Leadership and Convergence

¿How does organizational leaders should behave in cross cultural environments?

Cross cultural environments offers a new kind of challenge not only to organizational leaders but also to everyone involved in the working environment. We can study four dimensions in which cultures differ on the workplace; these are:

•       Directness: Get to the point versus implying the messages.
•       Hierarchy: Follow orders versus engage in debate.
•       Consensus: Dissent is accepted versus unanimity is needed.
•       Individualism: Individual winners versus team effectiveness.

One of the most important subjects to understand is how culture affects the communication process. We can see the challenges in many ways, from speaking another language to having differences in how we might express our concerns.

In order to achieve proper communication on the workplace it is very important for all the parties involved to understand and appreciate what it takes to work with (and in) different cultures. Some people might show empathy easily to the needs and wants of others while some may struggle to see their point of view

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In any of the cases it is an obligation for an organizational leader to motivate its peers by showing them the positive aspects of understanding another culture. Cultural diversity is known to boost creativity, productiveness and helps the expanding of business’s opportunities.  He must show effort to integrate different approaches used by the people in their cultural backgrounds in order to create a mixed, rich and respectful environment. To focus on what brings workers together rather than what tears them apart, to be as open minded as it can be, have everyone in consideration, reintegrate the different points of view and then take the smartest decision. 

Sources

• http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/cultural-services/articles/cross-cultural-communication-work.html
• http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings/cross-cultural_differences.html
• http://www.imd.org/research/challenges/TC082-08.cfm

Ethical Behavior and International Business.

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

The affirmation crony capitalism stands for a capitalism of colleagues. This means that actors involved in the economy only stand up for the interests of those who met their expectations and their own, these being high profits, information and knowledge, technology, etc.

Personally, I agree with this statement, because in today’s world there is a social concept that is necessary to be selfish in order to obtain benefits. This can be evidenced in real life event that goes from personal relationships, to government-enterprises arrangements.

2. What is a banana republic? Why the author is comparing India with a banana republic?

A banana republic refers to a highly corrupted and agriculture depending country, with a government that is more concern with the interests of a few corporations. The author compares a banana republic with India, because in that country there is a lot of Cronyism that would only make corporations become more powerful and allow them to escape unscathed, while leaving the population even poorer.

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

We all born with the right to free expression and communication that is why, in my opinion, the media are the means that help to comply with this right. They have the responsibility to serve as channels of communication that deliver truthful information to the audience, and allow the people to communicate freely with each other.

The Media becoming a corporation signify that they will stop doing that and start only to do what most of today's business do: search for its own benefit without thinking of the consequences or the damage caused to the people. They will start manipulation or covering information if it is profitable for them.

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

·         Corporation: the relations they had with senior officials and politicians, and the way these manipulated the information transmitted by the media to cover corrupted actions.

·         Journalist: Hide and manipulate the information.

·         The state: Benefit the corporation (their cronies) regardless of the population’s welfare in order to achieve its own interests.

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 should do what they are supposed to which is to deliver truthful information and be a neutral party in the political and economic arena.

·         The state should have a better system to monitor its officials so they won’t carry out corrupt actions that would only benefit themselves, but pursue the welfare of the population.

·         The corporations have to work on their Corporate Social Responsibility without having to give up profits.

·         The state must create better regulations to stop corporations continue with the unfair competition.

·         The media, the corporations and the government should join efforts in order to make things better for the population by helping each other to achieve their goals without injure the other.

Sources:

• The Hindu (2010) The Republic on a banana peel. P. Sainath. Opinion. December 3, 2010. Retrieved from: <http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article927895.ece?homepage=true>  [05/03/2011.]
• S, Mithra. "What Is a Banana Republic?" WiseGEEK: Clear Answers for Common Questions. 28 Dec. 2010. Web. <http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-banana-republic.htm> [05/03/2011.]

The Corporation

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

The truth is that we can’t fully ensure that corporations act legally and ethically, nor that they pay for their bad actions, because corporations have a lot of power (because they have a lot of resources) and are not willing to it up. But what we can do is try to stop these actions by taking an active place. How do we do that? Stop buying products of those Corporations, speaking to other about it, convince governments o other powerful parties to do something and more.

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

The corporations are group of individuals that work together to achieve a goal, that is why, those individuals who make decisions should be responsible for the consequences that comes from them. In my opinion, the degree to which those individuals should be responsible depends on the position in the corporation that he or she occupies.

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

There are several benefits of this business form, some of those are:

The protection of personal assets, growing profits and possibility of expansion, transferable ownership, the life cycle of this type of company is unlimited, legally empowered, and more.

The Corporate form is very beneficial and profitable, and so far there is no other type of business figure that offers the same benefits and drawbacks.

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?

UNILEVER that began as a merger of two companies is, today, one of the biggest Multinational Corporations with worldwide presence and more than 400 brands. This company is regulated by the Code of Business Principles,  which sets the operational standards that must be followed in all its subsidiaries around the world.

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?

The privatization can mean efficiency, and this is very important since a business main goal is to obtain high profits, but if this privatization is only going to benefit a few, then we have to ask ourselves if it is worthy. What I believe is that the most important criteria to determinate who should own this public services should be to compare how many are the people that will benefit and how many would be harm, if this action is taken.

Sources

• Carter, Christopher. "The Advantages of the Corporate Form of Business Organization." Small Business - Chron.com. Web. <http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-corporate-form-business-organization-370.html>[05/03/2011]

¡Motivation!

Is economic retribution enough to motivate employees?

In order to answer thoroughly the question we must first understand what does motivation stands for, especially on the working environment.

Motivation stands for the desire to do things, to achieve goals, to show an effort in order to get results. It is the force or drive (internal or external) that lead us to persever in order to attain our goals.

According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs; needs are ranked in order from low to high and as each need is satisfied, the needs at the next stage begin to determine the individual’s behaviors and actions. When the lowest level need is satisfied the person feels motivated enough to move onto the next level until that one is satisfied.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs <http://www.selfmademiracle.com/images/posts/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs.png>

As we study the pyramid we can affirm that economic retribution may help to achieve needs satisfied but is not the only factor nor the most important. To have a proper working environment, free of unnecessary stress, full of coworkers who like what they do and treat each other with respect can be as important as receiving a big paycheck at the end of the month.

Motivation

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It is very important for the employees to achieve certain degree of motivation in order not only to get their obligations done right and on time, but also to be able to make the last effort needed for  the company or business to grow and achieve their long term objectives.

Sources:

·    Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs."How to Motivate People, Employees, Others without Money - Motivating People. <http://www.howtomotivatepeople.com/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs.html>[03/03/2011].

·    Schwartz, Mel. "Motivation | Psychology Today." Psychology Today: Health, Help, Happiness Find a Therapist.<http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/motivation>[03/03/2011]

Attitudes

Attitudes are usually viewed as evaluative tendencies (favorable or unfavorable) towards a person, thing, event or process. An attitude towards a particular object is thus a bias, predisposing a person towards evaluative responses that are positive or negative (Warr, 2002). Another definition is given by Sherif and Sherif (1967), who thought that attitudes are expressions of how individuals conceive “their ways of life, their ways of doing things, their stands on the family and on social, religious, economic, and political issues, and how they conceive the ways and stands of others” (p. 1). These can be developed from direct experience or from influence of social agents, and it is possible to say that they affect the way we behave. Therefore, depending on how you perceive the world, you will interpret and react differently.

That is why is so important to have a good attitude toward work, since a bad attitude can affect the performance. But, is it possible to change an employee’s attitude at work? In my opinion the answer to this question depends on every person because, to be able to change an attitude it is necessary to have self-awareness , motivation and a change in beliefs.

Rainey‑attitudes.
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To facilitate the change in attitudes, managers must provide employees incentives that lead them to it, for example, a raise in their salary, a promotion or a promise of one, good experiences, good feedback, among others.

Change is many times difficult, but, it is essential in today’s business to be versatile and specially to have a positive attitude toward it.

Sources: 

• Attitudes. (n.d.).  <http://www.attitudeworks.com.au/AW_pages/attitudes/what_is/what_is.html> [01/03/2011]
• Values, Attitudes and Behaviors. (2007). <http://www.uk.sagepub.com/upm-data/17521_Chapter_5.pdf> [01/03/2011]

The Organizational Culture: Positive and Negative things about it

In this post, I will talk about the organizational culture, some of its flaws and benefits. In order to do that, it is necessary to first define what organizational culture is: “The whole collection of assumptions, practices and norms that people in an organization adopt over time” (Millman 2007). Therefore organizational culture is formed by shared behaviors, values and beliefs and it is intended to provide employees the rules and guidelines for doing things within a specific organization.

Some positive aspects of having a solid corporate culture are that this increase the efficiency (when you know what to do and where are you going, you are efficient), gives sense of identity and unity, provides employees with guidelines of what is expected of them, it helps with the organization of the staff and more.

Employee Engagement
<http://www.pacificadventure.org/main/files/u1/employee_engagement.jpg>

But it is not completely perfect, among its negative characteristic are that it encourages groupthink (according to Janis (1972), it occurs when a group makes faulty decisions because group pressures lead to a deterioration of “mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment) and contributes to reluctance to change.

Changing Organizational Culture <http://victormconde.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/changing_organizational_culture_software-93589.jpg>

It is important to highlight that the corporate culture, and despite its faults, is what makes different an organization from another and it is an important component of it.

Sources:

• Janis, I. L. (1972). Victims of Groupthink. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
• Khan, A. (2005). Matching People with Organizational Culture.
• Organizational Culture. (2000) <http://managementhelp.org/org_thry/culture/culture.htm>[01/03/2011]
• Organizational Culture. (2007) <http://www.organizationalculture101.com/> [01/03/2011]