Ethical Issues in my Profession:
Professional industries in China conduct business with slight ethical variations from American industries. Some of these variations can be seen as positive, while others as negative. As industries become increasingly more global, it is important to consider both sides of the following ethical issues. From what I observed in China, safety issues appear to be of the utmost importance as they are here in America. I believe that many Chinese companies are more environmentally aware than American companies especially when considering China’s huge role in the solar power industry. Many Chinese companies are run on renewable energy which makes them more environmentally conscious. The most notable difference between the countries comes with employee issues. Salaries are drastically lower in China than in America. Over 300 million Chinese citizens live on less than one dollar a day. Also working conditions are a huge concern. Mining makes up a large portion of the work force in China and is the most deadly occupation. The working conditions of miners and farmers in the countryside are incredibly poor. I also found it startling that journalism is the second most deadly occupation in China. This is a somber reminder of living under China’s communist government, as opposed to America’s freedom of the press. I observed very little diversity in China’s work force while in America diversity is encouraged by most industries. I believe that American companies could make more money by operating in China since paid wages are incredibly lower, however I do not believe that this is the ethical thing for companies to do.
Educational Breadth as Professional Development:
As the world approaches a global economy the need to understand other cultures becomes more and more important for engineers and business men and women. In order for one company to compete in a global economy, they must be able to reach out to every facet of the world. Because of this, I believe it is very important for schools to begin to stress educational breadth for professional development. By 2025, China is projected to have the strongest economy in the world. For this reason, they will be a huge player in the global economy. Emerging engineers and business students should prepare for this by learning about the Asian culture and language. I myself have not been offered a single class that has dealt with Asian history, culture, or language in all of my elementary and high school education. I signed up for this Plus-3 Trip completely blind to Chinese culture and I have learned so much. But I strongly believe that no student who has passed through the American education system should have any sort of blindness. Educational breadth is incredibly important for every culture of the world so that we can understand and cooperate with one another. Study abroad programs such as Plus-3 are already leading students down the path to this higher understanding, but it is something that needs to be stressed more in the classroom as well.
Lifelong Learning:
Two out of the four companies we visited in China were connected to directly to Tsinghua University. These companies were Capital Bio, a bioengineering firm, and Tsinghua Solar, a solar energy company. This is relevant because students may have worked purposely in college to become a future employee at either of these companies. They gained the skills needed to be hired and to be successful worker while in college. But their education does not stop there. Since both of these companies are related to scientific research, employees will continue their education through their work. Research of any kind leads to learning, which promotes continuing the education of employees. I believe that lifelong learning is incredibly important for a company because it encourages growth. The other two companies are also involved in lifelong learning. They are Lenovo and Hanweng, both companies which deal with computer technology. Technology is constantly changing. Employees need to educate themselves in order to keep up with these changes if their company is to succeed. For this reason, continuing education is also incredibly important.
Social Environment:
I was not expecting to observe strong connections between professional and social lives in China, however I was proved wrong. Social environments were detectable at most of our company visits. I was pleasantly surprised to find that one of the rooms we were given a professional presentation in was equipped with a disco ball and large speakers, suggesting that office parties might be a frequent social gathering in China as they are in the United States. Many of the workers were dressed casually and seemed to communicate with one another in perhaps humorous tones. Even some of our assistants while on the trip developed close relationships with one another although they were on the job. Many Chinese people seemed to be very aware of social and political issues that are occurring in America. I was informed by one girl that she checks CNN almost daily. I cannot say that I regularly observe issues in China, or even my own country for that matter, so this shows a difference in awareness. Many political, social, economic, and diversity issues are involved within engineering such as political regulations on buildings and bridges or considering the most economical materials for a job, just to name a few. It is therefore important to be aware of these social and political events in order to be a functional and successful engineer.
Functioning on a Multi-Disciplinary Team:
As I briefly stated earlier, I did not observe much diversity within the Chinese work force. This is something much different from America where each corporation encourages diversity. I believe that diversity is an advantage for a company because different people from different backgrounds will bring with them new and exciting ideas which can stimulate a company and lead it to success. Sometimes, however, this is easier said than done. Functioning on a multi-disciplinary team can be quite a challenge especially when people are close minded or judgmental of others. Even within our own travelling group we had the meshing of two teams, engineering and business students. I think that some people may have come into the trip with certain thoughts regarding the other group, but we all worked together and had a great time. In order to function successfully within a multi-disciplinary team, I think the most important tools would be tolerance and patience to listen to what the other person is saying. Most and foremost, whatever your age, creed, race, or culture, we are all human beings and deserve respect.