Culture can be defined as the inherited values, concepts, and ways of living which are shared by people of the same social group. There are areas in management whereby differences towards attitudes, behaviors, functioning, communication issues and cultural implications can be seen. Cross-cultural differences stem from the different backgrounds of each culture. Cultural varieties may be witnessed in the workplace, and there are other factors introduced such as reaching sales targets, meeting deadlines, working on tight budgets, which may cause conflict. Because of the differences in cultures, there might be some kind of misunderstanding among people working in the same organization due to their different values, beliefs, backgrounds, etc.
Labeling theory discusses the structural inequalities within society that explain criminality. It can be traced back to Mead’s theory of symbolic interactionism in 1934, which discusses the importance of language regarding informing social action through processes of constructing, interpreting, and transmitting meaning (Denver et al., 2017, p. 666). From there, labeling theory was further developed with Lemert’s distinction between primary and secondary deviance in 1951, which explained how deviance of an individual begins and continues (Thompson, 2014). Finally, and perhaps most influentially, we have Becker’s labeling theory of deviance in 1963, which is the version of the theory that will be guiding this discussion in the essay (Paternoster & Bachman, 2017). In Becker’s labeling theory, he describes crime as a social construct:
Social groups create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitutes deviance, and by applying those rules to particular people and labelling them as outsiders. From this point of view deviance is not a quality of the act a person commits, but rather a consequence of the application by others of rules and sanctions to an “offender.” The deviant is one to whom that label has been successfully applied; deviance is behavior that people so label (Becker, 1968, p. 9).
Labeling theory discusses the relationship between society and individuals, and the effect society has on individuals. Who decides what is criminal/delinquent? Labeling theory addresses this question, asserting that decisions of illegality are a concern of power, not morality, within those who make such definitions. Those in positions of power create the definitions and laws using their status to determine what “society” prefers in regards to norms. Within labeling theory, it is thought that these definitions and consequences are meant to induce shame upon the offender.
While it has had a rather significant impact in studies of sociology and deviance, labeling theory has its weaknesses. First, it is very deterministic: if a person is labeled, that person is either destined to commit crime or destined to have fewer opportunities throughout their life course. This deterministic view implies that crime is si
