Ethical Issues in My Profession
Many aspects in the way Chile does business differ than the way the U.S. does business. In terms of person-to-person transactions, meetings, and interactions, Chile exercises a more personal experience. In the U.S., business is “strictly business”, meaning straight contract and transaction talk--no personal experience. But, in Chile, business is more than contracts and transactions; it’s a partnership of trust. Every person we met, from airline companies to mushroom farms, were bubbly and friendly. For example, at the airline company LAN, we were able to walk into a cleaned aircraft and do things such as explore the cabin, play with the first class seats, and take pictures in the cockpit; this was completely spur of the moment. In Chilean business, business-people go through a long process of getting to know each other, in a business and personal sense, and exchange a form of gift to each other in appreciation. These transactions build something stronger than the U.S. transactions do, a trusting, personal, and positve relationship. I think that this is a very positive form of business, but not really a practical one. In the relationship building process, there is much lost time. In a time where money is tight, business should be conducted quickly and efficiently. I believe that Chile businesses miss out on some opportunities because of this. However, being used to the “nitty griddy” process of the United States, it was a very warm and positive business experience with Chilean businesses.
Educational Breadth as Professional Development
Comparing Chile to the United States in terms of business in their countries, they differ in one major way: the U.S. is so much bigger. Many people would initially think that with Chile and its economy, being so much smaller, would be poor performing or ineffective. But, a smaller market size allows businesses to adjust to regulations and different/effective business strategies. In addition to this, and described in the paragraph above, the business process is very different--especially with giving each company a gift. With these ideas in mind, I think that it is something very important to learn and experience. I know that personally, I will now make sure to duplicate the warmth and comfort that I felt in Chile in the way I do business now and in the future. The concept of making the costumer number one is very basic and well known, but to really make that idea effective is to practice it in a genuine manner. I believe that the best way to learn different business strategies is something to be learned beyond classes and through hands on experiences. The major differences in business between the United States and Chile lies in the way the separated countries carry out their business. It would be very tough to have someone tell you about the differences and fully process/understand with out a hands on, face to face experience.
Lifelong Learning, Continuing Education as Professional Development
In considering how much of a role education paid to the development and success of the companies we visited, I learned that it played a major part. But, it was not the only factor. When talking with the owner of Centauro, the tomato paste company--who is also a marketing professor at the University of Santa Marie--, he told me that he learned much of the business through the experience of his father and grandfather. Courses in school teach you how to perform business generally. But, when entering a specific market, many of the lessons are taught through personal experience as well as experiences from mentors. When visiting a mushroom farm, we first hand saw an example of life long learning. This company went from close competition, to be on top of the entire mushroom market (due to the elimination of competing companies because of the recent 8.8 earthquake). Also while visiting, a new mushroom company entered the market. Now, our company was the number one mushroom distributer trying to lower prices in order to create/maintain loyal costumers. Also, with the development of technology came greater product and cost efficiency. For example, with any mushrooms that aren’t sold in one year can be canned, stored, and sold in another year. At Centauro, the company is now trying to transition to plastic bagging of there products rather than all metal cans so they can lower their costs as well as the consumer price. Learning never stops, even after college. One finds a company, learns his/her specific trade, and learns through the various situations he/her is put through. With learning, technology development never ceases either. So, one must be able to grow with all of the changes in the market so he or she can produce an up-to-date product in an up-to-date manner, making the production process efficient and cost effective.
The Social Environment of Professional Life
As I was once told, in order to have business success, one must have personal success. With many of the business leaders we met, it seemed as though they possessed both successes—the owner of Centauro had much pride for his company, but also all of the accomplishments of his family. Also in Chile, Chileans are relatively aware of the U.S. and the international news. Through several early morning news viewings, I was able to see the CNN Chile reported many USA stories as well as much global news. When talking to the Chilean students, they definitely knew of President Obama, and many of our contemporary issues. However, I knew little about the issues in Chile. Upon my initial interaction with the students, it was clear that they knew much about the United States and international issues. Something that they knew and had a major problem with was the fact that we refer to ourselves as “Americans”. They kept telling me that we, north and south Americans, are all “Americans”. Something else they commonly knew about was the developing involvement and strategies the USA had in the war on terror—I met some people who actually served the United States in Iraq. I believe that it is important to be aware of international issues and histories. In one of our first lectures, we learned much of the current Chilean president as well as the history of past presidents. Chile’s several past and different leaders ultimately created--and in some cases eliminated--reform that allowed Chile to create such a productive and strong economy today. Chile had periods of completely reform-less economies that allowed companies and markets to advance in ways that are currently not prohibited. Through histories such as Chile’s, different nations can observe how many other countries successfully developed, rather than attempted different strategies on their own and risking costing failure.
Functioning on Multi-Disciplinary Teams
When working with in a team, especially one with many team members that have diverse backgrounds, communication is the glue that keeps everything together. When I am in a group, I believe I have do very well, and make sure to build some sort of positive relationship with my team members in order to have a comfortable line of communication. In order to get the best out of one’s group, all opinions need to be spoken and heard, and only with good, honest relationships among the team members is this possible. In some situations, this is not an easy task. Sometimes, people just don’t have things in common and just have nothing to relate one another to. As my uncle once told me, one must be friendly and not familiar, keep everything strictly business and not personal. If there is nothing relatable in personal lives, than the one thing that bonds everyone in the group is the task at hand and the desire for success. Another challenge may be that regardless of the relationship statuses among the group, members are just quiet and/or slightly uncomfortable. In this scenario, it is the responsibility of one member to make things comfortable and let everyone know that the project is a team effort, and that everyone’s input is value and contributing; no one person can pull the task off by themselves, and only the combination of everyone’s knowledge and background can. Everyone succeeds or fails together.
