Identify and illustrate some of the dominant cultural values of modern Essay

Identify and illustrate some of the dominant cultural values of modern consumer societies - Essay Example Moreover, it is still a debatable issue whether modern consumerism has espoused globalised or localised philosophies (Merz et al. 2008: 166-182). Yet, literature on this topic has focused on finding the disparities between theoretical knowledge and its practical implementations. The main difficulty in arriving any conclusive model of consumer culture in modern societies is that social values and systems are too generic to hint at any distinctive features of consumerism. On one hand, the 21st century is market-centric. The pervasive market trends have engulfed everything material or immaterial. Theories of branding, especially those involving adolescent psychologies, clearly show how cultural propensities are directly regulated by the market economy (Naim et al. 2008: 627-640). On the other hand, this market driven economy fails to justify behaviours such as religious preferences or jingoism (Slater 1997: 24). This essay strives to discuss the key factors that can be held as probable identifiers of the dominant cultural values that underpin modern consumer societies. Culture is an abstract term for a number of social, economic and behaviorist aspects. The process of locating cultural attributes in any given society is extremely complex, for the notion of culture is highly de-territorialised due to regular intermingling of a diverse array of cultures across domestic as well as international borders. Hence, there is a pluralistic dimension to the study of ethnology in the context of consumerism (Craig and Douglas 2006: 322-342). The counter-culture movements in the 1960s may be examined in order to explore the subtleties of social hegemony and its impact on human culture. Market oriented economic practices in the modern era have not diffused into the realm of mass consumerism. Such practices are cultural properties of the elites who rule the economy of any given society. The mass, on the contrary, are compelled to using what is

Indicate the implication of the article for Saudi Managers Essay

Indicate the implication of the article for Saudi Managers - Essay Example e objectives: â€Å"to replace foreign workers with competent Saudis, create more jobs for Saudis in the private sector, regulate the management of both local and foreign workers, and improve the welfare of Saudi and expatriates working in the private sector.† These are the emerging legal implications for Saudi managers. Specifically, the new legal requirements are as follows: Thus, Saudi managers will have to ensure that their HRM practices comply with these laws. In particular, vulnerable and endow workers have been granted basic legal rights concerning annual leave, health and safety precautions, maximum working hours, safe working environment, and for females, maternity leave. It will be the onus of the managers to guarantee that these basic legal rights are provided in the workplace. It is suggested that in Saudi Arabia â€Å"laws are often partially enforced and inequitably applied.† But, the government has laid out these laws to promote welfare so they should be implemented by all organizations to which they concern. Keeping this in mind, the government lays stress on trying â€Å"to shape the cognitive norms that guide manager’s HRM policies and practices†¦ by influencing managers’ beliefs about what is good HRM practice and what is not.† This shows that the government has not only established the legal framework to improve working conditions, but is also attempting to influence thinking by providing justifications, guidelines and offering incentives in order to make the policies accepted more widely. In doing so, they are also keen to point out that these new laws do not contravene the shariah due to the pervasive influence of the latter. The government wants â€Å"to create sustainable employment for the increasing number of young Saudis joining the labour market,† hence the targeting of the private sector. The ground reality is that these laws are a concern for some Saudi managers. For example, it is not only convenient but also cheaper to hire