Assignment 2: LASA—Applying Cultural Theoretical Approaches

Britiney Spann

Argosy University

B7440 A01 Managing Global Challenges

There are three main cultural theories used by sociologists to explain the occurrence of issues in the society. They include the structural-functionalism, social-conflict, and sociobiology theories. Such theories improvise the process of realizing effective corporate social responsibility in the society. CSR is the process through which the corporate’s self-regulation gets integrated into a business model. The main purpose of the literature review is to provide a clear insight, regarding the summary, and synthesis of ideas as spelt out by the various scholars on the subject matter of cultural theoretical approaches and CSR in the contemporary society.

In the analysis of the works that have been done by the renowned scholars in the field of cultural theoretical approaches, we begin with the works of Edward Hall. He emphasized on the fact that sociologists need to apply the proper use of the structural-functional theory to make the activities that take place in the society to meet the demands of the nature of human beings. The issue of corporate social responsibility would only be attained if the people come together on regular basis and share ideas regarding how the standards of living and other vital aspects in life in the society ca ne amicable achieved by the members of the society.

In his analysis, Hall reckons that the use of negotiation dance can help to bring cohesion among the different category of people in the society. The negotiation songs contain the vital pieces of info that make the people to acknowledge that they need to unite instead of dividing so as to attain meaningful progress in the process of progressing in the community. It is the responsibility of every member of the society to put much effort in whatever they undertake so as to make the world a better place than how we found it. It is imperative that proper timing is kept when performing the negotiation dances as a symbol of uniting the members of the community. The songs also need to contain the main cultural practices of the people in order or it to effectively make the info reach the intended target group and to be of meaningful use. The song plays a very significant role when it comes to the process of altering the behavioral sequences in the negotiation (Adair & Brett, 2005).

The second article by Geert Hostede also outlines the importance of not only applying the CSR but also the cultural theoretical approaches to improve the level of understanding and co-existence in the society. It is the social responsibility of every member of the society to figure out the best ways through which they can not only improve their welfare but also the welfares of the other members of the society. The act of altruism is very vital when it comes to find the best mechanism to co-exist in the society. It is a culture that can be developed due to the manner in which the members of the society treat their colleagues both in times of happiness and the time of serious need.

According to the arguments made by Hostede, the proper application to the global branding and advertisement strategy together with research makes the members of the society to find the best means through which they can freely intermingle so as to improve their level of corporation in the society. Meaningful change in the society can only be achieved when the virtues of honesty and transparency co-exist among individuals. He notes the importance of properly applying the structural-functionalism theory to work in favor of the members of the society (de Mooij & Hofstede, 2010).

The proper branding and advertising strategies only provides an insight onto how the members of the society can attain meaningful development and co-existence in the society provided that they are truthful and committed to the most important duties in the society. Advertisement also helps in revealing the dire needs of the members of the society and this is crucial in seeking solutions to such needs or problems for a better society.

The third article by Shalom H. Schwartz discusses how the structure of cultural identity in an ethnically diverse sample of emerging adults help to make people acknowledge their purpose in life. The cultural theoretical approach used by this author is mainly the sociobiology theory. It explains how important it is for individuals to get the sense of belonging to a particular group. The people get to do what their colleagues in the same group does and to try to treat each member of their group as real brothers and sisters. The feeling of belonging makes the people to learn the best ways through which they can survive in the society.

It also signifies the importance of unity as one individual stands out for the others. It makes the living in the society enjoyable and fun. The peaceful co-existence among members of the same ethnic group can be easily extended to the other people from outside the group. Failure to comply with the norms of the group has dire consequences and this makes it very possible for the institutions in the society to make the people practice the virtues appreciated by the group in which they belong. However, the author warns against the use of these groups for negative purposes that will deteriorate the development of the economy (Schwartz et al., 2007). For instance, he is totally against the idea of groups ganging up against one another to settle the differences that they have with one another. It is important for the groups to peacefully co-existence with the sole purpose of enhancing the living standards of the members of the society.

In addition, The Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) Research Program contains the values that are vital in making the world a better place. The organization provides essential lessons on how the cross-cultural awareness in most of the leadership projects help to change the behaviors and actions of the members of the society irrespective of their background. GLOBE mainly applies the social-conflict theory to make the ordinary members of the society acknowledge the importance of peaceful co-existence in the society.

Despite the fact that people come from different backgrounds, it is essential that they seek the most amicable ways through which they can live a better and more fulfilling lives in the society. The most important aspect of achieving this goal according to the author is to make the members of the society not only to change their behaviors but also their actions towards those who they view to have come from different regions or practice different cultural values. The members of the society need to tolerate one another so as to make their existence in the society to realize tremendous achievements (Javidan et al., 2006).

Decline in the existence of disputes that arise among the people will pave way for meaningful development towards prosperity in the society. It is essential for the individuals to acknowledge that the different cultural practices do not make them different from one another. GLOBE emphasizes on the vital need to use the difference in cultural practices to appreciate the diversity and find means through which it cannot affect the progress of realizing meaningful change in the society. The cross-cultural perspectives need to be instilled in the minds of every individual to make them not to be negatively affected by the existence of such values in the society.

Other additional articles from the online database also emphasize the need to use the social-conflict theory to improve the manner in which individuals relate in the society. One, the article dubbed “Toward Embodied Education 1850s – 2007: Historical, & Cultural Theories” vividly ex plains the crucial role that education has played to change the views of the people regarding cultural difference. People are currently in a better position to fully tolerate the differences in cultures as opposed to how the situation was during the 1850s (Smith, 2007).

The second article by Lana F. Rakow mainly discusses the feminist approaches to the popular culture in the society. According to her sentiments, feminist gives the popular culture in the society, patriarchy, its due. It is essential to acknowledge that some of the most popular practices in the society are recently changing. The objective of the members of the society is to come up with mechanisms through which the behaviors and actions that value the fundamental human rights are the only ones that remain relevant in the society. The retrogressive practices need to be avoided at all cost.

According to the article, the only sure way to prosperity is by treating all human beings equally, irrespective of their social status, race, ethnic group, sex, or background (Storey, 2006). The last article by Rohit Chopra, and Radhika Gajjala relates to how the global media, culture, and identity improves the level of understanding and development among individuals in the society. The global media provides deep insight into the cultural practices of various category of people in the society. It makes the process of cohesion and integration in the society to be very smooth for meaningful progress to be made (Rohit & Radhika, 2009).

Each of the authors have appreciated the need to tolerate the cultural practices of others regardless of the differences exhibited in their practice. It is essential for the members of the society to tolerate the values that is upheld by their colleagues in the society form different cultural backgrounds so as to make the process of peaceful co-existence and meaningful development to be realized in the society as a whole. The authors only differ in the mechanisms that need to be applied so as to make the people understand the importance of tolerating others’ cultural practices and the huge impacts that it can have in the process of making the society a better place.

However, the effective implementation of the sociological solutions that they provide regarding the issue of cultural diversity, can lead to the existence of a better society in the world.

In conclusion each of the three cultural theoretical approaches depicted by the authors of these articles are very practical and they work in tandem with the CSR under the current global business operations. For effective corporate social responsibility to exist among the people, there is need to value the cultural heritage of the other members of the society. It will make the process of meeting the key goals in the society easier to achieve.

References

Adair, W. L., & Brett, J. M. (2005). The negotiation dance: Time, culture, and behavioral sequences in negotiation. Organization Science, 16(1), 33–51.

de Mooij, M., & Hofstede, G. (2010). The Hofstede model: Applications to global branding and advertising strategy and research. International Journal of Advertising, 29(1), 85–110.

Javidan, M., Dorfman, P. W., Sully de Luque, M., & House, R. J. (2006). In the eye of the beholder: Cross-cultural lessons in leadership from project GLOBE. Academy of Management Perspectives, 20(1), 67–90.

Rohit, C. & Radhika, G. (2009). Global Media, Culture, and Identity. Theories, Cases, and Approaches.

Schwartz, S. J., Zamboanga, B. L., Rodriguez, L., & Wang, S. C. (2007). The structure of cultural identity in an ethnically diverse sample of emerging adults. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 29(2), 159–173.

Smith, C. (2007). Towards Embodied Education, 1850s – 2007: Historical, & Cultural Theories.

Storey, J. (2006). Cultural theory and popular culture: A reader. Harlow [u.a.: Pearson/Prentice Hall.