...skills of the poor and allow them to propel themselves out of poverty through providing financial services with which they can protect assets and grow microenterprises. MFIs have developed many innovative financial products to offer their clients beyond credit, such as microsavings, money transfer vehicles, and microinsurance. Microfinance is a growing industry throughout the developing world and comprises commercial banks, regulated banks, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and nonprofit organizations (NPOs). With approximately 17 million impoverished, there is a large market for the microfinance industry to capture; yet, in Colombia, it is not nearly as well established as in neighboring countries. Peru and Bolivia, for example, are among the world’s most competitive and innovative microfinance markets (The World Factbook). A NOTE ABOUT COLOMBIA Capital and largest city | Bogotá, D.C 4°35′N 74°4′W | Official languages | Spanish | Recognised regional languages | 68 ethnic languages and dialects. English also official in the archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina. | Legislature | Congress | • | Upper house | Senate | • | Lower house | Chamber of Representatives | Independence from Spain | • | Declared | 20 July 1810 | • | Recognized | 7 August 1819 | • | Current constitution | 4 July 1991 | Area | • |...
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...COLOMBIA COUNTRY ORIENTATION : Location : Colombia, which capital is Bogota, is located in the northwest of South America, bordered to the northwest by Panama, to the east by Venezuela and Brazil, to the south by Ecuador and Peru. It is also bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and the Caribbean Sea. "Colombia." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colombia>. Size : 1,138,910 km2. It is 1/9 size of the USA, which is the size of Texas and California combined. It makes Colombia #26 in the world and #4 in South America. "Colombia." - Country Profile. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.indexmundi.com/colombia/>. Government structure and Leadership : Colombia is a presidential representative democratic republic established with the Constitution of 1991. It is an unitary State, decentralized where multi-party system is allowed. Thus, it is a Republic with separation of powers between : The executive branch : a President, Juan Manuel Santos since 2010, also Head of government, and a Council of Ministers. The President is elected by popular vote for a four-year terms, and then choose the members of the Council of Ministers. The legislative branch : the Congress is bicameral, between the Chamber of Representatives (166 seats) and the Senate (102 seats). The Congress is elected by popular vote too, for a four-year terms. The judicial branch refers to The Supreme Court, which is represented by 23 judges divided into three Chambers...
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...Institutional, and Cultural Context of Colombia Michael N. Yuede Missouri State University Abstract This paper studies the Colombian culture and how it affects business relations. First, the Colombian country is explored, examining the geographical location and environment, demographics, economy, religion, and the historical, legal and ethical, and social context. Geert Hofstede’s, Fons Trompenaars’, and GLOBE’s models of national culture infer ways to behave in any given culture, and in this case, Colombia. Differences can be seen between the United States’ and Colombia’s culture after exploring the models, suggesting ways to adapt to the new culture and act appropriately in a business environment. After studying the models, the cultural descriptions and aspects, including Colombia’s collectivistic and high power distance nature, give future managers and expatriates the implications necessary to become legitimized in the eyes of other businesses and the government. Additionally, the implications help predict employee behaviors and motivators, as well as human resource management policies that should be implemented into the business. However, in order to fully understand the Colombian culture, an individual must live in that country for a period of time to experience the culture first hand. Environmental, Institutional, and Cultural Context of Colombia In order to better understand how to interact in a business environment in Colombia, it is important to know about the...
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...Central America and the Caribbean. (Wikipedia, Retrieved 2010). Latin America consists of many different ethnic backgrounds and races. It is one of the most diverse regions in the world. Some of the predominant races/backgrounds include European-Amerindians (Mestizo), Amerindians, European, Mulatto, Black, Asian and Zambo (mixed Black and Amerindian). Latin America continues to be challenged by inequality and poverty. Poverty is defined as, “the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions.” (Merriam-Webster, Retrieved 2010). According to the World Bank, nearly 25% of the population of Latin America lives on less than $2.00 a day. At least 182 million people are living in poverty in Latin America and at least 68 million people are living in extreme poverty. Poverty is defined as living on less than $2.15 per person per day and extreme poverty as living on less than $1.08 per person per day. “The poverty rate in Latin America was halved from 60% in 1950 to less than 30% in 2000. However, during the same time period income inequality remained more or less the same, making both poverty reduction and economic growth more difficult; as...
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...Blood Bananas – Chiquita in Colombia Introduction: Banana is a serious and a complicated business when it comes to producing and delivering it to the consumers all around the world. As most of the banana production takes a place in the tropics, the largest consumers are the U.S., the European Union and Japan. Chiquita, Dole and Del Monte who are also known as “the big three” control 60 percent of the global banana trade. Dole was founded in Hawai in 1851 and had reported revenues of US $6.9 billion in 2007, being the largest producer and marketer of high-quality fresh fruits and vegetables. Del Monte is one of the largest and well known producers, distributors and marketers of premium quality, branded food and pert products for U.S. generating US $3.4 billion in net sales in 2007. Chiquita which has been the largest employer in Latin America for many years, was founded 1899 and is known for revolutionizing the banana trade by using refrigerated ships for the first time. In 2007, Chiquita was the leading distributor of bananas In the United States with annual revenues of US $4.7 billion. Chiquita and terrorist ties Chiquita has been known as a rapacious multinational corporation for a long time. Company has been blamed for having farmers work for long hours in dangerous conditions, contaminating water with agrochemicals and harming tropical forests for expansion. Its operations in Colombia have been the most controversial topic for a long time due to the instability...
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...against smaller nations and exploiting local workers. The company that originally revolutionized the banana trade by using refrigerated ships was now faced with the decision of whether to continue to pay a terrorist organization in Colombia, South America to ensure the safety of their employees, stop payment and face the consequences or sell the business and exit the country. Background The issue at hand is partly the result of the industry itself. Bananas grow best in tropical regions, such as the Caribbean, Central America, Asia and Africa. They are critical cash crop for many of the lesser-developed countries. The banana producing country in question here is Colombia, South America which has a population of over 45M people, the second largest in South America. It has the 4th largest economy in Latin America although the income inequality is prevalent due to very uneven wealth distribution. It is in this environment that paramilitary organizations such as the AUC thrive. According to Fernando Aguirre, a former Chiquita CEO, “These lands were lands where there was no law. It was impossible for the government to protect Chiquita employees.” The AUC was created in 1997 as an umbrella organization of regional far-right paramilitary groups in Colombia, each intending to protect different local economic, social, and political interests by fighting insurgents in their area. They were estimated to have more than...
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...each day. As a result of this success, the McDonald’s firm is looking to continue their expansion into the global marketplace. After consulting with experts, McDonald’s has agreed to seek their expansion into Colombia, South America. Their goal is to enter the Colombian marketplace and offer the McDonald’s experience to the Colombian people and market. Many countries already enjoy the McDonald’s experience and famous food products that are eventually adopted as staples in their fast food runs- no matter the country. McDonald’s has been successful in entering foreign markets and adapting their business to local markets and have the local population call McDonald’s their own versus an American product that has come to their country. This is one of the keys to the success that McDonald’s has mastered. Naturally, they have the resources, monetary and information power to enter foreign markets, however there are some attributes that Colombia has that must be taken in to consideration. Columbia is considered an emerging market in the world’s view and the best strategy for McDonald’s to enter their marketplace should be a intelligently strategic one. II. Columbia’s attributes to consider During the 16th century, Bogota was named the capital of Colombia; it was also during the late 1700’s that protests against the Spanish inhabitants started to occur. Dissatisfaction against rising taxes and slavery prompted the Colombian population to wage battles against...
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...Human Development Report 2013 The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World Explanatory note on 2013 HDR composite indices Viet Nam HDI values and rank changes in the 2013 Human Development Report Introduction The 2013 Human Development Report presents Human Development Index (HDI) values and ranks for 187 countries and UN-recognized territories, along with the Inequality-adjusted HDI for 132 countries, the Gender Inequality Index for 148 countries, and the Multidimensional Poverty Index for 104 countries. Country rankings and values in the annual Human Development Index (HDI) are kept under strict embargo until the global launch and worldwide electronic release of the Human Development Report. It is misleading to compare values and rankings with those of previously published reports, because the underlying data and methods have changed. Readers are advised in the Report to assess progress in HDI values by referring to table 2 (‘Human Development Index Trends’) in the Statistical Annex of the report. Table 2 is based on consistent indicators, methodology and time-series data and thus shows real changes in values and ranks over time reflecting the actual progress countries have made. Caution is requested when interpreting small changes in values because they may not be statistically significant due to the sampling variation. Generally speaking, changes in third decimal of all composite indices are considered insignificant. For further details on how each...
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...Gini coefficient From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gini_coefficient Graphical representation of the Gini coefficient The Gini coefficient is a measure of inequality of a distribution. It is defined as a ratio with values between 0 and 1: the numerator is the area between the Lorenz curve of the distribution and the uniform distribution line; the denominator is the area under the uniform distribution line. It was developed by the Italian statistician Corrado Gini and published in his 1912 paper "Variabilità e mutabilità" ("Variability and Mutability"). The Gini index is the Gini coefficient expressed as a percentage, and is equal to the Gini coefficient multiplied by 100. (The Gini coefficient is equal to half of the relative mean difference.) The Gini coefficient is often used to measure income inequality. Here, 0 corresponds to perfect income equality (i.e. everyone has the same income) and 1 corresponds to perfect income inequality (i.e. one person has all the income, while everyone else has zero income). The Gini coefficient can also be used to measure wealth inequality. This use requires that no one has a negative net wealth. It is also commonly used for the measurement of discriminatory power of rating systems in the credit risk management. Calculation The Gini coefficient is defined as a ratio of the areas on the Lorenz curve diagram. If the area between the line of perfect equality and Lorenz curve is A, and the area under...
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...Colombia and the largest gas and oil company is South America: TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. COLOMBIA ………………………………………………………….………………………3 HISTORY……………………………………………………..…………………………..3 POLITICS…………………………………………………..……………………………..3 FOREIGN RELATIONS…………………………………………………….……………5 FOREIGN RELATIONS WITH THE U.S………………………………………..………6 FOREIGN POLICY DECISION MAKING………………………………………………7 DEMOGRAPHICS……………………………………………………………..…………8 RELIGION…………………………………………………….…………………………..9 HEALTH………………………………………..………………………………………..10 INFRASTRUCTURE……………………………………………………………………10 ECONOMY……………………………………….………………………….……… …11 2. ECOPETROL S.A. COMPANY OVERVIEW…………………………….…………… …12 BACKGROUND………………………………………………………………… ……..12 ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE……………………………………..…… ………12 MERGERS AND AQUITITIONS………………………………………………………14 COMPETITORS……………………………………………………….……… ………..14 FINANCIAL ANALYSIS…………………………………………………….. ………..15 RIVALRY COMPARISON…………………………………………………… ……….16 FUTURE GOALS…………………………………………………………..… ………..17 3. CAPITAL MARKET OVERVIEW…………………………………………………………18 INFLATION …………………………………………..………………….……………..18 CURRENT RISK……………………………………………………….………………..18 FINANCIAL CRISIS……………………………………………………..……………..19 INVESTMENT RECOMMENDATION………………………………..………………19 4. CONCLUSION…………………………………………………….…….…………………..20 5. BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………..………………………………..21 COLOMBIA HISTORY During the pre-Colombian period, the area now known as Colombia was inhabited by indigenous...
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...Although Latin America has faced many social, political, and economic issues within the last three centuries, inequality remains one of the most important, historical, and omnipresent aspects of the region’s culture. As Europeans took over Latin America during the time of colonization, they implemented many elitist social structures that have held strong and are evident today (Harris). Income inequality is the most visible and greatest disparity that the region faces; yet inequality between gender, ethnicities, and education remain strong and significant problems with a necessity for improvement. Inequality of wealth and disparity of power and influence are Latin American’s greatest curses and are at the root of many of the developmental, social, criminal, and political problems that continue to plague the region (De Ferranti). Since inequality has pervaded into every feature of Latin American society, it is important to measure inequality accurately in order to obstruct the causes of the discrimination and prevent new ones from beginning. The Gini Coefficient is an effective way that people indicate the inequality of a country by measuring a frequency distribution of income or wealth. Using the "Gini Index" of inequality in the distribution of income and consumption, the researchers found that Latin America and the Caribbean, from the 1970s through the 1990s, measured nearly 10 points more unequal than Asia, 17.5 points more unequal than the 30 countries in the Organization...
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...implementing widespread social security programs to affect equality, poverty alleviation, and income security. When considering Social Security for emerging economies, there are two central issues that must be addressed; can emerging economies sustain viable social security systems, and is social security vital to the development of emerging economies. To understand these issues, and possible solutions, it is useful to look towards the established models found in Europe for answers. Social Security To analyze the issue at hand, we must first understand the definition of social security, as the benefits offered by the State and society differ from country to country. For example, Social Security is a narrowly defined program in the United States, which offers supplemental income to those of retirement age at 65 and older. However, in Europe, social security encompasses a slate of programs that provide cash transfers and benefits for the aged, unemployed, ill, and poor. These programs are often manifested in the form of pensions, unemployment benefits, and in many countries universal healthcare. For this exercise we will use the broad definition of Social Security defined as programs to “protect the poor and vulnerable and to ensure that they have an acceptable standard of living (Ahmad 106).” The central goals of these programs in advanced economies are to smooth consumption, spread income over the lifespan of a recipient, and guard against deprivations...
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...now archived. Introduction What is Mercosur? What are associate members? Why was Paraguay suspended as a Mercosur member? What are the implications of Venezuela joining as a full member? Does Mercosur have a political agenda? How does Mercosur affect other regional groups? How has Mercosur stimulated cooperation among its members? What are the prospects for Mercosur's future? Introduction Mercosur, the "Common Market of the South," is an economic and political agreement among Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay (which is currently suspended), and Uruguay to promote the free movement of goods, services and people among member states. Mercosur's primary interest has been eliminating obstacles to regional trade, such as high tariffs and income inequalities. Yet experts say Mercosur has become somewhat paralyzed in recent years, with its members divided over whether the organization should remain focused on regional trade or whether it should add political affairs to its mandate. In July 2012, Venezuela was admitted to the trade bloc as its fifth full member with complete access to the common market and voting rights, a move that some analysts say will primarily benefit Argentina and Brazil and further politicize the organization. The creation of a regional customs union in 2008, the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), also has raised questions about Mercosur's utility. Moreover, Paraguay's 2012 suspension from the bloc has added fresh concerns about the bloc's future. What is...
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...Introduction The country has been expanding its presence in international financial and commodities markets, and is one of a group of four emerging economies called the BRIC countries. Although struggling with social inequality and infrastructural deficits we think that Brazil is already a great world power. Also what attracted us to Brazil as a case study for this report is it’s exotic character. Not many people really know the extent of Brazil’s recent growth and improvements in social security and in overcoming poverty. We expect the labor force and operational costs to be low, like in the other emerging countries like China. However we take in to consideration higher costs involving security and bureaucracy. Chapter 1 – Short presentation of the country The Federative Republic of Brazil is the largest country in both South America and the Latin America Region. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population, with over 193 million people. It is the largest Lusophone country in the world, and the only one in the Americas. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of 7,491 km. It is bordered on the north by Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and the French overseas region of French Guiana; on the northwest by Colombia; on the west by Bolivia and Peru; on the southwest by Argentina and Paraguay and on the south by Uruguay. Numerous archipelagos form part of Brazilian territory, such as Fernando de Noronha, Rocas Atoll, Saint...
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...TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................... 02 2. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK............................................................................ 02 3. GLOBALIZATION OF FOOD SYSTEMS IN CONTEXT................................ 03 a. Urbanization.................................................................................................. 03 b. Economics, health and education................................................................. 04 c. Employment................................................................................................... 05 d. Technology and facilitating mechanisms..................................................... 06 4. CHANGES IN DIETARY PATTERNS ............................................................... 07 a. Dietary convergence ..................................................................................... 07 b. Dietary adaptation ....................................................................................... 08 i. Lifestyle changes and adaptation of meal patterns........................... 08 ii. Street foods......................................................................................... 09 iii. Supermarkets .............................................................................
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