vol. 14 núm. 20 (2012)

The purpose of this paper is to determine the present and future importance for the organization that previous integral development of individuals who will join it, has. This reflection was the result of reviewing different theories, taking into account aspects such as training and balanced relationship between intellectual, psychological, spiritual and physical components of the individual, where maturity, integrity and values define a continuous growth in convictions, insight, commitment, trust and security. This integrated to its future vision in different work roles and behaviors as well as work scenarios permanently boost innovative development. Consequently, the organization must plan and propose different challenges to employees within its own strategies, keeping in mind that the starting point and initial competencies are the platform of productivity and competitiveness towards the achievement of individual ideals, together with the achievement of organizational strategic objectives.

This paper elaborates (I) a conceptual framework of the endogenous growth theory and then (II) it uses it to advance a reading of the evolution of structural competitiveness of the Colombian economy between the years 1978 and 1994, comprising: Perfomance of variables - Colombian foreign trade skills for productive social enterprises and the search for rent (imports of human capital and worldwide research capital). Finally, (III) conclusions are presented.

For several years Colciencias has prompted in Colombia reflection and research in the social sciences and humanities, so that today we have valuable cumulate in terms of their knowledge. Most of the community, institutions, knowledge that has been strengthened over the years of support is scattered and as a body of knowledge production, we are unaware of what responds to investigative processes, systematization or reflection, and for what purposes, under what circumstances or with what theoretical and methodological perspectives it was carried out. Similarly, we ignore if this knowledge has responded to the needs of the country as part of the main socio-historical processes. In this regard, we believe that “an analysis of the status of institutional social sciences and humanities. The Colombian case” is an important tool for academic institutions and for those agencies in charge of formulating policies and implementing programs of science and technology development, in this case Colciencias, because they would have a systematic analysis on the current situation in Colombia in this matter. This would bring clarity and arguments to the decision making about research needs, perspectives and approaches of the program, the general orientation of the articulation between the different actors of the National Science and Technology System and the formulation of regulations and policies in agreement with the country’s realities. Additionally, the state of the art is a vital tool for scholars interested in pursuing a line of reflection on the media and the institutions that teach undergraduate and graduate professionals. Therefore, this article tries to make a diagnosis of the institutions and the social science community in Colombia as input for developing the strategic plan of the National Social and Human Sciences Program.

Strategic analysis and practice in micro, small and medium-size enterprises in less development countries has been put forward mainly as another component of the business and technological management, centered in the environment external to the firm and taking large, multidivisional organizations as benchmarks. Unfortunately, this approach has undervalued or ignored the importance of elements such as the flexibility of this type of organization which can become sustainable advantage sources. This paper presents a method for strategic analysis in the theoretical view of resource-based theory, as presented in Grant (2010), Rangone (1999) an Hall (1992), which can be easily used by owner/managers of micro, small and medium-size enterprises. This can help to better understand this kind of organizations in our field.

One of the interesting aspects in the recent approaches of the agricultural sector refers to the impact of macroeconomic policies and sectoral policies on the behavior of productive activity. Nevertheless, it is often considered that the agricultural sector fulfills a residual role in the economic development, which has caused much carelessness in the relationships between macroeconomic policies, sectoral incentives and agricultural performance. The Free Trade Agreement with the United States could affect the situation of the colombian agricultural sector. This should motivate a re-evaluation of the role played by sectoral policies (border protection, specific aids for products and internal aids in general services) to guarantee the performance of those agricultural products at major risk. If no suitable use of these instruments is achieved, the role of the sector in the national production might be increasingly residual and cause a bias against agriculture. Therefore, the present article proposes an examination of the noted aspects giving special attention to the rice sector during the 1990-2010 period, whose productive chain is one of the most important of the country, as far as value of the production, national consumption and employment generation are concerned, but this particular chain might turn out to be one of the most sensitive when the above mentioned agreement comes into effect.

Néstor Luis Pérez (1936-1938) and Manuel Rafael Egaña (1938-1941 y 1949), Ministers under the government of López Contreras (1936-1941), did important contributions to the development of the oil institutional framework after Gómez died in December 1935. These ministers had to face the lawsuits of almost all the oil companies against the Venezuelan state since 1937 because the government had enacted the 1936 hydrocarbons and other mineral fuels law. With it, the Venezuelan state tried to suppress the free duties on imports that have prevailed before the law. Even though the Venezuelan state lost all lawsuits, these Ministers did find the correct mechanisms to compensate the formal judicial fiasco. With these informal mechanisms, they got the success that the state needed in order to perform the institutional change the country was asking for, in terms of compelling oil companies to pay taxes not particularly related to the oil activities (import duties). This paper examines the whole process that got the spectacular success represented by the 1943 hydrocarbons law from the point of view of Douglass North’s neo institutionalism.

The current economic crisis affects in particular first world countries, it raises concerns in all sectors and with greater emphasis on those responsible for science education in economics. Recently a group of students of the Introduction to Economics class at Harvard University refused to be lectured by famous economist Gregory Mankiw, former advisor for Bush’s administration and author of one of the major textbooks in macroeconomics used in the best schools within and outside the United States. These students considered in fact that the given knowledge does not contribute to solving the economic problems faced by humankind. The epistemological basis of social economy means building an academic setting in which economic theory serves as a support to address the problems of society from different conceptual lines, including realism, deductive empirical idealism and the inductive one with emphasis on humanis