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1、Discussion on Latin American History, Culture and Cooperate Culture- Case Study of PetrobrasZhang Guanzhi Zhang Xinyu(Institute of Latin American and Caribbean StudiesSouthwest University of Science and TechnologyMianyang City, Sichuan Province 621010)Abstract: Being a subculture, cooperate culture

2、is determined by specific historical and cultural soil. The specialty of Latin American history and culture determines the specific Latin American cooperate culture with characteristics such as emphasis on individual ability, good absorption of new things, adventurous renovations and a strong focus

3、on national economy etc. This paper will explain the above statement through a cash study of cooperate culture and strategic development of Petrobras. It is because that root of cooperate culture the history and culture is different, Chinese enterprises show a different or even opposite cooperate cu

4、lture. It is essential for Chinese enterprises to study Latin American culture before entering the Latin American market. Chinese history and culture should be promoted in Latin America as well. Keywords: corporate culture; history and culture; Petrobras; cultural transmission1. IntroductionCooperat

5、e culture is also known as company culture or organizational culture. It gets constant academic and business concerns and attention since it was suggested by American scholars for the first time in the 20th century. Over the years it has been defined from different angles by international scholars.

6、Chinese scholar Hu Zhengrong defined cooperate culture from the perspective of “subculture” and said as a subculture, cooperate culture is subordinate to the concept of organizational culture. It is formed and built up through the process of achieving cooperate goals and its values, ethical standard

7、s, corporate philosophy, code of conduct, management philosophy, management style recognized and honored by all internal members. A tree without roots doesnt survive. An enterprise without culture doesnt stand for long. As a subculture, cooperate culture doesnt come from nothing but grows and cultiv

8、ates in a certain historical and cultural background. It is different from the pure national culture and social culture but inseparable from the formal two. It has both economical and rich culture connotations. Cooperate culture is the soul and chain of command of cooperation development. A survey c

9、onducted by IBM Consulting Firm to 37 companies from the “Fortune” 500 enterprises in the year of 1993 to 1995 showed that cooperations fate is directly affected by its culture. In recent years, the Latin American market has been constantly opening up. Latin American companies are going abroad to st

10、rengthen exchanges and collaborations with foreign enterprises in the next wave of economic globalization, among which Petrobras is a successful representatives of modern and internationalized Brazil enterprises. In the 21st century, with its accelerating internationalism and the discovery of deep-s

11、ea oil fields, Petrobras became a big influence in the field of Latin American or even global energy at the same time maintaining its domestic domination status. Its achievements are inseparable from its cooperate culture and Latin American cooperate culture is based on the colorful and bright histo

12、ry and culture of Latin America. Since the middle-1990s, China has gradually increased economic cooperation with Latin American countries in terms of scope and intensity. However, an unavoidable problem throughout the collaboration has become more and more obvious that there are barriers caused by c

13、ooperate culture differences between Chinese and Latin American businesses. Therefore this paper is committed to explorer Latin American cooperate culture from the perspective of Latin American history and culture, which are the roots of its cooperate cultures, to indicate their differences from the

14、 Chinese cooperate culture and to provide useful references to bilateral cooperation and exchange from a culture point of view.2. Cooperate cultures shaped by the Latin American history and cultureEconomic developments, political progress, individual attitudes, values and believes are all closely re

15、lated to their historical and cultural factors. An increasing number of scholars, journalists, politicians and people working on business development pay close attention to the influences of historical and cultural values and attitudes on promoting or discouraging advancement. “Culture is a major de

16、cision factor of whether a nation can prosper because culture affects individuals perspective of risk, reward and opportunity. in the course of human progress, cultural value is really important because they affect peoples ideas on progress, and especially because they form peoples principals of org

17、anizing economic activities, and no economic activity, no progress. American writer Stace Lindsay indicated in his article Cultural, psychological patterns and national prosperity”. The special geography and history of Latin America formed a distinctive national culture called the Latin American Sty

18、le culture. Latin American corporate culture is the sub-national culture of Latin America therefore the “Latin American Style culture is bound to affect and shape its corporate culture.2.1 Historical and cultural characters of the “Latin American Style”l The vast area south of the United States on t

19、he Western Hemisphere is known as Latin America. The name itself is a product of historical development of world civilization, while the birthplace and form of Latin America civilization is quite distinct from the rest of the world. Latin America created three ancient civilizations namely the Maya,

20、Aztec and Inca whose difference from other regions of the world is that these ancient civilizations originated in the highlands and valleys resulting in corn culture, potato culture, megalithic culture , terrace culture ,“Pyramid culture “etc. From the beginning of 1492, Latin America has become col

21、onies of Spain, Portugal, Holland, Britain, France and the American region by region. Suzerain states political system, economic structure, ideology, values, religion, customs, literature, art, science and technology all affected economic, political and social development of their colonies. The diff

22、erences from suzerain states, together with the colonies geography, natural, ecological environmental differences and international political and economic patterns of evolution led to a distinctive Latin American Style cultural identity.a. Openness and Innovation. Compared to the uninterrupted Chine

23、se culture, the original indigenous culture in Latin America was obstructed by European colonists, especially by Spain and Portugal. In the centuries of colonial domination, the mainstream was the European religious culture while aboriginal culture and African culture were in a secondary position. I

24、t is this blend of multi-sourced cultures that made the Latin American culture open and inclusive and this cultural characteristic made it more adept at introducing and absorbing the latest achievements of other cultures. It has great affinity as well as a strong fusion power. It is the root of Lati

25、n American peoples commitment to openness and innovation. b. The pursuit of freedom and independence, individualism. The Latin America history is a combination of colonial history and anti-colonial history. When Spain and Portugal established colonies in Latin America, they brought their own culture

26、s, traditions and even language to Latin America, which led Latin America to a completely different path from other British and French colonies such as the United States or Canada. With economic and political interference from the North America, Latin American countries gradually gained independence

27、 in the early 1900s. In the long process of anti-colonialism, Latin American people have never given up the pursuit of freedom and independence. They understood that they could only rely on themselves to get salvation and to be free.c. Nationalism and solidarity. Latin American countries were not di

28、rectly involved in the World War I, but could not escape the expansion and intervention from the imperialist countries. During the World War II, Latin American countries took part in the anti-fascist war and provided the allies strategic goods and raw materials, which led to a significant developmen

29、t of import and export trade and industries. Historical and cultural intrinsic value can guide people. After World War II, those newly liberated colonies economic hardship and political awareness resonated. The national democratic movement in Latin America entered a new stage. Its characteristics ar

30、e anti-outside power, fighting for domestic democracy, consolidating national independence and developing national economies. Therefore nationalist ideology in Latin America deeply roots in the minds of people.d. Utilitarianism and pragmatism. During the first half of the 19th century, the French en

31、lightenment and British utilitarianism thought dominated Latin American peoples insights on socio-economic and political issues. Even Las Thalia, the Chilean writer and leaders of the Liberal Party denounced feudal ideas and praised principles of utilitarianism in his paper published in 1940s. Usefu

32、lness, effectiveness and benefits are the truth, Success is the truth. Influenced by the American pragmatism, Latin American people still regard money as an important indicator of a persons social status. Everything is based on realities and experiences, for benefit and success.2.2 Characteristics o

33、f Latin American corporate cultureThe Latin American Style culture plays a decisive role in the formation of the Latin American corporate culture. The formation of values, entrepreneurship, ethics, management philosophy and style of doing things of the corporate culture is an expression of the Latin

34、 American Style history and culture. Therefore, after the invasion of foreign cultures and local culture sedimentation, the modern Latin American culture generally has the following few characteristics:(1) Emphasis on the importance of personal ability and the role of entrepreneurs.Latin American pe

35、ople pursuit of freedom, independent personality and individualism decide that Latin American companies focus on individual ability, emphasize the role of entrepreneurs to set an example to build corporate values, business philosophy and the code of conduct.On October 10, 2011, London Energy Intelli

36、gence Group named Petrobras CEO Jose Gabrielli industrial best executive of the year. In fact back in 2008, Petrobras market capitalization was more than Microsofts. In 2010, according to Bloomberg statistics, , upon the successful completion of the worlds largest $ 70 billion issuance of new shares

37、, Petrobras (Petroleo Brasileiro SA)became the worlds fourth largest company with a market capitalization of $ 214 billion. Such a large scale of financing not only restored the old oil fields and put new fields into production, but also increased the field of deep-sea and offshore exploration and u

38、pdated device. The media compared Petrobras to a giant hidden in purdah to illustrate its strength and potential to bring tremendous impact. Before entering Petrobras, Gabrielli has been engaged in economic academic research. At the beginning of former Brazilian President Lulas first term, Gabrielli

39、 was appointed as the CEO of Petrobras at the age of 57. Many people found it very ironic because he was considered an unknown. Four years later, no one questioned his ability. Particularly in 2006, he created a $ 25.9 billion company profits with market capitalization increased to $ 230 billion, 33

40、% higher than previous year. Gabrielli is was hero and leader for enterprise development of Petrobras. Under his leadership, Petrobras constantly adjusted business strategy and development strategy. Firstly he seized foreign and domestic exploration, development and utilization of oil and gas resour

41、ces, followed by strengthening modification and adjustments of existing equipments in order to improve competitiveness, and then improved corporate management, restructured agencies, downsized, and reduced unnecessary links according to international regulations. During an interview with the America

42、s Society magazine he stated that Brazil was not the same anymore. The state owned more than 220 billion U.S. dollars worth of foreign exchange reserves while Petrobras has a market capitalization of over 180 billion U.S. dollars, a more than 10 times increase compared with 15 billion in 2003. This

43、result not only won Petrobras the title of the “Best Enterprise in Latin America” of the Stevie International Business Awards, but also won Gabrielli the honor of the “Best Latin American financial officer . (2) Inclusive, generous, adventurous and innovative.Multi-culture makes Latin American cultu

44、re open and inclusive and these cultural characteristics make Latin American companies better at introducing and absorbing the latest achievements of other cultures , more affinitive and amalgamative. With such inclusiveness, Latin American companies have strong adaptability and are more adept at de

45、aling with domestic and foreign enterprises. Enterprises always strive to go out, to get bigger and stronger. The Latin American corporate culture also emphasizes innovation. Innovation is the engine and survival of enterprises.Petrobras updates its Five-Year Plan” annually to determine its short-te

46、rm investment plans and long-term development goals. Gabrielli shared Petrobras plan for the future development in detail during his interview with the “Americas Economy” magazine in May 2011. Over the next decade, Petrobras will double its current production of 25 million barrels of oil per day to

47、53 million barrels. To achieve this goal, 53 deepwater oil fiends need to be developed by the end of 2020 while Petrobras now only has 15. Corresponding transport fleets should also be increased to 568 from todays 287. In order to better take the challenges of internationalization, to expand its mar

48、ket share both at home and abroad, to improve the companys participation in other energy sectors, Gabrielli proposed focused investment on the expansion of the petrochemical industry and biofuels to achieve its strategic objective of being an integrated energy company. Gabrielli not only led Petrobr

49、as to the establishment of their own ethanol market, but also continued to develop international market for ethanol. Petrobras has been collaborating with a Japanese company to develop ethanol market in a business model. 87% of the refinery was built in Okinawa and ethanol -blended gasoline has already been available in the Japanese market. The company plans to achieve an annual export volume of 3.5 billion liters of ethanol by the end of 2011. Furthermore, Petrob