Renata Hoffstetter

Can Somalia Become the Next African Powerhouse Hub?

November 28, 2018 by Renata Hoffstetter 1 Comment

The Horn of Africa nation of Somalia has been entangled in violent conflict and political instabilities for many decades. Unlike the independent neighboring Somaliland that relies on the decentralized Ubuntu based leadership with leaders who are respected and supported by its citizens, Somalia continues to rely on the international charity and keeps aiming to establish a strong central state, assuming that only national government institutions and security forces can maintain stability (Harsch et al., 2017).

In addition, Somalia tallies inadequately for most humanitarian indicators, suffering from a deteriorating economy, poor governance, drawn-out internal conflicts, underdevelopment, impoverishment, famine, social and gender inequality, and environmental degradation. Even though the civil war and starvation raised its mortality rate, Somalia maintains a fast and steady population growth. Such is attributed to a very high fertility rate of almost 6 children per woman and a very young population with the majority still within a reproductive age (CIA, n.d.).

Although Somalia’s economy is hurt by its lack of ability to collect domestic revenue (stemming mostly from agriculture), as well as the external debt, and hurt by non-existent formal banking or mass corruption, it still offers a unique business opportunity to private and public institutions. Somalia’s pristine coast (the longest in Africa), paired with its strategically relevant location situated between the Arabian peninsula and landlocked Ethiopia, offers business opportunities open to investors with a high-risk tolerance. Investments in such a volatile country, however, seem to be labeled as avant-garde or bold at the least, as the idea of a business being profitable seems to be far fetched.

Related image Currently, Somalia exports livestock, bananas, hides, fish, charcoal and scrap metal to the Arab countries of Oman, UAE and Audi Arabia (CIA, n.d.), however global powers like China and the United States are interested in exploring opportunities in fast developing telecommunication, banking, and even tourism. In addition, the educated, successful Somali diaspora community around the world feels a very strong connection to their mother country and is helping with sustaining money transfers and investments. In this context, the World Bank and the Federal Government of Somalia are working together to help support the flow of remittances to Somalia, to ensure they continue to reach people who depend upon them as a critical source of income. Remittances in 2015 were estimated to reach a total of US$1.4 billion in Somalia and support 23% of the GDP (World Bank, 2016). It was crucial that the World Bank acted as a trusted agent in money transfers transactions as Somalia remains vulnerable to money laundering and a risks links to terrorism.
Related image

According to Shaiye (2016), a returning from the US Somali immigrant there’s actually an influx of Somali diaspora returning back home, following many continuous years of improved safety and infrastructure development.

Returning diaspora migrants are positioning themselves with success beyond their wildest imaginations — especially compared to their prospects in the States as opportunities for wealth creation exist most prominently in the hospitality, fine dining and manufacturing sectors and they can bring their global experience back with them.

Increasingly, people also choose to take their savings and invest in startup businesses and NGOs in Somalia to help rebuild the motherland torn by decades of conflict. East Africa’s economic development is flourishing and Somalia is well positioned for a robust growth as the security situation further improves. Shaiye (2016) notices that some Somali immigrants come back with a modest amount of savings and are able to leverage it into an entire hotel chain and various other lucrative entrepreneurial enterprises. Many go on to reinvest a sizeable portion of their earnings into building infrastructure, doing charity work and other ways of directly addressing issues that face marginalized communities throughout Somalia.

In many ways, tourism has a great potential for once again becoming a draw for visitors to Somalia. After all, it is a home to historical sites, beaches, waterfalls in Baidoa, hot springs in Bossaso, mountain ranges, white sands and caves in national parks that may soon be seen operational again. It will take decades to make Somalia a viable tourism destination that can compete with the likes of Uganda, Tanzania, and neighboring Kenya. But the federal government’s Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism, is moving forward with plans to promote the country and put Somalia firmly back on the map of international tourism (UNSOM, 2018).

Image result for somalia's beach yoga Kismayo in southern Somalia has a potential of recapturing former glory as a tourist destination. It has pristine white beaches and jungles from which indigenous wildlife can be seen.

Related image

References

Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA ). ( n.d.). The world factbook. Retrieved from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/so.html

Harsch, M.F., Meduna, M.M., Krug, T. (2017, July 2018). As the U.S. gets more involved in Somalia, beware these three fallacies. The Washington Post. Retrieved from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/07/18/as-the-u-s-gets-more-involved-in-somalia-beware-these-three-fallacies/?utm_term=.d4272bda5cb8

Shaiye, S. (2016, February 2). Why I moved back to Somalia (and you should, too). The Seattle Globalist. Retrieved from: https://www.seattleglobalist.com/2016/02/02/why-i-moved-back-to-somalia-somali-diaspora-seattle/47097

The World Bank (2016, June 10). World Bank Makes Progress to Support Remittance Flows to Somalia. Retrieved from: http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2016/06/10/world-bank-makes-progress-to-support-remittance-flows-to-somalia

UNSOM (2018, January 7). After years of conflict, Somalia eager to recapture former glory as a tourism destination. Retrieved from: https://unsom.unmissions.org/after-years-conflict-somalia-eager-recapture-former-glory-tourism-destination

Poland celebrates rebirth

November 19, 2018 by Renata Hoffstetter 1 Comment

The Past

On November 11th Poland celebrated a 100 year anniversary since it has returned to the map of Europe. People around the world joined in festivities to commemorate the rebirth of Poland since it has regained its independence after it has been parcelled out by the German Kingdom of Prussia, Austria and Russia for 123 years. Monuments and prominent buildings lit up in white and red-the colors of the Polish flag. Taken back independence fulfilled the dreams of generations of citizens who had kept the language and culture functioning despite foreign rule and repression. It wasn’t the end of trouble for Poland as it has been invaded from the west by Germany again on September 1, 1939, and shortly after from the east on September 17th, 1939 by Russia.

Poland was not a part of the Soviet Union

Many people are mistaken to think of Poland as one of the Soviet countries. Indeed, after the end of World War II, Poland was deeply controlled by the Russian communist state, however never officially a part of the Soviet Union. Years of oppression and socialist control took it’s toll and deeply influenced the economy, growth, culture and social lives of Poles. However one must know that Polish people rely on very deeply rooted traditions, sense of unity fostered by very devout Catholic Church following and great respect for family bonds.

New Era and Growth

During the early 1990’s Poland transformed its economy into a robust market economy. Despite temporary slumps in social and economic standards, Poland was the first post-communist country to reach its pre-1989 GDP levels (New World Encyclopedia, n.d.) Numerous improvements in human rights, such as free speech were also notable.

Poland joined the European Union in 2004 and experienced further, very dynamic growth. The successful transition from the state-directed economy allowed for an improved quality of life index, a growing range of exports, a hefty jump in investments and steadily increasing GDP.

Experience Poland

Poland is a wonderful country to experience, whether you are planning to visit as a tourist, do business there, spend a semester, or even drop an anchor for longer. It’s vibrant, culturally ambitious, eagerly English speaking young generation will make for fantastic lifelong friends and show you the world famous Polish hospitality. There are a few things that one would find useful before planning a trip. As a reminder, Poland is not a tiny castaway state, lost somewhere in the middle of the Eastern European void. It is the 9th largest country in Europe (by area as well as by population), located right next to Germany with the Baltic Sea on the north and the Carpathian Mountains on the south. The only Russian territory it borders is Kaliningrad, which is an isolated enclave (Oleksiak, 2015).

Poles are very direct people, that judge based on personal accomplishments and virtues. They speak very directly, rarely hiding the truth, however, pay attention to keeping things polite and diplomatic. Visitors especially seem to be surprised often with the level of directness. Business dealings are usually very official until more of a personal rapport has been established. Even then, it is advised to refrain from using a person’s first name unless directed to do so. Social interactions are also quite formal until a friendly rapport has been established.

Similarly to Italians ( Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2011)Poles identify themselves with their religion, family or hobbies more than with their job and define themselves by their network of relationships and connections they enjoy. They are extremely hospitable and would host a stranger with more care and attention that a family member could get. I would encourage everyone to visit Poland, learn more about its culture and history and possibly even find out about some exciting business opportunities.

References

Moran, R. A., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2011) Managing cultural differences (9^th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

New World Encyclopedia. (n.d.). Poland. Retrieved from: http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Poland

Oleksiak, W. (2015, Oct 2). Culture. Retrieved from: https://culture.pl/en/article/6-misconceptions-about-poland

How UBER Tried to Change Their Broken Corporate Culture

September 23, 2018 by Renata Hoffstetter 1 Comment

Image result for uber The sound of Uber’s fall from glory resonated louder with each negative headline that plagued the company for months. Uber’s struggle through damaging scandals have played out in blaring viral media taglines, such that many experts were not shy to proclaim the company’s severe public relations problems. While it’s clear Uber has more than its fair share of problems, they are not, first and foremost, public relations problems. Many critics brought up the company’s negative influence on ridership in public transportation and the declining revenue it produced for cities.

Uber passengers and public transportation users alike fond themselves stuck in heavy traffic for prolonged periods of time because of what’s been called

“UBER CONGESTION”

(Hill, 2018). The ulitmately operational scandals resulted in replacement of Uber’s co-founder Travis Kalanick as chief executive in August of 2017 with Dara Khosrowshahi who previously headed Expedia group. He had a tall order in hands: to fix a business model that harms drivers and the environment, and drains away passengers and revenue from public transportation.

To address the company’s far-reaching and fundamental culture problems, Uber announced a pilot of a corporate education program — a rare move for a company in crisis (Carson, 2018). This rapid and urgent change to avoid business failure is a reactive method implemented in tuning point situations (Moran, et al., 2011). There was really no other way to save Uber but rather to pivot and focus the public eye on positive changes, learning, and growth. As opposed to anticipatory change, when a company is aware that their current strategies are still producing, but on the slowdown, and can slowly implement new game plans, Uber was ripe for immediate action.
Image result for learning and change in leadership

CHANGE

During the first phase of discovery, it has been found that Uber’s senior executives weren’t working as a team and only had one-on-one relationships with the previous CEO-Kalanick who was in charge of them all. Further down, the 3,000 managers at Uber were untrained and new in managing others. Finally, the 15,000 employees of Uber didn’t have a common sense and understanding of the business’s strategy — a hazardously unorthodox strategy for an organization that was known for empowering an individual’s ideas (Carson, 2018).

The focus of the new plan of action for changing the corporate culture must have been planned to start from the top and to trickle down the organizational backbone. The executive team needed to work together in the interim absence of the CEO and after the new leadership joined the company, the focus shifted to managers and all the employees that needed to operate on the same wavelength when it came to strategic thinking.

Related image

However, when an organization integrates employees from different national cultures, the challenges are more significant and for the shift to occur, the skills required for success need to be broader, deeper and more sophisticated (Moran, et al., 2011). Uniting managers and employees from globally integrated organizations can produce higher resistance to change.

Ann Marie Malecha of Dezenhall Resources, a crisis management and public affairs firm, suggests that for Uber to be able to recover from this very publig fall from grace, several steps need to occur (2017). A steady and strategic communication that would likely require an influx of money and some time would be essential to Stop the Bleeding. Furthermore, upon facing the recovery from damaged reputation, Malecha (2017) suggests that it is time to take hard look at what caused the breakdown. It is time to Roll up the Sleeves refresh the learning mode and implement new policies, workforce changes, as well as new leadership to combat a corporate culture of impropriety and misconduct. In the end only the hard work, investment in change and education, and leadership commitment would result in a change to the organizational culture and Back to Business style focus on winning.

While the typical method for implementing organizational change that involve unfreezing, change and refreezing steps over time is usually preferred, it may often happen that global companies have too much on the line and cricises at hand to be able to manage shifts with more analytical aproach of planned change. Social learning however may be a good start to unite the multiple levels of employees of the company and the change must start at the top.

References

Carson, B. (2018, February 8). Inside Uber’s effort to fix its culture through a Harvard-inspired ‘university.’ Forbes. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bizcarson/2018/02/03/inside-ubers-effort-to-fix-its-culture-through-a-harvard-inspired-university/#1cc586291695

Hill, S. (2018, March 26). New leadership has not changed Uber. The New York Times. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/26/opinion/leadership-uber-business-model.html

Malecha, A. M. (2017, June 20). Will a leadership shake-up drive operational change at uber? Forbes. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2017/06/20/will-a-leadership-shake-up-drive-operational-change-at-uber/#a50687130e59

Moran, R. T., Abrmson, N., Moran, S. V. (2011). Global Leaders Learning from Others and Change. In Managing Cultural Differences (pp. 101-139). New York: Routledge

We are all communicating, but are we effective? How to avoid common communication traps.

September 16, 2018 by Renata Hoffstetter 2 Comments

Global communication is changing

According to Moran, et al. (2011) most organizational leaders spend upwards of 70 to 90 percent of their time communicating with others, and only about 25 percent of their time alone. One can only imagine though that trying to communicate across cultures and be effectively conveying a message intended can be challenging even for the best communicators. Culturally based biases, assumptions, and messages that are often truncated to 280 characters can result in misunderstandings, misinterpretation, and confusion.

Apart from quick outgoing messages through social media, website blurbs or potent power point slides leaders must often navigate the processing of internal communication between employees, which can be just as difficult.

In order to facilitate effective global communication, leaders should:

Understand the culture and listen

Communication is a circular process of interaction. If the message is not received properly, a proper response is not likely and misunderstandings can happen. Spoken language as well as non-verbal communication, tone and intention/perception are all crucial parts of exchanging messages. Different cultural backgrounds result in different levels of directness, politeness, eye contact and so on. in addition, keeping communication simple and free of slang or jargon is a must while crossing cultural barriers. Using common language and using terminology that resonates with everyone in the organization despite their background is a must (Everse, 2011). Global leaders must, therefore, educate themselves on different cultural variables if their goal is to communicate effectively across continents and extract the diversity of thought that can give the desired edge.

Avoid groupthink errors

Decisions made in groups should not be attributed to only one individual, but rather to a collectively made decision of the alternatives at hand. This situation invites a few positive aspects of decisions made by groups-such as brainstorming new ideas, sense of organizational belonging and ownership, or combining of perspectives. On the other hand, group decision making is also a prime ground for pressuring members to unanimity and self-censorship as well as vulnerable to a phenomenon of groupthink -or inability to critically evaluate individual contributions. Rather than new information or ideas coming to light, the already available information is frequently discussed ad nauseam.

To avoid the traps that group decision making can present, employees should be encouraged to submit their ideas before reading abstracts of others. Providing a clear agenda of the topics for discussion and including everyone’s individual contribution before bunching up ideas is another way of bringing new information to surface.

Continue face-to-face interaction

Despite the impact the digital exchange of information has on our communication, it cannot often convey the tone of voice or body language that make communication complete. Though video application based meetings make global communication much easier and are definitely more cost effective than face-to-face meetings, they also present some challenges. Time of such meetings is often limited and void of casual exchange or small talk. It can put a significant amount of pressure on participants. Face-to-face meeting on the other hand, while can be more complex in planning and execution, as well as often much more costly, can bring a lot more background information into the picture. Casual interaction over lunch between meeting sessions or group dinner can build important report between partners and leaders. It is important that leaders maneuver through organizational dynamics and choose the appropriate mean of communication to cultivate trust and to enhance innovation.

References

Evers, G. (2011). Eight communication traps that foil innovation. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2011/01/eight-communication-traps-that

Moran, R., Abramson, N., & Moran, S. (2011). Managing Cultural Differences (Ninth Edition). New York, New York: Butterworth-Heinemann