Italy has long standing tradition and is deeply enriched in culture. For this reason, Italy is considered to be a cultural superpower and the country stands as one of the most visited countries in the world.  There is a reason why Italy remains one of the top five countries for tourism. Rich in art, food, and history, people will continue to flock to this vibrant European country. But for many of us who have not had the luxury to visit this fine country, we might tend to recall some of the things we learned about Italy early in its existence. When we think of Italy from the past, we cannot help to think of things such as the Roman Empire and the battles that took place in the Colosseum.

Throughout history, Italy has always been a nation that has been influence by many different civilizations.  Influences from civilizations such as the Romans, Etruscans, and Samnites along with foreign civilizations like the Phoenicians and Greek have brought about a diverse culture and had a significant impact on shaping the Country it is today.  People have often stated that Italy is made up of small states and kingdoms and that cultural diversity is still present today. Many of the traditions and customs that now recognized as distinctly Italian can be identified by their regions of origin. The architecture alone stays out being one of the more classical countries in the modern-day world. To this day we see Greek ruins throughout southern Italy and this area remain a popular tourist attraction. Beyond the natural beauty that lies within the country’s origin, Italians in particular place high value on such things like trust, religion, and family.  Let us not also forget high preference that Italians place in food. When visiting this great country, Italians make it a point to greet tourist with open arms.

But with all this beauty and diverse culture, Italy has seen its share of struggles in history particularly in regard to their economy.  Early on Italy suffered from a slow and stagnant growth rate which led to emigration and division.  Italy eventually began to flourish for many years and up until the Great Depression Italy economy remained robust and prosperous.  Since that time Italy’s growth has remained in limbo.

During the 70s and 80s, Italy found itself in a state of economic turmoil.  Unemployment was at its all-time high especially among the younger workforces. Inflation also caused havoc on the already taxed and underperforming economy. This trend continues throughout the early part of the 1980s until a critical set of banking reforms reduced the rate of inflation and Italy once again began to thrive. The export industry leads the way for the Italy’s economic advancement during these times along with small to medium based companies.  In turn, in the late 1980s Italy now overtaken the rest of the UK economy and was now becoming the fourth richest nation in the world.

As we look forward, in 2011, Italy was ranked as having the eighth largest economy in the world (Moran, Abramson, Moran. 2014. pp 490.).  However, with all the attractions and tourism within the country, Italy remains caught in a seemingly slow economic decline (Moran, Abramson, Moran. 2014. pp 490.).   Italy offers businesses a strong infrastructure in sectors such as research and development, Agricultural and trade.  Italy must continue to grow these areas if they intend to remain one of the largest economies in Europe.  Additionally, the service sector has seen tremendous growth and the tourism industries continues to flourish. The service sector contributes over 70% of the nation’s overall economy.  Thus, Italy continues to see an influx of development such as hotels along with an expansive rail system that connects neighboring cities.  Italy also takes advantage of an immense coastline offering tourist and outdoor enthusiasts an opportunity to take advantage some of the most beautiful beaches throughout Europe. Being surrounded by the Adriatic and Mediterranean Sea, Italy has the highest number of beaches throughout Europe. No wonder that the service sector within the Italian government is huge part of there economy.  Italy will remain a popular destination for years to come even once the pandemic is behind us.   Maybe it’s time to start thinking of our next vacation.

References:

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). In Managing cultural differences (9th ed.). Routledge.

Passport to Trade 2.0. (2019). Business Culture in Italy. Retrieved from https://businessculture.org/southern-europe/business-culture-in-italy/

Sawe, B.E. 29, July 2019. What are the Biggest Industries in Italy? WorldAtlas.  Retrieved from: https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/which-are-the-biggest-industries-in-italy.html#:~:text=1%20Tourism%2Sawe0Industry.%20It%20is%20estimated%20that%20tourism,…%204%20Service%20Sector.%20…%205%20Trade.%20

Wilde, Robert. 07, August 2019. A Brief Look at Italy’s History of Division. ThoughtCo, Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/summary-of-italian-history-1221657

When we think of South America one of the first things that jumps into your mind is the largest country, Brazil.   Known for its diverse culture and of course the Amazon rainforest, Brazil is truly a spectacular county in terms of social contrasts and size.  But with all this beauty and size, Brazil is still considered to be a developing nation. This Latin American powerhouse is home to one of world’s best emerging economies. Many foreign companies have moved into the Brazilian market due to the commodities boom and with thirteenth largest city in the country the growth prospect for companies are endless.  With a growth rate of 1.1% back in 2018, Brazil was now in the top 10 in terms of a global economy. But with this achievement, the struggles for Brazil continues to affect their growth.

But with this growth rate Brazil’s economy remains underdeveloped. Brazil is now focused on some of their stronger businesses while channeling some of that energy to other business sectors.  Brazil over the years focused on their agriculture production and the exporting of commodities. Brazil is ranked as the twenty-first largest export economy in the world. This trend if continued will have a positive effect on the Brazil’s continued development.

However, for this powerhouse of Latin America to continue grow and become more stable, government must invest in their technology infrastructure.  To combat this issue, many start-up companies and larger tech companies, such as Microsoft have committed to change the outline of Brazil’s technology base. These companies have integrated system to improve in the areas of managing resources and the improvement of emergency service coverages.  As such, these tech companies have realized that Big data, security surveillance and risk have been an underutilized component of Brazils technology infrastructure.  Companies are now focused on adding additional resources to the capital markets to continue to expand in these areas of interest.

The growth of the technology sector has proved positive for the labor force. On average, the unemployment rate of 12% has been slowly diminishing over the years. One of the major causes for the drop in unemployment is due to the strong labor unions.  Labor unions have been one of the main driving forces in the labor market.  However, foreign companies remain hesitant to work Brazil’s union workers due to their complex labor laws.  Thus, these complex laws have the tech growth that was once sought after by Brazil.

With these sectors of the economy still emerging, Brazil is still searching for other industries to increase their growth.  Earlier we spoke about the abundance of natural resources and the affect that commodities have on their economy.  Brazil is the world’s leading producer of soybean, coffee, cocoa, and sugar.  Additionally, Brazil is one of the few countries that is responsible for their own oil production. Manufacturing is another area of interest and is the second largest contributor to Brazil’s growing economy. Brazil’s diversified nature has allowed them to excel in production such good as aircraft, chemicals for food products and clothing.  Finally, we come to the services industry which is responsible for the largest employment sector in Brazil.  Professional services such as financial services, hospitality, retail, and professional services.

So where does this leave Brazil? If Brazil can continue to grow these industries, it would not be unlikely for Brazil to emerge into one of the top five powerhouse countries. But is this an achievable goal? Brazil still suffers from a large disparity between the rich and the poor. As such, Brazil must incorporate innovative social programs to close the income disparity that the Brazilian population is facing.  Brazil must also continue to grow their middle class by promoting education and strengthen their technology sector. These changes if implemented correctly could catapult the Brazilian economy and contribute to the Brazil being the premier powerhouse country in South America.

References:

Cattlin, Becca. 25, April 2019. Emerging market economics: Brazil. Retrieved from

https://www.ig.com/uk/trading-strategies/emerging-market-economies–brazil-181010

Deloitte. Business Structure in Brazil. Retrieved from https://www2.deloitte.com/br/en/pages/doing-business-brazil/articles/business-structure-brazil.html

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). In Managing cultural differences (9th ed., pp. 140-169). Routledge.

Sottovia, M. 19, March 2018. Retrieved from: https://www.tmf-group.com/en/news-insights/articles/top-challenges/doing-business-in-brazil/

Transportuguese. Brazilian Economy. Retrieved from http://www.transportuguese.com/en/brazilian-economy.html

Due to the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19), many companies forced their employees to work remotely.  The inherently organizational change exposed many weaknesses in companies especially if this practice was not implemented prior to the pandemic.  Many companies lacked the preparation for employees to experience and function with a fully remote workforce.

A former company of mine would not allow employees to work from fearing that this practice would cause a lack of production. If you were not at your desk, then you were not working was their mentality. However, we know that effective communication and synergy creates greater performance and outcomes.  Managers leading by empowerment and effective communication should have been implemented regardless if employees work remotely or physically in the corporate office. A leader needs to encourage and empower employees to provide ideas and continue to perform to the level that is expected. Empowerment builds trust and trust creates cohesion and synergy.

Whether the company was prepared or not, this is now the new norm that companies throughout the world must adhere by. Throughout organizations, everyone who is considered a nonessential worker did their best to adapt to these changes both on a personal and professional level. The expectations from companies and departments are employees to perform their job as if the office were functioning as it did pre-COVID. If the department lacks communication, this will only add pressure to the workforce which can cause a breakdown in performance. But as employees, we did not think that this pandemic was going to last more than a few months.

Here we are eight months later, and individuals are still faced with the notion, that their offices are not opening anytime soon.  The feeling of being isolated from your colleagues remains real. Managers who are faced to not only manage the day to day operations, but also to keep the morale of their team at a high level. So how are managers engaging with their team in this now remote world that we are living in?  There is no substitute for in-person meetings and having group interaction.  I think we can all agree with that!  However, how do mangers continue to build teamwork and create synergy in this new remote world? Synergy as we know occurs when members listen to each other and enter the private worlds of the others. (Moran, Abramson & Moran. 2014. pp 271). Teams that work together and effectively communicate are the teams we see outperforming team that lack effective communication.

Effective leaders empower their team to share ideas within the group. Group members would share ideas on ways to promote effective team building.  We see group members and employees volunteering to manage different activities that would enhance teamwork. Organizing team activities seem to be the main target among most companies.  Early in the pandemic, individuals would typically schedule a coffee zoom meeting in the mornings or zoom happy hours to stay connected.  These ideas while great but like anything else became stagnant.  This forced people to get creative and have an out of the box style of thinking to create new and effective activities for co-workers.

As we officially hit the Springtime here in the Northeast, a physical exercise challenge between departments would be beneficial.  Understanding that most people were forced to be home, this was a great way for people to get out, get some exercise while competing against your colleagues.  This is also a great way for co-workers to interact with each other on a personal level.  People being divided up into teams and create that lost sense of morale and synergy is key for continued collaboration and team building when employees are forced to work virtual. With the fitness apps being abundant, it was easy to track to steps of the team and compare the outcome to other teams.  Who doesn’t like a good challenge? Bragging rights even between departments is an organization can bring out the competitor in everyone.

Another group activity I thought was interesting was participating in group trivia.  While I am not the biggest fan of trivia, this was an activity that would coincide with group happy hours.  This was a great way to engage with your colleagues but also again create that competing atmosphere which tend to bring out the best in people.

As we can see organizations go to great lengths to create synergy and a team atmosphere. Synergy is a process that must created and managed by the individuals within the group.  It is something that individuals must continue to build and work hard to keep.  Alliances are crucial when it comes to success.  None of us were successful on our own!

References:

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (9th ed.). Oxford: Routledge.

Achieving Workplace Synergy. Retrieved from:https://rebstorage.com/company-news/achieving-workplace-synergy-a-letter-from-rebs-president/

Robinson, K. May 8, (2015). Importance Team Synergy. Retrieved from: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/importance-team-synergy-ken-robinson/

 

As a sales professional, your primary focus is to push your company’s products/services to your prospects and clients.  The importance of being on the road and meeting clients face-to-face is to continue to build your network which is a huge part of a successful salesperson sales strategy.  But what if we are not able to meet clients face-to-face and communicate our services?  When COVID-19 hit, many industries began to see the cancelation of face-to-face meetings, conferences, and networking events.  These cancelations impacted the way sales professionals networked within their industry.  How are sales professionals able to communicate to their clients? Additionally, with offices being closed, individuals are reluctant to meet with you face-to-face during these unprecedented times.

The lack of face-to-face interaction also impacted internal communication within organizations. But how does working from home impact relationships within an organization?  What challenges do employees face regarding communication? People can utilize Skype, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Talk to arrange a video meeting.  But not having the ability to interact with people in the office face-to-face caused a challenge with communication.  It is more difficult to build relationships and camaraderie through a computer screen.  The so-called water cooler chats between employees talking about the latest office gossip is nonexistent. The lack of personal communication can lead to poor relationships within the workplace.

Another aspect that employees are facing is the lack of culture within an organization. Having the ability to not be able to attend company work events will also negatively impact the employee’s ability to build upon those existing relationships while trying to form new relationships. We see companies starting to implement things like virtual happy hours to improve communication and company culture, but as we can see there is no substitute for personal interaction.

In my past, I worked for a company that we played basketball every Thursday night.  Every employee regardless of ability was invited to play.  Afterwards, employees typically stuck around and shared a few drinks.  We often heard from people not affiliated with the company that this was a great way to build interoffice relationships.  But what people on the outside did not realize is that this weekly activity-built office camaraderie, strong interpersonal relationships, and teamwork. We can see how important these relationships are to an organization and the lengths companies go to grow these relationships.

Telecommuting can cause communication challenges within an organization. So how do employees overcome the communication challenges they face when telecommuting? The distinct challenges such as time zones, cultural differences to the sheer unfamiliarity of using web-based tools to communicate created obstacles that every virtual team must work through.  But are these challenges going away?  Despite these challenges are people going to be called back into their office any time soon.  I believe it is in the better interest of the companies to implement measures to ensure that virtual teams have the training and tools they need to communicate effectively. This implementation would greatly enhance the ability to communicate both in a regional environment and globally. Additionally, we hear terms such as real time awareness when it comes to virtual teams.  But we know that email is not an effective tool when it come to real time communication. Web based product such as team chats have given the ability to team to communicate in real time regardless of where they are located globally.  These types of platforms hold each member of the team accountable and enabled team members to continue to collaborate in person rather than via email.

 

It’s time to focus on communication.  It’s time to embrace the challenge that companies face with communications and lack of face-to-face interactions in this virtual word and start to utilize new technologies. In today’s world, companies have an advantage to open their open positions to candidates across the globe. Virtual teams in today’s workplace are essential to the success of the organizations.  Time to embrace change in the virtual world!

References:

Blrt Team. 2016, May 11.  In Better Living with Blrt. Retrieved from

https://www.blrt.com/blog/the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-telecommuting/

Healy, R. 2012, November 1. 5 challenges of telecommuting and how to overcome them. Retrieved from

https://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2012/11/01/5-challenges-of-telecommuting-and-how-to-overcome-them

Hello Everyone,

My name is Matt Wright and I currently live just outside Philadelphia on the Main Line with my wife and 2 daughter ages 4 and 7 months.  I am currently in my Jr year at PSU world campus and looking forward to the exciting times ahead.  I previously attended college back in the 90’s on a baseball scholarship to a Division 2 school but I never made it to the end due to some family issues that were going on.  That being said, I enrolled back in college in 2019 and 4 semesters later here I am.  I know that the Coronavirus is effecting people differently however I am taking this time and use it to my advantage to finish my degree and spend time with my growing kids. Once things become normal once again I feel as though I will be in a better position than I was back in March.

Other than spending time with my family, I am into golf, skiing and traveling to new places.  I am also a PIAA basketball referee in the Philadelphia area which at first was a hobby that has now turned into a second career.  I have learned from that job and my career in sales to take criticism and use that feedback to better myself.  Being yelled at by a coach that is something that you have to get used to very early on in my referee career.  But in high site,  its how you handle it that makes you stand out among the other coaches and peers.

I look forward to this the class and best of luck to all of my classmates.

Thanks,

Matt