COURSE EVALUATION

To start I want to recognize that I liked a lot the mothodology and content of the course, because It gave us the oportunity of exploring a region deeply and also learn about the investigations of our classmates, who also did exelent jobs, and showed us the most important facts and characteristics of the world in general. To reforce this presentations, the teacher complemented in the next following class with topics that werent touched and with others also very important, giving a complete general view of the countries or continents.
With the presentation we also had the opportunity of researching the topics that were of our interest, we didnt had to follow some specif themes, we had the freedom to choose and I liked this a lot because we presented actual topics and that were interesting for us. The presentations invited us to participate because each one had to invent an activity or game and usually they were very good and fun.
The research proposal is an important investigation and with a methodology that we hadnt worked before so it was very interesting. After lots of mistakes finally I think that I learned how to do the academic references... this was very important at the moment of a grade.
I liked a lot the always disposition of the teacher to answer our questions and give us orientations in our research proposals.
It is a very interesting course were you learn a lot, I recomend it for anyone who wants to also have a good experience of the cultures of the world

INDIA

India was a United Kingdom colony, it is one of the countries with more population in the world, it has the 15% of world’s population. It has borders with Pakistan, Nepal, and China. It is one of the economies with major economic growth and one of the most promising big economies of the world.

In India you still can see a lot of women discrimination. Even for foreign women it is recommended to avoid initiating handshake with Indian men and to avoid public contact with them. Titles are very important in India and touching someone else’s head should be absolutely avoided.

Questions:

1- According to Gangury.Scrase & Scrase (1999) had globalization in India provided significant improvement of living for lower income workers by 1999? justify.

The globalization has influence pretty much the social life within India,culturally and also economically, but what they call liberalization in kind of contradictory, no matter the lower income salaried workers thanks to the liberalization evoque an improvement in the way of living and and inprovement in standars of living, but the real truth is that liberalization, bring mor poor to the poorest, but only favor a real minority of whealthy people.

2- How is the situation for workers in India today? provide references.

Thanks to the foreign investment and the implementation of multinational enterprises the quality of labour is really improved and also availlable across the country.
"Compliance with various social security acts among the units was not satisfactory. Among the various social security acts, the incidence of compliance was highest in the case of the Employees’ Provident Fund Act. Coverage under the Employees’ State Insurance Scheme was the lowest. In terms of the benefits under these acts, homeworkers were at a disadvantage vis-àvis workers on industrial premises. Coverage of the former category of workers was much lower by the units which employed them, compared to those working in industrial premises. Among the units covered under the Employees’ Provident Fund Act, 46 per cent of the units extended the benefits to homeworkers. As for bonus payments, 55 per cent of the paying units also paid them to homeworkers. Similar percentages for the units covered under the Gratuity Act and the Group Insurance Scheme (Employees’ State Insurance Scheme) are 25 per cent and 33 per cent respectively. Among the units paying DA as a separate component, 49 per cent were paying to both industrial and home workers. Only 62 per cent of those units offering maternity benefits to female workers were offering such benefits to homeworkers. The high proportion of female workers among the homeworkers (compared to those working in sheds/industrial premises) explains their relatively higher share among those getting receiving benefits. Workers working in the industrial premises were better off than the homeworkers in terms of coverage under these benefits."

Taken From:
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/sector/papers/food/wp202.pdf

3- How cultural globalisation has effected India in the last 2 decades?

In the last 2 decades India has change culturally a lot, because values has change and has been transformed by expousure to the western media in other words they have a expousure to the television, but far away from there, thanks to the foreing investment and teh mixture of cultures that comes from abroad, Indias has become a diverse country. Also mixture has evolved in the major cities avoiding the forced marriage, for the notion of free love, divorces are starting to show up, and also relationship outside the marriage are taking place.But the clear thing that makes people think that Indian culture is changing is that values and belief like, idealism, karma, dharma, vegetarianism, religios are in decadence thank to the westernization.

Taken from:
Gangury-Scrase & Scrase (1999)://sociology.snu.ac.kr/isdpr/publication/journal/28-2/5Ruchira.pdf

4- Describe India's Green revolution.

This term comprends from 197 to 1978, and from 1947 and 1967, the efforts towar a food self sufficiency didnt filled the expectations. Efforts on expanding the farming areas were largely concentrated until 1967. No matter that deah thanks to the starvation still shown up. If this would be perfect people should grow in a faster rate taht a food production, this was the case of Malthusian economics, and allso called for a fast action to increas yield, and this action is what is know the green revolution.

No matter this, is good to know that "green revolution" is a general term which is applied to a successful agricultural experiments is not specific to India. No matter that India have been the most successful one.

The "green revolution" in compound of three main elements:

1. Continued expansion of farming areas
2. Double-cropping existing farmland
3. Using seeds with improved genetics.

Taken from:
India one stop. (2000). "Green Revolution". http://www.indiaonestop.com/Greenrevolution.htm#What. Accessed 18 May, 2009.

5- Did the british Raj enriched or impoversih India?

During this period, the country suffer of famine, a lot of people die, but this wasnt the only problem deseases start killing people along the country and cholera began being a pandemic. The country starts with a social and economic disaster.

Image: https://download.yousendit.com/U0d5WmdndWNHa09Ga1E9PQ

LATIN AMERICA

In this class we talked about latin America and the diferences of the countries even though we are in the same continent.
In Latin-America it does not exist politics coordination between the States. It does not exist a “Latin-American consensus”, each nation has its own criteria to solve the problematic and to take decisions.
In Latin-America there exist 3 political regimes:

• Center Left: The countries are Brasil, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Gutemala. Political formations of moderate left, moved away of the revolutionary left or the Communism, includes the social democracy, the social christianism and the socio liberalism, defends the mixed economy and regulation of the market to guarantee equality.
  


• Radical left: The countries are Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Cuba. Their policies turn around the equality, based in Stalinists, Marxist, Leninists theories and Trotskism, total opposition to Capitalism, tendencies to Populism, distribution of the richness only freed to the free game of the forces of the market, only will produce inequity that will take to low income sectors of the population to be excluded.
  Latin-America is facing a phenomenon of authoritarian governments with authoritarian regimes that are applying undemocratic practices , the State is everything and only it defines who is friend and who is enemy.
  


• Center right: The countries are Colombia, Peru, Mexico. They have more preservative ideas, although without going to the ends, they are not radically conservative, they are in favor of the free market.

In Latin-America exists diversity in politics, in the way the countries are being governed, but it is important to mention that in the next two years could happen a very interesting political change in the region, due to the elections in many of the countries.

Latin America has some Integration Agreements like ALADI, CARICOM, CAN, ALCA, MERCOSUR, SELA.
The population of Latin America is a composite of ancestries, ethnic groups, and races, making the region one of the most diverse in the world. The mixture of indigenous and European cultures created the mestizo.

QUESTION: According to Burlyai (2001) how has been the process of integration in Latin America? :

The process of integration has been every time more economic dependent "in the U.S, and this will lead in the mid and long term to a closer orientation on Washingtons policy course. Some particular importance attaches to integration processes in latin America, process based on the "open regionalis" principle as well as a wish for greater diversification of extra-regional ties.

Latin America Integration Association (LAIA) is one of the conduits for initiative, is one of the boggest and most authoritative regionnal organisations geared mostly to he creation of a Latin America common market.Latin America has show some interest in scientific an technical sphere, is know that is looking for differente aliances and common work with different countries.

The western Hemisphere aspires to becoming the world first area of "solid integration" creating Inter America Free trade zone on 2005, From Alaska to tierra del fuego"

Bibliography: Integration Processes in the Western Hemisphere. International Affairs: A Russian Journal of World Politics, Diplomacy & International Relations, 2002, Vol. 48 Issue 5, p36-43.

2- According to at least other 3 additional academic sources, please explain how regional (economic or political) agreements in the Latin-American region have affected the way of doing business in the region. (Provide full reference)

All the regional agreements have affected Latin America’s way of doing business reinforcing each countries political view. The agreements have consolidated and have made more concentrated the different political blocks. Colombia and Mexico with an international perspective that grasps scenarios beyond Latin America. With their liberal policies and world wide relationships. And countries like Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia, with their socialist tendencies, enclosing and consolidating themselves as the new main actors in the Latin Americas.

Even so, we can observe agreements such as the Trade Benefit programs (like CAN) that have helped in great manner the development of several industries within the Latin American sphere.

In the present time it is common to analyze the importance and great role that different Free Trade Agreements are having in the foreign national policies as ways to progress, but again, each country by itself.

It would be an interesting strategy to face FTA’s with Latin American countries as consolidated blocks offering to the international community such as USA or EU or even ASEAN more stability and opportunities.

Mexico for example has opted for completely solitaire move. It decided to be separated from Latin America and be part of North America thru agreements such as NAFTA, with excellent results for it.

But this regarding the Northern Latin American countries. The MERCOSUR with members with such potential like Brazil, Chile and Argentina, show a more cooperative strategy, reinforcing and gaining stability and international credibility due to their combined strengths.

Bibliography:
Schelhase, Marc. 2009. "The regionalisation of organised business interests in the Mercosur: an empirical case study and some theoretical observations." International Studies Association. Page: 1-29.

Burlyai, Jan. 2002. Integration Processes in the Western Hemisphere. “International Affairs: A Russian Journal of World Politics, Diplomacy & International Relations”., Vol. 48 Issue 5, p36-43

Bussey, Jane. 2008. "Businesses want stability in Andean trade pact." Miami Herald.

Image: www.ohio.edu/latinamerican/IMAGE/LA.jpg

MAIN ISSUES FOR EUROPE

1) How is the EU leading the fight against climate change?

The EU implements a series of measures that according the United Nations convention to combat climate change and the Kyoto Protocol, sets examples to the rest of the world on efficient ways to manage and prevent the long term situation of climate change. Some examples of these, can be the programs on how to measures the effective efforts to reduce the emission of CO2 and increase the implementation of biofuels to power industries. One of the most exemplifying reason on why is the EU leading the fight against climate change, is how its industries pushed the reduction rate on the emission of CO2 from 5%, set on the Kyoto Protocol, to an average of 8% on the entire European industries.

2) How is Europe managing its migration flows?

The east of Europe is the major border of migration of the continent, they estimate that 1.600.000 migrate annually illegally and others estimate that this number ascends to 3 million. To prevent illegal migration what they are trying to do is to promote legal migration. In Moldova they established an office where they offer legal papers and jobs to the migrants who fulfil all the requirements of the office. The illegal migration occurs a lot by Chop that is located y Ukraine border and by Odessa, and it is a problem because it causes conflict and persecution.
To manage this flows, they created the Border Guards. Their main function is to control illegal immigration by fighting against criminal networks that benefit from trafficking people. They also have detention centers for illegal migrants where they fast return them to their country of origin and they give them advises and contact them with employers

3) What are the main challenges for an ageing workforce in Europe?

Europe is becoming a place where there is not enough people to work, to run a country, to pay for the maintenance and development of the continent, and to produce. The life expectancy is going higher, so the main issue of this problem is economic; they are going to need more money to pay for the pension and retire of all these old people.
To win this battle, they have to promote the health, the skills and working capacity of all citizens as they age and like this, the old can be active workers instead of retired. They also have to create suitable working conditions and employments for older people.

4) How European business could overcome the challenges of balancing the interests of cultural diversity and nationalist interests?

In the specific case of Europe, and to be even more precise, the EU, nationalist interests aren’t at all, what they could have been at some time. The European nationalist interests, look upon the interest of a numerous of countries that all have decided to work together. It is responsibility of each European leader to show to the world the prominence and efficiency of the European workforce, by this we all summing a workforce so broad that could easily enrapture almost 15 strong and economically sustainable countries. So actually which and where can the difference from nationalist o diversity interests are seen? But it is the characteristic of the European leaders what make them so special and gives them that extra something capable of managing the situations they do. Diversity, for any company that orderly and properly manages its flow of creation, is well known to be a great asset, for European companies this isn`t the exception, in all knowing that Europeans by culture are a society driven by well calculated times and precise actions, are also experts in efficiency and doing the job well done. So, it isn`t very difficult for a European manager to balance its nationalist and diverse interests, because its only interest is ending the day with another dollar, without it mattering where was it produced.

SIRYANA

This movie is one of those that require a lot of attention to understand how all the stories that are tell in it are related to each other as the movie goes on. Syriana is a very good example of how government and companies’ decisions can affect the people around them even though they aren’t connected directly to them.The truth about the market of oil is something that almost anybody know and understand, that universal fight to exploit this resource has bring a lot of consequences in the economy of several countries for many reasons: if they are the countries with his resource they have to make the hard decision of how are going to exploit this oil, and if it is someone from outside, who, because from this decision all his commercial decision are going to be affected, so in this case the decision of let Killen company exploit this resource will affect not only their economy but also the economy of United States because of its intervention in this difficult Market, but like Danny Dalton of the movie says: “Corruption ain’t nothing more than government intrusion into market efficiencies in the form of regulation. “This movie also teaches us something that we have always known but not always apply. Do not judge people that you don’t know, and in this case with the prince we learn that even in a big scenario this will apply too. We also see how this apply when Bob Barnes realizes that the company that hi has been working his all life is lying to him and it isn’t the first time, and you see how big is the disappointment when you see that the reasons that you work for aren’t real.We can also see how no matter what we think discrimination in these times is still real and affect a lot of people in different countries and doesn’t let them have normal lives.

Image: http://case.oncle-tom.net/images/Cinema/resume-mars-avril-mai-2006/syriana-affiche.jpg

OCEANIA

In this class we learned about some countries in Oceania like New Zeland, Australia and Papua New Guinea.

NEW ZELAND: Its capital is Wellington, Its Government: parliamentary democracy and Constitutional monarchy and the head of State: Queen Elizabeth II .
His culture is derived from British roots. Māori culture has undergone considerable change since the arrival of Europeans; in particular the introduction of Christianity in the early 19th century.
Sport has a major role in New Zealand's culture. The rugby is one of the most important sports.
New Zealanders are: sophisticated, highly educated urban dwellers and are members of multicultural society.
In business agreements and proposals must state all points clearly. All terms and conditions should be explained in detail. Start your negotiations with a realistic figure. Since this is not a bargaining culture, Kiwis look for value for their money.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA: its capital is Port Moresby. The Government is Constitutional Monarchy and Parliamentary System the head of State: Queen Elizabeth II.
People typically live in villages or dispersed hamlets which rely on the subsistence farming of sweet potatoes and taro, It is estimated that more than 1000 different cultural groups exist in PNG, and most groups have their own language.
In certain parts of the country a groom must bring a bride price to the wedding ceremony. In some cases this is paid in golden-edged clam shells.

AUSTRALIA: Its capital is Canberra, its Government: Federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy its Monarch is Queen Elizabeth II.
Australians prefer people who are modest, humble, self- deprecating and with a sense of humor.
Negotiating with them: Australians are very direct in the way they communicate.There is often an element of humour, often self-deprecating, in their speech. Punctuality is important in business situations. It is better to arrive a few minutes early than to keep someone waiting.
Australian leaders show higher levels of egalitarianism in their cultural and leadership.
They have some agreements to increase their foreing relations like :
•ASEAN
•ANZUS
•Commonwealth of nations
•WTO
•OECD

QUESTIONS:
What were the main findings on Baird et al (2007)?
"The most prominent characteristic of Australian organizational culture was Outcome Orientation (Performance Orientation in Sarros et al., 2002), followed by Respect for People, with Stability and Innovation being the least prominent characteristics in both studies. The high ranking of Outcome Orientation, a cultural factor characterised by values of having high expectations for performance and being results and action oriented, bodes well for the
success of Australian business if, as theorised, organizational culture is an important determinant of managers’ and employees’ work attitudes, decisions and behaviour and, ultimately, an organization’s financial performance.
Less auspicious is the low ranking of Innovation, a cultural factor characterised by a willingness to experiment, being innovative, being quick to take advantage of opportunities, and risk taking"

How does the culture of Australian organizations relate to their strategy?
"Organizations of the prospector strategic type were characterised by organizational cultures higher on Innovation and Outcome Orientation than defenders, and defenders were characterised by cultures higher on Stability.
The implication for organizations is that we provide empirical support for the theoretical contention that culture needs to be aligned with strategic type, and that organizations seeking particular strategies need to consider the issue of whether their culture is conducive to, or can be moulded to be conducive to, the desired strategy."

Bibligraphy: The culture of Australian organizations and its relation with strategy. International Journal of Business Studies, 15 (1). 15-41), Baird, Kevin; Harriso, Graeme & Robert Reeve. 2007 pag 19-22

How does Roy Green (2009)’s article relates to Australian culture and Australian organisations?
"Australia's national innovation system is the recognition that a revival of productivity growth - and future competitive advantage for Australian firms - will largely be driven by knowledge and innovation. There is no point in establishing any new innovation policy architecture unless it promotes enhanced innovative capability and performance, including carbon neutrality, at the level of the enterprise and workplace, support for organisational innovation is particularly cost-effective because it addresses the challenge of linking short-term recovery to the longer-term development of a more dynamic, competitive and environmentally sustainable, knowledge-based economy."

Bibliography: Innovation the key to recovety. The Australian. 1st April 2009, Green, Roy (2009). pg 1-3

AFRICA

In this class we discussed Africa and its people wich are the 14.8% of the world's human population. Although it is the 2nd largest continent, its population density in some regions is rather low. This is due in part to the Sahara Desert, which occupies one-fourth of Africa's landmass and is not suitable for habitation.
Many people tend to generalize Africa as if it was one. But for a better understanding of Africa, It is very important to point out that Africa is a continent and not a country. More than 2000 ethnic groups live in Africa, each one with its own diverse culture and ideology.

*The climate of Africa ranges from tropical to subarctic on its highest peaks. Its northern half is primarily desert or arid, while its central and southern areas contain both savanna plains and very dense jungle (rainforest) regions.

Although it has abundant natural resources, Africa remains the world's poorest and most underdeveloped continent, due to a variety of causes:
-Spread of deadly diseases and viruses (HIV, malaria),
-corrupt governments that have often committed serious human rights violations, failed central planning,
-high levels of illiteracy,
-lack of access to foreign capital,
-frequent tribal and military conflict (ranging from guerrilla warfare to genocide), vand, malnutrition and inadequate water supply and sanitation, as well as poor health.
Africa is also the richest continent for diamond mining, accounting for roughly 49% of world production.
Their cultura is characterized by conflicted responses to Arab nationalism and European imperialism.
Their religion is closely associated with African peoples' concepts of ethnic identity, language and culture, their beliefs and practice have also had an impact outside of Africa. Just as trade from Asia and Europe helped to facilitate the spread of Islam and Christianity in Africa.

QUESTION: What is the place of Black Africans on Management today?

"Since 1994 South African companies made efforts to include in management structures people from the multiplicity on ethnic gropus in the country. The country has witnessed a new wave of black ownership and control of business. Although they have been changes in the previously disadvantage groups, management structure are still the domain of white males.
Estimates indicate that 2.5% of management positions are ocuppied by Black Africans"

Bibliography: Thomas, Adele & Bendixen, Mike. 2000. The Management Implications of Ethnicity in South Africa. Journal of International Business Studies, 31 (3): 507-31, pg 3-4