The Almanac of American Politics (2008) Essay Example for Free

The Almanac of American Politics (2008) Essay Presidential election results (2000, 2004) The following pages are quoted verbatim from the Almanac of American Politics, 2006 edition: American politics has devolved into a grim battle between two approximately equal-size armies in a take-no-prisoners culture war. In 2000, those armies fought to a near-draw—out of more than 100 million ballots cast, the presidency of the United States hinged on a breathtakingly slim 537-vote margin in Florida. Four years later, despite the occurrence of a recession, two wars, and a devastating terrorist attack on American soil, the two adversaries remain fairly evenly divided. In the wake of an acrimonious election where both political parties together spent roughly $4 billion on the federal elections the crisis spilled over into other areas of American politics: health and welfare spending, handling of the economy, and the continued occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan (Barone and Cohen, 2006) State Profile NEW JERSEY State Profile The following data and information about this state is taken from the 2006 Almanac of American Politics. â€Å"New Jersey boomed in the 1980s, suffered sharply in the early 1990s recession, came back strongly, and is now weathering the high-tech storms with mixed success.† At A Glance Size: 8,721 square miles Population in 2000: 8,414,350; 94.3% urban; 5.7% rural Population in 1990: 7,730,188 Population Change: Up 8.6% 1990-2000; Up 5.0% 1980-1990 Population Rank: 9th of 50; 3.0% of total U.S. population Most Populous Cities: Newark (277,911); Jersey City (239,097); Paterson (150,782); Elizabeth (123,215); Trenton (85,314) Registered Voters: 1,163,224 D (23.2%); 884,801 R (17.7%); 2,957,934 unaffiliated and minor parties (59.1%) State Senate: 22 D 18 R State General Assembly: 49 D 31 R State Legislative Term Limits: No Key Elected Officials Gov. Jon Corzine (D) Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D) Sen. Robert Menendez (D) Representatives: (6 D, 6 R, 1 V): Robert Andrews (D-01) Loida Nicolas Lewis (D-02) Jim Saxton (R-03) Chris Smith (R-04) Scott Garrett (R-05) Frank Pallone (D-06) Michael Ferguson (R-07) Bill Pascrell (D-08) Steven Rothman (D-09) Donald Payne (D-10) Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-11) Rush Holt (D-12) Vacant; formerly Robert Menendez (D-13) About New Jersey The Northeast has long been the nation’s least conservative region and turned out the biggest bonanza for the Democrats in their surge to an even greater House majority in 2008: 15 of the 25 seats the party took from the GOP were in the area.   Democrats say this â€Å"reverse alignment† — counterbalancing the Southern shift to the GOP — rolls on (The Electoral Map, 2007). â€Å"A valley of humility between two mountains of conceit: That is what Benjamin Franklin called New Jersey, which even in colonial days was overshadowed by the metropolises of New York and Philadelphia. New Jersey was named by King James II, then Duke of York, for the Channel Island on which he was sheltered during the English Civil War. But New Jersey has much to say for itself. It is a sort of laboratory in which the best blood is prepared for other communities to thrive on, Woodrow Wilson said when he was governor, just a tad defensively. Today, New Jersey is the nations tenth most populous state: It boomed in the 1980s, suffered sharply in the early 1990s recession, came back strongly, and is now weathering the high-tech storms with mixed success. New Jersey was the home of Thomas Edison and of the old Bell Labs; its successors Lucent and ATT were among its biggest employers in the 1990s. Other big employers include several of the nations biggest pharmaceutical firmsMerck, Johnson Johnson, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novartis, Schering-Plough. These industries give the state a high-income, high-education work force, and in 2000 New Jersey passed Connecticut to boast the nations highest median household income. This is prosperous middle-income country, with more two-car than one-car families but fewer limousines than Manhattan, with an estimated 13,500 $1 million houses but not the multi-million dollar co-ops of Manhattan or mansions of Greenwich, Connecticut. Within New Jerseys close boundaries is great diversity, geographically from beaches to mountains, demographically from old Quaker stock to new Hispanics, economically from inner city slums to hunt country mansions. Though New York writers are inclined to look on New Jersey as a land of 1940s diners and 1970s shopping malls, this state much more closely resembles the rest of America than does Manhattan, even if its accents can sometimes be incomprehensible to outsiders. The Jersey City row houses seen on emerging from the Holland Tunnel, many renovated by Wall Street commuters and Latin immigrants, give way within a few miles to the skyscrapers of Newark and its new Performing Arts Center. Farther out are comfortably packed middle-income suburbs and the horse country around Far Hills, the university town of Princeton, old industrial cities like Paterson and Trenton, and dozens of suburban towns and small factory cities where people work and raise families over generations. Among them are commuter towns like Middletown, whose commuter trails lead to Lower Manhattan, and which lost dozens of neighbors on September 11. A year later, only 37% of New Jersey citizens said their lives had returned to normal and 29% said they would never be the same; 43% said they thought about the attacks every day. New Jersey has long been a magnet for immigrants, and it is again today. In 2000, 29% of its residents were born in another country or had a parent who was; only California and New York have larger percentages of foreign-born residents. Hudson County, the land along the ridge opposite Manhattan, was the home to hundreds of thousands of Irish, Italian, Polish and Jewish immigrants in the early 20th century; in 2003 it was 41% Hispanic, with Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans and Mexicans. Immigrants are plentiful in the little middle-American towns of Bergen County, Filipinos in Bergenfield, Guatemalans in Fairview, Koreans in Leonia, Indians in Lodi, Chinese in Palisades Park. The old central cities of Elizabeth and Paterson were half-Hispanic in 2000 and Camden, opposite Philadelphia, was 39% Hispanic. There is still a black majority in Newark, but it includes many of the Brazilians in the Ironbound district. New Jersey has all the ethnic variety that America offers. In the last two decades, a new New Jersey has sprouted. The oil tank farms and swamplands of the Jersey Meadows have become sports palaces and office complexes; the Singer factory in Elizabeth, the Western Electric factory in Kearny, the Ford plant in Mahwah, the Shulton plant in Clifton are all gone, replaced by shopping centers or hotels or other development, and the GM plant in Linden, the last New Jersey auto plant, closed in April 2005; the intersection of I-78 and I-287 has become a major shopping and office edge city; U.S. 1 north from Princeton to North Brunswick has become one of the nations high-tech centers. Even some of New Jerseys long-ailing central cities are perking up. New Jersey increasingly has an identity of its own. It is the home of big league football, basketball and hockey franchisesthough after nearly three decades, two of them have threatened to moveand of the worlds longest expanse of boardwalks on the Jersey Shore from Cape May to Sandy Hook. And New Jersey is one of Americas great gambling centers: Atlantic City, an hour from Philadelphia and two hours from Manhattan, had gambling revenues in 2006 ($8.2 billion) that nearly matched the Las Vegas strip ($8.8 billion). State government played an important role in building New Jersey identity and pride. In the 1970s, Governor Brendan Byrne started the Meadowlands sports complex and got casino gambling legalized in Atlantic City. Governor Tom Kean in the 1980s started education reforms and promoted the state shamelessly. The revolt against Governor Jim Florios tax increase in 1990 was led by the first all-New Jersey talk radio station and took on national significance with the 1993 election of Christine Todd Whitman, who later became EPA Administrator. In the next decade crime and welfare rolls dropped, but auto insurance and property taxes remain the highest in the nation. New Jersey, contained within two of the nations biggest metropolitan areas, was also a harbinger of the national trend in the big metro areas toward Bill Clintons Democrats. Not so long ago, suburban New Jersey was one of the most Republican of big states: It voted 56%-42% for the first George Bush in 1988. But in 1996 New Jersey voters, turned off by the congressional Republicans Southern leaders and by the national partys opposition to abortion and gun control, voted 54%-36% for Clinton and 53%-43% for Democrat Bob Torricelli for the Senate. In 1997 Whitman, despite cutting taxes, was reelected by only 47%-46% over little-known Democrat Jim McGreevey. In 2000 Al Gore carried the state 56%-40%. In 2001 McGreevey defeated Republican Bret Schundler for governor by 56%-42% and in 2002, after an unorthodox campaign, Democrat Frank Lautenberg defeated Republican Douglas Forrester for senator by 54%-44%very similar margins. Democrats cinched control of both houses of the legislature in 2003. New Jerseys politicians compete in a market that is the second most expensive in the nation, because they have to buy New York and Philadelphia television. And they have a special handicap, because those stations dont give state politics and government the in-depth coverage that voters in most states can expect. This gives an advantage to well-known candidates, like former Senator Bill Bradley, and to incumbents with a distinctive style and notable achievements, like Governors Byrne, Kean and Whitman, and to self-funders like Senator and gubernatorial candidate Jon Corzine. But it also means that high-income, highly educated New Jersey politics is often the business of county and city political machines, of varying degrees of competence, cronyism and corruption. It is, astonishingly, a great advantage in both parties to have the designation of the local county party on the primary ballot. A 1993 campaign finance law allowed county parties to take contributions 18 times as large as candidates could, so money is increasingly raised by chairmen of parties that have control of local government and can dole out contractsthe Jersey term is pay to playand then wheeled, or doled out, to favored candidates all over the state. McGreevey, elected in 2001 after his near-defeat of Whitman in 1997, was a product of the Middlesex County Democratic machine and served as both mayor of Woodbridge and state senatorin New Jersey, as in France, politicians can be town mayors and legislators at the same time. Second District, New Jersey 2008 Congressional Election Results (Second District, New Jersey) NJ-02 District Profile: Politically, Atlantic City often votes Democratic but has an antique Republican machine that goes back generations. 2008 Results: First-timer Loida Nicolas-Lewis (D) roundly defeated Frank LoBiondo (R) by 64-31% Loida Nicolas-Lewis (R) Nicolas-Lewis was nominated with 72% in a two-way primary. Contact: 212-756-8900 †¢Ã‚  Campaign Web site †¢Ã‚  Official Web site †¢Ã‚  Almanac biography Frank LoBiondo (D) Elected in 1994; Seeking eighth term; LoBiondo barely emerged from the primary with 50.5% pf the vote. Contact: 856-794-2004 †¢Ã‚  Campaign Web site †¢Ã‚  Official Web site †¢Ã‚  Almanac biography Profile of the District (Source: Almanac of American Politics) When the builders of the Camden Atlantic Railroad in 1852 extended the line to the little inlet town of Absecon, little did they know what would become Americas biggest beach resort, Atlantic City. Like all resorts, it was a product of developments elsewhere: of industrialization and spreading affluence, of railroad technology and the conquest of diseases which used to make summer a time of terror for parents and doctors. In the years after the Civil War, first Atlantic City and then the whole Jersey Shore from Brigantine to Cape May became Americas first seaside resort, and Atlantic City developed its characteristic features: the Boardwalk in 1870, the amusement pier in 1882, the rolling chair in 1884, salt water taffy in the 1890s, Miss America in 1921. By 1940, 16 million Americans visited every summer, Atlantic City was a common mans resort of old traditions; but the place became less popular after World War II as people could afford nicer vacations. By the early 1970s, Atlantic City was grim. Then in 1977, New Jersey voters legalized casino gambling in Atlantic City and gleaming new hotels sprang up, big name entertainers came in and Atlantic City became more glamorous than it had been in 90 years. But not for all of its residents: Casino and hotel jobs tend to be low-wage, and the slums begin just feet from the massive parking lots of the casinos. In the 1990s Atlantic Citys gambling business was thrivingcasinos came out ahead $4.3 billion in 2000and huge new casinos were built on both Boardwalk and bayside. Over Donald Trumps objections, Steve Wynn won approval of a new tunnel, which would permit him to build a new casino in the marina district. Now listed among the top 10 House districts nationwide for tourist economies, Atlantic City is growing into what Las Vegas has become, not just a collection of gaudy casinos but a gaggle of theme parks, with entertainment for the family as well as adults. The Jersey Shore south of Atlantic City is a string of different resorts. Behind the Shore are swamp and flatland, the Pine Barrens and vegetable fields that gave New Jersey the name Garden State. Growth has been slow in these small towns and gas station intersections, communities in whose eerie calmness in the summer you can hear mosquitoes whining. In the flatness, you can also find towns clustered around low-wage apparel factories or petrochemical plants on the Delaware estuary; the Northeast high-tech service economy has not reached this far south in Jersey yet. This part of South Jersey makes up the 2d Congressional District. Politically, it has strong Democratic presences in the chemical industry towns along the Delaware River and in Vineland and a strong Republican presence in Cape May; Atlantic City often votes Democratic.   The party carried the area in all 1990s statewide elections and won easily in the 1996 and 2000 presidential races. This is prime marginal territory, off the beaten track of Northeast politics. The Incumbent New Jersey 2d voters finally gave seven-termer Frank LoBiondo the boot long after he had promised not to run for more than six terms.   Even loyal Republicans angrily crossed party lines owing to a series of indiscretions and scandals.   Chief of these was involvement in the Abscam scandal and the revelation that Harrah’s had been the single biggest contributor to his campaigns all along.   Sentiment against the Iraq war also focused on his voting record of going along with every bill sponsored by the White House that related to funding and deployment in that country and Afghanistan. Other aspects of his legislative record that came to light in a bad way were having voted with DeLay seven in eight times, agreeing to weaken ethics rules and assenting to bringing indictment hearings behind closed doors.   The last straw turned out to be outtakes from the local Harrah’s security cameras proving it was LoBiondo after all who had been, and still was, carrying on an affair with Vicki Iseman the telecoms lobbyist whom the New York Times had wrongly linked with John McCain. Mere minutes after LoBiondo conceded the election in November, his wife held her own press conference to announce she was divorcing LoBiondo.   The following day, a downcast ex-congressmen was seen off at the airport departing for parts unknown, muttering something about getting in a few rounds of golf with the Bushes. The 2008 Election Winner Loida Nicolas Lewis Born: July 20, 1957 Family: Husband, Reginald (deceased); two daughters Religion: Roman Catholic Education: St. Theresa’s College (Philippines), A.B. 1972 (summa cum laude) University of the Philippines, Ll.B. 1976 (summa cum laude) Harvard, J.D. 1985 Career: Chairman/CEO, Beatrice International Holdings, Inc. President, Confederation of Asian-American Associations Immigration lawyer Elected Office: None 2008 New Member Profiles New Jerseys Second District: Loida Nicolas-Lewis (D) The Almanac of American Politics  © National Journal Group Inc. From out of nowhere and riding a wave of anti-administration sentiment among minorities in the district, the inexperienced but highly intelligent and articulate Loida Lewis captured the imagination of voters and soundly trounced the incumbent by an unprecedented 2:1 margin.   No one was more surprised than Representative LoBiondo himself. Loida first came to national attention and even gained a measure of fame after her husband, the famed African-American deal-maker Reginald Lewis engineered a leveraged buyout of Beatrice Foods International.   On completing the LBO deal with the help of Michael Milliken at Drexel Burnham Lambert, the press hailed Reginald and the flagship TLC Beatrice as the most successful African-American enterprise ever.   When Reginald foundered in his choice of domestic acquisitions that would allow Beatrice to balance industry cycles in Europe and especially after Reginald’s death, Loida earned the respect of minority stakeholders for her business acumen as CEO. Three months before the primaries, Loida landed in the short list of Gov. Corzine owing to her decade-long work with minority associations on both coasts.   An informal dinner with campaign managers of Sen. Obama and President-Elect Clinton made the choice official. In the ensuing campaign, Loida Lewis proved herself a soft-spoken but very articulate and highly moral rival to the flagging and corruption-prone image of the incumbent.   With unfailingly good press, unanimous support from every minority association and church group, and extremely good rapport with businessmen, Loida Lewis was happy enough to leave the mudslinging to the press.   To no one’s surprise, she won handily and immediately won kudos from the House leadership. THIS SECTION ADAPTED FROM ALMANAC OF AMERICAN POLITICS 2008 (Almanac, 2007) Committees Foreign Relations (10th of 11 D) European Affairs; African Affairs; East Asian Pacific Affairs; International Development Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs International Environmental Protection. Health, Education, Labor Pensions (11th of 11 D) Employment Workplace Safety; Children Families. Homeland Security Governmental Affairs (8th of 9 D) Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services International Security; Investigations; State, Local Private Sector Preparedness Integration. Veterans Affairs (2nd of 8 D). Group Ratings ADA ACLU AFS LCV ITIC NTU COC ACU CFG FRC    2008 95 83 100 100 75 16 55 8 7 0 2009 100 100 95 6 39 8 0 National Journal Ratings 2008 LIB 2008 CONS   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2009 LIB 2009 CONS ECONOMIC 87% 12% 87% 0% SOCIAL 77% 18% 77% 21% FOREIGN 76% 15% 85% 12% Key Votes Of The 109th Congress 1 Bar ANWR Drilling Y 2 FY06 Spending Curb N 3 Estate Tax Repeal N 4 Raise Minimum Wage Y 5 Recognize Filipino WW2 veterans Y 6 Path to Citizenship Y 7 Bar Same Sex Marriage Y 8 Stem Cell Research $ N 9 Limit Interstate Abortion Y 10 CAFTA Y 11 Urge Iraq Withdrawal Y 12 Provide Detainee Rights Y References Almanac (2007) Almanac of American politics 2008. National Journal. Barone, M. and Cohen, R. E. (2006) The almanac of American politics, 2006. Retrieved February 29, 2008 from http://www.press.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/hfs.cgi/00/161479.ctl. The Electoral Map (2007) Do Democrats still have room for growth in the northeast? Retrieved February 29, 2008 from http://theelectoralmap.com/2007/11.

Fear of Flying: More Than a Feminist Novel :: Feminism Feminist Women Criticism

Fear of Flying: More Than a Feminist Novel The fears of Isadora: Her religion (Semi-Jewish), her love life (second husband, seventh analyst; Bennett), her gender (a woman in America! In the sixties!), her career (Writer: one book), sex (are women supposed to enjoy that?), her mother (Jude, an artist who danced naked in France), her sisters (all married, with at least two children apiece), her children (none), her name (Isadora White? Isadora Wing? Isadora White Stollerman Wing Goodlove?) and flying; Isadora has a fear of flying. Some would say that Fear of Flying , by Erica Jong is merely a feminist novel. It is, but it's more than that. Fear of Flying is a novel about a woman in search of her name and the source of her fears; it is a novel about inner conflict. The main character of the novel is Isadora, a woman in her early thirties in the late sixties. What begins as a work related trip to Vienna with her analyst husband ends as a journey filled with personal revelations. At the conference Isadora develops an infatuation which fuels her need to discover "what is wrong" with her. Traveling throughout Europe with a man who is not her husband she discovers her true self through her complete loss of security. Therein lies the principal irony of Fear of Flying; the journey that the main character takes in order to gain the traits that she sees in her heroines only leads her to find that they were hidden within herself. Isadora is the charicature of irony itself. The opening chapter sets the tone for the entire novel, which is written like a conversation with one's analyst: casual but intimate. Her odyssey, in fact, begins on a plane full of psychoanalysts. As she puts it: she'd been "treated by at least six of them. And married a seventh." (p. 1) This is a great example of Isadora's outwardly nonchalant views of her own problems. Her own view of her life and her inner monologue pull the reader into her literal and symbolic fear of flying and her lifelong struggle with them. From the beginning she shares with us thirteen years of analysis and counting, yet it is the 336 pages in which we watch her slowly untangle her own conflicts that show the readers the lesson which we were intended to learn. Isadora is an extremely intelligent character.

High School Compared to the University Essay

High school and university are two important levels of every education’s foundation in the world. It educates students and gives them the knowledge to help them promote their ability position in the future. The first similarity thing is both of them, high school and university, have the same purpose and benefits. Students in high school and university will be educated by teacher through giving them more knowledge not only from text books but also from teacher’s experiences, training them how to improve their skill in learning and help them to take form their personality. The second thing, also similar, is the structure. Every grade has different kind of knowledge to study, but the first year is usually more general than the last year which is the busiest time in student’s life for difficult exams, good scores, and working hard for graduation. However, there are also many obvious differences between high school and university. Teaching styles in high school are obviously different from those in university. Teachers in high schools teach detailed knowledge and facts step by step. They guide students attentively. Also, teachers in high school usually take time to remind students of assignments and the date of tests. In contrast, instructors in university go through the textbooks quickly. They prepare a syllabus distributing and discussing it in the first day of class. Therefore, students should follow the syllabus without reminding about assignments or exams. With the change of teaching styles, students have to adjust their learning strategies. After understanding, students in high school not only memorize the content in textbooks, but refer to ready-made notes which are organized by teachers. All they need to do is study diligently. Because of it, they lack the opportunities to think by themselves. Unlike high school, students in university need to learn how to organize and arrange the big amounts of materials by themselves. Also, analyzing the information and brainstorming are essential abilities. Furthermore, high school students are somewhat more passive than university students. They usually depend on patient and hard-working teachers. On the contrary, university students need to study spontaneously. The last difference is the attendance polices. In High School the teachers are always on students about attendance. They probably call their parents and let them know if the students miss classes. On the contrary, in university the teachers do not care whether or not students are in class. It means that if students are not there, they are going to get a failing grade. So they have to be responsible to succeed. In conclusion, high school and university prepare students to think independently and critically.

The United States, Japan and China Difference In Approaches To Managing People - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2498 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Management Essay Type Compare and contrast essay Level High school Did you like this example? For the United States, Japan and China evaluate how approaches to managing people differ and how these differences can be explained by cultural context. Date authored: 26 th May, 2014 Introduction In this international age of business where firms operate in many different parts of the globe, it is important to note that approaches to management may differ across cultures. In setting up a new office in, for example, China or Japan, potential managers should seek to adapt to the different cultural practices of the host country in order to better manage their workforce and achieve productivity. In this essay, we shall, firstly, discuss methods of measuring key dimensions of culture, and then using said dimensions, look at the different management styles between three countries; China, Japan and the US, currently the three largest economies in terms of GDP, and seek to determine how each approach is shaped by the unique cultural contexts of each country. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The United States, Japan and China Difference In Approaches To Managing People" essay for you Create order Measuring Key Dimensions of Culture In order to measure the potential effects of culture on the behaviour of said cultures firms and managers, Geert Hofstede (2001), while working for IBM in the late 70s and early 80s, identified six key dimensions of culture that could be measured through use of survey data and indexed values, namely; Time Orientation (Long Term vs Short Term); a measure of the extent to which each society values history, heritage and tradition whether it prefers to uphold traditional values and is more resistant to new ideas and technology (Long Term Orientation) or whether it is more fluid, less focussed on the past and more open to change (Short Term Orientation); Power Distance (High vs Low), which measures how well the society in question handles uneven distributions of power; whether it is generally accepted and understood as a fact of life (high power distance) or whether it is held to be deeply unfair, unnatural, and something to be railed against (low power distance); Individ ualism vs Collectivism; a measure of the extent to which a sense of community and collective responsibility exists, and whether it is thought to be more important than individualist beliefs and desires. Individualist societies tend to value independence, privacy and personal fulfilment, while collectivist societies tend to value group interdependence and a repression of personal ambition when it is misaligned with communal values; Uncertainty Avoidance (Weak vs Strong), which measures the extent to which each society is comfortable dealing with risk, uncertainty and ambiguity –societies with high degrees of uncertainty avoidance tend to be highly regulated and value careful planning and structure, while societies with low degrees of uncertainty avoidance tend to be more pragmatic, and accept change and risk as factors of life; Masculinity vs Femininity; a measure of societal gender differentiation – in ‘masculine cultures, gender roles are highly differ entiated and society as a whole places higher values on competition, ambition, and personal achievement whereas in ‘feminine societies gender roles are less starkly defined and more equal, and society tends to place higher values on relationship building, modesty and group harmony (Hofstede and Minkov, 2010). The US American society traditionally has a tendency to value individualism and personal freedoms – indeed, such ideals can be seen in the idea of ‘The American Dream, which postulates that anyone can achieve great wealth and success through individual hard work and determination. With regard to the Hofstede (2001) dimensions of cultural influence; Source: Gallant (2013) The United States scores low on the measure of Power Distance, suggesting that American culture is generally intolerant of uneven distributions of power and prefers to see all men as equal (as is laid out in the American Declaration of Independence). It also scores low on Time Orientation, suggesting US society prefers to embrace change and adapt to new ideas rather than sticking to more traditional approaches. It scores quite highly on Masculinity vs Femininity, which is perhaps a reflection of the traditional American respect for competition and ambition. Unsurprisingly, it scores very highly in the measure of Individualism vs Collectivism, a reflection of the deeply held belief in individual freedoms and independence which has been a mainstay of American culture since the war of independence. This strong sense of individualism is reflected in the American approach to management. Generally, American managers are expected to deal with employees as individuals, rather than as a collective – the ‘open door approach to management, where employees are free to approach and discuss issues, suggestions and ideas with upper management, is a uniquely American approach to management that has gained traction in other parts of the world (Laurent, 2006) as it allows employees to feel that their ideas and opinions are valued by those higher up the corporate ladder. American managers are often viewed as facilitators, helping employees to develop personal talents and understanding the individual strengths and weaknesses of those they oversee (Lewis, 2000). Indeed, many American employers use psychometric tests in their hiring process, to determine an applicants individual skill level and expected role within the team (Jenkins, 2001). Indeed, skill-based human resource management theories and practices have quickly gained traction in many American firms (Lawler, 1992), reflecting the US cultural practice of embracing new ideas and valuing individu al contributions. There is also a strong sense of competition prevalent in the American approach to management, with promotions tending to go to those who have been seen to ‘rise above the rest, rather than merely to those who have had the longest tenure (Morris and Pinnington, 2012). The study by Morris and Pinnington (2012) shows that many US manufacturing firms (around a third of those studied, including several of the largest) have an â€Å"up-or-out† approach to employee promotion, whereby if an employee has not risen to the next level of the career ladder by a specified time, they are asked to leave the firm. A study by Gibbons and Waldman (1999) shows that workers in US firms who receive promotions early in their career tend to then be promoted quickly to the next level again, suggesting that individual achievement and ambition is both recognised and rewarded. China Chinese society is highly influenced by the teachings of Confucius, where all relationships are seen as inherently unequal; both elders and superiors are to be automatically given the utmost respect, and where the group is held to be far more important than the individual (Yum, 2009). This emphasis on group cohesion over individual freedoms was further influenced by the advent of Chinese communism in 1949, and the formation of the Peoples Republic of China. While China has become decidedly less socialist economically over the past two decades, owing mainly to Deng Xiaopings economic reforms of 1978 and 1992, it still remains a communist country, and its socialist ideology is still highly prevalent in everyday life (Yum, 2009) With regard to the Hofstede (2001) dimensions of cultural influence; Source: Gallant (2013) China scores highly on the measure of Power Distance, reflecting the fact that Chinese society inherently accepts uneven power distribution and inequality as a fact of life. Unsurprisingly, China scores very low on the measure of Individualism vs Collectivism, given both the Confucianist and the ruling Communist Partys emphasis on obedience to the state and group cohesion. It scores relatively highly on the measure of Masculinity vs Femininity, suggesting that gender roles are fairly strictly defined, and that ambition and assertiveness are valued, although mainly when they are used for the benefit of the group/state. China scores very highly on Time Orientation, suggesting that Chinese culture is very traditional and conservative, placing great emphasis on traditional values and methods. They also score very low on Uncertainty Avoidance, suggesting that Chinese society generally does not tolerate uncertainty, and prefers rules and strict structures to be in place. This ca n be seen in the fact that Chinese organisations tend to be highly structured and hierarchical, with each individual having a strict distinct role within the organisation (Lewis, 2000). Chinese managers tend to be very autocratic, and most decision-making is made from the top-down with little consultation (Gallant, 2013). Chinese decision making tends to be highly directive, task-oriented and low in cognitive complexity, with little room for interpretation (Martinson and Davison, 2005). Senior managers often have close ties to the Communist Party, and often important business decisions – especially those related to international trade – are scrutinised by party officials before being made (Osland, 1990). Chinese society emphasises the need for social cohesion, and the avoidance of conflict. Lockett (1988) suggests that the Chinese approach to management is much more people and relationship-oriented, and less performance-driven than in the West. When it comes to promotion, managers tend to promote those who are seen to be trustworthy and reliable rather than those who have sought to ‘rise above the rest at the expense of others (which is seen to be harmful to group cohesion), and length of tenure is also a highly important factor in determining promotion prospects (Ding et al, 1997). Japan Japanese society in general emphasises politeness and modesty as key virtues to be upheld – in a country with one of the highest urban population densities in the world, such virtues are important in maintaining social cohesion (Clammer, 2011). Japan was essentially closed to the outside world, apart from occasional contact with Dutch traders, until 1854, when the US Navy forced it to open its borders to trade (Totman, 2005). Since then, it has established itself as the third largest economy in the world in terms of GDP, behind the US and China at first and second place, respectively. With regard to the Hofstede dimensions of cultural influence; Source: Gallant (2013) Japan scores low on the measure of Individualism vs Collectivism, suggesting that Japanese society values group cohesion and social relationships over individual desires and accomplishments. Japan scores very highly on the measure of Masculinity vs Femininity, suggesting a high emphasis on fixed gender roles and on competition. It also scores very highly on Uncertainty Avoidance suggesting a high importance placed on the value of structure and rule formation, which can be interpreted as a holdover of its imperial past and its emphasis on a strict social hierarchy (Benedict, 1967). This is unsurprising given the high score for the measure of Time Orientation, which demonstrates Japanese culture is generally rather traditionalist and conservative. Although Japan scores low on the measure of individualism, Japanese managers tend to invest a great deal in their employees skills and development – in many Japanese firms, new employees spend around six to twelve months in t raining in each division of the company, so they can understand the different aspects of the firms organisation (Gallant, 2013). This ties in to the Japanese emphasis on structure and collectivism – each employee knows their role, and understands the role others play in the firms activities. Japanese decision making tends to be very collaborative – the Japanese concept of ‘hourenshou captures this perfectly. It refers to the necessity of reporting on both your own work and that of others, in ensuring everyone involved in the process is kept informed on how each piece of work is progressing (Clammer, 2011). Often, decisions are made at the middle management level, after consulting with subordinates, and are then passed up the chain to upper-level management to implement. Top management is seen as more of a facilitator than as a strictly authoritarian body. This idea of group responsibility is also upheld in the Japanese concept of ‘genchi genbutsu whi ch translates roughly as the need to get ones hands dirty when one spots a problem, regardless of role or level. Thus, top-level management are often willing to pitch in on a project to help it succeed, even if said project is many levels below (Clammer, 2011). The Japanese approach to promotion emphasises both seniority, maintenance of group cohesion, and modesty – the higher a manager rises, the more modest and unassuming he needs to appear (Suzuki, 1986). In Japan, it is generally expected for an employee to spend his working life at one company, slowly developing their individual skills and moving up the ranks, reflecting both the Japanese cultural preference for strong structure and organisation and avoidance of ambiguity, and in Japanese societys preferred long-term approach to Time Orientation. Conclusion While links can be drawn between each countrys unique cultural dimensions and its approach to management, care should be taken when applying such knowledge. As with any sweeping generalisations, there are many exceptions to the rule. However, such generalisations can still be useful as Lewis (2000) notes, â€Å"Determining national characteristics is treading a minefield of inaccurate assessment and surprising exception†¦there is, however, such a thing as a national norm† (Lewis, 2000, p3). So while not every Japanese manager will be modest, self-effacing and open to collaborative decision making; or every Chinese manager autocratic and avoiding of conflict; or every American manager highly competitive and performance-focused; such archetypes are generally successful in each area of cultural context, and the conscientiousness manager would do well to keep these national differences in mind while dealing with one of the aforementioned nations. 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