North America

In this ocassion we are going to study the American culture regarding its attitute towards work and money . Our guide book is The Culture Code by Clotaire Rypaille and the chapter that we are going to focus on is “Working for a living, the codes for work and money”.

Americans have a particular perspective to see work, for them work is not just a way to get money to live, work is closely related with the way they define themselves, this means work contributes to forge their identities because they believe that “they are what they do in their jobs”, that`s why Americans show such strong work commitment. Working hard to improve his/her professional positions means that this individual is working to become a better person.

This perception of work is oriented to the freely movement of individuals into the diferent profesional paths, it means that is generally acepted that workers are constantly looking for a better job oportnunity because this is the only right way to progress in life. Most Americans don`t expect to do the same activities during all their lifes, they want new challenges, new responsabilities that require from them bigger professional efforts.

All the implicit statements that compose the cultural code of work should be taken into account by the employers when they design strategies to keep employees motivated, the maanger should involve employees in the company`s planning processes in order they feel useful contributing with the company`s performance.

The money is an important factor related to the work code, for Americans money isn`t considered a goal in and of itself, money is a proof to demostrtate the professional success or the goodness of a person . Americans admire those people who became rich thanks to their hard work and perseverance, they are model to immitate, Americans don`t show a high respect for those people who have inherited their wealth because they didn`t earn it themselves. Americans encourage hard work and money when the latter one is a proof of good individual performance. Americans see in their economic progress a duty to share and help those people who have bigger needs, this fact explains why America is one of the most charitable society.

Questions proposed to the HP research case.

1. List and explain 3 strategies used by HP in order to develop a sustain a strong organizational culture “The HP Way”

In order to develop a sustainable organizational culture HP undertook a corporate initiative known as “HP Way” and this states the main values and practices which company drives its operations. Some of the shared values fostered by company are trust, participation, flexibility, adaptabiity and personal autonomy. The actions that company used to communicate this initiative were:

- Telling company`s historic moments to employees with the purpose they know the values and attitudes that are important for the company and standing out those indivuduals who were important role models in the company`s development.

- Also its recruitment process is well directed because the human resource area emphasizes that new employees should share or easily adapt to the company`s values. Once employees are elected, they participate in a week long course where they learn about the company`s history , principles, operations and strategies and once they know all this information , employess are free to determine the actions to pursue these goals.

- HP encourages the career development of their employees and it fosters the cross- functional or cross- dimensional moves because managers consider that this is an effective way to create innovation and coordination of design, this circulation of employees allows the communication of the “HP Way” values and reinforce employees`commitment to the company. This program avoids the consolidation of subcultures inside company that eventually could deviate from company`s strategic objectives.

2. By 2001, Carly Fiorina was facing a huge dilemma in terms of organizational culture. “Should Fiorina try to revitalize the HP way or attempt to replace it with a better culture than one established by Dave Packard and Bill Hewlett in the 1940s?. Explain your answer.

Despite company has to face all the changing requirements that market presents and in order to accomplish those new challenges HP needs to undertake flexibilitation processes within all its operational fields, I consider that the current CEO shouldn`t abandon the entire structure of values that company practiced in the past, she should improve, give an effective direction or even change only those ones that no longer contribute in the good company`s performance because the foundation values generate cohesion among employees and ease the consolidation process of a sustainable culture.

Images taken from:
http://www.todoarquitectura.com/
www.news-libraries.mit.edu

Australia

Today we are going to study the Australian management style through the analysis of the research made by Kevin Baird, Graeme Harrison and Robert Reeve, and its name is “The Culture of Australian Organizations and its Relation with Strategy”. Before to talk about the Australian organizational culture, it is appropriate, first to describe the main features of its national culture, egalitarianism, mateship and individualism are the most important elements of its culture and they are reflected in every social activity and, in the organizational culture of Australian companies. As you know organizational culture is defined as a shared value system that organization´s members practice and promote as the better mean to complement the organization´s strategy.

According to this research Australian organizational culture is characterized by a high level of outcome orientation, this means that Australian managers from different levels value performing approaches oriented to results, achievements and high expectations to undertake. The respect for people is another important characteristic, so aspects such as fairness, social responsibility and respect for individual´s rights are actively promoted in the corporate culture, this issue could be closely related to the national statement of egalitarianism, in Australian organizations all employees have an important role to play regardless their position and the manager recognizes the knowledge and the contribution that employees could offer to the company. The third cultural factor that stands out from the rest is team orientation, this suggest that for employees is quiet comfortable working in teams, everybody expect to contribute in the company´s performance. However the Australian organizational culture lacks innovation and competitiveness, Australians have a post planning culture, and they tend to resolve the issues or concerns at the same moment theses appear, besides the lack of competitiveness could be explained through the association that the latter one has with differentiation, being competitive is linked to the fact of being different and this isn´t well seen in an egalitarian culture, that´s why innovation is discouraged.

This research also states that both organizational culture and organization´s strategy should be aligned in order to achieve higher productivity levels, better performances and deeper employees’ commitment, the research studies different types of organizational cultures which are classified according to their orientation to innovate and accept changes, those organizations who define themselves as prospectors (innovators) can adopt more easily the introduction of new technology and processes in order to get a more sustainable competitiveness in the market.

Finally this research didn´t find any difference between the manufacturing companies’ culture and services companies’ culture because this society has high people awareness and that means respectful treatment to people is expected from all companies regardless their productive sector.

Question based on the Rabbit Proof Fence Movie.

1.       When removed from their families, the children were prepared for “a better life” how is that true or false when considering different perspectives?

From a western perspective the aboriginal children could have a better life through the training received in these programs, it could help them to adapt to the new Australian society, to learn some job that was generally recognized in the community and practice a new religion that was accepted by the dominant group. However from the aborigines’ point of view these actions were an abuse against their rights and against their cultural identity, they already had a quite defined social system and it worked for them, they lived happy together in their territories and their life style was consistent with their values and beliefs, that´s why for them the children’  removing from their families was a devastating episode in the history of aborigines’ society, and it is still recorded in the collective memory of this group.

Images taken from

economiaycienciaspoliticas.wordpress.com/.../g8/

evatt.labor.net.au

Europe

In this chapter we are going to study an interview that was made to Jean- Jacques Piette, the Abyle Finance´s president and expert in fusions and acquisitions from the German Trade Union Federation. In this article he described the main characteristics of the German management style and how is the interaction between the French managers and the German counterparts.

The German trade unions have an enormous power in the companies´ management dynamics, this system is based on the joint management, this means that manager has to share his/her decision power with trade unionists, indeed all type of decisions in Germany should be made by consensus, that´s why exists different management bodies, which sustain this method, the first one is the board of directors which is in charge of daily management , the second one is the supervisory board which is in charge of the company´s strategic issues, this latter body is generally composed by five shareholders , five trade unionists and an eleventh member who doesn´t have any linkage with the company´s capital and presents a clear capitalistic position, the body´s composition seeks to give power parity to the two interests groups. Between the two management bodies should exist unanimity, that´s why it is very common the double signature in any agreement that company wants to undertake, reflecting the consensus between the two management bodies. Also the works councils´ figure is compulsory in those companies who have more than 2000 employees. “The works council has the power of signing all agreements in the company”. This board  is elected for four years and doesn´t have a representative from the employers , if its members want , they can invite the representative of the company but he doesn´t lead the meeting, this initiative pursue that everybody in the company knows the main concerns of the  different interests groups have regarding the company´s performance. In Germany isn´t well seen that directors keep secrets to their employees regarding the company´s plans, indeed employees are such important  that inside companies exists a particular approach of manager- employees  relationship that focuses on a technical culture and states “each person is the master of his own specific activity”.

Also another characteristic that is highlighted in this interview is once Germans have made the decision, it is rigorously implemented, this sense of discipline allows to think that German staffs lack dynamism in their operations and it is a clear disadvantage for a company who copes in a changing environment.

This method works well when trade unionists and managers share the same perspectives about the company´s well- being; also this method allows the empowerment of employees and a major sense of responsibility among them. Nonetheless this method faces several challenges in the future that should be solved, one of them is half German population will be retired for the 2015 and also the high labor costs could threaten the competitiveness of the German industry.

As a conclusion the author suggests that any foreign company, who plans to develop business in Germany, should be aware of the trade unions´ interests.

There is a current discussion around the existence of the co-determinism principle in Germany. Select, define and explain 3 arguments in favor and 3 against such principle.

In simple words Co-determinism is a practice which employees have an active role in the company´s management; co- determinism allows them a decision- making structure that gives power parity to both interests groups, the owners and the employees.

The arguments that support the practice of co- determinism

1. 1.       The empowerment of employees because it gives an awareness of responsibility regarding the company´s performance.
2. 2.       Protect the employees´ rights and interests; their welfare is taken into account at the moment to develop strategic plans for the company.
3. 3.       Improve the communication among the company´s members and reduce the conflicts in all levels of organization.

Arguments against co- determinism

1. 1.       Co-determinism lacks flexibility and dynamism in the decision-making process and in the plans´ implementation.
2. 2.       It is a burocratic structure that brings high operational costs and it isn´t time efficient.
3. 3.       Co-determinism discourages partnership between foreign companies and German companies.

 Reference source:

Understanding Mangement  German- Style by Jean- Jacques Piette. l´Ecole de Paris

Images taken from:

www.ilr.cornell.edu

www.medienkritik.typepad.com

Islamic Banking (Middle East)

Module: Middle East

Topic: Islamic Banking

The financial industry in the Middle East has been traditionally influenced by religion. Today, Islamic banking appears as a growing and successful industry, not only in the Middle East but also in some western countries.

Internet based research activity:

 Explain what Islamic Banking is and its background.

1. What are the key principles of Islamic banking?
2. Islamic law forbids institutions from charging interests on loans. How do they make profits when lending money?
3. Explain the concept of ethical investments under Islamic law. Who is to determine whether an activity is allowed or not?
4. How does Islamic banking influence the economy in the Middle East?
5. Based on your research and knowledge about this topic, what is the future of Islamic Banking in terms of global expansion and growth?

 Solution

1.  To talk about the Islamic banking system, it is necessary first to make a brief description of the Islamic economy, which characterizes by the encouragement of communal, non individualistic values, and fighting against selfishness .Islamic banking refers to a banking system based on the principles of Shari'ah.

Background: the Islamic banking concepts are traced back to the birth of Islam, but the consolidation of Islamic banks in the 20^th century had its first experience at 1963 in Egypt where the first Islamic bank provided financing based on partnership agreements with customers and based on the profit and loss sharing principle.  An important factor that contributes with the Islamic banking growth was the surge in oil prices, all the economic dynamics that were experienced in this sector make that Arab countries organize their income flows through the establishment of Islamic Banks.

[1]“Within the financial system, Islamic banks are unique in being non-interest based operationally. They abide by the Islamic rules and regulations (Shari’a) to promote Islamic financial standards and code of ethics from a business transactional point of view”.

2. The basic principles of financing in Islamic countries are:

Qard al Hasana: Islam only allows this type of loan and it states that the lender cannot charge any interest or additional amount over the money lent.  This form of financing transaction was encouraged by the Prophet to channel the savings into more productive activities. So in this non-interest- bearing loan, the lender doesn´t obtain any type of tangible benefits and the loan is repaid when the borrower is able.

Participatory Financing:  This principle states that both the lender and borrower should share the profits or losses arising out of the project for which the money was lent. The provider of capital and the user should see themselves as partners who share profits and risks of the business, instead of creditors. Also it is not well seen that people receive some profit without affronting any risk.

Prohibition of Gharar:  Under this principle, the financial transaction should be free from uncertainly, risk or speculation. The contracting parties should know all the exchange conditions. Despite parties cannot fix a predetermined profit, they can use mechanisms to minimize the risk.

Prohibition of unlawful activities: The investment should only support those activities that are not forbidden by Islam, so Islamic banks cannot finance activities related with alcohol trading, pork products or night club activities. Besides an Islamic bank cannot lend money to other bank charging an interest fee.

 3. The two basic categories of financing modes are:  profit and loss sharing (PLS) and the purchase and hire of goods or assets and services on a fixed-return basis, here are illustrated two examples of the respective alternatives. A financing mode known as mudarabah is a way to obtain profits from the participative transaction that Islamic banks undertake. This is a profit sharing agreement between two parties (the investor and the entrepreneur). The investor gives to entrepreneur the funds to undertake his business venture and receives a return on the funds he put into the business based on profit shared ratio that was previously agreed and [2] “a Murabahah transaction involves the sale of goods at a price which includes a profit margin agreed by both parties. However, in Murabahah, the seller must let the buyer know the actual cost for the asset and the profit margin at the time of the sale agreement”.

4. Also the investment activity has certain principles to obey, these are some restrictions that ethical investor should impose himself based on his belief and moral conviction. According to the Institute of Islamic Banking and Insurance the principles that grant an ethical investment and good returns are:

-          [3]“Investments must be free of interest, speculation and gambling, all are considered as forms of exploitation

-          Investments are made in permissible activities

-           Investments must be separately approved by an independent Shari’ah supervisory board to ensure Shari’ah principles are strictly adhered to and deviations and wayward business practice penalised, for example in Islamic finance requires penalties to be paid to charity”.

A Religious (Shari’ah) Supervisory Board monitors that Islamic financial institutions comply with the rules that Islam states in order to prevent that financial institutions deviate their operations from the faith based system.

5.      The Islamic banking represents the fastest growing sector in the Middle East economy. According to the Journal Managerial Finance the Islamic banking sector has been growing at an estimated rate of 15% a year and its estimated value for 2008 fluctuated around USD$300 billion. One of the activities that are becoming relevant for the sector´s performance is the personal finance. The Islamic banking has played an important role in financing the development of other productive sectors such as Industry, mining, construction and agriculture in the Jordan case. Besides some academics consider the Islamic banking an efficient financial system to implement in difficult situations just like the previous global economic meltdown.

6.      In my opinion the Islamic banking has a promising future because this sector has been able to adapt itself to the changing conditions that international markets present, the introduction of structural reforms towards a major liberalization and integration of capitals has contributed to Islamic banking expansion to non- Muslim countries. However there are still many challenges that Islamic banking has to face, for example the need for risk management tools to hedge the high risks related to currency and commodities markets, those markets have always deeply rooted in the Islamic banking interests. Also the Islamic banking needs to develop a more appealing approach in order to provide a better insight of the banking dynamics for ordinary people and it is necessary the standardization of accounting practices that fit with the Islamic banking in order to grant its expansion.

Reference Sources:

Institute of Islamic Banking and Insurance.

http://www.islamic-banking.com/Default.aspx

Banking Info

http://www.bankinginfo.com.my/_system/media/downloadables/islamic_banking.pdf

Fundamentals of Islamic Economy and Finance: Theory and Practice. Assist. Prof. Dr. M. Kutluğhan Savaş ÖKTE. İstanbul University Faculty of Economics

Islamic Banking Performance in the Middle East: A Case Study of Jordan. Ali Salman Saleh and Rami Zeitun. University of Wollongong.

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[1] ELAF Bank  http://www.elafbank.net/banking.aspx?id=8&sid=2

 [2] Banking Info http://www.bankinginfo.com.my/_system/media/downloadables/islamic_banking.pdf

[3] Institute of Islamic Banking and Insurance.  http://www.islamic-banking.com/Islam_approach_to_ethical_investment.aspx

Middle East

In this occasion we are going to study the relation between the management practices and the corporate performance inside of a nongovernmental organization (NGO), the region where it was centered this research was Middle East and specifically in Lebanon. The guide article of this analysis is “The effect of management practices on corporate performance. An empirical study of non-governmental organization in the Middle East” by Michael Soto Chalhoub and published in Journal of Management.

This article highlights the increasing importance of the NGO´s role in developing countries, those regions don´t count with well equipped governments and their private sectors don´t show big efforts to invest in neither public goods nor services, that´s why NGOs have had to intervene into the civil society issues, undertaking developmental projects sponsored by international organizations.

According to the UNDP definition NGO is “any non-profit organization, group or institution that operates independently from government and has primarily humanitarian, cooperative or developmental rather than commercial objectives”. Despite having a clear differentiation among NGOs, profit oriented organizations and public institutions, all these entities work in the same sphere, this fact suggest that NGOs as well as the rest of organizations should be measured through performance indicators in order to confirm the accomplishment of their objectives. In NGO´s case is particularly difficult to assess that performance because the results of its projects are completely perceived in the long term.

NGOs are object of several environmental factors that influence their organizational performance, here are highlighted some of the most influential ones.

Societal tensions: conflict situations left government agencies with little control to develop their functions, that´s why NGOs enter to the stage, complementing the government functions.

When societies are highly dependent on the government welfare system, a major exposition to market forces could weaken this structure and make people vulnerable, so the NGOs are there to meet social and economic needs.

Issues such as growing communication technologies, the media awareness about global problems, the increasing professional job supply in the NGOs´ sector and the changing political ideologies have encouraged the increase of NGOs consolidation.

This article analyzes a research which emphasizes the effects of certain organizational factors (strategic plan longevity, management techniques, and industrial relations between others) in the corporate performance. Lebanon was the elected place to develop this research because this country offers more liberal regulations for the civil society activities. In this research was formulated some hypothesis that were confirmed or rejected according to NGO mangers´ responses. This essay shows the most important findings of this research:

A better performance in NGO´s operations is determined by the consolidation of a long term strategy. Thanks to the unstable stages that society must face, the NGO´s strategy should be as flexible as possible in order to adapt the organization to the changing environmental requirements, a long term strategy is the only alternative that can meet those challenges because it can “be specific enough to clearly define the purpose and directions of the organizations but broad enough to be flexible and accommodate rapid changes affecting its external environment”.

It was demonstrated that older NGOs have better outcomes than the younger ones due to their maturity, that experience gives organizations more credibility and confidence towards their stakeholders. It could be easier for them to obtain funds from their donors for the projects that NGOs plan to execute.

NGOs in the Middle East don´t show structured management systems; indeed what managers consider appropriate is a flexible structure in order to get a better adaptation to the situation´s requirements. Also due to the particular nature of these organizations, managers expressed that it is difficult to implement a strict management system to all employees, especially by the fact that exists various types of employees (full timers, part timers and volunteers).

When NGOs have good relations with industrial sector and government and posses a good reputation in society, the funding sources increase their contributions to the NGOs´ developmental projects and employees feel happy to be working in “good will” organizations. A positive reputation gives credibility and reliability to the NGOs.

Those organizations that focuses in one or few fields get to develop a competitive advantage because their expertises help them to deliver tangible results more effectively and efficiently.

External factors affect the NGO´s performance but in the Lebanon´s case the political influence is more notable because many NGO´s are owned by Lebanon politicians and the NGOs´ mission changes according to the political context, so the NGOs act according to the interests of the their political affiliation. This situation affects enormously the NGOs´ performance and it is a concern that civil society should resolve thoroughly.

 Images taken from:

www.topnews.in

www.amaidifoundation.ning.com

Africa

In this occasion we are going to study the social system of values and thoughts that is practiced in South Africa and it is known Ubuntu.  The reference article is: Building Competitive Advantage from Ubuntu: Management lessons from South Africa by Mzamo P. Mangaliso.

According with the author’s definition Ubuntu is “humaneness-a pervasive spirit of caring and community, harmony and hospitality, respect and responsiveness- that individuals and groups display for one another”. The social attitude of most African population is oriented towards the Ubuntu values that mainly state “a person becomes a person only through his relationship with and recognition by others”, this conception gives us an idea of how important is the unity and the kinship lies for the Ubuntu followers in the development of their lives.

The society uses the Ubuntu notions to interpret problems that need to be solved and as a reference point to take positions or make judgments about the fair actions and the unfair ones. This article also states that practice of Ubuntu values in the corporate field could reach a sustainable competitive advantage for those companies, who consider their employees as valuable elements. This analysis makes a brief description of how interact the Ubuntu statements with key variables of the corporate environment.

Relation with Others: the Ubuntu driving norms are reciprocity, suppression of self-interest and the virtue of symbiosis. People like to be treated as members of one single family because this means that they are going to be treated with respect, dignity, humility and compassion, and these attitudes encourage workers to have a higher commitment with the organization’s performance. Under Ubuntu statements, it is well seen that relatives work together in the same workplace, because it provides an emotional and mental support for the employees. If the kinship ties at the workplace generate harmony and commitment among employees, the managers should take them into account in the elaboration of recruitment policies. The African employees are eager to contribute in the results of their work team, that’s why is commonly shared among them the promotion of cooperation and competitiveness.

Languages and communication: from Ubuntu perspective the communication has a social purpose to establish and reinforce the relationship. Unity and common understanding are more important than the accuracy and efficiency of the language, so in order to encourage a participative environment where employees can fully develop their potential, companies are proving spaces for participation and self- expression, all these efforts are oriented to increase the productivity of the workers.

Decision making: this process has a circular and inclusive dynamic; this means that different perspectives are considered interesting and valuable for the solution of problems. Diversity of ideas is encouraged in the corporate field. Consensus is a very important issue, to such extent that is preferable to make a decision that is supported by everyone than a right decision which nobody recognizes it.

Time: the vision of time for Ubuntu followers states that time is a reference element for communities. It is seen as “an unified structure that emphasizes interdependence, share heritage, regularity and congruity”.

Productivity and Efficiency: from Ubuntu perspective it is appropriate to work for optimization rather than maximization, this means that an optimized solution leads most favored outcomes in the long term and covers a wider percentage of stakeholders.

Age: the age, the wisdom and the experience are highly valued in the South African companies, that’s why maturity is an important criteria for selecting workers into leadership positions.

Beliefs: companies should adopt a position of flexibility and willingness to learn local cultures in order to create among employees an environment of mutual respect a sense of identity with the company.

The proposed question is: What is Ubuntu? How was it applied to support the merging process of the companies? (3 examples)

Ubuntu is a philosophy which states “that a man just can find his own humanity when he helps others to find theirs”. The others give us the recognition we need to feel us part of the community and this is a reciprocal dynamic. This philosophy fosters the unity and the harmony among people. The Ubuntu statements were used as a reference point to guide the changes that the merger entails, so the management team uses the drums as symbolic elements that emphasize the importance of communication and loyalty, as the National Marketing Manager of the African Miners Bank, Tom Miles said “the community moved to the sound of the drum, they were unified by moving to the same rhythm”.

Another action was that management team told stories to the employees in order they get a better understanding of the changes that need to be done in key business areas such as growth, security, equality, etc. These simple stories were oriented according to the Ubuntu values. Also the employees received a booklet that explained the Ubuntu culture campaign and gave ideas of how employees could contribute with the development and success of the campaign.

Images taken from:

www.mothertongues.com

www.freestylemovement.com

South Asia

In this chapter we are going to analyze some of the main components of the leadership behavior of the sales managers from the Indian industrial companies. Based on the text: Leadership behavior and organizational commitment: a comparative study of American and Indian salespersons by Sanjeev Agarwal, Thomas E DeCarlo and Shyam B.Vyas, we can observe the similarities and differences of leadership behavior between Indian sales managers and American sales managers.

Due to the great importance of the role played by the sales force in the company's performance, it is appropriate to know how those leadership behavioral factors can affect the employees commitment with the company. The two cultural variables that were studied in this research were power distance and individualism. This research shows how these variables interact with the "chief-subordinate" relationship.

To get a better understanding of the findings of this research is necessary to explain two important elements of leadership behavior: consideration and initiation of structure."Consideration is the degree to which managers develop a work climate that promotes subordinates' trust and respect for subordinates' ideas and feelings". Initiation of structure refers to the degree in which managers define the roles of their subordinates in job- related activities, specify procedures and assign tasks.

Another important factor related with the analysis of this research is the role stress, which is composed by two elements: the role ambiguity and the role conflict, the first one is defined as the lack of role clarity that an employee must face when there is no authority who can lead him at the moment to perform certain task. The second one represents the degree of conflict that an employee can find from different conflicting demands that come from internal actors (managers) and external actors (customers).

According to the study, the Indian managerial culture shows a high power distance and low individualism (HPD/LI), just the opposite case shows the American managerial culture (LPD/HI). Based on the previous statements, the researchers made some hypothesis about how do these elements interact between each other according with their respective cultural background. The main outcomes of this research show the following conclusions. In the relationship between initiation of structure, role ambiguity and role conflict, exist a negative correlation in both countries with more strength in the American case, the Indian sales persons don't perceive a decrease of role ambiguity as their managers develop an initiation of structure because the Indian sales persons are strongly dependent of their manager and are conform with this/her leadership behavior , so they take for granted the paternalistic and authoritarian management style. They are prone to accept the manager behavior, meanwhile the Americans value any type of help that their supervisors could offer them, because the American sales persons are used to fix daily work problems by themselves.

Regarding the other relations between consideration and role stress (negative correlation), between consideration and organizational commitment (positive correlation) and between role ambiguity and organizational commitment (negative correlation), both countries have shown similar perspectives and managerial tendencies, the reason could attribute to the fact that sales persons from both countries have received similar sales training programs, have received high level of education and all of them have been exposed to the standardization process that the globalization brings, so this entails to a convergence in the leadership behavior of the sales managers. 

Proposed Question:

1. What are the key challenges for the future development of the outsourcing industry in India. Please provide examples from the case and recommendation to address such challenges.

The workers in the outsourcing sector face a lot of stress due to their demanding activities, most of them characterized by high levels of time efficiency and monotonous tasks. Most Indian employees in the outsourcing industry are college educated, so they have a motivation of being promoted in the company, unfortunately the employees perceive the jobs in this industry as short length activities, this means this sector doesn't  provide a long term career for the employees. In spite of the high wages that employees earn in this industry, the lack of opportunities of professional development is one of the main reasons of the high turnover rate presented  in this sector. Another challenge is the lack of qualified and talented workers to fulfill the strategic charges that this sector requires.

The CAMS human resource area tries to reduce the unconformity and stress levels among employees through certain activities focused on  "bonding and sharing" experiences and knowledge. Also the company complies with statutory requirements in oder that its employees can feel that they have steady jobs.The most advisable action to face all the previous challenges is to develop strategies to increase retention rates such as the implementation of policies that foster the professional promotion among employees.

Images taken from:

- www.altergroup.com

- www.webketu.com

Text: Agarwal, Sanjeev, Thomas E DeCarlo, Shyam B. Vyas, & Source:. 1999. Leadership Behavior and Organizational Commitment: A Comparative Study of American and Indian Salespersons. Journal of International Business Studies, 30(4): 727-43.