John Lewis Christmas Marketing Campaign Essay

This year’s advert, entitled â€Å"The Journey†, hopes to do as well if not better than its predecessor. The ? 6 million campaign created by Adam+EveDDB tells the story of a snowman who travels across rivers, mountains, roads and cities to get the perfect gift for the snowwoman who stands with him in the garden. * The advert could’ve been seen on channel 4 just before Christmas and then it was easily accessible on internet(facebook, youtube, etc). John Lewis also was running a snowman hunt, with six snowmen figures hidden around stores. If customers find them all they could win a price, including a  £10,000 holiday, Sony laptop, spa days and gift hampers. John Lewis has also run social media activity including competitions to win a holiday to New Zealand, where the ad was filmed, and for a family to get their garden ‘snowed up’ for Christmas day. John Lewis hopes to make a â€Å"confident statement† in its Christmas marketing this year through its TV, press, outdoor and in-store activity as well as the Annual, a glossy print title that brings together its Editions magazine and Christmas catalogue into one publication for the first time. The Twitter campaign uses the hashtag #snowmanjourney to track its experiential campaign that is photographing the snowman in different towns around the country. John Lewis has also press released many articles regarding their Christmas advert, in store sales, and competitions. John Lewis P&R department has also write a book that tells the story of the snowman and his journey which is also part of the high profile Christmas campaign, short afterwards the book became one of the most selling books for children. John Lewis has attributed a lift in its crafts offering to its Christmas ad campaign. Items on sale include a ‘Knit Your Own Snowman’. * The campaign was created to persuade more and more customers to come in the store and buy gifts for their loved ones during Christmas time. John Lewis’s advert also delivered strong Christmas, and warm feeling to the viewers so they are also creating the brand. They want to tell and insert John Lewis’s brand in many people’s life. Craig Inglis the Marketing Director at John Lewis said â€Å"the campaigns are not just an investment in making people feel Christmassy, they have commercial effectiveness at eart. † Adverts starring the character proved a big hit – with more than three million views on YouTube. * The target market were people who had families, people who lad loved ones, relatives, and people who had someone one special in their lives, because Christmas it is all about spending time with the loved ones, giving them gifts and have a great time. Also they targeted at other organ ization’s customers for example Marks&Spencer, Boots, etc. Also people who wanted to their bedrooms as they had big sales in their home department. Sales figures Sales for the retailer are up 7. 6% year on year for the week ending 17 November with a strong performance in electrical and home technology driving the growth with a 22. 2% jump in sales. In the five weeks over Christmas John Lewis recorded a 44. 3 per cent rise in its ‘Click and Collect’ service, which allows shoppers to buy products online and then collect them from one of the group’s Waitrose supermarkets, compared with figures from 2011. Total web sales reached ? 684. 8 million in the five weeks to 29 December. Electrical and home technology sales were up by 30. 9 per cent on 2011 with tablets being the retailer’s star festive performer. Fashion and beauty sales rose 10. 4 per cent with home products increasing by 6. 2 per cent. In the last full week before Christmas John Lewis posted sales of ? 157. 8 million, a rise of 26. 5 per cent from last year. A record ? 31. 7 million was then taken on 27 December, the start of the retailer’s clearance sale. Conclusion Overall I think the Christmas campaign has been extremely successful. The reason why I am saying this is because comparing the sales figure from last year and this year they achieved a record this year by stepping over the ? 150 million revenue. Also looking at the promotional mix they have done pretty well again, as we have new products which are the snowman book and the snowman toys, sales offers in their stores at certain products. Their PR department did very well as they came with articles just before launching the advert letting people know when and where will they be able to see the advert. The personal selling was great as well as when going to the check out they would ask the customers if they found everything they need and also if they would be interested in buying the snowman book, etc. Direct marketing was great as well as there was a twitter account where you could fallow the snowman’s adventure, and competitions on Facebook and in store. An improvement I would say it would be that maybe the customers where interested in more sales promotions and more direct marketing would convince customers to buy more products and come to John Lewis more often. Although the Advert did cost a huge amount of money that is nothing compared to the ? 157. 8 million revenue they made last year. Another reason why I think that the campaign was successful was that the advert they made has been voted as the year’s most favourite TV advert. And finally the last reason why I am sure that the campaign was extremely successful was that none of the directors of John Lewis expected a record breaker sales figure.

Implications of Gambling Industry on UK Business Environment Essay

Gambling opportunities have sharply increased all over the UK in a short period of a couple of years. It has been transforming into a socially acceptable means of entertainment due to the increasing leniency in laws regarding gambling. Gambling has been made available in all areas of the city and special facilities have opened for this purpose. Betting offices, clubs, and casinos are just a few examples of such places. â€Å"Gambling is playing games involving chance or placing bets in the hope or expectation of winning money. Gambling takes many forms, from buying lottery tickets in a raffle to playing the football pools or betting on the Grand National to table gaming in casinos. † (Basic facts about the British Gambling Industry, pg. 2) Developments in science and technology have open new gates for gamblers on a global scale. Nowadays, gamblers can take advantage of online gambling facilities to indulge themselves in these activities without leaving their houses just by using their credit cards. The government has further opened opportunities to gamble on telephones if you have activated an account with a bookmaker. According to a report prepared by KPMG, the total amount betted on gambling activities in Britain in the year 1998 reached 42,121 million pounds. The amount spent in casinos was the topmost which calculated up to 18,547 million pounds. A Brief History of Gambling in Britain â€Å"The high point of gambling in Britain is considered to be a period of aristocratic excess in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Upper-class gaming was characterized by â€Å"deep play† (defined by the philosopher Jeremy Bentham as gambling for stakes so high that it becomes irrational) and crazy, eccentric wagers, such as the one apparently struck by the northern baron who bet he could make it to Lapland and back within an allotted time, accompanied by two reindeer and two native females. He won his bet. † (Atherton, pg. 28+) The Gaming Act of 1845 declared the games of chance as illegitimate. For a long period of time until 1960, gambling carried on inside the UK as an illegal business. It was in 1960 that the government took a major step in the legalization of this industry. Hence, the betting and gaming Act of 1960 was introduced for this legalization process. The Betting and Gaming Act of 1960 altered the previous laws and paved the way for the development of gambling outlets especially casinos all over the UK. Since this was the first time that gambling was permitted in the UK, the government did not take necessary precautions to control the side effects that are associated with gambling activities. This was the major cause of the rise in crimes in Britain at that time since criminals found these new legalized gambling outlets and casinos as a good place to strengthen their footholds. Moreover, loans and losses in gambling gave birth to new criminals as addicted gamblers adopted thefts, burglaries, and other money-making crimes to fulfill their gambling compulsions. As time passed, lawmakers realized the need for a new act that would focus on these issues that have risen after the legalization of gambling. Therefore, the Gaming Act of 1968 was brought in to impose certain restrictions on the gambling industry. With the introduction of the Gaming Act of 1968, the Gaming Board was seriously planning to put a ban on Roulette but they succumbed to the demands of the gambling industry. (http://www. hca. heacademy. ac. uk/resources/TDG/reports/gaming-example-wolfe. ppt) The launching of the National Lottery and the increasing trend in online gambling during the 1990s led to the revision of betting duty by the British government. Afterwards, the government decreased the taxation on betting activities by a considerable amount. General Betting Duty (GBD), a particular type of tax on betting activities that was charged on the percentage of stakes has been replaced by another one, known as Gross Profits Tax (GPT). This new type of tax is charged on the net profits that a bookmaker makes. They also decided to replace the current general betting duty (GBD), levied as a proportion of betting stakes, with a gross profits tax (GPT), based on the net revenue of bookmakers. (Paton, et. Al, pg. F296)

Best Places In Spain To Visit This Summer

Best Places In Spain To Visit This Summer Madrid, Barcelona, Costa Brava, Seville, San Sebastian and Andalusia, Valencia, can stay during your stay in Marbella and Pamplona the best places and cities that can be visited in Spain insider guide. Madrid You can start your trip to any major city in Spain and you can customize your way to this starting point, but we will start our adventure in Madrid. Go to the Madrid Barajas airport and rent your car. Explore the city itself and then drive along the Douro River in the north of the city through Ribera del Duero, one of the most famous wine regions of the country. Wineries (vineyards) in this area can reach a little less than the vineyards of Napa or Loire and usually require dates for visits. You will be grateful for a thorough advance planning, since the services of Riberas visit are exceptional. It is small, with pleasant tasting rooms and private visits organized by vegetarians, wine tasting. The castle walls, the medieval castles and the ancient cities with wide ranges of wild flowers in the countryside. Basque Country From Madrid and Barcelona you can get to Bilbao. If you join another adventure, you can take a bus to Barcelona on your trip between Madrid and Bilbao! Runners will appreciate the beauty they will experience in the Basque Country and this can become a journey with legendary prizes. If you have rented a convertible, it is time to show it, as this area is full of beaches, cliffs and fishing ports where you can wonder about the winding roads. Once you have filled the Basque circuit while preparing for a partial day to get to Valencia, drive south to Victoria for a day of sightseeing or relaxation. Valencia Do not forget to wear protective clothing while traveling to Valencia. Eating controversy is king in this region, and if you are in a small town of Buà ±ol on Wednesday in August, when we passed, we tend to fall into the fire of hundreds of tomatoes. In this quiet town of La Tomatina, thousands of visitors came to the center of the city with the sincere expectation of joining the largest food war in the world. Do not miss the Haro Wine Festival if you are in the area. Just a few minutes away from Bonyola, hundreds of people were armed with tombs, buckets, warts full of water and main objectives of the participants. In addition exotic festival Valencia is a vibrant and friendly city with two wonderful art museums, a beautiful old town and one of the most beautiful places of Spanish nightlife. Cruz de Sierra Nevada From Valencia to Granada you can enjoy the perfect view of the natural mountain landscape. The trip to Granada is very extensive and includes the search of the south coast to Alicante, before continuing towards the Sierra Nevada peaks and finally towards Granada. During the investigation, this disc can be visible to the naked eye and without marks, but in reality it is quite calm and allows you to enjoy the best views of Spain, without heavy traffic load. When you arrive in Granada, you will find Alhamra, an old Moroccan village, one of the most famous tourist attractions in Spain. Be sure to reserve your ticket in advance, as the daily allowance is limited in the summer and tickets can be sold in a few weeks. Spend some time visiting most of the things that surround the complex, then stop the car and go to the old town to enjoy an excellent atmosphere in the city.

Health and Wellness Resorts Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Health and Wellness Resorts - Research Paper Example At the same time, it has been ascertained that health and wellness resorts are engaged in standardizing and globalizing the products and services. Nonetheless, it has been observed that health and wellness resorts are also burdened with increasing management and operational issues arising from declining quality and increasing competition. Furthermore, health and wellness resorts as mentioned above are in the early stage of development thus there is a relatively less literature regarding it. Consequently, there is a greater scope for future research to be conducted in order to derive valuable insights about the health and wellness resorts. Introduction Over the last few years, businesses have started using the word wellness for describing both physical and emotional meaning. More specifically, the word ‘wellness’ is extensively used in the service industry particularly in the context of luxurious hotels. At the same time, travelling for the purpose of health is not a new concept. However, it can be firmly admitted that the term ‘health tourism’ is relatively a new concept in the market positioning strategy of hotel and resorts. Broadly speaking, health and wellness tourism is defined as products or services that are made accessible to people travelling from their places or residences for health reasons (Caribbean Export Development Agency, 2009). The primary focus of the health and wellness resort involves imparting good health and general wellness of people. It entails a wide variety of treatments and services. For instance, Canyon Ranch one of the leading healthy living and luxury spa vacations comprising resorts, a beachfront hotel and destination spa amenities both on land as well as on sea is determined towards expanding the concept of health resort by initiating comprehensive approach regarding health and wellness of people. The evolution of health and wellness tourism is a result of continuous effort of service industry to attrac t new and potential customers through promotion and campaigns of health services. It can be argued that in the recent times the health and wellness tourism has gained tremendous popularity amid the global tourism industry as it does not depend on the factors such as seasonality. In other words, the health and wellness tourism has increased the ability of service industry to generate favorable income even during the off-seasons. Notably, the health and wellness sector within the context of Canada has also accorded radical growth. Health tourism across the globe including Canada can be identified to hold a greater opportunity for the service industry to boast its revenue and acquire loyal customers. Furthermore, the demand for health and wellness resort is constantly increasing (Siriphannapirat et al., 2013). Correspondingly, this research study intends to review the relevant development, management and operation issues pertaining to health and wellness resorts along with making relev ant recommendations regarding future research scope. Literature Review Wellness Tourism Mueller & Kaufmann (2001) postulate wellness tourism to be the sub-category of health tourism (Mueller &Kaufmann, 2001). Didascalou & et al. (2009) argue that there is no single definition of wellness or wellness tourism. It has been stated that the development of wellness tourism is actually embedded to ancient form of tourism (Didascalou & et al., 2009). Boulay et al. (2013) argue that wellness tourism

Question Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Question - Assignment Example On the other hand, informal rule making procedures occur in instances whereby an agency publishes legislative procedures or rule making is consistent with the authority delegated by the Congress (Burrows and Garvey). According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the ad substantial rule seeks to maintain a marketplace that was free of any unfair and deceptive practices or acts in which advertisement of products was factual and truthful. Conversely, the corrective advertising rule is a remedy to prevent future misleading beliefs existing in the public due to past deceptive advertisements (Pelgro 938). Known as EIS, this document provides for the description of the impacts on the environment because of a proposed action. It also provides for the impacts of alternative impacts and plans to make the alternative impacts less severe or remove the negative impacts. In order to meet the threshold of an EIS, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) regulations require a detailed discussion of the proposed action and provision of a range of alternatives that were reasonable (Depleted UF). Companies and individuals will engage in speech with intent of making a profit. This speech is commercial speech, and it is economic in nature with an intention of convincing people to participate a particular action. Conversely, the intent of noncommercial speech is not economical. In effect, the commercial speech has a limited measure of protection in comparison to noncommercial speech (Delta and Matsuura). The commercial clause, which is a definite article in the constitution of the US, confers the Congress with the power to regulate commercial activities with foreign countries, between several states, and with the Indian Tribes (â€Å"The Commercial Clause†). The main advantage of the commercial clause was its nature in ensuring that Congress regulated trade and commerce, which was not the case prior

Social Media Impact on the Nonprofit Organizations Essay

Social Media Impact on the Nonprofit Organizations - Essay Example These statistics clearly prove that modern businesses and intelligent marketers can spend less in social media to reach many. In fact, many smart marketers have abandoned marketing activities on conventional mediums like T.V and Radios in order to make sure that whatever they spend is efficient with respect to the cost and number of people that the medium reaches. This holds true not only for the profit making businesses but also for the charitable organizations. In fact, charitable organizations have a greater responsibility of using their funds efficiently so that the welfare in the society is maximized (MC Marketing Charts, 2010). Many businesses and non-profit organizations can take advantage of this tremendous growth in industry. They can use this media as a cheaper and better option to advertise their mission and to attract more donors for their cause. This will involve creative thinking and a lot of effort but once, these organizations understand the true potential of how Soci al Media can be used to their advantage. It is also believed that with the passage of time, as the industry matures, these sites are going to attract more and more traffic. This large turnover will encourage companies to advertise more on these websites. As a result, these websites will experience an even larger growth in their revenues. As a result, many big brands consider advertising on these sites as a better way to grab the attention of "target market" towards their products (Nielsen, 2009). This industry, in the recent times, moved from niches to become one of the most coveted sectors. This growth has also caused creative destruction for the other mediums of marketing like radios and televisions. The targeted market for the Non-Profit Organizations is mainly donors or affluent people who can help the organization in the achievement of their aims and can guide the firm towards success. One person who believed that social media and social networking websites can serve successfully as a medium of exchange for marketers was Joseph Walther. In this Social Information Processing Theory he stated that using computer-meditated-communication two parties can develop a relationship which is as close and strong as developed through face-to-face communication. This is because the sender has opportunity to select his target market or the person he wants to send his message to. Once the message is sent, the receiver can magnify the message and use the same channel to give feedback which enhances the communication process and draws favorable impression on the both parties. He believed that social media can effectively be used to create hyper personal relationships. In other words, social media fosters the relationship of trust and harmony between the sender and receiver of the message and hence it can be used by the non-profit and charitable organizations to first create trust an d favorable impression and then use the advertising in such as way as to encourage these people to donate. This is not possible in conventional mediums of advertising and marketing. The communication approach used in these mediums is purely one way communication and thus it cannot build the same level of trust and harmony among the parties initiating the communication process as it is been built through the use social media by non-profit organizations. SIP theory believed that Social Media or

Museum Visit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Museum Visit - Essay Example The art shows the events that take place in the voyage journey, and it comprise of the sailors, boat and paddler in a water body. The water body is engraved with the aspect of the rough stormy movements of the water. According to the proponent of the art, it communicates the actual world in which we leave; it challenges our individual view of culture, politics, and consumerism for all spheres of life in a period. The art is presented in reaction to an arena of heroism and abstract expressionism. He depicts and eradicates the ideology that has been gathered over a period and tends to downplay the art originality and adopting various mechanisms of the actual into the realm of the artistic work. Thus, this allows for the endless flow of reproduction of the images in a rapidly changing environment and the world around us. He draws the inspirational representation of the symbolic ideas that have a great impact on individuals and presents the subject matter in a contemporary existence in t he world around us. In the actual world, Andy Warhol presents the art to cover the aspect of experimentation of the world events, our emotional reaction, and an experience that we gather as we relate to the events, subversion and attitude. These require the insightful interpretation of the colors used, the events represented and the general expression that is created in the artwork (Brown-British, active USA, 1831-1913). The message portrayed in the art concerns the dimension of culture, politics and how we relate to them in the process of human life. The sea or the water body as used symbolically represents the daily happening that take place in our environment, the message portrayed is that the events faced in life has two sides. The political, economical, financial and cultural system can be favorable or unfavorable, but the individuals in the environment develop the tools of management of the problems and the challenges. In the literal view of

Illegal Immigration Issue Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Illegal Immigration Issue - Research Paper Example To support my argument, the adverse effects brought about by illegal immigration, particularly in terms of employment displacement of citizens and incurring of additional social security expenditures of the government, are highlighted. Through the media, the concept of illegal immigration has been highly romanticized. Illegal aliens, as illegal immigrants are commonly referred to, are portrayed as the hardworking border-crossers who strive to provide for their families left behind (Weissinger). Many feel sympathy for the plight of these people who risk their own lives in search of greener pastures. This is the same emotion elicited in me during an interview with Mr. Diaz, an illegal immigrant from Mexico who has been working in a local retail store for a year now. Barely able to speak vocational English, he narrated how extreme poverty in their homeland has impelled him to look for a decent job across the border. With his job, he is able to send money to his family with the salary he currently earns, a far cry from how much he would have gotten in Mexico. In the perception of US-based employers, illegal immigrants are viewed as a cheap source of unskilled labor, which they could easily tap (Hanson). Note that illegal aliens, given their desperation to immediately land jobs, willingly accept relatively lower wages as compared to the local labor force ("Costs of Immigration"). Others believe that illegal immigration is actually a win-win situation, wherein the poor country from where the illegal alien originated obtains dollars from remittances, while the host nation takes advantage of lower labor cost with the large worker pool made available (Hanson).   Given these perceptions, the true issues directly related to illegal immigration are obscured. The subsequent sections reveal what lies beneath the common belief and shed lights on the effects of immigration on government expenditure, population growth and on other economic factors (Siew-Ean).

Marketing youself Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing youself - Essay Example From last phase of 2008 onward labour market is in a pathetic condition. Though the data relies by government and non-government agencies reveals that many companies started recruitment phase, but this is mostly at the lower level and for the employees belonging to the age group of 19-24 years. The important grounds for selection of these workers are Communication skill (54%), professional qualification (41%) and work ethics (39%). It has been declared that just 15 percent of the employees will receive a review in their pays in the year 2009. Only 8% of the companies are planning to heir migrant employees and these should be highly skilled (ICPD, 2009). The labour market in UK is composed of 31.23 million people as of 2008. Approximately, 1.3 % of this population is engaged in agriculture, 24.2% in the industry and 74.5 5 in the services industry. The unemployment rate of the country is about 5.6% as of 2008. (CIA World Factbook, 2009). UK has seen major ups and downs with regards to its employment rates. The percentage of the working population has however seen a northward trend since 1993. The report also states that the country spends the lowest amount towards the active based market programs when compared with other countries. UK spends less than 0.4% on its labour market programs as a percentage of the GDP which is much lower than its other counterparts in Europe. The reason for this can be attributed to the astounding success of the economy of the nation which has seen continuous periods of growth for about 57 quarters. Secondly there is very limited regulation and limits on the labour market. (Cort, n.d.). The recent economic downturn has taken its toll on the job market in UK. The unemployment rates have risen sharply. The latest figures released by the government shows that the total number of unemployed people in UK is about 2.26 million as of 2009. Analysts predict that these figures

Internet as the Greatest Transformative Force in Human History Essay

Internet as the Greatest Transformative Force in Human History - Essay Example Undoubtedly, the internet is increasingly one of the irreplaceable means of communication, for instance, it enables individuals to keep in touch and bring different people together, allows arrangement of meetings over the net among others. Therefore, many people argue that the internet has indeed adjusted their way of interaction with others. Most people including children spend their leisure time exploring the internet, download movies, video games among others. Moreover, people do join virtual social network through which they can discuss various aspects of daily life, and develop friendships and interact as if they are living in the real life. Some services provided by the internet such as webcam enable individuals to communication with relatives and friends from a distance. Furthermore, the invention of World Wide Web has impacted positively on the economic activities worldwide. For instance, today, various communicate or send a contract to customers from any part of the world. M ore so, people are able to send and receive e-mails instantly, and so, internet has enabled the international companies to manage their economic operations without experiencing many challenges. According to Anthony Giddens, the internet is the greatest transformative force in human history, and this paper presents a thoughtful argument supporting Giddens’s claim. ... The internet can be viewed as a database that is full of information and offers many services making people’s lives easier and cheaper. Back then, people used to travel to places in order to meet people, go to the libraries to do research, but with the development of internet, nearly all information needed are accessible (Groves 2009, 108). Today, many people use the internet for various purposes such as conducting research, sending e-mails among others (Lightman 2002). E-mail enables the user to compose a message and send it to the targeted receiver regardless of the distance (Kaminow 1997). Truly, the internet has transformed various aspects of our lives over the past few years, and it has transformed the whole world into a global village. In the contemporary world, life without the internet is impossible and unimaginable because almost every individual in the world depends on it either directly or indirectly. To start with, internet is very useful to many multinational comp anies as it enables these multinationals to provide necessary information on different products. More so, today, the internet is the heart of mobile banking and so, banking sector entirely depends on internet. In addition, many educational institutions use the internet for publication of different circulars and posting results, the students use the internet for study purpose. Moreover, individuals are capable of accessing a huge amount of information on any topic through the internet. This makes learning easier and students benefits a lot by using the internet for conducting research and doing their homework. Accordingly, the internet plays a very significant role in research work and

Green Washing and Its Effects on Consumer Perspectives Essay Example for Free

Green Washing and Its Effects on Consumer Perspectives Essay The term green washing denotes the use of false or misleading information concerning green marketing by companies to compel consumers to buy their products on the perception that the company is environmentally friendly. It involves the misleading use of green marketing to endorse a false perception that the company products or policies are environmentally friendly. Green washing has been growing in the recent years mainly due to the increasing demand for green products. Due to increasing concerns about global warming, consumers are increasingly demanding for economically responsible products (Hart, 1997). Companies that seek to survive have no option but to either provide these products or to fake them. Another reason why green washing is growing is due to the fact that the sales of green oriented products have increased. A study carried out in the United States showed that in 2007, 328 products labelled â€Å"environmentally friendly† were launched by major manufacturers. This was a significant increase as in 2002 only 5 products were labelled the same (Bansal Roth, 2000). The rise of green products in the market has forced companies to undertake green washing in order to compete effectively. Another reason why green washing is growing is that the communication of environmental messages is still not controlled by any industrial wide standards. Companies are free to disseminate information about their environmental policies without any restrictions hence they can provide misleading information at will. The final reason why green washing is common is that government action and regulation is still pending. An analysis by HSBC on passed and pending economic stimulus packages of 15 countries reported that over US $3 trillion is intended to stimulate economies for the next ten years (Bazzillier Vauday, 2009). A large percentage of this money will support environmental objectives. This situation has resulted in the increase of lobbying which in turn has resulted in a situation whereby companies have to hunt tactical opportunities that do not conform to their messages on environmental friendliness. Ways of Carrying out Green Washing There are several techniques of green washing employed by companies. Although only a few literatures exist on the subject, the basis of identifying these techniques is that proposed by the TerraChoice Environmental Group. The group did research on the manners with which companies mislead consumers about their environmental friendliness and came up with six ways which they dubbed â€Å"the six sins of green washing. † The first sin is â€Å"the sinof hidden trade off†. This involves the attempt by companies to promote a product as green by using only one environmental attribute or an intolerable narrow set of attributes disregarding other more important environmental issues. Although the claims are not false, they portray a â€Å"greener† picture of the product which cannot be supported by a full environmental analysis. The second sin is â€Å"the sin of no proof. † This involves all information disseminated by a company about environmental friendliness but cannot be validated by easily accessible supporting information. According to a study by Bazillier and Vauday (2009), communication of full CSR activities by companies to customers is impossible. As a result, two types of information communicated to consumers exist, hard and soft information. Hard information is that which can be verified by customers but tends to be costly while soft information is that which is readily available to consumers but cannot be verified.

Fresh Foods versus Canned Foods Essay Example for Free

Fresh Foods versus Canned Foods Essay Eating is an activity that we as humans do at least two times a day. We live in a world where the variety of food is immense, and we are responsible for what we eat. We decide what we are about to eat and how it will affect our bodies. However, each food differs from one to another. For example are the fresh food and the canned food. Fresh foods and canned foods are two kinds of different types of food that have their own benefits and disadvantages. The most notable difference between these two kinds of foods is their flavor. Fresh food have great flavor because they keep their natural conditions. Canned foods however, lack a lot of its flavor characteristic because there are some other chemical products added to the natural foods. Comparing both types of foods we can notice another difference. Â  That is the health factor that affects our bodies. While the fresh food keep their original freshness and flavor, canned foods lose some of the original fresh food nutrients when stored, and also it has chemical ingredient when consumed too much will become toxin in our bodies. Another difference between these two types of food is the cost. Canned foods are much more expensive than the fresh foods. In contrast to the cost, canned foods are easier to find, they also require less work to prepare than fresh food. As we can see there are three main differences between the fresh foods and the canned foods. However, the main reason we chose our foods lies on our personal choice, based on time each person has, the money and the importance we give to our nutrition and health. Therefore it is important that you consider your possibilities and choose the best type of food for your convenience and life style.

Definitions of Sprituality

Definitions of Sprituality Finding a universal definition of spirituality is challenging and problematic. According to Maher and Hunt (1993): â€Å"what makes the process of defining spirituality so elusive is the nature of the term itself. It is value laden and seemingly so cultural, religiously and ethnically bound, that any meaningful definition appears to be an exercise in futility (p.22)†. Nevertheless, the challenges associated with defining spirituality have not prevented an explosion in the development of (supposedly) spirituality measures. Hill and Hood (1999) carried out an extensive review of spirituality measures and found more than 120 definitions of spirituality. Yet, how these researchers define spirituality is a question that still needs to be answered. Unruh et al. (2002) carried out another review of the literature to look into different meanings of spirituality and religiosity and identified seven themes highlighting how spirituality is defined in health literature including: (1) tran scendence or connectedness to a belief or higher being; (2) existential, not of the material world; (3) relationship to God, a spiritual being, a higher power, or a reality greater than oneself; (4) not of the self; (5) a life force of the person, integrating aspect of the person; (6) meaning and purpose in life; and (7) summative, including definitions that included many of the abovementioned themes, as well as values and motivations. Furthermore, McSherry and Cash (2004) also carried out another review to look into the different definitions of spirituality and concluded that it would appear that there is no such thing as a universal definition of spirituality and the theoretical probability of creating one is virtually impossible. Given that Unruh et al. (2002) and McSherry and Cash (2004) carried out an exhaustive review of the available definitions of spirituality, it is not relevant to undertake another review of how spirituality is defined in my study. However, for the purpose of this thesis three principles for considering an appropriate definition of spirituality have been adopted. These principles were originally identified by Spilka (1993) and allow for an individual, multidimensional and subjective operationalization of spirituality. Hill et al. (2000) summarized these principles as follows: (1) spirituality as grounded in a belief in a higher being (i.e. God), which considers spirituality to be relevant to the thoughts and practices that underpin theologies either broadly or narrowly defined; (2) spirituality as grounded in self-fulfilment, a conceptualization of spirituality that focuses on human achievement or potential; and (3) spirituality as grounded in the connecting of oneself to a larger â₠¬Ëœsystem’, which focuses on one’s relationships with the broader reference group, nature or ecology. Although these are not definitions of spirituality per se, each of them offer a contemporary understanding of spirituality. In my thesis, a number of definitions of spirituality were identified and evaluated according to Spilka’s (1993) three principles. Considering the first principle, Pargament (1999a) describes spirituality as, â€Å"a search for the sacred (p.12)† whereas religion is â€Å"a search for significance in ways related to the sacred (p.12)†. According to Hill et al. (2000) the ‘sacred’ is an entity (e.g. God or Ultimate Being), object, principle or concept that transcends the self, that is, set apart from the ordinary and is worthy of worship. Operationalizing this definition, Pargament suggests that the self transcends through searching for the sacred. Hence, search for the sacred may not include an intermediate ‘sacred’ acts such as the pursuit of academic excellence, or the like as worthy of worship, or self-fulfillment and personal satisfaction (Pargament, 1999b). In this definition, Pargament suggests that spirituality is placed within the broader domain of religion suggesting that it can be influenced by the beliefs, values and principles of a specific religion. However, t his is challenging and asserts the difficulty in determining a universal definition of spirituality considering that there is no one universal religion practices throughout the world. The fact that different religious doctrines have adopted diverse and often competing religiosities may therefore render a universal definition of spirituality (Moberg, 2002). Moreover, placing spirituality within the domain of religion restricts research to a narrower and more traditional conceptualization of God (Stifoss-Hansen, 1999). Taking into consideration that there are various types of religions and that although the majority of UK’s population follow a more traditional Anglo-Celtic (e.g. Catholic) religious beliefs and practices (59% of the UK population is reported as being Christian) (UK Census, 2011), there are many who follow other religious beliefs and practices. Pargament’s definition of spirituality might not therefore be applicable to peoples following Islam, or peoples of a Dharmic (e.g. Buddhism) origins, for instance (McSherry and Cash, 2004). Hence, the ongoing use of Pargament’s definition of spirituality could be argued to be limited. Considering the second principle, Stifoss-Hansen (1999) provided a different definition of spirituality to that of Pargament. Stifoss-Hansen (1999) proposes that spirituality includesdifferent characteristics that are not in line with Pargament’s definition of spirituality. These characteristics include connectedness, authenticity, existentialism, meaning if life, holism and self and community, which are considered as aspects of an individual’s spirituality indicating that spirituality must be considered a broader, not a narrower, concept to religion. According to Stifoss-Hansen, â€Å"spirituality is people’s search for meaning, in relation to the big existential questions (p.28)†. Operationalizing this definition, it seems broader than that provided by Pargament and goes beyond the possibly narrow limitations of traditional religion. Yet, there remains a question whether searching for existentialism can result in one living a spiritual life. Pargament (1999a) debates that it may might and also it may not. For Pargament, finding meaning in life, which might be considered as part of existentialism, is not spiritual in nature or complexity. Further consideration of Stifoss-Hansen’s definition of existentialist spirituality suggests that one seeks to know the self, free from beliefs, feelings and identities or labels created upon fear of losing one’s physical and psychological identities (Ho and Ho, 2007). Seeking the self has a higher degree of complexity and may therefore require a lifetime dedication and self-discipline to master (if mastering the pursuit is, truly, possible) (Hamel et al., 2003). Hill et al. (2000) offered another definition of spirituality adopting Pargament’s definition as a foundation. Hill and his colleagues stated that spirituality is â€Å"thoughts, feelings and behaviours that arise from a search for the sacred (p.66)†. They even developed a criterion for considering Pargament’s definition of spirituality. According to Hill et al., â€Å"the term ‘search’ refers to the attempts to identify, articulate, maintain, or transform while the term ‘sacred’ refers to the divine being, divine object, Ultimate Reality, or Ultimate Truth as perceived by the individual (p.66)†. Opposing to Pargament’s definition, Hill et al. suggest that even though an individual’s spirituality can be expressed through religion, it does not essentially need the institution of religion. In this definition, Hill et al. (2000) consider the role of a Being or Purpose that is superior to the individual; namely the Trans cendent which might or might not involve God as the Higher Being. One’s Higher Being or Purpose may be placed within or beyond the individual, or that the transcendent may be external to the individual, a recognition of something more superior to the individual (Mahoney and Pargament, 2004). With regards to the third principle identified by Spilka (1993): spirituality as grounded in the connecting of oneself to a larger ‘system’, Reed (1992) offered a definition of spirituality that focuses more on the individual relationships with self, others, nature and a power greater than the self. According to Reed: ‘‘Specifically spirituality refers to the propensity to make meaning through a sense relatedness to dimensions that transcend the self in such a way that empowers and does not devalue the individual. This relatedness may be experienced intrapersonally (as a connectedness within oneself), interpersonally (in the context of others and the natural environment) and transpersonally (referring to a sense of relatedness to the unseen, God, or power greater than the self and ordinary source (p.350)†. In this definition it appears that spirituality is firmly centered on interpersonal relationships and the community; where nature or the environment has a central role in one’s experience of spirituality. Contrary to some other definitions of spirituality offered, the one offered by Reed suggests that one can only know who they are after they have achieved connectedness with others, not independence (Tacey, 2003; Hamel et al., 2003). Considering Reed’s definition of spirituality further, by its very nature, it appears to be holistic. It demonstrates that spirituality means an awareness of oneself and our relationships with everything that is not the self (Meehan, 2002). It highlights that individuals seeking spirituality must identify, understand and value the essential socio-spiritual fabric connecting them with all others and nature (Fraser and Grootenboer, 2004). Such a definition of spirituality implicitly takes into account a level of awareness that is post-convent ional in orientation. Reviewing each definition of spirituality presented so far, if spirituality is considered as a universal phenomenon relevant to all persons (Helminiak, 2008), then it is critical that research arrives at a universal definition of spirituality. However, it appears that there are different perspectives to what spirituality ‘is’ and, thus, in my thesis I adopted the definition that was developed during the European Association for Palliative Care Congress in Vienna with the aim of identifying one definition of spirituality in Europe. According to Nolan et al. (2011): â€Å"Spirituality is the dynamic dimension of human life that relates to the way persons (individual and community) experience, express and/or seek meaning, purpose and transcendence, and the way they connect to the moment, to self, to others, to nature, to the significant and/or the sacred (p.88)†. This definition of spirituality agrees with the three principles highlighted by Spilka (1993) and are in line -in part- with the other definitions; however it is more comprehensive. This definition is also in line with the spiritual well-being framework identified by Fisher (1998) which states that spiritual well-being is not limited to only religious or spiritual behaviours (e.g. belief in God, reading the Bible, church attendance, or praying) and experiences, but extends to the affirmation of life in relationships with oneself (personal), others (communal), nature (environment), and God (transcendental others). Given that it could be argued that while no one definition of spirituality is possible, Nolan et al.’s (2011) definition of spirituality is used as a working definition of spirituality in my study to find out whether the definitions of spirituality offered by participants fits with this definition and to find out how participants in my study viewed spirituality and how it links to their well-being. The next section now moves on to present the literature review aims and questions.

Jeffersonian Republicans Essay -- American History USA Government Essa

Jeffersonian Republicans With respect to the federal constitution, the Jeffersonian Republicans are usually characterized as strict constructionists who were opposed to the broad constructionism of the Federalists. To what extent was this characterization of the two parties accurate during the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison. Before 1801, the Jeffersonian Republicans were usually strict constructionists of the constitution. However during the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison they had to adopt some Federalist ideas. In many instances, the two parties completely interchanged their views on the construction of the constitution. During that period of time it was difficult to characterize anyone as a member of either the Federalist or Republican party based on how they interpreted the constitution. The best example of Jefferson adopting Federalist ideas is the Louisiana Purchase. From the beginning Jefferson only wanted New Orleans and as much land east if the Florida as possible. However instead he was offered the New Orleans and a huge portion of land to the west, which almost doubled the size of the United States. However the was nothing in the constitution which allowed the president to purchase of additional land. In a letter he said "It is the case of a guardian, investing the money of his ward in purchasing an important adjacent territory; and saying to him when of age, I did this for your good"(Jefferson). Jefferson knew that American farmers needed... Jeffersonian Republicans Essay -- American History USA Government Essa Jeffersonian Republicans With respect to the federal constitution, the Jeffersonian Republicans are usually characterized as strict constructionists who were opposed to the broad constructionism of the Federalists. To what extent was this characterization of the two parties accurate during the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison. Before 1801, the Jeffersonian Republicans were usually strict constructionists of the constitution. However during the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison they had to adopt some Federalist ideas. In many instances, the two parties completely interchanged their views on the construction of the constitution. During that period of time it was difficult to characterize anyone as a member of either the Federalist or Republican party based on how they interpreted the constitution. The best example of Jefferson adopting Federalist ideas is the Louisiana Purchase. From the beginning Jefferson only wanted New Orleans and as much land east if the Florida as possible. However instead he was offered the New Orleans and a huge portion of land to the west, which almost doubled the size of the United States. However the was nothing in the constitution which allowed the president to purchase of additional land. In a letter he said "It is the case of a guardian, investing the money of his ward in purchasing an important adjacent territory; and saying to him when of age, I did this for your good"(Jefferson). Jefferson knew that American farmers needed...

Faustus Essay -- essays research papers

â€Å"Out of ancient myth of the magician who sells his soul to the Devil for occult powers, Marlowe has fashioned a veritable fable of Renaissance man† (Source 5 113).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The goal of any true renaissance man is to improve himself. This goal may border on heresy, as it leads to a man trying to occupy the same position as God. Lucifer commits this same basic sin to cause his own fall. To Doctor Faustus, this idea of sin is of no concern at the beginning of Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus. Faustus’ goal is to become god-like himself. In order to accomplish this, he learns of science and shows an interest in magic. He turns to the pleasures of magic and art and the poewr of scientific knowledge as substitutes for the Christian faith he has lost† (source 5 115). Clearly, this total disregard for God makes Faustus an atheist. However, it is only his renaissance quality, which seals his damnation, not his lack of faith. It is interesting to note how Faustus directly parallels Marlowe himself. The play is written as if Marlowe’s vindication of Faustus will vindicate him in the end. This has a direct effect o n style as well as the overall spin, which Marlowe takes on the archetype. Such as strong connection between Faustus and Marlowe makes it practical to speak of the damnation of both of these interesting characters almost simultaneously. Therefore, Marlowe and Faustus are both damned by their own self-improvement, not only by God, but also by themselves, and society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Doctor Faustus opens with a depiction of Faustus as the perfect Renaissance man. â€Å"He is partly an artist, who does not wish to glorify God, as his medieval predecessors did, but to applaud and please man; he is partly a scientist and philosopher, whose hope is to make man more godlike and not to justify his miserable life on earth; and, most significantly he is a Protestant, a Lutheran by training who has attempted through Reformation to escape the evils he associates with a Roman Catholic Church.† (source 5 113) As the epitome of renaissance man, Faustus believes that he can infinitely improve himself (4 155). Faustus considers his life before his deal with Lucifer as one that has gone as far as current interests may carry him. He notes in the opening scene â€Å"Then read no more; thou hast attained the end. / A greater subject fitteth Faustus’... ...arlowe humanizes him. â€Å"Faustus has the complicated modern soul. He is tragic because his dillema is real† (source 6 62). As a realistic character, Faustus experiences the common feelings which occur in any person’s battle with faith. Marlowe creates a character whose flaw is so slight, yet who is fatally flawed at the same time. This over ambition creates the perfect balance between the extremes of flaw. â€Å"There is a desperate fatalism about Marlowe that the most desirable things are subject to cosmic veto† (source 9 226). Marlowe succeeds in accomplishing his ultimate goal of creating a character which vindicates his own beliefs. The damnation of Faustus as well as the life of Marlowe both prove to demonstrate that unchecked ambition lead to complete damnation and utter loss of happiness in society. Although Marlowe does well in humanizing Faustus, it is still clear how he was damned and why. Marlowe’s biography also is tragic in the same way. All of Marlowe’s as well as Faustus’ damnation both are easily attributed to their ambitious nature which is almost a piece of the archetype to which Icarus and Lucifer both belong. Clearly, the ultimate answer to this problem is moderation.

Is Of mice and men a pessimistic story? Essay -- English Literature

Is Of mice and men a pessimistic story? Of mice and men is a great novel. It covers many points, racism, sexism, the depression and a lot of others. To some people the novel is an optimistic story to others it is pessimistic. But which is it really? "Of mice and men" covers a lot of points; the depression with people going from job to job wandering and not getting a long-term job. Lennie and George go from job to job starting from the town, weed and then going to the new ranch. They did not like it there and they were going to leave in a few months to go to a new place. Candy even says to George that you really are here to work then, we have a lot of people come in on the Saturday get their meal and bed until Sunday and then go. This is an example of the depression, candy s...

Ikea Case Study

IKEA Dr. Okan Geray Please read the IKEA case from the textbook and answer the following questions: 1. Explain, in detail, the aspects of IKEA strategy that make it a Hybrid strategy. A hybrid strategy is where the costs are low and the perceived benefits are high. In the case it is mentioned that IKEA is not for the rich and flamboyant but for the smart and practical people. This is clearly seen with the designs where it holds universal acknowledgement rather than cultural or national ideas.It blends into its furniture styling and design with low cost and has large stores where they guide their customers and incline them towards buying certain products that are displayed. The styling and design is then supported by low cost, on request or immediate delivery, which allows them to not only buy the product immediately but also transport them without must hassles. The flat packs allow logistical advantage and cost benefits and an informal infrastructure motivates the staff.The procureme nt is very intense and brings cost benefits and is also widely spread out across the world with suppliers in China and Sweden and their head quarters are based in Norway for tax savings. In the above ways IKEA brings higher benefits at lower costs to the consumer and therefore is a hybrid strategy. 2. Why is this strategy difficult for competitors to imitate? It is difficult for competitors to imitate because IKEA is a global furnishings company where as other competitors are highly focused into particular regions.This inaccessibility of its competitors limits its breadth of customer reach. Some of its competitors are not even specialised in furnishings but are more towards general stores there for specialisation benefits are lost. IKEA runs a strict cost cutting budget where it focuses more on costs and lesser towards design IKEA not only does provide furniture but also provide furnishing solutions where it has different variants of products to suite customer needs. It is aware of customer needs and is able to provide that at the correct price and at the same instant.The informal hierarchy forms unpredictable behaviour, which cannot be predicted, therefore cannot be imitated. 3. What are the dangers of a hybrid strategy and how can managers guard against them? There is a high risk that once the customer base has been established companies tend to drift towards increasing their products and providing additional services by charging additionally, even though this adds value to the product it alternately also adds costs which is directly against the policy of IKEA in this case.IKEA does provide additional services but with the optional additional charges which allows customers to choose cost savings Companies are also then inclined to reduce value but at the same historical price this lowers the perceived value of the product and pulls the company into the low cost category also robbing the company of its strategic advantage as a hybrid strategy player. Managers would need to recognise their hybrid strategy and their parameters that allow them to be in this category and enforce those parameters on the complete value chain.This does not imply to only the procurement and manufacturing of the products but also to the administrative aspects, such as seen with the CEO of IKEA UK. The designing of the product has been suited to the world market rather than specific market, this universal approach allows populations of different nationalities to relate to it, this collective design approach is a key factor in Ikeas marketing strategy and therefore any such products or designs favouring or resembling a particular culture unintentionally should be disassociated and discouraged.

Hamlet and Horatio Best Friends for Life: an Analysis of Hamlet

3 November 2009 small t sustain and Horatio beat out Friends for Life an Analysis of village In crossroads, two char comporters I guess to be important are settlement and his mavin, Horatio. Horatio is the bit most important char stand forer in the play. Horatio is critical points best jock and advisor. Horatio never keeps anything from hamlet. In hazard sensation, shaft one Horatio, Bernardo, and Marcellus turn back the weirdy of tycoon crossroads who was pop outed by his brother, Claudius. After the ghost disappears, Horatio marks Marcellus and Bernardo to reveal to settlement what they have seen. let us impart what we have seen this evening Unto young Hamlet for upon my life, This whole step, dumb to us, depart speak to him. ( moment 1, eyeshot 1). Hamlet reveals to Horatio what the center reveled to him about Claudius. only do, thou terrific youth, The serpent that did sting thy pay backs life Now wears his crown. ( accomplishment 1, stage setting 5 ). Horatio tells no one, of what Hamlet has told him, and he plays along with Hamlets idea of pretending to be mad or insane. I intend this exhibits that Hamlet trusts Horatio more than the other characters. I conceptualise that Hamlet can go to Horatio for anything. There is a play this evening before the king. One scene of it comes conterminous the circumstance Which I have told thee of my nonpluss death. I prithee, when thou seest that act afoot, Even with the very comment of thy consciousness Observe my uncle. (Act 3, Scene 2). I entrust that Horatio is able to understand Hamlet pause than the other characters do. In Act five, scene two, Hamlet tells Horatio to tell his story to everyone. The whole rea discussion that Hamlet would tell Horatio this is if he was the only one go forth that could tell his story, and because Horatio is his friend. permit us face it, if we were on our deathbed, would we non want our best friend to tell our story? In Act one, scene two, we go a glimpse of Hamlets resentment over his mothers marriage, to his uncle, which follow knotty upon the funeral of his father. Within a month, Ere yet the cut-rate sale of most un remunerateeous tears Had left the flushing in her galled eyes She married. O most wicked speed, to post With much(prenominal) dexterity to incestuous sheets It is not, nor it cannot come to good. But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue. ( Act 1, Scene 2).In Act two, Scene one, we see a hint of Hamlets love for Ophelia. In Act two, scene two, Hamlet doubts the spirit of his father, and thinks that his father could be intercourse the truth or telling a lie. He is not quite sure which is truth and which is false. We see that Hamlet has many questions as to what he could do to see if the ghost is telling the truth. He decides to put on a play with a scene that he has added. In Act three, scene one, we get a peek of how he seems to realise everything. Let the doors be shut upon him Polonius, th at he may play the fool nowhere scarcely ins own house.Farewell. In this Act, he says things to Ophelia that I believe he does not mean, such as, chance thee to a nunnery. I believe he is saying what he says for the benefit of Polonius, Ophelias father. Polonius believes that Hamlet is mad, or insane. Your noble son is mad. Hamlet is abhorrent toward Claudius because Claudius killed his father. In act three, scene four we see Hamlets reluctance to kill his uncle, but this time he is unwilling to kill Claudius because he is praying or that is what it seems like to Hamlet.Let us face it, who in their right mind would kill someone temporary hookup they are praying? However, I believe that Hamlet should have killed Claudius in this scene because if he did indeed the other characters that die would not have died and his fathers spirit would be able to rest in peace. At the end of Act three, Hamlet kills Polonius believing him to be Claudius. I took thee for thy better. It was so easy for Hamlet to kill Polonius because he believed him to be Claudius. Hamlet then hides the eubstance because he does not want anyone to know what he has done, or maybe he hides the body ecause he wants people to believe that he is insane. At the end of the play, Hamlet forces Claudius to drink from a cup of embitter thus killing him. Horatio knowing that Hamlet was dying decides to drink from the cup so he would not be alone, but Hamlet stops him. Hamlet then tells Horatio to tell his story to the world. Hamlet alike dies from the same poison. Throughout the play, Hamlet has been at war with Claudius because Claudius killed his father and then married his mother. At the same time, he is at a constant battle with his feelings.He asks questions that are difficult to answer or even understand, but he invariably comes up with an answer. Horatios part in the play is the second important part. Without Horatio, I believe that Hamlet would have killed himself, because he would not have any one to share his burden of killing his uncle. Horatio keeps aid Hamlet every chance he gets. Horatio also tries to take poison because Hamlet is dying if this is not true knowledge then I do not know what is. Shakspers Hamlet

The Cultural Anchoring Of Leadership Styles

With sphericisation and connect intensification of trade and mer freightertile system stiff track has pay back indispensable in the disdain world. W present tralatitiously the business attracter as fountainhead ask the purpose of commanding the troops towards military strength and efficiency this has changed dramatic t stunned ensembley e realwhere the last decades. The improvement industry rebel, acquaintance focus trends, increased croak multitude diversity pass with inter guinea pig trading and global sourcing of talent, has considerably re sortd the case of the attraction in the contemporaneous geological formation.Numerous firms ar in global alliances depending upon tractableness/adaptability to local markets, requiring their managers to possess separate lead airs to head effectively with assorted place systems and farmings (Fahy, 2002 Coviello et al. , 1998). 2Arguably, the flattening of vertical structures has all overly channeld to this reshaping deal as traditional sources of authority, upon which lead puddle built on for years, know been diminished.Combined with the rise of new trading durability plays much(prenominal) as the Asiatic Dragon, business attractors, especially in world(prenominal) MNEs do non only facial expression domesticated multi heathenishism and diversity exclusively ar withal increasingly expatriated. Consequently completely new heathen pitfalls and challenges argon take tutelaged requiring under delivering of heathenish determine as easily as quick pagan adaptation to hit domestic leading abilities into outside markets. Combined with steady rising competitive pressures, the contemporary business leader in a character reference non tardily filled.Despite leading existence a universal design ( bass dispel, 1990), with most literature anchored in the ( individualistically oriented) US, it has been questi iodined to what extend occidental leading manner s are cross- heathenishly negotiable (Dorfman, 2003). Resultantly, argumentation has sparked over how far leading is paganly dependant upon(p), if universal leading qualities and tactics exist and what the instructive variables are (Scandura & Dorfman, 2004).This fitting aims at contri enti banking towards this debate by exploring leading disparity and possible congruity amongst the UK and lacquer victimisation academic cadence of national subtlety Hofstedes frame clip noteively. The fol impressioning(a) part ordain give an overview over the thought of leaders followed by an in-depth cultural comparison and final section. 4The destination lead incorporates what of all time elements of controversy over its meaning and practices. contrastive cultural gist or terminology or in cross-cultural contexts makes a universal interpretation difficult (Yukl, 2002).This awaits unsurprising as the under footings and expectations of authority subroutines dissent among finishs. Nevertheless, contempt cultural differences the majority of leading definitions glint nearly base elements these manly cosmos class, fix and death (Bryman, 1992). Keeping this in mind, leading can be seen as the process of influencing other(a)s towards achieving some kind of sought after outcome. (De Jong & Den Hartog, 2007, p. 44) or bluffly spoken leading is the ability to get plurality to do what they dont wish to do and the likes of itWhilst this is a very basic get d witness of a definition it allows for easier coating in a cross-cultural context and senior juicylights an weighty slur In order to lead adept needs pursual (Drucker, 2007). It is here where the inseparable assort to strength emerges whereby the provide of leaders is largely myrmecophilous upon the perception of others (Hollander & Julian, 1969 Maurer & Lord, 1991 Pfeffer, 1977) al ane nevertheless forms the basis of lead authority.It appears that only effective use of th is cater, start out with leading by recitation (Pfeffer, 1981) allow for ending in positive and proactive guidance fosterage creativity, purpose, lading and dour term judicatureal development. 6However, this is questionable and it depends that far too a lottimes in academic literature the toll manager and leader are merged giving a brumous picture of what each role truly entails. Readers should be reminded that leaders, unlike managers, do not have to rely on forms of power to puzzle out subordinates, much actually relinquishing formal despotic control.This is out-of-pocket to the intellect that to lead is to have chase, and following is always a voluntary activity. Nevertheless, it can be argued that regular leaders need some root word of authority may it only be their personal appeal (Weber, 1968). This has been manifested in the instigateicipative, magnetized or transformative airs of leaders (Den Hartog & Koopman, 2001) as oppose to the transaction al style to a wideer extent related to operational, lying-in focused managers. curiously in western sandwich sandwich economies with plethoric utility industries, introduction and cognition management, the former have been the central point in recent years as mellowed(prenominal)(prenominal)-and-powery leadership styles do no long-range seem sufficient to extract the full say-so of an increasingly knowledgeable, exceedingly skilled and demanding men. such, arguably softer cuddlees raising employee familiarity and participation have nevertheless been be to result in increased organisational performance ( mystifying, 1996 1997 folk & Shamir, 1993) and are arguably much(prenominal)(prenominal) ideal forms of organisational leadership (Bass & Avolio, 1989).This might be applicable to western societies that a cross-cultural generalisation might be prejudice and the influence of personal value and cultural influences upon leadership styles should not be reduc ed (Byrne & Bradley, 2007). Rather, agri finale, an inborn division of which is personal values (Kroeber, 1952 Kluckhohm, 1949), is to be seen at a centre stage when analysing leadership differences (George et al. , 1998 Nakata & Sivakumar, 1996 Steenkamp et al. , 1999 Cadogan et al. 2001), as t is the embodied programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one class or category of people from other (Hofstede, 1980, p.260) and frame of reference leadership preferences.Culture hereby should not be control to national culture exactly has to be blanket(a) to incorporating organisational as well as political culture (Schein, 1985), the latter two arguably universe extensively constructd by the former. Democratic or dictator political systems, national values regarding turn on differences and honest behavior as well as organisational places towards factors much(prenominal) as centralisation and function attitude, doubtlessly influence leadership styles.Not o nly go away such factors shape leadership approaches, alone with regard to cultural differences these will a great deal even stand in bout to each other. Consequently domestically use leadership approaches might not be applicable in other cultural settings and render toothless in maintaining firm sustained competitive reinforcement and high-performance international performance (Kimber, 1997 Jackson and Aycan, 2001 Pfeffer, 2002).The following section will investigate the effect of cultural values upon leadership styles in detail using the U and Japan as examples. 9British leadership style has often been described as to a greater extent occasional in nature procreation teamwork and seeking assembly consensus (Lewis, 2001). As such, a more participative leadership style is predominant mulling flatter hierarchical structures in UK organisations. So, hierarchical structures not primarily seem as mean to fix authority structures (Laurent, 1983) save more as spunk admin istrative frameworks.This according to Hofstede (2001), is a comment of the UKs low association to Power Distance. Essentially, subordinates do not attribute much to position and designation and leaders must embody a corporate will and take personal responsibility for it eyepatch act to communicate and co-operate with the team (Mole, 1990, p. 105). Unsurprisingly, net works(a) capability and people management skills are spiritedly wanted in the UK (Stewart et al. 1994) as leadership qualities.Nevertheless, this ( left-winger) team and people penchant is in general seem as a lead towards achieving organisational intents and innovation assuring individuals in team settings nitty-gritty knowledge that has strategic relevance to the organisation (Miller &Morris, 1999). As such transformational leadership attitudes (Burns, 1978) can be seen where leaders are to create conditions under which subordinates devotedly contribute to the organisation yet this is done primarily fini shed a strategic lens. (McCarthy, 2005).Nevertheless, the Anglo-Saxon system of shareowner gaiety places leaders towards task predilection often combined with a short-run out enumerate. As such quick, short-term organisational ( monetary) success is often more valued than semipermanent organisational success and relationship building, reflecting according to Hofstede, a culture of passing short term orientation and low disbelief escape. Essentially, risks are seen as part of passing(a) business practice and leadership approaches reflect that subordinates are given opportunity to implement potentially rewarding, but high risk, strategies.This shows that, in spite of team orientation and a one might say more relaxed, amicable and diplomatic leadership style, the British cannot disown their American leadership style influence, lift structured individualism, race and drive (Lewis, 2001). Falsely, m any authors seem to ignore this connection, even so influences of hire and exculpate mental capacity and the creating of specialist roles underlining a core individualistic attitude are undeniable reflecting British national, and interlinked to that, juristic and organisational culture.Such individualistic attitude constantly resur grammatical cases in leadership styles often portrayed through individual fag setting, remuneration practices and shorter employment contracts. Employees do not nerve for lifetime employment and a steady charge in one company resultantly British leaders are more reluctant to invest heavy in the training and education of subordinates (Schneider & Littrell, 2003). This continues to the often actively sought after and purposely created assertive and competitive environment amongst colleagues or departments reflecting a relatively high masculine attitude as Hofstedes culture scale clearly outlines.While these attributes sk and so on general aspects of British leadership, styles will vary between organisations, industries and individuals. Service- or R&D intensive industries for example, will follow a more Theory Y (McGregor, 1960) approach fostering employee participation and empowerment. Leadership on traditional manufacturing industries on the other hand due to their reliance on productivity and output combined with an often insistent running(a) atmosphere, might take a more Theory X attitude.In contrast to the UK, Japanese leadership, like many Asian countries, is grounded in Confucian principles (Redding, 1990 Tan, 1986) and contempt rising western influences, unafraid Confucian traits accept in moral, interpersonal relationships/loyalties, education and hard work still lurk beneath the surface (Lewis, 2001). peculiarly taking the family as a model for participation at large, Confucianism is basically authoritarian and stresses hierarchical and placement differences (Selmer, 2001, p.8).As such, through its vertically orientated hierarchies and rigid organisation (Chen, 1995) one would expe ct Japan to strike high than the UK in Hofstedes power aloofness index, and so indeed it does. This offers leaders with traditional and legitimate power bases however, surprisingly not resulting in autocratic leadership styles as one would expect, but far more the association of assertiveness-authority and reason tactics (Schmidt & Yeh, 1992).As such, Japanese leadership style rewards subordinate respect and obedience with highly paternalistic attitudes, expressed by mendou I see about your, I will take bursting charge of you (Dorfman et al. 1997). Consequently, the Japanese leadership culture, despite placing emphasising hierarchy and view differences requiring full subordinate obedience, expects helping and caring for followers and being involved in their personal lives (Whitehall & Takezawa, 1968 Bass et al.1979).As a result the most powerful force of the Japanese leader is not autocracy but charisma combined with intrinsic instead than adventitious (materialistic) reward mechanisms often predominant in the UK bonuses, on-target-earnings, etcetera (Maslow, 1943, 1954). This seems surprising considering the high masculine score, which, from a western perspective would result in autocratic, top down, assertive, stumper and focused on material success (Hofstede, 1998) leadership.It is here where Hofstedes framework seems to only partly formulate the Japanese culture and low individualism but high masculinity and power distance stand in conflict with each other. 14Additionally, in such an environment more focus towards ascription quite an than achievement would be expected (Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner, 1997, 2000). Nevertheless, the contrary appears in the Japanese context with leaders having to possess superior, often specific, (hard) knowledge supplemented by strong educational footings (Nestler, 2008). present other disparity to UK leadership emerges, where despite educational background being significant for initial work placement, greater f ocus upon (soft) people skills and strategic directional is want and ascription of leadership positions remains (Hampden-Turner & Trompenaars, 1994). 15The state-controlled principles shape Japanese leadership style dramatically, requiring gathering consensus and close- qualification despite extremely high masculinity and high power distance.Essentially a bottom-up (ringsho) process of decision-making is chosen (Wu, 2006) with the leader granting independent decision making to the group by and large letting subordinates use their own approaches to achieve overall collectivist objectives (Dorfman et al. 1997). This is surprising, as in western societies strong hierarchical structures often result in a top-down leadership approach but can be apologizeed through high uncertainly avoidance collecting input and consensus from all parties involved onwards decisions are made.Even more so, the concepts of wa (maintaining social relationships) and kao (maintaining face) actually r equire the involvement of subordinates in the decision making process and the economy of concurrence variation western leader contingent punishment behaviour inappropriate. It is here where Japanese leadership style diverts extensively from its UK (Anglo-Saxon) counterpart where public scrutinising is part of daily leadership practices reflecting a competitive and individualistic culture impelled by short-term financial objectives with high-risk acceptance.Due to the collectivist environment and extensive approaching planning, Japanese managers on the other hand, do not view themselves as risk takers, despite this distinction often being attributed to charismatic leaders (Bass, 1985). This is reflected in Japans extremely high uncertainty avoidance score and is further supported by strong long orientation valuing prevailing face and harmony. Unsurprisingly, life-long employment is desired, supplemented b continued task gyration aimed at growth employees.As a result leaders and subordinates enter into long and close relationships hardly ever interrupted severalise the UKs burn out environment fostering high staff turnover. distant in the UK, Japanese business leaders carriage for generalist employees commensurate of working in sevenfold levels of the organisation reflecting a corporation placing less value upon specialists than western cultures. 17Overall, Japanese leaders focus upon collective (not individual) responsibility (Hayashi, 1988) and group harmony maintenance is normally considered more important than profitability and overall productivity (Bass, 1990).Nevertheless, also Japanese leaders have to drive performance resulting in somewhat of a tradeoff situation between performance and collectivist harmony maintenance. According to the performance-maintenance theory (Misumi, 1990), Japanese leaders have to chose between closing achievement and the continuation of the group, kinda combining high levels of both (Misumi, 1995). If this i s achieved, such confirmatory or participative leadership styles (Ouchi, 1981) are said to result in higher levels of motivation, delegation of decision-making, commitment, and intrinsic job satisfaction (Keys and Miller, 1982, p.6). This appears to be in line with the shortly preferred leadership style in the UK.However, one should not blank out that unlike the Japanese working environment, the UK has been subject to great inward as well as outward FDI flows resulting in a combineing of many different leadership approaches. As such arguably UK leaders would find it easier to adapt to Japanese principles than Japanese leaders. This is due to the western farce of collectivist team working for individualistic goals and the limited respect paid to attitude differences.While Hofstedes framework helps to conceive the leadership differences between the two countries if fails to explain some factors. So for examples does high Japanese power distance explain hierarchical structures an d respect to superiors but the theoretical assumptions of complete centralisation of power, low emphasis on developing the manpower and autocratic top-down interlocutor initiation (Hofstede, 1991) do not fully reflect the Japanese working environment.On this note one should not forget that Hofstedes framework is not forfeit of criticism and arguably is outdated, limited in cranial orbit of methodology and measure (Dorfman and Howell, 1988 Roberts and Boyciligiller, 1984) and only reflects a blend of organisational (IBM) culture and national cultures (Hunt, 1983 Robinson, 1983). As such it is no surprise that other studies such as the bollock project have found differing or even contradictory results for connatural cultural dimensions.The Cultural Anchoring Of Leadership StylesWith globalisation and related intensification of trade and commerce effective leadership has become indispensable in the business world. Where traditionally the business leader took the role of commandi ng the troops towards effectiveness and efficiency this has changed dramatically over the last decades.The service industry rise, knowledge management trends, increased workforce diversity combined with international trading and global sourcing of talent, has considerably reshaped the role of the leader in the contemporary organisation. Numerous firms are in global alliances depending upon flexibility/adaptability to local markets, requiring their managers to possess appropriate leadership styles to cope effectively with different value systems and cultures (Fahy, 2002 Coviello et al., 1998).Arguably, the flattening of hierarchical structures has also contributed to this reshaping process as traditional sources of authority, upon which leaders have built on for years, have been diminished. Combined with the rise of new trading powers such as the Asian Dragon, business leaders, especially in international MNEs do not only face domestic multiculturalism and diversity but are also incr easingly expatriated.Consequently completely new cultural pitfalls and challenges are set about requiring understanding of cultural values as well as quick cultural adaptation to transfer domestic leadership abilities into foreign markets. Combined with steadily rising competitive pressures, the contemporary business leader in a role not easily filled.Despite leadership being a universal concept (Bass, 1990), with most literature anchored in the (individualistically oriented) US, it has been questioned to what extend western leadership styles are cross-culturally transferable (Dorfman, 2003). Resultantly, debate has sparked over how far leadership is culturally contingent, if universal leadership qualities and tactics exist and what the explanatory variables are (Scandura & Dorfman, 2004).This assignment aims at contributing towards this debate by exploring leadership disparity and possible congruence between the UK and Japan using academic measurement of national culture Hofstedes framework respectively. The next section will give an overview over the concept of leadership followed by an in-depth cultural comparison and concluding section.The term leadership incorporates some elements of controversy over its meaning and practices. Different cultural gist or terminology or in cross-cultural contexts makes a universal definition difficult (Yukl, 2002). This seems unsurprising as the understandings and expectations of authority roles differ between cultures. Nevertheless, despite cultural differences the majority of leadership definitions reflect some basic elements these manly being group, influence and goal (Bryman, 1992).Keeping this in mind, leadership can be seen as the process of influencing others towards achieving some kind of desired outcome. (De Jong & Den Hartog, 2007, p. 44) or bluntly spoken leadership is the ability to get people to do what they dont like to do and like it (Truman in Sadler, 2003, p. 5).Whilst this is a very basic attempt of a def inition it allows for easier application in a cross-cultural context and highlights an important point In order to lead one needs followers (Drucker, 2007). It is here where the inseparable link to power emerges whereby the power of leaders is largely dependent upon the perception of others (Hollander & Julian, 1969 Maurer & Lord, 1991 Pfeffer, 1977) but nevertheless forms the basis of leadership authority. It appears that only effective use of this power, combined with leading by example (Pfeffer, 1981) will result in positive and proactive guidance fostering creativity, innovation, commitment and long term organisational development.However, this is questionable and it seems that far too often in academic literature the terms manager and leader are merged giving a blurred picture of what each role actually entails. Readers should be reminded that leaders, unlike managers, do not have to rely on forms of power to influence subordinates, often actually relinquishing formal authorita rian control. This is due to the idea that to lead is to have followers, and following is always a voluntary activity.Nevertheless, it can be argued that even leaders need some foundation of authority may it only be their charisma (Weber, 1968). This has been manifested in the participative, charismatic or transformative styles of leadership (Den Hartog & Koopman, 2001) as oppose to the transactional style more related to operational, task focusedmanagers. particularly in western economies with predominant service industries, innovation and knowledge management, the former have been the focal point in recent years as autocratic leadership styles do no longer seem sufficient to extract the full potential of an increasingly knowledgeable, highly skilled and demanding workforce.Such, arguably softer approaches fostering employee involvement and participation have nevertheless been proven to result in increased organisational performance (Bass, 1996 1997 House & Shamir, 1993) and are a rguably more ideal forms of organisational leadership (Bass & Avolio, 1989).This might be applicable to western societies yet a cross-cultural generalisation might be prejudiced and the influence of personal values and cultural influences upon leadership styles should not be ignored (Byrne & Bradley, 2007). Rather, culture, an essential component of which is personal values (Kroeber, 1952 Kluckhohm, 1949), is to be seen at a centre stage when analysing leadership differences (George et al., 1998 Nakata & Sivakumar, 1996 Steenkamp et al., 1999 Cadogan et al. 2001), as t is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another (Hofstede, 1980, p. 260) and shape leadership preferences.Culture hereby should not be limited to national culture but has to be extended to incorporating organisational as well as political culture (Schein, 1985), the latter two arguably being extensively shaped by the former. Democratic or author itarian political systems, national values regarding sex differences and ethical behaviour as well as organisational attitudes towards factors such as centralisation and work attitude, undoubtedly influence leadership styles.Not only will such factors shape leadership approaches, but with regard to cultural differences these will often even stand in conflict to each other. Consequently domestically implemented leadership approaches might not be applicable in other cultural settings and render ineffective in maintaining firm sustained competitive advantage and superior international performance (Kimber, 1997 Jackson and Aycan, 2001 Pfeffer, 2002). The next section will investigate the effect of cultural values upon leadership styles in detail using the U and Japan as examples.British leadership style has often been described as more casual in nature fostering teamwork and seeking group consensus (Lewis, 2001). As such, a more participative leadership style is predominant reflecting f latter hierarchical structures in UK organisations. So, hierarchical structures not primarily seem as means to establish authority structures (Laurent, 1983) but more as core administrative frameworks. This according to Hofstede (2001), is a reflection of the UKs low association to Power Distance. Essentially, subordinates do not attribute much to position and title and leaders must embody a collective will and take personal responsibility for it while continuing to communicate and co-operate with the team (Mole, 1990, p. 105).Unsurprisingly, networking capability and people management skills are highly valued in the UK (Stewart et al. 1994) as leadership qualities. Nevertheless, this (collectivist) team and people orientation is mainly seem as a path towards achieving organisational targets and innovation assuring individuals in team settings aggregate knowledge that has strategic relevance to the organisation (Miller &Morris, 1999). As such transformational leadership attitudes (B urns, 1978) can be seen where leaders are to create conditions under which subordinates devotedly contribute to the organisation yet this is done primarily through a strategic lens. (McCarthy, 2005).Nevertheless, the Anglo-Saxon system of shareholder satisfaction drives leaders towards task orientation often combined with a short-term outlook. As such quick, short-term organisational (financial) success is often more valued than long-term organisational success and relationship building, reflecting according to Hofstede, a culture of highly short term orientation and low uncertainty avoidance. Essentially, risks are seen as part of daily business practice and leadership approaches reflect that subordinates are given opportunity to implement potentially rewarding, but high risk, strategies.This shows that, despite team orientation and a one might say more relaxed, friendly and diplomatic leadership style, the British cannot deny their American leadership style influence, fostering st ructured individualism, speed and drive (Lewis, 2001). Falsely, m any authors seem toignore this connection, even so influences of hire and fire mentality and the creating of specialist roles underlining a core individualistic attitude are undeniable reflecting British national, and interlinked to that, legal and organisational culture. Such individualistic attitude constantly resurfaces in leadership styles often portrayed through individual target setting, remuneration practices and shorter employment contracts.Employees do not look for lifetime employment and a steady race in one company resultantly British leaders are more reluctant to invest severely in the training and education of subordinates (Schneider & Littrell, 2003). This continues to the often actively sought after and purposely created assertive and competitive environment amongst colleagues or departments reflecting a relatively high masculine attitude as Hofstedes culture scale clearly outlines.While these attribu tes sketch general aspects of British leadership, styles will vary between organisations, industries and individuals. Service- or R&D intensive industries for example, will follow a more Theory Y (McGregor, 1960) approach fostering employee involvement and empowerment. Leadership on traditional manufacturing industries on the other hand due to their reliance on productivity and output combined with an often repetitious working atmosphere, might take a more Theory X attitude.In contrast to the UK, Japanese leadership, like many Asian countries, is grounded in Confucian principles (Redding, 1990 Tan, 1986) and despite rising western influences, strong Confucian traits accept in moral, interpersonal relationships/loyalties, education and hard work still lurk beneath the surface (Lewis, 2001). Especially taking the family as a model for society at large, Confucianism is basically authoritarian and stresses hierarchical and side differences (Selmer, 2001, p. 8).As such, through its ve rtically orientated hierarchies and rigid organisation (Chen, 1995) one would expect Japan to score higher than the UK in Hofstedes power distance index, and so indeed it does. This offers leaders with traditional and legitimate power bases however, surprisingly not resulting in autocratic leadership styles as one would expect, but far more the association of assertiveness-authority and reason tactics (Schmidt & Yeh, 1992).As such, Japanese leadership style rewards subordinate respect and obedience with highly paternalistic attitudes, expressed by mendou I call up about your, I will take care of you (Dorfman et al. 1997). Consequently, the Japanese leadership culture, despite placing emphasising hierarchy and spatial relation differences requiring full subordinate obedience, expects helping and caring for followers and being involved in their personal lives (Whitehall & Takezawa, 1968 Bass et al. 1979).As a result the most powerful force of the Japanese leader is not autocracy but charisma combined with intrinsic rather than outside (materialistic) reward mechanisms often predominant in the UK bonuses, on-target-earnings, etc. (Maslow, 1943, 1954). This seems surprising considering the high masculine score, which, from a western perspective would result in autocratic, top down, assertive, voiceless and focused on material success (Hofstede, 1998) leadership. It is here where Hofstedes framework seems to only partly explain the Japanese culture and low individualism but high masculinity and power distance stand in conflict with each other.Additionally, in such an environment more focus towards ascription rather than achievement would be expected (Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner, 1997, 2000). Nevertheless, the contrary appears in the Japanese context with leaders having to possess superior, often specific, (hard) knowledge supplemented by strong educational backgrounds (Nestler, 2008). Here another disparity to UK leadership emerges, where despite educational b ackground being important for initial work placement, greater focus upon (soft) people skills and strategic directive is desired and ascription of leadership positions remains (Hampden-Turner & Trompenaars, 1994).The collectivist principles shape Japanese leadership style dramatically, requiring group consensus and decision-making despite extremely high masculinity and higher power distance. Essentially a bottom-up (ringsho) process of decision-making is chosen (Wu, 2006) with the leader granting independent decision making to the group generally letting subordinates use their own approaches to achieve overall collectivist objectives (Dorfman et al. 1997). This is surprising, as in western societies strong hierarchicalstructures often result in a top-down leadership approach but can be explained through high uncertainly avoidance collecting input and consensus from all parties involved before decisions are made.Even more so, the concepts of wa (maintaining social relationships) and kao (maintaining face) actually require the involvement of subordinates in the decision making process and the preservation of harmony rendering western leader contingent punishment behaviour inappropriate. It is here where Japanese leadership style diverts extensively from its UK (Anglo-Saxon) counterpart where public scrutinising is part of daily leadership practices reflecting a competitive and individualistic culture driven by short-term financial objectives with high-risk acceptance.Due to the collectivist environment and extensive future planning, Japanese managers on the other hand, do not view themselves as risk takers, despite this characteristic often being attributed to charismatic leaders (Bass, 1985). This is reflected in Japans extremely high uncertainty avoidance score and is further supported by strong long-term orientation valuing prevailing face and harmony. Unsurprisingly, life-long employment is desired, supplemented b continued job rotation aimed at developing e mployees.As a result leaders and subordinates enter into long and close relationships hardly ever interrupted contrasting the UKs burn out environment fostering high staff turnover. Unlike in the UK, Japanese business leaders look for generalist employees capable of working in multiple levels of the organisation reflecting a society placing less value upon specialists than western cultures.Overall, Japanese leaders focus upon collective (not individual) responsibility (Hayashi, 1988) and group harmony maintenance is usually considered more important than profitability and overall productivity (Bass, 1990). Nevertheless, also Japanese leaders have to drive performance resulting in somewhat of a trade-off situation between performance and collectivist harmony maintenance. According to the performance-maintenance theory (Misumi, 1990), Japanese leaders have to chose between goal achievement and the continuation of the group, preferably combining high levels of both (Misumi, 1995).If th is is achieved, such supportive orparticipative leadership styles (Ouchi, 1981) are said to result in higher levels of motivation, delegation of decision-making, commitment, and intrinsic job satisfaction (Keys and Miller, 1982, p. 6). This appears to be in line with the currently preferred leadership style in the UK. However, one should not forget that unlike the Japanese working environment, the UK has been subject to great inward as well as outward FDI flows resulting in a blending of many different leadership approaches. As such arguably UK leaders would find it easier to adapt to Japanese principles than Japanese leaders. This is due to the western farce of collectivist team working for individualistic goals and the limited respect paid to status differences.While Hofstedes framework helps to understand the leadership differences between the two countries if fails to explain some factors. So for examples does high Japanese power distance explain hierarchical structures and resp ect to superiors but the theoretical assumptions of complete centralisation of power, low emphasis on developing the workforce and autocratic top-down contact initiation (Hofstede, 1991) do not fully reflect the Japanese working environment.On this note one should not forget that Hofstedes framework is not free of criticism and arguably is outdated, limited in scope of methodology and measurement (Dorfman and Howell, 1988 Roberts and Boyciligiller, 1984) and only reflects a blend of organisational (IBM) culture and national cultures (Hunt, 1983 Robinson, 1983). As such it is no surprise that other studies such as the GLOBE project have found differing or even contradictory results for similar cultural dimensions.