Communication

Nowadays, people are being absorved by the possibilities of interpersonal communication based on non-personal contact. There is plenty of new social networks and technological dispositives that provide the possibility of making personal relationship a little bit less personal. Just to name some of them, we count with Messengers (from Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail), Skype, Facebook, Twitter and, of course, the new sensation: Blackberries. So, is there maybe occuring a lost of face-to-face relationships and interactions?

Well, although many of the new technologies available for conecting people around the world arise as a solution to the limits imposed by distance, certainly there is occuring a lost in the sensibility and skills that only a personal, face-to-face contact can develop in people. However, I'd think we're far away from abandoning personal contact with other people. I mean, we'll always need someone to hang around or to party!

But, yes. It is clear that the distance these technologies were trying to reduce, now has taken another form and its manifestations may be seen in some kind of social withdrawal or alienation. Then, how could we solve that and make people again meet each other and feel the necessity of having contact with others? That's a hard question to answer, because of the new trends that among young people are provoking a change in human behaviors.

If we take into account that a big deal of responsibility can be charged to the media and to the telecommunications industry, I would dare to think that it is through these same means that solution may arise. If media, as in the way they generated part of these new behaviors, comes out with the creation of the necessity for people to resume face-to-face contact, then maybe again they will mold people's behavior and once again a coffee break will be a good plan to spend some time in the afternoon.

Images' Sources:

• Blackberry, Social Networks. Retrieved on 15th May, 2011, from: http://www.blackberrycool.com/2009/02/19/top-5-blackberry-social-networks/
• Lasers in green dance club party. Retrieved on 15th May, 2011, from: http://www.monsterloop.com/blog/?p=295
• Juan Valdez Coffe Shop. Retrieved on 15th May, 2011, from: http://astrologialordjim.com/hikin/sys/www/jaun%20valdez%20cafe-9555.html

Migration Issues

Migration is not a new phenomena. Since the beginning of the humankind, migration has been present. Remember the nomads or Moses? It is as if it came in the package of being human or as if someone told you: hey, you're human, so you can move to other places! But it happens also with animals! Have you ever heard about Serengeti? But it isn't our topic now, so let's get serious. Migration has become a problem for both developed and developing countries. On the one hand, developed countries are receiving huge quantities of people from other countries, who look for better coditions of living, higher incomes or, simply, a job; but their inhabitants also need jobs. Developing countries, on the other hand, are losing valuable human capital or human resources, or whatever you want to call it. While developing countries are in need of qualified people able of bringing development to their economies and societies, these persons are in need of better payments and more adequate conditions for their skills.

Now, remember I talked at the beginning about Serengeti? There occurs one of the biggest migrations in the animal kingdom. Well, it's not too crazy to say that the motivation of those animals to migrate is exactly the same as in many cases for humans: they're looking for food and better conditions of living. Although migration because of violence or climate disasters occurs in the world, I'm going to be focused on migration related with qualified persons looking for higher incomes in other countries.

For the question about how brain drain can be stopped and changed into something benefical for developing countries, the answer is: nothing! But why nothing? Well, if we take into account that not even developed countries have been able to fully stop their brain drain, could developing countries do so? Just think about it. But another totally different question would be if it can be diminished. That's another thing. And yes, it can. But how? Simple: give those qualified persons the conditions of living they're looking for, but in their own country!

Let's think on something. Everything else equal, would you study and prepare yourself, and invest money in upgrading your knowledge and discovering new one (because knowledge costs and it is expensive!), just to stay in your developing country and recover your investment in something like 40 or 50 years? Come on! It is even rude to suggest that! Unless, of course, you'd be too philanthropic. So the solution is simple: developing countries have to make a whole labor reform, through which most skilled persons receive payments at developed countries standards, with the condition they contribute to the development of the country by working in the public or private sector, but adding value to the organizations with their capacities. Scientist must be granted with good laboratories and resources for investigation; governments shall collaborate with universities; corporations shall stop exploting their employees in such a nasty way as it happens in developing countries.

Many things can be done! But change costs! It is up to the governments and the private sector if they're willing to invest money, in order to improve. And what if the public budget is not enough? Well assign priorities: you, governments and corporations, want to create a rocking country or a country of pale rocks?



Images' Sources:

• Serengeti Migration Tanzania. Encompass Africa. Retrieved on 14th May, 2011, from: http://www.encompassafrica.com.au/article.asp?aid=31
• Biz/Ed. Retrieved on 14th May, 2011, from: http://www.bized.co.uk/compfact/degussa/degussaindex.htm?page=show
• Public Finance. Savings Investors. Retrieved on 14th May, 2011, from: http://www.savingsinvestors.com/category/public-finance

Organizational Learning

As defined by Senge (1994), learning communities are "places where people continually expand their capacities to create the results they truly desire"[1]. Then, a relationship here between organizational learning and individual satisfaction is given. But how so? As I'm not giving a theoretical explanation, let's think about it!

As we already know, organizations are systems where parts interact between each other to accomplish a desired outcome or a proposed goal for the benefit of that system. So, if the system is composed by parts, then the most logical process would include those parts to behave "properly". But what happens when an organization establishes limits on how those parts should strictly behave, what they should do or what shouldn't? Well, probably those parts are only going to act inside those boundaries and will not be creative or proactive, because that's not what they're telling them to do. So, if those parts include people, include YOU, would you, for example, feel like you're exploting your whole potential, when you only do what you're told? I don't know, but, at least to me, that sounds FRUSTATING!

When people expand their capacities, when people fulfill their dreams, when people try to make things better, because that's what their conscience or their hearts tell them to do, there you have something. And even more, if your organization encourages that and takes advantage of it, that organization is certainly going to learn from the huge capacities people can have (if able to see them) and, of course, it will make a profit from it!

 

Let's take an example: Google. The other day, I was watching a documentary on how Google works as a corporation. Did you know Google determined that all its employees have 20% of their paid time free to think on what they could develop or create, as a business idea of their own? And even more shocking! Google gives its employes a percentage of participation in the net profit that unit makes (the unit which you spent 20% of your paid time thinking of creating)! And that's just one the company's policies. Well, it's not too strange that Google has been several times listed as one of the Fortune's Magazine 100 Best Companies to Work For. This year: Google is 4th in the list! [2] And yes, this is indeed a "never stop" Learning Organization.

References:

[1]Senge, P. M. (1990). The Fifth Discipline: the Art And Practice of the Learning Organization. Currency Publisher, 1990.

[2] Fortune Magazine (2011). Retrieved on 14th May, 2011, from: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2011/snapshots/4.html

Multimedia's Sources:

Youtube. Retrieved on 14th May, 2011, from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOZhbOhEunY

Image's Source:

Boss Yelling at Employee. Retrieved on 24th May, 2011, from: http://www.educationtimes.com/educationTimes/CMSD/Walk-A-Job/27/200907232009072317435178167fe96fe/You-are-punished.html