RELIGION AND INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

1.How can we create an ethical relationship between religion and business so that they may cooperate towards a more sustainable and respectful development of life?

Religion includes an ethic code, that code can be used by organizations, that doesn't mean organizations should act by the will of god but to enhance and to appreciate fair business practices. In the practice Religion is not the issue itself is the way people interpret it. Most of the people act weird when someone relates anything with religion, but if a company is subtle enough it can inject ethic principles in the way they do business

2.Can you imagine a world without religion where everyone would be trying to get immediate satisfaction to their individual needs? 

More than without religion I cannot imagine a world where people does not have a conscience. Human beings have the tendency to believe in something higher than them. If a society does not have some kind of code of behavior it is destined to destruction. I fact, although reliogin has caused problems it also has provided peace for indivitual and entire societies. With religion comes hope, and if there wasn't any hope I don think there would be a world to talk about. Mankind is selfish by nature, but religion can act like a barrier that avoids all the "evilness" go out. Is your beliefs that make you who you are and thet way you act.

3.Religion can create networks of trust and familiarity that facilitates economic transactions. Can you name other positive aspects of this relationship?

Religion can create a link of tolerance, if someone elses's religious beliefs are understood you can't prevent cultural undestandings. Religion is an interesting to talk about if is adress with respect, so itc an be an advantage if an organization is helding a negociation with another that does not have the same religious practices. 

4.Do you think that stereotyping based on religion has been influenced by economical or political interests, why, whose? What is the role of The Media in this issue?

I believe that the media has the power to turn certain community into the "bad guys". Stereotyping affect not only economics but the peoples life in a dialy basis. Have you ever noticed how people stare if someone is using a burqa? is disrespectful and even embarrasing how people react to someone that doesn't look like everyone else. People assume muslims are terrorist or that the african tribes are ignorant... that is not the case!

 

Managing Diversity

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With globalization and increasing ethnic and gender diversity managers are turning their attention to the management of cultural differences. 

Organizations should value diversity to enhance organizational effectiveness. 

Migration is one factor that put managing diversity in the spotlight. There's a qualified workforce that is not working in their home country but exploring different opportunities  abroad.

When you have different point of view, and you analysis is enriched by a cultural diversity it is more possible that an Organization remains more adaptable in different markets. in the words of Taylor H. Cox and Stacy Blake " For multi-national organizations, the insight and cultural sensitivity that members with roots in other countries bring to the marketing effort should improve these efforts in important ways. The same rationale applies to marketing to subpopulations within domestic operations. “

 

“…You cannot build network organizations on electronic networks alone…If so we will probably need an entirely new sociology of organizations.”

Nohria & Eccles, 1992, pp. 304–305.

 

Nowadays, Company management, including its top executives, is distributed geographically so the companies use virtual teams to support major global corporate customer sales and post sales services.

A virtual team is an evolutionary form of a network organization (Miles & Snow, 1986) enabled by advances in information and communication technology (Davidow & Malone, 1992; Jarvenpaa & Ives, 1994). According to other autors, a virtual team " is a temporary, culturally diverse, geographically dispersed, electronically communicating work group" The concept of virtual implies permeable interfaces and boundaries, project teams that rapidly form, reorganize, and dissolve when the needs of a dynamic marketplace change, and individuals with differing competencies who are located across time, space, and cultures (Kristof et al, 1995; Mowshowitz, 1997)

 

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Companies today face increasing challenges to remain competitive and to develop products that reach a sustainable success over time, with virtual teams a company ensures “flexibility, responsiveness, lower costs, and improved resource utilization necessary to meet ever-changing task requirements in highly turbulent and dynamic global business environments” (Jarvenpaa &  Leidner, 1998).

However a virtual team has its downsize:

• low individual commitment
• role overload
• role ambiguity
• absenteeism
• social loafing ( people exerting less effort to achieve a goal when they work in a group)

 To avoid such problems, the team leader must held face to face meetings in orther to create a link between members and also to enhance the communication flows and to increase trust between team members. " only trust can prevent the geographical and organizational distances of global team members from becoming psychological distances (O'Hara-Devereaux & Johansen, 1994)"

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Must of the time, team members have never worked before and/or have never seen eachother in the "real life" becaus of that the reltionships between member are not developed and can affect the team's performance. Leaders have the responsabily to implement a strategy so the team's dynamics operate the proper way and that the work relations have more harmony. 

“Time, Interaction, and Performance (TIP) theory describes work groups as time-based, multi-functional, and multi-modal social systems. Effective groups are engaged simultaneously and continuously in three functions: (1) production (problem solving and task-performance), (2) member-support (member inclusion, participation, loyalty, commitment), and (3) group well-being (interaction, member roles, power, politics). Member-support and group well-being relate directly to relationship development.” (McGrath's ,1991).

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From my experience, you don't have to be in another country to engage into a virtual team. I some cases there is just no time to meet with the team and waiting till you can face eachother can affect theresult if you are tied to a deadline. I don't know if this happens to other people, but for example is easier for me to reach my mom via e-mail than calling her or waiting until she gets home. 

Virtual tools are not just to get a business done, and although the communication and the relationships are not exactly the same, virtual tools can bring people closer together :) 

 
 

Non Verbal communication is Basically sending and receiving messages in a variety of ways without the use of words.  It is both intentional and unintentional.  Most speakers and listeners are not conscious of this.

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According to Peter Bell "Nonverbal communication includes many features - touch and  smell, clothing, masks, vocal features and body movement.  The  nonverbal and verbal are both parts of communication. Indeed, nonverbal communication may take place in conjunction with our speech or even against our own intentions.  nonverbal communication can be unintentional, unconscious and unique in each individual

"Nonverbal cues have always been regarded as central to interpersonal relationships. Indeed people often define intimacy in terms of nonverbal behaviour. In one study, a participant wrote, a touch of the hand ... the meeting of our eyes, a kiss, conveyed our intimacy better than a thousand words". they also provide exterior signals. 

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Our body language is closely related with our speech, hand gestures can be an example of it. Have you ever notice that some time you are trying to say something but words are not enouhg? that's when the hands do the talking for us, and some time gestures are easier to comprehend.

Innocence, anger, wonder, shock, grief, terror, indiffer­ence, seriousness, friendliness, approval, disapproval, exasperation, and many other feelings can be expressed through the body language.

It is said that the face is the index of the mind. The thoughts of the mind, and the feelings of the heart often find expression on the face.

According to PK Singla "Physical presence and appearance of persons play a role in the process of communi­cation. The way the man or woman looks indicates the importance he or she attaches to his or her presence and participation. A disheveled look as evidenced by disor­dered hair, untidy, unruffled or unkempt appearance, suggests indifference or casual­ness."

Non verbal signals varies from one culture to another and the same signal can also have a different meaning, for example:

• touch: some cultures are more reserved about touch, it is closely related with respect. Colombians for example tend to touch everything and be very afectuous even with people they just met.
• eye contact: In some cultures looking into the eye can mean respect and that the receptor is paying attention. however in some cultures it can be a disrespectful behavior.
• volume: For some cultures being loud is offensive, for others a low volume can be interpreted as lazyness or lack of interest.
• proximity: Some cultures appreciate personal space more than others. proximity can be related with closeness.
• gestures: Some gestures have a uneversal meaning, however, you can offend a person from another culture without noticing.

OVERSEAS EXPERIENCE

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Thanks to globalization, getting to know the World got way easier. Nowadays there’s a trend to explore and discover opportunities in other parts of the world. The newer generations got to understand that the world goes beyond their home country and that the barriers are basically in the mind.

Individuals know from the beginning that if you want to have a competitive advantage you must have a strategic thinking that goes along with the international context.

The desire to have an Overseas Experience comes from within.  That desire comes from curiosity and also the yearning of knowing more about different cultures.

 under construction....

Organizations are moving in an environment determined by change, they must keep up with such changes if they want to stay alive.

Nowadays information is power, and you cannot progress if you don't renew the knowledge you have.

Having said that we can assume that future success of the organizations of today is linked with the capacity to learn, and its not only theory is about acquiring new ways to to stuff.

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According to Kavita Singh, if a company has the capacity to collect new information and transfer into action faster than a competitor it would lead to a competitive advantage, in that order, the ability to adapt comes from the ability to learn.

Organization should encourage employees to learn and create. Employess must be empowered to act and also motivated to do so. such actions however, must be aligned with the demands of the environment the organizatios is in. 

If you don't learn because you don't want to or if you are stuck in a organization that is closed to new imformation you eventually will be left behind, Or if you work for a company that is actually concerned about the current trends and is keeping pace with the spedd of the changing world you will also be left behind, you cannot expect to  be creative if you are stuck with the stuff you learned when you where in college.

After seeing the following video you'll understand what is the importance to know, and not just only the basics...

 

LEARN ENGLISH REALLY FUNNY COMMERCIAL. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT86iWiH2mI&playnext=1&list=PL716D3829C2E68974

CHANGE IN ORGANIZATIONS

Change is about making things in an other way, is about-facing the unknown, is all about taking a person or a group out of their comfort zone and expose them to a different settings.

Change is hard, because it implies getting used to new patterns of behavior and it implies learning and adaptation, people don't usually like that, because we all like to be in control of what is happening around us.

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In organizations Change is Vital, no company want to be a dinosaur, and today organizations must keep pace with the changing environment in order to survive.

Change in organization is not only about changing structure or strategy, it also has a lot to do with technology and innovation. A company cannot stay with the same product if the preferences of its target market changes, Organizations must not only modify but to create products that satifies and exeeds the custmer's expectations.
The concept of Innovation is related with change in organizations in a way that  is concerned with making products an services better each time. Organizations like Nintendo already undertood this concept, otherwise they would be out of business, in the following video you can see the transformation of one of its most memorable characters: Mario 

25 Years of Super Mario! 

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 leadership styles and convergence

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How do followers should react when they do nor agree with their managers directions?

A leader must be open to suggestions, If the leader does not have a group that sees him or she as the head of the grouo or project that person will be in serious problems. 


If a follower does not agree with some direction he or she must ask for more information so when that person knows all the details he or she can make a valid judgement. that manager must communicate his or her position to the leader. the follower instead of only complaining should come up with new ideas. 

Fist follower: Leadership lessons from a Dancing guy

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ETHICAL BEHAVIOR AND INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS EXERCISE

1. What does the statement “all capitalism is crony capitalism” is referring to? Do you agree with this statement or not? Give an example.

Since im not familiar with the term Cronysm I used the Oxford dictionary to know the meaning, it says "the appointment of friends and associates to positions of authority, without proper regard to their qualifications." I think this is related with the close relationships between the media and some corporations, such tight links loose the impartiality and objectivity of the pusblished stories. 

I agree with it... For example our president owns the most important newspaper of Colombia, because of that hw can have a great influence about what to publish or not. On the other hands,  politics in a lot of cases there is not such thing as meritocracy, most of the jobs are given to the cousin of the brother of someone with a high hierarchical position. 

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2. What is a Banana Republic? Why the author is comparing India with a Banana Republic?

According to the document, a Banana Republic is a country that runs under cronysm. The author compares India with a Banana Republic because the people who is in charge of the performance of a country are there only because of friendship or any other non-meritocratic reason, also because the media is attached to what the big corporations allow to publish. 

3. Why is it problematic that in the business world “The Media” becomes a corporation?

The average citizen does not have access to the primary sources of information. The media has access not only to the sources it also has the power to transmit the relvant information to the masses.

If the media becomes a corporation it losses its sense of impartiality and it will also act under its own interest. it would manipulate the information to its own benefit and all the public would be uninformed.

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4. In this situation, what behaviors are considered unethical for corporations, journalist and the state?

its is unethical when a state or a corporation bribes the media in orther to publish inaccurate information or to avoid the whole publication. This stament works the other way around, journalists should not threat with the publication of some story to get economic benefits.

If the media works along with the state and/or the corporation to crush someone or a company with lesser power it is also unethical.

5. What can The Media, Corporations and the States do in order to behave ethically and in the benefit of the people and not their own interest. Give at least 5 good ideas. 

• The media must focus on their primary objective which is informing the audience with real information no matter what.
• The official jobs must  be earned by academic acomplishments and previous work experience. 
• Corporations must implement an ethic communication line in which employees report what they consider is unethical.
• If a corporation does not want to adress to the public through third parties it should implement a strong Public Relations deparment to control what will be said to the public.
• Laws and regulation to control the power states have over media.

The Corporation

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1. How can we ensure corporations are held accountable for their actions “ethically” and “legally”?

There must exist both internal and external regulation. The company should reinforce a corporate culture and ethics programs that include a great sense of the consequences of certain actions. If a person, as an individual, is aware that the company is doing something wrong he or she must have enough determination to say so and push the change of it.

On the other hand there should be a strong legal system that applies sanctions.

the people who is outside the corporation also has the power to inform the general public against the actions that harm the community. The power of public opinion is much greater than you would think

2. Should individuals (directors, employees, shareholders) bear any responsibility for the actions of a corporation? If so, to what degree?

A corporation is a legal person, but it is still run by individuals. so if the corporation is harming a community the responsables are the ones who took the decision.

3. What are the benefits of the corporate form? Could an alternative model offer these as well?

the main benfit is that the figure of a corporation works as it is a person, so, its actions and decisions are not linked with a real face. Corporations can act on behalf of its own interest . Corporations are made of a lot of people, that gives it diversity t accomplish ts objectives.  There's a lot of corporate forms which varies according to the responsability of the owners.

4. Search for a foreign multinational corporation that has operations in Colombia. Research if they are run under Colombian rules or regulations or if they have special regulations?

"Chevron plays an integral role in meeting Colombia's energy needs, producing enough natural gas to supply approximately 65 percent of the nation's demand."

"They own and operate a nationwide network of Texaco service stations."

As an active member of the community, "Chevron also supports education, health, sustainable business development and environmental enhancement projects in Colombia."

They are under the Colombian law, they has to meet the environmentas standards and also they have to meet security meassures of their service stations. The colombian government has the power to manipulate the fuel price as well.

5. Should economic efficiency (Main argument for privatization) be the primary concern for commons and public services? Are there other criteria to determine who should own or operate them?

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Everyone should have access to public services, no matter if they are private or not. you can't put at risk the wellfare of the community because of economic interest. I think is right that only one company manages public services because of the cost of the infrasturcure. There's not a specific criteria to decide, buy whoever gets control over public services must be highly regulated by law in order that the population get the service they deserva at a reasonable price.