Ethical Issues in my Profession:
China is a place where new things are happening, all the time. The companies that we visited were keeping up with other world leaders in the market and exposed me to some things that aren’t widely used in America. The reason why they are able to spring ahead by leaps and bounds in my eyes is because of their lack of minor ethical standards. In America, it is the law that there will be no discrimination in the workplace, especially when it comes to salary. In China, one of the companies we went to told us that Americans working for their company earned a substantially larger paycheck then themselves. They didn’t seem to have an outward problem with it, but I think that it’s wrong. It shocked me because this company wasn’t a sleazy hole in the wall kind of business, but a globally active company that I thought would have standards. By cutting back pay, they have more money available to spend on research and the like.
I know that things like this happen in some companies in America behind the law’s back, but I feel like it is more acceptable in China. This could be due to the fact that China has so many people at its disposal—if someone were to complain about conditions of work, they would most likely be replaced by someone else who wants a job in their place.
Educational Breadth as Professional Development:
By going to China, I feel as though I learned a lot—a lot more than I would have learned through a textbook. I saw firsthand how the companies are doing developmental-wise. It was also nice to talk to some of the Chinese students and see what their views on certain topics were. Professionally, it is very advantageous to know where your clients, partners, or even competition is coming from. I found it beneficial to know that some things that had a very small market in America (like the solar water heaters from Tsinghua Solar) , had a very big place in China. Same goes for many of Lenovo’s products. A lot of us were under the impression that Lenovo sold ThinkPads and that was it. However, we found that they sold so much more than that. It seemed like the tour guide didn’t completely understand that all of the other cool Lenovo products weren’t being advertised at all in America, though. When he asked us if we had any suggestions for the company, I let him know that here in America, we consider Lenovo a company that services schools and businesses, not personal products. Learning is a lifelong process, and going to China gave me a different perspective on things that I can take with me into the Engineering world.
Lifelong Learning:
Going off of what was just said above, learning really is a lifelong process. The companies that we visited in China didn’t get where they are today because they did what everybody else was doing. They learned what they needed to know about their technology and then expanded on it to develop new products. They could never make these new products, though, if it weren’t for their initial interest in learning about the subject. Not to mention, in order to keep up with the ever-growing market, they also have to learn from their mistakes. If something doesn’t work a first time, by all means, don’t do it again. By going around and looking at how people react to certain products, companies can learn so much. In today’s world, it isn’t enough to have a good product, because somebody else will learn how to make it better. By continual learning, companies ensure that their employees will always be on their toes and ready to tackle the next new technology because they have had the foresight to learn what they needed to about the given technology and make it better. In short, people who don’t learn new things in this day and age get left behind.
Social Environment:
In China, things are a lot more crowded, as well as less regulated. This kind of environment wasn’t really appealing to me as an American, but the Chinese seem to be ok with it. I think it is because they don’t know what they’re missing. Of the students we talked to, many of them knew about things that were on the news in China, but not much about anything else outside of the country. Although they have opened their foreign gates in some ways, in other ways they are closed. For example, American social networking sites and news sites and youtube are all blocked in China. They don’t get the full story on foreign issues, and that is an issue. Their government fills them in on what is supposedly going on in the world, and while what they say is “true”, it’s based on a huge slant towards China. This isn’t good for businesses either. If they don’t know their competition, they will never be able to keep up. It’s as if they came up with the highest quality, top notch sword for a battle, but once they get to the battle they realize that their opponent has a shot gun. It is no match. The Chinese are very big in group work, but they definitely need a more open access to the world around them.
Functioning on a Multi-Disciplinary Team:
China is a very team oriented country, especially when it comes to the business world. They have teams of people who are constantly coming up with new ideas for their respective companies. They have realized as a people the importance of team work and communication when it comes to getting optimal results in anything. In America, there is a certain mindset that the individual is powerful and when put in a group setting, things slowly get done. It is because Americans for the most part must learn to let go of their egos and agree to compromise. That is a weakness of Americans and a big reason why China is getting ahead so quickly in the world. They have mastered the art of working in teams. In order to have a good team, you must have interest, an education, and motivation. Motivation is what many Americans lack. In China, the team works on a problem until they have it solved, and then figure out a way to make their new product better. In America, many of the times the group works until they’ve done enough to get by and then clock out to spend an evening at home doing what they want to do. Generally, in China, teams work for the company’s success and in America, teams work for whatever doesn’t get in the way of their personal happieness.