Expressing Global Linkage with Hope Essay Example for Free

Expressing Global Linkage with Hope Essay My chosen major is Global Business. This major trains us to develop skills in management in a global perspective and further enhance these skills in trade, competition, and investments. It entails learning patterns in international and global business specifically on the terms of imports, exports, monetary relationships, and direct investment. The specific skills learned in this major are: setting a mission and vision for the global business enterprise; developing a global business plan; conducting research in an international environment; understanding the nuances of cultural, legal, political and regulatory differences; and using technology to support global trade. By entering into a career that in inline with my major, I believe that I can be an agent of change in this country by following the example of Martin Luther King. I believe that in whatever career you undergo, if you have a pure heart and if you are willing to help other people, you can do it in your chosen field. The act of being in service to humanity doesn’t only involve going to third world countries and feeding children; helping people doesn’t mean that you donate a large amount to an organization; helping people comes from a person’s initiative and will. Being in service to humanity is a choice and it is not awarded to the richest person in the world or to an ambassador. People mostly think that helping others entail helping the poor people only. I believe that this is a misconception. Being in service to humanity entails being an agent of change to humanity. I believe that I’m my chosen career, I would be able to tap a portion of society that has been neglected of change and of help not financially but morally, emotionally, and spiritually. After graduation, my career would entail me to interact and work with people all over the world. My opinion on the logistics and success of their company in a certain place would be a great influence in their decision making. Normally, business is equated with bribery, biases, discriminations, pride, and money. A businessman’s ultimate goal is always to have profit and find ways to have more profit. I want to change the techniques of people making business. I believe that I could be in service here to be able to change the long established techniques by providing businessmen with new and fresh techniques that would suet the businessmen’s goal but not harm other people. When being a middleman for a millionaire’s business, one might be blinded by money and would find ways on how to cheat the businessmen and get more money out of him. By being grounded and remaining a God fearing person, I would want to change this. Another example would be removing discrimination in the workplace. Certain people have their own biases about location, other people, etc. , and I would personally want to change that by giving equal opportunity to people in need of work. Basically I would like to be an agent of change in this field and change the perception of businessmen that they only need to worry about profit; I believe it’s time that they start thinking about other people also benefitting from them.

Citigroup Inc. :: Business, Global Bank

This reflection paper analyzes Citigroup Inc’s initiatives to set funds aside for executives’ performance pay, how they are interacting with the media, and business tools that could improve the transparency of their compensation system. Citigroup is a global bank with its headquarters in New York, NY (Citigroup, Inc., 2011). Citigroup received a U.S. government bailout two years ago (Hester, 2009) and has been operating strongly since then. This June Citigroup announced that it will be putting 86 million for the quarter into paying bonuses to key executives. The announcement was made by Citigroup’s company spokesman Jon Diat (Scheer & Eichenbaum, 2011). The mandatory regulatory filing was filled out to where it addresses the possible recipients of the bonuses as merely ‘key’ employees—no names were given and the number of possible recipients was withheld as classified information (Scheer & Eichenbaum, 2011). A few possible recipient names were revealed to the media. Citigroup’s (Citi) compensation beliefs are good because they understand that executives need to be financially recognized for their achievements. The following quote is an example of how companies can fail to financially recognize employee’s achievements. â€Å"An employer may not fire a worker if this would violate an implied contract, such as a verbal promise, or basic rules of ‘fair dealing.’ For example, an employer could not legally fire a salesperson just because he or she had earned a bigger bonus under an incentive program than the employer wanted to pay† (Lawrence & Weber, p. 369, 2011). The quote above explains how a company can set up a compensation system and then fire employees that successfully reach the top pay within that compensation system. Executives may experience similar treatment from stockholders, with the exception that stockholders do not create the compensation system. Stockholders can exude massive public ridicule. If a corporation accepts the criticism of stockholders and organizations they may be viewed as wanting to fire the executive that has accomplished preset goals. Citi is keeping the some of the profit-sharing candidates’ names confidential. An important aspect of protecting the interest of stockholders is to keep the company as transparent as possible (Lawrence & Weber, 2011). Citi should reveal all names of the executives that may earn bonuses from the profit-sharing programs. Investors may want to know about who is and is not a part of the profit-sharing program; they may also want to know why the participants’ names are being kept confidential.

Cultural Differences in Body Language Essay

Do you know what I am doing? (thumbs up to the side – Hitch hiking). When I do this, most of you would think it means â€Å"good job†. But in the middle east, for example in Iran, it’s an insult similar to â€Å"the middle finger†. Good evening Madam Toastmaster, fellow toastmasters and guests, tonight let’s look at body language in different cultures. Do you agree that gestures can communicate as effectively as words? I agree. Some might argue, it maybe even more than words. However we must be aware different culture has different body language. Therefore, in our personal and business lives, careful consideration must be given to whom we are with and where they are from. A question that we might ask is; do we expect other cultures to adapt to our customs and protocol, or are we willing to make an extra effort to learn more about how they prefer to communicate? It wouldn’t be the first time that someone who wasn’t familiar with the communication customs of another country, found themselves in a rather embarrassing situation. Many years ago, President Richard Nixon arrived in a foreign country. Upon his arrival, he stood at the top of the stairs leading from his aircraft door, and overlooked the welcoming crowd gathered below him. He smiled and proudly raised both hands high in the air, palms facing outward and gave a gesture of his trademark famous â€Å"Peace† sign (as he had done many times before while travelling abroad). However the crown immediately began to jeer and hiss at the President, and he found himself on the receiving end of a hostile and rude welcome. Could you imagine how he felt? The reason was because in the country he was visiting, the two fingered, palms outward â€Å"Peace† sign, which was acceptable in North America, was an absolutely offensive gesture to the local people in that African country. This would have been the equivalent of a president from another country visiting New Zealand, and with a smile, â€Å"flipped the bird† which in their country might have meant â€Å"greetings†. As a member of the audience, how might you react? In North America, a simple â€Å"thumbs up† gesture can mean that things are â€Å"great† or a hitchhiking sign which indicates â€Å"I need a ride†. However, in Greece, this gesture signifies â€Å"up yours† when accompanied with a rapid upward and slower downward motion. The gesture for YES is often thought to be universal, however in India they wobble their heads from side to side to say yes. Correct me if I’m wrong my Indian friends. There are also variations in saying no. In Greece they toss their head up. In Japan, they wave their hands in front of their nose like ur gesture for stinky. Or, how about the â€Å"OK† sign where the index finger and the thumb connect to make an â€Å"O† shape and the three remaining fingers point up and slightly flare out. Although acceptable in Western culture to signal that things are â€Å"A-OK†, in Russia or Turkey, this gesture can represent a sexual insult. specifically an orifice (that’s as far as I’ll go with that). In China you may see two men walk hand in hand or with an arm around another’s shoulder. This is a sign of friendship. However, the situation is regarded as homosexual in American culture. In some countries such as France or Italy, it is acceptable to exchange a kiss on one or both cheeks while shaking hands when greeting one another. In other countries such as Japan, this type of behavior is considered impolite as the Japanese are considered to be a â€Å"non-touch† society relative to other cultures. The Japanese have a respectful custom to bow to each other. The most senior status person bows the least and the least status person having to bow first and display the deepest bend from the waist. Business cards are exchanged and read first in a complex formality. This ritual is to determine the seniority, position or rank of everyone in the room first. Then the bowing gesture commences based on the information read. For example, let’s say Tony Cooper is the CEO of Mitsubishi Motors in Japan. I am a small department manager from Fontera†¦the process is: So as you can see, it is really important to know your audience. If you are traveling to other countries, you need to be aware that some of the most commonly acceptable gestures at home can have a completely different meaning to someone from abroad. Demonstrating a sound knowledge of the cultural differences in nonverbal communication will get you noticed and others will appreciate that you are both respectful and prepared. Tonight you’ve learnt as least one thing: be careful if you thumb a ride in Greece O Take the time and invest in a little research to become culturally educated. By doing this you will be able to: Save the embarrassment. (i. e. Be careful if you thumb a ride in Greece O) Gain the competitive edge. A little research can go a long way prior to traveling abroad on business. Surely it helps if you are willing to make an extra effort to learn more about how they prefer to communicate. As the saying goes, â€Å"In Rome, do like the Romans do†. Get to know your audience and their customs. Remember in business, it’s about being prepared and establishing rapport quickly. Understanding body language in different culture might be the very thing that tips the scales in your favor and will give you the competitive edge you’re looking for.

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