Global Economy

Achievements of mankind make our life more comfortable, but at the same time create a set of problems. The most difficult and global problems today are coupled with ecology. Huge money resources are necessary for solving these problems. Therefore our ability to benefit from the problem of waste recycling will allow us not only to solve one of environmental problems, but also to receive profit.

Only the tenth part of all waste products in our country is used for recycling. Annually Belarus throws out 1 billion dollars in a recycle bin.

Paper, glass, tree, polymers, metal - valuable secondary resources are simply thrown out and pollute the nature.

Separate gathering, sorting and industrial processing of waste products practically do not exist today in our republic. Two disposal plants in Minsk (the capital of Belarus) are closed, because they used out-of-date technologies. A single method of waste products utilizing that is used nowadays is waste burial.

The problem of dumps exists in many countries, but not all of them are capable to neutralize the damage effect of such «objects» on the environment and on population health. Belarus is no exception. City dumps are over flown, it is necessary to use new sites near Minsk, but accommodation of one more dump here is extremely undesirable.

In the developed countries simple waste burial is forbidden by law. In some countries, for example, Austria, Germany and Spain, burning of waste products is also forbidden. A primary method is recycling. For example, Japanese make uniform from crushed plastic bottles.

You see samples of such clothes:

In our republic such technology is not used.

To solve the «garbage problem» many countries undertake the following steps:

1. Change of the legislation in the field of ecology.

2. Separate gathering of waste products and their reuse. For application of this method it is necessary to carry out explanatory work in order to raise ecological culture in the society.

3. Attraction of external and internal investments into ecological projects.

4. Use of the latest technologies.

Belarus tries to use world experience to solve this problem.

Firstly, government and local authorities are elaborating special laws, according to which the responsibility for recycling of waste products is assigned to the manufacturers.

Secondly, about 150 containers of special design for separate gathering solid waste have appeared in Minsk this year:

Today glass, tin banks, paper citizens throw out in separate sections. But, unfortunately, the gathered waste in these containers is dumped in one common plastic package. And this experience represents only educational aspect.

Thirdly, the second tender on construction of a disposal plants was invited in Minsk. The first tender failed, because of out-of-date technologies of construction offered by different European companies.

Also it is important to mention the latest know-how of the Belarusian scientists. They have developed the technology of high-quality oil manufacturing from hard human refuse. But, unfortunately, this technology has not passed to the stage of manufacturing yet.

All these variants of problem solving are perspective enough, but nowadays their realization is coupled with various difficulties, therefore a primary method today is using presses for manufacturing of compact briquettes from garbage.

This manufacturing includes such processes as gathering of waste in separate sections and pressing. Then ready briquettes are transported to dumps. So, they occupy much less place and are safer for the environment.

The bottom line is that Belarus is still far from the developed countries in solving the «garbage problem». But we make steps to cope with it, using experience of other countries.

Religion and values

North Americans can be used as an example. They think that if you work hard and achieve success, you will find favour in the eyes of God. They tend to assume that material comfort is a sign of superiority, that the rich are a little bit better than the poor, that people who work hard are better than those who don’t. They believe that money solves many problems. They assume that people from other cultures share their view. In fact, many societies condemn materialism and appreciate a carefree life-style.

The idea of role and status

Culture dictates the roles people play, including who communicates with whom, what they communicate and in what way. In many countries women still do not play a very prominent role in business. As a result, female executives from Belarusian firms may find themselves sent off to eat in a separate room with the wives of Arab businessmen, while the men all eat dinner together.

Decision-making customs

As for decision-making customs, Greece can be a good example. There making deals slowly, after a lengthy period of discussion, spending time on every little point is consid­ered a mark of good faith. A Greek executive assumes that anyone who ignores the details is being evasive and unreliable.  As for Belarus decision-making process here is very bureaucratic and entails dozens of documents to be signed. That’s why decisions are not always taken in time.

Perceptions of time

Differing perceptions of time is another factor that can lead to misunder­standings. An executive from Latin America attaches one mean­ing to time, while an executive from United States   attaches another. 

Let’s say that a salesperson from US calls on a client in Mexico City. After spending 30 minutes in the outer office, the person from Belarus feels angry and insulted, assuming, “This client must attach a very low priority to my visit to keep me waiting half an hour.” In fact, the Mexican client does not mean to imply anything at all by this delay. To the Mexican, a wait of 30 minutes is a matter of course.

There’s another interesting fact. The Japanese, knowing that North Americans are impatient, use time to their advantage when negotiating with them. This is expressed in such a way: “You Americans have one terrible weakness. If we make you wait long enough, you will agree to anything.”  :)

Language

Turning to language it should be said that if you deal closely with foreign companies you’d better pay particular attention to accurate translation, so that you were understood correctly. Sometimes the translations aren’t very good. For example, the well-known slogan “Come alive with Pepsi” was translated literally for Asian markets as “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave”. The results were unfortunate.

Social behaviour and manners

The last difference is social behaviour and manners. Let’s say that a Belorussian businessman going on a foreign business trip to Germany. He has a meeting with a Marketing manager, a woman. In order to establish a business relationship with her, he is giving a woman a red rose. Though he’d better not, as far as it is consid­ered a romantic invitation in Germany.

It goes without saying that we may never completely overcome linguistic and cultural barriers, but we can communicate effectively with peo­ple from other cultures if we work at it. Some tips for successful communication can be suggested here.

The best way to prepare yourself to do business with people from another culture is to study their culture in advance. Reading books and articles about the culture and talking to people who have dealt with its members, preferably people who have done business with them can be very helpful. You should concentrate on learning something about their history, religion, politics, and customs, without ignoring the practical details either. In that regard, you should know something about another country’s weather condi­tions, health-care facilities, money, transportation, communications, and cus­toms regulations. You should also find out about a country’s subcultures, especially its business subcul­ture. Does the business world have its own rules and protocol? Who makes decisions? How are negotiations usually conducted? Is gift giving expected? What is the appropriate attire for attending a business meeting?

Some companies are really worried about the problem of cultural differences. That’s why they are trying to deal with this problem but not avoid it. In some large ones Human Resources Department is already organizing intercultural training. It can also be a good practice to adopt an international code of intercultural business communication. This will result in better communication, closer contacts and more ethical decision-making worldwide.

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This Friday 32 billion people (TV viewers and football fans) will be eye-witnesses of the start of the World Cup in Germany.

Let’s look at this sports event with relation to economy. German Institute for Economic Research says World Cup brings bad and good points for the national economy:

+ about 1 million tourists would like to visit Germany (football fans);

- but at the same time almost the same quantity of tourists would like not to come across with fans and they will refuse to visit Germany;

+ advertisers from Nike, Adidas, Coca-Cola etc. will fight for attention (and money) of football fans;

+ producer of sports ware and LCD television are sure that millions of dollars, that they spend on advertising, will be generously repaid.

But the World Cup means not only profits, but also losses!

Some economic experts think that British economy will lose about 4 billion pounds sterling, because employers will watch the games during their working hours (some of them will use the Internet to watch the games live), as a result - fall in productivity!

according to http://euronews.net

First and foremost, what are cultural differences? I wrote about it in one of my posts, but I hope that the following joke can help you understand this notion better:

Last month, a world survey was conducted by the UN. The only question asked was: “Would you please give your honest opinion about solutions to the food shortage in the rest of the world.” The survey was a huge failure…

In Africa they didn’t know what “food” meant.

In Eastern Europe they didn’t know what “honest” meant.

In Western Europe they didn’t know what “shortage” meant.

In China they didn’t know what “opinion” meant.

In the Middle East they didn’t know what “solution” meant.

In South America they didn’t know what “please” meant.

And In the US they didn’t know what “the rest of the world” meant.

:)     

Our world faces new challenges in the 21^st century. It is becoming increasingly connected and global and the role of international business is increasing. That is why cultural differences will affect us all more and more.

Up to 30% of companies have already admitted that the success of their international activities was deteriorated by cultural differences.

Nevertheless misunderstandings do occur. The following example can be given. This happened to the sales representative who was calling on a client in China. Hoping to make a good impression, the salesperson brought a gift to break the ice, an expensive grandfather clock. Unfortunately, the Chinese client was deeply offended because, in China, giving clocks as gifts is considered bad luck for the recipient.

Such problems arise because we ignore the fact that people from other cultures differ from us in many ways. They are religion and values, ideas of role and status, decision-making customs, attitude toward time, language and manners…

<:3 )~~~

to be continued …

It’s no doubt that money is a very important issue in everyone’s life today. I even would like to add that money was and will be a very important issue.

But why do I believe in the vital importance of money in the live of our society? So, first of all it’s a real fact that money or if to be more executive the quantity of money determines the statement of any national economy. Nobody will deny that economy in its order determines almost all spheres of our life. And most scientists suppose that just economy create ideology, culture, religion and people’s viewpoint. For example capitalism originated such a religion as Protestantism, which preaches accumulation of capital as one of people’s aims.

But we can say about vital importance of money speaking only about the whole mankind, and not about every person. Because our opinions, interests and values are so different: some people consider money as the main value, others – as the main evil. However nobody wants to live on a shoestring, everybody wants to lose a quid and find a fiver. Also I must admit that some people can’t make both ends meet and are down and out because of money.    

I’d like to continue the topic about calls in business …

The first cue in the telephone conversation comes from the recipient of the call, who greets the caller and introduces himself and sometimes his firm. Then the caller should identify himself (and give his firm name if he feels it is necessary or helpful) not waiting to be asked. There are some exceptions to this, particularly if the caller is trying to reach someone who he knows does­n’t want to talk to him. But now we are talking about the great­est percentage of calls. Having identified himself the caller should immediately convey the sense of authority and conviction in a clear, strong voice that generally causes the person on the other end to give more attention to the call made.

If the caller is trying to reach, someone he doesn’t know on the reference of someone the recipient knows, this information should be given at the start. This often saves time and sometimes gets the caller through to people the first time, particularly if the caller’s reference is important to the person he is calling.

Assuming that this is primarily or totally businesses call its purpose should be stated as quickly and clearly as possible. The caller shouldn’t waste his prospect’s time with irrelevant comments or conversation before coming to the, point. This, of course, can vary depending on the relationships between the caller and his interlocutor. Anyway the best bet is to comу to the point before the recipient gets’ annoyed and worried why someone is calling him.

Once the caller has said why he is calling, he should listen und concentrate on what his interlocutor is saying. If there are any distractions try to stop them or if it’s impossible close your eyes, no matter whether you are the caller or the recipient.

When we use the telephone in our business transactions the communication tools available to us are very limited. The person you are communicating with cannot see you. He/she cannot read the expression on your face. If he/she doesn’t understand what you are saying, he/she cannot watch your lips. You can neither gesture nor touch your interlocutor. You cannot see the  person’s reaction to what you are saying. You cannot write, out anything or draw a diagram if he/she doesn’t understand your point.

You have only three communication tools at your disposal:

1. Your voice.

2. Your inflection.

3. Your words.

Therefore you must make the best of them what really isn’t that hard to do.

Voice

Speak into the mouthpiece, not over or around it. If you do this, people can hear you and understand you much more easily. It also means that you can then speak in your normal conversational voice. Have you ever noticed how on a long dis­tance call some people automatically raise their voices and some liven shout into the phone? We are not talking about when the connection is bad; most of the time this is just human nature. You don’t have to do this if you just speak into the mouthpiece.

The phone is a marvelous device, designed to carry your nor­mal speaking voice almost anywhere in the world. So let it do its work.

Inflection

Some people freeze up on the telephone. They speak unnaturally, without any inflection. When they do so, the party on the other end often misses much of what they say. In­stead of speaking into the instrument, forget you have it in your hand. Imagine that the person you are talking to is standing or sitting right in front of you. Speak to the person, gesture, stand, sit, pace. Be as natural as if you were carrying on the conversa­tion in person. Your voice will then have the right inflection and convey the unspoken messages you want to convey.

Words

Speak distinctly; don’t swallow separate words, whole sentences and great ideas. This may mean speaking just a little slower than you would if you were talking to the other party in person. Don’t be very sophisticated. Try to use the shortest and the simplest words you can.

To the above three points we should add another one that you should try to follow whenever you are talking to anyone, in person or on the phone - concentrate. Concentrate both on what you want to say and on what the other person is saying to you. This is even more important when on the telephone than in person.

Be a great orator and the greatest listener!

If you keep the above points in mind and introduce them into practice you will find that you are getting more benefit out of your time on the phone. And the people you are talking to will feel the same way.

If there is more than one point you want to cover, make a few notes and have them in front of you. If you have a lot of things to cover, make an outline. In any case be ready to take notes.

Today is the first summer day. My congratulations!!!

All who have economic education study economics. But what do you know about the history of economics?

So, in the 1500s there were few universities. Those that existed taught religion, Latin, Greek, philosophy, history, and mathematics. No econom­ics. Then came the Enlightenment (about 1700) in which reasoning re­placed God as the explanation of why things were the way they were. Pre­Enlightenment thinkers would answer the question, “Why am I poor?” with, “Because God wills it.” Enlightenment scholars looked for a differ­ent explanation. “Because of the nature of land ownership” is one answer they found.

Such reasoned explanations required more knowledge of the way things were, and the amount of information expanded so rapidly that it had to be divided or categorized for an individual to have hope of knowing a subject. Soon philosophy was subdivided into science and philos­ophy. In the 1700s, the sciences were split into natural sciences and so­cial sciences. The amount of knowledge kept increasing, and in the late 1800s and early 1900s social science itself split into subdivisions: economics, political science, history, geography, sociology, anthropology, and psychology. Many of the insights how the economic system worked were codified in Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations, written in 1776. Notice that this is before economics as a sub discipline developed, and Adam Smith could also be classified as an anthropologist, a sociologist, a political scientist, and a social philosopher.

Throughout the l8th and 19t centuries economists such as Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, John Stuart Mill, David Ricardo, and Karl Marx were more than economists; they were social philosophers who covered all aspects of social science. These writers were subsequently called Clas­sical economists. Alfred Marshall continued in that classical tradition, and his book, Principles of Economics, published in the late 1800s, was written with the other social sciences in evidence. But Marshall also changed the question economists ask; he focused on the questions that could be asked in a graphical supply-demand framework. In doing so he began what is called neo-classical economics…