MPGM - Revision Aug 2015

As you all may be aware I am reading for my MBA with Heriot Watt University – Edinburgh Business School. One of the modules which is offered to students is “ Managing People in Global Markets” Having not been successful in my first attempt at the exam, I am re-examining my approach to the subject. Thus far I am trying to:

1.         “Learn off” some of the concepts in the chapters,
2.          Apply my experience to the concept,
3.          Cite from the various researchers whose work was used in the module,
4.          Practice make up exam questions

All of the above is to ensure that the depth of my answer is sufficient to obtain a pass the next time around and I am to enjoy the process.

So here goes my attempt at # 1,2,3, 4: Chapter 10 International Joint Ventures – “starter”:

“International joint ventures (IJV)s and local joint ventures (JV’s) are one form of direct investment strategy (DIS) according to Monir  Tayeb, http://home.clara.net/mon1/MonirTayeb/ with the other type or form being foreign subsidiaries. The purpose of establishing an IJV or JV, apart from the profit motive, may be to:

• expand product, 
• customer or 
• geographic reach. 

The selection of a partner is dependent on the “vision” of the strategic plan of the company which may be for a three to five year horizon at the time of entering an IJV. (Of course within some industries and companies, the  IJV may be one of the initiatives  being explored and the application of the 3-5 year horizon may be to assess the medium term results and its impact on other strategies.)

In keeping with this concept, in an IJV,  each party may offer one or more of the following:

i.            A specific skill such as  expertise and  or  knowledge of a process

ii.           Technology

iii.         A resource or 

iv.          A product

For ease of control and for legal reasons, in many instances the legal form of an IJV may be that of a limited liability company. This form allows for  limits to be set on the exposure of each party to losses and for risks to be managed within the IJV. Also the formation of a company establishes the country in which the IJV will be operating from and by whose laws the company will be bound. This concept will have important consequences on the company and individuals especially for tax purposes in light of withholding tax being liable on types of transactions as compared to the application of corporation or income tax on the company. This may be an area of interest for the Organisation of Economic Co operation and Development  (OECD) as countries are signing on to the Organisation and each one brings a history of law, treaties and case law which may have great implications for the country.

Prior to the establishment of the company (IJV) a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) may have been drafted which covers major items  of discussion  and agreed terms or clauses. Given that IJVs may be established between companies which operate in or originate in different cultures and languages the MOU process  may be lengthy and may need to allow for discussion and approval, perhaps at the level of the Board of Directors. This process may be required for each clause and for the supporting concept embodied in the MOU. Also given that companies may operate in different time zones, the process of obtaining feedback and approval may take longer than if the parties to the negotiation are located in the same time zone. In the age of the internet, emails may be used to fast track this process. However that is another process which may require amendment to the law and company’s documents prior to it occurring so that the  process and authorisations may be valid and acceptable to the shareholder, investors, and other stakeholders of the company.

There is still more to come so keep reading and thank you...

© Jennifer N Bailey - Symbol obtained from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_symbol

Becoming Web Savier

Over the years I have learnt many things over the Internet such as:

• The joy of You Tube and the many spaces to which music can be shared
• The many ways an article can be shared on Facebook
• The ease of setting up email accounts

For this learning to occur, I had to set aside time and work consistently at activities. So much so that I set aside at least three hours a night one week to learn to use Facebook. Over time I learnt how to:

• Upload albums
• Add friends, or follow places and people of interest, get notifications
• Post articles and or links to articles
• Develop a public self which dealt with disclosure of interests and likes
• Perform a bit of research and development into:
• The UN and Millenium Goals, http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/reports.shtml, 
• UNESCO Heritage Sites  http://whc.unesco.org/en/list
• These areas would alllow for continuous access to information on:
• Geographical locations where funding was taking place, 
• Projects which were  being funded and the duration of the projects
• Expectations and the communication of updates to the public

However until recently there were things which I longed to do, such as express my creative side in the form of creation of posters, quotes and sayings and including copyright images which I had taken over the years.
Learning this skill  and so much more became a reality when I was  exposed  to a website which provided free  access to design, layouts and much more, titled "Canva" See the following link to the site  https://www.canva.com/.

Best of all there are:

1. Job positions. These positions highlight the company's culture such as "Every day we help users get the most out of Canva. Our goal is to bring a bit of happiness to everyone’s day by being positive, upbeat and most importantly, helpful. Our satisfaction rate hovers around 95%, and we pride ourselves on getting back to people quickly." 
2. Geographic locations. The geographic locations provide details on either the geograhical areas where work is available or from where the positions will be filled. These are listed as either Manila or Sydney.
3. The positioning of the company in the markets which they are servicing. This area is outlined in the position for the "Content Marketing Specialist. As part of a world-class content marketing strategy, Canva recently launched its Design School: a design blog, workshop series and teacher resource hub designed to increase the world’s visual literacy. Right now, Design School is one of the fastest growing design publications on the web."

For more information on the postings see the  link  https://about.canva.com/careers/#current-jobs . I will leave you to explore the site and its offerings as I am still learning the how to's.  Enjoy!!!!

Different Approaches to Events

Over the last few days, I have been monitoring the weather through various  Facebook posts and access to websites such as the National Hurricane Center http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/and Mora Trinidad Weather https://www.facebook.com/weathernetworktt for various reasons:
1)  There were changes in the color of the water of the Gulf of Paria. The changes were striking in their color variations. Usually the water reflects shades of light green or deep blue or there are some wide streaks of brown when rain falls and water from the nearby river flows into the sea. Over the last few days the water was extremely dark and  there were waves on the surface of the water.
2) The clouds have been  thick, with deep colors which blocked most of the light from coming down to the ground. Thus the earth did not dry up as it usually would after a period of rainfall.
3) There has been a fair amount of rain over the last week into this week. Rain falling consistently  and fairly heavily during the day, with a few stops in between. So much so, that you had to schedule your arrival and departure to take advantage of the stops in the rain which were few and far between.
4) With August being vacation time, almost everyone schedules a trip either by boat or air to Tobago or  to some other destination. Thus monitoring the weather if only to nag someone is a good past time over this period.
 Overall the above conditions would be accepted as normal. After all we are in the rainy season and it is expected that there would be a change in the weather over this period. Most of us would long for rain, so that we are cooler or  we want to plan and change the way we do things over the upcoming period.
Reading about the upcoming weather system;  trying to look into the cloud cover  on the maps to ascertain the density of the clouds; the spread of the cloud cover over the lines of longitude and latitude, the projections  of the path  of the system over 12 hours or 24 hours based on the wind speed allowed me to keep calm.
Reading online via the newspapers that the various islands which were in the projected path were publishing  updates on the system  even though the system had not reached the Caribbean and as of last night that  a Hunter aircraft  from the NOAA would be arriving in  Barbados I was calmer.
After all we were dealing with uncertainties, with estimates of the dates when the storm could become a Hurricane and the category in which it was rated  was based on the strength of and changes in the moisture in the air, with projections based on probabilities of events of the future.
This morning when I woke up to discover that there are two new systems in the  existence, I can start worrying. Worrying about those who sleep out doors for whatever reason.  Wondering how have they been dealing with rain soaked pavements and grassy areas, with cardboard boxes that may have gotten soaked through and needed to be discarded, with the possibility of rain and wind continuing to beat down or blow in on them over the next few days. We have few shelters for those who do not have permanent homes and there are even fewer persons  who will be outside to give them something to drink or eat. With the advent of a hurricane, things will be so much worse for them.

Questioning things

In my quest to develop skills that allow for growth either of myself or of some unknown person, every so often:

• I research a topic or a word or 
• Write on this blog or 
• Read something that is inspirational or 
• Look at an upload that is features cooking or
• Search for a job and post about the opening or 
• Listen to music. 

This morning in a bid to create a positive mood, I did most of the above. Then I decided to search for two words,  Sela and Sarai. Each word had different meanings or brought out different concepts for me either because of a long association with the word or the context in which the word was put forth at this time. 

With Sela(h) being the newer word which I was considering, I would now associate it with Bob Marley and the Wailers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O32fk57k6Z0&spfreload=10 who embodied music. Praise, when I was too young to know or understand the concept of praise and worship or charismatic in the sense of a movement within the Catholic church. These days I am more a fan of Junior Gong Marley who puts me in a dancing mood with Affairs of the Heart (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FHc3w8A_jA) or his classic Welcome to Jamrock (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlCmQcRPtRg) with my resorting to Old Bob only when I am in a case of a day with more hours to go. 

As it happens, Selah referrs to a pause in a musical composition and is found in the bible. However I will leave you to discover the possible meanings of the word, since most of the Bible was written in another language which has evolved over time and has been exposed to many thoughts and minds. http://www.gotquestions.org/selah.html.

Sarah (right) and Abraham hosting three angels (a Children's Bible illustration)

Sarai, according to old faithful Wiki, refers to the original name for Sarah  and  in Hebrew indicates a woman of high rank and is translated as "princess" or "noblewoman". The name Sarah is also associated with Ishmael and Isaac of the Bible. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah