Apple iPhone Essay

Japan to Apple iPhone â€Å"No Thanks† and Would Mickey Mouse Eat Shark Fin Soup these two case studies shows what happens when consumer behavior and marketing mix in globalization goes very wrong. These two studies reveal how marketer think they are giving a wonderful product and service in the case of Apple’s the iPhone and Disney the Shark’s Fin Soup. Understanding the consumer’s behavior and the customs and values of the culture impacted these two campaigns. Apologies good media press and changes in the strategy to get the approval of the consumers. Both case studies points out the impact of technology and how it at first affected the campaigns for bad with negative that changed the reputation of both companys. Apple’s dilemma was very embarrassing for the company with negative reports and predictions of how the iPhone was going to sell in Japan. The propaganda was already put out to the media about the Japanese saying No Thanks to Apple concerning the iPhone 3. Apple thought that Japan would be ecstatic with the new product but supposedly the opposite occurred with reports of weak showing of the iPhone3. Of course with Apple being the cutting edge in technology and innovation in the western world Japan did not feel the same way about Apple’s iPhone3. First Japan was a hard market to try to get into the for Apple and their competition Nokia, and Motorola, whose attempts to grab Japanese customers were futile. So this was going to be a difficult campaign for Apple. At the time Japan was hostile toward western brand including Nokia and Motorola which I thought were Japanese brands. What’s wrong with the iPhone, from a Japanese perspective? The high monthly data plans that go with it, its lack of features, the low-quality camera, the unfashionable design and the fact that it’s not Japanese. Besides cultural opposition, Japanese citizens possess high standards when it comes to cell phones. The country is famous for being ahead of its time when it comes to technology. Japanese consumer rather would use their own brand even if the feature is not used frequently. For example, Japanese handset users are extremely into video and photos .The iPhone had neither a video camera nor multimedia text messaging. A highlight feature enjoy on their handset is a TV tuner. Many consumers also used their cell phone as their only computer device and also as a TV. The monthly rates was considered to expense and many consumers did not want to pay the monthy bill. Apple had to make  decision because the consumer’s behavior was very different in Japan. The Japanese in the time of No Thanks were more communal than individualistic which a new trend with the younger generation is. They were not considered conspicuous consumption they way it is in western countries. The Japanese way of consumer behaving was inherited from Edo Period of history (each class had it own code) Brand shopping revealed two things about the Japanese consumer social status and quality of product. Japanese consumers are known for being demanding with products. The Japanese consumer shopped mostly in department stores but now this is changing with malls. The Japanese consumer is a cautious spender and that is why the monthly charge for service was problem for Apple. They are also very environmental aware and health conscious. Apple did not understand that Japan demographic of aging is very large with life expectancy being vey long. So Japan has a big 60 plus consumers demographic that live by the old tradition, values and customs. These consumer behaviors were very different from the western marketer Apple did not take these in to consideration when the iPhone came out. The marketer had to start at zero level and make huge marketing decision for the Japanese market. Quality of the iPhone its features had to be reintroducing to the consumers to the cell phone market in Japan. Many iphones were given away so as to help the consumer get comfortable with the iphone a great strategy. The monthly pricing had to be adjusted but they really had to do with the value of the Yen. The Bloomberg report today notes that the iPhone has captured 72 percent of the Japanese market. High price, lack of a video camera and support for multimedia messaging, all three of those shortcomings have been addressed. â€Å"Softbank w ho Apple used to sell iPhones gives away the phone for free, and Apple has added a video camera and support for multimedia messaging. The Bloomberg report further suggests that those moves were just what the iPhone needed to gain a foothold in Japan, which we also acknowledged in a report published August 2009.†(Tewney ,2008) Would Mickey Mouse Eat Shark’s Fin Soup? Became fiasco for Disney with reports that Disney wool start serving Shark Fin Soup to their customers in Disney Hong Kong. In a feature dated May 18, the Hong Kong Standard reports that shark fin soup, along with roast suckling pig and sliced abalone, will be included in wedding banquets Disney is promoting at the two hotels at the Hong Kong Disneyland resort. Shark’s fin soup is a traditional Chinese  delicacy popular at weddings and other important social events. Eating shark’s fin soup carries cultural significance and is seen as luxurious and a display of affluence and generosity. However the process by which sharks are caught and killed to provide the ingredients has long been criticized for the way in which fins are h arvested. A 2004 survey by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) found that out of 262 shark species around the world, 56 were endangered. The Hong Kong Standard publishes a follow up to the story on May 23 and reports that Disney’s plans to serve shark’s fin soup have outraged local environmentalists. Under the environmentally umbrella Disney has integrated conservation efforts into its daily operations. The company says its employees around the world proactively support environmental initiatives through all aspects of its business and states that it is â€Å"committed to balancing environmental stewardship with our corporate goals throughout the world.† Disney lesson was tradition and customs no longer overruled environmental issues because affluent consumer wants a certain food or clothes. The voice of green and environmental safety out powered and was louder than the money of the wealth who wanted the Shark Fin Soup. With the new rising environmentalist animal cruelty advocate this was not going to be easy for the affluent consumer to win. Disney was going to have to make a decision not to serve the soup at all and it did. Globalization, can intentionally or otherwise remove social and cultural differences, which can often have a bearing on consumer behavior and in turn, lead to brands developing a more consistent global identity, one which doesn’t have to worry about the backlash of possible misinterpretation in other parts of the world. This isn’t to say that marketers believe cultural issues are no longer important. In fact, quite the opposite is true. The more information a brand holds about the world and its contrasting consumers the more chance it has of understanding and manipulating them. The interlocking of economic spheres is another aspect, which has affected consumer behavior for very different reasons all together. The European Union and the combine currency of Euro connecting different countries with the same currencies make for a huge consumer behavior being established. This was also the problem with Apple’s because Japan does not have the same cultural values as the western hemisphere which was a learning campaign for Apple’s globalization. The arrival of the Internet and advances in technology have succeeded in breaking down social and cultural barriers, but have not succeeded in stopping the masses from being continually guided by those who are learning more and more about them and the way they behave. In conclusion these two global business dilemma help to open the way for a precise understanding of different culture that helps with evolving of globalization to include all cultures and to give the best culturally socially, environment decision while giving the best service and product. Reference Key Characteristic of The Japanese Consumer (2014) Retrieved from: http://www.slideshare.net/rpretet/key-characteristics-of-japanese-consumers CRS ASIA (2014) Retrieved from :http://www.csr-asia.com/weekly_news_detail.php?id=5318 Consumer Behavior (2014) Retrieved from:http://publicresearchsystems.blogspot.com/2009/01/report-on-global-factors-affecting.html Why Japans Hate Apple (2014) Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2009/02/why-the-iphone/ . â€Å"Softbank who Apple used to sell iPhones gives away the phone for free, and Apple has added a video camera and support for multimedia messaging. The Bloomberg report further suggests that those moves were just what the iPhone needed to gain a foothold in Japan, which we also acknowledged in a report published August 2009.† Why Japans Hate Apple (2014) Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2009/02/why-the-iphone/ Would Mickey Mouse Eat Shark’s Fin Soup Retrieved from:http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/17/business/worldbusiness/17 shark.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Child in the Preoperational Stage Essay

A study was carried out by two third year psychology students to investigate Piaget’s stage theory. A 4 years old female child was tested in task of comprehension of more and less, followed standard and modified versions of conservation and class inclusion tasks. Results indicated that child exhibited difficulties in both modified conservation and class inclusion tasks despite the removal of some confounds in standard tasks. This infers that children of pre-operational stage do lack the ability to conserve and categorize objects, as predicted by Piaget. Further research need to address children’s numerical abilities, as well as attending to perceptive seductions. This research needs to compare children who are able and unable to attend to number logics, as well as modifying the class inclusion task so that perceptive seduction cannot take place. Child in the preoperational stageMany researchers have been interested in various confounds which are present in Jean Piaget’s stage theories. His studies have postulated that children in the pre-operational stage lack the ability to perform conservation and class inclusion tasks (White, Hayes, Livsey, 2005). The methodologies of the study however, have been criticized by many researchers. Flaws and alternatives found in the standard Piagetian tasks include conversational confusions, perceptual seduction, and linguistic misunderstandings (Light, 1986, Siegel, 1978, 2003, Meadows, 1988). These issues have been addressed with modifications to the standard tasks. Majority of the research have found modified tasks to be better predictors of child’s abilities in conservation and class inclusion tasks. (Light, 1986, Siegel, 1978, 2003, Meadows, 1988). According to Piaget’s stage theory, children in the pre-operational stage are non-conservers (White et al, 2005). Their tendency of centration causes them to focus on only one aspect of the problem at a time (White et al, 2005). This implies that they are unable to comprehend that quantitative properties of certain objects remain unchanged despite changes in its appearance (White et al, 2005). For example, pre-operational children typically judge water of the same volume to be more, after the transformation in standard liquid conservation tasks (Siegal, 2003). A problem in this procedure however, lies within the confusion caused by children’s conversational experience (Siegal,  2003). This theory proposes that rather than actually responding to the logic behind the transformations of the liquid, children misinterprets the repetition of the same question as a cue to switch their answer in order to please the adult experimenter (Siegel, 2003). To address conversational confusion, liquid conservation tasks had been modified by the means of incidental transformation (Light, 1986). The intention of this modification is to contextualize the intentions of adults in repeating the same question. Light (1986) administered the standard Piagetian conservation procedure up to the point when both beakers of the same size and volume. However, during the transformation, the experimenter â€Å"incidentally† noticed that one of the beakers was chipped, and found a taller and thinner beaker as the replacement container for the original content. The result found that only 5 percent of children correctly responded to the conservation task in the standard condition, while 70 percent correctly responded to the incidental condition (Light, 1986). An alternative to Piaget’s theory of conservation is that non-conservers may actually be perceptually seduced (Siegel, 2003). This theory postulates that children pay more attention to the post-transformation state and disregards the pre-transformation state(Siegel, 2003). They fail the question about conservation because all of their attention are diverted into the new state and they perceive it as different from the old state (Siegel, 2003). Research had shown that children who do not witness the process of transformation are much more likely to conserve than children who sees the transformation taking place (Siegel, 2003). Another difficulty that Piaget found in pre-operational children is their ability to attend to class inclusion tasks (Siegel, 2003). In a study, pre-operational children were presented with a set of 6 cars and 4 trucks. When asked the question â€Å"are there more trucks or vehicles†, children will typically answer cars (White et al, 2005). Explanation for this result as proposed by Piaget is that children are unable to conceptualize cars as a more inclusive category of the hierarchy (White et al, 2005). Limitations however, were found in this theory in terms of children’s linguistic misunderstandings. A study by Sigel (1978) compared the performance of 4 year old children who were asked whether they would like to eat candy with those asked if there were more candy in the array. Results found that significantly more children passed the eat-candy task (50%) as opposed to 26% in the more-candy task. This implicates that pre-operational children performs better on tasks of class inclusion when linguistic cues were made salient with age-appropriate cues as opposed using comprehension of relational terminology such as â€Å"more† and â€Å"less† (Sigel, 1978). A modified class inclusion task was designed in the current experiment to address the linguistic issues associated with child’s performance. Previous studies have found that children experience confusion when similar words are used in each level of the hierarchy (e.g. black cows, cows) (White et al, 2003). They are however, more familiar with the relationships where each member makes up part of a whole (White et al, 2003). Hence, when children were taught, or are familiar with the superordinate class such as â€Å"family†, they are more likely to have certainty about its relation with the subordinates (e.g. three baby horses, two parent horses) (Meadows, 1998). The present study is aimed to investigate whether children in their pre-operational stage experience difficulties in conservation and class-inclusion tasks as predicted by Piaget. From the research examined, it was anticipated that the child’s performance on modified tasks will be better than the standard tasks. It was hypothesized that the child will perform poorly in standard conservation and class inclusion tasks. It was also hypothesized that the child’s performance in the standard tasks were influenced by factors other than those intended in the standard Piagetian procedure. MethodParticipantThe subject is a four year and old female who is living at home with both of her parents in Petersham. She currently attends the local pre-school. The test was conducted inside the child’s house with two experimenters. One of the experimenter, who is her aunty, was responsible for interviewing the child, while the other transcribes the events. MaterialsFor comprehension of more or less, a total of 11 blocks were used. 5 blue and 5 yellow blocks were used in the standard number conservation task. 2 bottles of the same size and a thinner and taller bottle were used in the standard liquid conservation task. A picture with 4 black horses and 2 white horses was used in the standard class inclusion task. In the modified liquid conservation task, 2 toy horses were used as characters for picnic. 2 bottles of the same size, with one missing the label was used in the pre-transformation stage. A taller, thinner bottle was used in the post-transformation stage. In the modified class inclusion task, 2 larger â€Å"parent† toy horses and 3 smaller â€Å"baby† toy horses were placed next to one another. ProcedureThe experiment was carried out in the order test of comprehension of more and less; standard number conservation; standard liquid conservation; standard class inclusion; modified liquid conservation; and modified class inclusion. In the comprehension of more and less task, the experimenter takes out 8 blocks, but separates them so there were 4 each side. There is also another basked with 3 spare blocks in it. The child is then asked to make one pile more than the other, followed by the prompt to make the now larger pile less than the other pile. In the standard number conservation task, the blue and yellow blocks were placed in 2 lines equidistant of each other. On post-transformation, spaces between the yellow blocks were enlarged by the experimenter. Please refer to the appendix for details on rest of the tasks. ResultsOutcome of the study shows that the child is able to comprehend when something is more, but was unable transform the pile that had more objects to be less than the smaller pile. Results have also shown that the child was able to correctly answer the pre-transformation questions of standard number and liquid conservation, as well as modified liquid tasks, but failed in post-transformation and justifications of these tasks. Finally, the results have shown that the child was unable to correctly answer any of the class inclusion tasks, even after concept of family was eventually introduced to her by the experimenter in the modified class inclusion task. For the full results, please refer to the results summary in Appendix A. Discussion Contrary to the anticipations, the child did not perform better in any of the modified tasks as compared to standard tasks. The results provide support for the hypothesis that child will perform poorly in standard conservation and class inclusion tasks. The child performed consistently poorly across all three standard Piagetian tasks. As a result, the child’s performance in the tests clearly places her in Piaget’s preoperational stage of development. The results are consistent with all critics in the current field, who found children of preoperational stage to perform poorly across standard tasks (Light, 1986, Siegel, 1978, 2003, Meadows, 1988). Hence, the validity of the criticisms relies on the child’s performance on modified tasks. A notable aspect of the results indicates that child’s performance in the standard tasks may be hindered by her ability to correctly comprehend the concept of more and less. The results did not support the hypothesis that child’s performance in the standard tasks were influenced by factors other than those intended in the standard Piagetian procedure. No support of conversational confusion was found in the present experiment whereby despite the removal of such confounds. The incidental transformation in the modified liquid conservation task did not produce better results compared to the standard tasks. This result did not support Light’s (1986) experiment where children in modified tasks performed significantly better than those doing the standard tasks. The reasons behind this result may be that the child does not have a correct grasp of the concept of more and less. Alternatively, the child, who is in  her preoperational stage, may genuinely lack the ability to conserve, as proposed by Piaget (White et al, 2005). A limitation behind this result may be attributed to the theory that the child may be perceptually seduced (Siegel, 2003). In essence, despite the transformation being â€Å"incidental†, the child still witnessed it taking place. Hence, child’s attention was diverted to the post-transformation state of the water â€Å"got bigger† in the taller, thinner bottle. Future research may incorporate the â€Å"incidental† transformation task that prevents the child from witnessing the process of transformation taking place. No evidence for linguistic misunderstanding was found in the current experiment. The child performed equally poorly in both standard and modified class inclusion tasks despite the removal of such confound. The result shows that even after introducing the concept of the family to the child with evidence of learning, she was still unable to comprehend that the â€Å"family† was a superordinate of class with subordinates of parent and baby horses. This finding does not support Meadow’s (1988) theory in that grasp of the relationship between superordinate and subordinates helps children perform better in class inclusion tasks. The child’s problem in all class inclusion tasks may be attributed to Piaget’s theory of centration whereby children in the preoperational stage are only able to attend to one aspect of the problem at a time (White et al, 2005). In this case, the child may be centrated on the old concept that there are more baby horses and disregard the new concept that the baby horses were a part of the â€Å"family†. Alternatively, the child’s performance may be hindered by their inability to comprehend more and less. A further limitation of the study was that results of the experiment were strongly hindered by the fact that the child was unable to comprehend when something is less. This confound creates ambiguity to the question whether child in the preoperational stage genuinely lack the ability in conservation and class inclusion tasks, or if the outcomes were attributed to their lack of logics with numbers. Future research could overcome this problem by comparing the results of preoperational children who are able, and unable to  correctly attend to the concept of more and less. An alternative way to overcome this problem is to employ age-specific linguistic cues in class inclusion tasks as opposed to using concepts of â€Å"more† and â€Å"less† (Siegel. 1978). Overall, the results of the study suggest that children in the preoperational stage do indeed lack the ability to correctly perform conservation and class inclusion tasks despite the removal of some confounds. However, the results were not clear cut to whether they were caused by child’s ability to comprehend to more and less or if they were perceptually seduced. Future research could compare children who are able and unable to attend to number logics, as well as modifying the class inclusion task to remove the confound of perceptive seduction. References Light, P. C.(1986). Context, conservation and conversation. In M. Richards. & P. Light (Eds.) Children of social worlds : Development in a social context. Cambridge, U.K.: Polity Press. Meadows S (1988) Piaget’s contribution to understanding cognitive development. In K Richardson & S. Sheldon (Eds.) Cognitive Development to Adolescence. Hove: Lawrence Erlbaum. Siegel, L., McCabe A., Brand J, & Mathews J (1978) Evidence for understanding of class inclusion in preschool children: Linguistic factors and training effects. Child Development, 49, 688-693. Siegal, M. (2003). Cognitive development. In A. Slater & G. Bremner (Eds.) An introduction to developmental psychology. Malden, MA: Blackwell. Chapter 8White. F, Hayes. B, Livesey. D (2005). Evaluating Piaget’s claims: Preoperational period. Developmental Psychology: From infancy to adulthood .Pearson Prentice Hall. Chapter 5

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Acceptable Use Policy & Security Audit Assignment

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Why should students attend college to obtain a education Essay

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Population Control and The Origins of the 3rd World Essay

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International Assignments - Research Paper Example Cultural training is country-specific as each country has its unique culture. Cultural training covers such aspects of culture as social customs and business etiquette. The second component of pre-departure training is didactic training. Didactic training has been found to be the most common form of cross-cultural training; over two-thirds of multinational corporations offer didactic training through informal briefings of the expatriates before their deployment (Hà ¥nberg & Ãâ€"sterdahl, 2009). It may also take more structured forms such as lectures or informative booklets. This component of training is important as it provides practical information on living and working in the destination country. The content of didactic training is factual information such as shopping and travel. In addition, it may include information that aimed at helping the expatriate adapt to the culture of the host country. The third component of pre-deployment training is training in language skills. Language training entails teaching the expatriate the native or official language of the host country. Whileit may take the expatriate months or years to master the language and be fluent in it, it is important that the expatriate has a basic command of the language (Hà ¥nberg & Ãâ€"sterdahl, 2009). On arriving in their host countries, our expatriates should be able to enter informal conversations, apply common courtesies, and demonstrate empathy for the cultures of their host countries. Language training is important as it will accelerate the ability of the expatriates to adapt to their new cultures. Indeed, language is a major aspect of any culture. As a result, the only way our expatriates can fit into their new cultures is by possessing a basic understanding of the languages of those cultures. The fourth component is interaction training. The organization has deployed expatriates abroad over the years. As a result,

The water cycle Essay Example for Free

The water cycle Essay The water cycle is a perpetual process in which water evaporates from the various water bodies, forms clouds, descends to the earth as rain or snow and finally reaches the oceans by means of the runoff mechanism (hydrologic cycle, 2002). Storage Water cycle involves vast amounts of water. The earth contains nearly 340 million cu miles of water. Only three percent of this amount of water can be used for drinking. In other words nearly ninety seven percent of the total volume of water available on the earth is in the oceans and therefore salty. However, the water that evaporates does not contain salt and because of this rain water and snow are free of salt. Salt free fresh water is located in glaciers, lakes and rivers. Moreover, ground water is also fresh and free from salt. The earth contains nearly 8. 6 million cubic miles of fresh water. The atmosphere always contains at least 2,900 cubic miles of water in vapor. Storage of water in the rivers and lakes in the world is estimated at 29,000 cubic miles. The principle sources of fresh water are the great polar ice caps. Nearly 6. 7 million cubic miles of water is stored in the polar ice caps. Water stored in the ground is about 2 million cubic miles (Gedzelman, 2005). Evaporation When a phase change occurs by which water gets transformed from a liquid to gas, it is known as evaporation. The quantity of water that evaporates everyday from the surface of the earth is about two hundred and ninety cubic miles. In the absence of evaporation, precipitation would have rendered the atmosphere dry within ten days. The quantity of water that undergoes evaporation is dependent upon various factors like the intensity of the sunlight, plant cover and ground moisture. Evaporation is indirectly proportional to the humidity of the atmosphere. Due to the different climatic zones on the surface of the earth, the rate of evaporation varies from near zero at the poles to about thirteen feet a year over the Gulf Stream. Evaporation of water is offset by precipitation and runoff (Perlman, 2006). Precipitation A phase change that takes place in the atmosphere, whereby water vapor condenses to form clouds and falls on to the earth as rain is known as precipitation. This falling water can be either a liquid as in rain or it can be a solid like snow, ice etc. the daily average of precipitation that falls on to the earth is of the order of seventy cubic miles. About a third of this precipitated water flows into the rivers and streams, while the rest evaporates (Gedzelman, 2005). Runoff Surface runoff occurs when water flows into rivers and streams. On an average about twenty four cubic miles of water is runoff every day. If snow and ice melt rapidly or if any rainfall occurs the result is an overland flow of water. It causes a rapid increase in the water level of a river and this could result in floods. On the other hand, the ground water flow takes place through rocks and the soil. Water from rains and melting snow sweeps through the ground and reaches the water table. Subsequently, this water flows to a water table which is at a lower level. Its speed of flow though only three feet a day is almost constant (Gedzelman, 2005). Effects of Human Activity Human beings use a lot of water; it plays a vital role in their very existence. With the growing population the demand for fresh water is also increasing. A number of methods are used to obtain fresh water, such as irrigation channels, wells etc. Due to the large amount of water being extracted from ground there has been a significant lowering of water table. In some coastal areas the result has been the forcible entry of sea water. Due to global warming there is a vast change in the earth’s climate. In several regions of the world the water available is unfit for consumption. All these factors have adversely affect water cycle. In the absence of optimal usage of water there is a serious danger that severe water scarcity could transpire (Robert Carpenter, 2001). References Gedzelman, S. D. (2005). Water Cycle. Microsoft  ® Encarta  ® 2006 (DVD) . Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation. hydrologic cycle. (2002). Retrieved April 20, 2007, from In The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Houghton Mifflin: http://www. xreferplus. com/entry/2446693 Perlman, H. (2006, Aug 28). The water cycle: Evaporation. Retrieved April 20, 2007, from http://ga. water. usgs. gov/edu/watercycleevaporation. html Robert, J. , Carpenter, S. R. (2001). Water in a changing world . Issues in ecology , 1027-1045.

Paper on the Impact of Workplace Diversity in Team Dynamics Essay Example for Free

Paper on the Impact of Workplace Diversity in Team Dynamics Essay Every individual who is in the job force or in a school environment faces the inevitable fact that at some point they may have to work in a group or team composed of individuals that they may not like. This paper will try to shed some light on the subtle differences between a workgroup and a team and how it relates the team dynamics in the workplace. According to The Blackwell Dictionary of Sociology (2000), â€Å"A group is a social system involving regular interaction among members and a common group identity† (para. , this means that a group is composed of individuals who would maintain a constant communication with each other to create and share a common identity. The existence of the group identity is mostly only recognized by the group members of the particular group and not by the outsiders. The togetherness or the cohesion of the group tends to vary from one group to the next because it is not always clear if a group has enough communication or interaction to qualify as a group. To explain this further, The Blackwell Dictionary of Sociology (2000) explains that groups should not be seen a one distinct category, but instead a group should be perceived as a social system that has varying interactions that could range form the intense involvement and intense identity mostly associated in social structures like families and close friends. On the other hand, people who ride and see each other on a daily while riding a bus could not be considered as a group because there is no sense of involvement among the individuals. In addition, The Blackwell Dictionary of Sociology (2000) also states the groups tends to vary on the amount of interactions that the individuals have among the group, the longevity or life span of the group, and the reasons of the individuals in joining or participating in the group. According to Bales (1950), a group is a very important sociological concept because it has a complex and very important part in the development of an individuals’ social life. Bales (1950), mentions that â€Å"a group is a key agent of social control over individuals, for it is the group that social pressures toward conformity can be most directly applies, especially when those who deviate risk their membership as a result. † A group can be perceived as a controlling agent in the way individual conform to society and how he or she reacts to certain stimuli because if he or she deviates form the groups norms, he of she risks losing their membership with that particular group. Furthermore, according to Bales (1950), groups are important because of the impact of the social consequences the individuals learn in a group. Many individuals learn the benefits and consequences of their actions and decisions that they make in life in a group and that most of the social activities that an individual may take occurs within the membership in a group. Other the other hand, the definition of a team is somewhat different from the definitions given to a group. According the Weiss (1998), a team would consist of a few individuals who possess complimentary skills and are equally commits to a common goal, a purpose, and share a common working method in which they hold themselves mutually accountable for their actions. Sears (1998), states that teams must have a set of necessary elements to be defined as such. The elements to be considered as a team includes: there should be no more that 20 individuals in a team; individuals must possess adequate levels of complementary skills; individuals must possess a common team purpose; possess specific goal or goals; and possess a clear approach in the team working progress. Sears (1998) goes on to mention that teams tend to be risky, disruptive, and elusive. Sears (1998) states that even though after the members are chosen and the schedules and duties are set, very little constructive work comes out of it and eventually nothing is accomplished and work progress fails to emerge. Sears (1998) mentions that teams are disruptive because most organizations prefer individual accountability over team accountability especially in regard to performance and the reward structures of the organization. Sears (1998), states that most of the components needed to accomplish a task is mostly performed by an individual and that very little teamwork is needed to accomplish most of the work. Sears (1998) also identifies teams as elusive because teams are spontaneous. Sears (1998), states the teams do not just immediately become a team just because it is called a team, it needs so much work, nurturing, and team building exercises and sometimes that does not even work to make the members of the teamwork cohesively. On the other hand, Weiss (1998) gives insight into why teams are relatively popular. First, projects that are assigned to teams are more likely to be accomplished than those assigned to a specific individual. Second, teams make practical and reasonable decisions as long as the team is given specific and measurable goals to measure the team performance, and the teams are given meaningful and timely feedback. Third, the rewards and punishment are more effective in swaying ndividual performance when it is given by a workgroup rather by a single supervisor or manager. Fourth, working in a team is preferred by many individual employees, especially by those who hate being bossed around. Fifth, teams can effectively handle inventory, scheduling, quality assurance and other duties that are typically reserved for members of the upper management. Last, teams often lower the cost of management because of the lower ratio of supervisors to employees which is 1 to 50 employees. According to Cornell University (2010), Workplace diversity is a people issue, focused on the differences and similarities that people bring to an organization. It is usually defined broadly to include dimensions beyond those specified legally in equal opportunity and affirmative action non-discrimination statutes. Diversity is often interpreted to include dimensions which influence the identities and perspectives that people bring, such as profession, education, parental status and geographic location† (Workplace Diversity, para). Workplace diversity could bring many benefits to an organization when it is nurtured and given the time to be understood. The organization’s competitiveness and ultimate success relies on its ability to realize the multitude of benefits that workplace diversity brings. According to Greenberg (2005), â€Å"when organization actively assess their handling of workplace diversity issues, develop and implement diversity plans, multiple benefits are reported such as increased adaptability† (Diversity in the Workplace, para). Greenberg (2005) continues to state that organizations that employ a very diverse workforce will be able to provide different solutions to problems that arise in service, in sourcing, and allocation of the resources faced by the company. This states that in employing individuals from different backgrounds, an organization could utilize the different talents, abilities, and experiences that these individuals may have to come up with a possible solution to a problem. Furthermore, Greenberg (2005) also states that if an organization that acquires a workplace that has collection of a very diverse skills and experiences (such a different languages, national and cultural customs), an organization could potentially provide a better service to customers in a global scale. It could also provide better communication in relaying varying viewpoints and ideas to meet the organizations business strategy and more importantly, the needs of the customers. Workplace diversity also provides benefits to team dynamics. The Ehow. om (1999-2010) websites states workplace diversity brings vibrancy to the workplace that increases the camaraderie and the humanitarian spirit in each employee. In addition, according to Ehow. com (1999-2010), â€Å"teams working on complex and expansive projects can draw on the varied experiences of fellow workers from diverse backgrounds, learn new languages, understand new markets and execute tasks efficiently† (para). Last, the Ehow. com (1999-2010) website also mentions that in achieving increased diversity comes an equal increase in perspective. Many individuals in an organization comes from different cultural groups, practice different religions, have different racial and national backgrounds that may give an insight into how to solve a particular problem that could potentially attract potential customers with that same background. Many advantages, disadvantages, and differences between a group and a team exist. One might think that the words group and team could be used in exchange for the other, but they cannot because of the words’ ultimate definition. The word group is defined by scholars as a social group that involves a regular interaction between its members who has a common group identity. On the other hand, the word team is defined as a group of people who possesses complimentary skills committed to a single purpose and a common goal. This paper also introduced the benefits that could be achieved by an organization that promotes workplace diversity. These benefits include the increases adaptability, wider range of service, and variety of viewpoints, better execution, higher production, and better return on investment.