UNIT 1 INDIVIDUAL PROJECT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

UNIT 1 INDIVIDUAL PROJECT - Essay Example Often legislation that is designed to provide equal access lacks resources at various state or regional levels to carry out its purpose. Oversight to insure that legislation is put into practice can be sporadic. These factors are among many others that explain why law is not an exact science. Those who are hired and elected to uphold the law possess their own views which can and do affect their own interpretation of the law and how they carry out their duties. Just as judges, legislators, police and others working to uphold the law can be biased, as can health care workers. Though OBRA89 was enacted in 1984 to include more children and pregnant women in the Medicaid program (Flint, 2006), this served to create more disparity in health care access. A comprehensive report by the Institute of Medicine in 2002 identifies health care worker bias as one of two major contributing factors in health care disparities (Watts, 2003). Specific prejudices include provider assumption of Medicaid pa tients in general to be less intelligent and more prone to substance abuse. Such attitudes create situations where patients are denied basic medical rights such as life support and pain medication, as they are deemed unworthy or undeserving. While law dictates that all patients be given equal and proper medical care, it is difficult in most situations, to determine if prejudice and subsequent malicious intent are the cause, as opposed to general overburden of a system. Practices in health care that are considered unlawful include use of excessive force, overmedicating, withholding medication, failure to provide adequate nutrition, selling prescriptions or any other act that causes further injury or general decline in health as a result of the action(Arkansas Attorney General).

Discuss the importance of national culture in a business environment Essay

Discuss the importance of national culture in a business environment and illustrate its impact on conflict in international business communication - Essay Example Understanding cultural differences is the key to successful international business communications. (Zachry. P.1) Professor Geert Hofstede identifies five ‘independent dimensions’ (p.1) of cultural differences. The significance of Hofstede’s independent dimensions is a method of avoiding misunderstanding and conflict in international business negotiations. Gary Emmons in his article The New International Style of Management, suggests that the new corporate culture may be sufficient to overcome the difficulties arising out of national cultural barriers. (p.2). A new and increasing global style of business management might transcend anticipated conflicts resulting from cultural barriers. Cultural dimensions impacting cross-national business communications are: High-versus low-context cultures, monochromic versus polychromic time, silent language, Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and Maruyama’s epistemological types. In high context cultures such as China and Japan, communications are conducted in an implicit manner. In low-context cultures such as the United States and many European nations, communications are conducted in an explicit manner. (Tung p.5) In many high context cultures, gift giving is prevalent and a failure to understand this aspect of the culture is liable to lead to a misconceived implication of impropriety. Moreover, when engaging in the gift exchange cultural mode with high-context cultures it is important to avoid gifts which imply bad luck or ill will. This very simple failure to understand the nature of high-context culture communication modes can lead to serious conflicts in international business communications. (Tung p.6) Cultures operating on monochromic time (m-time) believe in performing one function at a time. On the other hand, cultures operating in polychromic time (p-time) function while performing several different tasks. P-time cultures have a propensity for mixing business with