Europe's Challenges

Europe needing to improve

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

The EU is working very hard in this matter, that’s the reason is very committed right now in working for a global agreement so they can control climate change by the time is a leadership in this matter. For instance, the European Union has been at the front of international efforts to combat climate change, so they are an important member in the two major treaties that are: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol, signed in 1997. This last one is world wide recognized and is a way to control de CO2 emissions. Also they are dedicated to producte energy by different alternatives as are the biofuels and solar energy in order to transform themselves as a highly energy-efficient low carbon economy, additionally they are creating new cleaning methods that are more kind with the environment. The EU, has some objectives by 2020 to cut the greenhouse gas emissions by 30% of developing nations and 20% less carbon emitted. As well they set three key targsts to be met by the same year (2020): a. 20% redction in energy consumption b. Increase to 20% in renewable energies’ shar of total energy consumption c. Increase to 10% the share of petrol and diesel from sustainably produced biofuels. The problem for renewal energies, is that the low carbon alternative is the nuclear energy, which these last days was permited again in countries as Italy and France. This option is not as safe if we remember the terrible accident of Chernobyl.

References

European Commission. Climate Change. http://ec.europa.eu/environment/climat/home_en.htm
Italia recupera energía nuclear de la mano de Francia tras 21 años de rechazo. Diario El País. (2009) http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Italia/recupera/ener

2. How is Europe managing its migration flows?

It’s important to mention that the European Union migration is the source of the population growth (EU receives approximately 1’600.000 migrants per year), each year a lot of immigrants (legal and illegals) enter to the E.U because it’s a very attractive place to set up and because have many points of entry making easier the "job".

Taking this into account,the EU decided to implement some politics to manage migration as a whole with 2 different strategies:

a. Promote Legal Migrations Channels: EU governments promote legal migration and decided to assist migrants on finding jobs, give them advices, give them all the information they need about money transfer (Migration also brings benefits for the origin country: Remittances helps the developing of home economies) and knowing all of this, they can decided if they want to stay at the home country or migrate to other country but legally.

b. Global approach to migration: Border management that seeks the prevention of illegal migration, the EU governments has institutionalized the Detention Centers, which have as objective to support migrants in transit: they receive protection, legal assistance, advice, guidance and help to going back home.

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

Over the last decades Europe has been facing a decline of its birth rates and a longer life expectancy of its population. Like that comes a huge dilemma for Europe since “the average age of the working population will increase and the number of people of working age will decline”(Naegele and Walker, 2006).

One of the main problems with it lays in the stability and continuation of the Welfare State that many European States hold and for the ones working people able to pay taxes are essential. And the other difficulty is concerning the social security systems (how pensions can be sustainable).


So around this problematic in Europe there are, according to the EUROFOND at their “Employment initiatives for an ageing Workforce”, three main challenges which are:
- How to maintain the health and working capacity of the workers as they age
- How to develop skills and employability of the older workers
- How to provide suitable working conditions as well as employment opportunities for the ageing workforce.

And these challenges need the private sector and governmental policies in order to improve the conditions for the workers and like that establish a longer working life. In that way, not only the working conditions will be better, but it would allow future economic growth, an adequate labor supply, and benefits for the companies and sustainable retirement conditions (EUROFOND).

In order to face these challenges the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions proposes some other challenges that also need to be faced in the work system and those are:

- The reduction of age-related labor costs
- Good reaction to changes in the external labor market conditions
- Solutions for labor market bottlenecks
- And have a proper age management at work which considers 8 dimensions:
1. Job recruitment
2. Learning, training and lifelong learning
3. Career development
4. Flexible working time practices
5. Health protection and promotion, and workplace design
6. Redeployment
7. Employment exit and the transition to retirement
8. Comprehensive approaches ”(Naegele and Walker, 2006)

Nonetheless, personally we think that there is also a need to consider the young workers and how to engage them with the current system and the companies, since many young people in Europe prefer to work in the United States or elsewhere in order to avoid the high taxes they would have to pay if they stay in Europe, and many of them consider unfair the idea of paying for the elders pension and not have the certainty that future generations will be able to guarantee them the same level of life standards during their retirement.

And the second thing to have into account is the role of women. In some European countries, as Germany, there are some discussions around the role of women as mother or as worker. And finally, the woman is one of the core stones for solving this ageing workforce situation. Nowadays some women realize that they won’t be able to have enough possibilities for raising their kids if they are working (not enough kindergartens or very expensive ones, not enough time for being with them and do basic things as going to the school meetings…) or that they have to sacrifice their studies and just stay at home, so they prefer not to have kids at all. Like that the birth rate has decreased and by not giving them fair opportunities to be mothers and workers they are also leaving behind the potential many women have to do both.


References:
- Gonzales-Perez, M. A. 2009. Presentation "Europe" part of the subject Organizations and Cultures at the University EAFIT
- EUROFOND. 2009. Employment initiatives for an ageing Workforce. http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/research/0296.htm. Accessed 5 May 2009.
- Naegele, G. & Walker, A. 2006. A guide to good practice in age management. Luxenbourg: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions


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

Balancing: Cultural Diversity/Nationalism
Several different cultures or subcultures are usually brought together into every individual nation. That is how nationalism and cultures are both terms to group people sharing some similarities, but whilst the first one stresses more on a feeling of belonging and being part of a nation, the latter covers a wider range of features of a group of individuals that makes it a more transcendental affiliation, even thought, from time to time, either can be contained in the other.
It is important to acknowledge the differences existing on one another but also, it is even more important to learn how to deal with both, especially in times when integration and globalization is making the world a smaller place.

In the document “The Future of European Business Leadership” by Manfred Kets de Vries and Konstantin Korotov (2006) the authors rely on these facts to explain in a way, the current situation throughout Europe is passing by. Mobility of peoples and capitals all around the Union has began a strong process of migration of companies that pursue better value for their inversion. So the authors relate how this phenomenon has brought up the differences of particular cultures when compared to a general nationalism, like in this case the European Union. The question that arises is where the line is drawn for a European or a German company. This scenario is generating several difficulties among citizens because from time to time they are just pushed into accepting a European nationalism, forgetting the particular aspects and details of each country’s culture. Europe, as a big pluralist community, pretends to encourage diversity and cooperation between different cultures, but they must make bigger efforts to gather all that amount of peoples, without homogenizing the society, which would end up being unnatural.

References:
Kets, M. Korotov, K. 2006. The Future of European Business Leadership. European Business Forum, 24: 37 – 42.

Special Note: This Blog was made and design by Juliana Chacon Piedrahita, Mónica Ordoñes Buitrago, Stephanie Penaranda Alvarez, David Sierra and María Natalia Suárez Vallejo

Europe a charming continent

The musical Europe

(Map found in Yahoo Image)

Europe is a continent full of history and influences that has impacted the rest of the world.

First with great ancient civilizations, as the Greek and then the Romans, and then they began conquering the world.

Europe like that has given the world many challenges but also many gifts, being one of them the Music, which plays an important role in their culture and everyday life.

In a presentation, made by Juan Manuel Muñoz and David Castaño, music was mentioned with classic musicians as Mozart, Beethoven and Hayden, and then romantic ones as Chopin.

(Photo taken from the personnal colection. "Bach in the Thomas Kirche Leipzig" by María Natalia Suárez Vallejo)

However, they left behind the huge influence music has in Europe and how it can play a role in the negotiation process as a basic part of their lives.

Especially in Germany, as a home of many of the most important musicians, business people are proud to carry the influence of these artists in their products and products.

It is also very common to use music and its history as “small talk” for negotiations or visit to the operas and see one, going to places where musicians were born or lived… can be part of a business visit too.

Music is the air and people are proud of it.

But music plays also an important role today as an Integration booster. There is the Context Eurovision that the European Broadcasting Union started in the 1950s. It basically stated with Germany, France, Switzerland, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Pretty much all the European Union founders except Switzerland.

(Eurovision Logo and Istabul 2004 publicity taken at Yahoo Images)

And with the years it has being growing having all kind of European countries, all the members of the European Union, nonmembers as Russia, Iceland, other as Turkey, the new born countries as Macedonia… and the list goes on. And the nice thing is that it is something that integrates the whole Europe and moves a step further in the bonds created in the continent.

It is definitely an amazing contest, where countries appreciate other cultures other people and everyone participates. There is even a Eurovision for Children.
One of the most wonderful things is that the countries can show their culture, what kind of music, dances, and dresses they have… or they go with other things that are common in all the countries but that finally show that they are not so different. They share they roots, they life styles, their likes… their dreams. It is a show that has been bringing Europe together though music!!!!

So if you are negotiating with Europeans and if you have the opportunity to travel there get ready to enjoy some music, make it part of your life and become a music lover!!!

Question: How is the role of Germany in the European Union?

Despite the fact of that the European Union is a Union as its name says; there are clear leaders who influence a lot the decisions taken and that are the ones pushing the Union to move forward and grow.

One of those leaders is Germany , and Bulmer and Paterson (1996)study that situation in their article “Germany in the European Union: gentle giant or emerging leader?” The first issue they address here is the German diplomacy and the importance for the country to become part of the European Coal and Steel Community, in order to recover the power of its industries and play an active role in the area, and more after the mess they made with the Second World War and the destruction it left behind.

Then they analyze Germany as an economic power. That power has made Germany a strong engine of the Union and a helping hand for the rest of the members. And it is important to mentioned additionally to the analyses of the authors the importance of Germany as the third economy of the world until very recently, because it is now between the 4 and 6 place, which still is good in a global context and they will continue as the European leading economy for a long time.

Economically, Bulmer and Paterson (1996) also mentioned the importance of the reunification of Germany and how they translated in the unification of Europe, pushing for the integration of East Europe to the EU and willing to help them in the process. And from all the members of the EU they are finally the ones who understand better the situation thanks to the experience of the DDR (East Germany). Germany was more sensitive towards the cold war and its effects (Bulmer and Paterson, 1996).

Then they move on with other diplomatic issues, and internal factors, being for me very interesting the role of the public opinion. Even though there is divided opinion, Germany tries to incentive a positive opinion on the process, being careful with issues as a broader Eastern Enlargement and still managing the idea of the Euro, but that at the end with the years we have seen that were able to be addressed because the Euro was implemented and the Eastern countries are entering the EU.

With the civil society, it is also important to see their actions special in the private economic sector, since German companies though trade and investment have gained them a big power and an important role (Bulmer and Paterson, 1996).
In the article the relationship between France and Germany is also addressed and it a core part of the EU establishment and development, and even though there have been differences they have managed to be the main leaders of the Union.

To conclude, Bulmer and Paterson (1996)saw at that time Germany more as a “gentle giant” than as a leader within the EU, first because of their focus on a better reunification of the country with all the financial and political efforts toward it, but they also recognize its important influence as one the largest member states.

But personally, looking at Germany today, I would definetly say that they are leaders and that that they know where to go and how to do it, protecting obviosly internal interests but they are one of the most commited countries and have done all their efforts to take a step further, supporting for example the European Constituion and having like that a Political Union. However, time will tell what happens and how far they come, but I’m convinced Germany will always be in the top spots and influencing the European Union.

(Photos Taken from personal collection. "Händel in Main Square, Halle" and "Organo en el Händelshaus", por María Natalia Suárez Vallejo)

References:
Bulmer, S. & Paterson, W.E. 1996. Germany in the European Union: gentle giant or emerging leader? International Affairs, 72(1): 9-32

Syriana, the power of oil and its mysteries

Syriana

Syriana is a movie that shows the relationships between the oil companies, the governments in the Middle East that produce oil and the government of the United States as well.

It takes different people and different relations, some people working as undercover agents, other working broadcasting the movements of the market and analyzing it, other as migrant workers for the oil companies, others as chiefs of the companies, others as royalty members… and so goes the list on.

With it we see the power and the influence of geopolitics in today’s world. And how connected we all are, especially through a basic element as oil. Showing that one move hear affects something here and there… it goes like a domino effect.

The movie also gives importance to the interaction of the different cultures and makes you think more about everyone’s differences.

t is also interesting to see the corruption and the games of power in the Middle East and the States.

Somehow, it draws a better idea of situations we know are happening there but it makes us a clearer idea and makes a nice connection of the connections around the world.

Note: Syriana is a movie from Stephen Gaghan, made in 2005.

Understanding India today

India and its transitions

(Photo taken from Getty Images. "Indian flag in map" by Jeefrey Coolidge)

1. According to the authors, had economic globalization in India provided significant improvement for lower-Income workers by 1999?

According to the authors the processes of globalization in India have responded in different ways depending on their position in terms of incomes. For the lower-income workers the globalization hasn’t brought lot of benefits; the lower middle class of salaried workers are the most affected ones. The globalization has increased the level of incomes for the lower classes but also has increased the inflation and the interests’ rates. Also, the globalization gave this class the opportunity to have an easier access to credits for purchasing but this also has been a tramp for these people because monthly they’ll have to pay these credits with high incomes. In conclusion, the liberalization or globalization in India has a contradictory effect in the middle class and lower- income workers because they have more opportunities of access to many goods and new things but they aren’t earning more money for paying the dues they have for all the purchasing they do. The globalization hasn’t provided significant improvement for the lower classes in India.

Reference: Class document

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

“India has the highest percentage of highly engaged workers at 78 percent in Asia as compared to Japan, which has the lowest employee engagement level at 39 percent.

The engagement level of the Indian worker is 20 percent more than his Chinese counterpart. This means that Indian employees are better at understanding the organization’s business goals, the steps required to achieve those goals and how their contributions drive goals, says WorkAsia research study by Watson Wyatt Worldwide”[1].

Even though, there still are poor working conditions, including working more hours than the legal ones, poor payment and children recruitment, Indian government is taking some measures in order to improve their labor force conditions:

“On 17 December 2008 the Indian Parliament passed the Unorganized Workers’ Social Security Bill, which seeks to provide welfare measures for unorganized workers. The House of Representatives in Parliament has described the Bill as the first major step in 60 years that will benefit the poor.

Amongst the workers to be covered under the Act are agricultural workers, migrant laborers and workers in the informal sector. It is estimated that 94 percent of the working class in the country employed in the unorganized sector would get the benefit of health, life and disability insurance, old age pension and group accident scheme.

The Indian Government has also introduced the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act Scheme that gives a minimum of 100 days of employment to those in the unorganized sector, through which the workers’ income will also be raised”[2].

“India has praised its recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and said that similar agreements were likely with Kuwait, Bahrain and other Gulf states. A number of steps were under consultation and implementation to ensure the protection and welfare of the workers. Problems arose sometimes as a significant number of them work in informal sectors, (and) they often do not have the protection of labor laws in the host country. What is required is a win-win situation for both the employers and workers”[3]

3. How cultural globalization has affected Indian in the last 2 decades?

Globalization has brought to India many changes especially in the social and economic field, what brings different developments in the cultural settings, with benefits but damages as well (Banerjee, 2008).

Most of this changes start occurring in the 80’s / 90’s when India opened itself to the world market and decided to become industrialized and reach for an economic growth having as example the western model. And this model has created a socio cultural contradiction between the Indian traditional ways of life (Banerjee, 2008).

According to Banerjee (2008) the issue here is that India has a wide ethno cultural diversity that is attached to the past but feels it has to move within a present that is getting disconnected from all its traditions. So having that in mind, the Government of India in order to keep its culture around the cultural globalization stated “the future of India should be built on a rediscovery of the past”. But it hasn’t been as effective as it should have been, since Benerjee (2008) takes the findings from Kapoor (2004) and Kapur (1982) which say that some Indian people are leaving its traditional values such as spirituality and collectivism and culturally are becoming materialistic, individualistic and consuming oriented.
(Photo taken from Getty Images. "India, Uttar Pradesh, Agra, Taj Mahal, dawn" by Ed Freeman)

So in a way the economic globalization and need to become competitive in the international market has become a cultural globalization too.

That has brought different problems, since poverty has increased, health services are not the same and other issues have arisen, the environment is not protected as before and the moral order of the country has apparently no direction, there is not a strong Indian or Western values’ recognition (Banerjee, 2008).

Like that Banerjee (2008) concludes by saying, that it is well known that the economic growth and globalization can improve competitiveness and produce more national wealth, however the policies around globalization should also have social and cultural results, by giving people education, better health systems… and pursue with that economic development through globalization, but without sacrificing important aspects such as the cultural integrity and traditional social structure from India.

However, other authors side a positive side on globalization and world trade and how to preserve the different cultures and even strength them and then share them with the world.

Those author are Drache and Froese (2006), who talked about a global cultural economy and analyze different aspect such as Film entertainment, music, internet access and sports among others, and how it has changed in this global era. One of the countries they took in their research is India.

Concerning Film entertainment, the film production in India is taking stronger steps in the world with its movies and they are even known around as Bollywood. And like that with technology and communication, India has become one of the most effective promoters of national cultures along with USA and Japan (Drache, Froese, 2006). Connected with the movie industry is coming the promotion of the Indian music and tourism to India and the take off of Indian art (Drache, Froese, 2006).

According to Drache and Froese (2006), “Film is the icon of cultural globalization and one of the dominant contemporary cultural flows”, this generates higher economic income to the countries and promotes local cultures stronger internally and externally as well. So we could conclude that through Bollywood, that produces more films than even Hollywood, India is taking a good road.

Drache and Froese (2006) also speak of the importance of national newspapers and media in India and their increase of internet users. All of them essential for promote local products and services and with it its cultural features.

To conclude, with both authors we can see that there are significant changes in the cultural basis of the countries and more specifically India because of cultural globalization. But countries are not willing to lose their own cultures so they are taking steps related to global markets where they can promote their own culture and also have effects in the cultural globalization of countries away from them.

References:
1. Benerjee, S. 2008. Dimensions of Indian culture, core cultural values and marketing implications: An analysis. Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, 15(4): 367 – 378

2. Drache, D. & Froese, M.D. 2006. Globalisation, World Trade and the Cultural Commons: Identity, Citizenship and Pluralism. New Political Economy, 11(3): 361 - 382

4. Describe India’s Green revolution

Even tough, the term "Green Revolution" is applied to the period from 1967 to 1978. Between 1947 and 1967, efforts at achieving food self-sufficiency were not entirely successful. Efforts until 1967 largely concentrated on expanding the farming areas. But starvation deaths were still being reported in the newspapers. In a perfect case of Malthusian economics, population was growing at a much faster rate than food production. This called for drastic action to increase yield. The action came in the form of the Green Revolution.

The term "Green Revolution" is a general one that is applied to successful agricultural experiments in many Third World countries. It is NOT specific to India. But it was most successful in India.

There were three basic elements in the method of the Green Revolution:
· Continued expansion of farming areas;
· Double-cropping existing farmland;
· Using seeds with improved genetics.

Some of the results of this revolution where:
· Record grain output of 131 million tons in 1978-79. This established India as one of the world's biggest agricultural producers.
· Yield per unit of farmland improved by more than 30 per cent between 1947 (when India gained political independence) and 1979 when the Green Revolution was considered to have delivered its goods.
· India paid back all loans it had taken from the World Bank and its affiliates for the purpose of the Green Revolution. This improved India's creditworthiness in the eyes of the lending agencies.
· The Green Revolution created plenty of jobs not only for agricultural workers but also industrial workers by the creation of lateral facilities such as factories and hydro-electric power stations as explained above.

References:
http://www.indiaonestop.com/Greenrevolution.htm

5. Did the British Raj enriched or impoverish India?

British Raj is related to the British rule in India between the years 1858 and 1947. The region called India used to include different areas directly administered by the UK, as well as the States that were ruled by individual rulers representing and administrating part of the British Crown.

- Was the administration of Britain good or bad for the country? There are different, ecountered positions on this question and while for some, certain aspects were good for others they were horrible for the natural development of a country.

Below we are going to mention the most remarkable consequences the British raj brought for this land; presenting both the points of view in favour and those against it.
- “India’s share of world GDP went from 22.6% in 1700 to 3.8% in 1952″ some people say this was because the British took away India’s wealth. And others insist that this was because the Western world was living the Industrial revolution at that time and that it came late to the India. They state that Britain was not responsible for this.

- “They did it for selfish reasons!” Many state that everything the British did in this country was only thinking in themselves and their own benefit, others say that this statement could be right, but what should really be looked is what they really ended up doing, like the railways, the modern government and other such things. All of this are good for India and that it does not matter whether it was for selfish reasons or not.

- Good governance? As mentioned before some people think that the modern government system was positive for India, but others opinionate that this was a façade under which the British could justify the greatest famines recorded in the previous 2,000 years, 17-20 million deaths from 1896 to 1900 alone, high taxation to support and subsidize colonial wars, and that the surplus of the production was often shipped to England.

-Unification of all the provinces and kingdoms into a single nation?
Some maintain that thanks to this the country is too centralized. A lot of things which should be left to the states, are actually decided in the national capital, and a lot of things which should be left to local governance units are actually decided in state capitals. Other reason to think this was bad is that this country is full of differences and that Mumbai for example makes the majority of the countries revenue, but because of this it has to pay through taxes the development of poor regions. Other reason to be in favour is the fact that a lot of food gets rotten away while people is starving, because of bureaucratic problems, but if there was more than one country the food-producing ones would want to trade the food with those countries that wanted food.

Others say this is good because it’s a nation with its strengths and its downs, but as a whole it works well due to the fact that some regions, help others to develop.
There are many other factors that people discuss, but we name some of the most important and controversial ones.

References:

From Empire to Independence: The British Raj in India 1858-1947. 2007. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/modern/independence1947_01.shtml. Accessed 28 April 2009.
The examined life. 2005. http://www.ravikiran.com/blog/classic/200506/was-the-british-raj-good-for-india/` Accessed 28 April 2009

Notes and references on question 2: [1] Indian workers most engaged in Asia. 2008. Economic Times, The (India), first quarter 2008. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nfh&AN=2W62W61071440499&loginpage=Login.asp&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Accessed May 13 2009.
[2] Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Bill – India. 2008. United Nations Instraw, third quarter 2008. http://www.un-instraw.org/en/media-centre/world-gender-news/unorganised-workers-social-security-bill.html. Accessed May 13 2009.
[3] India praises Labour Pact with UAE. 2007. Arabia 2000. First quarter 2007. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=1&hid=6&sid=10abd82a-00b7-4b2e-bcbd-fe0df3a50e28%40SRCSM2&bdata=JmxvZ2lucGFnZT1Mb2dpbi5hc3Amc2l0ZT1laG9zdC1saXZlJnNjb3BlPXNpdGU%3d#db=nfh&AN=6FI2123195203. Accessed may 13 2009.

Special Note: This Blog was made and design by María Fernanda Piña, María Camila Restrepo Zuluaga, Julia María Rodas Jaramillo, Luisa Fernanda Saldarriaga and María Natalia Suárez Vallejo.

A different Look at Middle East

The Middle East, the root of the Western Civilizations, a place of Culture and Traditions.

(Middle East map available at Microsoft's Enciclopedia Mi primera Encarta)

Usually what we hear about the Middle East is related to Oil or to the different wars in the area; name it US troops in Irak or the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. But those are finally some aspects that don’t show all the magic of such an ancient region, where the great civilizations that influenced “West” were born.

There are many important things concerning the “Middle East” that are important in order to understand better the relationships among its people, its countries and with the rest of the world.

Different from other subdivisions in the world, as East Asia, the Middle East does not represent a specific part of a continent, but it is the designation that militarily the United Kingdom started using during the Second World War, to define what their Near East within a Geopolitical context was. That’s why as Middle East we find a mix of three continents, the Arabian Peninsula in Asia, Egypt in Africa and Cyprus and Turkey in Europe, recognizing that Turkey is considered as an Asian country too.

Sometimes, the Middle East is also defined as the Arab World, but in a way that is not a good definition since Israel is not necessarily Arab and it is in the region, and there are other countries that consider themselves Arabs and geographically are not located in the designated area. That and other definitions have lead to a “Greater Middle East”, a wider geographical area covering more countries in the north of Africa (Morocco, Sudan…) and going east in Asia (Pakistan, Georgia...).

One of the greatest influences in the Middle East and a way to understand better all the dynamics in the region is the religion. The three greatest monotheist religions were born there and have actually the same roots, but through the centuries they took separate ways. We start with the Judaism, then the Christians and finally the Islam, all of them spread around the world, but while the Christians play a bigger role in Europe and then with the colonization in America, the Middle East remain mostly Islamic and with a tiny part of Judaism in Israel.

And for example Jerusalem the capital city of Israel, is important for the three religions. It is somehow the “Promised Land” for the Israelis and they have the Western Wall, considered a part of Salomon’s and Herodes’ Temples. The Christians have there the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and other major places where Jesus spent his last days, and the Muslims have different Mosques as Al-Aqsa, from where Mohamed went to Heaven.

("Israel, Jerusalem, Western Wall crowded with worshippers at night" by Gil Azouri. // "Ceiling of the Katholikon (main prayer hall) in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Jerusalem, Israel, 2008" by Uyen Le.)

("An aerial view shows Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa" by Gali Tibbon. All three images were taken from Getty Images)

All these religions influence all its followers at different points of their lives, but Christians mostly seem to detach religion from business, while the other two still have the religion more present in every aspect of their lives, specially the Muslims, and that has somehow put them in a different position in the way they relate themselves with the rest of the world. And cultures as our, because of lack of knowledge of their culture and traditions or because a lack of comprehension, miss many opportunities of creating better relationships with the Arab world.

Considering the fact that the Muslims have to follow in every single activity they do the Sharia, a set of rules and norms according to the Koran, they had the need to create their own economic institutions and agreements. So even tough, the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund reach the region and have different projects going on in the region, there are institutions as the Arab Monetary Fund and the Arab Cooperation Council, among many others.

Some of these institutions, as the Council of Arab Economic Unity, seek to integrate better the Arab countries and give them tools to answer better the globalization and the international networks in today’s world without leaving behind the Sharia. Of its goals one of the most important was the Greater Arab Free Trade Area.

These initiatives are very important because they want to promote other regional products besides oil, be more competitive internationally and participate more in meetings as the ones from the World Trade Organization, where just a couple of Arab countries are members.

Opposing to the GAFTA, there is the Middle East Free Trade Area, an idea coming from the USA and that wants to include Israel and not only consider free trade, but bilateral investment treaties, gain more memberships to the WTO… But it is not a very welcome initiative, basically Israel and some countries that receive international aid from the US or are important partners in other aspects, are the ones saying yes to the idea.

And in other topics as children rights, women rights… the region still moves according to the religion.

So in order to have a clear idea of the general facts of the region, have a deeper look at economic facts, the role of the Arab women, and countries as Qatar, Yemen and Israel and take a new look at the development of Arab cities as Dubai, here is a video with a presentation, Ismael Ossa, María Fernanda Piña and I did.

For further information or doubts feel free to contact me at: msuarezv@eafit.edu.co

Question: How does the financial system work in the Arab world?

Finances are an essential part of business and play a huge role in today’s world. But the finances we may know are not accepted by the Arab world, so in order to have a system that complies all its needs the Islamic Finances were created.

Mohammed El Qorchi in his article “The expansion of Islamic Finances” highlights the fast spread of the Islamic financial institutions passing from one bank in 1975 in Dubai to more than 300 institutions in over 75 countries.

The idea of the Islamic financial institutions is to follow the Sharia or Islamic law that defines how Muslims should act in their life.

Some of the main rules for finances are:

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  Not pay nor receive interests


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  There must be a match of risk and reward, the institutions share with all its investors and borrowers profits and losses.


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  Every financial operation must come from a real economic activity, which means it is forbidden to make money from money; there must be a service or product transaction.


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  Some businesses and investment in those are forbidden, such as alcohol, gambling, tobacco.


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  There is no uncertainty or speculation in their financial system. It creates further problems and conflicts between the people.


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  It is important to do charity and not to take advantage of the weaker people.
  

A lot of Muslims, who have gained money through the oil business or in other industries, feel happy to be able to invest their money properly and most of the banks also look forward to assure a more equitable distribution of wealth, administrating like that charity for its costumers and helping Muslims living in not so ideal conditions.

For these investors it was also important to diversify their access to capital in different countries and sectors, but assuring the respect of the Sharia.

In the article “Islamic Finances” it was also mentioned that right now, the Islamic finances are not only for Muslims but a considerable number of non-Muslims are taking part of the system.

Right now besides the Arab World, Great Britain, Germany and the USA are allowing Islamic Institutions.

The article also explains the expansion of the Islamic finances due to the excess liquidity, specially coming from oil and trade, and second as a way to gain a more important role in today’s world and strengthen their institutions in general.

It is also very interesting to see the different products offer within the Islamic Finances covering all the markets, the Banking, the Insurance, Trade, Investments, Construction… and how each transaction complies a different and special set of rules.

Nonetheless, as a new system it still has a lot of challenges. The first one is that it is not a standardized system, it changes from institution to institution, from country to country and the way each bank views it role related to the global financial system and the interpretations of the Sharia change in every institution.

That leads to a huge lack of information, because the databases are kept just for the institutions and the methods for collecting the information are very different as well.

That’s why institutions as the Islamic Development Bank and the Accounting and Auditing Organization of Islamic Financial Institutions are developing different norms and standards, auditing governance and ethics.

And in the way each bank has a Sharia board that are the ones who make sure every single transaction in the Bank is according to the Sharia, as the interpreters of law, there is the intention to create an Islamic Financial Services Board that creates the main standards for the Islamic Finances in overall.

Like that it would be easier for the institutions to integrated themselves and provide a connected service around the world.

Still despite the limitations and challenges the Islamic Finances may face at the moment, they have a bright future, because they are finally addressing the needs of its population and are becoming attractive as well for other societies outside the Muslim World.

References:

1. El Qorchi, M. 2005. Las finanzas islámicas en expansión. Finanzas y Desarrollo, 42(4): 46-49

2. Monger, R. & Rawashdeh, M. 2008. Islamic Finance Enters the Mainstream. Management Accounting Quarterly, 9(3): 1-6

3. Ossa, I. & Piña, M.F. & Suarez, M.N. 2009. Presentation "A different Look at the Middle East" part of the subject Organizations and Cultures at the University EAFIT

Africa the forgotten continent

Africa a Paradise full of resources that has turned into hell

(Map available at Yahoo Images)

Africa is a continent that is said to be the place where the human kind was born, however it looks like they started there their journey and left it behind with a wide territory full of natural amazing and unique resources but with huge problems as well as poverty, health issues and violence.

It is even sad to see how for some business man Africa doesn’t exist and how all along history has been exploded and taken as play and resources ground for the European people.

(Photo taken from Getty Images. "Masai (15-17) watching elephant, rear view" by James Martin)

So there was a presentation made by Monica Salazar, Ana María Restrepo and Eduardo Martinez, where they talked about Africa as the second largest continent and most populous one.

They also talked about its composition of 54 States full of diversity.

It has a broad climate and many flora and fauna diversity. There jungles and desserts can be found, and like that whole different little worlds.

And from those world resources have always being taking from. Sadly Africa had to suffered slavery and sees how many of its children were taken away to new lands where they have been struggling as in their land for their rights. Mineral resources as diamonds, oil… become bloody because of the exploitation of its people to get these resources and there are conflicts between mafias around it.

That has also made that some of the cooperation focus on Africa comes with a second interest. People come willing to help them improve health, education, sanitary conditions, alimentation… but some of those helping are interested in getting into return some piece of the resources available there.

(Photo taken from Getty Images. "Two indri lemurs (Indri indri) on tree branch, side view" by Kevin Schafer)

So personally, I think the world has to wake up and see the mess history has left for many people there and how even the successful examples as South Africa still lack of a real egalitarian treatment to the people living in Africa, and we all should seek to protect our natural and cultural resources available there as the same time we improve people’s lives.

Question: What has made South Africa a successful case in the African context?

One of the key elements of the success of Africa has been the role of the civil society.

People have a voice and they fight for their rights. They have overcome together hard problematics as the apartheid, which still has some consequences and hasn’t been completely eliminated but somehow is ancient history and it is an example of overcoming racisms for all the world.

(Photo taken from Getty Images. "GREEN VERVET MONKEYS AT NAKURU NATIONAL PARK IN KENYA" by Joseph van Os)
There are other experiences like the protection of their resources. That is illustrated by Patrick Bond (2002). He analyses in his article “Power to the people in South Africa” how the South African people were able to go against the privatization of Eskon fighting for the rights of energy. And through its associations they did not only avoid that but they also look for better working inclusion and conditions for the whole community and free electricity programs for some people and help to vulnerable groups of people and expanding the services so more people can count with electricity.

Another article that shows the power of people is “Aiding democracy? Donors and civil society in South Africa” by Julie Hearn. She highlights the importance of the civil society for the consolidation of democracy in the Country and how the people make the government protect its rights and fulfill their needs and in turn they meet happily their obligations to that government.

She also talks about the importance of the educational system teaching the importance of democracy and continue that in the society and then in the institution of the political parties and bodies. She finds important and unique in South Africa the higher quantity people encouraging commitment to the democratic institutions and its relation with donor political aid programs.

Another thing, that I found out in this article is the willingness of the civil society to work together with the international community and like that attract foreign aid and then make sure that that aid is used effectively and really represents a benefit for them. That was a key to ensure democracy but also maintain it.



References:

1. Bond, P. 2002. Power to People in Africa: Operation Khansyisa! And the Fight against lectricity Privatization. Multinational Monitor,

2. Hearn, J. 2000. Aiding democracy? Donors and civilsociety in South Africa. Third World Quarterly,21 (5): 815-830

3. Martínez, E. & Restrepo, A.M. & Salazar, M. 2009. Presentation "Africa" part of the subject Organizations and Cultures at the University EAFIT

Immigration a dream that may turn into a nightmare

Paraiso Travel

In Colombia and in general in South America there is dream to immigrate to the United States and follow the “American Dream” but the sacrifices and risks to get there are not worthy all the time, because the life conditions are not as expected and more considering the illegality.

And that’s exactly what the Colombian Movie Paraiso Travel tries to portrait. It tells the story of a boy and a girl who immigrate illegally to the States and then go separate ways until the boy finds the girl again.

At home the girl has dreams to go to the States and she dreams of New York, the snow… she has illusions but those are on stereotypes and a given idea that is not so close to reality.

Those dreams pressure the girl to do bad things as stealing money, and pressure the boy to fallow her dreams leaving his family and stability behind.

And the fact of doing it illegal also pushes them to undertake high costs and live under lots of risks, because just the trip to get to the states represents deaths, robbery, bad sleeping and eating conditions and abuses from other people.

It makes you think on the confrontation between right and wrong, and how people fallowing some ideas may not have a cold head to define what’s that they should really do.

Additionally, after leaving the comfort from home, letting down the family and escaping, and suffering all the things such an illegal trip represents, once they get to the States things don’t get better. It is all the opposite, they are in a place where they don’t know how basic things as the telephone work, they don’t speak the language and they don’t consider new things as the weather coming in winter something new for them and for the one they are not ready.

There are new places, a city of a new magnitude, different surroundings… and going from a City as Medellin to one as New York is changing actually from a town to world.

Immigrants and more if they are immigrants have to live under bad conditions, in horrible households, sometimes without money to get a piece of bread and being force to take the works that are like for the “outcasts” cleaning bathrooms, carrying heavy things…

But luckily for some of them they found the support in the community, sometimes from people from the same country or other with certain cultural similitude. Like that and finally counting with a support and encouragement people are able to learn from the others’ experiences and improve their life quality. Even gaining money not only to have a stable life (shelter and food) there but being able to send a remittance to the family at home, which is one of the greatest feelings immigrants may feel.

And once they realize that they are also advised to become legal, pay taxes and get in the system… because there is definitely a huge difference between being legal and do things right, especially when being illegal means run and hide from the police, and live in subhuman conditions.

Like that the reflections start pumping and there are two that catch more my attention. One is how scare the boy lives and how he struggles in his new life and talking with another immigrant who seems to be established and living smoothly he asks when will the pain and fair be gone, and he tells him that as an immigrant you will always feel two thing uncertainty and fear, and that those are not the ones to leave behind. And the second one is how they start valuing their past lives, saying that he might not have been reach at home, but that he was not as poor as he got there.

Another aspect of the movie is how people stay attached to it cultural roots, and they kind of stay in a community circle of what is known for them, and don’t get to involved in the culture of their new country.

Finally, I like the fact of a boy persisting and learning and growing in a new world for him. And how with the help of other he was able to start from cero and survive.

Note: Paraiso Travel is a movie by Simon Brand, made in 2008.

Finding out more about South Asia

South Asia, giving more power to the Asiatic Continent

(Map taken from Yahoo)

The southern region of the Asian continent is called South Asia, which is composed by countries like Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Myanmar, Iran, between others, and all together represents the fifth part of the world’s population, and it is not coincidence; because this region can be considered as the most populous and densest in the world.

In this blog we are just going to focus in two specific countries of the region: Vietnam and India. So let’s start with the first one.

Vietnam is a country that was dominated by two countries: First came the Chinese and then the French and during the last domination, Vietnam had to change it religion from Buddhism to Catholicism.

There was a leader in Vietnam called Ho Chi Minh who was in opposition of the French domination, and also had communist ideologies that made him found the “Vietnam Revolutionary League”.

Several things happened, and all were in favor of the ideology that Ho Chi Minh had, so for him was the opportunity to create a guerrilla called Vietminh which received support from the Soviet Union, in order to take Vietnam, and this was the beginning of the most famous war that the country ever had, where the USA got involved and fail on its effort to fight against the Vietminh.

Now, is time to talk about India, which is a country that has surprised the entire world with the growth that nowadays is presenting.

India was a colony of the UK, and this explains the fact that their main language is the English, but any way, this country counts with a big language diversity due that every community has its own one.

By now, 15% of the world’s population lives in India, where the 65% is located in the rural zones.

India still has women discrimination and this also apply to travelers.

Right now India is gaining a very important place among the leader countries in the world, because it is becoming an expertise in software, services and technology.

Question: Is India going to be affected by today world’s economical crisis?

According to Tiwari “There's no doubt that we are facing the mother of all global recessions. This recession seems as bad as in the beginning of the 1930s. Global trade has collapsed by 15%, global GDP will probably be negative for the first time in our recorded history. So we are talking about a very significant event. However, in this sea of turmoil, India will look better than many other countries, the reason being good management and good luck.

The Indian economy has been more domestic-focused unlike the export-driven economy of China. While exports contribute around 15% to the Indian GDP, the percentage is 35% in case of China.

People were initially thinking that emerging markets would somehow be delinked from this and saved. That's a silly idea because growth in most emerging markets, except India, was driven by exports to developed countries. That's why they're seeing tough times. India's domestic orientation provides some insulation. But being a trader, especially of services, India will be impacted somewhat. Growth would be half that last year, if not lower.”

Special Note:

This Blog was made and design by María Camila Restrepo Zuluaga, Julia María Rodas Jaramillo and María Natalia Suárez Vallejo

References:

1. Daily News and Analysis (India). Economic recovery will start in a year. April 4