Essay2

It is better for university students to first get a general education, taking classes in many fields, than it is for them to take classes only in their own field of study.

Some places need persons of Jack-of-all-trades and some need specialists. It depends on the requirements and workplace where one intends to land up at the end of the day. Basically, dividing the University students into two groups-undergraduate and graduate can help us decide which path to take.

General Education could be very important in deciding and developing the love of each student towards a subject of interest. So, it could be highly recommendable at the Undergraduate level so that students get a feel of all the major fields of their to-be future workplaces. General Education, thus, providing a bird’s view helps in shaping the future of a student on his field of interest. It gives the freedom to think and compare the different areas of interest and then helps in making decisions according to each student’s strengths and weaknesses.

On the other hand, students studying in their field of interest are going to be the specialists of their domain of education. They know their taste and love and then try to master the integrities and depth of their fields. They are more capable to take major decisions to impact the future of their interest than the students taking general education. This difference can be well understood from the fact that a PhD CS guy of telecommunication field is more likely to make major breakthroughs in his than who knows only the basic and general working of the telecommunication technology. This could very well also be suitable to the scientists working for NASA too. Hence, this should be made at the post graduation levels of education than making it earlier.

Therefore, as developing the taste for the specialized field of study, one should be exposed to the maximum level of general education, giving ample individual time to decide and make a successful career out of it.

AWA2

The economic penetration by multinational corporations shapes and distorts cultural patterns in developing countries. The Westernization, particularly, the Americanization, of culture presents a formidable threat to the cultural integrity of the non-Western world. Nevertheless, the know-how of these corporations is necessary to fuel the economic development of the developing countries.

Which of the attributes of the multinational corporation do you agree with: a contributor to growth or a threat to culture? Support your point of view with specific reasons or examples that you have observed or read about.

Response:

Economic development without change is inevitable. Every change comes both with some great benefits and drawbacks. The multinational corporations bring a great diversity in their culture with the economic development of the developing countries.

We will consider the case of India to strike out the examples of each point. First of all, we cannot deny the fact that the multinational corporations bring economic development as observed in India, with India becoming a major economic superpower now in just more than a decade after liberalization achieving about 8% growth every year now. At the same time, they bring the notion of an attitude to do business in the global arena. For example, when Indian companies were doing business only in India, now companies like TATA are becoming more global with acquisitions of Corus, Land Rover and many more. Thirdly, they bring a change in the culture of doing business by introducing the nature of risk-taking attitude, accepting responsibilities and making commitments to them and thus, dare to follow their dreams to become successful Entrepreneurs like Narayana Murthy of Infosys. Hence, they make people more open-minded and view a same thing in various different angles and then, not only criticize but also appreciate them, if needed.

At the same time, Western culture like that of America brings some too much openness mindset, which contradicts the prevailing tradition of a developing country like India. As talking about Sex, losing virginity before marriage and controversial topics like same-sex marriages is strictly a “NO” in the Indian society, the Western culture puts the whole society in a chaos mindset. While younger generation seems to accept it, the older generation still fights with such topics and ultimately, creating an environment of a generation gap and miscommunication and misunderstandings among the blood relations. At one point, it generates awareness but at the same time, exposing the young generation to too much sex and violence turns out to be as spiritual spoilsport in developing countries like India. Sometimes, such scenarios result in extreme form of lust, thereby increasing the rate of crimes like rape, sexual assault and many more, resulting in more exploitation of feminine gender. The cross-religious beliefs also play chaos. As changing and believing religions become more acceptable, it sometimes results in dangerous riots killing innocent people.

Thus, the multinational corporations bring both good and bad cultures to the developing countries but at the same time, they show us the ways to strengthen our character and values, thus, accepting what is good and rejecting what is bad. After all, the development of the economy is for the good of the society, people and both the developing and the developed country for their economies and culture, thus, creating a space for mutual learning and improvement.

AWA1

Topic:

The Japanese always have to consult a companion or call a conference to solve even the most trivial things. In India, there are definite rules for family members (and this is also for other social groups), so that when one wants to do something, one knows whether t is all right by following those rules. Because of the rule system, things get down more quickly in India.

Discuss how logically persuasive you find the argument. In presenting your point of view, analyze the sort of reasoning used and its supporting evidence. In addition, state what further evidence, if any, would make the argument more sound and convincing or would you better able to evaluate its conclusion.

Response: (taken exactly 30 minutes)

As the famous quote of the Shiv Khera-authored book “You can Win” goes- “Winners are those who do similar things differently rather than doing the different things similarly”, it holds true in the day-to day activities of the people. It’s the attitude and approach that defines the next generation of creativity and innovation rather than traditional rules.

The Japanese model, while consulting people or calling a conference on trivial things, helps in doing things in the right and fool-proof way to the maximum extent possible. For example, let us consider a scenario where we can compare both the scenarios at ease. Lets say a software company gets a project for developing software for its specific daily business need. Now, the duration of the project could be 1-year or could extend to a certain period of time. The success of the software depends on the successful implementation of the first version of the software that the company releases for its customer. Now, following Japanese model, constant feedback and consultation of the client, helps the company to understand the needs of the client much better and develop in the most efficient way. It helps in removing the unnecessary redundancies that may arise in future due to wrong interpretation of the client needs. Lets say, the initial part of the software has been developed but if the GUI of the system does not meet the client expectations, then the developed software goes to thrash. The GUI should be done in consult with the client, which makes the software usable by the client with the least investment possible. As for another example, the people might be able to think differently on the same ideas with the consultation and thus eventually, will be more innovative and creative. Normally, when people from various backgrounds come together, they form an idea, which can revolutionize and this is possible, only when they exchange ideas. The whole process might be bit time consuming, but it has the potential of creating innovations and drive successful business.

On the other hand, Indians follow the traditional rule-base model. It is much faster than the usual Japanese model but it lacks attitude to be different. Imagine a courseware where everything is defined, say a guy goes to the school, read the specific chapters of the book and mugs up the texts to answer the questions. The ideas cannot flow from one person to another if the group assignments and activities cease. Lets take the same above example, it may be possible that the software company can take the usual software engineering process to develop the software but what if some of the components don’t meet the requirements of the changing business scenarios for the client, as the whole process could take years, where there is no guarantee for the requirements of the clients to remain as it is as it was when the company bagged the project of the client.

Rules confines the thinking capability to a certain extent but it is beyond the rules, where the next generation of the world stands with new changes, challenges and thoughts. This world can only be seen when people share and consult, even on the trivial things, to look at it in a more broader way.