Riassunto esame inglese, libro consigliato "Cambridge Academic English B2"

When symbols are used to represent words in a language, they are described as logograms.

International business pag 54

Culture at two levels

There are traditionally two different approaches to looking at culture:

the psychic or psychological level which focuses on the attitudes, and behavior of individuals from a

- particular culture.

the istitutional level which looks at national culture, that is at institutions.

-

This text focuses on culture, as shared psychology .

People born in the same country tend to share similar cultural characteristics.

Nationality and culture tend to coincide, but nations may have several different institutions, beliefs ,

religions, behavior and also distinct subcultures.

A way to characterize distinct culture groups is through national stereotypes .

There have been studies to create stereotypes by mapping and comparing the shared characteristics of

managers and employees in different countries. Then researchers examine the effects of key differences on

business behavior , organization, structure and performances of companies from different countries.

Here is a research of this kind in management field.

Hofstede’s four dimentions of culture pag 55

Geert Hofstede is a Dutch psychologist who conducted a cultural studies in management, on IBM’s

operations in seventy countries around the world.

He found four value dimensions:

1- power distance is the extent to which a culture accepts that power in organizations is distributed

unequally. There is more autocratic leadership and less employee participation in decision making.

2- Uncertainty avoidance is when there is more formality and burocracy , that is less flexibility.

3- Individualism when people take care of themselves and are not very interested in other colleagues.

4- Masculinity: is the importance given to material success as opposed to typical feminine value as

modesty and quality of life.

Hofstede's method shows several problems because the survey was made on employees from just one

company, IBM.

Location on earth pag 73

Since ancient times, people needed ways of finding directions and describing locations. Today, we still use

landmarks to help us find our way. Before the first compass was developed, humans understood that they

could have locational information following the positions of the sun and the stars.

Navigation is the science of location and way finding.

Maps and mapmaking = the first maps were probably drawn on rocks or in the soil on clay tablet, metal

plates, papyrus, linen or silk.

Maps and globes give spatial information, through graphic symbols, that must be understood. Nowadays

there are also maps of the moon and some of the planets.

Cartography = is the science of mapmaking. Cartographers are specialized in cartography. In recent years,

computers have changed the cartography. Information , once collected manually, can now be collected by

satellites that send data back to Earth.

Maps are important in navigation, recreation, political science, history, meteorology and geology.

High-tech location and mapping technology are now largely used by everybody, through the Internet and

are used in travelling and finding location for all means of transportation.

Gender development pag 85

Sociologists, anthropologists and psychologists have often examined gender role in different cultures. All

cultures make a distinction between male and female roles, but these can vary from culture to culture. In

some cultures women do the marketing or weaving, in others men do this. For example in Tahiti there are

few differences in men's and women's behavior.

Some psychologists have developed a survey on university students' attitudes in 25 countries. In this

countries men are considerate: active, adventurous, aggressive, logical, independent and unemotional, on

the other hand women are considered: affectionate, emotional, fearful, submissive, talkative, weak, shy .

There is also cross cultural similarity among genders. In many societies men go hunting and do heavy works

while women do lighter works. These differences are due to women's reproductive roles and men's greater

physical strength.

One of the most important differences is that women usually take care of children.

One of cross cultural similarities in gender roles is in dating and mating, because usually men chose younger

and less powerful women. Men are also more violent against other men while women aren’t so

aggressive with other women.

In childhood , boys prefer rough games and prefer to play with children of the same sex. Boys want to

dominate, while girls are more intimate and communal. Boys are usually more aggressive than girls.

Cross-cultural perspectives on gender role development pag 86

Gender role socialization varies and depends on one's cultural back ground. Differences in roles between

men and women are exaggerated in some cultures and diminished in others.

Traditionally, Asian Americans families are patriarchal. Gender and birth positions were associated with

certain duties and privileges. Sons are more important than daughters and females belong to their

husbands' families. The first born is more important, and has family responsibilities. Females have more

authority when they become mothers in low.

In traditional Mexican American families there is a strict separation of gender roles: men are the heads of

the house and women should submit themselves to their husbands. In this culture there are differences in

sex role socialization. Girls remain closer to their home and must be protected. Boys have more freedom.

African Americans, on the other hand, have more egalitarian roles. African American women are often

more religions than their men and tend to be considerate “the strength of the family” .

Historically, they have worked outside and earned money, expecially in times of high unemployment.

How to change the world pag 101

The stories in this book reveal that it is possible to change the world with incredible ways.

For example, the modern postal system was introduced in 1840 by Rowland Hill.

He has simplified the postal system by creating a uniform price for all mail, with an adhesive postage

stamp.

Another innovator was John Woolman, an American Quaker who made a strong campaign against slavery.

He convinced Quakers to free theirs slaves.

Another important idea was Jean Monnet who was a proponent of the unification of Europe.

During World War 1 and 2 he worked to plan for the distribution of supplies for the Allies. After the war,

Monnet made efforts to have lasting peace in Europe and was a precursor to the Europeans Union.

In 1966, Edward Freis discovered a drug to control hypertension.