Comparing Studying Business in Chile and US:
On the trip the students we met were all industrial engineers, so I did not really learn anything from being in Chile in regards to a comparison of business study, but some research made clear the following distinctions. What I did learn from the students is that engineering is pushed heavily on students and often serves as the educational background for those wishing to work in business.
At the University of Chile in order to get a degree similar to accounting (Information Engineering and Management Accountant and Auditor) you will be at University full time for four and a half years. The curriculum is more heavily focused on law than in the US and includes basic Finance courses as well. Other programs such as Public Administration take you into a sixth year. In the business program there does not seem to be a core curriculum or effort to have students study subjects in other un-related fields, rather they start right out in classes related to their intended profession.
1. Ethical Issues in My Profession:
It is the responsibility of Americans wishing to participate in global business to become aware of local business customs ranging from something as simple as dress code to how to treat your business peers. Respect of the differences and willingness to adapt is of the utmost importance for successful exchanges.
As I mentioned in my post regarding Centauro, I wonder what some of the health regulations in Chile are and how they factor into decision by other countries to import goods from specific countries or not. Additionally, the role of Codelco in relation to the overall national economy, when considered as a government owned company presents an interesting situation. The government is in direct control of the industry that serves as a major contributor to Chile’s economic strength. While corruption at this point may not be high, this situation provides incentives for questionable practices to be overlooked.
As for diversity, because Chile is not nearly as diverse as the United States that are not as well positioned to deal with diversity issues. As a primarily Catholic nation some of the church’s views on lifestyle are widely accepted and can be held against those living in alternative ways.
In regards to if any of these differences lead to a better business environment in Chile as a whole I do not think such a general conclusion can be drawn. For certain industries Chile may be a better environment; however, as Dr. Madrid pointed out many regulations make starting a business difficult. For example due the hedge funds not existing in Chile yet, the opportunities to start one are far greater and more lucrative in the United States. The benefits for Chilean workers seem to be fairly regulated by the government through public healthcare and social security. Their system shows that they want to treat their workers fairly by giving all equal benefits.
2. Educational Breadth as Professional Development:
International business is a growing field and most schools are including some international training for all business students. However, never having taken one of those courses I am not too sure what they include and if it as practical as it should be. My limited experience would mark teaching both business attitudes and climates along with ways to seek out global opportunities as the most important topics to address. In Chile, while the differences may be limited, learning some basic differences in interaction may be all that is needed to seal a deal. I think it is important for business students to learn that our way is not the only or necessarily the right way. In regards to opportunities something such as TradeChile goes relatively unheard of. Students should be trained in seeking markets that are perfectly positioned for specific initiatives to be both highly profitable and widely popular. Additionally they should know where to go for help on such a project and that free resources are out there.
While I am not a living example of this, I think languages need to be pushed on students more than ever at an earlier age. I have a difficult time learning foreign languages and have therefore stopped for fear of hurting my GPA in college. However, my younger brother attends a school where he took foreign languages since 1st grade. He picked them up far easier and is already interested in travelling to French speaking countries. By learning languages students are taught to think beyond the United States and consider practices and ways of living beyond our own.
3. Lifelong Learning, Continuing Education as Professional Development:
Most students write off lifelong learning, associating it with more hours in the classroom. However, when you find something you really enjoy working at the learning comes completely naturally. Having talked to many young college grads, the journal entries you make in financial accounting and learning all of the ways to age an asset are not what you will be actually doing on the job. The basics needed to build off of are taught in school but then a whole new set of applied skills is learned on the job. Take Dr. Madrid for example, trained in engineering and economics he went on to manage a hedge fund and invest in real estate. It is the turning of theory into practical decision-making skills that is the lifelong learning most successful business students have to find on their own. Travel provides one great way to participate in lifelong learning. The things I learned from our two-week trip could never be replicated in a classroom and have changed the way I think about the world outside of the United States.
As for technology I see most of the applied technology skills as being learned outside of the classroom. While excel basics and other computer skills are touched upon for a business student, to be really skilled takes practice outside of school. Additionally the ability to function a blackberry or take advantage of everything an iPhone has to offer will not be taught in school but are valuable in the day-to-day lives of businessmen and women across the globe. One must have enough initiative to seek out this information, which has the potential to advance their careers, for themselves.
4. The Social Environment of Professional Life:
Americans are knows for being US centric, and as teenagers there are limited incentives to learn about what is going on in countries such as Chile. However Chileans know far more about us. Even a man in a gas station knew that Pittsburgh has won six Superbowls. Media wise we are a bit better off, the Internet has connected us to music around the world but there is still quite a lag on both ends. In Chile I was surprised that many of the shows and movies on TV were in English with Spanish subtitles. When I asked one of the girls who spoke English pretty well where she had learned it she said she picked it up from watching TV and putting together what was being said with the subtitles. While there is typically some Spanish encountered, the saturation is low providing limited opportunities and incentives to learn on ones own.
As for the social lives of Chileans in relation to their professional lives, both what I heard in lectures as well as what I experienced on the trip indicated professional lives are a bit more laid back than in US. Family is a huge priority and discussions of personal lives are commonplace in the office. Mimo also talked about the “schedule” of office workers complete with many coffee breaks and lots of socializing. They get it all done but it will be on their schedule. The students went out every night of the week and would spend entire days doing activities with us, when did they go to class? One student told me all of his classes we scheduled after 2 in the afternoon while another simply never seemed to have class at all.
5. Functioning on Multi-Disciplinary Teams:
As a business student on this trip I have to say we had a bit of an advantage. Every company has business elements but engineering ones can sometimes be harder to find. Additionally certain lectures were aimed towards students with some background in economics and without that background a lot would have been lost. So the first lesson I learned about these multi-discipline teams is that not everyone is going to be on the same page. What may be interesting to me may bore an engineer. That was the hardest thing to remember to keep in mind, it is far easier to focus on what you know personally and write off other involved aspects. Another challenge comes in the form of understanding what exactly is the other field. I am sure all engineers have pre-conceived notions of accountants just as most business student do of engineers; but I will admit that before this trip I knew very little in regards to the different fields within engineering. They are as diverse and specialized as those within business.
For professionals working on a multi-disciplinary project I think it is important for both sides to do research enough to keep up on the basics of the other discipline so that they can have a general understanding an not hold the team as a whole back. For engineers it is often difficult to avoid business, and while they may never learn it in school much of their business knowledge will be from hands on job experience.
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