The Magical China

The People's Republic of China, getting a more important role in the world

China is a country that is always gaining more attention of the world, and everyone is waiting to see what’s coming next with them.

As a country with a millenary history and as the place where many developments have come from and shaped society, China is a country that is magical and has a lot to show and to teach the world.

However, the fact that China has become since 1949 a communist country has shaped its relations with the world in a very interesting way. At the beginning getting away from the capitalism and the western world, but with the years it is turning into what they call a socialist market economy. Those changes promoted by Deng Xiaoping have come slowly but really strong and those are the ones that are leaving the entire world impressed.

As Maria Alejandra Gonzalez-Perez said in her presentation China has had a huge economic growth for the past twenty years, and that is thanks to a market liberalization, development of an external labor market, high international trade activities, and increases in the private enterprises, among many others.

Then Ricardo Pelaez and Miguel Estrada talked about some positive facts that have helped China to succeed. Mentioning how many multinationals have decided to go and established subsidiaries in China, increasing like that the business partnerships and the foreign direct investment in the country, which brings know how and new technologies.

(Foto taken from Getty Images. "People in shopping center, Guangzhou, China" by Charles Bowman)


Many countries are looking for agreements in the country, since they are importing many Chinese products, but they are also aware that China represents a huge market for them, nothing less than a population of around 1300 million.
All this capitalism has definitely had a big influence, and as the boys mentioned, the country has been having an significant economic growth since it started its opening process in 1978. Their middle class is growing and they are important consumers and are the ones that attract many companies to produce there. And there is a rich class coming too.

Now there are stores as Ferrari, Lamborghini… which means luxury.
And other more common supermarkets as Carrefour are getting there.
Besides 60% of today’s GDP comes from private companies.

But not everything is so good and perfect and China still has lots of challenges in front of it.
As María Alejandra Gonzalez-Perez said, there are between the main problems environmental issues (it is said that from the 10 most contaminated cities in world 7 belong to China), there is a huge difference between the urban and the rural areas, and like that the development comes to some places but leaves others quite abandoned and that also increases the difference between the reach and the poor, there is also a bigger rate of unemployment in the rural areas, the employees of the private sector have lots of differences to the ones of the public sector, the fact that China is ruled by an unique working class political party has also limitations, and there is a huge control for communications, for example what google shows in all the other countries may be restricted in China, so the content is the one approved by the government.

On the other hand, the boys presented as difficulties the pressures from the USA and other countries, that want to slow China’s economic growth since it is becoming a threat for them and their home industries, there are questions on the quality of the products and the role of those cheap costs, how are they handling their workers considering lack of human rights protection, child labor, horrible salaries and the possibility of imposing quotas and taxes to Chinese exports.
So considering all these factors, the only thing remain is to be ready to respond to China and find a way to be partners and learn from them, making them a big opportunity instead of a threat.


Question: Which one are the keys to have successful negotiations in China and in order to have good quality products as well?

Some people who have undertook negotiations with China, come complaining or maybe they manage to get what they want, but then its clients are the ones unsatisfied because of the bad quality of the products and other things.

However, that happens because those negotiators haven’t done their homework and instead of looking for the keys to negotiate with the Chinese they go the opposite way and end messing it up.
So in order to come happy and be successful in the Chinese negotiations James Vincent Lord (2007) has 10 tips to follow and like that all the good opportunities will be there for you.

Those tips are:

Get familiar with the culture, the Chinese people are proud of their culture and it plays a significant role in their lives, they are also in a process of getting use to what may be obvious for us, so it is important to understand that there are special things in their culture, that we need to respect that and find a way to connect their culture with yours.
Some important things to remember are that they are a culture of processes not results, they take time in what they do, they look for consensus and they have a broader view.

Another important thing is to establish good relationships and networks, what is called in mandarin “Guanxi”. It is not what you can do, but who you know (Echavarria, 2009). People are the key to achieve you goals.
And if you have permanent business go t

o China, it is important to be there and get to know the people. When you negotiate it is between the people and not between companies!!


This picture was taken in Germany in 2007 at the University HHL and it is called "Building the Guaxi" and the photographer is unknown. Anyway, the idea is to show that the Chinese people are open and are willing to share their culture with you and can become great friends. So honestly the Guanxi is worth getting and keeping ;-).


You also have to pay attention to the concept of “Mianxi” which would be like the “face” meaning the dignity and pride of the people. So you got to be subtle, never offend them and learn how they manage that concept, since you can take the “Mianxi” from them but you can also give it to them by recognizing the ood things they have done.

It is essential to know what’s behind the façade of a company, and more in today’s business world with the internet, you may see many nice things but you gotta verify they are for real, and how is really their business culture. Do constant supervisions, be there, give courses for the people, check the technology they have… See that what they show is definitely what you are getting.

Learn to work in a changing environment. China is in a process so there are many changes in their laws, and sometimes there may even be contradictions. So be informed the whole time on the adaptations and changes that are happening.

There can’t be a room for misinterpretations. Be very precise on what you want, write it down, attach it with graphs, pictures… even samples. Explain every singles detail and never leave a thing on the air.

In China you need a strategic partner, don’t think just about a provider. It has to be set on partnerships. And evaluate it not only on the bases of the price, but do a complete analysis and have auditors. Check the licenses, because you gotta respect the law and see that your partner is following it too, if they don’t have for example an exporting license see how to handle it under the Chinese law. If there is any difficulty, highlight that it is important for both of you and the partnership and even friendship!!

When you have a manufacturing contract, supervise the whole process and check to see how they are doing with it, if they are respecting the schedules and all the details.

Another thing related to that, is that you should foresee everything going around, like that you’d be able to avoid problems and if they arise you can solve them easier and faster. Have schedules, plans… everything you can.

And finally be very precise in the introductions, presentations and communications. Try to have as many things as possible written. Have clear that “no problem” with the Chinese doesn’t mean it is ok, it is like they get what you’re saying, but there may be all the difficulties of the world behind, and consider that they are a culture that doesn’t say “no”. Be honest, don’t fool them, because they might fool you and be careful with all the closures of the negotiation.

Besides that another topic that the author mentions it the property rights protection, which is a concept that still is developing for them, but with the time when they see how it is for the rest of the world and the commercial implications it will improved. However, it is important to understand that in part it comes from it culture where they feel that everything should belong to everyone.

Following these advices and preparing yourself according to them China would represent lots of benefits for you.

References:

1. Estrada, M. & Pelaez, R. 2009. Presentation "Republic of China" part of the subject Organizations and Cultures at the University EAFIT
Note: There is a mistake in the title of the presentation, because the Republic of China is Taiwan, and China per se is the People’s Republic of China

2. Echavarria, P. 2009. Lecture Asia Pacific Studies, module of China at the University EAFIT


2. Gonzales-Perez, M. A. 2009. Presentation "China" part of the subject Organizations and Cultures at the University EAFIT


3. Lord, J.V. 2007. The essential guide for buying from China´s manufacturers: 10 steps to success. Guru Series

East Asia, home of Drangons and Tigers.

Rediscovering the World and its Cultures.

East Asia, inspiring the world.

(East Asian Map taken from Yahoo Images)

Each time Asia is becoming the center of attention of the modern world, first thanks to the booming economies and the fast changes they are experiencing; there are also important management theories such as the ones coming from Japan influencing thousands of business around the world and their millenary cultures are definitely attention grabbing and magical.

So in order to define the area, according to the presentation of Juliana María Rodas, Luisa Fernanda Saldarriaga y María Camila Restrepo, East Asia is a subregion of the Asian continent that can be defined according to their geographical position or cultural terms.

In geographical terms in the presentation they talk about East Asian having around 12 million km2, which would be 28% of the continent, with a population of 1.5 billion, what makes it one of the most populated places in the world with a density of 131 per km2.

On cultural terms, the Chinese culture plays a huge role in the area, influencing the different cultures with the classical Chinese scripts, different religions and ethical conducts derived from Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism among others.

And those cultural features that influence political philosophies, language, celebrations, architecture and many other things from the daily life are the ones that influence more the definition of East-Asia.

So talking about the countries of East Asia we got:

• 
  
  People’s Republic of China (Taking into account Macao and Hong Kong)



• 
  
  Republic of Korea



• 
  
  Democratic People’s Republic of Korea



• 
  
  Republic of China (Taiwan)



• 
  
  Mongolia



• 
  
  Siberia, Russia



• 
  
  Vietnam

From these countries we are going to take a closer look at Japan, South Korea and Vietnam.

Japan

Economically Japan has the first country of the region to take off and its economic development after the Second World War has been an example for the region and the rest of the world, considering as well the influence of the USA through different interventions as the McArthur Plan.

(Photo taken from Getty Images. "View of East Shinjuku in the early evening" by Tom Bonaventure)

Japan according to Juliana María Rodas, Luisa Fernanda Saldarriaga y María Camila Restrepo’s presentation is an Island country, with a population of 128 millions.

It is a Unitary Constitutional Monarchy and its capital is Tokyo.

In the presentation they also highlight facts as:

• Japan is the largest robot operator in the world and the largest investor in science and technology.



• Due to its geography and large population they are also the largest importer of food worldwide, accounting 60% of their consumption.



• Japan is the second largest producer of automobiles and machinery.



• And it is the second largest oil importer.
  
  

Japan is very important and has succeeded thanks to its Management Model. In this model they give a lot of importance to the market share, economies of scale and the value maximization of the firm in the long term is a key.

It is important to establish good relationships with the workers, who are usually employees of a company for life, with suppliers, a very important element in order to reach competitiveness and with the clients, who are a basic source of information.

Comparing the Japanese Model with the American one, Japanese take decision with consensus; it is a more participatory system, what makes the responsibility lay not in one individual but in the group. And they also have a more paternalistic approach in the working environment.

This Model has been applied in companies such as Mitsubishi and Toyota.

Then María Alejandra Gonzalez-Perez made a complementary presentation on the Japanese management system. She mentioned as the three pillars for their management: politics, bureaucracy and business. And she also highlight the commitment to excellence and quality.

And in order to get that commitment the company works as a family where people feel they belong, and with work they define its social role and gain a social status.

And then it was talked about the different models and systems there are implemented, such as TQM (total quality management) and Keizen, that I particularly find very interesting and are models followed all around the world. In Colombia important companies as the Nacional de Chocolates implements some of these systems and in Germany it could be said that almost all the important companies implement at least one of the models.

In Germany it is so important that there is one subject called “Production management” and many of the core lessons are on Japanese systems. In that class the teacher Ms. Iris Hausladen, made a lot of emphasis on the 5 Ss concept, which is:

• Seiketsu (Standarize)



• Shitsuke (Self-discipline)



• Seiso (Keep clean)



• Seiton (Systematic order)



• Seiri (Sort out)

Those concepts represent in a way values that are important for the Japanese culture and play an important role not only at work but in their personal lives too.

South Korea

South Korea is another well-built country economically and with a strong business culture, that somehow has been influenced by the Japanese Model.

It’s capital is Seoul and it has a population of around 48 millions. The government type is a Republic.

With the religions, one of the main facts is the role of Christianity, being the most Christian country in the region. But of course Asian religions can be found there such as Buddhism, Confucianism, Shamanism and Chondogyo.

Considering its economy, the industry plays a huge role and it focus on the electronic and electrical products, motor vehicles with recognized companies as Daewo and Hyundai, shipbuilding, industrial machinery and telecommunications.

Its trade is mainly concentrated with countries in the area as Japan and China, and then with the Arabic peninsula as one of its main suppliers because of oil.

One of the most critical issues is the conflict with North Korea, since they were divided through the parallel 38 and the constitution of the two different governments since 1948. Here the question is if one day it would be possible to be just one country again.

(Photo taken from Getty Images. "South Korea, Seoul, Gyeongbokgung Royal Palace garden in autumn" by Andrea Pistolesi.)

Concerning the management model, according to the presentation, Korea was a Japanese colony for 36 years and shares somehow a cultural background, which has made it easier for them to develop a pretty similar model.

Still some of the main differences are that in Korea employees tend to change jobs freely; the top Management makes the important decisions by itself and is likely to be authoritarian and they are not so involved in environmental analysis as the Japanese.

In Korea the important and large companies follow usually the model of Chaebol, which means that they are run by family members and they give a huge importance and respect to the family heritage. They are somehow as strong as the Keiretsus in Japan (the business conglomerates).

Vietnam

Concerning Vietnam we had the opportunity hear the presentation of María Alejandra Gonzalez-Perez, who actually has been there.

The general information of Vietnam is that it is a Communist State, which capital is Hanoi since 1995 and whose population is of around 86 million people.
Before defining Hanoi as its capital, Saigon, renamed Ho Chi Minh City, was the capital.

It has a long story of domination, first from the Chinese, who were there from 111BC till 936 AD, and then from the French, who were there in the 19th and 20th centuries.

(Photo taken from Getty Images. "Vietnamese Masks" by Frans Lemmens.)

In the history of Vietnam, there is a very important person, who shaped the country to what it is today. That was Ho Chi Minh, born in 1890 and who died in 1969.

He was an important thinker and a huge influence for communist countries.

Ho Chi Minh was very smart and he lived and studied in France, where he became too involved in politics and actually was one of the founders of the French Communist Party in 1920. Later on the Second World War started and he creates a guerrilla (Vietminh) in Vietnam, this guerrilla received support from the URSS. And after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs the Vietminh managed to take over and become one of the leaders of the country.

Question: How is Japan, the leader of the East Asian economies, facing its current economical crisis and challenges should it overcome?

Lately, one of the most discussed topics is the economic recession Japan is being facing along other countries in the world; still the case of Japan is definitely unique and critical because of the significant contraction that its economy is likely to face during this year.

And as the leading economy of East Asia, an example with business models as the Toyota model, with manangement systems as TQM, everyone in the region and the world is paying close attention to its situation.

In Japan’s history there had been two major economic changes, one being the Meiji Restoration [1] that brought a modernization and industrialization wave to the country, and then the period after the Second World War [2] which democratized the Japanese economy and society and finally all the different improvements of the industries, the investment and the exportations placed Japan as the second economy of the world. However, during these growth and expansion periods not everything has been easy and perfect. There were some sorts of weakening moments for the economy that they manage to pass through smoothly [3] until their “loss decade” in the 90’s were Japan start facing economically something without precedents and that harmed many of their strengths.

The “lost decade” was mainly due to a banking / financial crisis Japan suffered in the nineties until the beginning of the new century, which is also taken as an example for the current financial crisis in the USA and Europe (Nakamae, 2008). The crisis began because of the accumulation of bad loans in the banks that were also backed by dreadful collaterals [4], and financially it caused that the value of the assets deteriorate fast, the financial institutions had a deficient capital and couldn’t make new loans and the shareholders saw their equity went down (Nakamae, 2008).

But today’s crisis is a different story. Now the Japanese financial market learned its lesson and it has pretty much a good and healthy structure (The Economist, 2009). But the financial crisis that started in the USA and turned into an economical crisis for them and the rest of the world, is exactly what is affecting Japan now.

The forecast for this year’s Real GDP growth is negative for Japan. According to the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU), it is likely to face a decrease of around 6,3%, being the worst year for Japan. In the same forecast they start talking about a positive growth [5] the next three following years, but that growth is minimal and won’t be able to recover efficiently the economy. Besides the GDP, two other macroeconomic facts that generate concern among the economic specialists are the deflation Japan may be facing the next two years and the exchange rates of the Yen ¥ per US dollar $ and per Euro €, what is causing a revaluation and in economic terms decreases the competitiveness of Japanese exports, and may increase their imports [6]. With these numbers, specialists keep on saying that the economy of Japan seems each time more troubling and as the worst of the world, even worse than the USA where the crisis started (The EIU, 2009).

So the questions start pumping and the origins of that situation come from different perspectives. The most common to hear in the news, name it German, British, Colombian news [7], is that Japan is more affected because of its huge dependence on exports, but in the Economist, they consider it as a factor but not as the most relevant one. On its article “The incredible shrinking economy” from April 2nd, 2009 they stated: “The share of exports in Japan’s GDP is much smaller than in Germany or China and until recently was on a par with that in America. During the ten years to 2001, net exports contributed nothing to Japan’s GDP growth. Then exports did surge, from 11% of GDP to 17% last year.”

It is clear and well known that exports definitely decrease considerably and that affected Japan, the EIU shows some statistics on the perceptual changes of exports and imports and since October 2008 they’ve been decreasing more and more [8]. And Japanese products as electronic products, new technologies and vehicles [9], being all of them high-value products, are pretty much the first ones to be cut in the list of needs/interests of consumers when there is an economic crisis. The issue with the thought of exports considered for many as the main factor for the crisis can also be explained, on how it was a key factor, along with the encouragement of investment, for the economic recovery between 2003 and 2007, and now with the downs it is for sure a major concern (The EIU, 2009).

According to the article “The incredible shrinking economy” the problem lays in the Japanese exporters’ behavior, saying that: “Japanese exporters expanded capacity in the belief that the Yen would stay low and global demand remain strong, resulting in a huge misallocation of resources.” Moreover, the article also presents the analysis of the economist of Macquarie Securities [10] Richard Jerram, who says that the exports are not only falling due to a decrease of the demand, but as a result of the temporary close of the plants, seeking to get rid of excess inventory. For example, at the beginning of the year the Japanese vehicle production decreased in a 50% while de car sales globally shrink about 25%. At the same time, Mr. Jerrams says this trend is more likely to end by June, what may bring a GDP growth.

Furthermore, the exports are only one side of the problem. Another topic that generates concern is the negativism among the manufactures. The Bank of Japan (BoJ) makes the Tankan survey [11] and this year it reflects the lack of optimism and the way the crisis has affected the economy. This downbeat feeling is more likely to affect the job market in Japan, which turns into an enormous damage for the internal market. Like that, the economy with an international market with low imports and the internal one with less consumption can only become a disaster.

It should also be added the pressure the government may be feeling right now. In the past days the government announced a stimulus package of USD 99 billions that would represent a 2% of their GDP, that according the Prime Minister Mr. Taro Aso [12] would be for a support plan with job security, help for temporary workers in order to grant them the benefits full-time employees, program for unemployment, improvement of the healthcare, investments in infrastructure and environmentally friendly technologies, and subsidies for local governments (The EIU, 2009). The political analysts from the EIU mentioned how sensitive the feeling towards the politic leaders is and how a bad management of the packages would directly affect the credibility of the government and may push for elections way sooner that the planned General Election for September. Something the Prime Minister and its party don’t want. And the analysts are on that very critical and pessimists, since according to them, Japan has not always managed to use its public spending efficiently. Another concern around this stimulus is the reduction of taxes’ revenue, as the economy contracts leaving the government with a less fiscal strength and reaction margin.

The other weakness for the Japanese government according to its fiscal health is the public debt that according to the EIU is around 180% of the GDP right now, and according to the OECD it’s possible that next year it will reach 200% of the GDP.

(Image taken from the Economist. And Illustration from Claudio Munoz.)

Nevertheless, these are just a few factors that define how the economy is now with the crisis and the main challenges Japan is facing now and in the near future. Highlighting without doubt, as the main challenges, the need to move the domestic market by getting adapted to its different population structure and focusing on the older population expenses [13], approach the international market differently and being less dependent on it and finally the employment situation[14].

Despite of the crisis and the bad economic outlook that is found everywhere about Japan, it is important to highlight the good things that Japan also has. Through the years they’ve been able to recover for horrible things as the Second World War and all the mess it left and they got over their “lost decade”, so an economic crisis won’t stop them. The Japanese people work hard for their things and have commitment in all activities they undertake, what makes them a very competitive population. These features have helped them become the most qualified work force in the world (Roldán, 2009).

As a culture based on Confucianism’s values they are extremely organized, they have a saving culture[15], discipline and perseverance among others; values that help them overcome any difficulty and challenges they encounter. Besides the kids are not spending a lot of time at school and at after-school activities and preparing themselves for the future to let an economy crisis swept their motivation and dreams away. Somehow they will found the way to make their country step on its two feet again.

Economically, Japan is a country of innovation and technology; lots of the things we use on our everyday life come from Japan [16]. They are so aware of health and environmental sustainability that they are considered a “green power” and they are developing their products with that on mind, that one day the entire world will look at them as an example and provider of such products. They have such a heterogeneous population in its likes specially when they are young and all the people want original products that they know how to use diversification and answer to a plural and specialized demand. And those are just a few facts that show how Japan is capable to come through the crisis, probably with deep bruises but at the end pretty much alive.

End Notes, comments on the essay: [1] The Meiji restoration was in 1868 and opened Japan’s economy after being closed for 230 years under the Tokugawa era.
[2] In this period the USA played an important role for the recovery with their help through the McArthur plan. That with the intentions of creating a favorable market for them and stop the advance of the socialists’ movements.
[3] One of the crises they overcame easier was the oil crisis in 1973.
[4] Almost all the collaterals were in the real estate market that had a collapse in its values.
[5] The forecasted growth is: for 2010 0,3%, 2011 1% and 2012 1,1%.
[6] In the EIU inflation forecasted for 2009 is -1,5% and for 2010 -0,3% and the Exchange rate for 2009 is 94 ¥/$ and 92,5 ¥/USD in 2010. According to the comments during the class “Asia Pacific Studies” at the University EAFIT, it was commented by the Teacher that the ideal exchange rate for Japanese exporters is between 110/120 ¥/USD.
[7] By German News it is meant the Deutsche Welle and the Newspaper Spiegel, by British news the BBC and by Colombian news: El Colombiano, La Republica, El Tiempo, RCN and Caracol.
[8] Statistics from the Japanese Ministry of Finance found at EIU:
Month Sep. 08 Oct. 08 Nov. O8 Dec. O8 Jan. 09 Feb. 09
Exports 1,5 -7,9 -26,7 -35 -45,7 -49,4%
Imports 28,8 7,4 -14,4 -21,5 -31,9 -23%
[9] The cars’ industry is probably the most affected one in the whole world during this crisis. And Japan as Germany and even the USA as the huge leaders and producers of cars are having lots of critical issues and need to preserve this industry that is a key element of their economies.
[10] It is a consulting firm on financial markets. It also has a subsidiary in Japan, where they offer different financial analysis.
[11] See the results of the Tankan Survey at: http://www.boj.or.jp/en/type/stat/boj_stat/tk/yoshi/tk0903.htm One future to take into the account in the analyses from the EIU in this survey is the index of -58 for large manufacturing firms, the cut of investment in a 20% and the reduction of salaries and jobs.
[12] The Prime Minister belongs to the Liberal Democratic Party and started his period on September 24th 2008, pretty much around the time when the financial crisis started for the USA.
[13] When we mention the the older population we mean people over 60 years old, that actually account 3/5 of the Japanese saving market (The Economist, 2009). This group is also known as the “dankai” generation and was the babies born during the postwar between 1947 and 1949, they started retiring around 2007 and will receive a huge amount of money, making their demand a core stone for Japanese economy. (Japanese Market, document) In order to profit from these situation, the challenge for Japan comes in improving the pension system and the future nursing care, which are the main concern for this population, and makes them retain their savings and not move their consume (The Economist, 2009) or use it abroad through trips or even moving completely to other countries (Roldán, 2009).
[14] The unemployment situation is getting out of hands for Japan. The Japan Research Institute forecasts a loss of 1,5 millions of jobs by 2010, changing the unemployment rate of 2008 of 4% to 6% (The Economist, 2009). It is also vital, to control the part time jobs and the needs of this group for further education and other support policies, as well as the immigrant workers that with a population growing older each time is becoming more important for the economic structure of the country (The Economist, 2009).
[15] People in Japan don’t spend Money without thinking on what they are buying and they have the custom of saving some of their earnings. This is also reflected in its reserves of foreign exchange and gold. According to the CIA’s World Factbook, on December 2007 Japan has USD 954,1 billions, being like that the second country in the world with the best international reserves after China.
[16] Japan is strong in the world market with technologies for the iPod and Boing (Landry, 2009) and entertainment technology with Nintendo and Sony’s Playstation.

References:

1. The Economist. 2009. Not regular and not wanted: Japan’s floating workforce is particularly vulnerable in the downturn, February 5th. http://www.economist.com/. Accessed 15 April 2009.

2. The Economist. 2009. Veiled in the darkness: Dreadful economic results in Japan suggest that things will only get gloomier, February 16th. http://www.economist.com/. Accessed 15 April 2009.

3. The Economist. 2009. The incredible shrinking economy: Japan is in danger of suffering not one but two lost decades, April 2nd. http://www.economist.com/. Accessed 15 April 2009.

4. The Economist. 2009. Under pressure: East Asia has been hard-hit by the global economic slowdown, April 14th. http://www.economist.com/. Accessed 15 April 2009.

5. Gonzales-Perez, M. A. 2009. Presentation "South East Asia" part of the subject Organizations and Cultures at the University EAFIT

6. Hausladen, I. 2007. Class "Production Management" at the University HHL, Leipzig

7. Landry, J.T. 2009. Reviews: Choose and Focus Japanese Business Strategies for the 21st Century. Harvard Business Review: 30

8. Restrepo, M.C. & Rodas J.M. & Saldarriaga L.F. 2009. Presentation "East Asia" part of the subject Organizations and Cultures at the University EAFIT

9. Roldán, A. 2009. Class "Asia Pacific Studies", second module at the University EAFIT

Migration and expatriates, a harsh reality in today's world

Understanding Migration

There has always been a movement of people around the world, because they want to explore new lands and conquer them, or they are just looking for better life standards, things they are missing in their own land or want to learn new things.

But in the past years there are lots of controversies especially around the illegal migration and how it has increased becoming a complicated issue for developed countries and also creating lots of misunderstandings around the globe. Anyway, not all the migrations are illegal nor negative for countries, so we definitely need to find a balance and a clear perspective on the topic.

So the first thing we need to do is to understand what migration really means and some thoughts around it.

In a presentation on the topic made by Ana María Penagos, David Sierra, Stephanie Peñaranda and María Alejandra Piedrahita, they define migration as: “The movement of people from one place in the world to another for the purpose of taking up permanent or semipermanent residence, usually across a political boundary. “

(Image taken from Getty Images. its name is "Man showing Passport" by Matt Olson)

They also talked about ten different types of migration:

1. Internal Migration: People move to a new house within their State, Country or even Continent. Let’s supposed someone from Medellin gets a new job opportunity in a different city of Colombia and moves there, that would be internal migration.
   
2. External Migration: People move to a new place in a different State, Country and even Continent than their own. For example a Colombian ambassador in Germany would undertake external migration.
   
3. 
   Emigration: People leave their country and move to another one. For example, many people from Mexico move to the States.
   
4. 
   Immigration: People move into a new country. Now it would be the States getting the Mexican people.
   
5. 
   Population Transfer: People must move unwillingly because their own government forces them out, commonly because of different ethnicity or religion. For example, after the second world war many people that came from Germany or were German descendants living in Poland territory were forced to a population transfer, since the Polish government didn’t want those German people in their country due to all the negative feelings the war left them because of the occupation and so on.
   
6. 
   Impelled Migration: People leave their country thanks to bad conditions on their life standards, political problems or religious persecutions. One example may be people leaving in war zones such as Irak and leaving to another place looking for a better quality of life away from wars.
   
   
7. 
   Step Migration: People move slowly from one place to another until they get to their final destination. A person from a little town in Bolivia wants to move to a place with coast, so that person moves first to a city in Bolivia, gain some money, then he moves to a city in the border between Bolivia and Chile and finally he moves to a city in the coast of Chile.
   
8. 
   Chain Migration: A person moves to another place and slowly brings other members of the family to the new place where he’s living. A father moves from the country side to a city and when he’s settled there he start sending money to bring his wife and kids to the city too and later on he might bring his parents, siblings as well.
   
9. 
   Return Migration: A person that returns to place of origin. A Colombian person living in Italy for many years, but finally decides to return to Colombia.
   
10. 
    Seasonal Migration: People move for a period of time responding to labor or weather conditions. In China this is very common, since a lot of people from the North of the country move to the south in order to get a job, and then during the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year Celebration) they return to their homes, and sometimes stayed there for a while before they return to their jobs or they go and look for a new one.
    

Having those definitions clear, we move to different theories about migration.

One of the most recognized theorists is Ernest Ravenstein, who developed different “Laws of Migration” around the end of the 19th Century. He presented as reasons for migration factors as: better economical opportunities and gender, social class and age influencing people’s mobility. He also defined that most of the migrants move in short distances, and that rural areas’ people tend to move more, in the same way young adults are more willingly to move internationally than families.

He also studied push and pull factors. The push factors are those that create bad conditions for the people in their own place (few job opportunities, bad health care, weak education system, natural disasters, persecutions, insecurity…), while the pull factors are good conditions that can be found in the other place (better life standards and welfare, stronger economies, security…).

Another important and today’s theorist is Oded Stark. He proposes a model where emigration can have a positive effect on the people who stayed in the country, as there is a progress of their welfare. Since the human capital of people in the country gets better because they have broader opportunities to educate themselves or further their skills, there are more job opportunities with better side benefits which finally turn into a better life quality.

With more people in the country those opportunities weren’t so broad and not all the population would be able to acquire a human capital that also gets better each time.

Somehow, this complements Ravenstein’s theory, because he talked about a utility maximization for the people remaining in the country.
Stark also defines in his theory that income differences between countries is not the only factor that can explain migration, he proposes as complementary factors secure employment, management of risk and availability of capital. He also states that it has become a collective phenomenon around the world thanks to the influence of the different political systems and the global economy.

Sometimes confusions can arise between migration and expatriation. So in their presentation Ana María Penagos, David Sierra, Stephanie Peñaranda and María Alejandra Piedrahita talk about the expatriate as: “a person who lives or works outside of his or her own home country on a non-permanent basis.”

In general, there is a risk that the expatriate must face a cultural shock that may become later an expatriate failure. It happens when people become anxious and have encountered feelings to be working in an unknown and different social and cultural environment, which leads to a bad performance in their work, and could end up with a dismissal or return home.

So in general, as María Alejandra Perez-Gonzalez showed in another presentation, people must be aware of the reality vs the expectations in migration cases.

A lot of immigrants tend to think that their lives would improve easily and that they won’t have any trouble in the process. They don’t consider the difficulties they may encounter on their way.

Another factor in order to success in these migration processes is the ability of the immigrant to adapt himself to the other culture and more importantly to get integrated in the other culture and society.

For example, with the expatriates the presentation showed that when there are: technical abilities that can be shown such as administrative skills and domestic managerial talent, relational skills like cultural empathy, flexibility and intercultural communication, motivation and family support, the expatriation process can success.

And those can be considered as basic steps for any kind of immigrant to have a positive integration in the new society.

Now, we have understood what migration means and some of the theories on their triggers to happen and consequences.

Question: How is the immigration in Germany and what challenges must the country overcome?

Germany is considered the strongest country in Europe in terms of its economy; it is the home of lots of important and strong multinationals and has been considered some sort of welfare State.

But it has become what it is today in a way thanks to many reasons, being one of them the “guest workers” that went to Germany after World War 2. In the article “Push-Pull Factors and Immigrant Political Integration in Germany” by Mr. Peter Doerschler, the author analyzes how immigrants played a role in the construction of Germany’s economy. In one of the analysis the author cites Mr. Hollifield, and how temporary workers were a key in order to stimulate and improve Germany’s postwar economy by reducing pressures on an elevating inflation and increase of wages. So Germany was able to have in some productive areas low wages and companies could be more competitive with prices, and those immigrants coming apparently for just a period of time would be able to gain a better economic status because what were low wages in Germany, were actually much more money than in their home lands.

With that especially during the period between 1955 and 1980, according to Mr. Doerschler, there was a high wave of working immigrants and their families, most of them coming from the Mediterranean such as Italian, Greeks and the larger immigrant group of Germany, Turkish.

Thanks to the positive results in the economy with the first immigrants groups, the government agreed when the guest workers ask for longer working contracts and visas’ extensions. The country gave these workers different benefits and like that the Country became each time a more attractive place for immigrants, causing larger waves of legal and illegal immigrants.

Then with the European Union, it became easier for Italian and Greek workers or even for those East European citizens as Slovenians, to get easier a job in Germany. But with improvements in their own lands it might have not been the first choice to immigrate, so according to Mr. Doerschler Germany and its goal to keep competitiveness in the global world, allow granting temporary work visas to skilled immigrants from countries non members of the European Union.
But despite a success within its economic system, these immigrants have brought some difficulties for the country and generated lots of controversies inside and outside the country. And mostly those problems arise from the lack of integration of those immigrants to the German society.

In the article “Issues in the Transformation of the European Welfare Systems” Ms. Naomi Caiden and Ms. Kseniya M. Khovanova, talked about how not only Germany but the European Union regardless of the exclusion they give their immigrants, have been attracting them and finally created a multiethnic society within their countries.

That creates different ethnic communities that encounter cultural shocks among each other and affect the proper flow of the society and then as a solution come restrictive and rougher immigration policies that according to Ms Caiden and Ms. Khovanova are outdated solutions.

The German Government has not pay enough attention on the integration of its guest workers to their society. In the same way, those immigrants are not concerned with it, since they are not looking for an integration into the society and the political system in Germany, but they come with economic interest and deep down, the German government as the guest workers have the idea of a return migration instead of a permanent settlement in the country, which at the end is just an idea but not a reality, since these workers tend to stay there.
Neither the immigrants nor the government have planned programs or taken actions for a social integration since the beginning. There are no activities that promote learning German, or that creates bonds among the guest workers and the German people.

In his book “Einwanderungsland Deutschland” (Germany a Migrations’ land) Thomas Straubhaar analyses how this lack of integration is affecting the society not only because of the reactions of immigrants and the bad perceptions from the Germans, but on the consequences it has for second and third generations of immigrants.

The kids from these immigrants are born in Germany and have to go to school and share lots of environments with German kids. But they come from home backgrounds were the German culture is not a reality and somehow it is avoided. The kids speak their parents’ tongs and get dressed according to their family culture and obviously when it’s time to go to school they suffer a cultural shock and must learn a new language to fit in the system.

Mr. Strabhaar says that the government is every time investing more in its educational system to improve it and to make it more adaptable for its immigrants’ kids. However he finds two problems that still affect the integration, on one hand the Kids need motivation and help with the German language, there needs to be a promotion of the German as a second language for these kids since they are babies. The language is the core element to be integrated in a society and it would also be essential to broader and improve the human capital of Germany and it would have a better economic and social impact.

The other thing that needs to be improved is the relationship of these kids and families with the government and trough them with the German society. The government is seemed mostly as the entity that puts restrictions for them and controls them, which creates a bad perception. But the government also takes good actions to guarantee them good living standards. Anyway, what the government needs to do is to boost lasting relationships among the immigrants and its population. Since the Germans may perceive the immigrants as people coming to take their jobs and like that they feel their rights are jeopardized, and the immigrants see the Germans as cold people that are xenophobic and attackers, there is a need to make clear for both that they are not enemies, but that with their work together they have achieved a better life style for everyone. Like that there wouldn’t be street fights or other attacks.

Still these actions can’t come from one side only, both parts must take an active position and together set parameters and foundations that make it work and last.

(Comic "Einwanderung" by Fritz-Wolf-Gesellschaft, found at http://www.e-globalisierung.org/kapitel3/8.

These comic shows three Immigrants waiting at the Immigration Office, two of them showing some sort of "Germany" interest. Still the man at the office wants to know if one of them can "jodeln" (some sort of singing typical in the South of Germany) in order to have a shorter waiting time)

In his article Mr. Doerschler talks about two different Turkish immigrants and their attitudes toward Germany and the differences it makes.

One of these immigrants is Argun, who is totally motivated by economic reasons and dreams with the day he can return to the Turkey. He never has been interested in participate in the German society, he rejects the German culture and all his friends are Turkish. He belongs to a Turkish community in Berlin and there is where he has his social interactions. And as Mr. Doerschler says he has a short-term outlook for staying in Germany, but it has been a long-term stay.

The other immigrant is Omar, who opposite to Argun has done its best to integrate itself to the German society. He is aware that his conditions pass from a guest worker to an “active German worker”. He lives in Germany and he knows that the life quality he has in Germany is something he won’t have in Turkey. And actually after 30/40 years living there Turkey is not anymore his home, it is barely a memory. Of course the idea is not to lose his Turkish culture, but to adapt himself to his host country.

Finally Mr. Doerschler says that on the government side there has also been a progress relating their immigration law, since 2004 they are offering the immigrants language and integration courses in order to make them become active in the society. But the problem is that these courses stay as courses and still leave the immigrants as second class citizens.

Concerning illegal immigration too, there is as everywhere. But the chances of these illegal immigrants to success in Germany are round zero, since there are too many regulations in the labor market and companies wouldn’t take the risk to accept illegal immigrants. With this fact Mr. Strabhaar says that the problem in Germany is not the controls for immigrants avoiding illegal ones, but the crashes among the societies coexisting in the country without any clear action to improve it.

Personally, and based on previous experiences in Germany, I can say that the German people are open to people from other countries and knowing the language really helps a lot. You can have a great integration in their society and keep differences that are from your cultural background, because they accept and like all that. But as a foreigner you definitely have to make an effort to make that happen and show a genuine interest and respect for their culture.


Concerning job opportunities, it is a controlled area but it is comprehensive since they want to guarantee job spots for its population and also consider the people from the European Union. In that sense the closure comes usually from governmental bureaucracy, but nothing is impossible.

Anyway, the government still has a lot to learn a lot and change certain things when it comes to the immigration process or a simple visa procedure to study or go visiting the country.

(Photo taken from Getty Images. Name "Germany, Frankfurt, security check sign " by Tom Hoenig.)

References:

1. Caiden, N. & Khovanova, K. M. 2008. Issues in the Transformation of European Welfare Systems. Public Administration Review, 68 (4): 768-771

2. Doerschler, P. 2006. Push-Pull Factors and Immigrant Political Integration in Germany. Social Science Quarterly, 87 (5): 1100-1116

3. Gonzales-Perez, M. A. 2009. Presentation "Expatriates and Migrant Workers" part of the subject Organizations and Cultures at the University EAFIT

4. Sierra, D. & Penagos, A. M. & Peñaranda, S. & Piedrahita M. A. 2009. Presentation "Migration and Expatriates" part of the subject Organizations and Cultures at the University EAFIT

5. Straubhaar, T. 2008. Einwanderungsland Deutschland. Berlin: Liberales Institut der Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit

Becoming more aware of corporation!!

The Corporation

The Corporation is a film/documentary that criticizes the concept of the corporation and what they do; as a result of the damages they have been causing the society.

This film starts showing a set of scandals in the USA because of frauds and bad behaviors of companies such as Kmart, Enron and Xerox.

The main critic is that companies just care about making profit and like that they just worried about their activities in order to reach that goal. They just don’t care about the damages they may cause their workers, the environment, health problems their products can represent… and many other things.

The film addresses different issues like the birth and the evolution of corporations into what they are today, making a huge emphasis on the concept of “legal person”, they analyze corporations as if they had the pathology of a psychopathic, they take a look at topics like “Corporate Social Responsibility”, their advertising campaigns, corporations during World War Two working with the Nazis and how they build a brand, among other topics.

In order to justify all their points of view, they count with the participation of recognized professors such as Joe Badaracco a professor of Business Ethics at Harvard Business School and Dr. Samuel Epstein an Emeritus Professor of Occupational and Environmental Medicine of the University of Illinois. They also count with the participation of recognized CEOs (formers and current) like Sir Mark Moody-Stuart former chairman of Royal Dutch Shell and Sam Gibara CEO of Goodyear Tire, who in a way tried to present a better image of what corporations do. There were also activists such as Oscar Olivera a leader of a movement in Bolivia in order to fight the privatization of the water, Robert Monks a shareholder activist and corporate governance adviser and Dr. Vandana Shiva, who fights for the rights of women and the protection of the environment in India, she is also a physicist and ecologist.

And they count with other personalities such as Milton Friedma an economist with a Nobel Prize, Jane Akre a news reporter and Michael Moore recognized for its documentaries and critics to many corporations… along with many other people.

With all these people, the investigations they made, the evidences they showed… they have very solid arguments and they open people’s eyes to things we feel in the air but that we just let pass by. It is also a very well compilation of these issues and it is like connecting the dots to have a broader picture.
Still the idea is not to generalize those bad behaviors and put the corporations as evil institutions.

As they mentioned a corporation is finally a group of people that gets together in order to achieve some objectives, being the most important one to gain return for the owners. But for me the idea of looking for profits is not the issue, the thing is, like they show in the film, what they do and how they leave ethics to gain money and in a way how unsatisfied we are with what we get, that corporations don’t measure what they gain nor how they leave others in bad conditions.

Nevertheless, the most important thing is that a corporation is finally a group of people, so the corporation is not the one to blame but the people, who have turned some corporations into such monsters, are. The corporation as the legal person became the responsible for the actions and is finally the one in the spotlight, not the people who runs it. And like Mr. Monks said bringing a phrase of Baron Thurlow corporations “have no soul to save and they have no body to incarcerate”, being like that the perfect way to get things through. The corporations have no moral, anyway we expect the people who work in them and are the leaders to have one.

When most of the CEOs defended themselves saying that they are good people, who just had to do their job in order to keep it and that they were aware of some things they tried to correct but that sometimes “something/someone” in their corporations stop them, you want to believe them, since they don’t seem as bad people. But then you hear in the news things such as the General Motors CEO having in 2007 a salary of around US$ 15 million and then talking about a huge crisis and wanting to fire people… and the General Motors is not the guilty one, but that CEO and others who have such salaries and refuse to give all their employees better salaries or invest in things that could improve the environment. And the stockholders who invested on the companies are not always the ones who get all the money unless they have a huge percentage of those stocks, which finally enables them to make decisions on how to run the corporation… The human being is the one who has made things bad all around.
Of course we need money in today’s world. We need food, we need clothes, we have basic needs and of course we want to pamper ourselves with some things and even luxuries… but one person having all that money and many other others surviving with less than US$ 1, makes you think about who have we turned into.

We don’t even need to go to a CEO or a big corporation. A person willing to make money or getting something they really want, won’t care about the other person standing next to him, or the damages they cause with what they do, and less if the threaten comes in the future, since they may not even be there.
Tacking another thing from the movie, the objective is not necessarily making money, but as I said getting through with something. Lucy Hughes the vice president of Initiative Media talks very proud of what they do in her company concerning advertising for kids.

First we see how kids nag their parents to get the things they have seen through advertising, things they don’t really desire, so with the media we all are learning to push to get something. And then we see Ms. Hughes again and how happy she is saying that they manipulate consumers, that it is a game, that they are establishing a communication with the consumers of tomorrow, and that she really doesn’t know it what they do is ethical, but that the thing is that they are moving a product through media and that is finally her goal. She got there!!! How?? She just doesn’t care.

But come on, we have a slight idea of what ethic is and if you got people around you questioning what you do, it gotta mean there is something kind of bad going on.

The movie also focuses on the people as the ones able to make a change. They want to make us aware situations such as our relations towards the institutions where we are; they want to rescue democracy concepts and obligations of the governments… they even show people working in corporations and making huge efforts to go through better ways, correcting their mistakes and succeed, we also see movements like the one promoted by Ms. Shiva. Those are great things.

However they also talk about some sort of complots against corporations and for me that’s not the real and correct solution. There are good corporations, they even showed Ray Anderson, the CEO of Interface Inc. and how he came to realize the damages its products were causing the environment and the effect it has on us, the consequences for the future, and he decided to change their processes, and many other things that made his corporation not only environmental friendly, but also more responsible towards society in other aspects. They even mentioned that they are the largest commercial carpet manufacturer of the world. It means we can have more success acting properly and people notice it.

It looks true that some people working in large corporations have influences in the governments; that others use corporate social responsibility with bad intentions… but I insist corporations are not the menace. We as human beings are the responsible ones.

With the environment it is not only Shell the guilty for producing oil, we are happy using huge cars where just one person goes, instead of taking the bus. If we have measures like “pico y placa” we go and buy a second car… and that is just to mention one thing, because if you think about it we do tons of things.
The solution for me is to educate people, to rescue values and ethics… that’s how we’ll make a change in our lives and in the corporations we have and the ones of the future.

Finally, I would like to say that I really liked the movie, it was very well done, the people they got were awesome in order to make their statements and the best is that it makes people think more deeply about businesses and make us question many things, and it is definitely important for us since we may be working in some of those “evil” corporations. Maybe we could make that change!!!

Note: The Corporation is a documentary by Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott, and Joel Baka, made during 2003.

Increasing pluralism at EAFIT

A more diverse EAFIT...

Sometimes, we hear ourselves talking that the motto of our university is "open to the world" and we make fun and say that it is not true, that we come from a close society as antioqueños, so it is definnetly just something we say.

Anyway, I think we are in a process of opening and that we have achieved great things by now. Besides the university has done many efforts to attract people from abroad, we see more international teachers and exchange students than what we saw five years ago.

But in order to be complete open, we don't need just to attract people from other countries, that is just one step. We need to become more diversified, and slowly the University is taking steps to achieve it. For example, making EAFIT more diverse in terms of age we have "La Universidad de los Niños" for kids, and "Saberes de vida" for older people, it is full of grandparents now...

Nonetheless, we need to increase pluralism in every posible way and here is were we want to propose three Value Chains, one that approaches diversity in general, the second one towards sexual orientation and the last one concerning race.

Final Comments: The Value Chains were made by Ismael Ossa and María Natalia Suárez Vallejo.

We had again some difficulties with the quality of the images, so in order to have better charts contact me please at: msuarezv@eafit.edu.co

Move forward by Managing Diversity

Take full advantage of a Diverse World

Once you are aware of diversity and what it means for the organization, you have to think on how you will manage that diversity in order to take full advantage of it and improve work within the organization.
And now a days, as Ana Maria Corena, Laura Aguilar, Natalia Vargas and Lucas Ocampo said in their exposition, it is a key element, since in order to succeed you need more than the latest technology or the new production and management theories.

It is very important to be aware not only of the diversity inside the workforce and the organization in general, but as well to consider the diversity in the outside world and how it influences customers, providers…

With it organizations will explore improvements, as mentioned in the group’s presentation, in the way they manage time, money, they will have more efficiency, they will attract and retain talented people, will reduce unhealthy tensions, complains and legal actions and loss of productivity.

So considering what diversity and management are we could define “diversity management” as the coordination and organization in coherence with different polices that the organizations undertake in order to include a set of diverse people into the organization.

The group also proposes how to manage diversity in a 3 point explanation.

1. Drawing upon individual tolerance and self-control
Each person working in a group must learn how to make concessions on certain things in order to have a better team work. For this you need a huge level of integration between the members and you also need to know how to canalize some conflicts in order to move on and don’t create a frustrated and bad work environment.

2. Trial and Error Process + Personal Relationships
It seeks to create a good level of relationships between the people of the organizations that could actually become a good friendship. It will boost more communication and the agreements can be met easier.

3. Setting up Transnational Cultures
Companies don’t have only the need to create a corporate culture, but as well an international culture within the organization. Like that there will be a reduction of the tensions that the unknown creates for everyone. When the company is in the process it has to set common norms and avoid that the subcultures become stronger than the organizations culture itself.

With diversity management the organizations seek many things, as showed in Maria Alejandra Gonzales-Perez’ presentation, like the maximization of the potential, increase the movement of the people within the organization, adds value in the performance of the organization, makes an emphasis on individuals, among others.

And like that the organization can achieve improvements in:

1. The Costs: Lower cost with a better management of diversity and integration of the members.

2. Resource-Acquisition: Companies that work with more ethnic minorities will create recognition in the market, which makes easier for them to gain the best personnel.

3. Marketing Argument: With members from different cultures companies are able to answer specifically to the needs of each market, improving all the efforts made in order to enter or stay in that market.

4. Creativity: There is a higher level of creativity.

5. Problem-Solving: Better decisions can be reached due to the variety of perspectives and a better critical analysis.

6. System Flexibility: There are less fixed models in the organizations, and that allows a continuous flow that is capable to answer to the changes in the environment, taking like that faster and less expensive actions.

Without a doubt the best way to succeed in today’s world is to be aware of diversity, attract diverse personnel to the company and apply a diversity management that allows you to meet all the goals.

Question: How can organizations attract and improve the selection of a more diverse workforce?

We already mentioned the benefits that diversity means to a company, and how diversity management can improve the way that diversity works within the organization. And when an organization have successfully applied that it gains recognition that means a higher retention of their workforce as well as a recognition in the work market that attracts that diverse workforce.

However, sometimes organizations limit unconsciously the range of the people they want to hire.

The article “The Business benefits of diversity” by Carole Spiers gives some interesting tips in the process of looking and selecting the workforce in order to guarantee in all the levels diversity.

Firstly, with recruitment advertising, the first step is to avoid establishing ages with phrases such as “the applicants should be between #s years of age”, “mature persons” or “graduates”. Then using the advertising skills of the company be sure you use the correct language and images, in order to get attention from a broader group of people, and then select different sources to present that advertisement, such as news papers, internet… in order to get the attention of the various groups.

Another aspect to have into account is the experience and qualifications, sometimes being too specific on years of work experience create huge disadvantages for younger people. Companies should look for the quality of the experiences and how relevant those experiences can be for them. Now a days many universities have internships and work together with companies, giving like that a broad set of experiences for those soon to graduate that can bring the organization better results, than someone working 10 years at a same job.

Try not to ask for some specific exams, that also reduces the scoop, and people may have other options and even exams to prove their skills in what you’re looking for.

Another trend in today’s recruitment world is linked to application forms and monitoring recruitment. Some companies are removing birth, gender, marital status and even the photos of their applications forms in order to really focus on what’s really important the skills of the people. When you already have a group of candidates, check how diverse it is and do a follow up to the interviews. And if there is a special recruitment program make sure it is open for different ages and take into account other diversity aspects.

With the selection you got to “focus on skills, not on stereotypes”. There is an important emphasis on this within the article. Since some companies tend to make assumptions about the capacities of people according to their ages.
When it comes to the interviews make sure you have an interview panel that is diverse itself and have a clear and fair selection criteria.

When you already have your workforce be aware that training and development activities in the organizations are opened to all. Don’t assume some people may not be interested. In the process consider that each person has a different learning style and in that way the process and the time is different.

Be careful with promotions and assumptions as “last in – first out” when it comes to fire employees. You have to see how important is each person for your organization and which one can be the most adequate because of it skills to be in a specific position. It is important to consider the skill of each employee and the balance between the groups.

All these little actions that maybe aren’t taken into account can help to define a diversity policy in the organizations and employees can feel those policies their own and enjoy all the benefits.

Still these policies should be part of the values of the organization and be implemented in the corporate strategy. Like that it won’t be just part of the Human Resources selection process but it will be part of the everyday activities and work environment.

And finally have clear, that it is a long term process and that in order to really be successful diversity should be adopted through a practical approach.

References:

1. Aguilar, L. & Corena, A. M. & Ocampo, L. & Vargas, N. 2009. Presentation "Managing Diversity" part of the subject Organizations and Cultures at the University EAFIT

2. Gonzales-Perez, M. A. 2009. Presentation "Managing Diversity" part of the subject Organizations and Cultures at the University EAFIT

3. Spiers, C. 2008. The business benefits of Diversity. Management Services, 52(2): 26-30

4. Heffes, E. M. 2009. Diversity & Inclusion. Financial Executive, 25: 52-55