It’s that time of year again! All over the world workers are bustling around, working hard to prepare for the upcoming holiday season. Online retailers are rushing to get everything in order for the big day – “Cyber Monday”. This is the first Monday in December and also the most popular day for online shopping. This year, expectations are high and hopefully, so will be sales.
globalEDGE Blog Archive November 2009
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Last week, the Government of Sierra Leone, together with the Department for International Development, the World Bank and the United Nations got together for an investment conference in London, showcasing the opportunities for doing business in Sierra Leone. Over 500 ruputable companies and 1,000 participants were in attendance.
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The European Commission recently funded a five year project that was completed during fall 2009 - the ENSEMBLES project. Its purpose was to develop a prediction system to provide relevant information on climate change and its interactions with society. According to a report submitted by the scientists who worked on the project, France, Italy, and Spain are some of the countries that will most likely experience great changes by the end of the century due to climate changes.
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“Sustainable Development” has quickly become a term used by companies across the world to explain efforts addressing the use of natural resources. Generally speaking, the concept describes how a company can increase its efficiency, thereby reducing its overall impact on mother earth. The demand in the marketplace to solve energy-related issues is growing, based on recent changes in global governmental policy.
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How are filmmakers from developing countries helping students learn about strife and poverty across the globe? How can a student in India earn a Masters degree in America without ever setting foot on campus? The answer to these questions is the same: Technology. Technological capabilities are improving at a break-neck pace. At the same time, the demand for personal cultural awareness, advanced degrees and lower costs are more prevalent than ever. International education now means much more than studying abroad. In today’s society, new technological capabilities are allowing more people to develop skills at a lower cost.
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Portugal may be known to many for port wine and perhaps even fado music, but there are far more opportunities in the Portuguese market than people may realize. And realizing this is something that can prove very valuable to businesses looking to export to other areas of the world, especially for the United States. Portugal is not only a member of the European Union, but it has very strong ties to the U.S., meaning many American companies who have set up operations there have access to the EU market, giving it a huge advantage.
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It isn’t really a secret that knowing the culture and language of a country will help one to have a smoother stay there, whether it’s for business or pleasure. However, while learning a new culture and language can be a short, fun experience for tourists, the necessity of mastering a foreign language and becoming culture-savvy for business purposes is much more important. In honor of International Education Week, it is valuable to highlight the importance of linguistic and cultural education in this ever-globalizing world.
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Now-a-days, students have the opportunity to study in numerous countries. Each year, thousands of students travel abroad to enhance their academic and cultural experiences. Open Doors Institute of International Education’s 2009 International Educational Exchange was released on November 16th. It included everything from leading destinations and primary sources of funding to regions and popular fields of study.
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Recent calls by the African National Congress (ANC) Youth League to nationalize South Africa’s mining industry have resurrected a seemingly never-ending debate: to nationalize or not. What implications would nationalization have on the global mining economy as a whole?
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In an ever-flattening world, the need for a pronounced international emphasis in education is becoming more apparent every day. Universities and larger colleges have been able to adapt to this need relatively quickly. In a 2002 article, Philip Artbach and Jane Knight wrote that the focus of international activities in universities have expanded greatly over the last twenty years ranging from “traditional study abroad programs allowing students to learn about other cultures to providing access to higher education in countries where local institutions cannot meet the demand”. Much of this drive towards internationalization is motivated by profit (schools marketing internationally or promoting a new internationalized aspect of their programs) and the desire for students to study in English-speaking nations.
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International Education Week was started back in 2000, and is now celebrated in over 100 countries worldwide. This annual initiative strives to promote international understanding and build support for international educational exchange. Exchanges are critical to developing mutual understanding and respect, building leadership abroad, and investing in the future relationship between all peoples of the world. Not only is this exchange great for the future leaders of the world, but it is also a vital service industry, and brings in a lot of money to countries around the world.
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Next week their are two themes of importance in the global community. We will be highlighting International Education Week, which is an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. However, don't forget about Global Entrepreneurship Week, which is an initiative to inspire young people around the world to embrace innovation, imagination and creativity. So please join us next week as we explore the many aspects that make education and the global exchange so great, and don't forget to continue to innovate, imagine, and create!
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As it gets colder outside and we head into turtleneck and snow pant season, it’s a good time to start thinking about what you will get your loved ones for the holidays. Many retailers are preparing for the rush of shoppers, but the suffering economy is kind of raining on their parade. The economic downturn is affecting people all over the globe. In Mongolia, factory workers were ready for the demand of their stylish and cozy cashmere sweaters, but are finding that the demand is not what it used to be.
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Many people in the international community have perhaps visited or at least heard of Adbusters.org, the Canadian anti-consumerist activist organization. I remember browsing through the site a couple years ago and watching a few videos, laughing a little bit, and happily forgetting that it existed. Recently, the self proclaimed “journal of the mental environment” and I crossed paths again when a friend of mine received an online invitation to participate in Buy Nothing Day, an international campaign supported by Adbusters in which participants refrain from spending money on absolutely anything on November 27th or 28th (depending on location) in order to create “a chain reaction of refusal against consumer capitalism … a sudden, unexpected moment of truth … the first ever global revolution.” Participating countries include Denmark, France, Israel, Italy, and the United Kingdom.
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Recently a study released by Ernst and Young, looks in detail to how leading global companies have dealt with the recession and are looking ahead. The report compiles conversations that over 500 of the firms senior partners had with clients around the world.
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Generally, when something is put to a vote, the most popular vote wins. This is not the case for the Kraft Foods Australia product, Cheesybite. If you don’t know what Cheesybite is, it is a jar of caramel-brown, salty, gooey yeast paste (also known as Vegemite, an immensely popular Austrailian spread), that is mixed with cream cheese. Sounds appetizing, huh? Well to many Australians, it is. In a recent New York Times article, Bill Granger, a well known Sydney chef, said that Vegemite is “One of the only foods that is unique to Australia, and people see it as being quintessentially Australian.”
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One of the critical factors of having a large, successful international operation is having “feet on the street” in the country where multinational companies do business. Recently, an article from ChinaDaily.com featured some staggering statistics about expatriates and the duration of their stay in the country. Although business demands often dictate relocation by executives and their families, is this the most efficient use of resources?
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In recent months, there has been a huge cutback in business travelers staying in luxury hotels. With thousands of workers having been laid off, companies who sent their executives to 5-star hotels were being attacked. Since companies have been under scrutiny for unnecessary spending, business travel has been cut back and downgraded to the bare minimum. Now, the international hospitality industry is trying to bring back luxury business travel.