...Learning Team B: Cultural Evaluation Paper Student Name BCOM/275 September 22, 2014 Dr. Don Marrin Cultural Evaluation Paper Education in Brazil is a mix of public and private universities. Higher education in Brazil is available, but until recently not all Brazilian college eligible students attended college. A higher education, in Brazil, has only been afforded to the privileged. The "Us Department Of Education: College Affordability And Completion" (n.d.) website states, Brazil ranks last, 37th, in the number of young adults having a college degree. In recent years, the Brazilian government has implemented several educational initiatives to bridge the gap for students with varying socioeconomic status. These initiatives have helped bridge the gap, but there are many gains to achieve. Private and Public Higher Education The main initiative that the Brazilian government has implemented is to offer low-interest loans or free tuition to underprivileged students attending private universities. According to “The Economist” (2014) stated, “It offers private universities tax breaks in return for giving around a tenth of their places free or at discounts to students on modest incomes, benefiting more than 1m pupils since 2005.” (para, 6). Although the government has implemented such initiatives for students, the dropout rate still remains high at private universities. “The Economist” (2014) stated, “more than half of students in higher education...
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...Cultural evaluation Cultural evaluation In the realm of business dealing with other cultures can be cumbersome if one is not prepared to adjust or identify difficult areas so that both cultures can have an amicable and fruitful business environment. There are many differences in which people do business compared to the “American way”, today we will examine a little about the way Brazilians perform business with Americans. First of all, formality, American business men are taught and coached to “Wear dark colored business suits in classic colors of gray and navy. For an important formal meeting, choose a white dress shirt, for less formal a light blue shirt will still give you a conservative appearance.” Kimberley Roberts & Stephen Taylor 2012, United States of America Business Etiquette, Culture, & Manners While in Brazil “Three-piece suits carry an "executive" connotation, whereas two-piece suits are associated with office workers. Conservative attire for women in business is very important. Also make sure your nails are manicured” Joni Nicol 2012 Brazil Business Etiquette & Culture. no major change in the clothing aspect, just small details where things are not very noticeable. However, as far as the other elements we see that initial meetings can be somewhat formal, where you are expected to shake hands with everybody present on arrival, but any subsequent meetings...
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...What is goal congruence? It simply means making sure your goals are in harmony with and aligned to what you really want in life. An Important Illustration: Let's say you hate your job so you set a new goal find another job. You're so desperate and emotional to leave your current work situation you focus your goal on what you are feeling in the moment. Your goal: Find a better job, that pays money, with less stress. Maybe you follow the SMART goals formula and add specifics that you can measure, such as you want to find this job within four months and your minimum salary requirement is 10% more than your current job. Let's say four months later you achieve your goals - you have a better paying job and less stress. However, you're still dissatisfied, because the new job is not challenging. Your workday seems extremely long and you're unhappy. When you ensure your goals are aligned with what really want in life then you will be happier in the long run. If you would have taken the time to focus on what you really wanted your job search may have taken you in a new direction. In the end, you'd be doing work you love, with more energy, and interest. You'd feel a sense of accomplishment and be happier. Never underestimate the power of effectively aligning your goal. It's the foundation for really smart goals. Objective: Setting Personal Goals that Will Spark Your Enthusiasm and Lead to Lasting Success You Want to Be With the 3% That Succeed! 97% of people do not know how...
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...Cultural Evaluation Paper Jessika L. Toothman October 23, 2014 XBCOM/275 Velvalee Wiley Cultural Evaluation Paper (Brazil) “Brazilians are friendly and free-spirited, with an incredible zest for life. They are very risk-oriented and very creative. Family, educational and socioeconomic backgrounds are important to Brazilians” (eDiplomate, 2014, p. 1). Brazilians would want a presentation of arguments to be light and personal, but still it needs to have all of the informative and educational information that needs to be presented. Before presenting arguments to individuals of Brazil, there are many characteristics an individual should take into consideration. Greeting. Brazilians like to know each other on a personal and family-oriented basis. It is a great idea to take the time to greet each individual as they are escorted to their seats before the presentation. This will allow them to meet the individual on a personal basis. Also it is a good idea to tell each individual good-bye after the presentation to let them know that you care about them as an individual. Body language while presenting. When presenting to Brazilians, it is a good idea to be as close as possible to them, because they like to be close to one another. If there would happen to be a stage in front of an audience, it might be a good idea to stand close the edge of the stage or walk through the crowd while presenting certain points. “The O.K. sign is considered very rude and vulgar; the thumbs up...
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...Cultural Differences in Job Characteristics and Job Satisfaction Avis Mitchell MT302/Organizational Behavior March 24, 2013 Prof. Wessel The countries I have selected are: Brazil, Japan, and the Netherlands, but let us first talk about Brazil. According to Cultural Dimensions Explained website (2013), the Hofstede Graph for Brazil indicates that Uncertainty Avoidance or UAI dimension is at higher levels, which means that the population is less tolerant to uncertainty and to lower it they adopt laws and policies which are very strict. The Individualism or IDV dimension is only 38 and these people are collectivist comparative to other individualist countries. These two dimensions seem to be more relevant regarding the Brazilian people. Regarding the economy, Brazil is the top player from South America and the 9th globally. Its economy has been improved a lot lately. Their inflation rate is in normal standard, their exports have been increased, and the economy is slowly growing. However, they have to improve their infrastructure, and lower the big difference in income for the people, because there are people that earn a lot of money and there are people that earn very few, so there’s basically no middle class. Moving on to Japan, it can be said that the dimensions with the highest levels for the Hofstede Graph are MAS, UAI, and LTO. The high level for MAS dimension denotes the fact that male people are the ones with the most important roles regarding the work environment...
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...The Brazilian economy is the seventh largest economy in the world by nominal gross domestic product and the eighth largest by purchasing power parity. It is one of the world’s fastest growing economies. Brazil is also the home to a vast diversity of wildlife and natural resources. With such a fast growing economy, it is important to have a solid and effective IT infrastructure. In this essay, I will speak about the restructuring of the Brazilian IT governance and the decisions made to ensure the best outcome in this process. 1. What events lead up to the need for an evaluation of IT governance within the Brazilian government? Events that lead to the need for an evaluation of IT Governance within the Brazilian government were the fact that there was an increasing need for business integration. That business integration can only be achieved by aligning with IT services. By doing this, value will be created while reducing costs. Information technology is the largest capital expense that contributes to a correctly managed firm and allows the organization to effectively achieve its business goals. This is necessary to standardize business and customer needs and for the progression of the country. 2. Why had the Brazilian government outsourced so much of their IT operations? What are the reasons for outsourcing, and what are the disadvantages and consequences of overusing outsourcing in either the public or private sector? There are many...
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...options are out there to solve his problem. e.g He does some market research through google and looks for TV’s on websites that sell electronics. He reads customer reviews on the products and checks for the best price on the market to see which ones are worth it. He also visits the closest electronic retail store to check for product quality and features and ask questions to the sellers. Evaluation of Alternatives: e.g After conducting extensive market research he is able to narrow his choices down to three to four televisions. He is now comparing them and carefully analyzing the good and bad features of each. Product choice: e.g He chooses one TV because he really likes the price and all the features that comes with it. He selects the one that is affordable, has good image and size and is durable. Post-purchase Evaluation: e.g He finally watches his favorite TV shows and movies on the television and is very happy with his choice. 1b. Situational: Situational Influences include two factors which is the physical environment and time. My dad lives in Sao Paulo, which is the biggest city in Brazil. It has many shopping malls and many electronic stores such as FAST, which is a store similar to best buy in the US. My dad would be influenced by the flashy signs and TV displays out in the stores for testing. Additionally, time would also play a big part on his decision. He is the owner of a small business...
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...Meeting the company’s cooperate culture, I suggest that there should be a recruitment hire for expatriate assignment although the roles are complex, they will act as an agent for control and socialization as well as a network builder, they will face the problem of cultural competence as the French and south Americans have differences in culture, he/she will have to go through a training which may vary depending on the time frame of the expatriate assignment, although this is expensive, as the organization would have to take care of the travelling and other expenses for the period but to reduce cost we could make use of the virtual assignee which would enable the managers to rely on technological communication such as email, video conferences and phone calls although there would sstill be a cultural difference, the virtual assignee would need to be highly skillful in using these media. Virtual assignment will be the most suitable for this regional positions e.g South America operational marketer, specific intercultural training will still be needed to avoid intercultural conflicts and the virtual...
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...Full Service Travel in Brazil Explore the World LLC Team C: MGMT 598 International Business Professor Wendy Finlay December 15, 2013 Table of Contents 1.0 Executive Summary3 2.0 Country Factors3 2.1 Political and Legal4 2.2 Economic4 2.3 Cultural5 3.0 Competition6 4.0 Market Opportunity9 5.0 SWOT Analysis: Implications12 5.1 Strengths12 5.2 Weaknesses14 5.3 Opportunities15 5.4 Threats16 6.0 Business Objectives16 7.0 Strategic Thrust17 8.0 Tactics19 8.1 Human Resources19 8.1.1 Recruiting and Staffing19 8.1.2 Training and Development20 8.1.3 Performance Management21 8.1.4 Compensation & Rewards21 8.2 Financial Risks22 8.3 Products and Services23 8.4 Pricing24 8.5 Promotion25 8.6 Distribution27 9.0 Measurement of Results28 Global Business Strategy: Full Service Travel in Brazil 1.0 Executive Summary Explore the World LLC desires to create a concierge, high-end travel agency/experience in Brazil. Our new office will be located in a place yet to be determined in Brazil and we are thinking of transportation, accommodations, private guided tours, cultural lessons, and language lessons. Essentially, the business plans to make the experience more than just seeing the sights, but experiencing the culture and lifestyle as a whole. This service can be used by both business and vacation travelers. In addition to direct personal service we will have a website to allow people to survey our offerings...
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...Introduction IF we want to understand a people, so it is necessary to try to put ourselves, as far as we can,in that particular historical and cultural background. and It is not easy for a person of one country to enter into the background of another country. So it make (someone) annoyed or a little angry beacause it is so difficult for someone to immediately accepted by the other party. But that extreme irritation will go when we think ... that he is just differently conditioned and simple words mean he can't get out of that condition. One has to recognize that whatever the future may hold, countries and people differ .in their approach to life and how they live in this beautiful words and how they thing about this wonder world.so in order to understand them (other people) it is very important to understand their way of life and approach. and finally we want to convince them, we need touse their language as far as we can, not language in the narrow sense or limit of the word, but the language of the mind. because that is one necessity....
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...complexity in organization, resource and supplier chain; * Political and maritime risk impact from emerging market with instability exists in their political and economics environments. In order to solve those problems and challenge, the paper, “Unleashing people performance for higher global profits and productivity “, developed 5 strategies to improve business profits, employee productivity and talent retention: * Operate in global base: develop a global perspective on talent management. * Innovation in talent management: it is a process and objective orientated innovation to improve the quality of the talent management. * Emphasize career and leadership development: Enhance effectiveness in recruiting, developing, evaluation process by utilizing new approaches. * Alignment: Focus on alignment between individual career path and organization objectives, and reward performers across the cultures. * New technologies: leverage technology into the talent management and bring the synergy. 2. Case Study Working as products manager for Global product line in FMC Technologies, I fully agree with the issues raised in this paper. FMC Technologies, as a world leading supplier for subsea system in Oil& Gas business, do see the significant business growth...
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...Should Sex Education Be Taught in Schools Laterra Dykes, Nastasia Davis, David Webb, Joy Dobbins BCOM/275 May 29, 2014 Dewayne Acree Sexually active teens are a matter of severe concern in the United States and many other countries. In the past several years many school-based programs have been created for the sole purpose of delaying the beginning of sexual activity. There seems to be a growing compromise that schools can play an important role in providing youth with a knowledge base which may allow them to make knowledgeable decisions and help them shape a healthy lifestyle (St Leger, 1999). The school is the only institution in regular contact with a sizable percentage of the teenage population (Zabin and Hirsch, 1988), with virtually all youth attending it before they initiate sexual risk-taking behavior (Kirby and Coyle, 1997). The idea of sex education is a very controversial subject. Sex education will teach teens about the importance of safe sex. There are two different styles of learning about sex education, which are abstinence and sex education or comprehensive. Comprehensive education discuss abstinence as a choice. Even though, comprehensive sex education teaching abstinence as a choice it still inform the teens about contraception and how to avoid obtaining sexually transmitted diseases. Abstinence education teaches teens about abstinence from sex until marriage. Abstinence education does not discuss but rejects the use of contraception. The difference between...
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...the members of a community and which influence their [...] way of life” (Tayeb, 2003, p.10). Hence, the crux for every international manager is to understand the differences in the ways employees, suppliers and clients think, feel and act in different business settings (Hofstede, 1997, p.4). International managers, being capable of managing this challenge, possess a set of intercultural competencies, allowing them to turn cultural diversity into a competitive advantage (Browaeys and Price, 2008, p.215). This information pack provides substantial information about Danish and Brazilian business practices. The subsequent analysis is based upon the theories of the Dutch anthropologists Geert Hofstede and Fons Trompenaars. In particular, Hofstede’s “Uncertainty Avoidance” and Trompenaars’ “Ascription vs. Achievement” have been applied. 2. Theoretical Background Hofstede and Trompenaar are proponents of the ‘etic’ approach. They hold that culture is linked to people’s values. Furthermore they argue that these values can be transferred into universal cultural characteristics. Underpinned by empirical and experimental evidence, both anthropologists developed their set of bi-polar dimensions. According to Browaeys and Price (2008, p.92) these dimensions serve to differentiate national cultures. Moreover they provide implications on the impact of culture in business and management. 2.1. Geert Hofstede Hofstede’s work is based on research conducted at the multinational computing...
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...Wal-mart. Wal-mart has failed to do this in many countries. For example, in Brazil and Germany, Wal-mart did not understand the local culture, and failed to transfer their products into these countries. In Brazil, there were many other discount stores in which food was available at cheaper prices. Wal-mart’s business model of selling low prices, having obsessive inventory control, and a having a large variety of merchandise failed in this market because Brazil already had their own discount chain stores which were successful there. As we have established, there are some companies that experience "issues" when deciding to move their products or services to a changing consumer market. Although these companies have shown success in domestic locations, it is evident that without consideration of the changing consumer, and the ability to adapt product and services, companies, as large as they may be in some locations, have an increased failure rate internationally. “US based Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, entered Brazil in 1995 by forming a 60:40 joint venture with one of the country's leading business conglomerates, Grupo Garantia (icmrindia.org).” The entry mode would be in association with Lojas Americanas, which is controlled by Grupo Garantia. Wal-Mart’s intention was to achieve the number one retailer position in the Brazilian retail market in a very short period of time. Shortly, after entering Brazil, Wal-Mart encountered several operational problems during the initial...
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...The Importance of the Organizational Behavior in a Merger and Acquisition Process: Study case of an International Company in Brazil Ana Cristina Limongi-França - Universidade de São Paulo Heidy Rodriguez Ramos - Universidade de São Paulo Daniella Silva da Conceição - Universidade de São Paulo ABSTRACT The 90’s decade is known by the large number of the merger and acquisitions. It happens mainly by the rising of the improvement of competition among companies. The merger and acquisition process of the Coca-Cola FEMSA were studied in this paper. The accomplishment of this field study was done from an exploratory research among the last-year business students, deep interviews and documental analysis. The result analysis was done according a methodology of cultural analysis, built on the following criteria: Market, Management and Competencies. Hence, research data confirm the importance of the organizational culture on a merger and acquisitions process. 1 1 INTRODUCTION Mergers and acquisitions are part of the capitalism history. The ninety decade was marked by the rising of this process, as a consequence of a higher competition level. In Brazil this period was marked by the economy deregulation made during the governments of the ninety decade and also by the opening of its market to imported goods. The companies who entered Brazilian market realized they could grow up fast because the competition among companies was short and the goods were obsolete. To survive at...
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