The Brazil Trip: Lessons Learned in a Week - Essay Sample

Introduction

This paper is an extensive breakdown of the trip to Brazil. The trip was a one week trip from 15th March 2019 to 22nd March 2019 full of great learning experiences. This paper describes all that was learned during the journey including modern management principles and the possibilities I can create for myself being part of these modern principles.

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Lessons Learned From the Trip

Indeed, the trip was full of adventure, and I learned so much from Brazilian culture. After spending the week traveling in Brazil, interacting with the locals and visiting various places, I realized that people have a rich culture. From the sumptuous food that we were served at different hotels. The people are very kind and friendly, and in many instances, I had many strangers volunteering to show me around. They are very respectful regardless of the age difference.

Brazil has preserved its history up to date. This was evident from the various historical sites such as the Niteroi Contemporary Art Museum and the Carioca Aqueduct which is an aqueduct in the city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. It was built in the middle of the 18th century provide water from the Carioca river.

I also learned about innovation as policy development. Natura Brazil a number one cosmetic manufacturing company uses innovation as a sustainable development policy. For the company, change is one of the building blocks of sustainable development. What is unique about this is that the foundation is committed to combining the growth with preservation and respect for the planet. Thanks to this commitment Natura has now become the world's largest B corp. certified company and the first of its kind to receive this certification

I learned about BASF's sustainable construction techniques which have been used to build CasaE, an innovative project in Brazil. The CasaE is said to be the first energy efficient house in the country. The project had cognitive assistance all based on artificial intelligence. This is an indication of the efforts of the country to combat climate change.

During the trip, we learned about social business and social relationship in Brazil. This is carried out through Civico which is a shared workspace for civil-social entrepreneurs. It brings together not only people but also organizations that consequently generate positive changes in the public space, the community and the Government of Brazil. The people have a lot of businesses and social innovation initiatives within this workspace. Civico intends to build a community that has a mutual purpose of social transformation through the development of innovative solutions that are primarily focused on the improvement of public administration and the government's capacity management in all aspects.

ENGIE Brazil previously known as Tractable Energia headquartered in Florianopolis; Santa Catarina is a major utility company in Brazil. It's among the most significant private producers of electricity in Brazil and its eleven plants, six of the hydroelectric and five thermal, have a capacity of 6977 megawatts and in operations contain a capacity of 9000 megawatts. A significant shareholder of ENGIE Brazil is ENGIE, a utility company based in Paris.

There is a lot to learn from the Brazilians efforts to grow and develop the young. Presently, most countries do not give a lot of weight to youth unemployment. In Brazil, the Instituto Ayrton Senna, a non-governmental organization exists to help create opportunities that enhance human development especially to the youth of Brazil in cooperation with the government, businesses, schools, municipalities, other NGO's and universities.

Principles of Modern Management

The first principle of modern management learned during the trip is the principle of social organization. This principle was made known by Recode which is a social organization started in 1995 from a campaign entitled 'computer for all.' At that time, there arose a need to train and raise awareness on the use of technology mainly in low-income communities. The organization is committed to digital empowerment. Social organization comes about in how Recode has partnered with libraries, communitarian institutions as well as government schools to prepare multipliers that can replicate Recode's programs aimed at mass consumption.

Principle of digital empowerment which was also part of Recode's objectives as the organization aims at promoting digital empowerment to prepare independent, informed and well-connected young people. These young people are those who are interested in reprogramming the systems they belong to through the use of technology.

Another of the principles learned during the trip is Esprit de Corps which is a principle of management meaning striving for unity and involvement of employees in daily businesses undertakings. Nina, a Brazilian social entrepreneur, has a life that uses specialization of tasks and functions and division of labor. This is a management principle that involves the offering of specific functions to parties that have a higher level of expertise. Nina who is the executive director of a movement called the Arrendondo majors articulation new innovative projects and initiatives with the private and third sectors to achieve this goal.

Social order was another principle of management which was observed. The employees of an organization require the right resources at their disposal so that they can function well. This ensures a fluid company's operation mainly through authoritative procedures. Material order in Cisco Innovation center makes the activities efficient and also ensures safety. This principle was seen acceptable in most of the companies

In Brazil, employees are treated very kindly in the organizations we visited and small businesses such as hotels. This is a property of the equity principle of management in which the employees must be treated kindly to get them to the right thing. Managers are actively involved in supervising and monitoring this process, and they should treat employees impartially and fairly. The services offered in most of the places we visited were perfect with employees being treated well.

The use of initiative is also very evident in Brazil. This is a management principle that ensures that employees are allowed to give their new ideas. For companies like Natura, whose primary objective is innovation for sustainable development, the employees are a good source of great ideas in ensuring environmental preservation and the company's social responsibilities. Employee initiatives are a primary source of strength for any organization since it encourages the employees to be interested.

Possibilities You Can See Creating for Yourself as Being Part of Modern Management

Being part of modern management, there are many possibilities that I can create for myself. Some of these may include globalization. This refers to the free flow of commodity, labor, and information of capital across the national boundaries. The phenomenon of globalization is increasingly becoming popular these days. It is a closer integration among different countries in terms of the flow of goods, services, and factors of production. Organizing a management system in such a way may lead to business developments as the business tries to catch up with the upcoming trends.

Modern management advocates for the equitable treatment of employees thus learning about management would enable me to create job opportunities for various people through self-employment or by being in a position of control in any institution. This will promote employee loyalty to my organization as they will have a great working environment. Treating employees somewhat by also giving them reasonable wages and salaries will enable my firm to have a good reputation and image in the eyes of potential customers. A motivated workforce also provides good quality of goods and services under minimum supervision.

Through the use of modern management, there is a new room for creativity and innovation. Advanced management encourages the use of initiatives and trying out new ideas as well as improving the existing practices at the place of work. New technologies and ways of carrying out operations may lead to significant cost savings, effectiveness and efficiency. Innovation also involves embracing better modes of communication, for example in managing procurement I can use E-procurement which makes communication to suppliers much easier and faster.

Another opportunity gained will be better skills in selecting employees when in a position to do since through modern management employee diversification is highly encouraged. This involves having employees of different genders, ethnicity as well as origins. In as much as accommodating them can be a bit harder; diversification promotes a wide variety of skills which are essential for a firm to run smoothly. Having the skills needed to manage such a workforce would be highly beneficial to the firms.

Modern management embraces digital empowerment whereby operations can be carried out digitally through defined systems and procedures. I would benefit from the use of contemporary technology saves time, money, as well as the labor requirements. Use of digitally powered systems makes operations more comfortable to handle. Security measures can also be digitalized through use of biometrics, facial recognition as well as voice recognition to limit access within the workplace. This will ensure the protection of relevant documents as well as all employees.

I would benefit from exploiting opportunities in sustainable procurement used in new firms. Firms embracing this consider not only their value for money and efficiency but also helps the general society and minimizing degradation of the environment in the course of duty. The aims of sustainable procurement include to promote sustainable pricing, maintain good relationships with suppliers, ensure that the communication made to suppliers is adequate and on time, promoting timely payments and correct lead times as well as respecting human rights in the supply chain. Sustainable procurement makes an organization highly reputable in the eyes of the consumers and all stakeholders.

Social organization and social order would create an opportunity for me to implement that in my future line of work. Social organization implies networking with other interested stakeholders to come together and create more opportunities for the unemployed in society. Social order promotes the welfare of the nation and makes the community around the organization more receptive to the organization and the products the organization offers.

Conclusion

Brazil is the most influential country in South America and one of the biggest democracies in the world. The country offers pleasant climate, natural beauty, and a very colorful culture one from which I gained a lot from. Its growing economy, entrepreneurial practices, and infrastructure make it an excellent investment capital destination for many.