THE CORPORATION

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

Being entitle to rights implies the fact of having certain responsibilities in order to actually be entitled to them. Individuals legal rights include life, freedom, property, free trade among others, and the obligation these imply are: respect for other’s life, act in trade under fair conditions and actions that don’t trespass or affect other rights. Corporations as parts of a society, I think, are entitled to the same rights; they should be allowed as the video said to be freely formed, to be owners of assets, to sue and to freely involve themselves in trading activities. In the basic idea of the definition of each right, corporations for being important agents in the development of the current economical and for their ability to create growth for countries and individuals; should have the same rights as individuals. But a line should be drawn in the obligations corporations have.
Corporations’ actions have a bigger impact, as they involve many citizens as employees, and other companies, they need to take into account not only their profit interests but also the correct development of activities in order no to harm any other member in the society.

2. How can we ensure corporations are held accountable for their actions?

As corporations’ objective is to grow and have more profits, they simply keep carrying out their business without looking the impacts those have, or not even caring over what they need to step in to achieve these goals. They have been accused of the children and third world employees’ exploitation, the environmental pollution and frauds to the government. But the most worrying thing about thiese accusations, is that they get out of those by paying, how can policies about nonpolluting or any other aspect, can be applied if corporations can pay a “commission” for not acting according to them?.
The possible ways to make them accountable for their actions are being trade for money, and until laws get to a point of shutting down business or imposing temporary closures as “scolding” for their actions, or until the economical system stop depending on them, problems will keep persisting.


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

Corporations are just artificial legal structures, so there is a tendency to attribute their actions to the people conforming it: CEOs, employees, legal representatives and others. There might be some cases like legal sues, where they as representatives of the company, should give explanations or proofs of the taken actions, accordingly to the corporation perspective and way of acting.
People from outside the company tend to blame individuals for the impact the corporation’s activities have for example on the environment, in an economic crisis or a lay off, but to me they are just following rules. Enterprises have well defined structures, with procedures, tasks descriptions and courses of action, so an individual part of a corporation can not be blamed for following those; maybe if he could, his choice would be different.


4. What are the benefits of the corporate firm? Could an alternative model offer these as well?
The corporate firm offers several benefits, some of them are:
- Serve the public, by using revenues in social investments and community welfare
- Build business across the world generating employment and investments
- Change the way we live thanks to the comfort and better conditions products give us
These benefits can be given thanks to their high incomes and high reach, regarding different communities around the world, being the main actor in the current economic system, and maybe being only replaced for the governments. Governments can also have high incomes, resulting from taxes, to be invested for the society benefit, but their scope is not global and sometimes is not equally distributed.

References

http://www.youtube.com/watchv=H3m5lq9FHDo&p=FA50FBC214A6CE87&index=5&playnext=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vorWknUybY&feature=related

image taken from: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/109/304475338_dda644e4b9_o.png

WOMEN MIGRANT WORKERS

According to the IOM, almost half of the total number of migrant workers in the world today are women. It is important to acknowledge that labor migration may benefit them through economic and socio-cultural empowerment; however, due to their dual vulnerability as migrants and women, they are still disproportionately exposed to a variety of risks arising from their mobility.
They frequently have to deal with difficult living and working conditions, increased health risks, a lack of access to social services and various forms of abuse such as the confiscation of passports by their employers.

IOM is really concerned for women under this situation, that’s why it has developed certain rules and procedures to be carried out for the different states where this phenomenon is evidenced. These are some of the IOM proposals:
· Promoting legal and safe migration for women migrant workers
· Promoting policies that regulate the recruitment and deployment of women migrant workers
· Promoting and protecting women migrant workers' rights
· Counter-trafficking activities including capacity building and direct assistance to victims
· Research and data collection on women and international labor migration
· Fostering interstate dialogue and enhancing bilateral, regional, interregional and international cooperation
· Strategies to combat ill health among migrants and their host communities and through the integration of migrant health concerns into public health policies globally

These are some examples of the activities the IOM has done in different areas:

1. In Thailand, IOM promotes and protects the human rights of migrants by familiarizing various stakeholders on the rights and obligations of migrants and enhancing their understanding of migration issues through trainings, handbooks, newsletters, public campaigns and media. In each activity, a particular focus is given to vulnerabilities and risks faced by women migrant workers.
2. In Zambia, IOM manages a migrant support centre (75% of the beneficiaries are female) that offers ongoing awareness-raising activities on violence against women.
3. In Zimbabwe, IOM provides voluntary, counseling and testing (VCT), HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), and emergency contraceptives and counseling for gender-based violence survivors
4. In Ecuador, an Internships Initiative has been developed and facilitates placements for youth Victims of trafficking.
5. In Colombia, an initiative to provide assistance to demobilized minors and those at risk of recruitment.

- image: http://weblogs.clarin.com/nideacanidealla/archives/mujeres1.jpg
- WORKING TO PREVENT AND ADDRESS VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN MIGRANT WORKERS. Available in: http://www.acnur.org/t3/fileadmin/Documentos/nuevo_sitio/2010/conferencia/3.%20Background%20Information%20on%20Mixed%20Migration/Respecting%20the%20Human%20Rights%20of%20People%20on%20the%20Move/IOM%20-%20Working%20to%20Prevent%20and%20Address%20Violence%20Against%20Women%20Migrant%20Workers.pdf

UBUNTU PHILOSOPHY

This philosophical thought system embodies beliefs, values and behaviors of a large part of the African population, in which, a spirit of caring and community, harmony and hospitality, respect and responsiveness, is lived within a group.
By emphasizing these values, the philosophy helps in the creation of synergies within a company- the unity of the whole rather than the distinction of the parts- and therefore teamwork, a basic concept that can make a big change in the tasks performance and goals achievement.

A manager should be aware of the different management theories that are currently available, because even the Smith and Taylor classical theories have proved to work well; there is always a space to experience new ideas and to give space to the inclusion of more integrative and personal oriented approaches. Using the Ubuntu approach a manager can promote a sense of trust and belonging among employees, try to include them in the decision making process, emphasize the social well-being, balance the demand for technical competence and social savvy and can be flexible regarding cultural issues. All the mentioned aspects contribute to build a better working environment, not only in national enterprises, but also in companies with multicultural teams.
The advantages this philosophy can bring to a company are many; hence managers should become more familiar with these values to incorporate them in the policies of the company and evolve in management concepts.

• MANGLIASO, Mzamo. 2003. Building competitive advantage from Ubuntu. In Thomas, David Clinton, editor, readings and cases in International Management.
• image http://www.salajka.com/johnny/TeamworkProject/teamwork-games.jpg

USE OF METAPHORS IN INTERNATIONALIZATION PROCESSES

For this week assignment I want to propose a metaphor that can be use to promote a very regional and traditional product the “bocadillo”.

Is interesting to see how enterprises are developing new ideas for undergoing in new markets and exploring new concepts of businesses. The example of the Intercontinental hotels, trying to use a sound in their locations in order to create in the costumers a feeling of comfort and closeness to the brand, is a great sample of how different methodologies are being used nowadays to improve the people’s perception about the company.

In today’s case I want to internationalize the bocadillo under the metaphor: “taste the Colombian tropics”. The bocadillo is a traditional sweet product of Colombia. It is manufactured from ripe guava and sugar cane, creating a thick and chewy paste. It is traditionally consume as a dessert or as a complement to some beverages like milk or mazamorra (a traditional Colombia beverage made of corn and milk).
The strategy I want to propose is based on the creation of a feeling of belonging on the Colombians living abroad, as well as a pleasant memory of their country. By appealing to their memories and traditions, the product can have a good reception.
Also the metaphor refers to the bocadillo as an exotic and tropical taste, than can attract foreigners, and can create a desire to actually taste the tropic.

• http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bocadillo_(dulce)


• image http://villaislasporty.com/portadanew.jpg

For this week assignment I posted some comments in the blogs I found the most interesting:

Carlos Andres Mejia

Stefany Alvear Angel

Manuela Saldarriaga

Luisa Mejia Salazar

Sara Baena Castro

PYGMALION EFFECT CASE

The Pygmalion effect, attempts to explain how the perceiver’s positive expectation may enhance the target’s performance. The effect is named after Pygmalion a Cypriot sculptor, who fell in love with a female statue he had carved out of ivory.
It is a form of self-fulfilling prophecy, in this respect, people with poor expectations internalize their negative label, and those with positive labels succeed accordingly. (1)

Is important for employees to adopt positives attitudes at all levels, especially in commanding levels, it can help in the creation of a better organizational environment, and can also help in the achievement of goals. Is even more important to promote positive behaviors in companies, when you are dealing with cross-cultural groups of people, because in these cases harmony is difficult to achieve and people can be affected in different ways to the stimuli from the environment. Each person select, organize and interpret the information according to internal factors, which change a lot among different cultures.
As said before, cultures adopt different behaviors, and reflect the pigmalion effect in special ways. As an example I want to share with you a case study of the Germans behavior. It was developed by Daniel Wolfman, a writer with several publications on international trade.
This study refers to Germany's rule-oriented, hierarchical focus on task accomplishment as an example of an Eiffel Tower management style.

The Eiffel tower management culture is most common in Northwest European countries, including Germany. In Germany, jobs are well-defined while assignments are fixed and limited. German employees know what they are supposed to do within an Eiffel Tower culture that is hierarchical, with orders coming down from the top with very little upward communication.
Germans generally accept the orders from higher authorities and have a high sense of self monitoring their actions in order to fulfill the task as they were said. These actions reflect in them the Pygmalion effect.

The case describe their leadership style as unique because they have styles in order to closely fit with the strongest German cultural characteristics. German leadership and motivation style synthesizes the most pertinent characteristics from Authoritative Theory X, Paternalistic Theory Y and Participative Theory Z.
From Theory X:
- Germans like to be directed.
- In Germany, job security is primary.
From Theory Y:
- Since Germans are committed to goals, they exercise high self-control.
- No threats of punishment are required to ensure task completion.
From Theory Z:
- Germans are motivated by a strong commitment to be part of a greater whole
- Through teamwork, Germans derive self-satisfaction while contributing

Next, these are some other results and conclusions from the case

Formal German Qualifications: German organizations rely heavily on formal qualifications in deciding how to schedule, deploy and reshuffle personnel
Difficulty Handling Organizational Changes: When changes need to be made, the German culture is often ill-equipped to handle the complex burdens that a rule-based Eiffel Tower bureaucracy demands. Manuals must be rewritten, procedures changed, job descriptions altered, promotions reconsidered and qualifications reassessed.

Germans Resist ChangesGenerally: German managers are slow to accept changes partly because of Germany's strong aversion to risk

References
(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygmalion_effect

case

- WOLFMAN, Daniel. Independent insights based on research from International Management, Culture, Strategy and Behavior (6th edition, Hodgetts-Luthans-DOH).

- German Culture Leadership Style: Germany's Unique Management Style Labelled Theory G

image http://www.informamenorca.com/fotos/cursos/110_1.jpg

This is an interesting video describing cultural diversity in businesses, how cultures are converging and how is important to create inclusive behaviors in companies.

HOW DOES DIVERSITY IMPACT BUSINESS TODAY?




Available in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui4kjsWH-78&feature=related