Questions
You will play the role of a paralegal in a software development company. You have been...

  1. You will play the role of a paralegal in a software development company. You have been given the task of recommending the type of license agreement that should be used for your company’s new software product line. Consider all types of license agreements in making the recommendation. The software delivery method should also be considered.

In: Operations Management

Asiacentric Communication Ethics and Competence Asia is diverse and dynamic. It is a region of cultural...

Asiacentric Communication Ethics and Competence

Asia is diverse and dynamic. It is a region of cultural complexity, continuity, and change, although the term signifies a certain geographical location in the world, designates a common historical and political struggle against Western imperialism and colonialism, and implies shared religious-philosophical foundations and cultural heritage (Miike, 2003a). Asian nations are plural societies. They “have a dominant community and a number of minority communities divided on the basis of language, religion, caste, and ethnicity living together under a single polity” (Goonasekera, 2003, p. 368). Chen and Starosta (2003) vividly depict such a place of remarkable variety and vitality:

Indonesia is largely Muslim, yet it contains a large Hindu enclave in Bali. Indians were also imported to parts of Malaysia, and Buddhism, started in India, [but] can hardly be found there now, except [as] a political reaction to casteism. Instead, it has taken root in China, Sri Lanka, and elsewhere. Shintoism thrives in Japan, but maybe nowhere else. Asia has some massive cities, but 80% of some Asian countries are rural. India and China have 800 language varieties or dialects. (p. 1)

Obviously, therefore, all Asian communicators do not subscribe to the above-discussed five propositions. These propositions do not necessarily reflect the way Asians actually communicate in real-life situations.

Nevertheless, they serve as theoretical lenses from which to see an Asian version of humanity and to view Asian thought and action. They are designed to provide much food for thought in rethinking the nature and ideal of human communication in Asia and beyond from an alternative vantage point.

For example, the advent of the global village and the crisis of the human condition have made it compelling to ruminate on communication ethics and competence in intercultural contexts (Chen, 2005; Miike, 2009b; Tehranian, 2007). There have been extensive discussions on Eurocentric biases in the definitions and components of these key concepts (e.g., Chen & Starosta, 2008; Ishii, 2009; Shuter, 2003; Xiao & Chen, 2009). We can reexamine current conceptualizations of communication ethics and competence from the five Asiacentric propositions. They suggest that an ethical communicator can (1) remind herself or himself and others of interrelatedness and inter- dependence through communication, (2) discipline and cultivate herself or himself without being overly self-centered through communication, (3) develop her or his altruistic sensitivity to the sufferings of others, (4) feel her or his obligation to remember the debts that she or he has received and to try to return them in one way or another, and (5) speak up for greater harmony and morality.

Just like many proponents of Asian values who are often misunderstood by Western conservative intellectuals (Mahbubani, 2002), I am not asserting that these Asiacentric viewpoints on humans communicating are superior to Eurocentric ones, but I am protesting that they are not inferior to them. They are rooted in the Asian worldview and yet may be sharable along with those rooted in, say, the African worldview toward what Tu (2006, 2007) calls “a dialogical civilization” or what Sitaram (1998) calls “a higher humanity.” In Sitaram’s (1998) view, such a truly human civilization “is not an extension of any one culture; rather it would be the essence of all cultures of the entire humanity” (p. 13). Hence, there is room for Asiacentric, as well as Afrocentric and other non-Western, contributions. As Asante (1993) avers, there is also “space for Eurocentricity in a multicultural enterprise so long as it does not parade as universal. No one wants to banish the Eurocentric view. It is a valid view of reality where it does not force its way” (p. 188).

Summarize, with examples, the five Asiacentric communication propositions and compare them with the propositions based on the Eurocentric worldview.??

In: Operations Management

You’ve Got Mail…and You’re Fired! The Case of RadioShack No one likes to receive bad news,...

You’ve Got Mail…and You’re Fired! The Case of RadioShack No one likes to receive bad news, and few like to give it. In what is heralded as one of the biggest human resources blunders of 2006, one company found a way around the discomfort of firing someone face-to-face. A total of 400 employees at the Fort Worth, Texas, headquarters of RadioShack Corporation (NYSE: RSH) got the ultimate e-mail message early one Tuesday morning. The message simply said, “The work force reduction notification is currently in progress. Unfortunately, your position is one that has been eliminated.” Company officials argued that using electronic notification was faster and allowed more privacy than breaking the news in person, and additionally, those employees who were laid off received generous severance packages. Organizational consultant Ken Siegel disagrees, proclaiming, “The bottom line is this: To almost everyone who observes or reads this, it represents a stupefying new low in the annals of management practice.” It’s unclear what, if any, the longterm effect will be for RadioShack. It isn’t just RadioShack that finds it challenging to deal with letting employees go. Terminating employees can be a painful job for many managers. The communication that takes place requires careful preparation and substantial levels of skill. BusinessWeek ethics columnist Bruce Weinstein suggests MAN 1163_2 (April 4 th, 2020) © 2020 LAMBTON COLLEGE IN TORONTO that anyone who is involved with communicating with downsized employees has an ethical responsibility to do it correctly, which includes doing it in person, doing it privately, giving the person your full attention, being honest but sensitive, and not rushing the person. Some organizations outsource the job of letting someone go to “terminators” who handle this difficult task for them. In fact, Up in the Air, the 2009 movie starring George Clooney that was nominated for six Oscars, chronicles changes at a workforce reduction firm and highlights many of these issues. Downsizing has been referred to using many euphemisms (language that softens the sound of the word) for termination. Here are just a few ways to say you’re about to lose your job without saying you’ve been fired: • Career alternative enhancement program • Career-change opportunity • Dehiring staff • Derecruiting resources • Downsizing employment • Employee reduction activities • Implementing a skills mix adjustment • Negative employee retention • Optimizing outplacement potential • Rectification of a workforce imbalance • Redundancy elimination • Right-sizing employment • Vocation relocation policy Regardless of how it’s done or what it’s called, is downsizing effective for organizations? Jeffrey Pfeffer, a faculty member at Stanford and best-selling author, argues no: “Contrary to popular belief, companies that announce layoffs do not enjoy higher stock prices than peers—either immediately or over time. A study of 141 layoff announcements between 1979 and 1997 found negative stock returns to companies announcing layoffs, with larger and permanent layoffs leading to greater negative effects. An examination of 1,445 downsizing announcements between 1990 and 1998 also reported that downsizing had a negative effect on stock-market returns, and the negative effects were larger the greater the extent of the downsizing. Yet another MAN 1163_2 (April 4 th, 2020) © 2020 LAMBTON COLLEGE IN TORONTO study comparing 300 layoff announcements in the United States and 73 in Japan found that in both countries, there were negative abnormal shareholder returns following the announcement.” He further notes that evidence doesn’t support the idea that layoffs increase individual company productivity either: “A study of productivity changes between 1977 and 1987 in more than 140,000 U.S. companies using Census of Manufacturers data found that companies that enjoyed the greatest increases in productivity were just as likely to have added workers as they were to have downsized.” Please Answer the Following 5 Questions: 1. What communication barriers did RadioShack likely experience as a result of terminating employees via the communication method used? 2. What do you think RadioShack’s underlying motivation was in using this form of communication? 3. What suggestions for the future would you give RadioShack when faced with the need to dismiss a large number of employees? 4. How has technology enhanced our ability to communicate effectively? In what ways has it hindered our ability to communicate effectively? 5. What ethical challenges and concerns do you think individuals involved in downsizing have?

In: Operations Management

What strategic issues should TOMS shoes management and investors be most concerned with? Are there possible...

What strategic issues should TOMS shoes management and investors be most concerned with? Are there possible improvements to its competitive strategy? Are there internal weaknesses or external threats to its well-being that must be addressed?

In: Operations Management

Write an Executive Summary for the Snapchat INC., company 700 words min

Write an Executive Summary for the Snapchat INC., company

700 words min

In: Operations Management

Recall a particular un-motivating job you have held. Analyze the job held based on the Expectancy...

Recall a particular un-motivating job you have held. Analyze the job held based on the Expectancy Theory and identify specifically what components of the job were sources of lack of motivation.

In: Operations Management

Is the manufacturing trivial or significant? Provide evidence for your assessment

Is the manufacturing trivial or significant? Provide evidence for your assessment

In: Operations Management

Derive the expected time a customer waits in the queue in an M=G=1 queue in which...

Derive the expected time a customer waits in the queue in an M=G=1 queue in which customers are served using the Last Come First Served service discipline.

In: Operations Management

Is marketing trivial or significant?

Is marketing trivial or significant?

In: Operations Management

2.) Define “All Hazards.” please provide references/APA style. thanks

2.) Define “All Hazards.” please provide references/APA style. thanks

In: Operations Management

A-One Landscapers, Inc., owes Friendly Finance Company $5,000. A-One enters into a contract with Suburban Office...

A-One Landscapers, Inc., owes Friendly Finance Company $5,000. A-One enters into a contract with Suburban Office Park under which A-One promises to maintain the landscaping on Suburban’s property and Suburban promises to pay Friendly Finance the amount that will be due A-One until A-One’s debt to Friendly Finance is paid. A-One performs as promised, but Suburban does not pay Friendly Finance.

1.   What is the basis for a claim by Friendly Finance against Suburban?
2.   Will Friendly Finance be successful if it sues Suburban based on your answer to 1., above?
3.   Explain why or why not Friendly Finance will succeed in such a suit. In your answer state the general legal principle and then apply it to these facts.

In: Operations Management

Discuss the four criteria that the resources of a firm must possess to maintain a sustainable...

Discuss the four criteria that the resources of a firm must possess to maintain a sustainable advantage. Give an example of one of these criteria.

In: Operations Management

1.) Define what situational awareness really means in a modern EOC (Emergency Operations Center). Please provide...

1.) Define what situational awareness really means in a modern EOC (Emergency Operations Center). Please provide references/APA style.

In: Operations Management

Describe three different types of warehouses and the advantages of each?

Describe three different types of warehouses and the advantages of each?

In: Operations Management

SELLING MEDICAL ULTRASOUND TECHNOLOGY IN ASIA by Linda Trevi~no and Alessandro Gubbini Asurprisingethicaldilemmaaroseforayoungengineerduringhisfirstbusinesstripto Asia towork with...

SELLING MEDICAL ULTRASOUND TECHNOLOGY IN ASIA
by Linda Trevi~no and Alessandro Gubbini
Asurprisingethicaldilemmaaroseforayoungengineerduringhisfirstbusinesstripto Asia towork with customers of his company’s ultrasound imaging technology. On the long airplane ride, Pat was dutifully reading a travel book to learn more about Korean and Chinese cultures when hewas shocked to learn how ultrasound technologies were being used in these countries. A technology that he had always considered to be a way to help people by diagnosing disease was being commonly used to intentionally identify andterminate pregnancieswhenthefetuswasfemale.Asanengineer,Pat had been trained to be passionate about innovation and problem solving. He was used to thinking about these technologies as innovative high-tech solutions to serious health problems. He was also committed to developing higher-quality, more efficient, affordable devices so that they could be used more widely. It had never occurred to him that in some Asian cultures, where overpopulation combined with a strong patriarchal culture led to a preference for sons over daughters, this technology that he considered to be innovative, helpful, and supportive of people’s well-being might be used to eliminate female lives. As ultrasound technology has advanced and become more available, it has been used more widely in decisions to abort female fetuses in favor of sons. After some more research, Pat learned that this practice has become quite common in China, which controls population growth by allowing families to have only one child. In India, female children are more costly to families because the culture requires the family to bear the expenses of their daughters’ weddings and dowries. By comparison, an ultrasound exam is a small expense even for these poor families. Pat was further surprised to learn that using ultrasound technology to identify fetus gender and abort the fetus based upon gender information is unlawful in most of these countries (for example, in India doctors are forbidden from disclosing the gender of fetuses). However, the enforcement of such laws is difficult and spotty, especially in clinics that are far away from citiies and regulators.The problem is being exacerbated because many ultrasound machines are being sold on the second-hand market, thus making ultrasound more available and more affordable to these clinics. The increasing use of the technology to abort female fetuses is beginning to create a huge societal problem because males are outnumbering females, distorting nature’s careful gender balance. There are estimates that more than 150 million women are“missing”from the world as a result of sex-selective abortions and female infanticide. That’s equivalent to missing every woman in America! The 2001 Indian census demonstrated a huge drop in the number of young girls relative to boys(927 girls for every 1,000 boys compared to 945 to 1,000 a decade earlier) ,and the problem continues to worsen as the use of ultrasound technology increases. According to UNICEF, China now has only 832 girls for every 1,000 boys aged 0–4. Looking to the future as these children grow up, some have predicted increasing trafficking of women for prostitution and violent crime as young males compete for the smaller number of available females. In thinking through what he had learned, Pat found himself considering the patients, the healthcare practitioners, and the healthcare industry as well as his company, other technology developers, and the broader cultures involved. Patients benefit from access to life-saving technologies that can identify diseases at an early stage so that they can be treated more successfully. But patients can also be harmed if, due to early identification of their child’s gender, mothers feel forced into abortions against their will. In these cultures, many mothers apparently do feel compelled by cultural or family pressures to abort female fetuses.Medical practitioners benefit from the ability to do faster and more accurate diagnoses, but they too can be pressured to use these systems for unethical purposes. The industry and the developers (including Pat’s company)certainly profit from the production and sale of more of these products. But the company and industry risk sullying their reputations if they are found responsible for selling these systems to unauthorized users for unlawful purposes. Imagine what the media could make of that story. According to a prestigious British medical journal, The Lancet (2006), the unlawful use of diagnostic ultrasound technologies is contributing to an estimated 1 million abortions of female fetuses every year.Yet, these diagnostic technologies still greatly benefit society world wide in saving and improving the lives of many millions of patients. How should Pat think about this? Do the benefits to society of the technology outweigh the harms? Even if they do, does the company want to be connected to a practice that many people find immoral and that is illegal in many countries?Pat found this practice particularly distasteful when looking at it from the perspective of the females who would not be born simply because of their gender. Pat wondered, “Is this practice fair to them? And aren’t we all facilitating the practice by looking the other way? What would happen if such gender discrimination were globally accepted as normal practice? Could that ever be the right thing to do?” What would international health organizations such as the World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (WFUMB), which provides training and education to doctors worldwide, have to say about such practices? Pat wondered what his wife would think if she knew that his work involved this unexpected result? Would she expect him to do something? What is his individual responsibility here? What is his company’s responsibility? Because Pat felt so confused by what he had read, and he didn’t fully understand the legal or cultural environment, he never mentioned the subject to his Asian clients. But it remained in the back of his mind. When he returned home, he kept thinking aboutit.Therewasnoformalstructureforhimtosurfacetheissuewithinthecompany, so he decided to discuss the subject with some trusted colleagues. He wondered whether they were aware of the issue and what they might think about it. Were they as bothered as he was? It turns out that they were as unaware of these practices as he had been. It also seemed more distant to them because they had not traveled to Asia as he had, and there was no agreement about what to do. Engineers tend to think about products only in technical terms—the potential for technical flaws and dangers that might harm patients. They rarely encounter the ultimate end users, and they’re not trained to think about cultural implications. Asa Westerner, all of this was particularly hard for Pat to deal with. He was caught completely off guard. He asked himself: “What do I need to do, if anything? I’m scheduledtoreturntothesecountriestosupportourclients’useofourtechnology, so I won’t be able to avoid the issue for long. It seems almost ridiculous that I became aware of this issue through a travel book. If it hadn’t been for that book, I probably never would have thought about the issue at all. My company had not prepared me. It offered no special training on cultural or ethical issues for employees they send to work overseas. It seemed like the company’s values of providing people with the opportunity for earlier diagnoses prevented us from exploring the potential misuse of our product. The company and industry focus on how to develop technologies to identify life-threatening conditions earlier, better, and faster. We like to think of our selves and our technologies as saving lives,not risking them. The company’s stated value is to provide healthcare solutions to patients worldwide. But, in this case, our technology was being used to both save and end lives.Do our values need to change? I think of our company as being good and ethical, but we were obviously unprepared in this case. We had not done our homework.” Even if the company wanted to do something, Pat wondered what they could do. The company is an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), meaning that it doesn’t sell directly to the end users. Therefore the responsibility for putting these technologies into the wrong hands is widely dispersed across different manufacturers, distributors and local institutions. Pat also wondered whether and how the company couldinfluencethesedifferentpartiestotakeactionevenifitdecideditwasrighttodo so. On top of that,the company is in the United States, and these end users are halfway across the world.

  1. Does this use of our technology breach a core value? Or is this a case where we should respect local cultural practice? Is there some compromise position in between?
  2. How might the company think about our responsibility from a supply‐chain perspective? Might they learn anything from companies in other industries that have had to deal with this issue? For example, would it be appropriate to initiate a policy to engage with customers who certify that they will sell exclusively to authorized users? Even if the company did that, how could they be sure customers were complying?

In: Operations Management