Intercultural Communication in Diverse Workplace

Communication between two people from different cultures is said to be intercultural communication. It comes in to existence when a person from one culture tries to communicate with the person from another culture, a communication is understood. The potential for misunderstanding and disagreement is great whenever there is a cultural difference in these kinds of contacts. It is to be said that there is a relationship between culture and language. In other words, language is a guide to culture. Other scholars argue that language merely reflects, rather than shapes, our thinking, beliefs, and attitudes. Despite these differences in approaches, all scholars still agree that a close relationship exists between language and culture. Diversity in the workplace is strategic force influencing communication. Communication in its most basic form is defined as the use of symbols to convey meanings. Culture is the integrated system of beliefs, values, behaviors and communication patterns that Continue reading

Definition and Meaning of Economic System

Economic system refers to the organizations and institutions created for the purpose of satisfying the wants of human beings. In a country, available resources have to be utilized to manufacture and distribute goods and services, which would meet the needs of the people so that they are satisfied.   These institutions and organizations function with their own rules and regulations. The economic system has certain broad characteristics. The economic system always functions with scarcity of resources. How the system effectively and efficiently uses the resources will determine the extent to which the needs of the people are met. An economic system comprises people. That is, a society of human beings alone can constitute economic system. A set of institutions are created and used for the purpose of smooth functioning of an economic system. For example, banks, money, technology, government, price mechanism, planning etc., are all institutions through which the systems Continue reading

What is Stealth Marketing? Meaning, Techniques and Examples

Due to the fact that new generations of consumers are becoming less drawn to the conventional, in your face advertising, advertising industries have created a more ‘under the radar’ approach of advertising. This is done by making consumers believe that they are responding to a promotion, rather than an advertisement. This promotional advertising is a more subtle approach of communication, as much of the public does not want to be associated with the obvious advertisement of products. This way, consumers don’t feel like they are being sold something, rather they feel like they are discovering something. This approach is called stealth or covert marketing, which employs marketing activities easily into consumer’s lives without awareness. These campaigns stay away from traditional advertising, where consumers are continuously aware that they are being sold something. This new form of advertising is discreet when communicating messages to consumers, working best by “flying below the Continue reading

Total Return Swaps (TRS)

Total Return Swaps (TRS), sometimes known as a total rate of return swaps or TR swaps,  are an on off-balance sheet transaction for the party who pays total returns composed of capital gains or losses plus the ordinary coupon or dividend, and receives LIBOR plus spread related to the counterparty’s credit riskiness on a given notional principal. The bank paying total returns is effectively warehousing, renting out its balance sheet while transferring economic value and risk to preferably an uncorrelated counterparty to the referenced assets.  A TRS is similar to a plain vanilla swap except the deal is structured  such that the total  return (cash flows plus capital appreciation/depreciation) is exchanged, rather than just the cash flows.  It is  one of the principal instruments used by banks and other financial instruments to manage their credit risk exposure, and as such is a credit derivative. They are used as credit risk Continue reading

Advantages and Disadvantages of Strategic Alliances

A global perspective is necessary for businesses since it assists in the process of identifying the prevailing threats and opportunities in the contemporary marketing arena. In spite of the fact that it is necessary to safeguard a business against global competition, it is vital to note that firms should seek ways and means of penetrating into international marketplace. For example, Barnes and Nobles bookstore entered into strategic alliance with Starbucks way back in 1993. The rationale behind the partnership was to put in place in-house coffee shops, an alliance that would benefit both parties. As a matter of fact, there are myriad of opportunities that are usually created when businesses penetrate into the global market. At this point, it is often of great importance for a firm to choose the most appropriate entry mode. While there are a host of entry modes that can be chosen by a business organization, it is Continue reading

Occupational Health and Safety Leadership Qualities

Occupation Health and Safety (OHS) can be termed as the rules, legislation, policies, procedures and activities intended to care for the health, safety and welfare of the workers and all the individuals in an organization. It involves looking at the social, mental and physical well-being of workers. Moreover, Occupational Health and Safety in an organization help uphold and sustain a high threshold of physical, mental and social well being of all the workers and their employer; protect worker from adverse health effects emanating from poor working conditions; shelter worker when carrying out their activities from risks emanating from factors unfavorable to their health and finally assist workers adopt physically and mentally to the working environment. In the current world, many organizations tend to put more emphasis on occupational health issues than occupational safety issues as occupational health issues are trickier to tackle. However, when occupational health issues are addressed, safety Continue reading