jueves, 19 de mayo de 2011

RELIGIOUS IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

Retrieved from May 2011: http://mividaen20kg.blogspot.com/2008/10/para-los-musulmanes-la-religin-esta-por.html


RELIGION, or at least religious inquiry, is something that virtually all humans have in common. In all corners of the world and in all eras of history, people have wondered about the meaning of life, how to make the best of it, what happens afterwards, and if there is anyone or anything "out there."

The religion and business won't change the view of an economy looking for sustainability, because there are other factors influencing such a type of economy nowadays.
The Capitalism can be cosiderered as a new rite of worship, where everyone try to get inmediate satisfaction to their individual needs, even though these needs are not satisfied: everyday people want for more and more, because that is the idea of this economic system: spend and waste, and to achieve this it was necessary to create needs.

On the other hand, is imposible to imagine a world without religion, because religious beliefs are necessary for people to move on in the society. It mean, it is really hard to think about a world where people try to get their individual needs, because it will simply not be sustainable. People with selfish interests would create a struggle for power, which at the end would cause an imbalance between them.

Religion and economic/political interests influence each other and create stereotypes. In that sense, interests can influence religion to be according to the ongoing trend of consumption and waste. That is why religions have become a business for many people, and actually that business is really profitable.
In addition, Religion influences economic/political interests when, for example, a state is guided by some precepts according to religious beliefs in the country, which at the end shape the economic or political system of a country, people's way of acting, perceptions, and creates stereotypes, which at the end can boost or stagnate systems.

What is the dominant religion in Colombia? What are the religious implications for doing business here? Give examples.

Christianity is the dominant (and oficial) religion in Colombia, even, until 1991 was the only religion recognized by the Colombian State in its constitution.

Today remains the official nation's religion, but the current National Constitution recognizes (and respect) the other beliefs, cults and rituals of the people (other religions).
The Catholic Church (Christianity) plays an influential role in Colombian society. For example, in decisions, diferent situations, circumstances, events and other important issues for the country, the Church is consulted and even make decisions that can influence.

A good example, well recognized by all the world, is the mediating role that Church plays in the dialogues and processes for release of hostages by the FARC.
For these and many more reasons, Christianity (Catholicism) significantly influences the destiny of Colombia.
 


SOURCES:

Notes of class

Hartman, L. and Werhane, P. (2009). The Global Corporation: Sustainable, Effective and Ethical Practices-A Case Book. Routledge, New York. Chapter 5 , Pp. 168-181. (Islamic Banking and Finance - Moral beliefs and  Business practices at work).

ReligionFacts, "Just the facts on Religions".
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COMMUNICATION + VIRTUAL TEAMS

COMMUNICATION



Language: the words, their pronunciation, and the methods of combining them used and understood by a group of people.
Data: uninterpreted and unanalyzed facts.
Information: data that have been interpreted, analyzed, & and have meaning to some user.
Richness: the ability of a medium or channel to elicit or evoke meaning in the receiver.



VIRTUAL TEAMS

SIX rules for better communication in virtual teams



When you and your team don’t share the same physical space, you need to be even more effective at communicating.

1. Build trust in person and grow that trust with clear expectations. In order for people to work effectively virtually, there has to be trust. Trust doesn’t happen magically. It is built when you bring your team together for training or team building, and then continues to grow with clear expectations consistently set by leaders and met by the team. It’s important to bring people together at least once a year. During in-person meetings, I often get a handle on something that wasn’t obvious before, and then when we’re virtual again, I have invaluable insight that wouldn’t have been possible without the time we spent together.

2. Manage results, not activity. In the physical office environment, “busy work” often gets mistaken for real work. In the virtual environment, when you can’t see what people are doing, the key is to manage results. Set expectations and monitor the results, not the daily activities. This is empowering for people who are motivated and who take the initiative, and on the other hand it is a virtual microscope, which reveals people who don’t know how to get things done. You can usually spot a poor hire in a couple of months and save yourself and the individual a lot of time and heartache.

3. Schedule regular communication. It’s important that there is a regular time for reporting both progress and potential pitfalls to the team. This keeps people on track and gives everyone the discipline of a team check-in. It’s amazing how much can be accomplished in a 30-minute conference call when you set expectations beforehand and tell everyone what you need to accomplish in that time frame.

4. Create communication that saves time — not the kind that kills it. Have you created an e-mail culture that wastes time with endless “daisy-chain” conversations that take several hours to read? Does your team spend hours trying to solve an issue with an e-mail conversation that could have been solved with a 30-minute conference call? E-mail and instant messaging are critical tools in our work environments, but it’s important to create a new culture of effectiveness around them. Ask yourself: How can I make my team’s e-mail communication more productive? Set e-mail and IM rules for your organization. For example, we use IM for anything that can easily be answered with a simple yes or no. It is also our virtual water cooler where we talk about vacations and what’s happening.

5. Create standards that build a cohesive culture. What are your standards of quality? How do you define excellence? What do you expect from the people on your team? Making sure everyone knows the answers to those three questions is especially important when people are scattered geographically. Virtually, you need to create cohesion with excellence and a sense of pride in what your company stands for. People want a reason to belong, and a strong culture gives them a sense of belonging and also the confidence of knowing what the rules of the road are for them and the company.

6. Establish rules of responsiveness. When people are working remotely, it’s important that you define what your rules of responsiveness are for your culture. How quickly are people expected to return an e-mail, an IM or a phone call? What is your protocol when people are out of the office or on vacation? If you’re in a customer service environment, it’s important to have clear expectations regarding how to respond to all customer inquiries. No one likes to be kept waiting, and knowing what to expect immediately lowers the blood pressures on both sides of the customer/company relationship.
Once you have your communication keys in place, you need to model the behavior you want to cultivate. Set some boundaries for yourself, and let your team know when you’re not available. If you’re on a family vacation, give people plenty of notice, and let them know the time period when you are not available. Empower people when you are unavailable. You’ll be surprised at the solutions that magically appear when you are unplugged from your Blackberry. Revel in it.


The Virtual teams are used these days due to the following facts:
- New alliances.
- Mergers and acquisitions.
- Telecommuting.
- Need for business travel, and need of technology to support this.
- Need of reducing costs.-
- Need of reducing time-to-market or cycle time.

The principals characteristics of Virtual Teams are:
- No face-to-face communication.
- Lack of community among participants.
- Lack of immediate managerial oversight.
- Need of strong leadership skills.
- Well-defined conflict resolution strategies.
- Responsibility skills.


SOURCES:

Notes of class


Kuruppuarachchi, Palitha R. 2009. "Virtual team concepts in projects: A case study". Project Management Journal 40, no. 2: 19-33.


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MIGRANT WORKERS AND EXPATRIATES

Retrieved from May 2011: http://www.cv-library.co.uk/news/893/Small-firms-'struggle'-on-migrant-worker-recruitment-.html
 
The term Migrant Worker has different official meanings and connotations in different parts of the world.
 
The "United Nations Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families" (1) defines migrant worker as follows:
The term "Migrant Worker" refers to a person who is engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which he or she is not a national.
 
The term can also be used to describe someone who migrates within a country, possibly their own, in order to pursue work such as seasonal work.
 
A distinction must be made between a migrant worker and an immigrant. The latter seek to stay permanently in the host country while the first one is only temporary. The categories of migrant workers are:
- Job seekers, who look for a better job and opportunities.
- Students who are looking for better educational opportunities.
- Family members of migrants who want to be reunited with their family.
 
 
 
Expatriates are workers who leave their home country to work in another but they are usually sent by their employer to perform an important job or as a part of the Company’s policy which is all about sending employees abroad for them to have the experience of working in another country with different people and then go back to apply what he/she had learned in the benefit of the company.
 
This category of migrant workers is treated separately because of the nature of the movement itself. Normal migrants move because they want to find better opportunities and sometimes that’s not the case and because of their low level of training and skills they find themselves working in worst conditions as they would be in their home country. Expatriates on the other hand leave their home country with all the guarantees and the support of the company who sends them. They don’t have to worry about what job will they find or if they’ll even find one, they have their accommodation arranged for them and usually with the same or more comforts than they have at home.



There are several motivations to be a migrant or expatriate according to the main interests or current situation of people around the world. Some aspects are:
- Violence.
- Political and Economical instability.
- Environment.
- Freedom in various aspects.
- Working opportunities.
- Education
 
 
 
There are glaring differences between Migrant workers and Expatriates 
 
Migrant workers
 
Often cheated. Contracts usually not worth the paper they are written on.
Compulsory Fomema medical checks.
Harassed on the streets and often asked for papers.
Passports usually held by employers. Thus, they are “trapped” and suffer in silence.
Usually negative media coverage – frequently linked to crime or social problems.
Little recourse to justice or access to legal representation if employers fail to live up to terms of employment.
Deplorable, crammed accommodation.
Usually paid sub-poverty line or poverty-line wages.
Unlikely to be given much annual leave.
Often not medically insured – have to pay much higher medical bills at general hospitals.
Agents and middlemen make fat profits from various “commissions”.
 
 
Expatriates
 
Usually have proper enforceable contracts.
Unlikely to be whipped or sent to immigration detention centres.
Usually in possession of their own passports.
Favourable media coverage especially in the business press.
Legal options and representation more readily available. Can leave if dissatisfied with employers.
Usually above average accommodation provided.
Usually highly paid.
Usually given generous perks – including annual leave and medical insurance coverage.
Usually no agents or middlemen involved. Employers deal directly with the workers concerned.

 
Retrieved from May 2011: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71G7sF1qun4&feature=player_embedded

 
 
Explain how easy is it for Colombian companies to employ expatriates locally? Give examples. 
 
Employment experts have claimed that the recruitment of migrant workers is often beneficial to smaller companies, but involved a lengthier and more complex recruitment process.
The recruiting migrant workers was easier for bigger firms who had the tools to recognise foreign qualifications, while for smaller firms their skills sometimes remained an unknown quantity.

Colombia is a country that don't have a big industries and It is not an Industrialized country. If you see this situation, you can say that is hard for an Expatriate obtain a job in Colombia. In addition, the situation for colombian workers is so hard, because everyday there are more and more unemployed people.
However, despite this situation, I think that is possible to an Expatriate obtain a Job in Colombia, even, he can create a new companies.

In Colombia there are a lot of companies that was founded for foreing people, giving more oportunities for Colombian people.

And, I also consider that for a person from a country with a less development to Colombia or less industrialized, is so easy obtain a job, because he has a less conditions than a Colombian.

 
SOURCES
 
(1) "United Nations Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families". United Nations

Piette, Jean-Jacques. 2004. “Understanding Management German style”. Les Amis de L’ecole de Paris.

Business dictionary online. Definition of Brain Drain. Retrieved on january the 5th2011 from: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/brain-drain.html

The Inmigration debate: Supernews! (2006). Retrieved on April 8th, 2011 from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhEl6HdfqWM&feature=fvsr
 
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ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING

This blog will show you The Organizational Learning applied in Russia.


ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING RUSSIA
 
Retrieved from May 2011: http://www.acus.org/files/images/russia-flag.jpg


RUSSIA AS A DEVELOPED ECONOMY

- Collapse of communism in the Soviet Unio.
- The slow transformation of the economy and political conflic. 
- Russian economic reform is still not effective at the institutional and individual levels.
- Russian managers need to be familiarized with a selected set of management skills and techniques.


Organizational Learning
Retrieved from May 2011: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/content_images/fig/1190180203001.png


THEORY 1: According to Hubber (1991) organizational learning is about the effective processing, interpretation of, and response to information both inside and outside the organization. 

THEORY 2: dynamic process that does not happens only through time, but also through different levels or dimensions of the organization. through different levels or dimensions of the organization.

Retrieved from May 2011: http://www.jstor.org/stable/258048?seq=8
Retrieved from May 2011: http://www.jstor.org/stable/258048?seq=8


 THEORY: The process phases of organizational learning

Pawlowsky (2003), presents us an organizational learning simple but very clear modelBasically, the process phases of organizational learning are described in terms of four steps, which continuously repeat themselves and are not necessarily sequential

 Retrieved from May 2011: http://www.selfdirectedlearning.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/4-phases-of-sdl-engagement.png


ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
Organizational culture is a complex phenomenon that is manifested in behavioral norms, hidden assumptions and human nature.(Kilman, 1985).

 
Retrieved from May 2011: http://victormconde.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/changing_organizational_culture_software-93589.jpg


- Russian decision making has been very centralized, with little empowerment, well-educated, low-cost labor force and is rich in natural resources. 

- Russian managers have traditionally been punished for negative results, even those beyond their control, they tend to exhibit learned helplessness (Kets de Vries 2000) and a strong desire to want someone else to make decisions. 


OCTAPACE

- Eight (octal), steps (pace) to generate an organization with strong culture and effective work group. 
- Eight values existed according to Pareek, which influence the culture of an organization in a weak or strong way. 

OPENNESS: Free sharing of thought, ideas and feelings.
CONFRONTATION:face it expected or unexpected situations.
TRUST: sure to share their confidential information.
AUTHENTICITY:   set of things that a person does, feels and says.
PROACTIVITY:ready to face eventualities  and adversities.
AUTHONOMY : individual owns space.
COLLABORATION: individuals work together
EXPERIMENTATION: how to handle and work with the resources.

You can find an exellent example for this theories in the following link:




What is the relationship between organizational learning and individual satisfaction?

Although organizational learning theory and practice have been clarified by practitioners and scholars over the past several years, there is much to be explored regarding interactions between organizational learning culture and employee learning and performance outcomes. 

The learning organizational culture is associated with IT employee job satisfaction and motivation to transfer learning. Turnover intention was found to be negatively influenced by organizational learning culture and job satisfaction.

With the current expansion of the global economy and the fast-changing evolution of technology and innovation, organizations are facing an ongoing need for employee learning and development. As knowledge increasingly becomes a key factor for productivity, it has also become a currency for competitive success. Understanding factors that contribute to organizational learning and the transfer of knowledge to the workplace environment are essential to human resource development (HRD)(Swanson & Holton, 2001). The culture and environment of an organization can influence the types and numbers of learning-related events and employee job satisfaction as well as employee motivation to transmit newly acquired knowledge to the workplace context.

In the context of organizational environment, the interaction among organizational
learning culture, job satisfaction, motivation to transfer learning, and turnover intention has not been explored extensively. Of particular interest to HRD is the potential impact on motivation and satisfaction emerging from workplace environments that have characteristics strongly associated with an organizational learning culture construct. A better understanding regarding organizational learning culture, job satisfaction, motivation to transfer learning, and turnover intention would provide HRD scholars and practitioners with additional information regarding perceived factors that contribute to learning, job satisfaction, and important outcomes with demonstrated links to performance. Although motivation to transfer learning has been emphasized by scholars as important to the success of organizational learning, performance, and investment, the current research on motivation to transfer is limited (Salas & Cannon-Bowers, 2001).

HRD has extended beyond a narrow concentration on training to include organizational and systems-level issues that influence the development of broad skill sets, abilities, and knowledge associated with learning in technical, social, and interpersonal areas (Kuchinke, 1996). This broadening perspective regarding HRD has led, in part, to a focus on learning organization culture. Researchers are in the relatively early stages of exploring learning organization constructs and developing measurement approaches (Watkins & Marsick, 2003). These early studies and adoption of learning organization principles in practice have led to growing interest regarding interactions between organizational learning culture and organizational outcomes. Yet the extent to which an organizational learning culture and employee job satisfaction influence motivation to transfer learning and turnover intention has not been explored despite its potential importance to business performance.

SOURCES: 
The Global Economy, Reform and Crisis in Russia 
Neil Robinson 
Review of International Political Economy Vol. 6, No. 4 (Winter, 1999), pp. 531-564 
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 
action%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Drussia%2Bas%2Ba%2Bdeveloping%2Beconomy%26acc%3Don%26wc%3Don&prevSearch=&item=6&ttl=23210&returnArticleService=showFullText


Organizational learning and the learning organization
http://books.google.com.co/books?id=pF2pcrSa49IC&printsec=frontcover&dq=learning+organization&hl=es&ei=_Nh_Tfm5IsG_tgfhwNTICA&sa=X&oi=book_result&
t=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false 

(source: Curado, C. (2006). Organizational learning and organizational design. The Learning Organization, 13(1), 25. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/215656843?accountid=45662). http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.eafit.edu.co/docview/215656843/12E409843FC450CC40E/2?accountid=45662 

Organizational culture, carol de witte and Jaap J van muijen
http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.eafit.edu.co/stable/4135128?&Search=yes&searchText=organizational&searchText=culture&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasi
Search%3FQuery%3Dorganizational%2Bculture%26acc%3Don%26wc%3Don&prevSearch=&item=1&ttl=69774&returnArticleService=showFullText
http://books.google.com.co/books?id=6PuB7CYmO
4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=organizational+culture&hl=es&ei=nNl_TZbhIcKitgfGmLjnCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false 

C. Marlene Fiol; Marjorie A. Lyles. Organizational Learning. The Academy of Management Review, Vol. 10, No. 4. (Oct., 1985), pp. 803-813.[on line] http://www.jstor.org/pss/258048

Argyris, C., & Schon, D. A. (1978) Organizational learning. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
[on line] http://www.valuebasedmanagement.net/methods_organizational_learning.html

Singh, Kavita. 1963. Organizational Behavior: Text and cases. Organizational culture (15): 405.
[on line] http://books.google.com/books?id=LszCxHx5HpEC&pg=PA405&dq=pareeks+approaches&hl=en&ei=Ztl_Te-hK5Kftwfv_tDFCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

Kubr, Milan (ed.). Management consulting: A guide to the profession (fourth edition) Geneva, International Labour Office, 2002. P. 108.
[on line] http://books.google.com/books?id=Wzjb55Gv5zoC&pg=PA108&lpg=PA108&dq=confrontation+in+organizations+and+cultures&source=bl&ots=OXgg-McBJc&sig=-ZytCjcfXRYoezJvkxum4CmjBYM&hl=en&ei=Tuh_TeeUNemW0QGRi8mNCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CDcQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=confrontation%20in%20organizations%20and%20cultures&f=false

Reference for Business. Encyclopedia of Business, 2nd ed.
[on line] http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/A-Bud/Autonomy.html

Documents for Small Business & Professionals. The Role of Collaboration in Organizations.
[on line] http://www.docstoc.com/docs/57535571/The-Role-of-Collaboration-in-Organizations

Singh, Kavita. 2010. “An analysis of relationship between the learning organization and organization culture in Indian business organization”. Organizations and markets in emerging economies. Vol 1 (1): 142-165.

Federal State Unitary Enterprise Russian Science And Research Institute Of Space Device Engineering. Russian experience In Satellite Navigation, Distant Learning: International Cooperation
[on line] http://www.oosa.unvienna.org/pdf/icg/2009/icg-4/29c.pdf

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