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.
martes, 23 de septiembre de 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
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.
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
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.
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
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
¿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
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