TASK N°8

Corporations are the dominant institutions today, emerged in 1742 in the industrial era with the invention of the steam engine by Thomas Newcomen.
Corporations are like a family unit working together to reach a common goal.

Initially there were few associations legally constituted by the State to perform a particular function where their shareholders were responsible.
However, a century ago, corporations were limited in terms of growing and power. The lawyer’s initial step was to show the corporation as a person. Under the law corporations are now immortal; laws legitimize all their actions as long as they seek to maximize profits.

There should be different laws for individuals and corporations, the limits should be set by the State and other entities to ensure the peoples’ safety. The State should respect the rights and duties of the individual and make them different from the laws and rights of corporations. The State should have the power to make these companies accountable.
The problems that currently corporations generate are minimized through agreements, some members of the corporations know the damage they cause, but law enforcement becomes a strategic decision because the profits are higher than the costs, if these costs were more constant and higher it can represent losses for corporations and they would be responsible for their actions.

The directors, employees, shareholders and other company’ members are partly responsible because they must act according to the objective of the organization, some of them act because of necessity but limited by the own corporation. The corporations and their shareholders do not realize they are leaving a legacy of destruction for future generations, as people or individuals they are kind but when they develop the institutional role they are manipulated with the desire to make money.

If the point is to maximize profits and reduce costs to have more money, there should be another way to get the same institution but without damage people, public institutions and industries can act in countercyclical time and they do not seek benefits only they also look the societies welfare, these entities could be an initial choice while we looking for another entity favorable for the society and corporation’s benefit.

References: Achbar Mark, Abbot Jennifer and Bakon Joel.The corporation documentary, 2003

Video Taken form Youtube.com, 2010. Corporations vs The People - Fighting Corporate Rule. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POY-4YHPUBI

Image, october 2010 (online). Taken from http://wideawareness.wordpress.com/tag/the-corporation/

TASK N°7

IOM is an inter-governmental organization that fights for the people rights but the ones that migrate and works in other countries different to the home country. This organization is been working since 1951 promoting international migration laws, protection and assistance of migrants and gender migration. The organization develops each year many projects to search practical solutions to migration problems in the world.

Currently women migrants are known as autonomous and family supporters. Today, women report almost half of the migrant population globally. Nevertheless, migration policies and regulations in countries of origin and destination have generally not adjusted to this trend.

Even with this problem, many organizations still tend to take men as the standard for its policies, ignoring women’s needs, objectives, and abilities to act independently. Some policies and regulations typically do not consider the roles and relationships between men and women. However, there are some strategies that have been increasingly incorporated into this important issue.

IOM is one of those organizations that is working with and for women migrant’s rights, it is providing training to improve social skills and internationally acceptable standard certification for the women migrant workers.
IOM's approach in some countries has focused on giving support in training government authorities on women and men migratory issues and encouraging states to pay attention to the needs of the people living abroad. For that reason, the IOM has supported the development of multilateral agreements in countries related with this issue in order to help the flow of temporary migrants. Also, it has increased its campaigns to conduct significant researches in the world, the results of which have provided a better characterization and understanding of migratory flows. IOM has directly supported the voluntary repatriation of women and men migrants and has helped them to integrate into their national economies.

References: Video taken from youtube.com (2010), Migrant women.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGE5kPgyJpI
International Organization for Migration, 2010 (online). http://www.iom.int/jahia/Jahia/media/feature-stories/featureArticleAF/cache/offonce/lang/en?entryId=10454

TASK N°6

Ubuntu is a traditional African philosophy; it recognizes how we are related with each other humanity. It means I am because you are, there is not differentiation. Ubuntu describes a sense of unity between people through which each discover the own strengths and virtues.

“Incorporating ubuntu principles in management holds the promise of superior approaches to managing organizations. Organizations infused with humaneness, a pervasive spirit of caring and community, harmony and hospitality, respect and responsiveness will enjoy more sustainable competitive advantage” (Mangaliso, 2001).

Currently, talking about ubuntu in organizations is important but is difficult because cross-cultural managers today do not apply this philosophy, because they do not know what it is or how apply it. A cross-cultural manager has the skills and the capability to develop many strategies to carry out the effectiveness in an organization, like we know; he applies the knowledge about cultures in his work environment, knowledge acquired in his studies about traditions’ society, so he can realize the use of ubuntu in today world.

A manager can motivate his employees using ubuntu, he can formulate and implement plans to get a competitive advantage inside the organization, he can communicate and lead its members to be interconnected each other and have a common interest to follow. All the benefits giving by using ubuntu are showing by the employees when they act with mutual respect and understanding, when they adapt easily to the communicate goal working together with success and efficiency, when they act with loyalty to accomplish the organization goal and bring experience during its development.

In the reading, there are some steps that a manager can use to implement the ubuntu’s philosophy; all of them are a guideline to begin with the ubuntu’s principles incorporation. Following them and using other strategies like:

• Cultural knowledge to help in affirming universal human values.
• Understand and teach the flexibility of the cultural and behavior changes.
• Create partnerships between him and his workers.
• Find the harmony for an excellent work environment.

All of them will help the manager improve the outcome, not just in money also in the relationship and performance of his employees and organization work.

References: Video taken from youtube, Ubuntu, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf4hP3GkABI&feature=related

Mangaliso, M(2010) "Building competitive advantage from ubuntu: Management lessons from South africa"

TASK N°5

Research into the organization’s context and cultures is vital in order to respond effectively to any situation. The organization has to develop a practical and easily plan appropriate for the client attraction and satisfaction. Marketing makes the main role to promote a product; one of the tools that it can apply is metaphor.

In dictionary.com, metaphors is defined as “A figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance”.

A metaphor as a strategy in organizations is used to improve communication and publicity in organizations, it explain the ideas, attitudes and beliefs that a company wants to share with its costumers, it uses innovation to help convey ideas, and to avoid using any terminology.

For example, Helados la Fresita is a family enterprise initiated in Antioquia. The company is well positioned in the regional market nowadays and its products are recognized for having very good quality and flavor.

For its products acceptance in other markets I want to create a slogan for the company that carry a metaphor, this slogan should be associated with the fruits because the product look for a differentiation with natural flavors, the slogan will be: “Helados la Fresita, the fruits never filled your mouth with so much flavor”; it means that the flavor never be equal when you taste this ice cream. I think that it can be a good strategy to show to the people that the ice cream is different and have good quality, and people will enjoy eating it.

References: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2exh6i6T6tg&feature=related
Spencer, M (2010) "If InterContinental were a sound what would it be"