Tag Archives: Cultural

Cultural

Easter Eggs – A Long Tradition in Many Cultures

Easter eggs or spring eggs have been given as gifts to celebrate Easter or springtime for centuries. They have long been a symbol of the “start of life.” The pagans thought the egg was a symbol of the rebirth of the Earth and fertility, in celebration of the vernal equinox. The idea was later adopted by the Christians.

The Easter egg tradition may also have emerged as a celebration of the end of Lent. They were forbidden during Lent. Consumption resumed on Easter, the end of Lent.

The egg is the most identifiable symbol of Easter. Easter eggs were originally painted with bright colors representing spring and sunlight. Different cultures around the world adopted their own techniques for creating beautiful and unique icons of fertility.

Eggs in Austria were designed with patterns by attaching ferns and other small plants around the egg before boiling. A white pattern would be left on the shells after the plants were removed.

Hanacke kraslice, or Easter eggs from the Czech Republic, are decorated with straw. This technique takes pieces of straw that are cut, curled and shaped and glued to the eggs, forming different patterns.

In the United States, eggs are typically dyed with many different colors. They can be hand painted or dipped into cups of dyed vinegar and water.

Now you have all these dyed and decorated eggs, what do you do with them? That will depend on where you live. In the United States, children are visited by the Easter bunny. In our house he would hide the Easter eggs that we had colored, along with leaving a basket filled with candy and other treats for each child.

The Easter egg hunt is a much anticipated event and celebrated in homes across the country and an annual event at the White House lawn in Washington, D.C.

In northern England, “egg tapping” is a popular game around Easter time. Boiled and dyed, Easter eggs or “pace eggs” are passed out to players, who then roll their egg into another player’s egg. The player with the last unbroken egg is the winner.

To make perfect Easter eggs you must start with the perfect boiled egg.

Have eggs at room temperature before cooking to prevent cracking. Make sure eggs are completely covered with cold water.

  1. Cover the eggs with completely with cold water.
  2. Bring to a boil.
  3. Cover and remove pan from heat. Let stand for 25 minutes.
  4. Remove eggs from water and let cool completely before decorating.

Voila! The perfect hard boiled eggs for decorating.

Cultural

6 Workplace Cultures That Promote Productivity

The culture of an organization has an enormous effect on the productivity of its employees, nothing happens by chance. Good companies understand the effect of culture on the overall performance of their workforce, hence they invest time and other resources to ensure they get it right.

In this article I will be addressing some simple strategies that can greatly enhance the culture of your organization. You will be able to implement some of these ideas immediately and increase your employees’ productivity greatly.

Managers and HR professionals can ensure their organization’s culture enhances employee productivity by ensuring that:

Work is fun

One goal of every organization should be to create an environment where employees are happy doing what they do. Employees should derive some form of pleasure in the work that they do, this makes work easy for them.

Managers should constantly look for ways to make work more fun and less routine for their employees, by seeking feedback from them. Little changes may make a lot of difference.

Coworkers are like family members

A lot of employees spend a large percentage of their time at work. This means that if they work in a hostile environment, they are likely to be hostile to teammates and their families may suffer as a result.

Managers and HR professionals should design a workplace culture that promotes friendliness and encourages support for each other. Employees should be able to feel at home when they are at work.

Policies have a human touch

When the policies of the organization are too harsh and inhumane, they tend to affect employees performances negatively. Senior managers and HR professionals need to ensure that the policies of the organization encourage productivity and increases employee engagement.

Good work is appreciated and rewarded

Develop a culture that rewards productivity and appreciates high performing employees. Let your reward strategies emphasize the need for employees to remain productive while working for the organization. Productivity must be encouraged and the best way to do this is to reward and recognize productive employees.

Competition is healthy

Competition amongst employees should be promoted, however this must be checked to ensure that it is healthy for the organization. Healthy competition helps to eliminate complacency amongst employees, and if not well-managed could lead to conflict. Managers need to control competition properly within their organizations.

Corporate values are understood and employees live by them

As a trainer and consultant, I have noticed that a lot of employees are not aware of the values their organizations operate by. This is an indication that there is some form of misalignment in that organization. The values of the organization should reflect in employee’s work and interaction with customers.

Organizations must keep working hard to ensure that employees understand and are guided by the values that are most important to the organization.

With employee engagement steadily declining in many companies, the right strategies must be put in place to ensure that their culture encourages productivity and enhances employee engagement.

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