Joshua Sayre Paper 4
The 31st American President Herbert Hoover once said, “About the time that we can make the ends meet, someone moves the ends.” This is more relevant in modern business than any other career. Every aspect of business is constantly moving forward to the cutting edge constantly making the “ends” move. While there are many issues and moving ends that one may face after graduating with a degree in any business field, business, international business has a few issues and moving ends that are specific to business on a world scale that business on a local level does not have. Economic stability of foreign nations, relations with the foreign nation in which business is happening, the culture and customs, globalization of an economy, outsourcing, and politics are all relevant issues facing global businesses and markets. Other issues for young adults graduating from a college or university and entering the work force are as simple as lack of experience and culture shock.
According to Kidshealth.org, culture shock is a simple way to describe the feelings of anxiety one may have after entering into a new culture different from their own. Many students who chose to hold careers that take them away from home for opportunities and or for personal reasons may be at risk to have culture shock. This is a real and serious issue for anyone who chooses to move from home for any reason. This is one of the biggest of all the issues international business majors may face. Stress kills people, and culture shock is an overwhelming rush of stress. If one suffers from culture shock, they will be less able to cope with other problems they have, which will just snowball and cause more stress. Culture shock will be the first issue that must be dealt with after moving to an unfamiliar location with a new culture or different from one’s own. It can be caused by unfamiliar things as simple as food, music and clothing, not to mention the customs which is an issue in itself. Luckily, culture shock is only temporary, once one gets acclimated to the new culture, the so called culture shock will dissipate. As an example of culture shock, imagine going to a country you have never been to before and ordering food from a restaurant. One will not know what to order, how it is cooked or how to order in this country. Knowing the language will help but not solve the issues and the stress from diving into the deep end of the pool so to speak. Julia Ferguson, a life coach, says to “Observe how others are acting in the same situation” and “Ask a local resident or someone with extensive experience how they would have handled the situation and what it means in the host culture”. Another idea that will help to deal with the stress proactively is to plan ahead. Think about what you will do when faced with adversities abroad and everyday situations, having a plan always lowers stress and will make a trip or a moving experience smoother than without these preparations. Mental instabilities are a real threat to anyone, if one is to take full advantage of opportunities thrown at them, one must not be afraid of the new or unknown. Other ways to help cope with culture shock would be to speak to new people about your home and its culture, educate them about your home country. This not only relieves stress and helps you think about home, but it also opens doors to create new friendships during a trying time. These people may also help one you feel more comfortable in the new environment that is being encountered.
Culture and customs are their own issue outside of culture shock because simply one may not acquire culture shock, but the issue of an unfamiliar culture still poses a problem to one working with international business, no matter where they may be. To be successful you need to effectively communicate with a given party. For international business this given party will be a particular foreign client, delegate, country, and so on. Learning the culture and customs of one’s client, business or partner will make them more successful in dealing with others of the acquired culture. What this means is that understanding ones ways will make business or friendships easier with said person. Why should the other person be forced to learn ‘your’ ways? Learning a foreign language can be difficult, but it is necessary if one would like to deal with another group of people different from their own because it can open up a new understand of a culture, and help one acclimate to a different culture which helps avoid the issue previously talked about, culture shock. Another reason that one should attempt to see foreign cultures and customs as equal to their own is because the foreign party one may be trying to work with may see one as ‘stuck in their ways’ so to speak or ‘egotistical. This happens for many people more than they may realize and this is why culture and customs are a huge issue for foreign relations.
One may seem egotistical to another of a different culture because ethnocentrism, which is “judging other groups as inferior to one's own”(Barger, Ken), and one may hold this opinion without realizing it. The last thing any business person would want to do is fail, and failing can result from being believed to look down upon things that are different. Ethnocentric thoughts can be as simple as saying people who drive on the opposite side of the street drive on the wrong side, or it can be as complex and argument inspiring as people who do not practice the same religion or daily routines as a specific individual or group are wrong or evil. Being ethnocentric is never good, especially when trying something new such as moving into an unfamiliar culture or partaking in new customs. Fixing ethnocentrism can be as simple as being open to a new idea, rather than saying something is wrong, or looking down upon it, one may say something is different or even not my own. Being ethnocentric will lead to experiencing culture shock and other anxiety attack of doing something unfamiliar. Learning the language of the foreign area is also very helpful not only because it will help one try new things but also because it can make one seem cultured and seem to at least be trying to fit into the unfamiliar territory. Learning the language may also help one find a job opening in the area of international business or relations that one may be interested in holding a career. Different languages can cause a barrier too. One must put themselves out into new ideas and concepts and learn the foreign language that they are working with because one cannot assume or expect the foreigner to learn one’s own language, this would be a form of ethnocentrism.
Another issue of importance is how well business relations are with a specific foreign country. Depending on relations, availability of jobs in a foreign country depends on the relations with ones native country. A real issue coming to the front of the minds of graduates who are studying international business is where the opportunities going to be in a few years. If the world hasn’t heard of China’s economic power they soon will, according to Carsten A. Holz “Extrapolating past real GDP growth rates into the future, the size of the Chinese economy surpasses that of the U.S. in purchasing power terms between 2012 and 2015; by 2025, China is likely to be the world's largest economic power by almost any measure.” Unfortunately for Americans, relations with this new land of opportunity are strained according to the New York Times. This is not good for any American business person looking to do business with this rising economic super power. This is a major concern for anyone considering to do work with or within China coming from America. If relations with China do not improve, American Business people may not be allowed to conduct themselves within China in the future. What does one do if they find this information and they aren’t allowed to do business in China? These are the types of problems every international business graduate faces.
As China develops into the world’s economic superpower, The Eurozone is ready to fall apart according to David Beckworth, assistant professor of economics at Texas State University. He says that unless the Eurozone receives a bail out of at minimum, one trillion dollars, the Eurozone will fail. This leads to another economic issue that these students and graduates face is the rise and fall of economies while going global. Unfortunately, one must deal with a growing global economy after seeing issues with the Eurozone. The world is exporting jobs to foreign countries for cheaper labor and thus, causing more trade between countries. This is a major reason for a globalizing economy, countries rely more on one another with the shift in economic styles. Challenges posed by merging economies deal with things such as culture and fiscal years, inflation and policies. Before jumping into a union of economies, countries must make sure the above challenges that may be possible to encounter, are not problems at all. What this means is that countries need to perform background checks for the countries they are considering to join. If cultures do not mesh or fiscal years start and end at a different point in the calendar year, tensions may rise due to any sort of change in the business routines for a given country. If a country joins a union that uses a currency that has a lower trade value, it must be made certain that every employee in the joining country gets an equivalent wage to their previous, unless the country decides due to the changing economy that pay cuts must be made which will most definitely cause an outrage among the citizens. A globalizing economy means that international business graduates will have more jobs in the near future because more relations and businesses will be global not to mention the need for analysts in businesses particularly banks. Many of the new found business relations within the economic union that one may join will be forced and require a great amount of diplomacy. These new diplomats may be international business graduates because they know the field better than government officials when it pertains to business relations. Some of the Analysts that will be hired will not only need to look among the strengths of global economies or individual countries to see if a specific country would be beneficial to pick up into the single economy. Although the new jobs created by these economic unions are not a problem, the fact that the curriculum one was taught before graduation may now not apply. This means that one, fresh out of the University, who has minimal experience and is in the exact same boat as the veterans of the business world, thrown into a completely new beast of an economy must find a way to thrive. The job now becomes to separate from the group of other inexperienced students to become employable while everyone in the business world relearns what they may or may not have known when it comes to an economic union. Globalizing an economy is a big change and may be hard to understand and accept. The idea behind all of these facts dealing with a globalizing economy is how to prepare for it because that is all one can do to thrive. Curriculum in every business related class needs to change to help prepare for what may be to come. Not only do economics classes need to cover economic unions thoroughly, but business classes relating business etiquette need to deal with the idea of dealing with foreign businesses and branches. As example of something for one to cover in a class, Germany has volunteered its problems to share with the reader. Germany does not like being a part of the Eurozone because they are being relied upon to bail out smaller countries such as Greece. This is the reality of a global economy, or a regional economy. Economic pressure in the Eurozone falls on Germany which is the largest country in the EU and largest economy (AHK). If the United States where to join a global economy with a single market, how would this change the way Americans do business? The United States of America already does a lot of international business, but non-international companies don’t need to worry as much currently about foreign markets. If the economy of the United States changed, then the value of the currency used would be different and every business would need to start worrying even more about foreign economies and their strengths. Not only would more anxiety be caused by the fear of having to bail out other nations to keep yours from going under, but the job market will rely on other nations and the strength of them all as a whole. Past studies of the current US market system would be completely useless. Mr. Beckworth, The situation with the Eurozone was avoidable, which is good news for future economic unions. This is also good news for Graduates. This information means that there is material that is relatable to The United States and what this nation could face and how students can have a leg up. The answer is simple for the future, and the answer is to know history, which in this case is the current status of the Eurozone. This chart displays the Eurozone Nominal GDP, giving Credit to David Beckworth when it is said in short, that by this chart, the situation was avoidable by having the European Central Bank do a better job at managing the Eurozone economy. While the US is nothing quite like the Eurozone, The United States economy is operating in a global market in a sense. Exports are happening every day, but businesses in the United States do not all operate on a global level although they all contribute to its economy none the less.
Another issue that plagues Americans is outsourced jobs. Luckily for business people who are dealing in international business the answer is yes. You will be out sourced most likely. International business does have career options that allow one to stay at home but the issue with that is, it may not be as lucrative as allowing your employer to send you overseas to do a job there. One may also find a career in another country all together and do business with the United States. It is a point of one’s perspective that makes this a positive or negative issue. Will one be doing what they enjoy or want to do by leaving the country? This question is a very real and serious issue that one will need to think about for themselves. One will find work in the United States dealing with foreign countries or company branches and partners or economies but will they enjoy staying? What are ones career goals? This question must be asked along side of the other question because one may lead you to the other.
Most issues that a career in international business deal with stress and anxiety. The reasons for this are above but overall because one will be dealing with so many new things all at once, especially if choosing to leave one’s native country. How one may deal with this stress and how they have been prepared will allow one to overcome most of these challenges in a relatively short amount of time or fail and beg for a new career. Having an open mind will help conquer culture shock and even stress on a changing economic climate. China, the Worlds new super power will have a lot of say in a global economy, a good idea would be to study Chinese culture, business etiquette and be ready to ask for help.