Campbell’s Life Essay Example for Free

Campbell’s Life Essay Born on April 13, 1933, Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell is one of the few politicians of note who rose in the political circles carrying proudly his Indian ancestry. He is proud of his Native American heritage. His sense of pride and loyalty to his roots and to his culture was seen through his actions as well as through his clothing; it was as if he was wearing his culture, identity and heritage. For example, he was seen wearing ceremonial tribal clothing as he attended the opening of the National Museum of American Indian (NMAI) . It was considered as a â€Å"major aspect† that has created, established and sustained the overall â€Å"persona† that is Senator Campbell all throughout his life, especially during his political life . Campbell’s personality of hinging so much of who he is as he presents himself to the public on his being a Native American Indian was just enough for people to forget that there were actually men who preceded Campbell who, just like him, were partly Native American Indian and also won elected public office. One of them served in an office even higher than Campbell’s – and that would be Charles Curtis, who would eventually become the first vice president of the United States who is a Native American Indian. The highest elected office ever held by an Indian in the US was the vice presidency . Unlike Campbell, Curtis was from the Kaw tribe hailing from Kansas. In his vein was quarter of blood from this tribe. Also, he was an attorney before getting elected, unlike the more blue-collar type of jobs that Campbell pursued early in his life before shifting to jewellery designing and production later on. Nonetheless, both elected men are good and honorable men who made the Native American Indian community proud. But even with men like Curtis and how they were ‘bigger’ men politically, the Indians appreciate Campbell’s efforts at staying with his packaging as the American Indian holding office at the senate and at the congress. This personality/attitude more than compensates for the fact that he was not the first of his kind. Although not the first Native American senator, he is the first to make a statement with his Indianness. Indeed, he, too, was a record maker of sorts, and in many ways. This is what the paper will explore throughout the discussion on the different aspects of personal and political life of Senator Campbell, who, in November 3, 1992 made a historic feat by becoming the first American politician with Native American roots to be elected as a senator. It was something that hasnt happened in more than the six decades that has passed in the senate history prior to his election to the office. Prior to that, he became the sixth politician with Native American heritage and ancestry to be ever elected to the congress, a seat that was given to him through the votes of the public for three times . Senator Campbells Indian heritage is no secret. In fact, it seems that it is one of his many major personal characteristics that the media, as well as his colleagues, often refer to or address, particularly his being Indian, and his respectful stature in the Indian community, like being a Northern Cheyenne Tribe chief, a position he and only 43 others possess . Because of Campbell’s pride towards his heritage, his people in return are doing ways to let Campbell know that his act of holding on to his Native American Indian roots and not covering it up with modern day personality just to suit his high echelon colleagues and. So that he will suit their taste for a particular company, his native Cheyenne are going out on a limb just to celebrate the victory of one of their most accomplished sons. For example, many Cheyenne individuals joined the parade. Some of them spent as much as they can spare just to lavish Campbell and the parade with the decorations fitting to the act of congratulations coming from the Cheyenne tribe. Some actually spent more than they could spare just so they can claim Campbell as their own and they can show how proud they are of Campbell. Six of the riders were Northern Cheyenne, who had bankrupted themselves to show the world that Campbell was one of their own . Despite his Indian American / Native American Indian roots, Campbell was a Catholic from the time his mother, also a devoted catholic, had him baptized when he was still a baby by bringing him and his sister Alberta to a church to be baptized just close to the time Campbell was born, until the time when he seemed to have had a falling out with the Catholic faith. But Campbell, during his adult life and especially during his tenure as public office politician, drifted from religion, and proof of this is the item â€Å"unspecified† marked on the space allotted for the identification of religious affiliation of the individual. This distinction, again, made Senator Campbell someone who is different from the rest of the field in the 106th Congress. He was the only one whose religious affiliation was unspecified, although there were no clear explanation(s) why such was the case it could be anyones guess, from clerical error, mistake, or other reasons . His sudden dissociation with the Catholic faith was a surprising turn of events for Campbell. There are many good things that the Catholic faith has done for Campbell, especially during his youth. For example, there is the role of the faith during the times they were sent to the orphanage by their parents because they cannot take care of him and his sister because of their mothers sickness and their fathers alcoholism and inability to financially support them. While the Catholic faith and the orphanage system had their share of bad reputation, history points how the Catholic experience was a relatively good one for Campbell. In retrospect, Campbell recalled how the nuns and priests, who took care of him when his parents were unable to take care of him, treated him well. In his recollection of his days with these priests and nuns, as he narrated it for his biography published in book form, he mentioned just several instances wherein he was punished like being sent inside a pig pen to be with a huge pig. The reason for his pains against Catholicism maybe rooted in the things that he never verbalized, in the things which he only referred to as painful memories of his childhood, some of which he experienced in the orphanage . If he saw flaws in the orphanage, then it is not surprising if he also saw flaws in Catholicism because the two are one and the same during his youth.

Essay --

â€Å"Heroes take journeys, confront dragons, and discover the treasure of their true selves.†- Carol Lynn Pearson. Heroes have many different qualities depending upon the person you believe is a hero in your eyes. A Hero’s qualities could be being Brave, Trustworthy, Loving, a Leader, Intelligent, and Kind. Now those are just some common characteristics to â€Å"make† or to â€Å"be† a hero. Some heroes to others could be in their family, their friends, or even famous people that have passed or are still alive. A characteristic that stands out to many is Bravery. Being a brave person can be challenging. Martin Luther King Jr., for example, is a brave person and a hero. † A man who won't die for something is not fit to live†-Martin Luther King, Jr. He stood up for what he believed in and stood up for all of the ones who were frightened to say something. His speech,† I Have a Dream† caught the attention by everyone in the whole entire world. Martin was arrested upwards to about twenty times and was assaulted about four times (nobelprize.org/MartinLutherKingJr.). How could Martin Luther not be a hero? He risked his life for Blacks and for their rights. Would you do this if you were in his shoes? Another example of a Brave hero would be Anne Frank. † And finally I twist my heart round again, so that the bad is on the outside and the good is on the inside, and keep on trying to find a way of becoming what I would so like to be, and could be, if there weren't any other people living in the world†-Anne Frank. Even though she was younger and may not have understood everything, she was still a brave and strong person. She had to go into hiding to save her life and her families. They all had to stay quiet and get along with all the families they were ... ...n a season, and the most valuable player of the year. All of his awards and accomplishment showed that it doesn’t matter what you like. Appearance doesn’t determine if you are skilled or not, if you are brave, or even a hero. In conclusion, the qualities are what make up a hero. Not the ways they look, act, or speak, but they all have one thing in common which is standing for what they believe in. In any situation that occurs. Someone’s appearance does not prove or show you what they can do or how they can act. A hero’s actions or skills are what make them a hero. You don’t have to be a superhero with a cape or a muscular man to make everyone think you are a hero. You could be the quietest person in the school or your town for that matter. If you are willing to stand for what you believe in and do what you think is the right decision, you could be a hero to many.

Culture in a Global Economy

Culture in a global economy is a critical factor in international business. While many business transactions make economic sense, the ability to successfully fulfill profitable relationships often depends on being able to reconcile international differences arising from separate cultures. Understanding cultural differences is an initial step, but managers also need to engage in learning processes to develop international cultural competence. Cross-cultural training enables managers to acquire both knowledge and skills to fulfill the role of cultural agents. Advancing cultural intelligence and international cultural competence is critical to the future success of managers and leaders working in a global context. Culture, as defined in Kroeber and Kluckhohn's classic, Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions, is the â€Å"patterned ways of thinking, feeling, and reacting, acquired and transmitted mainly by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievements of human groups, including their embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional (i. e. , historically derived and selected) ideas and especially their attached values† (1952). In international management research, Hofstede defined culture as â€Å"†¦the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from those of another† (1991). Many other definitions of culture are available. Common elements in the definitions are the shared and dynamic nature revolving around norms, values, and beliefs that are expressed in different behaviors, artifacts, and interactions. Within the context of international business, culture involves multiple levels that span from broad to narrow and different dimensions. On a broad level, supranational culture differences span multiple countries and include regional, ethnic, religious, and linguistic dimensions. On a national level, governments create sovereign boundaries to distinguish different nations with political and legal regulatory systems. In the business literature, most research on culture uses the nation-state as a proxy for culture. Other levels of analysis for culture include subcultures, as well as professional and organizational groups. In addition to various levels, culture also involves different dimensions. Four major classifications schemes provide frame-works for identifying international differences in culture. First, anthropologist Edward T. Hall (b. 1914) classified cultural differences along five different dimensions: time, space, things, friendships, and agreements. Second, Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck developed a cultural orientations framework that identified six issues, with variations in each one: relation to nature, relationships among people, mode of human activity, belief about basic human nature, orientation to time, and use of space. Third, Hofstede's framework is one of the most prominent one in international management. He identified four major dimensions of cultural values—individualism-collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity-femininity—along with a fifth dimension subsequently identified as Confucian Dynamism, or long-term orientation. Finally, Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner extended Hofstede's classification with seven dimensions that include universalism versus particularism, collectivism versus individualism, affective versus neutral relationships, specificity versus diffuseness, achievement versus ascription, orientation toward time, and internal versus external control. The four different classifications provide different and overlapping approaches to organize the many complex dimensions that make up culture. A major premise underlying the need for organizing different cultural dimensions is a means to avoid costly mistakes in conducting international business. The different classifications provide a map to make sense of the complex nature of culture. Important caveats to keep in mind are that each classification is not exhaustive and each one originates from a particular cultural perspective. Managers have to engage in learning processes with cross-cultural training to develop both cultural intelligence and international cultural competence. Cross-cultural training for international assignments encompasses a broad range of methods that may include area briefings, readings, lecture/discussions, language lessons, films, self-assessment exercises, role plays, field trips, sensitivity training, and cross-cultural simulations. Cross-cultural training also needs to be coordinated in multiple phases to maximize the learning effectiveness for individual managers and organizational performance. The three phases are predeparture orientation, in-country socialization, and country exit debriefing. The exit debriefing is important for organizational learning, and a knowledge management system can support the capture of the cultural lessons that are learned. Kim and Ofori-Dankwa described four major delivery methods for cross-cultural training: the intellectual model, the area simulation model, the self-awareness model, and the cultural awareness model. The intellectual model involves the traditional classroom approach of general readings and lecture. The area simulation model incorporates culture-specific activities (e. . , working in Japan or Mexico) with games and exercises. The self-awareness training method focuses on having participants identify their strengths and weaknesses in dealing with different cultures, especially taken-for-granted assumptions about intercultural situations. The cultural awareness model focuses on the theoretical foundation for behavioral differenc es across cultures. The key to effective cross-cultural training is the integration of multiple methods that allow a participant to move from simple to complex levels of learning with increasing levels of training rigor. The purpose of using multiple methods in cross-cultural training is to advance the learning process through the learning stages to develop cultural intelligence and international cultural competence. Cultural intelligence integrates the three interrelated elements of knowledge, mindfulness, and behavioral skills. International cultural competence goes a step further with a more complex skill set that integrates cognitive, affective, and behavioral learning to effectively engage in successful cross-cultural relationships. International cultural competence is very similar to intercultural communication competence, which integrates three components: culture-specific understanding of the other, culture-general understanding, and positive regard of the other. Increasing one's ability to work effectively across cultures also provides positive support to address a range of adjustment issues for expatriates who often face culture shock in the acculturation process. Overall, the most important key of cultural intelligence and intercultural competence is the integration of multiple spheres of cross-cultural learning to effectively engage in international business situations. Effectiveness in reconciling cross-cultural differences often leads to creativity, innovation, and synergy for productive workplace performances. Although cross-cultural training supports global managers' ability to be effective, the learning process often moves through different stages of development. The different development stages of cultural intelligence are: (1) reactivity to external stimuli, (2) recognition of other cultural norms and motivation to learn more about them, (3) accommodation of other cultural norms and rules, (4) assimilation of diverse cultural norms into alternative behaviors, and (5) proactiveness in cultural behavior based on recognition of change cues that others do not perceive. Global managers with high levels of cultural intelligence and competence play important strategic roles as cultural agents (c-agents), helping their organizations to span international boundaries. C-agents require both the ability to navigate different cultures and the legitimacy from different cultural perspectives, including organizational and within the local community. Organizations have increasing needs for global managers to fill the role of c-agents because demands of globalization increasingly depend on successful relationships with strategic alliance partners, international vendors, and global customers. Within the global arena, national borders often form the defining entity for a culture. However, analysis of cultural differences needs to account for a range of diversity within a national culture. On a continuum of cultural diversity that ranges from homogenous to heterogeneous, Japan, Norway, and Poland are relatively more homogeneous when compared to India, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Britain, and Canada. The more heterogeneous societies encompass more distinctions between subcultures within the national borders. However, it is important to account for the fact that â€Å"almost no country is entirely homogeneous. The world's nearly 200 countries contain some 5000 ethnic groups. Two-thirds have at least one substantial minority—an ethnic or religious group that makes up at least 10 percent of the population. † In many ways, how a society addresses issues of multiculturalism creates an orientation that enables its citizens to live and work together in a global community. Cultural norms shaped by national government policies will need to avoid and dismantle policies for separation (keeping different cultural identities but not integrated) or assimilation (forced rejection of traditional cultural identity to integrate into dominant identity) in order to adopt new approaches of multiculturalism. Important principles for multicultural policies center on promoting tolerance and cultural understanding to respect diversity, recognize multiple identities, and build common bonds of membership to the local community. In the future globalization will continue to increase the flow and interactions of people across cultures, which surfaces even more international differences. Understanding the different dimensions of culture provides an initial knowledge base to develop cultural intelligence and competence for effective international business relationships. However, global managers require cross-cultural training to advance their learning and growth in cultural intelligence and competence as they take on international assignments. More importantly, organizations will have an increasing need for global managers to become c-agents to develop effective international relationships. In addition, government leaders have opportunities to shape their national culture and support international competitiveness with new multiculturalism policies that promote both the inclusion of multiple cultural identities and the development of local communities in an era of globalization.

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