Cultures and Organisations or Software of the Mind - Assignment Example

Short questions 8a. Impacts of tourism on culture and society in Tana Toraja in Sulawesi, Indonesia Tourism has been an important aspect to societies across the world. However, it is also responsible for a number of negative gains to the culture of these societies. This question focuses on the effects of tourism to the culture and society of Tana Toraja. Enhances employment and the development of human resource On its introduction to the Toraja community, tourism heightened the employment opportunities available to the community members. Apparently, the local high schools were seen offering training to the youth in search of jobs in the hotels or as guides (Adams 1998, p. 331). Those in the rural areas who could not access the high schools for training engaged in carving to support their families (Adams 1998, p. 331). Additionally the young people through tourism learnt to market their culture to tourists. Preservation of the culture tourism Tourism has enabled the Toraja community to preserve its culture. Evidently, the traditional culture of Toraja would have faced attacks from the modernizing pressures were it not for tourism. Commodification of culture According to Evans (1993), culture commodification takes place when the dances and ceremonies usually performed at occasions and festivals end up being part of the tourist industry’s repertoire. The ceremonies within the Tana Toraja community are arranged to suit the timetables of the tourists. Clearly, the traditional objects of this community are now sold as souvenirs in the market. Moreover, the beautiful beads that were highly valued by the Torajas started being sold to the tourists at a high price not affordable to the local people. Besides, the Tau tau statues were stolen and sold cheaply by the youth as they did not know their value to acquire money to at least purchase a T-shirt. Visual pollution It is apparent that the provision and positioning of the toilet facilities in the Tana Toraja community for the international tourists led to a glaring illustration of visual pollution. These buildings with galvanized iron-roofs had been incompetently located and as a result they destroyed the primeval burial caves as well as the funeral statues that could be viewed directly from the road (Crystal 1989, p. 142). Social impacts According to Crystal (1989, p. 154), the Trojans recall wistfully when their precious heirloom artefacts as well as the crucial life predicaments rites had no value to the outsiders. It has been noted that those Christian urbanities in Sulawesi who are educated were preferred to the religious specialists and the traditionalist villagers in interpreting the culture of Toraja to the international tourists. Vulnerability to disaster In the year 1990, the Torajans realized how susceptible the tourist destinations are to the political events. Apparently, their tourism industry faced some issues as a result of the 1997 Asian economic crisis as well as the political unrest evident at the end of term of President Suharto. The attempts to fight tourists have also resulted to warnings to Sulawesi travel discouraging the international tourists from visiting. 8b. Outline the impacts of international tourism on value systems, behaviour patterns and community structures in Bakau in the Gambia, Africa The population of Gambia is made up of 90 per cent Muslims, five per cent Christians whilst the rest are Animist. Being a Muslim country, Gambia has high capability of uniting its citizens across ethnic and cultural boundaries. Behaviours, customs, principles and beliefs of Islamic nature are extensively accepted and are apparent in all facets of life. Gambia has been categorized as a tourist industry, a safe place that is greatly cherished by tourists. It is referred to as the West African Smiling Coast as a result of the hospitable, friendly and humanity nature of the citizens, which is initially recognized by tourists. Tourists find it simple to befriend local people taking into account the willingness of the citizens to assist. As a result of this, Gambia has attracted many global tourists who have affected the country in various ways. For instance, the value systems, behaviour systems, and community structures in Bakau, Gambia have been impacted greatly by international tourists. The Gambian children are trained at a very young age regarding the capability of tourists to give them gifts. Often, various phrases are used to greet the tourists including "toubab give me minty (sweets)!" or "toubab give me pen" or "toubab give me dalasis" (Brown, 1999). These greetings are not deemed unpleasant but are regarded as a request from the children to the tourists to confer them gifts. These greetings and friendliness has resulted to the majority of Gambian children being provided school sponsorships by the novel overseas friends. Most young Gambians generally benefits from the real kindness of the tourists, who wishes to add to Gambian development. However, in some circumstances, there are some travelers who are not kind enough and who use such circumstances for their own benefits. It is confirmed that child sex tourism is very apparent in Bakau. Young gilrs and small kids are exploited by the tourists, some of who offer them marriage or sponsor their education. The behaviour system has also been highly impacted by tourists. As a Muslim country, Gambia has strict standards concerning the behaviour and appearance of women as they are supposed to cautiously cover themselves. Tourists on the other hand do not regard such standards and appear half-dressed in bikinis, skirts and shorts and openly consume alcohol (Brown, 1999). In addition to creating ill feeling, such behaviours acts as platforms for the citizen to fail to respect the standards set and traditions and this results to tensions in the community. Tourism has also been evidenced to strengthen community structures in Gambia in different ways. For instance, as a result of the interests of the tourists, the local residents usually hold festivals and events, developing and rejuvenating the same. Through these festivals and events, individuals in the community are brought together adding vitality to the community (Brown, 1999). In addition, tourism creates jobs in rural areas and this act as an essential incentive to lessen emigration. In general, tourism impact value systems, behaviour systems and community structures by standardization, commodification, and adaptation to the demand of tourists. 8c. What have terrorists aimed to achieve by their acts of violence against tourists? Terrorists aim to achieve a number of things through their acts of terrorism for instance in Palestine, the Jews organized terrorists campaigns to drive the Romans away from their land during the 6 A.D (Richter & Waugh, 1986, p. 230). Terrorism acts are also aimed at expressing the animosity of certain governments for instance, in 1990; the acts of terrorism in Egypt were aimed at exposing the animosity of the Egyptian government and the failure of the tourism industry to address the needs of the poor in the society. In addition terrorist have also acted in the name of the underprivileged and poor in the societies. In Peru for example the Shining Path guerrillas aimed at ensuring a pure form of communism and develop worldwide revolution. In 1948 before the birth of Israeli, the Palestinian Zionists terrorized the Arabs and British. After the birth of this nation, they committed terrorism acts to inform the world of their loss of a homeland. Acts of terrorism can also be committed if the terrorists object the ways of the governments. The terrorism acts on the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon in Virginia were due to the fact that the terrorists were not in agreement with the Arab government not upholding the principles of Islam. Moreover, the acts take place when the terrorists are warning certain governments not to support other governments on issues the terrorists are not in support of for instance the attack on tourists in the Sari Club and Paddy’s Bar in Bali on October 12, 2002 which was aimed at deterring the Australians from supporting the United States. Impacts of terrorism on tourists and the tourism economy Generally, terrorism has the following effects on tourism and travel; Changes in the populace of the tourist destinations including the neighboring areas not subject to the terrorist attacks for instance, The ground zero of the September 11, 2001 New York attack has become a tourist destination. This is because people doubted what they had seen on the television and needed to see what had transpired in reality (Lisle, 2004, p. 8).However, those of them who had lost their loved ones in the terror attack were against this ground zero and they highly criticized the act as a tourist attraction. Additionally, the perception of risk decreases the demand for that destination. Reduction in the occupancy rates in attendances at the casino and in hotels. For example due to the bombings in Bali, 2002, the tour operators had to cancel their holiday programs. As a result the beach vendors suffered loss of earnings (Baker & Coulter 2007, p. 255). This problem was evident since 2001 on the attack on the World Trade Centre in New York making most vendors cut on their expenses. Other effects include the economic failures of the airline firms and destruction of the economies that rely on tourism 8d. Examine critically the proposition that international tourism promotes international understanding Generally, tourism has been categorized as a force for global understanding and peace. According to McKean (1989, p.133) tourism is an extensively and intense collective human aspiration to know and collaborate with other people with the mutual probability that individuals may come together to distinguish themselves. As indicated in Var et al. (1995, p.28) in 1963, John F. Kennedy, the then president of the United States of America asserted that tourism has turned out to be one of the main triggers for understanding and peace during that time. However, some academicians are not in agreement that tourism has the capability of promoting global understanding and peace. For instance, Hofstede (1991, p.215) argued that tourism merely characterizes a shallow structure of intercultural encounter. In addition, it is affirmed that the pre-arranged form of tourism setting did not assist hosts and guests to come to know each other at the tourism centers. This is evidenced by the fact that tourists are attracted to the tourist destinations by different factors including sightseeing and relaxation but not to know the entire host society, and as a result, compared to guests; such attractions do not permit the tourists to spend enough time with individuals in the community. Tourists generally depend on tour guides instead of having an entirely direct guest familiarity. They also feel more comfortable in the company of their associate tourists rather than their hosts. A number of noteworthy instances have been offered on the importance of tourism in attaining global understanding. For example, after the end of the Second World War, a number of Australians went to Japan with an aim of helping in the Japan Allied Occupation after the surrender of Japan. Although these Australians aspired to revenge the suffering they experienced in the prisoner-of-war camps in Japan, they never did it after seeing how the Japanese suffered the consequences of the war especially as a result of the atomic bomb. It is true to say that travel resulted to the understanding between the Australians and the Japanese during this time. After categorizing the significance of travel, the government of Japan took a step in encouraging tourism amongst its citizens. The European Union also supports tourism for similar reasons in the European nations. If conducted appropriately, tourism has evidenced to offer diverse cultures the opportunity to know each other. In Korean Peninsula, tourism played a significant role in searching for peace and understanding. It created more optimistic relationships between the South and North Korea. For instance, the ‘Hyundai Corporation of South Korea’ was allowed to establish and run a resort destination in North Korea at Mt. Gumgang. Kim &Prideaux (2003, p.677) puts forth that the resort was opened to South Korea visitors in 1998. These tourists were transported by cruise boats which also acted as accommodations for them (Kim & Prideaux (2003, p.681). Although this was a great measure towards bringing understanding between the two Korean Peninsulas, various factors including economic difficulties and perceptions of the two groups have made it hard to alleviate the apprehension between the two peninsulas’. References Adams, KM 1998, More than an ethnic marker: Toraja art as identity negotiator. American Ethnologist, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 327-351. Baker, K & Coulter, A 2007, Terrorism and tourism: The vulnerability of beach vendors livelihoods in Bali’. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 249-266. Brown, T 1999, Antecedents of culturally significant tourist behavior. Annals of Tourism Research, vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 676-700. Crystal, E 1989, Tourism in Toraja (Sulawesi, Indonesia) In ed VL Smith Hosts and guests: the anthropology of tourism, 2nd edition, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, pp. 139-168. Evans, G. 1993, A global village: anthropology in the future in ed. G. Evans Asia’s cultural mosaic: an anthropological introduction, Prentice Hall, New York, pp. 367-384. Hofstede, G 1991, Cultures and Organisations: The Software of the Mind, Harper Collins, London. Kim, SS & Prideaux, B 2003, ‘Tourism, peace, politics and ideology: impacts of the Mt. Gumgang tour project in the Korean Peninsula’, Tourism Management, vol. 24, pp. 675-685. Kim, YK & Crompton, JL 1990, ‘Role of tourism in unifying the two Koreas’, Annals of Tourism Research, vol. 17, pp. 353-366. Lisle, D 2004, Gazing at Ground Zero: tourism, voyeurism and spectacle, Journal of Cultural Research, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 3-21 McKean, PF, 1989, ‘Towards a theoretical analysis of tourism: economic dualism and cultural involution in Bali’, in ed. V Smith, Hosts and Guests: The anthropology of tourism, 2nd edition, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, pp. 119-138. Richter, LK & Waugh, WL 1986, Terrorism and tourism as logical companions. Tourism Management, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 230-238 Var, T, Ap, J, Van Doren, C, 1995, ‘Tourism and world peace, in ed. W Theobald, Global tourism: the next decade, Butterworth Heinemann, Jordan Hill, Oxford, pp. 27-39. Read More