Culture Diversity Between Islamic, Catholic, and Buddhist World - PowerPoint Presentation Example

Culture Diversity Affiliation Culture Diversity Script Slide 2 Slide 2 has the outline of the whole PowerPoint. Slide 3 The definition of culture and diversity. Culture according to Heidtmann (2013) is a group of values, beliefs, and expectations that are rife within a particular group of people or population. Diversity is a grouping up of people in the same social set-up with different, socially significant group connection. History of each Country Slide 4 South Korea has a population of more than 48 million people with Seoul its capital city Seoul hosting around 18% of this population. Out of the 48 million people, the highest constituent is the 15-64 age group accounting for over 49% of the population, followed by 0-15 years age group accounting for over 14%, and the rest of the percentage constitutes people over 65 years of age. The country has a homogenous population and the major languages spoken among this population is Korean and English. The major religion practiced by them is Christian and Buddhism. Slide 5 Morocco is estimated to have over 33 million people. The age distribution among this population is majorly made up of people between the age of 15 and 64 at 67 %, followed by 0 14 years at 26 % while 65 years and over constitute 6.3% of the population. The Arab-Berbers make 99% of the population speaking Arabic as the major language and Berber as the indigenous language. The major religion that is practiced is Muslim Slide 6 Ecuador has over 15 million people. People between the ages of 15 and 64 make 63 % of the population, 0 to 14 years make 30.6 %, and 65 years and above 6.4 %. The mestizos make the largest ethnic group followed by the Spanish the Blacks and the Europeans. Spanish is the official language while Quichua is the official language. The religion practiced is Christian with Catholics forming 99% of it. Slide 7 Iran has a population of over 80 million people with 71 % of the population been between 15 and 64 years of age while 0 to 14 years make 23 % of the population. The Persians are the major ethnic group making up over 60 % of the population. Other ethnic groups include the Azeris, Lur, Kurds, Arabs, Balochs, Turkmen, and the Turkics. Persian is the official language. Other languages include Arabic, Balochi, Gilaki, Kurdish, Turkic, and Mazandarani. The major religion is Muslim. However, there is Sunni, Christian, and Jews. Slide 8 Iran’s existence as an Islamic state came after the revolution in 1979. It fails to recognize Israel as a sovereign state and continues to push for nuclear capability. Thus it has a strained relationship with Western powers. Slide 9 Ecuador has been plagued by political instability since its independence for over 30 years. Only now has it gained stability. It has had disagreements with its neighbors over territories it claims to own. It was colonized by the Spanish. It celebrated 30 years of independence in 2003. Slide 10 The Sa’adi monarch fought of invaders to form Morocco in the sixteenth century (History World, n.d.). The royal family traces its origin to the dynasty called Alouite (History World, n.d.). The Spanish were the first to stake a claim of a part of Morocco in 1860, which led to France’s involvement later as a result of European rivalry for raw materials (History World, n.d.). However, in 1912, the French claimed ownership of Morocco and became its colonizer. The colonial rule ended in 1956 (History World, n.d.). Slide 11 South Korea is a stark contrast to that of Morocco. Initially it was part of Korea, which comprised of both North and South Korea under the control of Japan until 1945. The Korean war of 1950-1953 led to the splitting of the Korean peninsula. After which, South Korea attained unrivaled economic growth. Over its existence, just like that of Ecuador, South Korea has had severe tension with its neighbor North Korea, a country that also seeks nuclear weapons like Iran under an energy sourcing pretext (BBC NEWS, 2014). Current Political System of each Country The four countries have their own distinct political system that has an effect on every other aspect of the country. Slide 12 The best example is Iran. Iran has a theocratic government system that integrates politics and Islam. Thus, it is ruled by a supreme leader called the Ayatollah (PBS, n.d.). The Ayatollah’s rulings are supreme and the political class cannot overrule them (PBS, n.d.). At the moment, it is led by a conservative who is moderate unlike the previous ruling of Ahmadi-Nejad (PBS, n.d.). Slide 13 In spite of Morocco having Islam as its main religion. The country is ruled by a monarch. However, during the recent Islamic uprising in North Africa, the monarch was forced to relinquish some of its powers (European Forum for Democracy and Solidarity , 2014).The powers were passed on to parliament and the prime minister as a measure to counter the Arab uprising (European Forum for Democracy and Solidarity , 2014). Slide 14 In South Korea, history was made when the country the country elected a female president in 2013. It is in line with the country’s constitution that stipulates for a liberal democratic country. Hence, it is a fully pledged democratic country that respects the rights of its people (One World Nations Online, n.d.). In the spirit of democracy, the president is elected every five years. It has multi-party system and all powers are vested on the national assembly. At the moment, the country‘s political system is quite stable allowing for economic growth and business boom. Slide 15 Ecuador had a new constitution passed in the year 2008. Since then, the country has experienced political stability unlike the instability that plagued its past. The political stability has been boosted by successful elections and the formation of a council known as the Transparency and Social Control Council (TSCC) along with stronger constitutional bodies like the legislature, judiciary, and the executive (IDEA, 2014). There is increased sensitization towards issues associated with the youth and gender. Slide 16 Iran covers a total area of 636,368 Square miles and is located in the Middle East. It borders the Persian and Oman gulfs, and the Caspian Sea. The countries bordering it include Pakistan and Iraq (Country Reports, n.d.). Slide 17 Morocco is located in North Africa, it borders the Mediterranean Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean. Countries neighboring it are Western Sahara and Algeria. It covers an area of 172, 413 Square Miles (Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc, 2010). The capital city Rabat is located on the Coast. The coastline is quite long making it an important trade hub and permitting the formation of successful trade routes from Morocco Slide 18 South Korea is relatively small. It covers an area of 38,502 Square Miles. It is located in the Asia-Pacific region, a region of special interest to the U.S. due to China’s growing influence and North Korea’s threat to the US. It borders the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan. North Korea is its neighbor to the North (New World Encyclopaedia, 2013). Slide 19 Ecuador is a small country covering an area of 109, 483 Square Miles. It is located in South America and borders the Pacific Ocean. Its neighboring countries are Colombia and Peru. Due to its location at the equator, it has relatively cool weather that is good for business (Embassy of Ecuador in Washington D.C., 2007). Slide 20 People living in various parts of the world have different behaviors, perspectives and even the manner in which they do things is different. Basing the company’s interest on the four countries, it is evident that the challenges and business environment that the company will face in each country is very different. Ethics are an integral aspect of a company too because the company has to consider what aspects of ethics it will take into consideration when setting up business. Why is this so? It is so because ethics are connected to the culture of the specific country. The reason being that cultural values results in the formation of certain conditions that hinder certain behaviors. Slide 21 Hofstede, GLOBE, and Trompenaars evaluated numerous managers and employees throughout the world (Evans, 2013). By doing so, they were able to come up with a means to form certain facets that can describe a company’s culture along with that of the country it is operating in. Most importantly, they all come to the conclusion that a company has to comprehend the influence culture has on its operations (Evans, 2013). More so, the influence on the manner in which employees associate with their leaders. Slide 22 How does the company adjust itself to the multicultural setting of the country if it is so? Research is important before a company sets its business in any country. In essence, this is the importance of this presentation, examining the varying cultural differences that exist among the four countries. On obtaining these differences, the company can then prepare a plan on how to roll out its business in the said country taking into consideration all cultural aspects that shall impact on its daily operations. Slide 23 As Hofstede, indicates, culture can make or break an organization. Adding to this, he also notes that the variations in culture among nations are found at the most basic level (The Hofstede Centre, n.d.).Hence, when it comes to the four countries; Morocco, South Korea, Iran, and Ecuador. There are various cultural considerations that the company has to consider for each one of them. Initially, the company has to assess the culture of each country after the research. Slide 24 Then it has to determine its priorities and goals. Thereafter, obtain the results of the assessment and determine the changes that are needed for it to establish successful business operations. Once it has established the operations in the country, it has to ensure that there are monitors to check out on the performance of its operations in the country and if they merged well with the nations culture and the organization’s culture. To understand this, the Hofstede model for organizational culture can help the company in setting up businesses in the different cultures. Slide 25 The major cultural values surrounding the four countries that are to be considered by the company include the religion, political stability, and ethnicity. In addition, the geographic placement of the country has to be considered. For Iran, cultural aspects surrounding religion are of major importance considering that Iran is a theocratic state. Thus, the business must consider all religious laws and regulations that regard its operations such as employment. South Korea on the other hand is a homogenous country with only a small Chinese population residing in the country. Hence, the country should consider the values of South Korea’s homogenous culture. Slide 26 The country also has a hostile neighbor, North Korea, whose daily threats and actions affect varying economic aspects of South Korea. Ecuador is in a period of relative political stability. However, the company should not forget that the country is in a period of political transition from an era of past political troubles. Morocco’s case is unique because it is ruled by a monarch that has just relinquished some of its powers to parliament and the prime minister. Nevertheless, the country’s positioning in the North of Africa is in a region that experiences relative peace. Hence, business operations are not likely to be affected as they would in Iran which is a Muslim nation with a hard line stance on the practices of foreign companies especially when linked with the Islamic religion. References BBC. (2009, October 18). Profile: Irans Revolutionary Guards. Retrieved from bbc: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7064353.stm BBC NEWS. (2014, November 11). South Korea profile. Retrieved from bbc: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-15289563 Central Intelligence Agency. (2014, June 20). The World Factbook. Retrieved from cia: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ks.html Central Intelligence Agency. (2014, June 22). The World Factbook: Middle East; Iran. Retrieved from cia: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ir.html Country Reports. (n.d.). Iran Facts and Culture. 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American International Journal of Contemporary Research, 3(5), 1-10. Heidtmann, D. (2011). International strategic alliances and cultural diversity - German companies getting involved in Iran, India and China. Hamburg: Diplomica Verlag. History World. (n.d.). History of Morocco. Retrieved from historyworld: http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ac97 IDEA. (2014, May 26). Ecuador. Retrieved from idea: http://www.idea.int/americas/ecuador/ Maps of World. (2014, December 23). Morocco Map. Retrieved from mapsofworld: http://www.mapsofworld.com/morocco/ Nation Master. (2015). South Korea People Stats. Retrieved from nationmaster: http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/profiles/South-Korea/People/All-stats National Geographic Information Institute. (2009, October). Map of Korea. Retrieved from ngii: http://www.ngii.go.kr/en/popup/map_korea.jsp New World Encyclopedia. (2013, December 9). Geography of South Korea. 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Hofstede Model for Organizational Culture [Motion Picture]. World Bank. (2015). Population, total. Retrieved from worldbank: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL Read More