Religion is one of the main determinants of culture; it has a lot of leverage on the way that influences people’s environment, behavior and attitudes. It involves shared beliefs in what is a sacred and moral principle that shapes attitudes. The function of religion is to approve social arrangements, providing a sense of understanding and belonging.
According to Weber in Christianity work and wealth creation was the driven force of capitalism.
The Islam objective is to embrace way of life and act based on social justice and equity.
Hinduism focuses on the importance of achieving spiritual growth and development, refusing material and physical existences.
Buddhism underlines the importance of spiritual achievement.
Confucianism states common interests over personal ones.
What is the dominant religion in Colombia? What are the religious implications for doing business here? Give examples.
Catholicism is the main dominant religion in Colombia which embraces around 80% of the population. Business used to be well tied to the economic principles, but in recent years religion and businesses are separated, so religion has a low degree of influence over business. Although is important to have in mind that during the Holly week, butchers and meat industries get pretty affected due to the fact that consumers modify their eating habits and manners to keep certain religious codes of behavior.
When we talk about organizations and groups of individuals is important to take into account different aspects of group behavior:
·Norms: Standardized ways to behave and act according to the membership to certain group.
·Group cohesion: Glue that bonds individuals together.
·Social lofting: The failure of certain individual to contribute in different aspects to the group.
·Loss of individuality: processes of letting go personal awareness and decisions.
Groups also present different styles of member’s contribution classified as: Collaborator, Contributor, Communicator and challenger. Each one in charge of different tasks and objectives.
Diversity is “The variation of social and cultural identities among people existing together in a defined employment or market setting” (Cox 2001).
Diversity among people apply a various dimensions:
Question:
Since diversity is a source of competitive advantage, what could be the recruitment strategies to effectively target to diverse groups? What would be the consequence of ignoring diversity?
Recruitment strategies targeting diverse groups have to be designed to include various individual from different ethnics, cultures, religions, beliefs, genders and social standards; studying the target’s culture it’s relationship among the organization. Identify opportunities and treats that certain groups of people can represent to the company.
Ignoring the differences among cultures can result in troubles at the interior of the organization, due to different points of view, rivalry, threats, strikes and any negative consequences.
Information retrieved from: http://interactiva.eafit.edu.co/ei/
Communications can be One-way or Two-way, the first one is way more simpler and does not involves feedback from the listener while Two-way communication requires an interaction of ideas and feedback among the actors involved.
But there is also Non Verbal communication and involves:
·The perception and use of the physical space.
·The use of body movements.
·Facial expressions.
·Changes in the way to speech, to emphasize something.
The communication process presents barriers as Status differences, Gender differences, cultural diversity and last but not least Language.
In today’s environments the role of virtual teams is vital to fulfill tasks and objectives in organization, Computer-Mediated Communication allow users to perform under an invisible structure to meet goals, allocate resources and integrate long distance scenarios.
Question:
According to Kuruppuarachchi (2009), what benefits and problems arise as a consequence of the creation of virtual team? Identify five each.
Based on this, explain how to make the transition from a more traditional team structure to the more distributed team structure?
Benefits of virtual teams:
·Economical costs savings.
·Integration of long distance locations.
·Time savings.
·Awareness of different environments.
·Flexibility to implement and perform tasks at any place.
Problems and weaknesses:
·High possibility of misunderstandings.
·Lack of Human contact to motivate and keep up with personal issues that affect performance.
·Tricky software and programs can affect member’s performance.
·Lack of group sense.
·Challenges on staff controlling.
To make transitions from traditional to virtual team is important to train and teach employees in any issues that concern to software management; develop high motivational skills, offering rewards and benefits. The most important thing to have in mind is to be aware of the benefits and problems on managing in virtually over personally.
Numbers of migrants worldwide have been increasing in huge amounts reaching near 200 million per year in 2010; people have migrate looking for study or work opportunities, better life style or sometimes running away from violence.
Countries like Canada have attracted a lot of foreign workers to apply for programs as TFWP (Temporary Foreign Worker Programs), addressing them to vacancies that the national labor hand is unable to fulfill, one of the main focus of these programs has been hiring high amounts of foreign workers to grow crops during peaks of agricultural seasons.
There are a lot of negative issues related to these non native workers; their conditions (migrants) do not allowed them to demand any kind of contractual deals, like insurance, revenues, dental plans among others, so in this scenario, they are usually exploited and companies take this advantage to produce at minimum cost.
Migration demands for different kind of measures in order to guarantee integration and social inclusion, which is a two way process that requires the adaptation of non natives to become part of the society and the role of the hosting society.
Question:
Explain how easy is it for Colombian companies to employ expatriates locally? Give examples.
In Colombia is easy to hire workers from other country, the national government is not to restrictive when it comes to imigrational issues; companies are allowed to hire certain number of foreign workers, which are highly valuated due to their precedence (companies or universities with a high level on knowledge and technology).
EAFIT University hires foreign teachers to present classes on international issues and languages. Also companies like the French Alliance which hires foreign teachers.
The merging process on organizations involves the involvement of “new employees” to be part of the organizations, feeling and thinking in the “same way”. Is necessary to create a solid corporate identity that distinguish the members from outsiders, allowing them to create a joint identity.
Merging implies the reconstruction of a new identity, to face today’s fast changing environments and to adapt to new trends. Acquisitions and Integrations are ways of joining forces to boost advantages and compete at bigger scales; allowing companies to:
• Economies of scale
• Increase market share and revenues.
• Geographical diversification
• Improving on Resource allocation.
Although mergers and acquisitions are not always beneficial, they can represent risk to the companies due to the higher level of cultural, managerial and political issues that are needed to take into account. Sometimes is necessary to perform an acculturative process due to the fact that conflict can occurs when the groups involved in the integration are much differentiated in cultural issue and the organizational forces are rejecting integration.
Success of a particular integration strategy is determined by:
·The recognition of strategic interdependence among the companies.
·The important role of organizational autonomy
·The possibility to fit cultural issues.
Question:
According to the case studies (in class and in textbook), what are the practical steps to minimize the feelings of uncertainty normally expected by employees, and also to facilitate the learning process to occur between the two groups of people in their process of cultural and behavioral integration?
Developing a proper atmosphere that allows the process it self, preparing staff to change, explaining them the benefits and oportunities that it would bring.
Setting the gruond and the rules (clauses for the contract).
Keeping the staff ported about any the process or any changes.
Allow cooperation and consulting among both groups.
Training employees to any new model of machine, equipment or process.
Learning: process that involves the acquisition of knowledge, this last one considered as “power”.
Classical theories refer to the existence of two conditions that encourage learning; the classical condition which involves the natural actions under no stimulations and the operant conditioning that involves different stimulations to generate various reactions on the individual.
The social learning theory by Albert Bandura refers to the human behavior under continuous interaction among influences that come from the cognitive, behavioral and environmental dimensions.
In this scenario, it’s important to develop goal setting policies that allow establishing desired results, measuring performances, guiding the process, increasing motivation and collective achievement, all this in order to reduces disorientations or confusions, improving accuracy on different areas that concern to the organization.
In nowadays world, learning organizations represent a high level of importance and concern, due to the fact that work environment is always getting harder and representing more complex challenges to the people and the organizations.
Francis bacon said: “Knowledge is Power”, as an example here is the powerful role of “Know-How” in today’s businesses, this one can create differentiation among different products, allowing companies to have comparative or absolute advantages, innovating at different scenarios as technological or managerial.
Question:
What is the relationship between organizational learning and individual satisfaction?
Organizational learning develops competitive enterprises, which can boost advantages at various levels; creating better opportunities, bigger margins, more benefits and a lot of positive changes for the individuals. The previous situations show that learning can represent the achievement of company’s goals allowing Individual to fulfill different aspirations at the economical, social or professional level; leading him towards personal satisfaction.
Managing Change
In today’s business structures Change has become the norm and success is determinate by: Adaptiveness, Flexibility and Responsiveness. Allowing organizations to change in different scales from just small scope changes to strategic or transformational changes, which a higher level of commitment.
Changing involves the creation of new problems, new situations and more uncertainty; conditions that can generate conflicts. It’s necessary to equilibrate the force to change with the status quo forces. Kurt Lewin refers to 3 steps necessaries to develop changes:
·Unfreezing: This involves creating dissatisfaction with the Status quo, encouraging actions.
·Changing: The process of allocating and organizing resources to change.
·Refreezing: Setting the new ground rules and basis to work in the organizations.
Beer’s model of change was focused on implementing changed ways of thinking, attitudes and behaving; underlining the role of employees as key for the new situations.
Question:
What bottom-line results should an organization reasonably expect from strategic change?
A company can expect serious results derived from strategic changes:
·Improvements on efficiency at the production and sales department..
·Bigger sales amounts and higher margins.
·Production cost reductions.
·Improvements on logistics.
·Better quality and quality control procedures.
·Stocks and equity valorizations.
Bibliography:
Video retreived from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHR8gw6derg&feature=related
