FEEDBACK ABOUT THE COURSE

I have learnt a lot in the course of Organizations & Cultures at University EAFIT. This course gave me a broader consideration of issues and a new perception about the world. As an international negotiator it is important for me to understand the different cultures and to be tolerant towards diversity. This blog has been a useful way to express our opinions about the different topics and see our classmates’ viewpoints. Regarding the academic research, we have learnt the different stages to carry out a coherent and successful research, which constitutes a powerful tool for our professional future.

BLOG REVIEWS II

I have visited a lot of blogs of my classmates and I found interests comments about different topics. I posted comments in the following blogs:
http://www.vivianamejiasaenz.blogspot.com
http://www.carlosvallejod34.blogspot.com
http://www.culturesagora.blogspot.com
http://www.oneworlddifferentperceptions.blogspot.com
http://www.manugomezg.blogspot.com

Manuela Gomez’s Blog (http://manugomezg.blogspot.com) specially attracted my attention because it presents interesting arguments and perceptions about all topics. I would encourage you to visit it. One particularity that I noticed in the opinions about the Best of the blogs (The BOBs) is that a lot of my classmates are very interested in blogs related to environmental issues.

OLADE: the union through Energy

An interesting Latin American organization
The significant dependence on fossil fuels, like petroleum, is having increasingly negative impacts in the environment. Moreover, as we all know, these energetic sources are not renewable and are going to run out sooner than we expect. That is why several countries are looking for renewable and clean alternative energies so that they could eliminate or decrease that mentioned dependence. This issue should be treated as a national security matter by all countries worldwide and all processes of integration should be committed with that assuring a sustainable energy supply. The OLADE (The Latin American Energy Organization) is a good example of cooperation in this matter. Let’s now take a look at this interesting organization.

The OLADE is an intergovernmental organization created within the context of the international energy crisis of the early seventies, whose scope and impact was analyzed by the Latin America and the Caribbean countries. These countries lacked energy policies and needed to handle this crisis. Thus, they began an intense political mobilization process that came to an end on November 2, 1973 with the signing of the Lima Agreement, the constituent instrument of the Organization, ratified by 26 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean:

South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela
The Caribbean: Barbados, Cuba, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Dominican Republic and Suriname
Central and North America: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Mexico.
While promoting the creation of OLADE, the need for establishing a cooperation mechanism for the countries of the Region arose in order to develop their energy resources and jointly attend issues regarding their efficient and rational use attempting to contribute in the economic and social development of Latin America and the Caribbean.
VISION: OLADE is the political and technical-support organization by means of which its Member States undertake common efforts to achieve integration and development in the regional energy market.
MISION: To promote agreements between its Member Countries and carry out actions to satisfy their energy needs by means of the sustainable development obtained from the different sources of energy.

References:

*http://www.olade.org/organizacionEn.html

AUSTRALIA: Sorry for Aborigines!

Australia is largely known worldwide as a multicultural society in which nearly one third of its population was born abroad in countries like United Kingdom, New Zealand, Italy, Vietnam, China, etc. However, in the past, several governmental policies like the white Australia Policy restricted non-white immigration from 1901 to 1973. Although that policy was abolished in 1975, the Aborigines, the original inhabitants of that vast territory were always discriminated and excluded from society. Too late, Australians realized they had failed and by way of compensation created the National Sorry Day to apologize to the natives.

Who are the Aborigines?

Aboriginal communities have the longest cultural history in the world and have inhabited Australia for over 40,000 years being believed that they immigrated from Asia. When the British settlers came to Australia in the 18th century, they found about 750,000 natives. The aborigines, which used to be the only occupants of that territory, soon became the minority.

A history of cruelty

The British colonists, based on the legal principle of “Terra nullius”, took the land away from the natives and became the owners of Australia. A lot of primitive communities were driven out from their territory and others were massacred when they put up resistance. Aborigines were seen as wild animals without dignity and women were frequently raped by the White. Thus, in the early thirties of the 20th century there were only 61,000 natives left.

The assimilation process and the “Stolen Generation”

By the early 1900s, the government decided to segregate aborigines in order to “protect” them restricting employment and property rights. Those children, whose fathers were non-Aboriginal, were moved away from their mothers to comply with the assimilation policy process of the 1960s and were force to adapt to the European culture. The assimilation policy was replaced by policy of self-determination in 1972.

Aborigines Today

Nowadays, Aborigines represent a minority that account for 2% of the total population. With the assimilation process, they had begun to forget their traditional ways of life and culture. Although Australia is one of the most developed and rich countries in the world, this minority lives in very bad conditions. Some problems that this community is facing are: discrimination, poverty (poor houses), high illiteracy, unemployment and infant mortality rates; low wages and life expectancy; drug addiction and alcoholism, among others.

Since 1998, the Australians celebrate each year on 26 May the National Sorry Day to express regret over the mistreatment given by the government in the past and apologize for the “Stolen Generation”.

From my own point of view it is not useful to simply say “Sorry”. First, the government should make a process of integration of aboriginal communities rather than assimilation. This process of integration should imply a substantial improvement in the quality of live in terms of employment, property rights, good education, etc. In order to avoid the loss of identity, there should be a special program to recover and preserve their culture and traditions. Secondly, the government should be committed to diversity by creating special programs to promotes equality and avoid discrimination. All companies should take into account that a strong and deep commitment to diversity (for example hiring Aborigines) is a source of competitive advantage because there is a broader consideration of issues, more innovation and a better decision making. Finally, The National Sorry Day should be a tool to eliminate discrimination at all.

References:
* http://www.ebgymhollabrunn.ac.at/projekte/abori.htm
* http://www.directessays.com/viewpaper/3595.html
* http://www.cafebabel.co.uk/article/3050/australia-sorry-for-the-indigenous.html
Images:
* http://www.nowpublic.com/culture/australia-national-sorry-day-26th-may
* http://filer.case.edu/bct4/IPUson.htm
* http://linksunten.indymedia.org/es/system/files/images/6152613894.jpg

THE BOB: "Voice from Gaza"

A different perspective about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.


After visiting BOBs, a German website that awards interesting blogs from all over the world, one blog attracted my attention and I would like to encourage you to visit it. The link for that blog is: http://www.peaceforgaza.blogspot.com

This blog was created by Ayman Talal Quader, a 23-year-old Palestinian who was born and raised in Gaza. As you all may know Gaza is a region where both Palestinians and Israelites have constantly been in conflict for decades, since the creation of Israel in 1947. The western media has always shown us the Jewish side of the conflict sometimes disguising their cruelty towards Palestinians. This blog offers a new perspective of the conflict from the Palestinian side and “brings the Palestinian suffering to the whole world” as mentioned in the blog. This blog aims at showing the reality from the viewpoint of a Palestinian who has lived the conflict during his entire life. Ayman Talal Quader still dreams of peace and security for all families of Gaza and all Palestinians.

Peace and Justice will prevail one day!..

TRADE UNIONS IN EUROPE: DO THEY PLAY A SIMILAR ROLE AS IN COLOMBIA?

Before going any further, it is important to define the concept of trade union. It is commonly defined as an “organization whose membership consists of workers and union leaders, and whose principal purposes are to negotiate wages and working condition terms, regulate relations between workers (its members) and the employer, take collective action to enforce the terms of collective bargaining, raise new demands on behalf of its members, and help settle their grievances.
In Europe, the numbers of employees who belong to trade unions vary widely. At the top of the table of union density are ranked Finland, Sweden and Denmark with 71%, 71% and 68% of all employees in unions, respectively. Some of the causes of this high density in the Nordic countries are that unemployment and social benefits are a responsibility within the unions and union membership is usually seen as a natural part of employment.
The average level of union membership in the European Union (24%) is held down by the low union density in most of the larger States such as France (8%), Germany (20%), Spain (16%) and Poland (16%). Despite that fact, In Spain labor unions have been supported by a large number of votes in the council elections and in France they have the capacity to mobilize workers in mass with an effective effect. By the other hand, three of the smallest countries of EU, Malta, Cyprus and Luxembourg have high levels above the average. Generally, states in Central and Eastern Europe have low levels of union membership because of the hostile climate, except for Rumania and Slovenia.
There is an important divergence in terms of the proportion of men and women within trade unions. For example, in Spain, according to a government survey, men (with a union density of 21.7% ) were more likely than women (at 16.7%) to be in unions. In Sweden, by the other hand, Union density was higher among women (81%) than among men (75%).

Although the levels of union membership across Europe are very different, trade unions are moving in very similar directions. Only eight countries of the EU (plus Norway) have gained union members. Those are: Belgium, Cyprus, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway and Spain. In the rest of the continent, the overall union membership has decreased over the last two decades. This widespread decline has been more dramatic in central and eastern Europe since the fall of Berlin wall in 1989 and the finalization of the cold war. In both eastern and western Europe there is a higher union density in the public than in the private sector.

Trade Unions in Colombia

In Colombia there are a lot of trade unions but the strongest ones are those related to the public sector (like in Europe). Trade unions in Colombia play a similar role as in Europe since they look for the implementation and preservation of good working conditions. Although the Colombian constitution protects the right of association, there has been a hostile environment for trade unions like in some countries in central and Eastern Europe.
According to Amnesty international, over the last two decades nearly 2000 trade unionists have been assassinate and 138 have disappeared. More than 90% of those cases have remained in impunity. The authors of those crimes are mainly members of paramilitary groups.

References:

* http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/trade-union.html
* http://www.worker-participation.eu/National-Industrial-Relations/Across-Europe/Trade-Unions2
* http://www.amnesty.org/es/stay-informed/publications/books/sindicalismo-en-colombia

E-COMMERCE IN THE MIDDLE-EAST

The internet is a worldwide system of computer networks that has revolutionized the way we communicate and access information. Nowadays, we are engaging in an internet-based society in which transactions, businesses and commerce are conducted electronically. That is what we call Electronic commerce or E-commerce. This concept is defined as “the process of buying and selling goods and services electronically with computerized business transactions using the Internet, networks and other digital technologies”. The major advantage that carries this new form of commerce is the significant reduction of transaction cost and processing time.


While E-commerce is spreading and becoming more common all over the world, many Muslims are wondering whether this process of conducting transactions is accepted by the Islamic Law, which controls all the spheres of humans’ lives. All types of activities are allowed by Allah as long as they are used for good purposes and operate within the framework of Islamic teachings and principles. The sources of those teachings are contained in the Quran, the Sunnah, the intellect (wisdom) and consensus of religious scientists. In order to ensure the validity of E-commerce there are five stages to follow:

Initiating a contract: First of all, it is important to check the four basic pillars that all contracts, including those related to E-commerce, must fulfill: offer and acceptance; two contracting parties, subject matter and mode of expression. Secondly, the contract should meet all the Islamic requirements.

Confirming the Validity: During the negotiation process, the contract must not involve interests (is forbidden), uncertainty, deceit or fraud and duress (no free consent) and any elements of gambling.

Implementation: The buyer must ensure that the person offering the product is the real owner and has the authority over it. Moreover, it must be ensured that the product is free from any liabilities.

Binding: It has to do with the signing of the contract. Before signing it is important to confirm the existence of the other contracting party. After signing it the parties must keep a contract copy.

Delivery (state of exchange): In this stage the exchange of price and product take place. The most common form of payment in e-commerce is Credit Card, which is forbidden in the Islamic world because of the interests (usury) that it generates. However there are other alternatives, like the payment through bank.

Payment for e-commerce transaction: The Murabahah system, that replaces the credit cards, is the cost plus profit sale. This alternative of payment allows the bank to use it as a credit vehicle.

These five stages should be taken into account while doing any e-commerce transaction with and from Islamic countries. However, those stages are applicable to any type of contract. Until now we can notice that e-commerce is not forbidden but is highly controlled by the religious principles which are at the same time the laws of most of Arab countries. However the conditions of the validity of contracts using e-commerce are almost the same worldwide except for the payment of transactions. For example, although Colombia is a secular state, several principles of our religion have been incorporated as laws and they are compulsory for everyone. The real problem in implementing e-commerce in the Middle-east is that there is a lack of knowledge about it due to the lack of publicity, the attitude of Muslim community and campaigns and exposures about consumer rights. Furthermore, some Arab states restrict the use of internet and manipulate the information.

References:

* Zainul, N., Osman F., Mazlan S.H. (2004). E-Commerce from an Islamic, perspective Department of Information System, Faculty of Information and Communication Technology, International Islamic University Malaysia.
* Images: http://informationaboutbusiness.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/ecommerce.jpg
http://www.vestedowl.com/images/arab_world.gif

AVERAGE SALESPERSON IN COLOMBIA

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT
In the organizational commitment there are two tendencies: an affective or a continuance commitment. An average salesperson in Colombia tends to be more affective rather than continuance. It means that this person has a very strong sense of belonging to the company and appreciates it too much. Normally, salespeople tend to be very optimistic toward the future and reflect a high regard for the company. However, because of the crisis and the unemployment rate that it generates, salespeople have also a continuance commitment. It means that they want to remain in the company regardless of the working conditions.

LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR
There are two ways: consideration and initiation to structure. The average salesperson in Colombia identifies itself with initiation to structure. Both managers and subordinates work together to reach the goals of the company. Managers define the roles of the subordinates, specify procedures and assign tasks. That is because our managerial style is not individualistic, but very collectivist.


ROLE STRESS
The role stress classifies in role ambiguity and role conflict. The average salesperson in Colombia tends to have a low role ambiguity. Since there is a strong hierarchy established in the average Colombian company, salespeople receive orders from the superiors and are well informed about what they should do or what their role is within the company.

CULTURAL FACTORS
Some cultural factors that affect the perception of leadership are individualism and power distance.
The Colombian culture has a high power distance because, as I mentioned before, there is a marked hierarchy respected for all the members of it. By the other hand, the Salespeople and the Colombian culture in general tend to more collectivistic rather than individualistic.

BLOG REVIEWS

I have visited a lot of blogs and there are interesting reflections about all topics. I posted comments in the following blogs:

http://mauriciocultureafit.blogspot.com
http://paulalopezrestrepo.blogspot.com
http://vivianamejiasaenz.blogspot.com
http://culturesagora.blogspot.com
http://danitamayo000.blogspot.com

I think all blogs have good arguments and are well-designed. I consider Paula López’s blog has strong and deep arguments in all the topics. It is interesting to see how different perceptions about the alligator river story case are. Perhaps, there are 30 or more different rankings about it. In other issues the reflections are very similar.

THE ALLIGATOR RIVER STORY
Uma Sekaran and W.C. Coscarelli

Excercise










I think that Abigail is the least objectionable because she was in love with Gregory and she was willing to pay any price to see him. She had to go to bed with the riverboat Captain Sinbad in order to cross the river. The most objectionable is Gregory because he did not take into account the enormous effort and sacrifice Abigail did to see him, although she apparently cheated on him.
The most reprehensive is Sinbad because he harassed Abigail to take her across. The less reprehensive is Ivan because he did not make anything bad; he was not willing to listen to Abigail’s problems.

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

A corporation is a legal entity separated from its owners, who become shareholders. It can act in its own name and can enter into contracts, pay taxes, sue and be sued, among other things. The corporation is liable for its own debts and obligations whereas the shareholders enjoy limited liability.
Nowadays, corporation’s liability for actions becomes diffused and individuals frequently become disconnected from the consequences of their actions and don’t feel responsible for them. Since the corporation can’t make decisions by itself, those individuals engaged in irresponsible actions should bear any responsibility. That limited liability often hides irresponsible people that threaten the stability of the corporation. There should be a more rigid legislation regarding responsibilities within corporations.

What is the relationship between national identity and corporate culture?

The concept of a national identity refers both to the distinguishing features of the group, and to the individual's sense of belonging to it. This concept has to do with cultural construction via regulatory and socializing institutions of the state such as Law, education system, the media, etc. Corporate culture, by the other hand, is defined as a blend of the values, beliefs, taboos, symbols, rituals and myths all companies develop over time. Business's culture may be based on beliefs spelled out in the mission statement. Whatever shape it takes, corporate culture plays a big role in determining how well business will do. Both national identity and corporate culture aims at creating cultural elements, but in very different levels through different strategies.

The national identity has to do with the recognition of a culture and other elements within a specific area or territory whereas corporate culture deals with similar elements (Ex: Assumptions, norms, practices, etc.) within an organization. However, corporate culture form a part of the national identity framework.

source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/term/82104.html

Here there are some definitions of Culture from different points of view:

1) Sociological point of view: the beliefs, way of life, art, and customs that are shared and accepted by people in a particular society.
(http://www.ldoceonline.com/Sociology-topic/culture_1)

2) Anthropological point of view: The system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that the members of society use to cope with their world and with one another, and that are transmitted from generation to generation through learning.
(http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/arts/anthropology/courses/122/module1/culture.html)

3) Psychological point of view: Culture is the set of ideas, behaviors, attitudes, and traditions that exist within large groups of people (usually of a common religion, family, or something similar). These ideas, behaviors, traditions, etc. are passed on from one generation to the next and are typically resistant to change over time.
(http://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.cfm?term=Culture)