Tata Nano †a Study on Business Challenges in India

TATA NANO – A STUDY ON BUSINESS CHALLENGES IN  INDIA Introduction Tata Nano, pet project of the chairman of the Tata Group Mr. Ratan Tata was a car which was expected to change the face of automobile sector in India. In the highly competitive small-car market of India, Tata Nano promised to set the bar so high that it would become extremely difficult for the competitors to match. The dream of owning a car for as little as Rupees 1 lakh (Rs. 100,000 – roughly USD2500) was too tempting for millions of Indians who cannot afford even a small car.The kind of extensive media coverage Tata Nano received right from the day it was announced through the entire period until the first units were handed over to the owners was something that its competitors dreamed of. However, after two years of launch, the Tata Nano manufacturing plant at Sanand in Gujrat, India is running at around 20% utilization. People’s Car- It is a common sight in india to see an entire family of fou r travelling on a two-wheeler in heavy traffic and bad road conditions all through the year. Car Ownership across countries – Present and FutureAs can be seen from the IMF report above, car ownership in India is expected to grow exponentially in the coming decades. India’s Growth in GDP Per Capita Combining the predictions about car ownership in India with the growth in GDP per Capita in India, we can clearly see why the automobile sector, especially the small car market is one of the most competitive sectors in India at present. In a market like this, a car like Tata Nano had the potential to sell like hot cakes. But it didn’t. Let us now try and understand why Tata Nano was not able to meet industry expectations. Reasons for SetbacksTata Nano (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Too Many Crises – Since its launch with great fanfare in 2009, the Nano has survived from one crisis to another. There was opposition to Tata’s original plans to site the factory in West Bengal, as discussed later, forcing a last-minute scramble to switch the site to Sanand. It opened last summer, but not enough cars came off the production line to fulfill the early orders. To make matter worse, a few cars catching fire on road, raising fears about the Nano’s safety. Price –Nano’s price, which was supposed to be its USP, is apparently one of the major reasons behind its low sales.For majority of Indians, owning a car is not about utility or mobility; it is a dream, ambition and status symbol; just like a house. So, the low price of Nano does not turn it into an asset. It becomes more like a commodity. Also, the initial marketing and promotion of Nano gave the average consumer the idea that owning a Nano would somehow be a confirmation of their poverty, and not a way to get out of it. Ironically, a big number of Nano’s buyers buy Nano as their second or third car after already owning another car. This segment is not the segment initi ally targeted by Tata.Resale-The re-sale car market gives stiff competition to the Nano. A 3-4 year old used car originally costing 3-4 lakh in on-road price (like Chevrolet Spark and Maruti Alto) can pose a stiff challenge to Nano given the relative price-parity that emerges when it comes to re-sale. For instance, Nano’s Mumbai on-road price for Std BSIII model pegged at 1. 51 lakhs is a few walks away from the Rs. 2 lakh plus used-car-version ‘Spark’. People, who may go for the advanced model Nano Cx BSIII, may consider opting for ‘Spark’ or ‘Alto’ given that the said Nano model costs around 1. 2 lakh rupees. In fact, Nano seems to have failed to pose a challenge to the market players in this re-sale car niche segment. Needless to say, there is not much value extracted from a Nano upon resale either. Rescuing Nano – To improve Nano’s market performance, Tata motors is trying to expand to other regions searching new market s for Nano. Given its modular design, Nano can be assembled and manufactured in practically everywhere on the planet. Hence, Tata is looking at SAARC nations, Latin America and other regions, where the economic conditions are similar to India.Also, Tata is contemplating coming up with Nano electric models and even a Nano diesel version After suffering setbacks with the initial market response, Tata Motors hired Carl-Peter Forster, a former boss of General Motors Europe as head of Tata Motors in February 2010. After taking charge, Forster realized that he will have to reinvent the Nano business model. There was no real national distribution scheme, very little marketing and advertising, and no effective system of consumer finance. The irony was that many rural Indians never got to hear bout or have the opportunity to see the car that was supposed to help transform their lives. Issues with Nano The Nano’s marketing problems began with its product positioning. The price crept up by around 15%, putting it out of the reach of first-time buyers with no regular employment or payslips to back an application for credit. And by emphasising its cheapness rather than its basic but appealing qualities, it deterred slightly better-off consumers who could afford one but aspired to more sophisticated vehicles, such as those from Tata’s biggest rival, Maruti, the leader in India’s small-car market.Political Controversies – Nine months after the Tata Nano was unveiled to much fanfare, and with only weeks before the first car was scheduled to roll off the assembly line, Tata announced it was pulling out of West Bengal where work was near complete on the assembly plant. Company Chairman Ratan Tata noted that Tata Motors had already invested 15b rupees (US$343m) in the small car project. But they had forgotten a vital detail which is a must for big investors looking to start big-idea investments on land owned by poor, mostly illiterate peasants in devel oping countries.At the bottom of the Singur peasant resistance was the need for a land reform that enables peasants to have real choices on whether to continue farming or do something else. For Tata Nano, the government of West Bengal persuaded more than 10,000 peasants in Singur to accept compensation for 1000 acres of farmland on which the Nano plant would be built. However, almost right from the start, as many as 2000 peasants refused the compensation, and demanded their land back. Farmers complained that the state communist government forcibly took their land to give to Tata.With the help of the opposition parties, peasants opposed to the land acquisition filed petitions in court. In January, a Calcutta High Court threw out all the complaints, ruling that there was â€Å"no violation of the Land Acquisition Act or any other regulation† by the West Bengal government in acquiring the land. But never ever underestimate the tenacity of angry peasants. When legal avenues were shut, Singur peasants took to the streets, organising daily protests and roughing up workers employed of the Nano factory.As the protesters grew more menacing, Ratan Tata was forced to acknowledge the possibility of never seeing a single Nano roll off the plant in Singur. While Tata was contemplating the future of his pet project, ad one of the most audacious projects in the history of Tata Motors, Narendra Modi – the Chief Minister of the Indian state of Gujrat approached him and promised to provide all support needed for Tata to move the plant form Singur to Sanand. Finally, Tata decided to move to Sanand and the first Nano rolled off the assembly lines at Sanand soon after.Yet, even as it managed to relocate and hit the market with slight delay, Tata needs to reflect on what happened in Singur to avoid running into the same problem elsewhere. Part of the problem was lack of clear and transparent negotiation between peasant representatives, Tata and the government of West B engal. Although the West Bengal government gave peasants compensation package that was way above the going rate, the lingering perception among the peasant was that a huge chunk of the money was creamed off by corrupt government officials.To avoid this perception, true or false, Tata should have negotiated directly with peasants, by-passing the West Bengal government. Secondly, even as Tata boasted of an initial start-up of 250,000 Nanos from the Singur plant, providing thousands of jobs to residents, it failed to make Singur residents take ownership of the plant. To the people of Singur, wealthy Tata was coming to grab their land to make billions of dollars for itself. Nano on Fire –  To make matters worse, three Nanos have caught fire because of some reason or the other since its launch raising serious questions about its safety and severely damaging its Brand Equity.Though Tata Motors has not commented on the reasons behind the fires, there has been strong word-of-mouth negative publicity towards the car. Recommendations Tata Nano has been a very interesting case about studying business in India and other emerging markets. It has seen some very interesting highs and lows which are unique to the Indian market. However, following recommendations can be made: 1. Clean up the Brand Image – Nano first of all needs to re-establish itself as a credible brand. This might be the hardest thing to do given the beating the brand image has taken because of the fires.Nano would need to aggressively work on its PR and show how the accidents are not because of flaws in Nano’s design but because of some unfortunate external factors. 2. Define a clear Marketing Strategy – Nano needs to have marketing strategies to target its real consumer segment which is the masses of India and showcase the Nano as an aspirational product for them instead of coming across as an accessory for the rich. 3. Focus on Other Countries – Export Nano to Indonesi a, Eastern Europe and also Brazil as well as Southeast Asia where it can be sold without the bad name it has earned in India. . Use Shareholder base of Tata – Tata Motors have a shareholder base of around 350,000 right now. It could be utilized to boost Nano sales through discounts etc. 5. Rework on Pricing – when Nano started, a major challenge was to prove whether it was possible to manufacture a car which can be sold at the price of Rs. 1 lakh. That point has been proven. The real challenge now is creating profitable car business. If Tata starts pricing its Nano in a range where it is more cost-effective, it would first, reduce the losses Tata incurs per car, as well as give the brand a facelift.

Impact of technology on communication Essay

The ways new technologies of communication affect my interactions. Since the existence of electronic communication I have made friends who are far from where I live. Although not everyone I have met on the internet becomes my friends, some are business associates, others have become my employer and still many have become my friends. My very common means of electronic communication is through live chats such as yahoo messenger and skype. This is where I get immediate feedback as long as the person I am chatting with is online. It requires that both of us have the account which is free of charge. New technology will show me if the person is away, unavailable, online or offline. I also use the email technology and this has helped me cover many distances in terms of education and socializing. I have bought books that I feel I need to read through the internet and the payment I have done through wire transfer. Surprisingly I have not lost any money or got conned as I hear people complaining that the net is full of fraud. I have also got a free lance job with the essay writers and I wrote my application through an email. After a while I got a feedback from them through email and started working for them. I get all my orders through browsing through the list of orders supplied and I work on the orders and then send them to customers through the internet. My questions if any about the orders are direct to the customers as a message that gets addressed within 24 hours. My pay for the work done is through electronic wire transfer. However I lack the face to face opportunity of interacting with these people I work for and although this does not much affect my work I tend to think that maybe if the meeting in face to face was there maybe we would not bond well and maybe wouldn’t work together. Sometimes this happens as some people who I meet face to face can never become my friends, my partners in business or my employer. They are those people who are hard to deal with, people who are not straight, who will look for war always. This I can only judge once I get to interact with a person face to face. Although one can get a vivid idea of some one’s character through their way of writing – that is the language they use, I believe some characteristics can be hidden and not seen through writing but will expose out rightly on face to face basis. I look at the people on television and associate the characteristics of the individuals here with the background they come from. An example movie from Mexico portrays Mexicans as very beautiful people, very hardworking. This is my personal opinion of the Mexicans and although it might not be perfect, I have come to this conclusion through watching television. Television has always shown Africa to be the land of jungle, wild animals moving freely. When I went for a tour in these places I saw exactly this. The last interesting thing that I have got from the net is a fiance. I met this man through skype and after chatting for quite some time we exchanged snaps. In the snap I saw that his physical appearance is what I would want. We did a lot of communication and said what each of us value, our dislikes and likes. When he finally flew to come and see me, I was not surprised for I just saw the very person I have learnt to love and respect on skype. He spoke the same way, looked just as the snap had shown. After a few months we got engaged and we are now looking forward to our wedding!

College is not for Everyone Essay

Where is the fault in a person who discovers their dreams prior to their collegiate degree? The reason behind people taking tertiary education is to have a firmer background when undertaking future tasks. Simply saying, college is to help a person retain a focus until and beyond graduation. There are privileges in having a college degree. One of which is to ease the search of finding jobs. Another is that the specialization courses broaden the perspective of a student. There are also emotional and social benefits along with the diploma. The best of these is to have the bragging rights that he or she graduated with a degree, perhaps with honors. Unfortunately, this can only get a person so far. At least, realistically, in this day and age, wherein employment is a task in itself and the economy is not even as helpful. What is required today is practicality in everything one does. One of the biggest issues in mind is when college is a logical solution to the seemingly impoverished country. Education is the key, as the cliche goes. But is education only attained within the four walls and high ceilings of a school? I would like to believe differently. For all those who are taking up their college degrees, and for those who are living the â€Å"bums† life, always reconsider if college is truly the best option for you. For a lot of people, perhaps it is. But the same is not always true for everyone. The reason behind this claim is that there are certain individuals who cannot take in all the class lessons unless practically applied. A person may need guidance in the real world, but the guidance does not always come from a person with a higher educational attainment and a certificate that affirms that. Practicality is the new realistic approach to any person’s lifestyle today. It is about efficiency. This means fewer costs for greater productivity. With this in mind, and the argument at hand, college is not for everyone. To support this point, it is important that one recognizes three important reasons. For certain individuals, college is a waste of time. It is a waste of money. It is a waste of a viable dream. A regular degree will take a person more or less three years, depending on the school, before the diploma is handed over. That is, of course, if the student is deserving to be handed one in the first place. The years a student takes and endures to receive a sheet of paper that tells them that they are worth hiring can be a very tiring task for a lot of people. This is most important to those who are not happy where they are. Some students, who have had dreams to build a small business before progressing it to become big enough to make them rich, are usually those who are persuaded or inwardly forced to go into college by their parents. True, there are high expectations. But there is also the cliche that people love saying: This is my life. This is not to say that students should speak back to their parents, especially if it is unjustifiable. It is standing firm when what you believe in is the real thing for you. After your graduation, the usual jobs you would get is most likely related to your training. But that could very much make you unhappy. For four years, you could have been doing what you like the most and reaping income from it. A little support from your parents would not have been bad either. But after graduating a course you do not have your heart into, after all those years of surpassing the challenges of faculties and family members, you might not find the prize worth the effort. When attending college, they would always say that you are receiving quality education. That is almost the same as saying that you should be as intellectual as the value you pay professors and mentors to stand by your side and guide you through those grueling hours. Unfortunately, the connotation behind quality does not always go through both directions. The teacher might have been a doctorate holder, but could not teach well. There are also instances where in the student simply did not understand. The teaching skills did not match the learning skills. With that, money is wasted. â€Å"Quality Education† no longer comes cheaply. The amount that could have been rendered to more important needs such as food, bills, and rent went to an institution, and not the intellectual capacity of a student. Not that he or she immediately needs one. There are students who are really gifted with their respective needs that they are better off without the formal education. Informal education comes cheaper and more hands-on, which more likely allows a person to learn. Theories will not aid a student unless there is a visible application of all the lessons. Memorization will only bombard many terminologies into a student that he or she may never use again. If you really do not have your heart into what you are doing, then it is a total waste to begin with. The money, as they say, will go down the drain. It is not just about having your heart into what you are doing, but also having what you are doing in your heart. You have to love what you are doing to enjoy it, and to feel a sense of achievement. There will be a sense of pride in exchange of doubts and regrets. When what you want comes from the heart, that dream could not be wrong. The sentimentality could not go wrong. If you are happy about it, and that others are not hurt by it, then it is not wrong. If in your heart, you believe that college is really something that is not for you, then there are other alternatives. You can prove those who think otherwise that you can make a living without the formal education or the diploma at the end of it all. If there is something that you would want to do, and you have the determination to see it through, then stopping you would only suppress you. Simultaneously, it is a call for an inevitable failure, and nobody wants to fail where their heart lies. If you want art, go take short course. You can also learn by self study and participation in art groups. If you want to sing, take lessons. But also have something on the side. It is important to broaden your options, but to remain at a focal point. It can be more difficult to work without a degree. But if you really want to become rich, whichever avenue you choose to get there, you will. It does not have to involve a college degree. College might not be for you. It is not as if you are a lesser person than those who received their diplomas the long extensive way. You can think about it as accelerating through those years that you can work, earn and become rich without all that. It is not as if it is something to be embarrassed about. It is to save time, money and heart. As philosophers say, it simply is. I say immerse yourself.

Human Rights and Same-Sex Marriage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Human Rights and Same-Sex Marriage - Essay Example Those who argue that same-sex marriages should be considered a civil right and should be treated just like any heterosexual monogamous marriage are doing so based on the principle of the Equal Protection Clause. This is, however, a flawed argument. It is absolutely wrong to consider that one’s constitutional rights ensure equal treatment in the area of marriage. One must understand with regard to equal treatment, the Constitution does not make reference to social relationships such as families, marriages, friendships, and the like (McVeigh and Maria-Elena 899). Two friends, who decide to consider their relationship a marriage, cannot go to the courts and demand equal protection rights just because they decided to consider their friendship a marriage. To do so is tantamount to saying that just because some people at a certain sports event pray together before the start of the event; courts are required under the equal protection law to allow these sports event goers to redefine the event as a religious ceremony. The government, as an example, recognizes a relationship between two contracting parties, one of whom agrees to mow the other’s lawn. However, the law governing the contracts does not define beforehand what kinds of contracts can be drawn. The law, instead, merely makes clear how binding a consensual contract is, and what legal obligations both agreeing parties have in fulfilling the contract

Macro and Micro Economics - 2 Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Macro and Micro Economics - 2 - Case Study Example Federal Reserves’s ability to increase the money supply because when the FRB lowers the reserve requirements, the excess reserves increase automatically. The commercial banks would have more freedom in lending out money and money supply would increase. The MPC of the economy is 1/3. The total government spending is $20 billion. This means that out of $20 billion, $6.66 billion would be spent and the rest would be saved. This $6.66 billion would become the income of subsequent consumers, who would spend $2.22 billion and save the rest. This is a geometric progression and its sum can be found out by the formula 1/1-r. Since MPC is 1/3, MPS becomes 2/3 or 0.66. The multiplier becomes 1.5 (1/0.66). Therefore, the total impact of initial increase of $20 billion is $30 billion ($20 billion* 1.5). A. Irving Fisher’s equation of exchange is derived from the equation of velocity (V) which is number of times in a year that a dollar is used to purchased goods and services. Firstly, GDP is required to be calculated. Then, the quantity of money in the economy (M) is to be calculated. GDP is divided by M to calculate V. It is given as follows: B. In the stock market, the timing of investment decisions is of paramount importance. When a major market correction is expected, people look to sell their stocks and increase their holding of money because of the possibility that the market might soon turn into a bear market. During a market correction, the values of the stocks fall and losses are suffered. Therefore, it is better to sell the stock before the â€Å"correction† arrives. A. Imposition of tariffs saves the local producers from the competition of foreign producers. It also brings tax revenue and helps in decreasing the imports of undesirable items. Importantly, it serves for the betterment of balance of trade. Quotas tend to be more protective than tariffs. They require a lot of paperwork and are hard to administer. Tariffs are easier to manage and unlike quotas,

Civil Aerospace Market Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Civil Aerospace Market - Case Study Example In the following discussion we'll analyze the industry structure of the civil aerospace market in general and the two main companies in particular. vi. World's second-largest defense company. Boeing Integrated Defense Systems provides end-to-end services for large-scale systems that combine sophisticated communication networks with air-, land-, sea- and space-based platforms for global military, government and commercial customers i. FAA (US) Aerospace forecast for the period 2006-2017 states that, 'By 2017, U.S. commercial air carriers are projected to fly 1.6 trillion ASMs and transport 1.07 billion enplaned passengers a total of 1.256 trillion passenger miles. Passenger trip length is also forecast to increase by more than 120 miles over the forecast to 1,171.9 miles (up 10.2 miles annually). iv. New entrants in the business particularly from India, China and Japan. These countries are trying very hard to tap the market with state owned companies getting full support from respective governments Headquartered in France and employing about 60,000 people worldwide Airbus has made a commitment to itself that it will remain in the 40-60 percent range as far as market share is concerned1. During 2006 also Airbus was able to capture 44 percent market share with 824 new firm orders worth US$75.1 billion. Buyers'/Consu... v. Highly investment intensive and labor intensive business. Opportunities i. FAA (US) Aerospace forecast for the period 2006-2017 states that, 'By 2017, U.S. commercial air carriers are projected to fly 1.6 trillion ASMs and transport 1.07 billion enplaned passengers a total of 1.256 trillion passenger miles. Passenger trip length is also forecast to increase by more than 120 miles over the forecast to 1,171.9 miles (up 10.2 miles annually). ii. New technological breakthroughs in IT, computers and electronics industries, providing opportunity to serve the customer in a better way. iii. New product development efforts are focused on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, a super-efficient airplane that is expected to be in service in 2008. Threats i. Global slowdown (decelerating growth) in airlines business, particularly after the 9/11 incident ii. Shrinking profit margins for airlines industry, resulting in closing down of many airlines iii. Fluctuating oil prices and turbulent political scene in the middle-east region iv. New entrants in the business particularly from India, China and Japan. These countries are trying very hard to tap the market with state owned companies getting full support from respective governments v. Widespread opposition of the outsourcing moves by the unions at Boeing as well as from other unions in the country, fearing widespread retrenchments. SWOT analysis for Airbus Headquartered in France and employing about 60,000 people worldwide Airbus has made a commitment to itself that it will remain in the 40-60 percent range as far as market share is concerned1. During 2006 also Airbus was able to capture 44 percent market share with 824 new firm orders worth US$75.1 billion. Strengths: Leading position in the

Harlem Renaissance Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Harlem Renaissance - Research Paper Example The participants also wanted to eliminate the influence of Victorian society principles that propagated racial discrimination. The movement created the basis for African American culture development and greatly influenced the attitude towards blacks in the whole world. Harlem, the district of the New York City, was the heart of the movement. The Harlem Renaissance also affected the social life of blacks, because a bit later, in 1940-50, many blacks moved to northern American cities that testified about the improvement of their social influence and the development of their cultural and social life. There were also many organizations created in order to defend and promote the rights and freedoms of African Americans, to inspire blacks and to remind them about their cultural identity (Huggins). As a result, African Americans found the way to such big centers as Paris and New York City and, what is the most important, they managed to unite and support each other on their way to cultural revival. The influence the Harlem Renaissance had on social sphere made this period of cultural development unique in the world history. Not only fiction literature was created during this period but also a great number of social magazines and newspapers were issued. â€Å"The Crisis†, â€Å"Opportunity†, â€Å"Negro World† are among them. ... It is interesting that Harlem was the place of white people residence, and when the movement was created, it turned into a residence of black people. Certainly, this was a kind of a victory and as a result other regions of the New York, which were close to Harlem, also became full of blacks. African American intellectuals from other American cities came to Harlem to live or just to meet each other. Such unity played a very important role as it helped revive African American cultural identity and make whites respect them and their culture (Patton). The Harlem Renaissance presented American history with many outstanding personalities. The poet Langston Hughes (1902-1967)  became famous after his publications in â€Å"The Crisis†, the famous magazine in Harlem Renaissance period. His poems helped shed the light on the real life of African Americans and contained hard critics of the prejudices and racial discrimination. His poems called African Americans upon to stop despise the ir own culture, to start respect themselves, to build their cultural identity and make whites also respect them. He wrote â€Å"the night is beautiful, so the faces of my people, the starts are beautiful, so the eyes of my people. Beautiful also is the sun, beautiful also are the souls of my people† (Hughes, cited in Rampersad, 1988). Such poems were written in order to make black people like the color of their skin and their appearance, to remind them that they have beautiful and wise souls. â€Å"My seeking has been to explain and illuminate the Negro condition in America and obliquely that of all human kind" (Hughes, cited in Rampersad, 1988). Claude McKay is another interesting figure in Harlem

Article Response Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Article Response - Assignment Example The breadth of Kuhn’s influence on intellectual fields is captured by Matthews (2003). According to Matthews (2003) more than a million readers were impacted by Kuhn’s works. Moreover, many more were influenced by educators and writers who discussed or otherwise debated or discussed Kuhn’s work. Matthews (2003) also points out that Kuhn’s impact on education goes further in sparking debate among scholars and impacting research and methodology techniques because Kuhn raised a number of philosophical and methodological questions relative to the acquisition of knowledge. This paper analyses Matthews’ (2003) article and draws on insight from the education philosophies of Gutek (2000) and Eisner (2001) in ascertaining the practical implications for education. This research study is therefore divided into three main parts. The first part of this study provides a summary of Matthews’ position. The second part of the paper analyses Matthew’s p osition and its practical implications for education by reference to Gutek (2000 & 2004) and Eisner’s (2001) philosophies of education. The third part of the paper will provide the author’s position and its practical implications for education. ... m theory relates to Kuhn’s conceptualization of â€Å"normal science† which is a research technique grounded by universal concept, theory, test and methodology (p. 23). According to Matthews (2003), when Kuhn wrote The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, created an entirely different conceptualization of science and in doing so impacted â€Å"science education theory and research† (p. 91). Matthews (2003) begins by offering some insight into Kuhn as a philosopher. Kuhn was more of a â€Å"historian of science† and with no formal philosophical background was a self-described â€Å"amateur† philosopher (p. 91). Nevertheless, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions influenced philosophical argument disproportionate to the philosophical discussion contained in the actual book. Regardless, Kuhn still managed to articulate an apparently â€Å"new† and â€Å"epistemological paradigm, or theory of scientific knowledge† (Matthews, 2003, p. 92) . More specifically, Kuhn’s book: ...gave a modern, scientifically informed, philosophical legitimacy to much older relativist and sceptical traditions in epistemology (Matthews, 2003, p. 92). For example, ancient Protagoreans such as Plato and other realist philosophers argued that what appeared to be just was just. Influenced by Kuhn’s book, modern Protagoreans would argue that scientific truths and decisions were â€Å"intratheoretic† and a rational conclusion can be drawn by looking more closely at conflicting theories (Matthews, 2003, p. 92). Modern Protagoreans, took a more Kuhnian position arguing that â€Å"different paradigms saw different things† and not simply â€Å"saw the same thing differently†: ontological claim vs epistemological claim (Matthews, 2003, p. 93). Since this pattern could be observed in science, it can be

Internal Capabilities of a Company - Strategic Management Essay

Internal Capabilities of a Company - Strategic Management - Essay Example Introduction Marks & Spencer is a globally reputed retailer based in UK. It is one of the many well established retailers in the UK area with over 21 million people visiting the regional stores of Marks and Spencer on a weekly basis. The unique selling proposition or the USP of Marks & Spencer stores are that they offer products which are high on style and also have a high quality. The chain, in an effort to maintain quality, sources the products, mainly foods from a global pool of huge number of suppliers, approximately 2000 in number. As of today’s status, Marks and Spencer has presence all over the globe with an impressive store count of 700. In the UK market, Marks & Spencer is the leading player for women clothing and accessories. The clothing segment sales generally accounts for around 49% of the business handled by Marks and Spencer, while the remaining 51% is generated from the food segment, which comprises of a wide range of products ranging from farm fresh organic pr oduce to partly and fully prepared and packed meals (Marks & Spencer 2012). In an effort to play a leading role in the worldwide green initiative, the chain is focusing on reducing wastage that is generated from handling and packaging of food items (Marks & Spencer-a 2012). Analysis and Findings The analysis and findings would hint on analyzing the internal environment of the business based on two specific models-the SWOT Matrix and the Value Chain Analysis study. Internal Environment Analysis SWOT Analysis Strengths Brand Identity: The most important strength of the retail chain Marks & Spencer is its brand identity. It is the single most supreme asset that the retail chain possesses in the current times. As an effort, to develop the brand further in the UK market, and as an effort to build customer recall for the brand, the brand invested heavily in a branding program in the late 2010. Named as ‘Only At Your M&S’, the branding program highlighted the highly innovative and quality products offered by Marks & Spencer to its customers all the time, by keeping pace with the changing patterns of the retail industry and its related products. As an upshot to this marketing response, the consumers gave a massive positive response, leading to boosting of sales in the year 2011 (Marks & Spencer 2011). Clothing Segment: Marks & Spencer is leading the UK market in the clothing sector and has also successfully increased their market share as compared to the previous year. The increase in market share was attributed to the offering of quality products with respect to the current trend and customer choice. Clothing Segment: In an effort to serve the consumers better, the clothing segment is reorganizing itself by segmenting the stores, with regards to the local demographics. In future, this strategy will generate a positive response among the consumers, as the retail chain is focusing on providing the optimal and exact product mix as desired by consumers of va rious locations, and thereby increasing customer convenience and customer satisfaction. Food Segment: Better waste management in the food division, has helped the retail chain to reduce the cost of its products, while at the same time providing better margins on its food products (Marks & Spencer

Nationalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Nationalism - Essay Example In the perspective, nationalism does bring negative influence to the society and the people who live within such societies. Negative influence of nationalism is usually brought about by bad leadership. Primarily, leaders use nationalism to bring people together, but quite often they can go to the extremes while trying to meet their goals (Ireneusz and Suszycki 49). This may involve the use nationalism to persuade people to support their bad agenda and treatment towards the minority groups in the society. For instance, Hitler used nationalism to persuade the people of Germany to discriminate and eliminate all the minority groups in the nation. In particular, he used propaganda to invoke strong feeling of nationalism among the German population and then used it to advocate for his discriminative policies. This shows that when nationalism is abused, it can be very dangerous. People will want to fight for the rights and freedoms of their nation regardless of what others may go through. Nationalism can result in the development of extreme nationalistic movements with high degrees of discrimination. In fact, the rise of extreme nationalistic movements such as Nazism and Zionism was as a result of nationalism (Ireneusz and Suszycki 50). These movements had a strong belief in ethnicity in the sense that people that belong to their ethnic background were supreme and therefore there ethnic group was the master race. As a result, both of these ethnic groups embarked on the process of ethnic cleansing to eliminate those groups of people that belong to different ethnic affiliations. For instance, member of the Nazism eliminated the Jews by killing them or sending them to special concentration camps where they would undergo suffering and extreme conditions. On the other hand, the members of Zionism eliminated the Palestinians by driving them out of Israel. This is shows the extent to which nationalism

Great Patriotic War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Great Patriotic War - Essay Example The Soviet Union (Filtzer, 2002) soldiers in the front lines were caught by surprise. In fact, the German army's blitzkrieg (lightning) attack easily toppled the Soviet Union soldiers in the first few months of the attack because they were surrounded, cut off from supplies, backup troops, and war materials and thereby forced to surrender to the advancing mighty German Army. German forces reached the gates of Leningrad in the North in September 1941. Germany had already overrun Smolensk in the center of Leningrad and took control of Dnepropetrovsk in the South of Leningrad. German Soldiers have reached the vicinity of Moscow, which is the Seat of Government of the Soviet Union in December of 1941. However, after months of fighting inside the big expanse of the Soviet Union territory, the German army realized that they were just humans. They had reached their maximum stamina, finally grew tired, and out of breath because the cold winter months had finally arrived. The German soldiers were not supplied with much needed food and other war supplies to fight in a winter war arena. The German army had been cut off from their supply lines because they had gone too far and deep into Soviet Union territory because Moscow is almost a thousand miles away from Berlin.It was in the autumn of 1941 that the German invading army made attempts to capture Moscow. The battle occurred between October 30, 1941 to April 20, 1942 which is one of the greatest battle wins that the Soviet Union will forever be remembered.During the autumn of 1941, around twenty eight soldiers from the 316th rifle company led by General Panfilov built a foxhole on a hill between the village of Nelidovo and Dubosekovo t o hold the German Advance to Moscow. With the use only of sub machine guns, rifles, incendiary bottles and grenades, they fought an uphill battle against twenty German tanks and infantry. Fourteen German tanks were destroyed which made the Germans retreat. The Germans then made a second attack with thirty tanks but the Moscow defenders destroyed eighteen thanks and killed and maimed many Germans. The Germans retreated for good. The Soviet Union professor Vasily Klochkov-Diev tied a rope of grenades around his waist and jumped while shouting "Russia is large, but there is no place to retreat. Moscow is behind us." under the German tanks destroying them. Other soldiers followed his example and only five Soviet soldiers survived to tell the tale of their Great Patriotic War.From October to December of 1941, thousands of residents of Moscow constructed many leveled fortifications around Moscow and also mined the roads and bridges to

Criminal Justices Ethics Essay Example for Free

Criminal Justices Ethics Essay A few months ago, a woman was brutally raped, beaten and left for dead. Since the attack she remains in a coma. This case has risen to national prominence as an example of how today’s youth no longer respects fundamental social values, television and video game violence has desensitized young men to the consequences of crimes such as assault and rape, and as a demonstration of the inability of the police to keep the streets safe for law-abiding citizens. My partner and I work in the criminal justice system as police officers and handle most of the homicide cases in our area. The publicity from this crime has placed our police department under pressure to send someone to trial for this crime immediately. A gang of young men were spotted in the areas where the victim was found assaulting and threatening people that were passing by. Two members of the gang were arrested. The two members are both male and 14 years of age that both have previous records of robbery and assault. Our obligation as police officers is to follow the policy and ethical standards of our police department and the law, which states, minors must be informed of their legal right to have their parents present during the interrogation and to use videotape during important interviews. However, my partner has pushed his ethical obligation aside and interviews both of the minors while deciding not to contact their parents or tape the interrogation. When I confront him about the policy’s that did not take place he tells me not to worry about it that both minors are guilty as sin and we can close the case. His actions are unethical and don’t not follow the policy of prosecuting the guilty, respecting the rights of the accused, and creating a safe community. Ethics is crucial in decisions involving discretion, force, and due process, because criminal justice professionals can be tempted to abuse their powers (Felkins, 1987). I report this to my supervisor only for him to tell me to trust my partner and go to trial. Both suspects are arrested and bound for trial. Bail is denied. I do not feel good about proceeding with this. The organizational culture represented by my supervisor gives the answer to my partners’ behavior. The supervisor plays a large role in defining organizational culture by his actions and leadership. Both my supervisor and my partner have decided to use â€Å"moral relativism† which is the ethical premise â€Å"that decisions about right and wrong are purely personal and subjective and according to it, whatever anyone claims to be morally acceptable is morally acceptable, at least for that person. They have not thought about the consequences of their actions and how they may be beneficial or harmful from the result. In order to do so one must analyze the issues and make judgments by studying the details of the case, identifying the relevant criteria, determining possible course of action, and deciding which action is most ethical. I will choose to detach myself from the case. I cannot afford to lose my job by not following the legal or ethical standards. Laws have penalties when cases are violated and these penalties can be very severe if you violate legal norms. I believe that both my partner and supervisor have violated legal norms as well as ethical standards. References Felkenes, G. (1987). â€Å"Ethics in the Graduate Criminal Justice Curriculum.† Teaching Philosophy 10(1): 23–26. Ruggiero, V. R. (2008). Thinking Critically About Ethical Issues (Seventh ed.). New York, NY, USA: McGraw-Hill.

Impact of the Technological Revolution

Impact of the Technological Revolution 1 INTRODUCTION The role of technological revolution has touched every aspect of peoples lives from shopping to banking. The changes have great impact on services quality and banking activities has enabled the banks to compete in the world markets (Siam 1999-2004, 2006). The banking industry worldwide is witnessing a growing technology driven self-service by way of electronic banking (e-banking) through interacting with customers as a way of increasing productivity. The use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) helps the banks in making strategic decisions by enabling better alignment of business to build better relationship with customers. ICT has enabled banks to provide the following services: Automated Teller Machines (ATM) that have been installed at convenient places for customers to access their accounts anytime. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) that allows different organisations to exchange transactional, financial and business information between their computer systems. Plastic Cards designed to pay for goods and services without necessarily using cash and also to withdraw cash from ATMs located worldwide. Electronic Clearing Service (ECS) is a facility that allows fund transfer from one bank to another electronically. It can be used for bulk or repetitive transfers either by institutions for dividend distribution, salary, etc. and pension, or by individuals for regular payments to utility, loan repayment, etc. Internet Banking as a channel of Electronic Banking (E-banking) allows the customer to do transactions through the banks web page in a flexible mode, i.e. at anytime and anywhere. The flexibility of E-banking is a major benefit to customers because they are able to access the banking services at the comfort of their homes or offices and no more queuing at banks. For the banking sector, E-banking is a big investment on capital and resource though the initial acquisition of relevant infrastructure, standardisation and security are expensive, especially for small banks in developing countries, but not a big problem for big banks in developed countries. These also have to follow the standard legislative and regulatory issues set within a country to protect customers rights, especially the concerning data protection. 1.1 Background of Study The role of internet has become unavoidable to business and society. Businesses and governments worldwide are always working on how to better utilise the internet in order to increase their penetration into the global market (Khan, Mahapatra Sreekumar (2009). Banking sector has seen the use of Information Technology (IT) a better way of reducing the traditional way of investing and moving along the modern technological changes in order to meet up with the global market. The growing changes in technology bring economical and social consequences on our daily life and these changes brought about the Internet. The Internet provides services like, World Wide Web (WWW), Automated Teller Machines (ATM), Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) which are the core business services of E-banking. The banking sector has embarked on internet banking systems to enable their customers to access their accounts globally and in a flexible mode through their websites. Thi s move to internet banking has seen banks reducing long queues as some customers can serve themselves either through the ATMs or through the website, depending on the type of service they want to perform. Though the banking has embarked on internet banking systems, it has not totally abolished the traditional banking activities. This is to allow those customers who need face to face help to still come to banks to get help on whatever activities or services they need either because they do not trust the web or because they are unable to do not know the technology used and fear to make mistakes. Internet is used world wide for different things, some good and some malicious. This then brings in the issue of trust on the part of both the web site owners and users. Some users still prefer to go and queue in the banks because either they do not trust the web services or are unfamiliar with the systems and therefore feel uncomfortable to use e-banking. Trust should be built in order to encourage more customers to use the web site for their banking service needs. Trust can be categorised into tangible and intangible trust. Tangible trust is an implied trust that can be addressed by the use of digital certificates and SSL protocols and service level granularity. On the other hand intangible trust is something that can be formed or reinforced and is subjective, emotional and has a rational component. Trust can build or destroy the organisations reputation. 1.2 Motivation of Study There has been considerable work carried out in the field of e-banking/e-commerce trust (Smith French 2005); (Khalil 2007), however, there was a gap in their knowledge of cultural gap, especially in developing countries like Botswana. The motivation on this research is as follows: The need to show the importance of localisation of e-banking site as e-banking is a new phenomenon in Botswana. To make further studies on cultures of two ethnic groups within the same country as there have been very little research on this area. This is not the case with developed countries as the studies show that there has been localisation of e-banking to suit their target markets (Singer, Baradwaj and Avery 2007). 1.3 Aim The main aim of this research is to examine how the Tswana and Kalanga ethnic groups of Botswana culturally perceive trust on a B2C e-banking website and to design an e-banking website for each ethnic group. 1.4 Objectives The following objectives will be achieved through this study: A research will be carried out on how cultural background influences the trust and use of e-banking services. To relate the findings of the research in the design process of a web sites that suits the culture for Tswana and Kalanga ethnic groups. 1.5 Research Questions The research study aims to test the following key questions: What is the impact of culture on the contents of e-banking site? How does culture affect online trust in e-banking? Is it necessary to consider culture, trust and usability in designing e-banking website? How does Tswana and Kalanga cultural differences affect e-banking? 1.6 Methodology The research employs both primary and secondary data. Primary data will be collected through a structured survey which will be an online. The online survey will be through email where a link will be sent to the respondents in Botswana and UK. This method is chosen because it is flexible in that the respondents answer the questionnaires at their own free time and in a flexible mode of their computers. The other important thing is that it is cheaper to administer and responses are received more quickly and also that if there are any errors in the questionnaire it is easier to correct the errors. 2 E-SERVICES AND CULTURE WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP 2.1 E-Commerce and E-Banking The development of Information Technology and the advent of internet have enabled traditional business activities to change into Electronic Commerce (E-commerce). E-commerce is a process that allows businesses and customers (B2C) to exchange goods and services electronically anytime anywhere, and it includes banking, stocks and bonds, retail shopping, movie rentals, etc. E-Commerce has opened a global market where businesses can reach their respective customers quickly and cost effectively (Li et al 2009). For trading to be successful in this virtual world, trust must be considered vital not forgetting culture. E-commerce includes inter-organisational marketing process in which the following relationships are observed: B2B (business to business), B2C (business to consumer), and C2C (consumer to consumer). E-banking sometimes called electronic banking or internet banking is a system that allows people to conduct transactions and manage their accounts without necessarily going to the brick and mortar banks. For customers using internet banking to access their account, they need to have personal accounts at the respective banks websites. For e-banking to be effective, banks should invest on IT infrastructure like Hardware, Software, Networking which include connection to the internet. Automated Teller Machines (ATM) and personal computers have reduced the cost in favour of banks on paper work and labour force since customers use self services offered by banks. However, it should be noted that there are still some people who would want to be served by bank officials either because he/she does not know how to operate the banks system, does not trust it or want face-to-face interaction with bank officials. 2.1.1 Benefits of E-Banking Electronic banking or online banking is the most popular means of e-commerce for millions people worldwide. Most banking products and services are now offered over the Internet. Banks have invested in robust information technology practices and secure-transaction technologies that have made electronic banking trustworthy. This has also created some benefits on e-banking as follows: Convenience and flexibility as the customer is able to pay bills, shop and transfer money from anywhere at any time suitable to the customer as long as the customer has access to a personal computer and internet connectivity. There is no strictness of business hours as the services are available 24 hours every day unlike in the traditional brick and mortar where a customer has to observe working hours. Customers are able to manage their customers as they are able to access their accounts and therefore can cross check their accounts anytime. To the customer the only cost associated with e-banking is the cost of the time spent online which is usually charged by the internet provider. There is also time and money saving as customers do not have to travel distances to their respective banks unless on crucial issues. 2.1.2 Limitations of E-Banking As well as electronic banking have advantages there are some limitations too. Below are some limitations on electronic banking. Some bank websites have too much information that confuses the customers and the customer may feel it is a waste of time as he/she does not get the information that he/she wants and may never bother to visit the website again. The financial needs of the customer may not be quickly be predicted and therefore will take some time to be solved, which is an inconvenience to the customer. Hacking and identity theft are on the rise this calls for a certain amount of trust placed on the banks by electronic banking customers. The system should be able to stand against hacking. There is no Face-to-face interaction in electronic banking and some customers still need this type of service that are observed in a traditional bank to quickly solve or answer customers queries. In case of internet failure the customer is unable to withdraw money from his/her account and unable to even use the ATMs or credit/debit cards. Some banks charge for ATM usage by non-customers, therefore if a customer stays where there is not ATM for his/her bank, then he/she will be charged to using the facility of another bank. 2.1.3 Security and Trust Security issues are a major concern for everybody using internet whether for banking purposes or not. There is an increase of security risks in the banking sector as their systems are exposed to risky environments. Confidentiality, integrity, privacy and availability are the core areas of security that banks and financial institutions must address (Jide Awe 2006). This calls for banks and financial services authority to plan ahead in monitoring and managing the security threats. The security threats are classified in three categories; breaches with serious threats (e.g. fraud), breaches caused by casual hackers (e.g. web sites defacement or services denial (e.g. causes of web sites to crash) and flaws in systems design (e.g. genuine users able to see or use another users accounts). These threats cause serious financial, legal and reputational implications to the banks affected. Banks and financial institutions need to put in place security measures to respond to these threats. The security measures need constant update in order for them to cope with the ever increasing and advanced threats. The banks should also have sufficient staff who have security expertise in order to keep on checking and updating the banks systems. These threats bring in customers lack of trust on the electronic banking that is why some customers prefer to queue at banks to get services that they would have otherwise done through the internet. Trust should be built in order to encourage more customers to use the web site for their banking service needs. McKnight, Cummings and Chervany (1998) define trust as an individuals beliefs about the extent to which a target is likely to behave in a way that is benevolent, competent, honest, or predictable in a situation. Trust can be categorised into tangible and intangible trust. Tangible trust is an implied trust that can be addressed by the use of digital certificates and SSL protocols and service level granularity. On the other hand intangible trust is something that can be formed or reinforced and is subjective, emotional and has a rational component. Trust can build or destroy the organisations reputation. Trust is very important and should be the critical area for each bank to consider because if customers do not trust a bank then the bank will be out of business. Trust on e-banking is crucial because it can make the banks to lose money and popularity if hackers are able to access customers accounts. It can be ensured by putting stringent measures on the banks systems and including in its website the symbols/signs and text that will make the customer aware of the security of the website. Some researchers believe that in electronic cyber consumer trust is more important than in traditional transactions (Kim, Ferrin and Rao 2007). There are signs and symbols that are used in the website that indicate to the customer that the site is trustworthy. These trustworthy signs may be explicit and some implicit (French, Liu Springett 2007). 2.1.4 Cultural Models The world is comprised of people with different cultural backgrounds which justifies their behavioural variation. This variation usually shows the different cultures and values of these people. Culture is something that identifies and differentiates one person from another and it is something that is not inherited or from genes but it is learned. The environment in which a person grows usually determines the persons culture because he/she learns the language, the norms and values of the people with which he/she lives. Hofstede (1991) defines culture as the collection of human mind that distinguish the members of one human group or category of people from those of others. The manifestation of cultural differences is formed through a combination of four characteristics: symbols, heroes, rituals, and values. Rituals are sacred things that must be carried out within a cultural environment. Values are cultural things that are mentally stored as one grows up within the cultural environment. Symbols are things like language, pictures/objects and gestures that depicts meaning understood within the same cultural group. Heroes are people respected and considered to be role models within a cultural environment, however, this changes as the child graduate into adulthood. Cultural differences across the world vary according to ethnic groups and also across geographic boundaries. 2.1.5 Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions Hofstede (1984, 1991) identified the following five cultural dimensions which could be used to compare and measure cultural differences. 2.1.5.1 Power Distance Index Power is not distributed equally among the society. This is indicated by some people having more power than others, eg. some people are born kings, chiefs already having that status even at the very early age as toddlers. These people will be respected from that very early age even in way they are addressed. However, the power distance can be measured differently depending on the difference in society. There are those that are termed as large power distance culture where the subordinates do as told and the superior gives instructions and is the only one who decides what is good for the society or organisation. On the other hand there are those that are termed low power distance where there is consultation between the superior and the subordinates. In this category the superior respects the subordinates and entrust them with important assignments believing that they will be successfully completed. 2.1.5.2 Individualism versus Collectivism In individualism can be classified as nuclear family where each individual act independently, making his/her own choices and decisions. As a member of the nuclear family, the individual has to take care of himself/herself and his/her immediate families. On the other hand collectivism can be classified as patrilineal or matrilineal where people, after being integrated into the society at birth, are looked after by extended families. 2.1.5.3 Masculine versus Femininity Division of roles depend on gender, Men must provide for their families and female must take care of the children and the whole family. The assertiveness of men creates dominance over female on economic life within the family irrespective of whether it is an extended or nuclear family. However, in developed countries there are some variations on gender role pattern that enable females to enrol in courses that were initially designed for men and therefore do jobs that were done by men. In some underdeveloped or developing countries where the gender role pattern still exists, women are barred from doing jobs that are considered to be designed for men and women are also barred from enrolling on courses that are designed for men. This gender role pattern is still strictly followed in some underdeveloped countries where men are said to be head of families and thus gives the men all authority over everything that goes on in the family. Woman in such families do not have any say, they are t old what to do, how and when by their husbands and they are not supposed to question the instructions from men. 2.1.5.4 Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) Most people fear uncertain situations because they cannot predict what might happen in the near future. To minimise this, organisations or societies engage strict laws and rules, safety and security measures, and religious and cultural beliefs to protect their organisations or societies. However, avoidance of uncertainty varies according to cultural differences. In high power distance culture, the boss is the only one to make decisions and the subordinates must strictly follow the bosss instructions. Subordinates expect the supervisors to tell them what to do because they regard each other as unequal. In organisations, this is also indicated by the wide salary gap whereas in societies it is indicated by the prestige given to superiors (e.g. chiefs) by their subordinates (e.g. tribes). In low power distance culture there is respect by supervisors over their subordinates. The supervisors entrust subordinates with important assignments trusting that the work will be done efficiently and if there is something wrong the supervisor will not put the blame on the subordinates, but rather takes it upon himself. The society believes people are equal irrespective of their education, religion or wealth. There is more democracy as subordinates views are sought and taken into consideration when making decisions. 2.1.5.5 Long-Term Orientation versus Short-Term Orientation The long-term orientation versus short-term orientation is a model which came a after Hofstede was convinced by Michael Bond who called this dimension the Confucian dynamism. Values of long-term orientation are more oriented towards future e.g. perseverance and thrift while on the short-term the values are more oriented towards past and present and therefore more static e.g. respect for tradition and reciprocation of greetings, favours and gifts, personal steadiness and stability. 2.1.6 Trompenaars, Hall and Other Cultural Models There are several cultural models most of which overlap into Hofstedes models (Kluckhohn; Trompenaars 2000). Trompenaars developed the below models: 2.1.6.1 Universalism versus Particularism This can be viewed as authority versus consultation. In authority the one who has authority gives instructions and makes decision without the involvement of others whereas in consultation other peoples views are taken into consideration when making decisions. 2.1.6.2 Individualism versus Communicationism Where there is balance between individuals and groups needs. 2.1.6.3 Specific versus Diffuse Relationships Here the business is done on an abstract relationship (contract) or on good personal relationship in order to bring in liking and trust. 2.1.6.4 Neutral versus Affective Communication Styles In this dimension people hide and hold on to their emotions or they show them up in which case they expect some emotional response. 2.1.6.5 Time Orientation Monochromic culture focuses more on performing the task promptly meeting the original plan and prefers to do one task at a time. Polychronic culture tends to e multi-tasking, doing different things at the same time, and emphasis is more on relationship than on tasks. 2.1.7 Halls Cultural Models Hall (1976, 1983) developed the three cultural dimensions in which he describe how people behave. Following are his Cultural Models: 2.1.7.1 Context High Context People are helped by many contextual elements to understand the rules and it is a problem for those who do not understand unwritten rules. Low Context More explanation on rules is done as things are not taken for granted and therefore there is less chance of misunderstanding. 2.1.7.2 Time Monochronic Time is where one thing is done at a time and the concern is achieving the task on schedule. Polychronic Time is where several things are done at the same time (multi-tasking) and here the concern is on relationship and not schedule. 2.1.7.3 Space High Territorial Some people have greater concern for ownership and try to mark their territorial boundaries whether at home, parking space and even in shared offices. Low Territorial People here are not much concerned with ownership of space and for them it less important Hofstede, Trompenaars and Hall did extensive research that enabled them to conduct rankings on countries cultural differences. Hofstede conducted his research on 50 countries whilst Trompenaars conducted his on between 19 and 52 countries though with fewer rankings. Although it does not clearly show whether Hall did any rankings but he did a comparison of cultural dimensions among the French, Americans and Germans. 2.1.8 Tswana Culture Households in the Tswana polities usually take the form of three residential sites: one household in the village, one at agricultural holdings outside the village but not very far from the village (where ploughing takes place) and the last a cattlepost (with kraals for keeping livestock owned by the family). †¢ Power Distance: Tswana tribes greatly respect their elders which is shown especially when the younger ones greet the elders. In Botswana greetings are used to judge somebodys behaviour and greetings are conducted in a certain manner. When greeting an elder, a younger has to stop a bit to show respect and if the younger person is a male wearing a hat, he has to take it off to show respect to the elder. A man also has to take off his hat when getting inside the house as a custom unless the man is a widower. Each Tswana tribe or ethnic group has a Chief (Kgosi) who is helped by paternal uncles and Headmen. The paternal uncles are by virtue of close relationship to the Chief advisors as they are considered to have the royal blood. Kgosis traditional court is called Kgotla, and it is the main customary court within the village where disputes or misunderstandings that could not be solved by Headmen are solved. The Chiefs Kgotla also acts as the Traditional Court of Appeal within th e village, where people who are not satisfied with the Headmens rulings can appeal. Chieftainship is inherited, so for a person to be a chief he/she has to be born from the royal family and not somebody chosen. Most of the Tswana people are Christians as Christianity was brought in Botswana as early as 1845 by a Scotsman named Dr. David Livingstone. The first Christian to be baptized by Dr Livingstone was Chief Sechele of the Bakwena and this was a good sign towards improvement in peoples way of living. For a chief to be a Christian it was easier to convince other chiefs and the people to become Christians. Christianity also contributed a lot to Tswana culture as it reduced the bureaucratic principles where only one person would make decisions for the whole family or tribe and nowadays consultation is the norm. †¢ Individualism versus Collectivism: Collectivism is the norm with the Tswana Culture where somebody has to take care of his/her family and also the extended family like uncles, grandparents, aunts, nephews and nieces. In the olden days class differentiation was very low and mostly invisible because traditionally those who had more cattle would help those who had none by distributing the cattle to those households for management. This helped the families because they would use the cattle to plough with and user their milk to feed their own family. This management of cattle also resulted in people being paid by one cow every six months or every year depending on the agreement between the owner of the cattle and the person taking care of the cattle. However, some people do not want to take the responsibilities of extended families and that is why there are organisations like SOS and other orphanage organisations to take care of orphans and also the government is giving out food r ations on monthly basis to orphans, elderly people and families considered to be very poor. †¢ Masculinity versus femininity: In the traditional Tswana setup masculinity is the norm, roles are distinguished according to gender, and this is clearly visible in traditional ceremonies where men are the only ones to sit on chairs and women sit on mats and also that in meetings men are to speak first and women are to confirm what the men have said. Men were considered heads of the families and therefore their decisions were final and unquestionable. But since the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action at the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 (United Nations World-Wide Web page 1995) and the government of Botswanas emphasis on equality, some jobs/tasks which were considered to be for males only are now considered unisex. At present there are some women chiefs in some Tswana tribes which traditionally the chieftainship was considered to be for men, even if the chief would die only having daughters that meant chieftainship would be given to one of the partenal uncle s or his elder son. By this the chiefs family would have lost the chieftainship inheritance. †¢ Uncertainty avoidance: Tswana ethnic group used to believe in ancestors and most of them liked to consult traditional healers for different illnesses and protection against evil spirits. Since the introduction of Christian religion through Dr David Livingstone in 1843, most people no longer believe in traditional healing. The staple food for Tswana is sorghum or corn meal porridge which is made thinner for breakfast and thicker for lunch and supper eaten with some relish which may be chicken, meat from goat, sheep or cattle (sometimes pounded), caterpillar known as phane and various wild game and vegetables. But these cultures of food have now shifted a bit but are more common in ceremonial occasions like weddings and funerals and also westernised foods are prepared like coleslaw, pumpkin, squash, rice, etc. †¢ Long-term versus Short: Tswana culture used to allow children to go to school only to learn how to read and write. Most female teenagers were taken out of school to go and be married to elderly men as an arranged marriage between the parents without the agreement of the female teenager, but now people find their own partners and marry when they feel they are ready and not pushed. 2.1.9 Kalanga Culture Kalanga tribe is found in the north eastern part of Botswana and some in Zimbabwe, only separated by the border. The Kalanga tribe in Botswana, who are still withholding their culture, are mostly found in different villages within the north east side of Botswana. The Kalanga Language was taught in primary schools until 1972, six years after Botswana gained its independence from the British, and now the Kalanga tribe believe that since the discontinued teaching of Kalanga Language in primary schools their culture has been jeopardised. The staple food for Kalanga is sorghum or corn meal porridge which is always made thick and taken with relish. The relish is comprised of meat (sometimes pounded), caterpillar known as phane and various wild game and vegetables. But these cultures of food have now shifted a bit but are more common in ceremonial occasions like weddings and funerals and also westernised foods are prepared like coleslaw, pumpkin, rice, squash etc. Power Distance: The Kalanga, like the Tswana, have chiefs who look after the tribe. Their ancestral belief is very high even if they still do practise Christianity. This is shown in their annual Dombosaha ceremonies and also in their prayers for rain. Their prayers are conducted at the hill call Domboshaba, where they believe their ancestral god Ngwale is. The word Domboshaba means Red Hill Dombo means hill and shaba means red. Bakalaka treat Domboshaba like the Islam treat Mecca, this means Domboshaba is a holly place for Bakalaka. They believe the ancestors are always watching over the living and if the ancestors become upset they are able to send sickness to the living as a sign of displeasure. According to the Kalanga tribe the spirits displeasure is revealed through illnesses, droughts and other calamities and can be appeased only through worship to Ngwale. Individualism versus Collectivism: The Kalanga tribes are still strictly using collectivism as they look after each other or their extended families. Individualism is avoided as their belief is no man is an island. They emphasise on community care which shows collectivism dimension. Uncertainty avoidance: The Kalanga tribes believe in worshipping their ancestral god called Ngwale and they also believe in pleasing Ngwale to avoid punishment. Their belief is that Ngwale is always looking at them and if he is not happy with them, he will punish them by bringing incurable diseases, droughts and other disasters. Due to these beliefs the Kalanga tribe do not want to anger Ngwale in order to avoid the situations of calamities. They also believe in consulting Ngwale go guide them or help them solve some problems for which they have no control of like when there is not enough rain durin Impact of the Technological Revolution Impact of the Technological Revolution 1 INTRODUCTION The role of technological revolution has touched every aspect of peoples lives from shopping to banking. The changes have great impact on services quality and banking activities has enabled the banks to compete in the world markets (Siam 1999-2004, 2006). The banking industry worldwide is witnessing a growing technology driven self-service by way of electronic banking (e-banking) through interacting with customers as a way of increasing productivity. The use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) helps the banks in making strategic decisions by enabling better alignment of business to build better relationship with customers. ICT has enabled banks to provide the following services: Automated Teller Machines (ATM) that have been installed at convenient places for customers to access their accounts anytime. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) that allows different organisations to exchange transactional, financial and business information between their computer systems. Plastic Cards designed to pay for goods and services without necessarily using cash and also to withdraw cash from ATMs located worldwide. Electronic Clearing Service (ECS) is a facility that allows fund transfer from one bank to another electronically. It can be used for bulk or repetitive transfers either by institutions for dividend distribution, salary, etc. and pension, or by individuals for regular payments to utility, loan repayment, etc. Internet Banking as a channel of Electronic Banking (E-banking) allows the customer to do transactions through the banks web page in a flexible mode, i.e. at anytime and anywhere. The flexibility of E-banking is a major benefit to customers because they are able to access the banking services at the comfort of their homes or offices and no more queuing at banks. For the banking sector, E-banking is a big investment on capital and resource though the initial acquisition of relevant infrastructure, standardisation and security are expensive, especially for small banks in developing countries, but not a big problem for big banks in developed countries. These also have to follow the standard legislative and regulatory issues set within a country to protect customers rights, especially the concerning data protection. 1.1 Background of Study The role of internet has become unavoidable to business and society. Businesses and governments worldwide are always working on how to better utilise the internet in order to increase their penetration into the global market (Khan, Mahapatra Sreekumar (2009). Banking sector has seen the use of Information Technology (IT) a better way of reducing the traditional way of investing and moving along the modern technological changes in order to meet up with the global market. The growing changes in technology bring economical and social consequences on our daily life and these changes brought about the Internet. The Internet provides services like, World Wide Web (WWW), Automated Teller Machines (ATM), Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) which are the core business services of E-banking. The banking sector has embarked on internet banking systems to enable their customers to access their accounts globally and in a flexible mode through their websites. Thi s move to internet banking has seen banks reducing long queues as some customers can serve themselves either through the ATMs or through the website, depending on the type of service they want to perform. Though the banking has embarked on internet banking systems, it has not totally abolished the traditional banking activities. This is to allow those customers who need face to face help to still come to banks to get help on whatever activities or services they need either because they do not trust the web or because they are unable to do not know the technology used and fear to make mistakes. Internet is used world wide for different things, some good and some malicious. This then brings in the issue of trust on the part of both the web site owners and users. Some users still prefer to go and queue in the banks because either they do not trust the web services or are unfamiliar with the systems and therefore feel uncomfortable to use e-banking. Trust should be built in order to encourage more customers to use the web site for their banking service needs. Trust can be categorised into tangible and intangible trust. Tangible trust is an implied trust that can be addressed by the use of digital certificates and SSL protocols and service level granularity. On the other hand intangible trust is something that can be formed or reinforced and is subjective, emotional and has a rational component. Trust can build or destroy the organisations reputation. 1.2 Motivation of Study There has been considerable work carried out in the field of e-banking/e-commerce trust (Smith French 2005); (Khalil 2007), however, there was a gap in their knowledge of cultural gap, especially in developing countries like Botswana. The motivation on this research is as follows: The need to show the importance of localisation of e-banking site as e-banking is a new phenomenon in Botswana. To make further studies on cultures of two ethnic groups within the same country as there have been very little research on this area. This is not the case with developed countries as the studies show that there has been localisation of e-banking to suit their target markets (Singer, Baradwaj and Avery 2007). 1.3 Aim The main aim of this research is to examine how the Tswana and Kalanga ethnic groups of Botswana culturally perceive trust on a B2C e-banking website and to design an e-banking website for each ethnic group. 1.4 Objectives The following objectives will be achieved through this study: A research will be carried out on how cultural background influences the trust and use of e-banking services. To relate the findings of the research in the design process of a web sites that suits the culture for Tswana and Kalanga ethnic groups. 1.5 Research Questions The research study aims to test the following key questions: What is the impact of culture on the contents of e-banking site? How does culture affect online trust in e-banking? Is it necessary to consider culture, trust and usability in designing e-banking website? How does Tswana and Kalanga cultural differences affect e-banking? 1.6 Methodology The research employs both primary and secondary data. Primary data will be collected through a structured survey which will be an online. The online survey will be through email where a link will be sent to the respondents in Botswana and UK. This method is chosen because it is flexible in that the respondents answer the questionnaires at their own free time and in a flexible mode of their computers. The other important thing is that it is cheaper to administer and responses are received more quickly and also that if there are any errors in the questionnaire it is easier to correct the errors. 2 E-SERVICES AND CULTURE WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP 2.1 E-Commerce and E-Banking The development of Information Technology and the advent of internet have enabled traditional business activities to change into Electronic Commerce (E-commerce). E-commerce is a process that allows businesses and customers (B2C) to exchange goods and services electronically anytime anywhere, and it includes banking, stocks and bonds, retail shopping, movie rentals, etc. E-Commerce has opened a global market where businesses can reach their respective customers quickly and cost effectively (Li et al 2009). For trading to be successful in this virtual world, trust must be considered vital not forgetting culture. E-commerce includes inter-organisational marketing process in which the following relationships are observed: B2B (business to business), B2C (business to consumer), and C2C (consumer to consumer). E-banking sometimes called electronic banking or internet banking is a system that allows people to conduct transactions and manage their accounts without necessarily going to the brick and mortar banks. For customers using internet banking to access their account, they need to have personal accounts at the respective banks websites. For e-banking to be effective, banks should invest on IT infrastructure like Hardware, Software, Networking which include connection to the internet. Automated Teller Machines (ATM) and personal computers have reduced the cost in favour of banks on paper work and labour force since customers use self services offered by banks. However, it should be noted that there are still some people who would want to be served by bank officials either because he/she does not know how to operate the banks system, does not trust it or want face-to-face interaction with bank officials. 2.1.1 Benefits of E-Banking Electronic banking or online banking is the most popular means of e-commerce for millions people worldwide. Most banking products and services are now offered over the Internet. Banks have invested in robust information technology practices and secure-transaction technologies that have made electronic banking trustworthy. This has also created some benefits on e-banking as follows: Convenience and flexibility as the customer is able to pay bills, shop and transfer money from anywhere at any time suitable to the customer as long as the customer has access to a personal computer and internet connectivity. There is no strictness of business hours as the services are available 24 hours every day unlike in the traditional brick and mortar where a customer has to observe working hours. Customers are able to manage their customers as they are able to access their accounts and therefore can cross check their accounts anytime. To the customer the only cost associated with e-banking is the cost of the time spent online which is usually charged by the internet provider. There is also time and money saving as customers do not have to travel distances to their respective banks unless on crucial issues. 2.1.2 Limitations of E-Banking As well as electronic banking have advantages there are some limitations too. Below are some limitations on electronic banking. Some bank websites have too much information that confuses the customers and the customer may feel it is a waste of time as he/she does not get the information that he/she wants and may never bother to visit the website again. The financial needs of the customer may not be quickly be predicted and therefore will take some time to be solved, which is an inconvenience to the customer. Hacking and identity theft are on the rise this calls for a certain amount of trust placed on the banks by electronic banking customers. The system should be able to stand against hacking. There is no Face-to-face interaction in electronic banking and some customers still need this type of service that are observed in a traditional bank to quickly solve or answer customers queries. In case of internet failure the customer is unable to withdraw money from his/her account and unable to even use the ATMs or credit/debit cards. Some banks charge for ATM usage by non-customers, therefore if a customer stays where there is not ATM for his/her bank, then he/she will be charged to using the facility of another bank. 2.1.3 Security and Trust Security issues are a major concern for everybody using internet whether for banking purposes or not. There is an increase of security risks in the banking sector as their systems are exposed to risky environments. Confidentiality, integrity, privacy and availability are the core areas of security that banks and financial institutions must address (Jide Awe 2006). This calls for banks and financial services authority to plan ahead in monitoring and managing the security threats. The security threats are classified in three categories; breaches with serious threats (e.g. fraud), breaches caused by casual hackers (e.g. web sites defacement or services denial (e.g. causes of web sites to crash) and flaws in systems design (e.g. genuine users able to see or use another users accounts). These threats cause serious financial, legal and reputational implications to the banks affected. Banks and financial institutions need to put in place security measures to respond to these threats. The security measures need constant update in order for them to cope with the ever increasing and advanced threats. The banks should also have sufficient staff who have security expertise in order to keep on checking and updating the banks systems. These threats bring in customers lack of trust on the electronic banking that is why some customers prefer to queue at banks to get services that they would have otherwise done through the internet. Trust should be built in order to encourage more customers to use the web site for their banking service needs. McKnight, Cummings and Chervany (1998) define trust as an individuals beliefs about the extent to which a target is likely to behave in a way that is benevolent, competent, honest, or predictable in a situation. Trust can be categorised into tangible and intangible trust. Tangible trust is an implied trust that can be addressed by the use of digital certificates and SSL protocols and service level granularity. On the other hand intangible trust is something that can be formed or reinforced and is subjective, emotional and has a rational component. Trust can build or destroy the organisations reputation. Trust is very important and should be the critical area for each bank to consider because if customers do not trust a bank then the bank will be out of business. Trust on e-banking is crucial because it can make the banks to lose money and popularity if hackers are able to access customers accounts. It can be ensured by putting stringent measures on the banks systems and including in its website the symbols/signs and text that will make the customer aware of the security of the website. Some researchers believe that in electronic cyber consumer trust is more important than in traditional transactions (Kim, Ferrin and Rao 2007). There are signs and symbols that are used in the website that indicate to the customer that the site is trustworthy. These trustworthy signs may be explicit and some implicit (French, Liu Springett 2007). 2.1.4 Cultural Models The world is comprised of people with different cultural backgrounds which justifies their behavioural variation. This variation usually shows the different cultures and values of these people. Culture is something that identifies and differentiates one person from another and it is something that is not inherited or from genes but it is learned. The environment in which a person grows usually determines the persons culture because he/she learns the language, the norms and values of the people with which he/she lives. Hofstede (1991) defines culture as the collection of human mind that distinguish the members of one human group or category of people from those of others. The manifestation of cultural differences is formed through a combination of four characteristics: symbols, heroes, rituals, and values. Rituals are sacred things that must be carried out within a cultural environment. Values are cultural things that are mentally stored as one grows up within the cultural environment. Symbols are things like language, pictures/objects and gestures that depicts meaning understood within the same cultural group. Heroes are people respected and considered to be role models within a cultural environment, however, this changes as the child graduate into adulthood. Cultural differences across the world vary according to ethnic groups and also across geographic boundaries. 2.1.5 Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions Hofstede (1984, 1991) identified the following five cultural dimensions which could be used to compare and measure cultural differences. 2.1.5.1 Power Distance Index Power is not distributed equally among the society. This is indicated by some people having more power than others, eg. some people are born kings, chiefs already having that status even at the very early age as toddlers. These people will be respected from that very early age even in way they are addressed. However, the power distance can be measured differently depending on the difference in society. There are those that are termed as large power distance culture where the subordinates do as told and the superior gives instructions and is the only one who decides what is good for the society or organisation. On the other hand there are those that are termed low power distance where there is consultation between the superior and the subordinates. In this category the superior respects the subordinates and entrust them with important assignments believing that they will be successfully completed. 2.1.5.2 Individualism versus Collectivism In individualism can be classified as nuclear family where each individual act independently, making his/her own choices and decisions. As a member of the nuclear family, the individual has to take care of himself/herself and his/her immediate families. On the other hand collectivism can be classified as patrilineal or matrilineal where people, after being integrated into the society at birth, are looked after by extended families. 2.1.5.3 Masculine versus Femininity Division of roles depend on gender, Men must provide for their families and female must take care of the children and the whole family. The assertiveness of men creates dominance over female on economic life within the family irrespective of whether it is an extended or nuclear family. However, in developed countries there are some variations on gender role pattern that enable females to enrol in courses that were initially designed for men and therefore do jobs that were done by men. In some underdeveloped or developing countries where the gender role pattern still exists, women are barred from doing jobs that are considered to be designed for men and women are also barred from enrolling on courses that are designed for men. This gender role pattern is still strictly followed in some underdeveloped countries where men are said to be head of families and thus gives the men all authority over everything that goes on in the family. Woman in such families do not have any say, they are t old what to do, how and when by their husbands and they are not supposed to question the instructions from men. 2.1.5.4 Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) Most people fear uncertain situations because they cannot predict what might happen in the near future. To minimise this, organisations or societies engage strict laws and rules, safety and security measures, and religious and cultural beliefs to protect their organisations or societies. However, avoidance of uncertainty varies according to cultural differences. In high power distance culture, the boss is the only one to make decisions and the subordinates must strictly follow the bosss instructions. Subordinates expect the supervisors to tell them what to do because they regard each other as unequal. In organisations, this is also indicated by the wide salary gap whereas in societies it is indicated by the prestige given to superiors (e.g. chiefs) by their subordinates (e.g. tribes). In low power distance culture there is respect by supervisors over their subordinates. The supervisors entrust subordinates with important assignments trusting that the work will be done efficiently and if there is something wrong the supervisor will not put the blame on the subordinates, but rather takes it upon himself. The society believes people are equal irrespective of their education, religion or wealth. There is more democracy as subordinates views are sought and taken into consideration when making decisions. 2.1.5.5 Long-Term Orientation versus Short-Term Orientation The long-term orientation versus short-term orientation is a model which came a after Hofstede was convinced by Michael Bond who called this dimension the Confucian dynamism. Values of long-term orientation are more oriented towards future e.g. perseverance and thrift while on the short-term the values are more oriented towards past and present and therefore more static e.g. respect for tradition and reciprocation of greetings, favours and gifts, personal steadiness and stability. 2.1.6 Trompenaars, Hall and Other Cultural Models There are several cultural models most of which overlap into Hofstedes models (Kluckhohn; Trompenaars 2000). Trompenaars developed the below models: 2.1.6.1 Universalism versus Particularism This can be viewed as authority versus consultation. In authority the one who has authority gives instructions and makes decision without the involvement of others whereas in consultation other peoples views are taken into consideration when making decisions. 2.1.6.2 Individualism versus Communicationism Where there is balance between individuals and groups needs. 2.1.6.3 Specific versus Diffuse Relationships Here the business is done on an abstract relationship (contract) or on good personal relationship in order to bring in liking and trust. 2.1.6.4 Neutral versus Affective Communication Styles In this dimension people hide and hold on to their emotions or they show them up in which case they expect some emotional response. 2.1.6.5 Time Orientation Monochromic culture focuses more on performing the task promptly meeting the original plan and prefers to do one task at a time. Polychronic culture tends to e multi-tasking, doing different things at the same time, and emphasis is more on relationship than on tasks. 2.1.7 Halls Cultural Models Hall (1976, 1983) developed the three cultural dimensions in which he describe how people behave. Following are his Cultural Models: 2.1.7.1 Context High Context People are helped by many contextual elements to understand the rules and it is a problem for those who do not understand unwritten rules. Low Context More explanation on rules is done as things are not taken for granted and therefore there is less chance of misunderstanding. 2.1.7.2 Time Monochronic Time is where one thing is done at a time and the concern is achieving the task on schedule. Polychronic Time is where several things are done at the same time (multi-tasking) and here the concern is on relationship and not schedule. 2.1.7.3 Space High Territorial Some people have greater concern for ownership and try to mark their territorial boundaries whether at home, parking space and even in shared offices. Low Territorial People here are not much concerned with ownership of space and for them it less important Hofstede, Trompenaars and Hall did extensive research that enabled them to conduct rankings on countries cultural differences. Hofstede conducted his research on 50 countries whilst Trompenaars conducted his on between 19 and 52 countries though with fewer rankings. Although it does not clearly show whether Hall did any rankings but he did a comparison of cultural dimensions among the French, Americans and Germans. 2.1.8 Tswana Culture Households in the Tswana polities usually take the form of three residential sites: one household in the village, one at agricultural holdings outside the village but not very far from the village (where ploughing takes place) and the last a cattlepost (with kraals for keeping livestock owned by the family). †¢ Power Distance: Tswana tribes greatly respect their elders which is shown especially when the younger ones greet the elders. In Botswana greetings are used to judge somebodys behaviour and greetings are conducted in a certain manner. When greeting an elder, a younger has to stop a bit to show respect and if the younger person is a male wearing a hat, he has to take it off to show respect to the elder. A man also has to take off his hat when getting inside the house as a custom unless the man is a widower. Each Tswana tribe or ethnic group has a Chief (Kgosi) who is helped by paternal uncles and Headmen. The paternal uncles are by virtue of close relationship to the Chief advisors as they are considered to have the royal blood. Kgosis traditional court is called Kgotla, and it is the main customary court within the village where disputes or misunderstandings that could not be solved by Headmen are solved. The Chiefs Kgotla also acts as the Traditional Court of Appeal within th e village, where people who are not satisfied with the Headmens rulings can appeal. Chieftainship is inherited, so for a person to be a chief he/she has to be born from the royal family and not somebody chosen. Most of the Tswana people are Christians as Christianity was brought in Botswana as early as 1845 by a Scotsman named Dr. David Livingstone. The first Christian to be baptized by Dr Livingstone was Chief Sechele of the Bakwena and this was a good sign towards improvement in peoples way of living. For a chief to be a Christian it was easier to convince other chiefs and the people to become Christians. Christianity also contributed a lot to Tswana culture as it reduced the bureaucratic principles where only one person would make decisions for the whole family or tribe and nowadays consultation is the norm. †¢ Individualism versus Collectivism: Collectivism is the norm with the Tswana Culture where somebody has to take care of his/her family and also the extended family like uncles, grandparents, aunts, nephews and nieces. In the olden days class differentiation was very low and mostly invisible because traditionally those who had more cattle would help those who had none by distributing the cattle to those households for management. This helped the families because they would use the cattle to plough with and user their milk to feed their own family. This management of cattle also resulted in people being paid by one cow every six months or every year depending on the agreement between the owner of the cattle and the person taking care of the cattle. However, some people do not want to take the responsibilities of extended families and that is why there are organisations like SOS and other orphanage organisations to take care of orphans and also the government is giving out food r ations on monthly basis to orphans, elderly people and families considered to be very poor. †¢ Masculinity versus femininity: In the traditional Tswana setup masculinity is the norm, roles are distinguished according to gender, and this is clearly visible in traditional ceremonies where men are the only ones to sit on chairs and women sit on mats and also that in meetings men are to speak first and women are to confirm what the men have said. Men were considered heads of the families and therefore their decisions were final and unquestionable. But since the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action at the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 (United Nations World-Wide Web page 1995) and the government of Botswanas emphasis on equality, some jobs/tasks which were considered to be for males only are now considered unisex. At present there are some women chiefs in some Tswana tribes which traditionally the chieftainship was considered to be for men, even if the chief would die only having daughters that meant chieftainship would be given to one of the partenal uncle s or his elder son. By this the chiefs family would have lost the chieftainship inheritance. †¢ Uncertainty avoidance: Tswana ethnic group used to believe in ancestors and most of them liked to consult traditional healers for different illnesses and protection against evil spirits. Since the introduction of Christian religion through Dr David Livingstone in 1843, most people no longer believe in traditional healing. The staple food for Tswana is sorghum or corn meal porridge which is made thinner for breakfast and thicker for lunch and supper eaten with some relish which may be chicken, meat from goat, sheep or cattle (sometimes pounded), caterpillar known as phane and various wild game and vegetables. But these cultures of food have now shifted a bit but are more common in ceremonial occasions like weddings and funerals and also westernised foods are prepared like coleslaw, pumpkin, squash, rice, etc. †¢ Long-term versus Short: Tswana culture used to allow children to go to school only to learn how to read and write. Most female teenagers were taken out of school to go and be married to elderly men as an arranged marriage between the parents without the agreement of the female teenager, but now people find their own partners and marry when they feel they are ready and not pushed. 2.1.9 Kalanga Culture Kalanga tribe is found in the north eastern part of Botswana and some in Zimbabwe, only separated by the border. The Kalanga tribe in Botswana, who are still withholding their culture, are mostly found in different villages within the north east side of Botswana. The Kalanga Language was taught in primary schools until 1972, six years after Botswana gained its independence from the British, and now the Kalanga tribe believe that since the discontinued teaching of Kalanga Language in primary schools their culture has been jeopardised. The staple food for Kalanga is sorghum or corn meal porridge which is always made thick and taken with relish. The relish is comprised of meat (sometimes pounded), caterpillar known as phane and various wild game and vegetables. But these cultures of food have now shifted a bit but are more common in ceremonial occasions like weddings and funerals and also westernised foods are prepared like coleslaw, pumpkin, rice, squash etc. Power Distance: The Kalanga, like the Tswana, have chiefs who look after the tribe. Their ancestral belief is very high even if they still do practise Christianity. This is shown in their annual Dombosaha ceremonies and also in their prayers for rain. Their prayers are conducted at the hill call Domboshaba, where they believe their ancestral god Ngwale is. The word Domboshaba means Red Hill Dombo means hill and shaba means red. Bakalaka treat Domboshaba like the Islam treat Mecca, this means Domboshaba is a holly place for Bakalaka. They believe the ancestors are always watching over the living and if the ancestors become upset they are able to send sickness to the living as a sign of displeasure. According to the Kalanga tribe the spirits displeasure is revealed through illnesses, droughts and other calamities and can be appeased only through worship to Ngwale. Individualism versus Collectivism: The Kalanga tribes are still strictly using collectivism as they look after each other or their extended families. Individualism is avoided as their belief is no man is an island. They emphasise on community care which shows collectivism dimension. Uncertainty avoidance: The Kalanga tribes believe in worshipping their ancestral god called Ngwale and they also believe in pleasing Ngwale to avoid punishment. Their belief is that Ngwale is always looking at them and if he is not happy with them, he will punish them by bringing incurable diseases, droughts and other disasters. Due to these beliefs the Kalanga tribe do not want to anger Ngwale in order to avoid the situations of calamities. They also believe in consulting Ngwale go guide them or help them solve some problems for which they have no control of like when there is not enough rain durin