British Stereotypes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

British Stereotypes - Essay Example There goes the old ethnic joke which clearly depicts stereotyping among different cultures. Stereotype denotes simplified and fixed image of all members of a culture or group. Stereotypes are often based on race, religion, ethnicity, age, gender, and national origins (Stereotypes 2006). It is irrefutable that the world is filled with stereotypes as each one of us often tries to associate a certain trait or characteristics in an individual based on the common stereotype placed on the culture and race a person belongs to. For example, people always tend to characterize Americans as people who are superficial and with no fashion sense. This paper will look at the common stereotypes linked with British and how these stereotypes are justified. The next section of the paper will show the negative and the positive stereotypes given by foreigners. The report will conclude with its findings. Negative Stereotypes One of the most common stereotypes about British is their having bad teeth. The concept of â€Å"bad British teeth† can be traced as American’s perception on Britons. This concept is even worsened when Lisa Simpson was shown by her orthodontist as â€Å"The Big Book of British Teeth (Guardian Unlimited 2006).† British recognize that their teeth are relatively worse than their counterparts for a lot of reasons. Firstly, the structure of American teeth is really whiter and straighter than Britons. Aside from that, it was also recognized that Americans invests money on their dental health while British think that cosmetic surgery and self manipulation is vanity. It should also be noted that only a few number of British over the age of 35, regardless of income and social status have had orthodontia. In America, there is an overwhelming social pressure to have aligned and white teeth. Orthodontia has been a social necessity in the United States since 1970 (Why do Americans 2005). British are also regarded as unemotional. This is supported by the idiom "British stiff upper lip" which means displaying courage in times of difficulties. In British stereotype however, the stiff upper lip connotes their exercise of self-restraint in expressing their emotion. By some means, the formal demeanor of the ruling class of Britain gives rise to this stereotype. Another significant connotation of the stiff upper lip is feeling of superiority and proud. One of the reasons why people see this is the fact that British have never been colonized by any other nation. Other British stereotypes branded them as snob and reserved (Stiff Upper Lip 2006). British are also classified as shy individuals especially when it comes to financial aspects. British are not likely to divulge how much money they have and find it socially offensive to chat about how much they got according to the recruitment organization Jonathan Wren. It was also found out that eight out of ten feel embarrassed when discussing the size of their "pay pocket (Dunn 2005)." British art is very reserved and grey, avant-garde, eccentric and mad. Saudi Arabians also commented on the lack of British artist (How the World Sees 1999). British media is seen to be unreliable (How the World Sees 1999). Positive Stereotypes In a survey was conducted by MORI, the most prominent British public opinion research agencies to determine how the world sees Britain, the following positive stereotypes are derived. The survey was answered by 200 successor generation in thirteen countries which include Brazil, China, Egypt, France,

The Business Strategy of Esprit Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Business Strategy of Esprit - Case Study Example The Board has ten Directors, including the Chairman of the Board, five of them being executive and the other five being non-executive Directors, of the latter three are independent. Of the five executive directors one is Chairman and in charge of the overall corporate direction and strategy of the Group; another is Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Group and looks after a variety of areas, including production, organization, marketing, strategy and brand positioning; third is the Deputy Chairman, Group Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary and is primarily responsible for managing the Group's financial and legal functions, including strategic planning and corporate finance, investor relations, accounting and tax, treasury management as well as company secretarial affairs; fourth is the joint Chief Operating Officer of the Esprit brand and the global head of wholesale operations of the Group and fifth is the joint Chief Operating Officer of the Esprit brand an d the global head of retail operations of the Group. Thus, Esprit has a functionally divided organizational design at the top management rungs. Its senior management comprises of a Head of Global Licensing, an International Product Director Women of the Group, a Group Financial Controller, a Global Chief Organization Officer, and a Global Image Director. The operational bias in the design of senior management is apparent. The Group employs both full-time and part-time employees and has approximately 8,000 positions worldwide after converting the part-time positions into full-time positions based on working hours (Esprit AR, 2004-05).   Organization's environment Three groups of people from the environment of Esprit. Esprit ensures complete fulfillment of its Social Responsibilities in order to make a perfect gel with its environment. As a global company, Esprit believes in developing and maintaining sustainable relationships with all stakeholders. It exhibits this commitment by ac ting imaginatively and consistently in the communities where its employees, business partners, and customers live and work (Esprit AR, 2004-05). Responsibilities to Employees Esprit recognizes the importance of human capital. It has the belief that its continued success depends on the commitment, enthusiasm, and energy of its global staff. A positive and respectable working environment which enhances collaboration and cooperation between employees is sought to be developed at Esprit. Towards this end, all internal communications channels are left free and open for ideas and feedback from staff. As an instance of this policy stance LIVE ESPRIT campaign was implemented in the year 2004-05 with the aim of promoting team spirit and creating a global culture for all employees located around the world. Group's quarterly newsletters and the global intranet help improve company-wide communications and connect employees around the world to the Esprit family. Culture is to be an attractive co mpany for talented and motivated.