Sunday, March 14, 2010

“WCU book review: Tour guide to doing business south of ... - Asheville Citizen-Times” plus 3 more

“WCU book review: Tour guide to doing business south of ... - Asheville Citizen-Times” plus 3 more

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WCU book review: Tour guide to doing business south of ... - Asheville Citizen-Times

Posted: 14 Mar 2010 08:14 AM PDT

Kevin M. Diran's new book, "How to Say It: Doing Business in Latin America," is a must-have for anyone who travels for work between the Rio Grande and Cape Horn.

Billed as a business person's pocket guide to the culture, customs and etiquette of Latin America, this book is the next best thing to having a local walk you through the business environment of nearly every country in Central and South America.

As the global marketplace continues to open new opportunities for businesses, the 17 countries covered in this book represent more than 560 million potential customers. Understanding cultural sensitivities and how to develop successful business partnerships to engage those customers has never been more important than it is today.

Diran arms us with a basic understanding of how to communicate in the business environment, how to dress and eat, how to present a business card, and even the fundamentals of how to navigate Latin American bureaucracies.

For example, when scheduling meetings, the author suggests doing so between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. from Tuesday to Friday, thus increasing the likelihood of your meeting taking place as scheduled. And don't forget to confirm before leaving the United States and then reconfirm once you've reached your destination.

I've logged countless miles on transoceanic business flights, and this is the kind of book I'd want in my carry-on. The relaxed style of writing makes it an easy read.

While other books may provide greater depth into subjects like language or economic analysis, Diran has chosen to cover a wide variety of topics with enough depth to get you started.

The book also will prove useful for the business person who does not necessarily travel to the region but who interacts with Latin American business people here.

The paperback is full of tips and suggestions ranging from how to use and read body language during a business lunch to how best to employ translators when their services are required.

Also covered are suggestions on how to react to menu items like fried grasshoppers that may be unfamiliar to the average American dinner table; the importance of keeping your shoes shined regardless of any dust you may encounter; and how to foster relationships to develop business strategies that deliver long-lasting results. Particularly helpful were the nine pages of business-related English-Spanish translations.

Diran has written a book that is useful for both the veteran traveler to Latin America and the new entrepreneur. Written with keen insight and from years of personal experience, "How to Say It" reads like a cross between a business survival guide and a tourist guidebook. Our neighbors in Latin America offer a rich source of potential customers and partners in the global marketplace. This book is a welcome navigational aid for anyone voyaging in the business world south of our border.

Daniel J. Ostergaard is an associate professor of global strategy and management in the College of Business at Western Carolina University.

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Can government be run like a business? - BusinessWorld Online

Posted: 14 Mar 2010 08:42 AM PDT
Opinion

Posted on 08:39 PM, March 14, 2010

Fence Sitter -- A. R. Samson

The requirements for managing a business suggest that it is no different from running another big organization, like government. Such corporate characteristics as setting clear goals, streamlining procedures, setting priorities, and decisiveness in resolving issues seem to offer themselves as the same attributes for leadership of a country.

This school of thought that government is no different from business, albeit larger and perhaps a bit more complex, promotes the idea there is little difference between the two. This then postulates further that a businessman used to running a big conglomerate, never mind how badly or well, automatically qualifies him to run a country. Following this trend of thought, one who hasn't managed any organization at all is unfit to lead the government.

Are the core skills for running a business applicable to, or even appropriate for, heading government?

The businessman can deliberately define what business he should get into, or out of. He can acquire a business to give him growth, or sell one simply for the cash it can generate or because its customer base does not coincide with his other companies. This flexibility allows him to expand or consolidate the business as needed. Does the leader of a nation have this luxury of being so proactive? Can he get rid of a particular region because of its continuous strife so as to improve the general security situation of the country, like a CEO abandoning a troublesome branch?

Let's look at how decisions are made. The hierarchical structure of a business ensures that once a decision is taken at the top, it is cascaded down for implementation down the line. This type of expedient decision-making is crucial in order to snatch a business advantage before the opportunistic moment is gone. There are timelines that dictate the speed of implementation, whether it is paying a debt amortization or reporting financial performance.

Communications skills then are limited to defining clearly what needs to be done if only to ensure proper implementation. There is little need for explaining a decision and its consequences to third parties like media or interest groups. Thus, businessmen have a hard time justifying any decision to outsiders, mindful only of its bottom line impact. If a strategy works, there's no further need to get into details. Inquisitive souls who want to comb through the way a decision was taken are seen as obstructionists out to make the CEO look bad. Criticism of a corporate decision already made is considered useless nitpicking. It's only financial results that count, after all. You just take the sausage and not question too much how messily it was made.

Media handling is therefore limited to yearly stockholders meetings or product launches. A press kit is distributed and some ceremonial event is photographed, and that's it. Here again, the bottom line and a hefty return on investment are all that matter. Communication channels are defined and limited to internal units, with perhaps a few outside entities like banks and investors. Lateral communications needed for building consensus are unnecessary.

Ironically, the more successful the businessman, the less open he is to criticism. Used as he is to being catered to and held to a few measurable indicators of success like profit and customer service, the businessman is autocratic in pursuing these few key results areas.

Even in the economic field, government's role and therefore also its leader's, is to provide the appropriate infrastructure, attract investments, and regulate the private sector with simple and consistent rules. In a market economy such as ours, government takes a supporting role. A businessman as head of government crosses a thin line and disturbs the balance between rule-maker and rule-taker.

Under the holy grail of a "level playing field" for business, players understand the rules and want them simplified but applied consistently and fairly to all. What if the referee is able to also join the game without benefit of changing his uniform or even being bound by the rules that apply to all the rest?

Surely nothing can be more troubling than entrepreneurship and the profit motive of business being applied to government's pursuit and promotion of the public good. Such a combination seems a deadly recipe for the spread of the "C" word. And we are not referring to carrot cake.

Tri-state business briefs - Dubuque Telegraph Herald

Posted: 14 Mar 2010 07:45 AM PDT

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Local Business News In Brief - Spectrum

Posted: 14 Mar 2010 09:25 AM PDT

New law office to come to St. George

ST. GEORGE - Bruce C. Jenkins has joined his practice with the regional law firm of Vial Fotheringham, LLP to open a local St. George office, Vial Fotheringham SG, LLP. Vial Fotheringham possesses incomparable experience in all areas of homeowner association law and has offices in four states throughout the West.

Jenkins, who has practiced planned community and real estate law for almost 20 years, and Vial Fotheringham SG will provide services to local associations, including assessment collection, enforcement, bylaw interpretation and revision, construction defect litigation and general legal guidance.

Combining the experience of all lawyers, Vial Fotheringham hosts a total of 213 years homeowner association law practice. In addition to this level of expertise, all locations host educational HOA Law Forums and publish inclusive (state-specific) HOA Handbooks. The Vial Fotheringham SG grand opening HOA law forum, for associations and management companies of Utah, will be held on June 19 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at the St. George Marriott. This will be an opportunity to learn pertinent HOA knowledge from a firm dedicated to the representation and education of homeowner associations. For more information, please visit www.stgeorgehoalaw.com

Parade of Homes Giveaway winners

ST. GEORGE - The St. George Area Parade of Homes drawing winners are Cathy Brereton of Provo, who won the LG LCD HDTV 42-inch flat screen television from Boulevard Home Furnishings, and Lindi Garrett of Washington City, who won a week stay at the Thompson Mansion, movie passes to Coral Cliffs, SunRiver golf passes and dinner for two at the Riverwalk Grill.

BY THE SPECTRUM & DAILY NEWS

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