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Comment on Knowledge Based Economy by Copyright Revewals » Knowledge Based Economy Washington IV

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Comment on Organizational Theory by Steve Rosenbaum

Steve Rosenbaum — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 15:40:09 +0000

Not only can I recite the Bill of Rights, I’m familiar with all 27 amendments. I’ve read the Federalist papers. I also know about the impact of Marbury versus Madison on the interpretation of the constitution. Quick quiz..what’s the 27th amendment…

Answer Limits on Congressional Pay.

Your list of companies that change the world is very short. Let me add some of the others…Disney, GE, IBM, Microsoft, A&M Records, Universal Studios, CitiBank, Boeing,Merck,Pfeizer,Eli Lily, Proctor and Gamble, Sears,Ebay,Amazon.com,Yahoo,Google,America Online,General Mills, Dell,HP,Kodak,Estee Lauder,Levis Straus,Exxon Mobile, FedEx, GM, Ford, Chrysler, Marriot, Hilton, Radisson, Hyatt, Intel, International Paper…and the list goes on and on. Everyone of these is a household name.

If you come back in ten years, you’ll find another 50 names on this list that don’t exist today. Growth, Expansion, Opportunity and Freedom is the real American culture.

Comment on Organizational Theory by WashingtonIV

WashingtonIV — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 07:16:47 +0000

I think when you start examining culture on the basis of wins or losses, you further distort what culture is and its place in society. Culture isn’t a zero sum game. America wins because it’s nothing more than an intoxicating fabricated illusion that is pushed on the world. American culture is “hustled” like a drug that one has little resistance to. I do feel that there is an American Culture, however it is nothing more than mainstream pop culture. I have traveled the globe and can give assertions that whether you are in El Paso or Buffalo, there isn’t that much of a difference. We live in a homogeneous culture. The populous can live in unison because they willingly accept carbon copy lifestyles. Carbon Copy referring to identical strip malls, WalMarts, McDonalds, Starbucks, Banks of America, etc… We have the illusion of freedom, as we have the illusion of culture. Of course there will be differences in landscape and attractions, but the prevailing theme is self-evident. Although we may live together, we are all segregated by class/education/age/ethinicty which in turn negate the positive connotation associated with cultural diversity. We live in a world where the media defines us. It tells us who we are and we reflect this in how we live and act. More people know about The Simpsons cartoon show then the U.S. Constitution, which is the very foundation of this country. Ask yourself if you can recite the Bill of Rights, even the gist of more than one of the amendments. I am not asking to insult your intelligence, but to question the basis of our discussions and how you perceive culture.

Comment on Organizational Theory by Steve Rosenbaum

Steve Rosenbaum — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 06:05:10 +0000

You missed my point. There is no such thing as American Culture. There are thousands of American cultures and there always has been. Take a trip to San Francisco and then Mobile and tell me it’s the same country. Then try El Passo and Buffalo. How about Minneapolis and Memphis?

The language is different, the food is different, the music is different, the ethnic make up is different.

What’s unique about American cultures is that people who are so vastly different can live together.

What America does is compete in the world of cultures and almost always wins.

To prevent this, you need to shut off every avenue of free exchange. I think there’s very little American culture in North Korea.

Comment on Organizational Theory by WashingtonIV

WashingtonIV — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 05:24:59 +0000

The “American Way” has been perverted to the point that culture is nothing more than a reality show, a video game, or a sound bite of news; a passing fad that changes according to the season. The blending is no more than a pr campaign that assigns each nationality a month for reflection. This blending of cultures and assimilation into the melting pot is nothing more than a myth, perhaps a theme for a restaurant or a new demographic to exploit with advertising. Multiculturalism views this assimilation as harmful to minorities, and through mass-media inoculation, ultimately stripping their distinctive features, such as their culture and language. As I have written in my previous posts, authenticity plays a crucial role in establishing and preserving culture.

If America does anything to culture, I feel it waters down and dilutes its essence.

Comment on Organizational Theory by Steve Rosenbaum

Steve Rosenbaum — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 15:37:06 +0000

I travel a lot and work with people in different parts of the country. What I find is that there isn’t a single American culture, there are many. America is a melding of cultures and a place were new culture can immerge.

Here’s a quick test. What does the average American look like?

The answer is that an American can look like anything. American’s are every color, race and ethnic background. This is something you really can’t say about most other countries of the world. It’s even a simple as what’s American food. The only cuisine that started in America is barbeque. There are also a number of foods that started on this continent and they’ve spread into other cultures, like tomatoes. American’s play all kinds of music but only a small amount have their origins here.

Let’s take something as American as chicken fried steak. Where does it come from? It comes from German immigrants in Texas who created a version of Weiner Schnitzel.

So if there is an American way it’s to blend cultures.

Comment on Organizational Theory by WashingtonIV

WashingtonIV — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 04:43:35 +0000

In my opinion, I feel that the U.S. is becoming more deficient in its culture than ever before. I think we need to look at the word and examine that to have a “culture” one must have something to cultivate, to grow, like a farmer tilling the land and growing vegetables or that of a student enriching his/her mind with books and lectures. I feel that we don’t grow anything in the U.S. , we merely try to package the U.S. and the “American Way” in a shiny package with a nice ribbon and upon opening to find that the package is empty. Like a television show that has no content or a football game that is more spectacle than sport. The list can go on and on. There is an absence of originality, nothing authentic to see. Everything has been exploited for monetary profit. Although I do agree with your statement “the English language is in fact a language that quickly grows and adapts,” I feel it is important to preserve all languages and respect the tradition that has been associated with the said languages.

Comment on Organizational Theory by Steve Rosenbaum

Steve Rosenbaum — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 04:09:01 +0000

I think the statement you find distrubing shows that writers limited view of what really happens. It’s not that culture becomes homogenius but rather more expansive and varied. Take a look at just the U.S. It’s one of the most culturally diverse places on earth.

What happens is that you create a marketplace for culture and ideas. It allows not only the best ideas to surface but it creates a lot of opportunity for mixing and matching.

Second, there is a slam at the English language but it is in fact a lanuage that quickly grows and adapts. We’re now over a million words in the English dictionary. In some respects, I think the value of multiple languages is highly overrated. We have a single language of mathematics and it seems to work pretty well.