United States: Strong similarities between national and organizational culture

Part 1: In this part, the reader would be able to understand the main similarities between the American and Disney culture according to the North American class presentation.

The American culture has influenced significantly the way Disney does things, because Disney was created in United States, it takes many aspects of the national culture in order to be the leader company in the parks and resorts segment:

Taken from: Getty images

Australia: Learning how to respect and take into account Aborigine´s culture

Part 1: In this part, according to the Australian class presentation, the reader would be able to understand certain aspects of the Australian culture and the importance of the culture for the adoption of the Reconciliation Action Plan by Australian companies, in order to achieve positive results.

Australia is known as a multicultural country that accepts people from different cultures and countries. The Australian culture is based on egalitarism in order to avoid differentiation and discrimination; also in openness, being a direct manner culture that believes in the importance of discussions for better achievements; and finally it is an individualistic culture.

Taken from: Getty images

Europe: Diversity in the European Union

Part 1: In this part, the reader would be able to understand the diversity in the European Union and how this affects businesses.

The European Union started after the Second World War with the objective of finish a period of wars between neighbors, establishing a peaceful continent, based on cooperation and good relations between countries. The Union began in 1950 with the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community; six European countries were the founders of this union: Germany, Belgium, France, Luxemburg, Italy and the Netherlands. During the Treaty of Rome in 1957 the six countries increased cooperation and create the European Economic Community, that latter becomes the European Union. Nowadays, the European Union has 27 member states and three candidate countries are waiting for a future membership, which are: Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey.

Image taken from: The official website of the European Union

Middle East: The Islamic banking

According to the bibliographic texts, it would be answered the following questions:

1. Explain what Islamic Banking is and its background.

The Islamic banking is a system and activity that follows the Islamic principles, which prohibit the acceptance and payment of riba (interest charges), and forbid other activities that are against Islamic main beliefs. (Institute of Islamic Banking and insurance, 2010)

The philosophy of the contemporary Islamic banking system started since the beginning of the Islam, when the Islamic partnerships were used in the business world and the concept of interest was little applied. During a period of time from the mid 1940s until de end of 1960s many authors explained the need of a commercial banking system that gives importance to profits and loss sharing and not to interests. These ideas resulted in the creation of the first Islamic banking in the early 1970s. (Ökte, 2010).

Africa: South Africa and the importance of Ubuntu Philosophy

Part 1: According to the text “Building competitive advantage from Ubuntu.” By Mzamo Mangaliso, the reader would be able to understand certain aspects of South African culture that companies need to take into account in order to develop a competitive advantage.

After the apartheid, South Africa established a democracy that respect racial and gender differences, and the country is having more economic progress after the apartheid.

Ubuntu philosophy is an important part of the culture, and in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODQ4WiDsEBQ Nelson Mandela explains in an interview, the Ubuntu concept.

India: Adapting into globalization

Part 1: In this part, the reader would be able to understand the main aspects of the Indian culture and the organizational culture.

India is located in South Asia, their official languages are Hindi and English, which is an advantage for businesses with United States. Another important aspect of India is the current economic growth and the importance of outsourcing products and services for the Indian globalization.

Image taken from: World travelers

The Indian culture is based on the spiritual beliefs; India has many religions and believes in reincarnation, in the karma and dharma. Therefore, the spiritual and religious part is a key in the Indian culture.