Technology how it impacts us Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Technology how it impacts us - Essay Example Internet has proven to be fruit full in every walk of life, whether it is education, politics or economics, all fields have benefited from internet. In this writing, the focus will be on the positive and the negative impacts of technology on society. Technology has positively and negatively impacted the way human beings used to communicate, it has altered the meaning and limitations of socialization and technology has become a major part in every individual’s circumference. Body Since the advent of mobile phones, people have experienced a complete change in the way they used to communicate with each other. A major part of using a mobile phone is text messaging or in slang it is recognized as texting. Texting is text messaging is a term used to refer to the act of sending small messages from one mobile phone to another. On the core, texting may seem to be of great advantage as it has assisted people in sending tiny and timely information from one end to another within a matter of seconds. But texting has negatively impacted the way people use language and has damage the real essence of English language. When teenagers text, they use abbreviations for several words just to make sure that they can send as much information as possible in a very limited amount of space. Examples of abbreviations used includes: (u for you), (k for okay) and (brb for be right back). On the surface, these abbreviation may seem trendy and cool but in reality these abbreviations are destroying how people used to converse. These abbreviations are even negatively impacting an individual’s learning of English language. Technological advancements have made communication and transactions faster and easier than they used to be. For example: the spread of social media networks, where millions of people come together and communicate and conduct transactions with each other within a very small period of time. Such technologies have assisted individuals in connecting with people acro ss the boundary of their regions, this has further assisted people in knowing and learning about other cultures and what is happening around the world. Similarly, computers which happen to be a part of almost every household and every business have evolved from being slow to being thousand times faster. These fast paced computers have increased productivity of businesses as no longer people need to manually maintain records and keep them safe. Now people no longer have to waste time to go to an outlet and purchase goods and services for themselves, introduction of online shopping facilities have allowed people to buy and sell goods while sitting and relaxing at their homes. Although technology has sped up the transaction and the communication process and has made these processes easier and simpler, but these technologies are ruining the society and especially negatively impacting the youth which happens to be the base of any nation’s success. Teenagers have started becoming a ddicts of technology; they experience similar issues that are experienced by drug abusers if they fail to abuse drugs. They feel that a major part of their life is lost and they believe that without technology such as mobile phones they cannot live at all. Now people spend hours and hours sitting at home talking to their friends over the cell phone instead of going out and meeting up with friends for a simple chat or for the sake of having breakfast.

Final Exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 9

Final Exam - Essay Example The second group was the communist nations, Soviet Union being their leader. The third world mainly consisted of the developing nations which were mostly newly independent and not aligned to any super power. These countries caused the arena for struggle and competition among the cold war super powers. The third world nations were located in Asia, Latin America and Africa. The countries were politically unstable and economically poor. This situation was mainly caused by the long periods of colonialism. The third world countries suffered lack of technology, ethnic conflicts and lack of education. The countries generally had high rates of diseases and poverty, low life expectancy and low economic development. The third world countries were unaligned hence they were seen as potential allies in the 1st and 2nd world war. Developing allies with the third world countries would mean an increase military support such as soldiers and economic support during the war. The Soviet Union and the United States tried to establish connections and form allies with these countries by offering military and economic support (Patterson 96). The connection would also enable the United States to gain strategically located alliances hence have an advantage over the Soviet Union in the war. The third world was mainly targeted for the soldiers. Forming allies with the countries would ensure military support and advantage. The most dangerous and violent moments in the conflicts were in the regions of third world because they were strategically located. Having allies in the location would unsure an advantage in the war. The Vietnam war epitomised important hall marks of the Third world intervention as it acted to save innocent lives which were in danger. 2. What did it mean that Theodore Roosevelt was comfortable seeing the United States as part of the balance of power system? Explain how World War I upset this system. Why and

Marketing Plan Project Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6500 words

Marketing Plan Project - Research Paper Example more on effective strategic activities with a view to meet consumers’ on demand-expectations. In order to be competitive and to survive in today’s fiercely competitive markets, businesses have not only to seek response from customers, but also discover hidden market opportunities and stimulate demand for their goods or services (Kotler and Keller, 2006, p. 10). Regardless of whether it is small or large in scale, startup businesses essentially need to plan for its business and marketing activities by analyzing various strategies that they can implement for future. Business organizations that manufacture or market goods and services are performing its business function primarily to meet their commitment and responsibilities to the society, consumers and all other important stakeholders. Marketers create benefit or utility that are the want-satisfying power of the consumers (Boone and Kurtz, 2009, p. 5). It is extremely important for any business to see what utility or be nefit its goods or services can offer to the consumers and to evaluate the value and money-worth that consumers may expect for them. It is also important to weigh up whether customers are satisfied with the offerings and how they can be turned to be loyal-customers so as to gain advantage as long-term assets. Marketing plan, which has recently gained greater significance among business experts, is an invariably practical tool that can provide insights in to the overall business environments, competitive levels, strategic aspects and major areas of opportunities and threats. As contemporary markets are largely impacted by radical changes in technology, consumer behavior and buying patterns, competition, management and business strategies, marketers have to foresee how these variables may impact their marketing domain and how they can be dealt with. Marketing plan is a roadmap that can illustrate how these marketing forces create challenges on the business and how they can be managed as well. It is an important strategic tool that helps a marketer comprehend business potential and foresee ways with that it can achieve sustainable competitive advantage. It provides detailed explanation of various environmental factors and significant elements in relation to competition, management, and marketing mix and so on. This paper presents a brief marketing plan for Al-GiZza Restaurant in Abu-Dhabi, UAE. Al-GiZza is going to be an incredible experience with dining of multicultural organic food and entertainment for the local Arabian community, people around the world who visit UAE for leisure and other expatriate professionals working in UAE. Though there are many pizza

History of Federation of Malaya Essay Example for Free

History of Federation of Malaya Essay The Federation of Malaya (Malay: Persekutuan Tanah Melayu) is the name given to a federation of 11 states (nine Malay states and two of the British Straits Settlements, Penang and Malacca) that existed from 1 February 1948 until 16 September 1963. The Federation became independent on 31 August 1957. It was reconstituted as Malaysia with the addition in 1963 of Singapore, Sabah, and Sarawak. History After World War 2, the British came again to Malaya and Britain suggested the formation of the Malayan Union. Malayan Union not only took away the power of the Malays over their nation, but also the rights that belong to the Malays. Then, the people of Malayan Union started to realise that their country has to be ruled by their own people and not to be ruled by other people of other nations. Due to opposition from Malay nationalists, the Union was disbanded and replaced by the Federation of Malaya, which restored the symbolic positions of the rulers of the Malay states in 1st of February 1948. The British government and Malaya leaders signing the agreement of establishing Federation of Malaya at King’s House, Kuala Lumpur. Within the Federation, while the Malay states were protectorates of the United Kingdom, Penang and Malacca remained British colonial territories. Like the Malayan Union before it, the Federation did not include Singapore, despite its traditional connections with Malaya. The Federation achieved independence within the Commonwealth of Nations on 31 August 1957. In 1963, the Federation was reconstituted as Malaysia when it federated with the British territories of Singapore, Sarawak, and British North Borneo (renamed Sabah); the latter territory was claimed to be a part of the Sultanate of Sulu. Singapore separated from Malaysia to become an independent republic on 9 August 1965. Agreement of Federation The Federation of Malaya Agreement was formulated by the British–Malay Pleno Conference between June and December 1946. At the end of the meeting, the Pleno Conference produced a 100-page Blue Book. The Federation of Malaya Agreement was signed on 21 January 1948 at King House by the Malay rulers, and by Sir Edward Gent as the representative of the British government. The Agreement superseded the Agreement creating the Malayan Union, and prepared for the establishment of the Federation of Malaya on 1 February 1948. The position of the Malay rulers was also restored. As with the Malayan Union, the Federation excluded Singapore, despite its traditional links to Malaya. List of member states * Johore * Kedah * Kelantan * Malacca * Negeri Sembilan * Pahang * Penang * Perak * Perlis * Selangor * Terengganu System of Government The government of the Federation of Malaya was headed by a British High Commissioner with executive powers, assisted and advised by the Federation of Malaya Executive Council and the Federation of Malaya Legislative Council. * The Federation of Malaya Executive Council comprised 7 official and 7 unofficial members. The Federation of Malaya Legislative Council comprised the High Commissioner as the Council President, 14 official and 50 unofficial members representing the Straits Settlements, business groups and all races. Additionally, 9 State Council Yang Di Pertua (heads of state), Chief Ministers and 2 representatives from the Straits Settlements became unofficial members. * The Malay Conference of Rulers would advise the High Commissioner on immigration issues. The British Resident was replaced with a Chief Minister in each state of the federation. Conditions of citizenship The conditions of citizenship of the Federation of Malaya were further tightened using law enforcement and naturalization by application. Under the laws, the following were automatically granted citizenship: 1. Citizens of the Sultan of any state 2. British citizens born in Penang or Malacca who have lived continuously for 15 years in the federation 3. British citizens born in the federation whose fathers were born or lived continuously for 15 years in the federation 4. Anyone born in the federation, conversant in the Malay language and following Malay traditions in his or her daily life 5. Anyone born in the federation whose parents were born and lived continuously for 15 years in the federation Via naturalization (by application), one could achieve citizenship, given these criteria: 1. Born and lived for at least 8 of 12 years in the Federation of Malaya before the application was made 2. Lived in the Federation of Malaya for at least 15 of 20 years before the application was made In both cases (via naturalization), applications must be well-behaved, swear allegiance and clarify their reasons for living in the federation, and are fluent in either the Malay or the English language. The Federation of Malaya, through its constitution, guarantees the rights and special position of the Malay people as well as rights, powers and sovereignty of the Malay rulers in their respective states. Separation of powers of the federal and state governments The federation agreement Perjanjian Persekutuan set the powers of the federal and state governments. Financial matters must be handled by the respective states. The Sultan was given full power on religious issues and Malay customs. Foreign policy and defense continued to be administered by the British government.

Gregorian Calender Essay Example for Free

Gregorian Calender Essay In everyday life, individuals function with a calendar. Calendars help organize daily events, special events, upcoming events, holidays, seasons, etc. Today in the United States the modern and common calendar that is used is known as the â€Å"Gregorian Calendar†. Previous to the Gregorian calendar, the â€Å"Julian Calendar† was used. Both calendars are similar in some ways as well as different in others, along with sharing some advantage and disadvantages to make one calendar more useful in today’s modern world. Gregorian Calendar The â€Å"Gregorian Calendar† is currently the most internationally accepted calendar, (TimeandDate, 2013). Other known names for the calendar can be known as â€Å"Western Calendar† and â€Å"Christian Calendar†. Pope Gregory XIII first introduced his findings of this new calendar in February of 1582, which the calendar was then named after him. The days of the calendar were put together strictly from a solar plan. The calendar has 365 days in the year that make up the 12 different months. Each of the 12 months is irregular in the number of days that each contain. Seven of the months hold 31 days, five of the other months have 30 days, and the month of February has the least amount of days being 28. Although the month of February composes of 28 days, every 4 years â€Å"Leap Year† occurs adding an extra day to the year making February have 29 days in the month. Every three months of the calendar the seasons change of the 20th day of the month. This calendar is the most constant and stable calendar at the moment. Julian Calendar Before the â€Å"Gregorian Calendar† was the â€Å"Julian Calendar† which also replaced the â€Å"Roman Calendar†. One of the reasons it has been known that the â€Å"Roman Calendar† was replaced was due to how complicated it was. Previous to the â€Å"Julian Calendar† the â€Å"Roman Calendar† was known to be complicated with how to figure when the seasons should begin and what days should be kept or added. To help fix the problem, Julius Caesar worked with an astronomer by the name of Sosigenes to put together a calendar based more on the Sun and Earth. This calendar became known as the â€Å"Julian Calendar† which is rather similar to the calendar that is accepted and used today. It has the commonly used 365 days of the year that are also divided into the 12 different months. Every four years, leap year occurred in one of the months just like it does in today’s calendar. Advantages and Disadvantages Between both calendars there are some advantages and disadvantages to how the calendars work. A disadvantage that others feel from the calendar is the days’ holidays may land on. Some holidays such as Christmas or Thanksgiving cannot be changed which can lead to them landing in the middle of the work week. Holidays falling on days like this can prevent individuals from making plans to be around loved ones due to work or school schedules. Another disadvantage is the irregular days of the month. Not every month has the same number of days and sometimes it can interfere with a budget or the cost of life. However, an advantage is the way the calendar is setup. Seasons are always every three months no matter what and the holidays never change. This type of stuff is always guaranteed and cannot be changed. Most Useful in Modern Society Both calendars are really close in similarity. In a way both calendars actually could be used in modern day society since individuals are so familiar with how both calendars work. However, since people are just more familiar with the term â€Å"Gregorian Calendar† and since this calendar is currently more up to date, the â€Å"Gregorian Calendar† would most likely be more useful in todays’ culture. Although there are many other types of calendars used in the world that can be compared to the â€Å"Gregorian Calendar†, this calendar has been found to be the most â€Å"internationally accepted civil calendar† of today, (TimeandDate, 2013).

Case study of Elextra-Quik

Case study of Elextra-Quik In Elextra-Quik, the manufacturing manager, Barbara was very happy about her job of problem-solving team leader and her team did a lot of efforts to contribute companys empowerment campaign. But when they were ready to implement the new ideas, they found not only the top manager Martin, but also the middle level managers resisted the ideas. Therefore, this case leads to questions-how a company change to be a learning organisation? What can Barbara do to continue her ideas in the company? In following part, this paper will answer these questions based on three questions. How might top management have done a better job changing Electra-Quik into a learning organisation? What might they do now to get the empowerment process back on the track? According to ECU study book (2011), learning organization is an organization in which everyone is engaged in identifying and solving problems. The characteristics of learning organization are creating shared vision, team-based structure, employee empowerment, share information, participative strategy, adaptive culture and so on. In order to build a learning organization, the whole levels of company staff need to contribute. Firstly, the top management plays the most important role for transfer organization into a learning organization. They need to do a better job on introducing the plans about changes carefully and deliberately. According to Samson Daft (2009) management is the attainment of organizational goals in an effective and efficient manger through planning, organizing, leading and controlling organizational resources. So the top management is the maker of companys strategy. They guide the direction of where should company go. When there is a change within organization, some problems can not be avoided, such as resistances from lower level staff. So top management does a good job on introducing change is necessary. They need to introduce the plan in detail to make staff and middle managers to better understand the plan. They can show the evaluation about the advantages and benefits of the change to employees. With that, the plan can be accepted by everyone in the company. In Electra-Quik, Mart in needs to keep enthusiastic all the time and support Barbaras ideas in order to make Barbaras plan can be accepted in the meeting. Secondly, in the process of building a learning organization, the middle level managers and employees also play an important role. Middle level managers are the links between top management and employees; they monitor the changes, collect the feedback of changes and report the effects of changes to the top. Employees conduct the changes and provide the feedback to tops. Generally speaking, in learning organizations, participative strategy emerges bottom up as well as top down. Top management shape the vision and direction, and middle managers and employees support and believe in. They are committed to the vision and contribute to the development of strategy (Samson Daft, 2009, p.59). In Electra-Quik, middle manager should evaluate Barbaras ideas even Martin is absent for meeting and transfer the ideas to their staffs. In order to get the empowerment process back on track, Martin needs to step first. He needs to understand Barbaras ideas again and do a personal appraisal. Then on the companys meeting, he should support Barbaras ideas and support her ideas when Barbara explaining the changes. Also he needs to consult with managers and empower employees to resolve the problem, as well as providing the training. With Martins efforts, the middle managers may change their ideas to support Barbara and conduct the changes in whole organization. Also, Martin can implement self-directed teams as the solution. Self-directed team refer to a multi-skilled cross-functional group of employees who share responsibilities for producing service of product (Rockfordconsulting, N, D). In Electra-Quik, Martin may set up some self-directed teams to conduct the empowerment process, and then they can share the responsibility to get the process back on track. Question 2: Can you think of ways Barbara Russell could have avoided the problems her team faced in the meeting with department heads? Middle management jobs have undergone dramatic changes over the last two decades (Samson Daft, 2009, p.24). Many organizations were expected to downsize their middle managers and slash management levels to become more efficient and facilitate decision-making process and to better adapt to the changing environment as well. The department heads are not favor of this empowerment campaign since they are used to managing the flow of information up and down the hierarchy. But todays middle managers should be responsible for the horizontal network for now most work is organized around teams. In addition, the trend in recent years has been towards wider span of control as a way to facilitate delegation (Samson Daft, 2009, p.37). Compared with tall structure, the flat structure has a wider span of control and is horizontally dispersed, which means it has less hierarchical levels and therefore the organization is able to better respond and adapt to change. Thats why the company initiates the empowerment campaign to let employees more involved in the decision-making process and assume more responsibility and enhance the collaboration. In such a structure, it is easier to build the self-directed teams since more authority and responsibility can be delegated to lower managers and employees. However, the department heads are likely to feel anxious and even threatened by new empowerment campaign. According to Samson Daft (2009, p.373), the attempt by the top management of the empowerment usually gets the deadlock because middle managers are unable to delegate. The possible reasons can be listed as following: They are accustomed to make familiar decisions; they feel they may lose personal status by delegating tasks; they believe they can do better job themselves and they are resistant to change because the performance of each department ultimately rests with them. For Barbara Russell, she needs to consult with each department head before the meeting so as to avoid the problems. There are a number of ways that Barbara could use to resolve the problems. The leading point is that the team must identify the problems first and give their suggestions. Therefore communication plays a significant part. She should talk with department heads to be aware of what issues they want to address and how they address them. After they get the information, they can provide their support in helping them to resolve the problems. For example, the team can come up with a reward plan to encourage each department to solve their own issues and allocate some funds to assist them. The members in manufacturing team cooperate with each other very well, but the final report they presented failed to meet the expectations of the department heads. However, Barbara Russell could have avoided the problems if the top management considered building a cross-functional team at the very beginning rather than just rely on her own manufacturing team. According to Graff et al (N, D), the diverse teams can be more innovative and can develop more precise strategies and have advantages over functional homogenous teams in introducing organizational changes. According to Parker (2003), the competitive advantages of setting up a cross-functional team can be listed as following ¼Ã… ¡they may accelerate the process of problem solving; solve complex problems; more closely to connect with customers and meet their needs; they can produce more innovative ideas; members are more able to share information and facilitate the cooperation among departments. But on the other hand, we cannot neglect the barriers in building such a team since it will increase conflict and competition within the organization with diverse team members. Therefore, the trust and open communication seems significant in a cross-functional team. Question 3: If you were Barbara Russell, what would you do now? Why? If I am Barbara Russell, I will improve own leading skills and make some changes based on six elements mentioned in Figure 1. Figure 1: The web of interacting elements in a learning organization Leadership Participative Strategy Team-based Structure Open Information Strong, adaptive culture Empowered employees Learning Organization Leadership(p534) In a learning organization, as a leader of team, Barbara should focus on using personal power and empowerment to manage the team, and try to be a democratic leader to influences and motive the employees. She should learn to share and explain the company vision, facilitate teamwork, initiate change and expand the capacity of people to shape the future. As a middle level manager, she should pay more attention to try to make the team member to understand the company objectives and goals, and be a bridge of communication between employee and top management. In a learning organization, Barbara also should be a transformational leader, who can create significant change in both followers and the organization (Samson Craft, cited in bass, 1995; Devanna Tichy, 1986; EastmanPawar, 1997). Leaders in a learning organization have three distinct roles: 1) Create a shared vision 2) Design the structure 3) practice servant leadership (Samson Craft, 2009). Barbara should work to fulfill employees n eeds and goals as well as to achieve the organizations larger mission. Communication In this case, the department heads complained that changes would destroy the carefully crafted job categories, and $500 refunds would create unethical behaviors, and industrial spy because of bad communication between top management and departments. Here, the communication means two-way communication including horizontal and vertical, exchange information between departments or team. Barbara should practice more active listening skills to interpret and feedback the information and give some suggestions or recommendations to help other departments to figure out the problems. Team work Self-directed teams are the fundamental unit in a learning organization (Samson Craft, 2009). Barbara has to her roll from a traditional manager to a coordinator or consultant to control with team members in stead of control over them. Meanwhile, Barbara should understand that the jobs and objectives are based on team-based structure instead of individual input and effort. Barbara should work with other departments and subordinates as a team. Empowerment Traditionally, managers take all responsibility for the whole departments. Now in a learning organization, all employees are authorized to participate the decision making while the leadership is changing to be transformational. Barbara should change her roll to adapt the changing situation and give all team members the power, freedom to make decision and perform effectively. Also Barbara should use more personnel power and empowerment to motivate employees. Participative strategy Learning organizations have permeable boundaries and often are linked with other organizations, give each organization greater access to information about new strategic needs and directions (Samson Craft, cited in McCune, 1997). Basically, participative strategy means organization sets up the link of the whole supplier chain to share the information internally and externally. With the globalization of business, information becomes more and more important. To some extent, successful companies depend on the most updated information like lasted technology. Barbara should share the information timely and participate the whole link to get the most updated information to achieve the company goals. Culture In this case, one of important purposes of hiring new CEO is to rebuild the company culture. Top management realized the previous culture focused on hierarchy and centralization, which did not adapt the change of environment and became an obstacle to develop the company. As a leader of manufacturing, Barbara should learn and help to build the strong, adaptive culture within the manufactory, and influence other departments as well. In conclusion, Barbara should change the leadership style into democratic and transformational leader, and self-improvement of leading skills in order to adapt the learning organization culture. She has to change her roll in new culture as well, and try to be a consultant, servant and helper within the team, and improve the skills of communication to share the information in time internally and externally. Finally, the company can be successful to transfer from the traditional organization to the learning one. Conclusion Overall, learning organization is very important for todays companies. In learning organizations, all the people are committed to a vision, learn and share information. With that, the whole company will be more efficient and effective. In Electra-Quik, the paper also provide solutions for top management and Barbara to solve the problem when they conducting the changes and empowerment process.

Culture And Training And Development Management Essay

Culture And Training And Development Management Essay Culture is a group, which shapes a persons values and identity. A single term used to define a particular culture is often exclusive. Cultural identities can stem from the following differences: race, ethnicity, gender, class, religion, country of origin, and geographic region. Culture is the lens through which you view the world. It is central to what you see, how you make sense of what you see, and how you express yourself. It is recognized by all multinational companies that global human resource management is critical for success in todays competitive world. The reasons for this are many including their integral involvement in facilitating the success of expatriate assignments (Bonache and Fernandez, 1999; Scullion, 1999; Stroh and Caligiuri, 1998). The picture comparing to 1990s have changed radically, rapid globalization of companies has brought the need for effective international assignments and relatively increased need of expatriates. There are three major factors that effect this change; first is the changing nature of international companies with joint ventures with global companies and emergence of small and medium size companies as the key industry players. Secondly the change in host locations decreases the number of expatriates that are ready to move with various concerns. Thirdly, the changing nature of international assignment themselves (Bartlett and Ghoshal, 1989) Success and failure of a global assignment is greatly influenced by an expatriates cross cultural adjustment to the host country. For instance cross cultural adjustment is positively related to performance on the employees assignment and negatively related to premature termination of the assignment (Black, 1988; Caligiuri, 1997). There are many companies in this modern and developed technology world that prefer to train the employees prior to assign them an international work. According to Ashamalla (1997) for more than twenty years cross-cultural training had been advocated as a means of facilitating effective cross-cultural interactions and adjustments. Training can be defined as an intervention that is aimed to increase the knowledge and skills of individuals, so as to help them perform better and professionally. There are many types of training practices in todays world; the type of practice in a company depends on the kind of industry and technological needs of the company. Out of many methods the most crucial and important training is intercultural training process (Kealey, D. J, Protheroe, D, 1995) The development of effective international strategies is termed as the major determinant of success of an international business. A research on expatriate management by Harvey (1998) indicates that, any kind of underperformance of an international assignee could be extremely costly for employees in career terms. It is also suggested that companies with global operations need implement sophisticated policies while pre move in certain areas like selection procedures for international assignments and cross-cultural training for both employees and their dependents. Failure in pay enough attention to either of the areas could lead to failure in the expatriation. Training in cross-cultural context can be defined as a procedure that is intended to improve individuals ability to cope up and adjust in a foreign environment (Baliga and Baker, 1985). The reasons given by many companies for not providing proper cross-cultural training to their employees before international move or provide the s tudy on a selective basis is lack of proven effectiveness. Course design using the learning diamond [online image] Tung (1982) has classified the training programs in cross-cultural contexts into six categories that include: Training on factual information about geography, climate, schools etc. Cultural orientation training i.e. information about cultural institutions and country values Cultural assimilation training, with brief episodes of intercultural encounters Language training Sensitivity training Training for managing emotional stress of living and working with people from different cultures. Another essential element to be considered for a cross-cultural training as a process is to understand the regulated steps to be followed in making the process successful. Objectives of training- Why Train? A well planned and tailored goal needs are needed for companies to analyze before setting up the training process (Ronen, 1990; Rhinesmith, 1993). Cross-cultural training should be designed ensuring that the performance, adjustment and development areas are covered. Many training programs these days are primarily focusing on the adjustment factor, that is, any employee with lot of patience and has lot of adjustment nature is considered as qualified for the international move. But adjustment does not necessarily ensure that they adapt to the culture and perform according to the business objectives. Organization need to draw dimensions that require employees to develop trust relationships with people of different backgrounds and values, their ability to communicate well, collaborative approach, ability to negotiate and cultural competence play a key role in setting task objectives (Gerrity, 1993). In the need of success and to avoid failure cross-cultural program objectives should be crafted to help assignees to (1) manage change-personal-professional transition (2) Manage the cultural differences; and (3) Manage their professional responsibilities (Marquardt Engel, 1993). Managing change includes the ability of the assignee in being flexible and adjustments towards culture. The impact of the change on the employee, family and friends includes creation of a personal and professional action plan to manage change. The plan also adds to make the employee aware that repatriation plan is also a part of managing his/her assignment. Managing the cultural differences includes; understanding of culture, shapes of culture, expectations and assumptions, understanding and applying frameworks basing on the cultural interactions and develop skills to reconcile differences, gaining practical information about host country are the important aspects in managing cultural differences Managing professional responsibilities include; applying information and insights required in the program to accomplish the objectives, understanding business objectives and job responsibilities in the host country, adapting the individual style and effective local approach. Trainees-Who should be trained? For any international assignment is very important for the family of the assignee should be trained along with the assignee as a supportive family atmosphere plays a very important role in a successful international assignment. The spouse of the assignee more certainly faces lot of challenges in the host county while the employee usually sustains himself with the routine job functions. The challenges involves in setting up households, negotiation with local shops, transportation, services etc with an unfamiliar language which are basing on the confidence levels of the partner. Duel career issue makes the situation more critical when faced with displacement and uncertainty; the partner may feel ambivalent about the changes and the chances of getting worried to find employment, or acceptable substitutes for employment, in the very likely event that work will not be available abroad. Childrens education and social adaption also effect the familys ability to adjust in the host country (P ascoe, 1992, Osland, 1995). All the above needs of the family to understand the culture makes it important to undergo training prior to the assignment. Program components-Cross-Cultural training programs There are many major key elements to make a successful training program at a cross-cultural context that includes assessment of basic needs, content, design and methodology, duration and timing, trainers and quality of end result. A through need of the employee, spouse, children and HR liaison is suggested requirement for a company to conclude on the training needs (Brislin Yoshida, 1994). It is also required to assess the assignees past international experience, job role and responsibilities, family dynamics, special interests etc. to make the training objective more clearly in both verbal and written forms. The content of the program should include general awareness, planning of placement, transition and stress management, life style adjustment, repatriation process (Kohls Brussow, 1995) A deductive approach to cross cultural training method is preferred as the information can be applier more logically and reasonably to specific situations, whereas with an inductive approach, generalizations made from specific information may be invalid, and lead to inappropriate choices and behaviors on the part of the assignees (Andersen, 1985). A variety of methods can be used to train the assignees and family basing on the needs of assessment like role plays, case studies, presentations, filed work, lectures etc. Immersion approach Assessment centre Field Experiments Simulations Sensitivity training Extensive language training Affective approach Culture assimilator training Role playing Critical incidents Cases Stress reducing training Moderate language training Information-giving approach Area briefing Cultural briefings Films/books/videos Use of interpreters Survival-level language training Low Moderate High Length 1 month 2-12 1-3 of stay or less months years High Level of rigor Low Length of training 1-2 months+ 1-4 weeks Less than a week Training can be provided prior to departure or after the arrival in the destination or both depending on the necessity. Pre departure training allows the family to have a realistic knowledge about the host country with basic understanding of culture and ethics. Post arrival training allows the family to clarify internal, geographical social queries. HR can reduce the possibility of expatriates failures by flying out the employee and family over to location to check out if they would like to stay. Based on the duration of the assignment HR can put up various training schedules based on the tenure of the assignment as shown in figure below, by Mendenhall, E. Dunbar, and G. Oddou, (1987) Studies indicate that the essential components of pre-departure training programs that contribute to a smooth transition to a foreign location include cultural awareness training, preliminary visits, language instruction and assistance with practical day-to-day matters. Trainers and training team include specialists and are experts to develop and deliver a program. The trainer act as the coach, educator, facilitator, counselor, moderator, and cultural role model for the participants. Quality assurance include results and outcomes of the program that include program evaluations, written documentation of results and liaison meeting between employees and trainers to justify the report. Many leading firms recognized that while there existing numbers of good training firms and many excellent training consultants to choose from, it is important to investigate carefully these credentials and capabilities. If the process is competently managed and executed well developed, training will become a key intervention in promoting success to the assignment and increase the return on investment for employees, family members and companies abroad. Training Measurement One of the key important elements of providing an effective learning is the ability to identify the training participants have changed their behavior according to the prescribed course objectives and as a continuation weather they will be able to transfer their behavior to the work environment (Hilary H and Savita K, 2000). A well designed training initiative may enhance the learning process of international assignee and thus facilitate cross-cultural interactions and cross-cultural adjustment (Black Gregersen, 1991; Caligiuri, Phillips, Lazarova, Tarique, Burgi, 2001). To understand a systematic approach in designing cross-cultural training initiatives Tarique and Caligiuri (2003) propose a five-phase process as a general strategy to follow in designing effective cross-cultural training initiatives. The five phases are: Understanding and identifying the type of global assignment for which the training is needed? Determining the cross-cultural training needs from the view of organization, assignment and individual Establishing the training needs basing on the goals and objectives of the organization. Finalizing the training program Ultimate effectiveness of the cross-cultural training program and results. Gudykunst, et al., (1996) proposes that future research on these phases is the important area of investigation when performing a training program. A better understanding on the limits and generalizability across organizational cultural, national and individual context for cross-cultural training is also an important area. The strength of the discussion tightens when the individuals high on openness to global experience, extroversion and agreeableness and early international travel experience adds value for more effective training and development comparing to individuals that are less on these traits. According to the recent review of cross-cultural training evaluation studies Mendenhall et al, (2004) stated that Cross-cultural training seems to be effective in enhancing knowledge and trainee satisfaction but seems to be less effective in changing behaviors and attitudes, or in improving adjustment and performance. Conclusion When going for an overseas assignment there are various considerations to be made. Often seen is that the expatriate receives the training but not the spouse and family. It has to be understood that spouse and family are the major contributors for the assignment success. Some companies do not impart cross culture training for the spouse and family as they think its an added cost and not essential. This is a wrong thinking. Cross-cultural training provides incoming and outgoing expatriate families a chance to study up on what is coming, and how best to approach the new reality. One of the reasons for the expatriate assignment failure is that the family and spouse cannot cope with the new environment. This coping up of the new environment occurs when there is no cross culture training given. From the above scenarios it can be seen or concluded that cross culture training is important for the spouse and family and it leads to the expatriate assignment a success in any part of the world. To sum up Cross Culture Training has to be imparted to the spouse and family for an overseas assignment. Companies need to invest more on cross-cultural training especially in terms of the immersion and affective approaches. The value of providing a comprehensive training program could reduce the failure of assignments or pre-mature assignments. Cross-cultural training enhanced peoples ability to deal with conflicts that arise within multicultural teams. To ensure success in business, many organizations used cross-cultural training to improve their managers cross- cultural effectiveness and enhance their communication skills. From the research it is discovered that crossing cultures is extremely difficult and requires the right kind of training. Cultural diversity in a work group provides both impunities and difficulties. When manages successfully, it brings economic benefits. For organizations that send managers on foreign assignments. The cost can be high, as those managers need to adjust to their new environment. Cross-cultural training is useful and worthy which can deal with conflicts that arise within multicultural.