CORPORATIONS

1.       Should corporations be entitled to the same legal rights as individuals? Where the line should be drawn?

The corporation should not be entitled to the same legal rights as individuals because they need a special treatment in order to grow and with the proper tools lead the world economy in the countries. Is important to understand that even so the corporations seek for their  own well being and their shareholders that is only the natural course of the events in the capitalism and is pointless to fight it, more intelligent than engaging a difficult conflict that can lead to no good outcomes is to realize that the growth of corporations can be used to benefit the people in general if the governments aims their political efforts to establish proper laws and taxing policies that can balance the private interest of a corporation with  the general interest. So in a developing country like Colombia high restrictions to foreign direct investment would devastate the aspirations to be competitive in the global scenario and would lead the country to increase poverty and inequality, for this reason is not the corporation’s the ones that should be analyzed, the governments are the ones that should be examined and ask for controls and policies that help the people because in a our system (capitalism) the ones that are designed to take care of the people in general are the governments and not the corporations, their private status and their profit spirit must be respected but controlled by each government. The line should be drown not in the way that corporations conceive their economic life (self profits) in the taxing and health policies that the governments design in order to control them.

2.       How can we ensure corporations are held accountable for their action?

We can ensure that by pressing the governments to establish a set of laws and rules that controls the corporations. Create rules regarding the environment, the use of harmful elements, the revenues and especially the labor conditions within the corporation. As I said before is the responsibility of the governments to ensure the well being of the population because the corporations owe loyalty only to its shareholders.

 3.     Should individuals bear any responsibility for the actions in a corporation? If so, to what degree?

The individuals that lead the corporations should share complete responsibility for their actions only if those actions affects the wellbeing of another human being, if the action affects other corporation or institution the way of treat the person should differ because that behavior would be covered by the “free market” philosophy that rules our system.

4.       What are the benefits of the corporate form? Could an alternative model offer these as well?

The benefit of the corporate form is the fact that a lot of corporations create a lot of competitiveness in the sector and that encourages development and investigation, in other words the corporate core value of financial surviving can lead to human development and improvement of the quality of the life. I think that the cluster model that is a group of small firms from similar industries that team up and act as one body. Creating a business cluster enables firms to enjoy economies of scale usually only available to bigger competitors. Marketing costs can be shared and goods can be bought more cheaply. There are also networking advantages, which small firms can share experiences and discuss business strategies.

http://www.bnet.com/topics/business+cluster

A little example of a government lack of control over corporations

 

MIGRATIONS IN AFRICAN WOMEN

Although African women and female migrants assume responsibility and leadership in various areas, they remain neglected in our knowledge about the African diaspora. Particularly, the absence of gender-specific data impairs the understanding and the appropriate assessment of women's unique role in development.

In an effort to identify and support African women who wish to engage in the development of their countries of origin, IOM is creating a Database for African Women in the diaspora, which will serve as a special component to the general database.

As a crucial part of IOM's Database initiative, the African Women Diaspora Database strives to promote the mainstreaming of the African women as leaders in the social and economic development of their country of origin.

“The leadership of African Women in the diaspora is a prerequisite in finding sustainable solutions to the development of their country of origin.”

- Ms. Ndioro Ndiaye,

Former Deputy Director General, IOM

How is the African Women Database different from the general database?

While the information from both databases will be consolidated as one, the African Women Database allows IOM to have a more accurate account of where African Women have come from, where they are now, in which field of profession they are found and how they would like to contribute to the development of their countries of origin.

Who should register?

You are a female member of the African diaspora, and you would like to contribute to the development of your country of origin in key sectors such as:

• Agriculture
• Arts and Humanities
  
• Business and Commerce
• Education
• Health
• Law
• Public Administration and Services
• Science and Technology

How can I register?

Complete and submit the registration form.

What benefits can the Database offer me?

When you register in the Database, your information will be facilitated by IOM and shared accordingly with potential stakeholders, such as governments, civil society and the private sector. Consequently, you may be contacted about various project assignments, job vacancies and entrepreneurial and investment opportunities available in the labor market of your country of origin. In the larger picture, the Database helps to connect diaspora members with their country of origin and with the network of colleagues in the diaspora.

Who are IOM's partner organizations for the Database?

To build and maintain this Database, IOM is collaborating with Femmes Africa Solidarité and AfricaRecruit. 

Will my privacy be protected?

Your registered profile and contact information will be stored and shared in a strictly confidential manner. Your name will not be shared with anyone, as your information will be filed under a coding number. If, at any time, you would like to be removed from the Database, please contact the database manager.



A succesful approach to control migrations and use them as a way to improve the life of a lot of people in developing countries.

 

UBUNTU A HUMANIST PHILOSOPHY

Ubuntu can be definded as humaneness (a pervasive spirit of caring and community, harmony and hospitality, respect and responsiveness) that individuals and groups display for one another. These basic values manifest the ways African people think and behave toward each other and everyone else they encounter, generally regarding a high degree of harmony and continuity throughout the system, therefore the importance of taking into account this humanist philosophy in nowadays multicultural companies.

Is very common for managers to be aware only for the workplace behavior, a fact that is important but that does not explain the whole majority of the things that happens in the workplace because this behavior is only the observable part of a lot of variables that influences an employee. The Ubuntu philosophy offers a wider view of these and can be very helpful to managers because it can help them to understand that the unobservable or latent variables (like the social attitudes that comes from the philosophical thought systems like Ubuntu) are the ones that influences the employee in a higher degree and therefore has to be taken into account if the company wants to optimize the productivity in no coercive or in non economic ways.

According to Mangaliso traditional management system are guided by misapplied economic assumptions about human nature, that self-interest is the ultimate determinant of behavior, and it is maximized when employees earn as much as possible from contributing as little as possible and that Ubuntu offers a managerial guide related to relationships with others, language, decision making, attitudes towards time, efficiency and leadership, giving no importance to economic issues. For an intelligent manager is important to set a middle ground between two theories because when a manager only thinks in economic variables miss regard the undeniable fact that their employees are humans and are affected for a lot of variables that are not only economical, but if the manager only thinks in the Ubuntu way would fall in a unrealistic perception of the forces that drive nowadays system; the economical and market forces, so in other words will be an utopian way to manage a company.

Finally is important for cross-cultural managers to take into account humanistic philosophies like Ubuntu but is more important to take into account that they have to collect from them only the proactive elements, the ones that helps the manager to build a great organizational culture that would boost the company in both economical and human variables.