Proud to be part of a minority?

No matter where you are, being part of a minority sucks. I know that many people may sustain that this could be a reason to be proud of, an opportunity to live a legacy and to be different from the mass; and yes, all of the above sounds too beautiful and so ideal at the same time. But let’s face the truth: no minority has the big opportunity mentioned before; by the contrary, they are constantly chased and underestimated.

Now-a-days, there is a big group of minorities in the world, and some of the most global are: homosexuals, women, and indigenous. The last group mentioned has been historically a victim of violence, persecution and rights violations. Regarding to this, Australian indigenous suffered a bloody history in that country, and today people regret of that, offering excuses and saying sorry to this minority.

However, there is one question to ask: is it just enough to say sorry? I believe no. saying sorry is a start, but it is definitely not enough! It is true that it is impossible to undo what was done many years ago and reverse history. But something fair toward the compensation of these tragedies is that many restructuration projects can be leaded by the government and private companies.

Following the previous, we may include in those projects some in terms of:
- Education so indigenous people can reintegrate to the society in a competent way, in order to work as equals with the rest of people.
- Health security; even though their tradition may be against some modern practices, the State should provide them a good health system, so they can be treated in an efficient way.
- Job opportunities. There should be a program to support them with work opportunities so they have a chance to improve what was once taken out from them.

These are just some examples, but the list might keep on growing if the wiling is there.

Finally, there is something that needs to be clear, so there are not misunderstandings: being part of a minority does not imply being a martyr; it might just be a little bit more tough than for the rest of the people to climb in society, but the road could make you stronger and could help you develop characteristics that others may not have. So it is a proud to be part of a minority, as long as people know how to take things; and if a the damage towards them is done, saying sorry is not enough!

A real winner

This entry is quite particular since today nothing will be written from me. However, I invite you to visit the following blog: "Le Monolecte", created by Agnès Maillard, a French woman, mother and entrepreneur, who shows us that it is not necessary to have a degree on literature or to be the most especialized in one topic in order to have deep thoughts. Even a regular person is free to think! So, why shouldn't us?

Anyhow, this blog is one of the winners of the Best of Blogs BOBS 2010 awards; and the link to this blog is: http://blog.monolecte.fr/

I hope you enjoy it as well as I did!

Trade Unions: how is it different in Colombia from the European Union?

No matter if you are in Europe or in Colombia, one thing is certain: workers who belong to trade unions are not well received in any kind of companies; they are even categorized as “trouble”, so most of the times companies prefer to preside of them.

However, there is one big difference between trade unionists in Europe and those in Colombia. More explicitly, in the E.U., trade unions are organizations that seek for the respect of the rights of the employees and their demands are taken into account, avoiding conflict between the company and the parties involved. Nevertheless, this is not the case in Colombia, since trade unionists are chased and even murdered. There is also a popular belief that most of those assassinates are responsibility of the right wing paramilitary groups.

An article posted in the Amnesty International webpage on April 2008 states that “Amnesty International has highlighted how, over the last two decades, the numbers of trade unionists killed have experienced years of dramatic falls followed by large increases. The organization has insisted that a lack of decisive action by successive Colombian governments to end the over 90% impunity in such cases means that there cannot be any guarantee that a fall in figures one year necessarily translates into a sustainable improvement in the human rights situation”1 This means that there is not much cooperation from the government to stop these actions in the country, and therefore the support to these organizations is almost inexistent.

Also, there is another article that states that “The Colombian labor movement has been the target of a campaign of intimidation unparalleled in the contemporary world. More than 3,800 union leaders and activists have been assassinated since the mid 1980's”2 This article, The United States and The War on Trade Unions in Colombia: A Call for Solidarity, explains how ever since its beginnings, the trade unions in Colombia have been chased by armed groups, and how it is almost impossible to count with a decent protection from the government.

Therefore, it is not a surprise that trade unions are tending to disappear in Colombia, even some are resisting to its total end; in which it is possible to recall: Central Union of Workers, Confederation of Workers of Colombia, Corriente de Integracion Sindical, General Confederation of Democratic Workers, SINALTRAINAL.3.
However, the dissolution of those organizations is not only a Colombian phenomenon, but it is also happening in the E.U., like the Federation of European Employers (FedEE) explains: “Over the last twenty years there has been a widespread decline in trade union membership throughout most of western Europe. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, unionisation in many eastern European states has collapsed at an even more dramatic rate… FedEE estimates that, in the medium term, the average level of unionisation across the EU will fall even further - from 26.3% today to just under 20% by 2010”4.

Finally, I believe that trade unionist need to find a way to make themselves be heard by the big corporations without using the violence. Maybe, the perception towards them could change in a positive way, especially in Colombia, if their approach is a little more rational than passional. Otherwise, this wave of violence and rejection towards them will not change, even with the government’s help.

Reference
1. (April 2008) Killings of trade unionists on the rise in Colombia. Retrieved on April 22nd, 2010 in Amnesty International from: http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/feature-stories/killings-trade-unionists-rise-colombia-20080430
2. Rayner, J. The United States and The War on Trade Unions in Colombia: A Call for Solidarit. Retrieved on April 22nd, 2010 in International Labor Relations, from: http://henningcenter.berkeley.edu/gateway/colombia.html
3. Trade unions of Colombia. Retrieved on April 22nd, 2010 in mundoandino.com, from: http://www.mundoandino.com/Category/Trade-unions-of-Colombia
4. Trade unions across Europe. Retrieved on April 22nd, 2010 in Federation of European Employers, from: http://www.fedee.com/tradeunions.html

E-commerce in the Islam and all around the world

Taking into consideration the basic rules of Islam to make e-commerce, it might look very appropriate and very wise, since those rules are basically the main logical path to follow when making business with anybody, through any mean, no matter the religion, culture or believes of the counterparty.

Such rules are included in the research paper “E-Commerce from an Islamic perspective”1, which make an emphasis on the legacy of the e-commerce in the Islamic religion; and therefore, named the following statements:
- Before starting the contract, both parties need to be present, or have a delegated; and the seller must prove that the product exists in the market.
- During the process of the negotiation, there are some things that are prohibited: charging interests, because it is considered as usury; uncertainty (not knowing well what is to be taken); fraud, duress and/or gambling.
- When implementing the negotiation or contract, the seller must be to real owner of the subject of the contract and this must be free from liabilities.
- Signing the contract by the parties, after verifying the real existence of the company, since it was only known through the website.
- Finally, when exchanging the payment and product, the first one should not be made with credit card, because it goes against the principle of no usury.

Following the previous, one might believe that there is no need to make such statement, since most of those rules are from common sense and people from all around the world should know that when making business online. However, the reality is different; most people have little knowledge when practicing this kind of business, and sometimes they might fall into traps causing them a great lose of money and many times, a loss of their good name.

Therefore, I believe that this rules shouldn’t be taken into account by the Muslims themselves, but by everyone in the world who is engaging a negotiation through the internet (electronic commerce); in order to avoid a fraud.


References:
1. Zainul, N., Osman, F. and Mazlan, S.H. (2004). E-Commerce from an Islamic perspective. International Islamic University Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Mortal Dowry

There are many social issues in India to deal with. However, this entry is mainly focussed on one important and common tradition in the country. The "Dowry" is a financial gift that the family of the bride has to pay to family of the groom when they are getting married. Traditionally, the purpose of the dowry was to give the husband a financial support and to thank his family for choosing their daughet and releasing them from the spinsterhood (which is still considered a curse in India).

Usually the amount of this "gift" is iracional so people must get into high doubts in order to fulfill the demands of their family-in-law. "In a middle class family, the expenditure could rise to 300.000 and 400.000 rupees (between 5.400 and 7.100 euros, something exorbitant in a country where the per capita income rises to a little more of 2.700 euros per year)"1. If the family of the bride refuses to accomplish this amount, the bride is mistreated, physically and emotionally, and sometimes even murdered. The most common way to kill the wife, is by burning her, since it is easier to make it look like an accident."In 2006 more than 9.800 cases related to violence due to the dowry were reported"2

Having a daughter in India and the payment of the dowry is so stressful to the level that even in one abortion clinic there was a poster that quoted: "Invest 3.000 rupees today and safe 30.000 rupees in the future"3. This might be the cause that now-a-days in the country, it is prohibited to know the sex of the children before they are borned. Also, many families prefer to kill the daughters or starv them to death before they grow up, in order to safe that money. This is why, in India there are more men than women, even though many campaigns are trying to change those numbers.

This tradition is supossed to be prohibited in India since 1961, with the 'Dowry Prohibition Act'; however, there are few cases that have really been taken to trial. This proves that tradition is greater than common sense, and they hide it by calling the dowry "a gift". In many cases, the family of the groom brives the police so no charges are made against them.

However, not everyone in India is in favor of that tradition. There are many young men and women in the country who are against the dowry, even when they (men) could get a signficant amount for getting married. An example of this is the website: idontwantdowry.com, a place where all young people against the dowry have the opportunitty to meet other people with the same beliefs. Many traditional families are agains this website, and they tell their sons that it is crazy to do that since they are really succesfull and have a good carrier, which in caste system means that they can charge a lot of money and luxury things for that.

The creator of the website, Satya Naresh, states that: "There are still a lot of challenges in the merriage system in India, such as the religion barriers, caste, region of origin, and economic diferences. But the dowry is the most serious thing. It is the most threatening of the social curses because it involves money, and people can kill for it"4.

Even though this website is really positive, and many efforts are beign made in order to abolish this tradition in India, the reality is that there are still a lot of families who demand the "dowry", if not before the wedding, after it.


References:
1. La dote, rito mortal en la India (2007). Retrived from: http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2007/05/21/solidaridad/1179746513.html
2. Íbid
3. El problema de la dote en India (2008). Retrieved from: http://www.softwarelibre.net/el_problema_de_la_dote_en_india_0
4. India: Yo no quiero dote (2007). Retrieved from:http://paraula.espacioblog.com/post/2007/10/09/india-yo-quiero-dote

Business in China

Doing business in China? Well if you are planning to, I really advise you to take into account that the Chinese culture is very unique and there are some protocols that must be followed in order to have a succesful deal with them.

Something very important to know is that this culture is highly influenced by Confucianism, which stands for the harmonious relationships between ruler-subject, husband-wife, father-son, brother-brother and friend-friend, so the society as a whole will function smoothly.

Also, here are some special characteristics and tips that might be useful:
- Adress to a person by his or her family name (last name. Do not insist either on them to call you by your first name
- The meeting starts with a hand shake and a slight nod of the head. Try not to be too enthusiastic when shaking hands because they might interpret it as agressive
- Physical contact is not well seen, so make sure not to touch someone's hands or pat/put your arm around someone's shoulders
- In general, be consious about all your moves in order to remain in a calm position and not look too agressive.
- The relationships are very formal, and are directed towards business. Avoid jokes and distracting commentaries. It also good to have an intermediary, who could be an interpretor and a reference person.
- There are some specific gestures that are considered rude, like: pointing the index finger,finger snapping, showing the soles of shoes, whistling. However, this does not mean that there are not Chinese customs that are annoying to western people, such as: spitting on the street, failure to ask permission to smoke, slurping food, talking while eating.
- When exchanging business cards, hold out your card using both hands with the writing facing the recipient
- In China, it is assumed that the first person that enters the room is the head of the group
- At a formal banquet, be prepared to give a short, friendly speech in response to the host's speech
- Punctuality is vital when doing business in China
- Prior to any meeting always send an agenda
- One known strategy for Chinese negotiators is to begin negotiations showing humility and deference. This is designed to present themselves as vulnerable and weak. You, the stronger, will be expected to help them through concessions.

I hope these tips were useful and that you keep them in mind when doing business with Chinese people.

References:

http://www.protocolprofessionals.com/articles_china_print.htm
http://www.china-window.com/china_business/china_business_tips/business-etiquette-in-chi.shtml
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/etiquette/doing-business-china.html

Korean, Japanese and Colombian Management

In this entry I would like to show a table that contains the main differences between the Korean, Japanese and Colombia managerial skills. However, it is important to note that these differences might not apply to all cases, especially on those internationalized firms, because it is well-known that globalization has made that all firms around the world tend to unify the management models.



Reference
Lee, J., Roehl, T.W., and Choe, S. (2000). What makes management style similar and distinct across borders? Growth, experience and culture in Korean and Japanese firms. Journal of International Business Studies, 31, 4: 631-652