The (human) Corporation

Nowadays, Corporations have taken a human role, being given certain liberties that allow them to do many more things, wether for the good or for the bad...

The problem comes along with profit motivation, when, exactly like human beings, corporations are also driven by the power of money and intend to get, by any means necessary more and more profits.

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

From my perspective Corporations should not be handled by the law with the same parameters as human individuals, but; for the ones that do, they should be, if given the same condescensions also given the same retaliations, or at least be trialed similarly...




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

I believe so, in order to mantain righteousness individuals should bear responsibilities, if not,they would take advantage of their power to brake the law in the name of the corporation.

Representatives despite their jobs, they are still natural persons and could and should be trialed separetely.

corporation process for becoming a near conscious entity that respects others.

Responsability, as we know it can help or damage the environment and our surroundings, people and the enterprises, and even the monetary system itself.
For these reasons Corporations should always find the Right and Ethical way of approaching solutions, carrying a Corporate Social Responsibility with them.


Picture references:
http://www.bebesymas.com/ser-padres/la-mitad-de-los-padres-pegan-a-sus-hijos
http://cine3.com/2010/01/09/la-corporacion-el-poder-que-se-esconde-detras-de-la-libre-empresa/
http://www.google.com.co/images?hl=es&biw=1436&bih=699&gbv=2&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=corporacion&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

Where to go live and how?

That is the question 192 million people ask themselves, or have asked themselves and have taken into consideration in order to migrate.

Migration is indeed a global trend. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), . There are now about 192 million people living outside their place of birth, which is about three per cent of the world's population (International Organization for Migration, 2010). There are many factors that influence it and many that may favor it or unfavor it…

An example of unfavored conditions for migrants can be what happen in Sri Lanka, where, according to the article " Advocating for Sri Lanka migrant workers" most working women work heavy hours for very little pay and regarding the conditions of the state, they only get every time less favored. (Gamburd. R, Michele, Advocating Sri Lanka migrants workers, Critical Assian Estudies, 41: 1 (2009), o61-088)


Established in 1951, IOM is “the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration and works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners.” (International Organization for Migration, 2010)


In cases like the one in Sri Lanka, the International Organization for Migration(IOM) implement activities that help aid migration these areas include the promotion of international migration law, policy debate and guidance, protection of migrants' rights, migration health and the gender dimension of migration. (International Organization for Migration, 2010)


This last one, implemented in 1995 has helped to increase the numbers of working women around the globe and contributed to the sensitivity of the world to accept more and more working women. The IOM reaches its goals on this subject by counseling battered women who have been mistreated, Influencing policy makers and governments to raise awareness about the role of working women; Fighting against human trafficking by discouraging the use of illegal migration channels and providing assistance to governments to do all of the above.

References
International Organization for Migration. (2010). International Organization for Migration. About IOM. Obtenido de http://www.iom.int/jahia/Jahia/about-iom/lang/en

Gamburd. R, Michele, Advocating Sri Lanka migrants workers, Critical Assian Estudies, 41: 1 (2009), o61-088)

Umntu ngumntu ngabanye

For those who like me, don`t speak Zulu; this sentence can be translated as "A person is a person through others".
It follows the African principle of UBUNTU. Now... what is it about?

Before Africa was colonized, the people who lived there had their own culture and religious beliefs that even nowadays stand by their side.
This is what managers and anybody who wants to enter the country, basically any country has to be aware of: Differences in cultures and Cultural background.
To be able to successfully cross-cultural switch on this country, it is necessary to know the principle stated before.

Ubuntu is an ideology that defines the loyalty of people and the relations among them. What factors are to take into account from this?
Treating others with respect, being willing to negotiate in good faith, providing opportunities for self-expression, understanding the beliefs and practices of indigenous people, promoting equity in the workplace and finally, being flexible and accommodative. (Mangaliso, 2001)

Summing up, in order to succeed on a cross-cultural switch, a company must implement their own strategies applied to the principles of the host country and taking them as a competitive advantage. (Otherwise these could cause big misunderstandings)

An example of this may be the managers that did not want to talk with their employees because they feel this unnecessary, while the employees in Africa need this in order to have a good communication. Since the managers did not accept to talk to them and broke the rules of Ubuntu, the workers then initiated a strike.

When can this be a competitive advantage?

If the managers had talked to the employees and had promoted the elder ones (since according to Ubuntu the elderly have more wisdom and are more respected) the employees would have been more willing to work and would have done a better job.

References

Google. (2010). google images. taken from http://www.google.com.co/imgres?imgurl=http://rlv.zcache.com/ubuntu_i_am_because_we_are_tshirt-p235421172116721211qt22_400.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.zazzle.com/ubuntu_i_am_because_we_are_tshirt-235421172116721211&usg=__2iZ1eJPWycQKTLy3x6yRQ20cgk0=&h=400&w=

Mangaliso, M. P. (2001). Building competitive advantage from ubuntu: Management lessons from South Africa.

a soundly model, perhaps SWEET N SOUR PEAS

According to the reading:"If InterContinental were a sound... what would it be?" by Michael Spencer, any company should have a "sound strategy" which consists of idealizing the way through arts to encourage brand recognition. These arts ( generally music, but also incluiding literature, product presentation, among others. ) intend to tell a story and have their own process of making a good contribution to the brand.

On this comment, I`ll pretend to be internationalizing a product. In this case my product will be the Tamarind fruit.

If well the product has a translation to many languages, it is not that well-known and, in our country we count with the perfect environment for its farming. This makes of the product a possible star product for a company.

The product can be consumed in many ways, going from the very fruit itself, passing through dried up fruits, sauces, condiments and even juices of it... not to forget the flavor of it is kind of singular. Due to its shape and to its leguminous background the Tamarind looks a lot like the Peas. For this reason, the slogan for this product could be " Sweet N`Sour Peas" making this product appealing and intriguing to the people.

The strategies to selling this product may vary, but the important issue is: to take into consideration the public`s opinion about it.

No matter the culture or the town that we go to, through any good strategy and a good sound strategy our product can prevail.

Picture references.
http://www.google.com.co/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mexicanmercados.com/produce/tamarind.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.mexicanmercados.com/produce/beanbig.htm&usg=__gXm4nfCktK0QJgRWDMvumBacFnc=&h=321&w=350&sz=21&hl=es&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=P3riOooP7_K5vM:&tbnh=133&tbnw=147&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtamarind%26um%3D1%26hl%3Des%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1419%26bih%3D699%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=461&vpy=64&dur=3687&hovh=215&hovw=234&tx=158&ty=134&ei=CNOGTIvaOdnpnQf-tLi1Dg&oei=CNOGTIvaOdnpnQf-tLi1Dg&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0

http://www.google.com.co/imgres?imgurl=http://www.tradenote.net/images/users/000/006/860/products_images/320547.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.tradenote.net/Paste_2/&usg=__HvZSZkBm3a3JgqJR39yT6v-6PE8=&h=375&w=500&sz=76&hl=es&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=CKt02Q5Eav8ZyM:&tbnh=137&tbnw=192&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtamarind%26um%3D1%26hl%3Des%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1419%26bih%3D699%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=331&vpy=222&dur=2171&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=156&ty=140&ei=_9WGTLXNBoylnQeowsi8Dg&oei=_9WGTLXNBoylnQeowsi8Dg&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:8,s:0

comments

To make easier to see the comments on my classmates blogs, Im going to follow their model.
Here are the blogs of my partners where i commented:

http://knowledgeinabun.blogspot.com/2010/08/is-pygmalion-effect-real-thing.html#comments
http://jasoneafit.blogspot.com/2010/07/httptariknunez.html#comments
http://julioescobar89.blogspot.com/2010/09/tropical-flavoured-ice-creams.html?showComment=1283891942959_AIe9_BEkTcla0jZuelhLGbcV3pr2RGPPGwjwwrNFUX8Vj8r-D84g5HLezpjqw23O6g3KRyA1BUydLTEkCRVXJ2MNviVH7Apwn6Ny4mRtpjG3lrfYP7WBDVGFFcSteICr2M-vq5oaMaCnzD-mYaO5wudSS7cdJaF_QzPlpgAxqiS8WaJYqA_nyfq1qPk04_-eiUiH2Pb7sTDKHvMgHu-xKaUb3FmIEEYFFQ-QmuOJtGwIrAewsS85AfCJAv8Jb00XKAo4n1W2hdRJ3yt8WPQfN18zDf4wx_cqawNMfDaqMvYmW99QMXm66Kysvt4vqJ97-4sQ0DCXngbKIokMlusemCG36wAY06EgnmgfSHufQkNu6Czc-prX-97LszllU1X1zpr_tKZBMFu_yGJ6fIN57Q9TeEAJqYyYuMpzLnmXspZoWKjgHQwdeanaFyqO-_VL6_RN3jAEIzb77JQD5IgOssY2BQxVxY0Rn--pWyowzwQKU9n6UMJP4XcCxc6YMdFqTpQGybc4OjhMn4cwKXI5wknS_pLwPDuz1lZ_RWLZrzpFTyI06nz35IhmR4s6IH4c1WhMpQKB39xj5S1HXpm6c8AODg7ZTFbf8A#c8015259980880480015http://nicoachadid.blogspot.com/2010/09/metaphor.html?showComment=1283892207913_AIe9_BFUe61o-wKAdRVN6x5g8tjuhg0k3UsaIGaq63yXf29_ZNDJ5TMlhuUFNWPNLpsGxb7aDqGOPymGJquPa6pRvIX5QWwYeBbfAHX-QRY4KxSDU_8Ki_FQgI0Jq26_q0-PBs696D70tWDg-B5vB8xYx6guvr_io8KB8cejvEZT6SE13t9FiyEis8ZfvthvNSPcMwBEHBHhSi3kbTGnBNsbzzKjonccDlEtODC1MBKNYaOooDByfpEmWc3nTpQU8LN1KWfiGAt-_AjXGrZYwoZPhc0ERQVcA8uGI4-WaRNP822kvfkfxk8Rexm9fhk3zoOs89SBxX7FTW_L9Sx-Ib36-HR_p4t3t3TittrFZTdfBPZbjDCqLUe5OQbZyi0AZAN_f_dnHMETSKzWH3i6sH0tjZDrBnewsMIDsEw38dJfXKXRrZsUKtcEKCW-52L86DQ904sBoOoqqlt_ln1Bg9x9F-xJZi1hOIcSH0I8Q3FQ13jlfNyW7jjvwuHAYemJ15PQH4KWMNYT_Q-FH3Q8GXExKSJqsOIyTFLr7wFcn48Pn9_KggU3o5Q#c2177877266491503583

http://organizationscultureisaac.blogspot.com/2010/08/pygmalion-effect.html?showComment=1283892315407_AIe9_BFzEjSUsrAMu_3XMzqboYrgtuiYVz6KmlBr9st5zMhTvZONpZSWB_ZeurejICqdAnGEBG9LDJXLRIBvop_zVNI8gHP44RpwYDRROXId6ke_uLayrDzJK6o5x2YM_NIyK9Zj3Ke_d4NgQlbthiBIQnbE-h32N0CffsNm_2BxpBz2mfZls7EOqlrzkrgwkV_q5llohQyF-WGPtQbgtzZfuSyAGpWpUiCQzg3yLQy2jMYwYxfANInXpNM0y6whY-URyr99pqIn93r8CDbXSrUyjPdmEY2E60db-aKu7_0e_rU-7li_bcmV1Tffy8-fAiUA9laRwW27jUjkh6gjfrg3YmB1t3JX-XTNJ68z6sc4V3XdzS1Jilct8G1lMK0qDc0AEFd00c8rbDfXNz1tTLr4BWRzTywDOA8fuXXuMVEMv9MUN0pWg9dRZ14YoW1_BEZCBQjOcVBRiG_D6Tg-0Z8hiuB_TkviOoC8RGwlKlhN_WLDl9wbECRP12a8IOZHUj3Co6b6jizkkByy9WNVRSFlFacAolUGI00Tpn2ZEn1bxYgzVB-Jkf0#c9068693313662565082

Pygmalion?

Totally different things...

Had you ever heard that word before? Pygmalion? well, to me it sounded like a pigmented chameleon. But the name actually comes out of Greek mythology. Here:

The Pygmalion effect, therefore states pretty much the same as the self-fulfilling prophecy, and even some more known prophecies like "The Secret". Basically, if you think possitive, good things come along, and if you think negative bad things will come.

you are the ruler of your own destiny... yeah right!... But this one also states that you also have an impact on the people that surround you.

You see, there`s something called the Implicit Personality Theory (Inamori,2009) and it states that certain behaviours tend to be associated with certain kind of individuals.

At the same time, these individuals reflect what they feel in their groups or outside their groups ( In-group, out-group homogeneity) , again ( Inamori, 2009). And they attribute the behaviours to themselves and not to what surrounds them. (But they do affect what surrounds them.)



Lets imagine for a second there`s a person working for an enterprise. This person ( could be you) arrives angry every day to work and does not say hello to anyone. People who intended to say hello to him are going to have thoughts of why this person did not say hello to them and will start getting angrier and angrier. The cycle is then closed. The first person`s expectations were bad and they got transmitted to the people around him, turning into losses for the company`s human capital, social capital and probably organizational and business capital ( because of the errors people may commit when they are distracted, angry and bothered.)

Next time think better on how you can change the world with your own pygmalion effect.

References.
Google. (s.f.). Google Images. From http://www.google.com.co/images?hl=es&gbv=2&q=difference+sign&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=vi&biw=1419&bih=699
Inamori, F. A. (2009). Beyond Pygmalion effect: the role of managerial perception. Bradford, UK: Department of Development and Economic Studies, University of Bradford.

Dealing with Cultural Differences/ Some words of wisdom

Considering the conference "Dealing with Cultural Differences" by Nick B. Meyer, and also this website: http://www.geert-hofstede.com/ we can see, that according to Mr. Hofsteade there are 5 D`s ( or 5 Dimensions)on which we can describe the ´National Culture´ of nations.
We, as humans, and as part of a society, are raised to believe that our culture is the normal one, and that foreigners are strange. This vision may be the only thing all the cultures in the world are completely equals in.

What is culture really? though question to answer. If we dig really deep on our brains (rather than searching in wikipedia) we might define it as ´what characterizes a country´ and so our brains would be partially right. It is important to state though, that culture is so vast, that it always has a way of leaving it vestiges behind. An example of that are the broken pots and other artifacts of ancient people that archeologists discover.

To not make this explanation too extensive, culture always remains, just like cofee leftovers once you finish drinking a cup of it...( as told by Andrés Velez Calle, professor of Intercultural management on our university)

To describe then National Cultures, Dr. Geert Hofsteade came up with 5 different ways:

Power Distance Index (equity of distribution of power in a nation) , Individualism ( individuals work by themselves rather than in groups) , Masculinity(assertiveness and competitiveness rather than caring and procuring) , Uncertainty Avoidance (certainty and rules opposing uncertainty and tolerance) and Long-Term Orientation ( also called Confucian work Dynamism) why the sudden change of name? is it so hard to process? We are going to solve these and more questions, and since that last dimension is going to be my focus today.

This last dimension is said to deal with virtue regardless of truth; and it carries out values such as thrift and persevearence. Countries that are short-term oriented tend to focus more on the meaning of the truth, in respecting certain aquired values and fulfilling social obligations.

Negociators require patience and a wide comprehension of these issues in order to arrange their deals. To put all this phylosophy into context, imagine you are an already working International Negotiator and you have made a deal with a chinesse firm for the purchase of 100 million pesos worth of... lets say rice.

everything`s going well on the negotiation, and you come to an agreement for certain tons of rice on the mentioned price.

On the date of the purchase, the chinesse firm shows up with a smaller amount of rice, arguing that the crops had a problem because of the weather.

you are likely to believe that they are joking. They aren`t. To them, the truth is relative. their truth is that one and you are the one who has to deal with it... how will you?

Another example of this is that long term oriented traders cannot take the risk of unintentionally reselling low quality products for high quality products. They do not easily trust new relations.
Trust has to be earned. So beware! be patient with your asian clients, don`t try to rush the deals in and let them sniff a little on every single detail of the business.

The moral of this dimension may be then to be preventive with your neighbors, the long-term oriented ones. Always look for the quality of the merchandise and of course, always look at the other side of the coin... as our friend, Dr. Hofstede said: "Culture is more often a source of conflict than of synergy. Cultural differences are a nuisance at best and often a disaster."

Thanks to http://www.google.com.co/imghp?hl=es&tab=wi for the pictures