In my last blog, I wrote about the indulgent culture of the country of Mexico. In the same lesson, I learned that North America, which is comprised of Canada, the United States, and Mexico have very different perceptions as well as a distinctive culture about the have and have nots. In this lesson about “Doing Business with Europeans,” I found it interesting to read that the continent of Europe, for the most part, has a set of principle themes in which all countries within the continent may share while keeping each country’s own cultural distinction. These shared beliefs, specifically for this discussion, are the interest in the quality of life at all societal levels, which is a controversial topic, especially in the current political climate (Moran, Remington Abramson & Moran, 2014).

In an article by Abbott, Wallace & Sapsford (2016), the authors write, “creating a society for all is a moral obligation, a commitment to upholding the human rights of everyone and creating just societies.” The notion that the European perception concerning the quality of life is for all levels of society is in sharp contrast with our country – The United States. According to van der Aa, Paulus, Hiligsmann, Maarse & Evers (2018), the moral judgment of who is deserving is reliant on who society wants to be solidaristic with. The who, in this case, is called an “agreed-upon individual” or better defined as those are eligible for access to collectively financed health resources. Resources such as Shared Health Insurance (SHI) (p. 1,2). The idea that a country can pull together their financial support to collectively provide for all is all too familiar in the United States with the hot topic of Medicare for All. Abbot, Wallace & Sapsford (2016) write that some of the most persuasive reasons to provide social inclusion or, in other words, quality of life at all levels of society are that those societies that do so are safer and more stable with high levels of productive employment.

The researchers, Christopher, M.D. & Caruso, (2015), wrote the article “Promoting Health as a Human Right in the Post-ACA United States,” in the Journal of Ethics in which they include a statement from the Constitution of 1946 for the World Health Organization. That statement is as follows: “enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, is defined as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity is one of the fundamental rights of every human being .” I interpret this statement as a quality of life at all societal levels. However, some will argue against this statement.

In the same article, the authors write that human rights are typically framed as negative rights. The 14th amendment essentially says that society cannot interfere with one’s right to life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws (“The United States Constitution: The 11th and Following Amendments”, 2020). So, again most rights are framed in the negative as in society can not interfere or “take away” this right. In the case of quality of life concerning health as a human right, the author’s state is a “positive” right and an obligation of society. In the U.S. case, the word “health” is in debate as to how it should be defined while in Europe where Shared Health Insurance is a reality, the discussion is on the definition of “agreed upon individual,” meaning who is eligible.

In conclusion, the quality of life at all levels of society seems at best utopian. Are we the moral judges of who is deserving of quality of life? I certainly do not believe that to be the case. Deciding as to who is and is not deserving is not something I want on my conscience.

References
Abbott, P., Wallace, C., & Sapsford, R. (2016). Socially Inclusive Development: The
Foundations for Decent Societies in East and Southern Africa. Applied Research In
Quality Of Life, 12(4), 813-839. doi: 10.1007/s11482-016-9491-6

Christopher, M.D., A., & Caruso, D. (2015). Promoting Health as a Human Right in the Post-
ACA United States. AMA Journal Of Ethics, 17(10), 958-965. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.10.msoc1-1510

Moran, R., Remington Abramson, N., & Moran, S. (2014). Managing Cultural
Differences (9th ed.). New York: Routledge.

The United States Constitution: The 11th and Following Amendments. (2020). Retrieved 18
April 2020, from https://www.aclu.org/united-states-constitution-11th-and-following-
amendments#11

van der Aa, M., Paulus, A., Hiligsmann, M., Maarse, J., & Evers, S. (2018). Varying
Opinions on Who Deserves Collectively Financed Health Care Services: A Discrete
Choice Experiment on Allocation Preferences of the General Public. INQUIRY: The
Journal Of Health Care Organization, Provision, And Financing, 55,
004695801775198. doi: 10.1177/0046958017751981

Cutillo and Centra (2017) describe Italy as having “one of the lowest unadjusted gender pay gaps in Europe” because of the extremely low employment rates of women. As noted in the image below, Italy is third on the list which compares every European country in comparison of the differences between the average gross hourly earnings of both genders. According to the Eurostat image in 2017, Italy weighed in at having a 5% difference.This blog post will go over the factors than weigh in the gender wage gap in Italy.

In Italy, women hold a large role in the household as being the main caregiver to the children (Cutillo & Centra, 2017). However, Cutillo and Centra (2017) infer that the only place where “ women’s paid work hours are reduced when children are born” is in Italy, meanwhile the “men’s paid work hours increase.” In contrast to other countries, there is no discrepancy in pay due to family composition. A cultural factor that is due to the great division of gender roles is the accessibility of childcare services (Cutillo & Centra, 2017). This can greatly affect a woman because she will not be able to efficiently perform her work hours due to inconsistent availability of these services and may even leave the workforce because of it. Modifications to certain positions and the greater development of more childcare services can help increase women in the field.

Secondly, another debated reason as to why the gender pay gap exists is due to over education. When compared to unemployed counterparts, overeducated individuals may appear more committed and may possess more motivation toward the job to employers (Carolina, Luisa, & Töpfer, 2018). Amongst overeducated individuals, there is a common denominator that there are more women workers who are overeducated than males (Carolina et al., 2018). The reason that some are accepting jobs for which they are overqualified for is because they rather not be unemployed (Carolina et al., 2018). Authors suggest that in Italy the gender pay gap may be due to overeducation because of a reduction in earnings for women at 7.3 %, when compared to properly educated individuals with a wage reduction of 3.5%.

On the other hand, recent research has shown that there is some progress being made toward women professionals and physicians being more accepted in the workplace (Gaiaschi, 2019; Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014). However women wages are still not even comparable to their male counterparts (Moran et al., 2014). Within the gender wage gap in Italy, it should be noted what the difference in occupational choices are between men and women. In Italy, a study conducted from Cutillo and Centra (2014) found that in female-dominated jobs, there is a large unexplainable component where women are rewarded fewer times than men, which is “four times higher among paid workers in female-dominated jobs than among those in male-dominated or gender-neutral jobs.” Each gender is driven by different professional paths such as for males the pay grade may show a large importance, where as for women the employment benefits or job security might have a varied importance (Cutillo & Centra, 2014). The author’s study helped them to see a consistency in preferences from their respondents, where they believe more jobs are overcrowding women because of their needs or preferences. Another explanation may be due to the fact that more Italian women are not as willing to negotiate wages as much as Italian males (Del Bono & Vuri, 2011). Del Bono and Vuri (2011) also believe that there is a gender difference in job motives amongst men and women, where women may want to advance in their position because of the family formation.

Overall this blog post has discussed a variety of reasons as to why the gender pay gap in Italy is not up to par to Italian males. Women have more difficulty in the job market due to differences in job motives, an inconsistency in childcare services in Italy, possibly due to women not negotiating their wages as much as males, and for a variety of more reasons. While it is difficult to pinpoint the exact reason as to why exactly there are low employment rates in Italy, this blog post acts as a way to find that reason ‘why’. Since the gender pay gaps in Italy are amongst the lowest in Europe, there needs to be more steps to improvement in the help of modifying more jobs and improving the availability of childcare services for women.

References

Carolina, C., Luisa, R., & Töpfer, M. (2018). Overeducation and the gender pay gap in Italy. International Journal of Manpower, 39(5), 710-730. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1108/IJM-12-2016-0235

Cutillo, A., & Centra, M. (2017). Gender-based occupational choices and family responsibilities: The gender wage gap in Italy. Feminist Economics, 23(4), 1-31. doi:10.1080/13545701.2017.1285041

Del Bono, E., & Vuri, D. (2011). Job mobility and the gender wage gap in Italy. Labour Economics, 18(1), 130-142. doi:10.1016/j.labeco.2010.06.002

Gaiaschi, C. (2019). Same job, different rewards: The gender pay gap among physicians in Italy. Gender, Work & Organization, 26(1). doi:10.1111/gwao.12351

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (9th ed.). Oxford: Routledge.

African governments operate under two philosophies: Ubuntu and the powerful man. Ubuntu is the traditional philosophy which has multiple translations but is best described as “a humanistic philosophy of living life that encourages dignity and respect for all people” (Olead 410, n.d.). The Powerful Man is the modern philosophy where one leader is in charge. Although this is very common in most of the world, for Africa it is a result of having to assimilate to imperialism (Olead 410, n.d.). These ideologies have conflicted a lot over the years. These cultural/ societal clashes can be complex because they are deep rooted and have occurred over decades but we are about to see a new community develop under this system because recording artist and humanitarian Akon is developing his own city in Senegal called Akon City (Meisenzahi, 2020). He is a Senegalese American who was born in the United States of America but went back and forth from here to Senegal growing up, so he’s experienced two different cultures equally which is unique. He said he wanted it to be a “real life Wakanda” (Meisenzahi, 2020), which is ironic because that society was governed by multiple tribes but still had a king. I will be exploring how Akon City will incorporate both philosophies.

Two of the translations of Ubuntu are “I am because we are” and simply “humanity” (Olead 410, n.d.), so Akon City would have to go against the capitalist philosophy of Akon’s American roots to a more socialist one. Although he hasn’t blatantly said that Ubuntu will be applied,  the mindset is definitely there. He is quoted as saying “I really want to make the biggest impact in Africa for sure…if I could have my way, Africa would be the United States of Africa” (Vera, 2020). There’s a benevolent purpose behind his work. The entire economy will be digital, running on blockchain and a cryptocurrency called Akoin (Meisenzahi, 2020). He believes that “blockchain and crypto could be the saviour for Africa in many ways because it brings the power back to the people” because he sees the technology as a way to empower Africans and advance them to independence (Meisenzahi, 2020). He also plans to make Akoin available in every African country (Meisenzahi, 2020). Ubuntu is definitely present in this concept. Akon City will be a futuristic city designed to help people not gain political power. The best example of that is his plan to make Akoin available in the whole continent.  This has the potential to be an example for the future for all countries.

Since Akon City is going in the direction of being an Ubuntu community but there are definitely some elements of the powerful man. Although this city is being built with intentions to empower the people of Africa it isn’t a group effort. Although,  there will be various people working on it “I come with the concepts and let the geeks figure it out” (Meisenzahi, 2020) they will all be people Akon hires. This is his idea and thus the head of this project. The city and the currency are named after so the presence of its leader is all around. He also stated that this will be a tourism city (Hilburg, 2020) so this city is very much a business which he is the manager of. The powerful man elements here are positive but Ubuntu states that there more than one leader.

Akon is extremely innovative and I’m excited to see when this project is completed. The spirit of this city is Ubuntu but the leadership is the powerful man. This project is still in its early stages so I don’t want to judge too much but no matter what the government style is Akon City has a great leader and developer. Black Panther gave the world an idea of what Africa could’ve been if it wasn’t colonized. I believe Akon City will do the same.

Resources

• Hillburg, Jonathan (2020) Akon finalizes deal to build a cryptocurrency city in Senegal retrieved from www.archpaper.com
• Meisenzahi, Mary (2020) Singer Akon has finalized plans to build a 2,000-acre city in Senegal that’s powered by his cryptocurrency, Akoin retrieved from www.businessinsider.com
• Olead 410, (n.d.) The Pennsylvania State University retrieved from www.canvas.psu.edu

Vera, Amir (2020) Akon created his own city in Senegal called ‘Akon City’ retrieved from www.cnn.com

More than ten years ago, Russia and the countries of Eastern Europe were integrated into NATO and the EU; however, very little has changed.  There were planned initiatives to bring the countries together; however, they did not come to fruition.  With the exception of Poland, Russia has made very little effort to participate with or include other counties in their planning and meetings.   Political decisions are unlikely to positively affect economic cooperation on a serious, long-term basis; however, they may contribute to its reduction. This happened in relations with Poland when they decided to abandon the import of Russian gas after 2022.   In addition, at the bilateral level, political means can improve relations only so far and the limit of opportunities is very small, especially for countries whose relations are contingent upon obligations (Ofitserov-Belskiy, 2020).

In a speech, Czaputowicz delivered in Vilnius to the foreign ministers, e said, “Russia remains the most important challenge and threat. We must fight the threat from Russia,” and he went on to say said, “It poses a threat to its neighbors, including in terms of non-compliance with disarmament provisions (Ofitserov-Belskiy, 2020).”  France, Germany, Italy and other EU countries may not have lost much from mutual trade and financial restrictions.  They continue to develop relations with Russia; however, for small European countries, the opportunities for export through third countries and the lack of influence in international institutions may make it difficult for them.   Looking at the future, the Eastern European countries should think in broader terms and change their political logic while setting new tasks and new goals.

I found another article, “Russia’s Shift from “Greater Europe” to “Greater Asia,” discussing Russia becoming more aligned with Asia and less with Europe.  Russia’s vision changed from a creating a greater Europe that would have unified economic space almost to the borders of China to a concept of a greater Asia from Russia’s perspective.  China has now replaced Germany as Russia’s primary supplier of equipment and machinery.  Analysts believe that Russia lost its influence in Europe and had little choice but to begin to turn their energy and initiatives toward Asia (Avdaliani, 2020).

Reference:

Ofitserov-Belskiy, D. (2020, March 24). Russia-Eastern Europe: Paradox of Relations. Retrieved April 17, 2020, from https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/russia-eastern-europe-paradox-of-relations/

Avdaliani, E. (2020, March 15). Russia’s Shift from “Greater Europe” to “Greater Asia.” Retrieved April 17, 2020, from https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/russia-greater-asia/

Attempts to answer the question of in which continent does Russia lie reveals an assortment of answers, none of which is clear. Termed a transcontinental country, its longitudinal borders lie between two continents: Europe and Asia. So, geography does not provide us with a clear answer. Biologically speaking, the ancestors of the Russian people emigrated from Africa, some settling in eastern Europe, others moving further north into what is now Russia. But what about Asia? An anthropologic study of Russia reveals a combination of facts which seem to further complicate the answer.  The geopolitical relationship between Russia to either Europe or Asia and factors affecting both are fascinating. Furthermore, the role geography plays on cultural identification and other factors that affect it such as politics, economics, historical experiences, and cultural characteristics such as genetics are essential.

Culture is a measurable element. It embodies the personality, values, attitudes, traditions, customs, and language shared by a given people. These elements exist within a cyclical relationship between society at large and the individual and serve to reinforce themselves within the people of a region or nation that contribute towards its existence. Culture while measurable is also fluid, meaning that it is ever-changing (Baranovsky 2000). The factors which contribute to this dynamic are geography, genetics, historical to include political factors, and economics.

Geography plays a large role in cultural identification. By grouping people within a given proximity, the groundwork is established for promoting both mutual influence and emulation. In the case of Russia, their influence over the countries of Eastern Europe before, but particularly after, the second World War is noteworthy. The eastern European countries that aligned themselves with Russia after the second World War did so based on Albert Bandura’s theory of social change. In Bandura’s theory, he explains that there are four steps to social learning: attention, retention, motivation, and reproduction. In the attention phase, the person learning the behavior watches the person displaying the behavior in an effort to emulate them. What is critical here is not to become distracted by outside influences which could cause you to miss a key piece of information. The next step is retention. What is critical here is memory retention. This can be affected by a neurological impairment, language barrier, or a distraction. Next is the motivation stage. This stage is the most important because it identifies the reason why a person would want to emulate the actions of another. Without this component the other phases will cease to be important. Finally, the last stage is reproduction. In this stage the action is duplicated. There is some flexibility here to modify the action to best accommodate the person performing the action. So slight variations are allowed (PSU: Social Learning 2020). So how does this relate to Russia and eastern Europe? I suspect the eastern European countries which followed Russia into communism did so because of their historical connection as well as their admiration of Russia’s development through the centuries, wanting to adopt these features and feeling tied to her through proximity and genetic makeup.

Europe is culturally divided between eastern and western countries. This division is characterized by both former and current political and historical alliances. For example, western Europe has historically aligned itself with capitalism, while eastern Europe aligned itself with communism, particularly after the second World War. This adoption of communist ideology stemmed from Russian influence. Geography alone, however, is not the only factor which contributes towards cultural influence. Cultural impact can also be impeded by geographical factors. Such is the case with Asia (PSU Eastern Europe and Russia. 2020). While African emigration to Russia was certainly feasible, Asian migration was not. Though a significant portion of Russia lies within Asia, several natural obstacles prevent direct Asian migration. Obstacles such as the Siberian tundra, Mongolian desert, Caucasus and Sayan mountains prevent this. The only other route would involve migrating westward through the Middle East and Europe, then moving northward into Russia. Given that southeastern Asia has the necessities for civilization such as fertile land and access to resources, there exists a lack of sufficient impetus to compel anyone to immigrate to Russia by traversing this terrain. This, therefore, prevented significant Asian influence in the development of Russia. But influence alone was not the only factor which led to the coalition between Russia and the other eastern European nations.

Genetics also plays a significant role. Russians and thereby eastern Europeans share the same genetic makeup. Since both groups migrated from Africa and settled within this region this statement seems to make sense. These two groups share genetic makeup; and as the authors of Managing Cultural Differences state, “…people are attracted to others who look like them..” (Moran Abramson Moran 2014). Therefore, proximity brought about by geography alone does not explain the identification of Russia with eastern Europeans and the lack of identification with Asians.

Historical factors also play a major role in identification. For instance, Christianity was first brought to Russia by the Byzantines around the year 1054 (Baranovsky 2000). The vast majority of Russian population resides in the western hemisphere of the country, which falls within Europe. Couple geographical proximity, genetical relationship, and the economic success of Europe and the cultural picture comes more into focus. Following the second World War, which witnessed the rise of Communism within Russia and the beginning of the Cold War, eastern European countries sided with their political views.

A strong factor of influence is economics. Following the end of the Cold War, Russia and later its associated eastern European nations decided to adopt capitalism as their economic model. Since the European Union was not only close but also successful Russia has attempted to align itself with them in hopes of not only bolstering their economy but also increasing their influence within European affairs. However, in order to do this, the EU requires any country who seeks to join their union to modify its existing laws and policies to come into alignment with theirs. In so doing this, a change in culture is required. Factors such as a state’s stance on human rights, democracy, and a market economy become essential (Baranovsky 2000 p.448). Russia’s need to identify with Europe and be seen as a major international player explains its ambition in seeking acceptance into the European Union as well as NATO.

To conclude, there are many factors that contribute to cultural influence. While geography plays a major role in justifying its impact, it is certainly not the only factor. Genetic makeup, political/historical factors, and economics also contribute to the impact of cultural influence.

Resources

Baranovsky, V. (2000). Russia: A Part of Europe or Apart from Europe?. Royal Institute of International Affairs, Vol. 76, No. 3. Europe: Where Does It Begin and End? (July 2000). Pp.443-458.

Retrieved from https://www-jstor-org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/stable/pdf/2625948.pdf?ab_segments=0%252Fbasic_SYC-5152%252Ftest&refreqid=excelsior%3A5892e4625af0598591a978be30bdf7e9.

Pennsylvania State University (2020). Lesson 13: Eastern Europe and Russia. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2041071/modules/items/27977889.

Pennsylvania State University (2020). Lesson 5: Learning and Change in a Global Setting: Social Learning. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2041071/modules/items/27977843.

Moran, Abramson, Moran (2014). Managing Cultural Differences. 9^th ed. (Routledge: New York). Chapter 1.

There are several instances where the birth of democracy can be traced back to ancient Greece.  “The Greeks are often credited with pioneering a democratic government that went on to influence the structure of the United States” (National Geographic Society, 2019).  Knowing how Greece ran their government in ancient times leads us to where the basis of the current U.S. democracy comes from.  The states in the U.S. are structured very much the same as what the Greeks called polis or city-state (NGS, 2019).  This is how the idea of the states came into play as they did not want to separate the colonies.  The states act much like the city states of ancient Greece in the idea that they are run separately yet they can band together to protect the country as a whole (NGS, 2019).

The way that laws are structured in the U.S. is based off of the ways that the ancient Greeks had their laws structured. “In ancient Greece the idea of rule of law came from the philosopher Aristotle’s belief in natural law. He claimed the existence of a higher justice in nature—certain essential rights—that superseded the laws written by humans” (NGS, 2019).  There is a lot of desire in the U.S. to have laws that protect such Human Rights.  The laws that we currently have stem from the idea that we should strive for justice and still protect the basic rights of the people that live here.

Even the way the government is structured is much like that of ancient Greece.  This goes even into how the constitution is structured much like The Constitution of the Athenians, both documents lay out the structure and the checks and balances that are placed to keep the government power in balance with the power of the people (NGS, 2019).  This is all in play so that no one person can come in and be above the law (NGS, 2019).There are reasons that these things have been put into place and we should always remember that they are there and that they are there for a reason.  It is important to remember that the Constitution is there in order know the rights that the people have and to remember that it is the law of the land and that it is there to help people with rights such as trial by jury and other similar rights.

There are even similarities in the way that the U.S. votes compared to that of the ancient Greeks (NGS, 2019).  The way that every citizen has a right to their own thoughts, and they all have some say in the laws that are passed (NGS, 2019).  This is something that has always been important to me and that I feel a lot of people take for granted.  I think that many of us are under the impression that what I do does not matter, but if we were to all think like that then it would not keep those that are in power in check.  I think that it is one of the most important things to remember that no matter what we do it has some effect in the bigger picture.  This being an election year really makes us take these things into perspective.

When the rights to vote were first set in place, they very much so resembled that of ancient Greece.  Only males over the age of 18 were permitted to vote for elected officials.  When it was first put into place in the U.S. only land-owning white males 18 and older were permitted to vote for those that would be elected into the representative democracy (NGS, 2019).  The idea of a representative democracy was where the idea of what is currently the U.S. Congress started.  The idea was that there should be officials that are elected to represent certain areas, this is how the electoral college came to be.  “The principles behind the ancient Greeks’ democratic system of government are still in use today” (NGS, 2019).  Many countries, not just the U.S. have similar systems that are created to give citizens that right to vote in someone that will represent them.  Around the world people everywhere are looking for a way to have a voice and it seems that the Greeks were some of the first to put this idea into play, I for one am glad that the idea has stuck and that I live in a county that practices it.

Resources

National Geographic Society. (2019, March 15). Greek Influence on U.S. Democracy. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/greek-influence-us-democracy/

In order to thrive in the political-, social- and health-crisis world we live in, organizations must focus and carefully plan an effective risk culture.  Rick culture consists of the values and behaviors that an organization establishes.  Rick decisions, especially those made as a result of political and social situations throughout the world, should be based on the organization’s values and behaviors.

Communication is one of the keys to creating an effective risk culture.  The executives and leaders of the organization should communicate with all levels of employees what their current risks may be and what perceived risks exist in different countries that could ultimately affect them (Russo, 2019).  Open communication offers everyone the opportunity to participate and share ideas regarding the direction the organization will take in the event of a crisis.

Effective preparation and planning on the part of the organization can mitigate the probability or actual threat of such things as loss, injury, liability, etc. After planning and preparing, training, including formally developed programs, action items, technology where appropriate and simulation drills should also be an important part of the organization’s structure.  By preparing employees through emergency drills and emergency action plans, employees will not become complacent (Russo, 2019).

The adage, “inspect what you expect” is also applicable when developing an effective risk culture (Russo, 2019).  It is not enough to communicate, plan and train.  An organization also needs to assess the systems that have been put in place and analyze employees’ responses to training and drills.

Reference

Russo, F. (2019, December 3). Developing an effective risk culture. Retrieved April 4, 2020, from https://asiatimes.com/2019/12/developing-an-effective-risk-culture/