A socio cultural environment Essay Example

A socio cultural environment Essay Example A socio cultural environment Paper A socio cultural environment Paper A socio cultural environment is a sum of practices, customs, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that occur within population. It is influenced by cultural norms, demographic information and religious information. International organizations often do an inspection of a socio cultural environment before entering target market, because it helps the company to modify products and services appropriately. There are a lot of details that are important to understand, in order to do business in Venezuela and Japan (Verne, l. 1. , Beamer, L. , 201 1). In Venezuela, the business etiquette says that people should be greeting the most important person or the oldest person first. Interesting is that most Hispanic people have two last names one from their father and one from their mother. We should use the fathers surname when addressing someone. Venezuela has more flexible attitude towards time. People could be late, as well as business meetings or social events can begin late (Hefted, G, 2013). Business companies in Venezuela are hierarchical. Decisions, ideas and recommendations are generated from the top. Status is very important here, so people should show respect to their supervisors and colleagues as well. In this society, business relationships are based on the trust and the knowledge of each other. This is why personal contacts and networks are extremely important in making business deals. Working on friendships will improve ones success in the business environment. Venezuelan usually do not separate work from private life. Sometimes they may not trust someone first, so it is very important to take the time to develop interpersonal relationships with your future business partners. Business in Venezuela is conducted mainly in Spanish. A lot of people from Venezuela do have the knowledge of English, but it is better to bring an interpreter to business meetings if someone does not have the best knowledge of Spanish. It may be surprising to someone, that Venezuelan do not hesitate to interrupt, argue and criticize when it is needed during a discussion. Exchange of arguments and ideas is considered positive and constructive. In this society, people prefer dealing with immediate issues and do not deal with the future too much. People should not be surprised if their Venezuelan colleague is in their personal space. Many people from Latin America use a close physical proximity as a way of communicating to each other (Businesslike. CZ, 2010). Japan, on the other hand, has completely different traditions and customs. When you meet your business partner a handshake is appropriate. The Japanese handshake is not strong and with little or no eye contact, which is completely different from Venezuelan way of greeting. Some Japanese can do so called bow. It is a gesture of respect and is highly appreciated by Japanese people. The deeper the bow is, the greater respect a person shows (Verne, l. L. , Beamer, L. , 2011). Very important component of conversation in Japan is nodding. When a person listens to some speech, he/she should nod, because it is a way to show that a person is listening and understanding the speaker. For people from Venezuela, it would be probably very interesting that Japanese value silence. It is an expected form of non-verbal communication. Long eye contact is considered rude in Japan as well as standing in a personal space of some person. Touching is also absolutely inappropriate. Japanese do not like exhibiting in public, which means it is not good for example to hug someone in public. During the business meeting it is suitable to sit erect and with both feet on the floor. People should never sit in any other position (Hefted, G. , 2013). When it comes to hierarchy, both personal and business relationships are hierarchical, which means that older people have higher status than young people, man have higher status than women and in business environment senior executives have of course higher status than junior executives. It is always very important to send a manager of the same position to meet with Japanese colleague, because titles are extremely important in Japan. Work is always done in groups. Everyone must consult everything before he/she is making some decision. We are talking about decision-making by consensus and it is a very long and slow process in Japan. Business meetings are formal in Japan, so there is usually no space for humor. But Japanese as well as Venezuelan, put emphasis on establishing friendships and good relationships, so it is good to spent 10 minutes with polite conversation before the business meeting starts. Harmony is extremely important in this society. That is why saving face is necessary. Japanese people want to avoid unpleasantness, misunderstanding conflicts and confrontation. It is not good to say no during the business meeting. Instead of no, it is better to say This could be difficult and try to find another solution. People should count on the fact that it takes several meetings to conclude a contract (Verne, l. 1. , Beamer, L. , 201 1). Everyone should be prepared to give and receive a gift during the first business meeting. Gifts are usually given in the end of first meeting. Not avian a proper gift for your business partner could destroy the cooperation. The ritual of gift giving is actually more relevant than the gift itself. Wrapping of the present is also very important. Japanese can sometimes refuse the gift once or twice, but then they will accept it (Hefted, G. , 2013). An understanding of these differences, which have a big impact on countrys development, is the key to effective cross-cultural communication. What can work in one country, might not necessarily work in the other one.

Vocabulary Chart ESL Lesson Plan

Vocabulary Chart ESL Lesson Plan Vocabulary charts come in a wide variety of forms. Using charts can help focus in on specific areas of English, group together words, show structures and hierarchy, etc. One of the most popular types of chart is a MindMap. A MindMap isnt really a chart, but rather a way to organize information. This vocabulary chart lesson is based on a MindMap, but teachers can use further suggestions for adapting graphic organizers as vocabulary charts. This activity helps students widen their passive and active vocabulary based on related word group areas. Typically, students will often learn new vocabulary by simply writing lists of new vocabulary words and then memorize these words by rote. Unfortunately, this technique often provides few contextual clues. Rote learning helps short term learning for exams etc. Unfortunately, it doesnt really provide a hook with which to remember new vocabulary. Vocabulary charts such as this MindMap activity  provide this hook by placing vocabulary in connected categories thus helping  with long-term memorization.   Begin the class by brainstorming on how to learn new vocabulary asking for students input. Generally speaking, students will mention writing lists of words, using the new word in a sentence, keeping a journal with new words, and translating new words. Heres an outline of the lesson with a list to help students get started. Aim: Creation of vocabulary charts to be shared around the class Activity: Awareness raising of effective vocabulary learning techniques followed by vocabulary tree creation in groups Level: Any level Outline: Begin the lesson by asking students to explain how they go about learning new vocabulary.Explain the concept of short term and long term learning and the importance of contextual clues for effective long term memorization.Ask students how they memorize new vocabulary.  Present the idea of creating vocabulary charts to help students learn specific content related vocabulary.On the board, choose an easy subject such as the home and create a MindMap placing the home at the center and each room as an offshoot. From there, you can branch out with activities done in each room and furniture to be found. For more advanced students, choose another area of focus.  Divide students into small groups asking them to create a vocabulary chart based on a particular subject area.Example: house, sports, the office, etc.Students create vocabulary charts in small groups.Copy student created vocabulary charts and distribute the copies to other groups. In this way, the class generates a large amount o f new vocabulary in a relatively short amount of time.   Further Suggestions Structured overview organizers can be used to take a closer look at vocabulary items based on parts of speech and structure.Tables can be used to compare and contrast qualities between similar items.  Timelines can be used to focus on tense usage.Venn diagrams can be used to find common terminology. Creating MindMaps Create a MindMap which is a type of vocabulary chart with your teacher. Organize your chart by putting these words about a home into the chart. Start with your home, then branch out to rooms of the house. From there, provide the actions and objects you might find in each room. Here are some words to get you started: living roombedroomhomegaragebathroombathtubshowerbedblanketbookcaseclosetcouchsofatoiletmirrorNext, choose a topic of your own and create a MindMap on a topic of your choice. Its best to keep your subject general so that you can branch out in many different directions. This will help you learn vocabulary in context as your mind will connect the words more easily. Do your best to create a great chart as youll share it with the rest of the class. In this way, youll have lots of new vocabulary in context to help you widen your vocabulary. Finally, choose your MindMap or that of another student and write a few paragraphs about the subject.   Suggested Topics Education: Describe the education system in your country. What type of courses do you take? What do you need to learn? Etc.  Cooking: Categorize based on meals, types of food, kitchen equipment, etc.Sports: Choose a specific sport such as football, basketball or tennis. Branch out into equipment, rules, clothing, special terms, etc.