is taking shape in both villages and urban areas. As the privileged elites move ahead, low-ranking menial workers remain economically insecure. Were they to join together to mobilize politically across lines of class and religion in recognition of their common interests, Gould observes, they might find power in their sheer numbers. Indias rapidly expanding economy has provided the basis for a fundamental changethe emergence of what eminent journalist Suman Dubey calls a new vanguard increasingly dictating Indias political and economic direction. This group is Indias new middle classmobile, driven, consumer-oriented, and, to some extent, forward-looking. Hard to define precisely, it is not a single stratum of society, but straddles town and countryside, making its voice heard everywhere. It encompasses prosperous farmers, white-collar workers, business people, military personnel, and myriad others, all actively working toward a prosperous life. Ownership of cars, televisions, and other consumer goods, reasonable earnings, substantial savings, and educated children (often fluent in English) typify this diverse group. Many have ties to kinsmen living abroad who have done very well. The new middle class is booming, at least partially in response to a doubling of the salaries of some 4 million central government employees in 1986, followed by similar increases for state and district officers. Unprecedented liberalization and opening up of the economy in the 1980s and 1990s have been part of the picture. There is no single set of criteria defining the middle class, and estimates of its numbers vary widely. The mid-range of figures presented in a 1992 survey article by analyst Suman Dubey is approximately 150 to 175 millionsome 20 percent of the populationalthough other observers suggest alternative figures. The middle class appears to be increasing rapidly. Once primarily urban and largely Hindu, the phenomenon of the consuming middle class is burgeoning among Muslims and prosperous villagers as well. According to V.A. Pai Panandikar, director of the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, cited by Dubey, by the end of the twentieth century 30 percentsome 300 millionof Indias population will be middle class. The middle class is bracketed on either side by the upper and lower echelons. Members of the upper classaround 1 percent of the populationare owners of large properties, members of exclusive clubs, and vacationers in foreign lands, and include industrialists, former maharajas, and top executives. Below the middle class is perhaps a third of the populationordinary farmers, tradespeople, artisans, and workers. At the bottom of the economic scale are the poorestimated at 320 million, some 45 percent of the population in 1988who live in inadequate homes without adequate food, work for pittances, have undereducated and often sickly children, and are the victims of numerous social inequities. Changing Pattern of Caste system in India: Despite many problems, the caste system has operated successfully for centuries, providing goods and services to Indias many millions of citizens. The system continues to operate, but changes are occurring. Indias constitution guarantees basic rights to all its citizens, including the right to equality and equal protection before the law. The practice of untouchability, as well as discrimination on the basis of caste, race, sex, or religion, has been legally abolished. All citizens have the right to vote, and political competition is lively. Voters from every stratum of society have formed interest groups, overlapping and crosscutting castes, creating an evolving new style of integrating Indian society. Castes themselves, however, far from being abolished, have certain rights under Indian law. As described by anthropologist Owen M. Lynch and other scholars, in the expanding political arena caste groups are becoming more politicized and forced to compete with other interest groups for social and economic benefits. In the growing cities, traditional intercaste interdependencies are negligible. Independent India has built on earlier British efforts to remedy problems suffered by Dalits by granting them some benefits of protective discrimination. Scheduled Castes are entitled to reserved electoral offices, reserved jobs in central and state governments, and special educational benefits. The constitution mandates that one-seventh of state and national legislative seats be reserved for members of Scheduled Castes in order to guarantee their voice in government. Reserving seats has proven useful because few, if any, Scheduled Caste candidates have ever been elected in non-reserved constituencies. Educationally, Dalit students have benefited from scholarships, and Scheduled Caste literacy increased (from 10.3 percent in 1961 to 21.4 percent in 1981, the last year for which such figures are available), although not as rapidly as among the general population. Improved access to education has resulted in the emergence of a substantial group of educated Dalits able to take up white-collar occupations and fight for their rights. There has been tremendous resistance among non-Dalits to this protective discrimination for the Scheduled Castes, who constitute some 16 percent of the total population, and efforts have been made to provide similar advantages to the so-called Backward Classes (see Glossary), who constitute an estimated 52 percent of the population. In August 1990, Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap (V.P.) Singh announced his intention to enforce the recommendations of the Backward Classes Commission (Mandal Commissionsee Glossary), issued in December 1980 and largely ignored for a decade. The report, which urged special advantages for obtaining civil service positions and admission to higher education for the Backward Classes, resulted in riots and self-immolations and contributed to the fall of the prime minister. The upper castes have been particularly adamant against these policies because unemployment is a major problem in India, and many feel that they are being unjustly excluded from posts for w hich they are better qualified than lower-caste applicants. As an act of protest, many Dalits have rejected Hinduism with its rigid ranking system. Following the example of their revered leader, Dr. Ambedkar, who converted to Buddhism four years before his death in 1956, millions of Dalits have embraced the faith of the Buddha. Over the past few centuries, many Dalits have also converted to Christianity and have often by this means raised their socioeconomic status. However, Christians of Dalit origin still often suffer from discrimination by Christiansand othersof higher caste backgrounds. Despite improvements in some aspects of Dalit status, 90 percent of them live in rural areas in the mid-1990s, where an increasing proportionmore than 50 percentwork as landless agricultural laborers. State and national governments have attempted to secure more just distribution of land by creating land ceilings and abolishing absentee landlordism, but evasive tactics by landowners have successfully prevented more than minimal redistribution of land to tenant farmers and laborers. In contemporary India, field hands face increased competition from tractors and harvesting machines. Similarly, artisans are being challenged by expanding commercial markets in mass-produced factory goods, undercutting traditional mutual obligations between patrons and clients. The spread of the Green Revolution has tended to increase the gap between the prosperous and the poormost of whom are low-caste. The growth of urbanization (an estimated 26 percent of the population now lives in cities) is having a far-reaching effect on caste practices, not only in cities but in villages. Among anonymous crowds in urban public spaces and on public transportation, caste affiliations are unknown, and observance of purity and pollution rules is negligible. Distinctive caste costumes have all but vanished, and low-caste names have been modified, although castes remain endogamous, and access to employment often occurs through intracaste connections. Restrictions on interactions with other castes are becoming more relaxed, and, at the same time, observance of other pollution rules is decliningespecially those concerning birth, death, and menstruation. Several growing Hindu sects draw members from many castes and regions, and communication between cities and villages is expanding dramatically. Kin in town and country visit one another frequently, and television programs available to huge numbers of villagers vividly portray new lifestyles. As new occupations open up in urban areas, the correlation of caste with occupation is declining. Caste associations have expanded their areas of concern beyond traditional elite emulation and local politics into the wider political arenas of state and national politics. Finding power in numbers within Indias democratic system, caste groups are pulling together closely allied subcastes in their quest for political influence. In efforts to solidify caste bonds, some caste associations have organized marriage fairs where families can make matches for their children. Traditional hierarchical concerns are being minimized in favor of strengthening horizontal unity. Thus, while pollution observances are declining, caste consciousness is not. Education and election to political office have advanced the status of many Dalits, but the overall picture remains one of great inequity. In recent decades, Dalit anger has been expressed in writings, demonstrations, strikes, and the activities of such groups as the Dalit Panthers, a radical political party demanding revolutionary change. A wider Dalit movement, including political parties, educational activities, self-help centers, and labor organizations, has spread to many areas of the country. In a 1982 Dalit publication, Dilip Hiro wrote, It is one of the great modern Indian tragedies and dangers that even well meaning Indians still find it so difficult to accept Untouchable mobility as being legitimate in fact as well as in theory. . . . Still, against all odds, a small intelligentsia has worked for many years toward the goal of freeing India of caste consciousness. Factor contributing to caste change: The main factors responsible for the changes of caste system are: Modern education: Modern education is one of the major factors for weakening of the caste. It has gone to make negative impacts upon casteism. As modern education is deeply ingrained into the values such as liberty, equality and fraternity, it gives no place for hoary social evils and practices like casteism. Education also encouraged inter-caste marriage. The feeling of untouchability and prejudices are being gradually eliminated from the mind of the children of all caste. Industrialization: With the advent of industrialization people of all castes were forced to find out employment in factories in big cities. In the industrial centers members of different castes came into mutual contact, made harmonious relationship with other and forgot the caste barriers. Urbanization: Industrialization, transportation and widened communication are the main facors responsible to decrease the sentiment of the caste from the people to a greater extent. Higher caste members who moved to urban areas for pursuing employment found it difficult to retain their caste ideas and practice. Significance of wealth: In the past power of money was not much dominating factor in the society. Today wealth is replacing caste as the basis of social prestige. In other words money has become a deciding factor for influencing human life at present. Rise of Nationalism: Nationalism bound up with the concept of universal brotherhood has opened up new volumes in inter-caste relations. It seems to have helped to a considerable extent in shortening the prejudices of casteism from the mind of people in rural areas. Effect of social reforms: Social reform movement had also gone to a wider extent in diminishing caste prejudices from the upper caste minds. Social reformer like Babasaheb, Ambedkar, Balgangadhar Tilak, Ranade had done a lot for removing caste distinction and prejudice from the mind of Indians. Conclusion: The strength of caste themselves, of the individuals attachment to his own caste, it may be claimed that the traditional caste system has been profoundly altered. In that system each individual caste had its ascribed place and co-operated with each other castes in a traditional economy and in ritual. No doubt there was always some competition between castes and there were changes in position in the hierarchy of prestige; but there was no generalized competition. It is quit otherwise with the modern caste associations, which exist in order to compete for wealth, educational opportunities and social prestige in a much more open society. The class interests and demands of the toiling people, the poor and the oppressed, has largely been expressed in the form of caste politics. Articulated within the structures of Indias democracy, this caste based politics has succeeded in providing significant relief to the lower castes, who form the overwhelming majority of Indias toiling masses. Next week, this column will look at the consequences of lower caste politics in contemporary India.

Cultures in apa style Essay

As businesses become global, limitations between cultures and environments crumbled little by little. However, within the vastly developing globalization, business observers discovered many ‘unpredictable’ phenomena. These phenomena come to the scope of observation, only after globalization is widely accepted by firms all over the world. One of these phenomena is the success of corporations from unfamiliar cultures, which were previously never expected to generate notable business growth or extraordinary innovation. Some of those companies are IKEA, Volvo, Electrolux, Scania, Hennez and Mauritz, etc. All of these mentioned corporations are Swedish in origins. Nevertheless, there are also significant developments displayed by those cultures which are predicted to dominate future global markets, like the Chinese market. The Chinese business culture and the Swedish business culture represented two different business cultures in terms of common expectations. The Chinese culture has been long predicted to be one of the fastest growing economies in the world due to the size of its markets. The Swedish culture on the other hand, represented a culture which is not predicted to become one of the dominant players in the global economy. In this paper, I am comparing these two business cultures in order to discover their differences and similarities, and thus understanding the origins of their competitive advantages. The comparison between the two cultures will be performed by observing studies that have been previously published and professional websites that develop business guidance to foreign countries. The comparison between the two cultures will be performed by comparing these specific traits, which are: decision and deal-making, conversation, making appointments, perspective regarding profit. 2 Discussions If we are using a specific research method, then within this paper, we are using the qualitative research method, in the sense that the research will not involve numbers and other objective measurements and the results will not be simply defined. In a qualitative research, the purpose is not to generalize an answer to other circumstances, but merely answering a specific question within a specific condition and context. Thus, the answer would be in the form of deep and meaningful explanations and contains discussions that would generate bias if the readers are not diligently capturing the context. As mentioned previously, the comparison between the two cultures will be based on specific traits, which are: ? Decision making ? Business culture ? Perspectives ? Authority ? Implementation of Regulations ? Leadership ? Cultural Context 2. 1 Similarities Both the Swedish and the Chinese culture treat outside information very cautiously. Nevertheless, after proven that the information and the person or the organization providing that information is reliable, than the person or the organization will most likely by a long-time friend of the company. In terms of relationship with the government, both cultures have high respect toward the authority of their government. Thus regulations are highly respected in both countries. Another similarity is the tendency to preserve the dignity of others by avoiding conflict as much as possible 2. 2 Differences 2. 2. 1 Decision Making In terms of deal and decision making, the Chinese people have a weaker respect toward the language English compare to the Swedish. Swedish businessmen generally speak English and ones that do not have the capability to speak English are considered lacking a competitive advantage. In China however, such a perspective has weak powers or even the perspective does not exist at all. Thus, businessmen generally bring an interpreter to China to prevent conversational stuck during negotiations or lobbying. In Sweden, due to the fact that most of their end-customers are American in nationality, English is accepted as a language of business conversation (Alexander, 2006; Bary, 2005). 2. 2. 2 Business Culture Another reason that adds to the importance of taking into account of cultural characteristics of a country is the issue of communication. Different cultures have different styles of business communication. For instant, western managers are generally recognized in their expertise for assembling words. Western managers are generally more talkative than any other. On the other hand, managers from Asian countries do not share the same trait. They prefer actions rather than words. If they choose to say anything, it would generally be short and to-the-point (‘American-Japanese’, 2005). Other communication differences might lie in body languages like nodding, smiling and other manners of speaking and listening. Managers of eastern countries generally have a unique manner of speaking and listening. American managers unaccustomed with these differences usually find it hard to comprehend the meaning of each gestures. Furthermore, politeness in some cultures might involve reversing the meaning from ‘yes’ to ‘no’ or the opposite. In regard of the importance of communication in the business realm, understanding these differences is an important requirement of a good manager. Another cultural aspect that created the differences of managing in different regions is the issue of gender. Surveys indicated that American companies are more liberal in nature, where women had more access to managerial positions rather than any Asian companies like Japanese or Chinese that just performing programs that encourage female leaders to take their stand (Japan’s, 2005). In addition, the Chinese business culture is also very much hierarchical. In a sense, they prefer that people respect them in accordance to their position within an organization. Thus, businessmen promoting a product or an agreement must generally performed presentation in different levels of the organization. In Sweden on the other hand, such a troublesome process is most likely avoided. Business presentation is generally performed only once or twice because all officers from different levels within an organization do not have problems with sitting side by side to each other (‘Making Appointments, 2008). 2. 2. 3 Perspectives Chinese people tend to make decisions using subjective point of view and personal feelings. This is the common design of a high context organization, where respect and unwillingness to confront with leaders slow down quality development. In Sweden on the other hand, decisions are made by both objective and subjective point of views and using both rationality and intuition, however, the basic difference is that the Swedish culture does not have a value of high respect toward leaders that will hamper democracy or objective considerations of the fact (‘Background to Business in China’, 2008). 2. 2. 4 Authority Despite having the same feeling of respect toward the authority of their government both cultures implement their regulations in different intensities. In order to suppress corruption that has been plaguing the country several decades in the past, the Chinese government decided not to go half way in punishing people who broke Chinese business laws. Some punishments are even performed in public to prevent similar occurrences. That is why there is a saying in China that most companies in China use logic, evidence and common sense, only if they do not contradict with the government’ doctrines and rules. In Sweden however, even though the regulations about breaking business laws are clear, the implementation still much ‘softer’ that it is in China (Alexander, 2005; ‘Chinese Deal Making’, 2008). 2. 2. 5 Implementation of Regulations In terms of decision making, the Chinese business culture generally recognize a collective decision making process. The leader will only be decisive and harsh in implementation the collective decision. Before any decision has been made, Chinese leaders have only a slightly higher decision making power compare to their subordinate. Nevertheless, even though the decision has been approved collectively, individuals within the group are still held accountable for his/her suggestions. In the Swedish culture on the other hand, 2. 2. 6 Leadership Leaders in China are meant to lead and even though they have the full right to punish their subordinates, they are expected to take full responsibilities when facing a higher authority. In Sweden on the other hand, leaders are not meant to tell people what to do, they meant to listen and than decide based on the collective decision. This example can be discovered in many types of organizations in Sweden. Even in the sport environment, a Sweden trainer would understand that his/her job is to work with the athlete and performing the trainings his/her way. On the other hand, a Chinese trainer might be furious if the athlete refuses to follow any of his/her orders Gernet, 1996). 2. 3 Cultural Context As mentioned previously, the China business culture is actually a high context culture, in which people are accustomed to be very subtle and shoring very little emotion when expressing a rejection, or a new claim. Sweden on the other hand, is basically a low-context culture, in which managers would prefer that every managerial activity is performed as informal as possible. Not like the United States however, in Sweden people strive more to avoid looking as an individual person, although he/she might have great ideas, it is till the collective thought that would prevail in most meetings. 3 Conclusion According to the previous researches, Sweden and China has quite huge differences, mainly in how they perceive the role of the authority and leaders. Further studies are required to understand the true correlation between these differences and business development in the future. Bibliography Alexander, John. 2006. Swedish Message. Retrieved August 21, 2008 ‘American-Japanese Communication 101’. 2005. WIN Advisory Group. Retrieved August 21, 2008 from http://www. winadvisorygroup. com/AmericanJapaneseComms101. html ‘Background to Business in China’. 2008. World Business Culture. Retrieved August 21, 2008 from www. glo-bis. com/china. htm Bary, Theodore de. â€Å"†Constructive Engagement with Asian Values†Ã¢â‚¬ . Archived from the original on 2005-03-11.. Columbia University. Chinese Business Deal Making. Nd. Los Angeles Chinese Learning Centers. 2008 Retrieved August 21, from chinese-school. netfirms. com/deal. html Gernet, Jacques. A History of Chinese Civilization. 2. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996. ‘Making Appointments’. Nd. Los Angeles Chinese Learning Centers. 2008 Retrieved August 21, from chinese-school. netfirms. com/deal. html