EAST ASIA

Sumary
We saw a presentation about the Asean and analized each of their integrants, also we learn about Vietnam, looking all the aspects of it. And we saw some of the principal countries and their general aspects.
We made an emphasis on Japan, learning everything about this country and all the important thing they have to offer to the world. We analyze important aspects as the tecnology, culture, language among other important issues.

Question
¿Is a trade pact between ASEAN and japan a good thing for the economy of both parties?
In recent months is known that the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) has agreed a preliminary free trade pact with Japan. The outline, signed during an annual meeting between Asean and Japan taking place in Manila, could be sealed as early as November officials said.
This deal cut tariffs on 90% of Asean products is set to further boost trade between the two parties, which hit $160bn (£79bn) in 2006. The most important issue and a positive aspect to te economy is that the Asean members aim to turn the whole region into a free trade zone.
Is obviously that Japan is a key Asean partner, accounting for 12% of the bloc's world trade in 2006. Also a free trade deal with South Korea is expected in 2008, and further deals are tipped to be signed with Australia and New Zealand in 2010.
All the members discussed the issue of product safety at the event following a series of recalled toys that had been made in China. A series of product recalls of Chinese toys has pushed the issue into the spotlight.
But we can say that this pact just lead opportunities of development and rise in economy for both paries as soon as the pact conclude, and begin to take place.

Bibliography
WK Kwan, PM Goh, Koizumi. Call for Japan-Asean pact. The Straits Times, 2002
M BARRY. ASEAN Free-Trade Area Discussions on Including China, Japan, and South Korea. International Economic Review, 2001 - ciaonet.org

SOUTH ASIA

Sumary
We began with an exellent presentation about the religions that exist in this region that are Islam, Induism and Jainism, and we saw the issues involved with each of these religions and where they were practiced. Also the partners make an analisys on Hofstede´s framework looking each of the characteistics.
We saw deeply the caste and all the implication it had depending where you belong, and also we saw the works and attitudes the person of a caste can do o not.

At the end of the presentation we saw and learn about the company INFOSYS who are a entreprise dedicated to the manage of software and services. We saw how they work and what they did for being succesfull now days.

Question
¿Why be part of a low caste is the meaning of poverty, udevelopment and slavery?

To many people in India said that prefer to born again as an animal rather than as a harijan (dalit), because eveyone can notice the humiliation they suffer. In a region of India this is more specific, the region is Bihar, where after the floods millions of people lost their homes, belongings and even family members. But for the dalits of Bihar there is further misery: the caste system.

The unemployment is a variable that is affecting all Bihar population nowdays and because of their condition of dalit, is harder to get a new job or to be someone in life. The childres of the dalits always suffer for being hungry and for not having education. In Bihar the dalits work for earn about 40 rupees (80 cents) for a 12-hour day.

And the problem is bigger because affter this floods hundreds of dalit families are in extremely situations of poverty. In this emergency, when everyone should be provided with food, certain groups are denied access.

And the only persons that can leave the place where the upper cast members, because the dalits may stay home to guard their house and belongings. No matters if the guard is old or have also a family, because they just took advantage of their condition of dalit. It seems a strange sort of society where an old man stays back, without food or shelter, taking numerous risks to guard the house of his feudal lord.

But also is important to know that in this society there is no other support system for dalits family members. For many it has become a question of survival, they cant use the hand pump to get water as it belonged to upper caste people.

All people must understand they are also human beings, they need food and water and their children also feel hungry. Everyone must have to challenge the system, eventhough the problem is gigantic. But efforts need to be made. The critical point is that while equality may be an accepted philosophy it can only happen once people also agree in practice to be equals. Everyone in India must understand that equality means that all people should get food and their rights and dignity are respected.

Bibliography
GS GHURYE. Caste and Class in India. Popular Book Depot

HUTTON J. H. Caste in India. Its Nature, Function, and Origins. Oxford University Press, Bombay, INDE (1973) (Monographie)

CHINA

Sumary
We saw all about the Human Resources Managment in China, we began this topic learning about the general aspects, the background and of course the history. After that we saw all the types of companies that exist in China and how is the process when you are doing business with them.

Also we saw all the economic deeply and how those afects China, and how that make China rise out to the world in several issues and aspects.

Question
¿How is China dealing with the world´s financial meltdown?
Is normal to see that the earlier crisis started with local worries about Thailand`s widening current-account deficit and poverty bubble in Bangkok. It astonished the world with the speed and extent of the contagion that spread to other asian countries, and emerging markets elsewhere, such as Russia and Brazil.

Research shows that China is the far better placed to withstand the present shock. Its banks are stronger, its currency regimes less rigid, its foreign-exhange reserves bigger. On the other hand, a decade of accelerated globalisation had seen every country integrated even more closely into the world economy. China may not face the sort of meltdown experienced at the end of the 1990s. But prospects for growth look much bleaker that they did even a fortnigth ago. Exports to rich countries still matter, albeit less than they did.

China leaders have complained that they were blamed for bringing the last crisis on themselves, with their misguided exchange-rate policies, opaque financial systems, profligate spending and corrupt politics. China is refusal to allow a faster appreciation of the yuan has been blamed by some for helping build up the huge global financial imbalances that now seem to be unwinding so fast.

Blibliography
NICHOLAS R. LARDY. Integrating China Into the Global Economy. Publicado por Brookings Institution Press, 2002

BARRY NAUGTHON. What is distinctive about China`s economic transition? State and enterprise reform and overall system trasformation. University of California, San Diego, La Jolla. February 15, 1994.

AFRICA

Sumary

This topic had two parts the first one was the exposition that showed the general aspects of Africa. Also we saw how the colonialism and post colonialism contribute with the actual situation of poorness and war of african´s citizens. We learned about Sierra Leone and the conflict with diamonds they have, there the guerrillas figth with the civil population, and that is a fact of why there exist the illegal trade of diamonds because of corrupt governments, trade of weapons and terrorism. Those issues are the ones that made the diamonds called “blood diamonds”.

Lorenza Fontana showed us the problem in Nigeria about the oil from the multinationals corporations existing in the Delta Niger region. We saw all the aspects influenced with a background that brings out all the aspects that made this not fair for the citizens. We saw how in front of this inequallytu came up the the movement MEND and we analyzed all the implications of them in the oil conflict.

Question

¿Why Africa being one of the richest continets in the wold in resources continue being the poorest one?
Since ever we listen and learned about Africa´s natural resources and all the mineral resources they had there. But also we listen about the war, terrorism and poorness they live in. This is contradictory and had no sence, because you can´t understand why a conuntry with that amount of resources live in the worts conditions of poverty.

But all of that have an explication,and it came from the colonialism period were the Europeans took advantage on African people. First some writter said that colonialism was a system witch functioned well in the interest of the metropoles. Also there are so much writters who said that Europeans did to much for Africans and this is complety false because the only thing Africans learn from Europeans were the words opression, explotaition and slavery.

The Europeans said that they built railroads, schools, hospitals and the like, but they did´nt noticed that the sum of these was extremely small in comparison with the damage and pain they when throug later.

That is why we can say Africa has everything to be a rich country but the develped countries never wanted to be like that, and they had been doing everything to take out the ritchness of Africa making the African population suffer and die because of the injustice of the richest ones.

Bibliography
ROY RICHARD GRINKER, CHRISTOPHER BURGHARD STEINER. Perspectives on Africa: A Reader in Culture, History, and Representation. Publicado por Blackwell Publishing, 1997

J WODDIS. Africa: The Roots of Revolt. 1962 , Citadel Press.

MODULE 3

MODULE 3


III. MANAGING DIVERSITY

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SUMARY

We saw the spheres of activity in the management of cultural diversity knowing how each one work. We also learned the differences between managing diversity and equal opportunities,

Also we learned parallel between managing diversity and the competitive advantage, analyzing each variable as cost, resource acquisition, marketing, creativity, problem solving, and organizational flexibility.

Finally we learned the components to transform traditional organizations into multicultural ones.

QUESTION

Which is the best way for a organization to manage the cultural diferences?

We saw the spheres of activity in the management of cultural diversity knowing how each one work. We also learned the differences between managing diversity and equal opportunities,

Also we learned parallel between managing diversity and the competitive advantage, analyzing each variable as cost, resource acquisition, marketing, creativity, problem solving, and organizational flexibility.

Finally we learned the components to transform traditional organizations into multicultural ones.

When an organization is involved with different cultures it must educate their employees towards an understanding and tolerance in these differences. There is a process that can make things easier for an organization.

This process is call Holvino’s Multicultural Organizational Development model and it provides a useful support of the stages of an organization moving from a monoculture, that is characterized for exclusionary issues into the organization where the values of one group, culture or style are dominant, to multicultural organization who are inclusive and where the values of diverse people are valued and contribute to organizational goals and excellence.

According to this, an organization must development approach to designing and implementing a diversity initiative follow a five-step process: 1) preparing for the initiative; 2) assessing needs related to diversity; 3) developing a vision, goals and a strategic plan; 4) implementing the interventions selected; and 5) monitoring and evaluating progress and results.

These steps are something basic and very easy to accomplish by an organization, the key is that it must focus on the strengths of the organizational development approach to diversity, because this will provides a clear focus; it is similar to other planning processes.
If every organization take this into account, the problems with the cultural differences will be easier to accomplished, and will make the workplace a better place for the employees and a more successful company because is clear that a happy worker make happy costumers.

Bibliography

• DEBORAH MERRILL-SANDS, EVANGELINA HOLVINO WITH JAMES CUMMING (2000). Working with Diversity. Center for Gender in Organizations (CGO) SIMMONS Graduate School of Management Chaos Management, Ltd.
  

MODULE 4

MODULE 4

IV. INTERNATIONAL LABOUR MIGRATION

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SUMMARY

We learned about migration having into account some important concepts as the origins, history and important dates of migration in our society and others.

Also we emphasized in the fact of the brain drain, specially the ones that happens here in Latin America, because of the lack of opportunities and support from government to the education and many other factors.

In class this case and other related were discussed, taking into account the conflicts, consequences and issues that something like this can bring, also the image that the migrant has of another country as a opportunity to improving lifestyle for the migrant himself and the family. We talk also about the consequences for each country, the one that loses a citizen and the one that receives the migrant, evaluating every problem and discussing it. Some of these problems were the brain drain, remittances, the population increase, the decrease of the jobs.

QUESTION

What are the social or political impacts of migration to the cities?

There are a lot of impacts in those two issues and in several more, some of those impacts are positive and some negative. The key is to understand the impacts and manage it in the right way.

First we can analyzed the political impacts, because is important to show that there are more positive migrant policies in cities, but it has taken a long time. Migrants always try to achieve urban benefits and amenities like access to schools and housing, but the problem is with governments who don’t see this as possible as they want to.

Even though now is common to see a shift at the highest levels of government towards social policies addressing inequality and disparity. Differential treatment of migrants is now becoming to be a potentially explosive issue, because the migrant population is growing.

In the latest days there are growing up second-generation migrants, who are the younger migrants, they are studying and working searching a better future for them and their families. But is common to see that in the cities they are not treated in the same way as the local kids.

Gradually there have been small changes in all of those aspects and the positive policy changes have been happening slowly, because the principal importance for governments is the welfare of the citizens and the migrants who are also important citizens as well.

Governments must educate all the society to understand and respect the migrants, because everybody must know that they are human beans and deserve the same rights as the citizens.

Bibliography

• Stark O (1991), The migration of labor. Cambridge, Massachusetts/Oxford, England, Basil Blackwell.


• Douglas S. Massey, Joaquín Arango, Graeme Hugo, Ali Kouaouci, Adela Pellegrino, J. Edward Taylor (1998).Worlds in motion. understanding international migration at the end of the millennium. Oxford. Oxford University Press.
  

MODULE 2

MODULE 2

II. Exploring Diversity

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SUMMARY

Here we learned and understood that everybody are different in several ways and also knew how those differences affects individuals’ values, opportunities and perceptions of self and others at work and at society. Also we saw important concepts about this topic as race, discrimination and racism.

We went deeper with the concept of racism, looking at important issues as the personal, the cultutal and the institutional racism.

To understand better the diversity we saw the theories underpinning of diversity, and also we learned how to understand the multicultural diversity in every of it issues.


QUESTION

Why there are differences and conflicts, between people of different cultures in workplace in some organizations? ¿Is this problem related with the cultural diversity?

First we should know there are a lot of differences and low tolerance for people from other cultures in actual society, because everybody feels afraid of the unknown issues, that’s why in this cases the lack of information and education about other cultures or behaviors make people reject those other person who are different.

Even thought there are some investigations and research that shows how these differences are taken between different culture people, especially in workplace. E.T. Hall developed the concept that there are three important concepts about cultural differences. These are time, context, and space. He also established that is important to understand the differences between monochronic time and polychronic, because time is essential to success, especially in workplace.

Is important to understand monochronic time is characterized as linear, tangible, and divisible. In monochronic time, events are scheduled one item at a time and this schedule takes precedence over interpersonal relationships. Monochronic time focuses on the time is money approach and is couched in terms such as time spent, time wasted, time lost and so on.

Otherwise polychronic time is characterized by the concurrent happening of many things and by a great involvement with people and is more focused on completing human transactions than it is on the holding on of schedules.

That’s why we saw that those cultures that are monochronic do one thing at a time and concentrate on the job at hand, and take commitments seriously. They are more likely to value promptness and are accustomed to short- term relationships. And in the other hand polychronic cultures focus on doing many things at a time, are more distractible and are likely to base their promptness on the strength of a relationship, so keeping strangers waiting is far more acceptable than family.

The other issues that Hall exposed were the high and low context, it refers to the amount of information that a person can manage. This can vary from a high context culture where background information is implicit to low context culture where much of the background information must be made explicit in an interaction. In consequence people from a high context cultures often send more information implicitly, have a wider "network," and thus tend to stay well informed on many subjects. The people from low context cultures usually verbalize much more background information, and tend not to be well informed on subjects outside of their own interests.

Here we can understand why there are differences in work, because not everybody has the information of this, and in some cases this causes serious problem at work, some of them unsolved ones. We should understand that in every place there are a lot of different attitudes and behaviors in people, some of those are characteristics of their cultures and knowing those differences life in work can be easily and peacefully if we understand the cultural diversity.

Bibliography

• 
  
  Hall, E.T. (1990), Understanding cultural differences, Intercultural Press, Yarmouth, ME


• 
  
  Hall, E.T. (1985), Hidden Differences: Studies in International Communication, Gruner & Jahr, Hamburg