miércoles, 29 de octubre de 2008

MIDDLE EAST (ARAB WORLD)

The Middle East is a subcontinent with no clear boundaries. Is the geographic origin of three of the world’s major religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam and the home to numerous ethnic groups including Arabs, Turks and Jews. Middle Eastern economies range from nations being very poor (such as Gaza and Yemen) to extremely wealthy nations (such as UAE and Saudi Arabia).

Arabs are spread over 20 or more countries in the world and their loyalty is basically to arabness, to their common roots and to their ancestors. The principal factors in this society is the Islam, arabness and the Arabic language, are famous for their generosity, hospitality, attention for a guest, their preoccupation and sometimes obsession with personal honor and dignity

Which is the role of the media in the conflict between the Arab world and the West?

'promote dialogue rather than conflict between civilizations'

"Spectacle or no, the terrorism of Al-Qaeda should have been understood as a communication strategy and the response to Al-Qaeda's act on 9/11, by the United States should have been primarily, a communication strategy -- a strategy of communication, not of war.

"...relationship between Arabs and the West in the form of a challenge for the future, saying, "The new challenge is not that of information, but of communication which can be summarized in the concept of coexistence with individuals or groups different from oneself.

Media can play a positive role in the dialogue between Arabs and the West
Ahmad Al-Khaled. McClatchy - Tribune Business News. Washington: Mar 31, 2008.

miércoles, 22 de octubre de 2008

NORTH AMERICA

Northern America is used to refer to the northern countries and territories of North America: Canada, the United States, Greenland, Bermuda, and St. Pierre and Miquelon
The prevalent languages in North America are English, Spanish and French. Socially and culturally, North America presents a well-defined entity. Canada and the United States have a similar culture and similar traditions as a result of both countries being former British colonies. A common cultural and economic market has developed between the two nations because of the strong economic and historical ties.

The salad bowl concept suggests that the integration of the many different cultures of United States residents combine like a salad, as opposed to the more prolific notion of a cultural melting pot. In Canada this concept is more commonly known as the cultural mosaic. The melting pot on the other hand is an analogy for the way in which homogeneous societies develop, in which the ingredients in the pot (people of different cultures, races and religions) are combined so as to develop a multi-ethnic society. The term, which originates from the United States, is often used to describe societies experiencing large scale immigration from many different countries.

Even though in Canada there is a cultural protectionism, in general cultural diversity is well accepted.

For us, as latin americans, this region is a total different world, in terms of culture, economic development and even language, but we must understand that we are all together a single continent that should work toward some same objectives helping those with less resources and possibilities to achieve finally a sustainable regional development.

¿How did the financial crisis start?

"August 2007, when the gathering collapse of the U.S. housing market first made itself felt in financial markets in general. The Fed responded both by making sure banks had the cash they needed and by pumping up the overall money supply. These measures worked, in that they kept the economy going, albeit fitfully. But they didn't fix the underlying problem.

When the problem occurs on a mass scale, though, the case-by-case approach doesn't work so well. The Fed, Treasury, and FDIC have rescued some ailing financial institutions and let others die--Lehman Brothers being the most famous. European countries facing similar issues have also failed to stick to any clear rulebook. As a result, the providers of the credit that financial institutions need to keep going have turned ever more skittish. That's why banks are now so loath to lend to each other and increasingly loath to lend to anybody else"



We Can Beat This
JUSTIN FOX. Fortune. New York: Oct 27, 2008. Vol. 158, Iss. 8; pg. 96

jueves, 16 de octubre de 2008

AUSTRALIA AND OCEANIA

First people that arrive to Oceania came from Southeast Asia. The term covers a region between Asia and America with Australian island as the larger continental island. It is the smallest continent in the world and one of the least populated. The first language is English followed by French. Protestantism is the number one religion followed by Catholicism. Population is very diverse.
- Marshall Islands: Friendly and peaceful nature. Strong concept of family. Products from other countries have great influence and they mix them with their own culture.
- Micronesia: Their culture is a mixture of different traditions and customs. Continuous the caste system which is the most important factor of equity.
- Tonga: Their culture and traditions where constantly reconstructed and changed due to the continuous encounters with other cultures. They live their daily life around church.
- New Zealand: The ethnicity of New Zealand is European. They are friendly and like to take care of tourists. Very reserved at first but still polite.
- Australia: Is the fifth largest economy in Asia Pacific and one of the strongest in the world. FDI is strongly encouraged.

¿Which are the main problems of Tonga`s economy?

"Tonga faces significant economic constraints, namely limited natural resources, geographic isolation, and heavy dependence on foreign aid and remittances from nationals living abroad. It is also vulnerable to external developments and natural disasters, such as cyclones. The export sector in the 1990s was dominated by a single crop, squash pumpkins, developed for one market, Japan, but this has declined in recent years. Tourism and fishing are growing in importance, although both require increased investment in infrastructure."

Tonga: Economic background
EIU ViewsWire. New York: Aug 27, 2008.

miércoles, 8 de octubre de 2008

LATIN AMERICA

The population of Latin America is a composite of ancestries, ethnic groups and races, making the region one of the most diverse in the world.

Spanish is the predominant language in the majority of Latin American countries but there is also spoken Portuguese, French among others.

In the lecture made by the classmates I found avery interesting contrast among two countris, Chile and Guyana.

Chile is a large and narrow strip situated in southwest South America, bounded on the north by Peru, on the east by Bolivia and Argentina, and on the west and south by the Pacific Ocean. In the mid-1970s, Chile pioneered the adoption of market-oriented structural reforms. For almost two decades Chile was the best performing economy in the region and its economic and financial policy reforms served as an example for other Latin American nations. For most of its independent life Chile has had constitutional and democratic governments. In the period 1973–1990 the country experienced a military regime led by General Augusto Pinochet. Since 1990 democratic rule has been restored. A large majority of Chileans (73 percent) are affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church. Some 15 percent of the population identifies itself with several Protestant groups. This includes Anglicans and Lutherans, but the vast majority of Chilean Protestants (90 percent) belong to the Pentecostal Church.

Guyana is the size of Idaho and is situated on the northern coast of South America, east of Venezuela, west of Suriname, and north of Brazil. The Dutch, English, and French established colonies in what is now known as Guyana, but by the early 17th century the majority of the settlements were Dutch. English is the official language but they also speak Amerindian dialects, Creole, Hindi and Urdu.

Guyana is very unknown by many latinamericans and it is interesting to make some comparission among it and Chile, the most unknown and the most develop country in the region.

¿Which is the economic future for Guyana?

"Following Guyana's real estimated GDP growth of 5.3% in 2007, the Economist Intelligence Unit expects economic activity to moderate in 2008 and 2009, but to remain strong compared with growth rates recorded during the stagnation of 2000-05. A more settled political climate is encouraging private-sector investment within and outside the main commodity sectors, while public-sector investment in infrastructure, in particular in the sugar industry, continues. The upgraded Skeldon sugar facility will provide a boost to growth from 2008. Further ahead, economic growth could be strengthened by investment in a major hydro-electric power project and a potential oil windfall (if ongoing exploration activities are successful). "

"...greater efficiency and substantial planned investments will ensure a future for Guyana's sugar industry, but employment in the industry will decline"

Guyana economy: Growth to moderate
EIU ViewsWire. New York: Jul 2, 2008.

EUROPE

Europe is the world's second smallest continent by surface area, covering about 2% of the Earth's surface. Russia is the largest by both area and population, while the Vatican is the smallest.

As a continent, the economy of Europe is currently the largest on Earth. As with other continents, Europe has a large variation of wealth among its countries. Some economical agreements: European Free Trade Association (EFTA), European Economic Area (EEA), Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) and the European Union (EU).

The last one is a unique economic and political partnership between 27 democratic European countries. The results so far has been frontier-free travel and trade, the euro (the single European currency), safer food and a greener environment, better living standards in poorer regions, joint action on crime and terror, cheaper phone calls and air travel and millions of opportunities to study abroad.

European languages mostly fall within three Indo-European language groups: Romance languages, Germanic languages and Slavic languages. Multilingualism and the protection of regional and minority languages are recognized political goals in Europe today.

The majority religion in Europe is Christianity and then Islam concentrated mainly in the south west. It is a relatively secular continent and has the largest number and proportion of irreligious, agnostic and atheistic people in the Western world, with a particularly high number of self-described non-religious people in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Sweden and France.

The largest ethnic groups of Europe are the Russians , followed by the Germans, French, Italians, English, Spanish, Poles and the Ukrainians.

All these information is to illustrate the diversity of the countries in Europe, languages, religion, economy development, ethnic gorups among others, but they are all integrated to achieve some specific objetives, respecting always the differences and working togheter, that is maybe the reason why they have achieved the development degree and it most be consider as an example to follow.

¿How Russia has affected or still affect Europe`s stability?

"As Europe wrestles over how to deal with a game-changing Russia, the largest country in the world, it faces one of the oldest tactics in Moscow's diplomatic playbook: the art of divide and separate"

"Moscow's diplomatic "salami tactics," as they have been called, are expected to continue this fall, as EU officials decide how to support Georgia with a proposed EU observer mission - and whether or not Russia is complying with the terms of a cease-fire it signed with French President Nicolas Sarkozy"

"Moscow targeted Germany, which relies on Russia for 40 percent of its gas imports and about 35 percent of its oil. Also, divisions between a Moscow-leaning lobby and a more transatlantic position are expected to heighten in the run-up to German elections next year."

"One problem for Moscow, say diplomats, is that its separation strategy depends heavily on an international consensus that its border-changing actions in Georgia are themselves reasonable.
Yet so far, other states have not agreed. China, the world's other rising superpower, last week broke with its traditional support of Moscow on the question at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan."


Russia exploits division in Europe
Robert Marquand. The Christian Science Monitor. Boston, Mass.: Sep 3, 2008. pg. 6

lunes, 29 de septiembre de 2008

GLOBALISATION

In its literal sense is the process or transformation of local or regional phenomena into global ones. This term was used for the first time in the 1920`s but it wasn`t that use in the practice until the 1940`s.

There are 3 debates on globalisation:

- Globalist: Social relations, increase of global interconnection
- Internationalist: Significant role for nation states, skepticism about globalisation (myth and exaggerated)
- Transformationalist: Nation states remain militarily, economically and politically powerful. Indirect exercise of power through complex set of interactions

As international negotiators we always analyze the positive aspects of globalisation, and it is important to know that it has a negative counterpart that is equally important to study as the opportunities that might emerge from this inevitable phenomena.

Negative aspect of corporate-led globalisation: Cultural imperialism, concentration of political and economic power, diminution of national identities and sovereignties, growing inequalities, concentration of ownership and organized crime networks among others.

Which are the main characteristics of the emerging powers in globalisation?

"They can be countries or regions, social scapes and flows, economic networks or global cities. They emerge after several decades of global flexible capitalism and the rise of regional networks and city-states. In order to meet contemporary challenges, emerging powers need the experience of coherence of older homogeneities as well as the complexities of extended, differentiated societies and social structures."

Emerging powers as fact and metaphor: Some European ideas
Hermann Schwengel. Futures. Kidlington: Oct 2008. Vol. 40, Iss. 8; pg. 767

martes, 23 de septiembre de 2008

EAST ASIA

East Asia is a sub region of Asia where several languages are spoken, among them, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Mongolian and Vietnamese.

Japan is very important for this region, is a country of over three thousand islands extending along the pacific coast of Asia and the form of government is parliamentarian democracy under the rule of a constitutional monarchand. Is the second largest economy in the world and is one of the leading nations in the fields of scientific research, particularly technology, machinery and biomedical research. Its environmental history and current policies reflect a tenuous balance between economic development and environmental protection. The Japanese language has always played a significant role in Japanese culture. The language is spoken mainly in Japan but also in some Japanese emigrant communities around the world.

Doing business in Japan as in any other country has many specifications that are important not only to know and understand but also to respect. Harmony is a key value in their society, is the guiding philosophy for their population in family and business settings. They are very conscious of age and status, and the use of time is absolutely rigid.

How are the relations between Colombia and Japan?

"Colombian Foreign Minister Fernando Araujo Perdomo on Saturday said the South American country was interested in forming an economic partnership agreement with Japan."

"Araujo is visiting Tokyo at the official invitation of the government from Thursday to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of a friendship and commercial treaty between the two countries."

"I would like to take the centennial as an opportunity to boost ties between Japan and Colombia in all aspects, such as diplomacy, cultural exchange and the economy," Araujo


BRIEF: Colombia minister urges FTA with Japan
Setsuko Kamiya. McClatchy - Tribune Business News. Washington: Jul 13, 2008.

lunes, 15 de septiembre de 2008

CHINA

China is situated in eastern Asia, bounded by the Pacific in the east. The third largest country in the world. Total Population is 1.30756 billion (2005) about 22% of total population in the world. China, one of the four oldest civilizations in the world, has a written history of 4,000 years and boasts rich cultural relics and historical sites. It is the inventor of compass, paper-making, gunpowder and printing. The great wall, Grand Canal and Karez irrigation system are three great ancient engineering projects built 2,000 years ago. Now they are the symbols of the rich culture of the Chinese nation. China has gone over a long history of primitive society, slavery society, feudal society and semi-feudal semi-colonial society and the present socialist society.

The national language is Mandarin, which is one of the five working languages at the United Nations. Most of the 55 minority nationalities have their own languages. Cantonese is one of the local dialects of southern China.

China is a multi-religious country. Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism, with the first three being more wide spread.

Being such a diverse country, is very important to have into account some aspects when negotiating. Companies have a high centralization and the country itself is built on a strong sense of pride in their ancient history and culture. Some main issues for them are: punctuality,trust, the hierarchical structure, create long-term relationships, the collectivism.

China still is a matter of study, not only in college, but also in schools and companies, many people has the need to undestrand this magnificent culture, the unbelievable economic development, the technological advances and so on and I think it will continue for many more years.

How is the employment situation nowdays?

"Generating enough jobs for the masses of newly minted capitalists who emerge from China's university system has for years been a challenge. Last year, about one-third of college grads went jobless for at least six months after graduation, according to government estimates. This year's crop of 5.6 million grads--740,000 more than last year--is the largest ever, and the tsunami of able bodies is washing into the market just as China's economy is faltering"

"Officially, China's unemployment rate is a relatively healthy 4.2%, but government statistics are dodgy, in part because significant numbers of China's millions of migrant workers go uncounted. The slowdown is a cause for national, not just provincial, concern."

"China's job-market woes won't be solved by high economic growth alone. There are persistent problems within China's higher-education system that are of mounting concern."


Not-So-Great Expectations
Bill Powell. Time International. (Atlantic ed.). New York: Sep 1, 2008. Vol. 172, Iss. 9; pg. 41

SOUTH ASIA

South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is a southern region of the Asian continent, it has a huge diversity of languages and religions among them we can find Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.

A major country of this region is India and if we compared it to Colombia, we have like a 50-50 situation, we may see that they have very similar PDI and MAS but very diverse IDV and UAI. This information is very important for any kind of negotiation.

India is a multireligious country, very liberal in this aspect, with occupational segmentation which may lead to discrimination within the originations. The castes are very important for them, you cannot change it, is your destiny and your future, among them we find the Brahamans, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras, all of them have different codes of conduct. About the gender is a very funny situation because they claim they treat women and men equally but that is not true, companies prefer to employ a man rather than a woman.

All these situations has to be understood because is a different culture, we learn every day about diversity, tolerance, and acceptance of different behaviors, and that is just what we have to do in such a globalized world.

¿What is Jainism?

Jainism teaches a path to enlightenment through a life founded on nonviolence to all creatures. Jains represent less than 1 percent of the Indian population. Many faiths have ascetic traditions that embrace fasting, but few carry it to such lengths as the Jains. In some cases, Jains practice santhara, or fasting until death, in order to free the soul from its sins.

Russell Working. McClatchy - Tribune Business News. Washington: Sep 15, 2008.

miércoles, 3 de septiembre de 2008

AFRICA: NIGER DELTA

Conflict in the niger Delta arose in the early 1990s due to tensions between the foreign oil corporations and a number of the Niger Delta's minority ethnic groups who felt they were being exploited. Competition for oil wealth has fueled violence between innumerable ethnic groups, causing the militarization of nearly the entire region by ethnic militia groups as well as nigerian military and police forces. Victims of crimes are fearful of seeking justice for crimes committed against them.

It is a very difficult situation, to which all of us may feel related to, is a daily conflict that is affecting all the Nigeria delta population, amazing stories arise every day and if you don`t live that situation by yourself is almost impossible to believe, just like our country, human rights violations, unemployment, insecurity, kidnapping are some of our daily situation that is seen also in Niger Delta.

Nigeria is one of the world's biggest oil exporters and yet most Delta residents live in poverty. The region is home to a huge industry of stealing oil and selling it on the black market. I really hope this conflict gets a solution, one almost every day think about the world`s future, and this is a situation about which I never heard ever before, is not only about us, our problems, the trade relations, globalization, USA elections, global warm, there is other countries with huge problems, and as an international negotiator is important to be sensitive toward any situation and be constantly inform about everything.

Which are the main problems faced by this region?

"Violence in the Delta is nothing new. Tribal conflict has plagued the region for years. Well-armed and organized gangs have been present almost as long as the oil companies, making tens of millions of dollars in "bunkering" operations in which oil is illegally siphoned off (and causing, oil companies have long maintained, most of the local environmental damage as a result). The gangsters have also extorted money by kidnapping oil workers and supplying "security" services in exchange for not attacking installations."

"Corruption doesn't help. A Nigerian government audit of the oil industry last month showed discrepancies worth hundreds of millions of dollars between what oil companies say they paid the government and what authorities say they received. The federal government says it is tightening up its oversight. And there's the problem of what state governments do with the money they receive from Abuja."


Nigeria's Deadly Days
Time International. (Atlantic ed.). New York: May 22, 2006. pg. 20

miércoles, 20 de agosto de 2008

EXPATRIATES AND MIGRANT WORKERS

Human migration denotes any movement by humans from one locality to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Humans are known to have migrated extensively throughout history and prehistory. There is to types of migration: Internal migration and International migration and can occur for several reasons, social and economic exclusion, internal conflicts, attraction by developed countries, war, among others. The truth is that is an increasing phenomenon, people seeking for better opportunities, a different future and labour migration has moved to the top of the policy agenda of many countries of origin and destination. It is estimated that there are about 80 million migrant workers around the world.

It is sad to think of leaving your land, your life, maybe your family, because you decided to, or because you had to, either way is letting behind a part of who you are, but is a reality one has to face some day, even us, with great opportunities of education, an accepted social and economic level, must leave some day and have different experiences.

There are opportunities for migrant families or children?

"The local Pennsylvania Migrant Education program is one of the most successful in the state when it comes to the number of students who go on to further their education."

"The local figures please Medina Lopez, who, as a social worker and team leader for the program, hopes to give the students all the support they need. Statistics are proof that the state- and federally funded program is working."

"They're also proof that students enrolled in the program are here legally, she said, because colleges won't accept anyone who doesn't have a Social Security number. Only those who can prove citizenship or immigration status are eligible to receive a number."

"Enrollment at the school fluctuates from year to year -- and even month to month, she said. Ethnicity of the students also varies. It's all because of the working schedule of the migrant worker."

Program ensures immigrants learning, legal
Jill Whalen. McClatchy - Tribune Business News. Washington: Aug 25, 2008.

miércoles, 13 de agosto de 2008

MANAGING DIVERSITY

Many differences may be found in a multicultural workforce, and managing those differences are right now the most important challenges faced by managers and their organizations. One may find differences related to gender, age, sex orientation, political o religious view and the truth is that people are not the same but always want to be treated equally representing a daily and constant challenge to the members of a company or group. Managing diversity is the capacity to accept, incorporate and empower the diverse human talents within a very diverse environment, by not doing this you incur in some problems, it could cost the company time, money and efficiency, when diversity is not well managed create tensions in the workplace and some legal actions may be taken if someone feels that her or his rights are disrespected. This challenge brings some potential problems, over protection of women and minorities, possible failure to train and coach and the language barriers, but is also possible to find some advantages if managing diversity is successful, your company provides a better service, a culture of innovation and creativity is implemented, a new environment of tolerance surround the workforce and improve their performance among others.

I think is always a challenge, not only in the workplace but also for us as students, one has to be tolerant, open minded, knowing that not everyone has to be just like you, think like you do, and act as you would, and is something we have to learn now in order to be able in the future to pass to other generations a sense of tolerance and respect because maybe someday we or them might be the victims of rejection or discrimination and by being an integral person the situation maybe faced in a better way.

¿Which is the most important aspect of managing correctly diversity within a company?

“In reality, diversity in the workforce increases creativity and helps tap into new markets nationally and internationally. Organisations who ignore this are losing out”.

a world of difference
Atul K Shah. Accountancy Age. London: Jan 10, 2008. pg. 18

lunes, 11 de agosto de 2008

EXPLORING DIVERSITY

Cultural diversity encompasses the cultural differences that exist between people. The lecture made about this topic by classmates was a great experience. The activity was very interesting, it showed different points of view, even though the ideal negotiation team is made by different people with different skills and qualities that obviously make that group an integral and complete working group, the purpose was to defend who we were and show other people why our position within a society made us the best negotiation group, for example, my team was made of entrepreneur women and our main purpose was to convince the rest of the group why we were the best group, which qualities we have that make us different from the rest and underline the best of each of the members because even though we all were entrepreneur women we were all different and with some key characteristics that made us the best work team.

¿How are women seen in the negotiation or business environment?

“Women and men negotiate differently for pay raises, promotions and salaries”. The author mentioned that even some women do not negotiate at all (which I think is not true). Women are thankful for just having a job offer, but men are more powerful knowing that in certain way, they deserve better. Not negotiating may “costs women a lot of money and status during their careers”.

“The differences in the ways women and men negotiate are often attributed to childhood socialization and genetics, but newer research suggests that women's actions may make sense in today's world”.

I think that I have to respect the perception the author have, but, I think completely different, women nowadays are more powerful than ever before, with the same or better skills than men, new generations are changing the perception of this kind of authors showing that women work force is increasing each day and the performance within any company is equally valuable among men and women.

Women and Negotiation
Elizabeth Agnvall. HRMagazine. Alexandria: Dec 2007. Vol. 52, Iss. 12; pg. 69, 5 pgs

miércoles, 30 de julio de 2008

CULTURE PERSPECTIVES

A group of people may have different perceptions toward a specific topic, movie, book, discussion etc, this happened with the documental “The Corporation” that was analyzed by few teams of four, five people in class and allowed each member to express her/himself opinion about it. It’s incredible how different those opinions might be and an important factor is to know how to listen and learn how to be argumentative with your own answers and thoughts. It’s important to keep your mind open to new ideas and other perceptions.

This last idea lead us to Kristian Jakobsen, a person who give us a very interesting lecture about culture perspectives comparing Colombian culture with Denmark culture trough Hofstede dimensions. Is different listen a person who has grown within a different culture than just read about it on a book or search data trough Internet. His experience and speech was a great added value to the class specially because of the results of the comparison made, that showed that both cultures are extremely opposite in each dimension. By understanding the backgrounds of each society is possible to explain certain kind of behavior, or why people is individualistic or why a high masculinity behavior exist. Is a very interesting exercise that could be applied to compare Colombia with other different countries and learn more about other cultures.

miércoles, 23 de julio de 2008

THE CORPORATION

1. What role should the corporation play in our lives and society, if any?

The role the corporation should play is offer to the customers or potential buyers a sense of safety and security knowing that what they are offering is made under the right law, the correct standards and always taking care of the environment, not cheating on the process they use to put finally into the market a finish product and more important It should play an educational role for future generations.


2. Should corporations be entitled to the same legal rights as individuals? Where should the line be drawn?

Yes, corporations should be entitled to the same legal rights as individuals. They have the same responsibility than a person and play an extremely important role within the society, any wrong action or behavior has a consequence in the welfare of any kind of life and no matter that a corporation is made by a group of people working together toward a common objective, they are perceived as a unique entity.


3. How can we ensure corporations are held accountable for their actions? Should individuals (directors, employees, shareholders) bear any responsibility for the actions of a corporation? If so, to what degree?

I think the only way to ensure that, is creating a stronger judiciary system that regulates the behavior of each of the corporations, or an specific organization in charge of investigate and punish if necessary. The directors or shareholders, or any in charge of create and implement the strategy by which the company is guiding it actions should bear all the responsibility for the actions of the corporations, the employees are just working for a salary having no power within the company to take important and managerial decisions but the others I mentioned before are the ones who decide which road the company will follow whether it is legal or not an must take full responsibility over it.


4. Do you think corporations are the root cause of the problem, or is it consumerism, capitalism, or all three?

I think they do not have full responsibility, it is a fault also of the consumers and the governments but the power the corporations has is so strong is more in their hands to change what is wrong.


5. Do you agree with the film’s diagnosis that the corporation is a psychopath?

Yes I do, corporations are taking decisions without having into account human effects and the way they have been acting is not accurate, they just think in profitability and it seems like a disease and obviously, profit is important to survive and keep running a business but it can`t be damaging human life, animal life, the environment, the air and future generations.

lunes, 21 de julio de 2008

DATA BASIS AND CULTURE

It’s extremely important to take advantage of the tools the university offers to the students. Learning how to use the data basis provides new sources of knowledge and very useful information not only for this subject but also for daily life.

For an international negotiator is crucial to understand how cultures work, the differences, what makes unique a country, a person, and an organization in order to be able to perform successfully in real life. The gender, the social status, the level of education, and the experiences from the past among others factors affect human behavior and the culture.

¿ Which is the main objective of having a clear and correct corporate culture?

The main objective is having a standard by which all the workers or owners will perform their daily activities. Provides "order and communication" in order to be all in the same page, working for the same objectives and doing it in the same way.


SOURCE: Exploring issues in culture and competence
McAuley, John. Human Relations. New York: Apr 1994. Vol. 47, Iss. 4; pg. 417, 14 pgs