Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Culture Collision'

Mestrado em Ciências Empresariais
Os processos de fusão e aquisição são situações complexas que impõem fortes desafios aos gestores responsáveis pela sua condução. Um dos desafios mais importantes prende-se com a capacidade de diagnosticar e gerir os conflitos de natureza cultural que emergem do processo de mudança. O confronto das culturas organizacionais e uma fraca integração dos recursos humanos na nova empresa é uma das grandes causas de fracasso nas fusões e aquisições. Este trabalho aborda este tema dando particular atenção à gestão dos conflitos de natureza cultural. Para além da reflexão bibliográfica que conduziu à elaboração do quadro teórico, foi estudada uma empresa que participou recentemente num processo de Fusão ou Aquisição. No decurso deste trabalho constatou-se que a cultura das empresas estudadas era diferente, o que originou conflitos. As duas empresas tinham formas de trabalhar muito diferentes e o próprio ambiente de trabalho era mais informal numa empresa do que na outra. Um dos factores que permitiu o sucesso do processo de fusão foi o seu planeamento, o que incluiu o diagnóstico às culturas das organizações envolvidas e a promoção do processo de integração dos seus colaboradores
The merger and acquisition processes are complex procedures which represent a challenge for the managers who are responsible for their implementation. One of the most important challenges is the ability to diagnose and manage the cultural conflicts which emerge from the change process. The collision of organizational cultures and a weak integration of human resources in the new company is one of the biggest causes of failure in mergers and acquisitions. The purpose of this study is to analyze this issue, with particular attention to the management of conflicts of cultural nature. In support to the theoretical framework, an empirical research was carried out based on analysis of a company that has been recently envolved in a merger and acquisition process. During this study it emerged that the culture of the companies in question was different, resulting in some conflict. The two companies had different ways of working and the environment itself was more informal in one of the companies than in the other. One of the factors that enabled the success of the merger was its planning, which included the diagnosis of the cultures of the organizations and the promotion of integrating employees.

When companies go trough a merger or an acquisition all involved parties within the organisations becomes affected. These changes can affect the company in many areas which could create tensions and anxiety among employees which could create strong negative forces at the end and prevent the new organisation to function at its best. In service companies this could be of great importance to overcome since they often are dependent on functional organisations to help them create a wanted quality. This study will address this problem and will do so in a case study performed on a transportations company which have gone trough a number of mergers. Due to these mergers, the company has also grown in both numbers of employees and in financial conditions.

The applied thesis statement is: “How should a small expanding company manage the integration of acquired companies and at the same time maintain a sought identity within the organisation, in order to reach their main strategic objectives? “. The ambition is to be able to understand how the studied company has developed and also to analyse its organisational transition. Furthermore we also want to create proposals for organisations that are facing future organisational transitions, based from our findings in this study.

This study has been conducted with a hermeneutic scientific ideal and an abductive approach. The empirical collection was done inside the studied organisation in a qualitative manner. We conducted nine interviews, one with the manager (co-owner) and the other eight with employees inside the company. We wanted to be able to see both parties’ sides of the mergers. Therefore the interviews where conducted at two separate offices in different cities.

The theoretical framework consists of a number of theoretical areas, who together creates a holistic view over the entire research area. The theoretical parts consist of: Organisation, network, mergers, acquisitions, family firms, corporate culture, identity, social identity, service quality and Human Resources.

Our main conclusion is of the studied company shows that the biggest problem which the organisation faces today is the lack of communication between the manager and the employees. Although we claim that the merger has played a mayor impact on the company in many areas. Some of the main difficulties which we identified were the fact that the merger never was discussed thoroughly between the management and the employees. We also claim that the company when divided between the two offices have created a cultural gap between the wanted culture and the actual culture. We argue that the quality thinking permeates trough the entire organisation and all of the respondents have described the importance of achieving a high quality service within the organisation.

The paper focuses on the collision of high and popular culture in Robert Coover’s collection of short stories “Pricksongs and Descants”. The methods chosen for the study are close reading and textual analysis by interpreting every short story, defining its genre, noticing the features of high and popular culture and ways of presenting them, grasping the hot point where high and popular cultures collide, analyzing the aim and message of the collision. The paper emphasizes the blend of high-popular culture collision and discloses it with the help of postmodernism, high and popular culture instances, intertextuality, metafiction and genres transformation techniques through the themes of sexuality, violence and television. The research has revealed the message of the author hidden in the collision of high and low culture to satirize the image of 1960s America society and help the readers better understand the present reality.
Šio darbo tikslas yra atskleisti aukštosios ir populiariosios kultūrų sankirtą amerikiečių rašytojo Roberto Coover’io apsakymų rinkinyje ,,Raudos ir dainos” (1969) remiantis postmodernizmo literatūros ypatumais: naujų formų ieškojimu, ,,žaidimu” su jomis, populiariosios kultūros pabrėžimu, aukštosios ir žemosios kultūrų suliejimu, ironija, juoduoju jumoru, absurdo fantazija. Aptariami pagrindiniai postmodernistinės visuomenės bruožai – žmonių susvetimėjimas, įsiliejimas į masės visuomenę, vertybių praradimas, grožio kultas ir seksualumo garbinimas, dieviškųjų absoliutų atmetimas, smurto ir nepagarbaus elgesio protrūkiai, keiksmažodžiais užteršta žmonių kalba. Šie bruožai analizuojami apsakymų rinkinyje “Raudos ir dainos”, nes jų pagalba ir yra atskleidžiama anksčiau minėtųjų kultūrų sankirta. Prie šios sankirtos atskleidimo prisideda ir intertekstualumo, metafikcijos ir žanrų (pasakų, religinių istorijų, įprastų, gerai žinomų kasdienių įvykių) transformavimo pavyzdžiai. Pagrindiniai darbo metodai yra nuodugnus skaitymas, kiekvieno apsakymo analizavimas ir interpretavimas, bandant apibrėžti jo žanrą, pastebint aukštosios ir populiariosios kultūrų atvejus ir jų pateikimo būdus, užčiuopiant šių dviejų kultūrų susikirtimo tašką ir analizuojant toje sankirtoje paslėptą autoriaus mintį. Darbe atskleidžiama pagrindinė apsakymų rinkinio mintis – nepasitenkinimas šiuolaikine Amerikos visuomene. Remiantis apsakymų rinkinio analize, bandoma parodyti, jog visuomenė yra nykimo... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

Background Expatriate failure can be a devastating consequence for both an enterprise and the expatriate himself. An expatriate is a person who resides outside his native country for working purposes. Moving to a foreign country implies many challenges and problems. One of the challenges is the new culture. Culture shock and problems with the acculturation process can jeopardize the international assignment: adaptation problem for expatriates is one of the reasons for expatriate failure. Nevertheless, culture shocks can be provided against by preparing the expatriate for the new culture. Knowledge about the other culture will increase the expatriate’s cultural competence, and hence facilitate the adaptation process, which will provide against expatriate failure. Purpose The thrust of this Bachelor Thesis was to analyze which important cultural differences a Swedish expatriate can encounter in Spain on an international assignment. The aim was to establish a check-list for future Swedish expatriates who are going to Spain, in order increase their cultural competence. We approached the cultural differences from a Swedish expatriate’s point of view. Methodology A qualitative study was conducted. The empirical data was collected through five semi-structured interviews with Swedish expatriates that are, or have been, working in Spain. All the interviewees work at companies who operate within the high-tech business trade. A frame of reference was elaborated in order to interpret and analyze the results obtained from the empirical data. Conclusions We found relevant cultural differences for Swedish expatriates going to Spain within four cultural aspects. Organization: organizations in Spain are more hierarchical and the manager more authoritarian compared to Sweden. The purpose of meetings is to inform or make decisions, rather than discuss and decide by consensus. Long working days are normal, and efficiency is not highly prioritized. Small talk before meetings is used more extensively than in Sweden. Time: Spaniards perceive time as fluid, which leads to less rigid agendas and schedules. Punctuality is a minor issue since time is approximate. Communication: The culture is expressive. Spaniards are emotional in their way of communicating, which is classified as an expressive culture. Moreover, frequent interruptions are seen as commitment to, and engagement in, the conversation. Indirect language is preferred over the direct, the context is more important than the words used. Social life: Spaniards prefer to meet up outside. The Spaniard’s private zone is bigger and includes more persons, compared to the Swede’s. Furthermore, respect is only shown people the Spaniard knows and cares about.

This thesis examines the new theatrical form of cyberformance (live performance by remote players using internet technologies) and contextualises it within the broader fields of networked performance, digital performance and theatre. Poststructuralist theories that contest the binary distinction between reality and representation provide the analytical foundation for the thesis. A critical reflexive methodological approach is undertaken in order to highlight three themes. First, the essential qualities and criteria of cyberformance are identified, and illustrated with examples from the early 1990s to the present day. Second, two cyberformance groups – the Plaintext Players and Avatar Body Collision – and UpStage, a purpose-built application for cyberformance, are examined in more detailed case studies. Third, the specifics of the cyberformance audience are explored and commonalities are identified between theatre and online culture. In conclusion, this thesis suggests that theatre and the internet have much to offer each other in this current global state of transition, and that cyberformance offers one means by which to facilitate the incorporation of new technologies into our lives.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the government of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador in collaboration with Roman Catholic missionaries coerced the Innu, until this time migratory hunter-gatherers in the Labrador-Quebec peninsula, to adopt a sedentary village existence. The transition was difficult and traumatic. One of the principal means used to induce the Innu to accept these drastic changes to their way of life was schooling based on an imposed formal, European model of education and a policy of assimilation. The implicit attack on their connection to their land and related practices combined with diminution of their native language, suppression of religious beliefs and confiscation of land for development have led to a number of devastating social and psychological problems for the Innu and the process of Innu knowledge transmission and learning has been profoundly affected. On 1st July 2009 the federal government and Labrador School Board granted the Innu Nation devolved control of existing educational programmes; an achievement the Innu had been working towards for over thirty years. The main objectives of the research are to interpret the meaning of this transfer of education to Innu and and to present a narrative of the relationship (or rather 'cultural collision') between the Innu community of Sheshatshiu, Labrador and the colonial Canadian state, society and forms of knowledge on the path to devolution. It was of particular interest to ascertain how much value is placed on transmission of non-Innu and Innu knowledge, whether what is learned inside or outside school is enough to succeed in either society and to understand aspirations for the future of Innu education. The nature of the research requires a detailed and rich understanding of the personal histories of a diverse group of Innu and non-Innu respondents and how this manifests itself in their attitudes towards education.

In this paper, I consider how Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers (1959) and Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game (1985) allegorically treat U.S. Cold War fears of invasion by the Soviet Union. Given the texts' historical relationship to the Vietnam War and their use of very similar science fiction tropes (namely, invasion by communistic, insect-like aliens), I argue that Orson Scott Card reimagines the binary Cold War conflict, softening the rhetoric of Starship Troopers and allowing for a more qualified understanding of the relationship between the U.S.S.R. and the U.S. Through this analysis, I also consider how science fiction is a useful tool of cultural criticism in that it posits future worlds so as to reflect contemporary social concerns.

Although the under education of Latino males has not been a priority to many, the high dropout rate of minority males can no longer be ignored. When school principals engage in the practice of cultural collision and collusion, it has an adverse impact on the academic achievement of Latino males and on their decision to drop out of high school. The purpose of this study is to explore the perception of school principals of Latino males, disciplinary policies, and how school principals are addressing the dropout rate of Latino males in their schools; it can aid school policy makers, educational advocates, educators, and parents in better understanding why so many Latino males dropout of school every day. Interviews were conducted on six urban school principals from New York City public schools. Analysis of the interview responses showed that language, poverty, family engagement, and gang affiliations are parts of the Latino culture that could impede their academic success. Three major themes were found: (a) the culture of Latino males has an impact on the dropout rate; (b) suspension has an impact on the dropout rate, is ineffective in preventing unwanted behavior, and school principals do not have any specific programs to combat suspension; and (c) school principals do not have any specific programs to combat the dropout rate in their respective schools. The findings of this study suggest that a future study should be conducted on designing public schools that promotes the unique academic needs of Latino males in urban settings.

When considering the effects of cultural policy on international trade in television programming there is an area that is frequently overlooked, that of classification and censorship. The role that classification and censorship play as tools of cultural policy is poorly understood, as is their impact on the ease with which television programs can be traded. A broad definition of cultural policy has been used here, in order to encompass both its theoretical and practical elements. Cultural policy as expressed through television classification and censorship is seen here as having three layers. These layers are legislative policy such as local content quotas, the content gate keeping carried out by television producers prior to production, and program classification, that is the implementation of local programming codes by broadcasters. It is important to understand the effects of television regulatory regimes, including those that govern content classification, on the international trade in programs for two reasons. One is the precedence international economic agreements generally take over cultural policy, because classification and censorship can quietly undermine this precedence in a way which currently receives little attention. The second is the importance of the export market to the Australian television production industry, which is unable to fully fund its program output from local markets. Australian children's drama and its export to the UK are the focus of this research as this provides an excellent example of the current tensions between cultural policy and economic imperatives. Australian children's drama is tightly regulated through government policy, particularly the demands of the 'C' (children's) classification. It is argued here that the demands of current Australian cultural policy are making it extremely difficult for Australian producers to internationalise their product and thus cultivate a competitive advantage in international markets. With the advent of digital technology and the end of spectrum scarcity, the television landscape is changing rapidly. Australian producers of children's programming are facing commercial challenges that have been created by the proliferation of children's channels in the UK and particularly the popularity on those channels of American animation. While the need to cultivate a competitive advantage is pressing, Australian producers of children's programming are also having to accommodate the three layers of cultural policy described earlier, that is the demands of government policy regarding the 'C' classification, the local programming codes of their export market, in this case the United Kingdom, and their own internalised cultural values as expressed through their gate keeping roles. My Industry experience in a senior compliance role in the pay television industry led to an awareness of the impact of local classification procedures on international trade in programming and provided the initial starting point for this research. Through scholarly investigation and interviews with three key producers of Australian children's programs and a senior UK programmer, certain findings regarding the impact of regulatory regimes on the export of Australian children's programs have been reached. The key findings of this research are firstly, that the rationales and operations of national classification schemes seem to be fundamentally untouched by supranational trade agreements and arguably are able to act as restraints on international trade. Additionally, programs that do not conform to the societal values of the countries to which they are being exported, will not sell. Secondly, multi-channelling is having the unexpected effect of driving down prices achieved for children's programs which is a cause for concern, given the importance of international sales to Australian producers. Part of this decline in pricing may be attributed to the rise in popularity of inexpensive animation, which now dominates children's channels in the UK. Thirdly, this research finds that Australian cultural policy is preventing Australian producers cultivating a competitive advantage in international markets, by making demands regarding content and quality that render their programs less attractive to overseas channels. If the Australian government believes that certain culturally desirable forms of television such as high quality, children's programming should continue to exist, it may in future have to modify its cultural policy in order to attain this objective.

Denna studie i socialantropologi är baserad på kvalitativa intervjuer med tre skolkuratorer. Den handlar om deras uppfattningar om och erfarenheter av hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck. Hedersproblematiken har sina rötter i kollektivets dominans över individen, patriarkala mönster och kulturkrock. Skolan har ett stort ansvar att se de utsatta eleverna, men det råder skilda meningar om vilka som utsätts. Vanligtvis ses flickor som offer för fäders och bröders våld i familjerna, men skolkuratorernas erfarenheter visar att alla individer i familjer där hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck existerar tycks i varierande grad vara delaktiga i våldet, och att även pojkarna kan vara offer.

This thesis in Social Anthropology is based on interviews with three school-councelors. It´s about their experiences and perceptions of honour-related violence and oppression. Honour-problemacy has it´s roots in the dominance of the collective over the individual, patriarchal patterns and collision between cultures. The school has a large responsibility to see the exposed students, but there are different opinions on who are the exposed. Normally, girls are seen as the victims of the violence of the father and brothers in their families, but the experiences of school-councelors show that all individuals in families where honour-related violence and oppression exists, seems to be perticipants in the violence, and that the boys also can be the victims.

Pedestrian and cyclist collisions with motor vehicles are a growing problem in the United States and in particular Austin, Texas. These collisions cause unnecessary loss of life and injury. This research explores strategies in the realms of engineering, education and enforcement from three leading cities for pedestrian and cyclist safety. Based on the analysis, I have identified possible strategies for use in Austin, Texas to prevent these collision types. I also offer a conceptual model that can be used as a framework for organizing and thinking about the various components involved in preventing pedestrian and cyclist collisions with motor vehicles.
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abstract: Interrogating Rusticism utilizes concepts from postcolonial theory and studies in cosmopolitanism to examine the relationship between the country and the city in nineteenth-century Britain. The project considers the way in which rural people, places, and cultures were depicted in popular literature and introduces two new terms that help inform one’s understanding of rural and urban interaction. “Rusticism” refers to a discourse reminiscent of Orientalism that creates an “us and them” dichotomy through characterizations that essentialize rural experience and cast it as distinct from urban living. “Extrapolitanism” evokes a cultural practice similar to rooted cosmopolitanism that entails traveling back and forth between the country and the city, engaging in both urban and rural cultural practices, and not committing oneself solely to the social and political causes of either the country or the city. Because rusticist stereotypes regarding rural life, such as the notion that rural labourers possess an energy and love for their work but are also uneducated and backward, have persisted into the twenty-first century, studying the more nuanced, less-rusticist aspects of rural life in nineteenth-century Britain is an often overlooked, but still very important, endeavor. Interrogating Rusticism closely examines literature by authors known for imbuing their works with rusticist portrayals of country life, and seeks to illuminate how, in addition to perpetuating rusticist discourse, those authors also cultivate an extrapolitan type of mindset when they do depict more nuanced aspects of rural life. Each chapter follows a similar methodological approach that involves looking at a specific rusticist notion, the binary distinctions that help construct it, the historical background that contributed to its rise, a critically overlooked work that informed the writing process of a commonly studied piece, and how the commonly studied piece challenges the rusticist notion by revealing that the binary distinctions actually inform one another. Chapter 1 focuses on the rusticist idea that rural communities are pastoral, pre-modern sites untouched by the effects of modernity, the repeal of the Corn Laws, which eventually led to rampant poverty in the countryside, George Eliot’s travel memoir “Recollections of Ilfracombe” (1856) that chronicles her visit to a rural, sea-side community, and her first novel, Adam Bede (1859). Chapter 2 turns to the comparison that was often made between rural workers and nonhuman animals, the negative connotations it carried, which became even more pronounced following the publication of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species in 1859, Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins’s dramatized account of their 1857 walking tour of rural England, The Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices, and Dickens’s Our Mutual Friend (1864-65). The final chapter examines the expectation for male rural workers to be hearty, highly masculine figures, which was emphasized by both the use of the derogatory term Hodge to refer to rural workers and the passing of the Representation of the People Act 1884, Richard Jefferies’s post-apocalyptic novel After London (1885), and Thomas Hardy’s Jude the Obscure (1895). Interrogating Rusticism helps elucidate often overlooked aspects of rural life in nineteenth-century Britain that can and should inform rural and urban interaction today as long-held stereotypes regarding rural life still persist and the world becomes increasingly more urban.
Dissertation/Thesis
Doctoral Dissertation English 2016