Ethical Issues in my Profession:
In China, many of workers that work in the four companies we visited, CapitalBio, Lenovo, Hanwon, and Tsinghua Solar all operate under strict guidelines laid out in governmental policy. However, these workers are not likely compensated correctly for the amount of work they do. They are grossly underpaid for being highly advanced professionals and should be given more in return for their services. Our group did not witness any safety issues, and the working conditions within the companies appeared up to the US standard, as they were clean and hospitable to all who worked there, but it is not likely universal in all cases. As far as personal choice within the profession, I am not sure how social differences are accepted, but through our encounters, their appeared to be more men in the profession. Tolerance on lifestyle choices also remain an elusive mystery, likely one that would not easily be loosed from one of our Chinese companies. It should be obvious for most companies that it would be far easier to operate within the guidelines of the Chinese government than in the United States, and labor costs would be driven sharply down. This means that outsourcing will continue to China as more opportunities for cheap production and research exist.
Educational Breadth as Professional Development:
Based on experiences that I had while I was in country, I would fully support the idea that there is a need for an education that extends beyond our countries borders. It is important to understand how engineering or business solutions are impacting other countries as this may help students learn how their own solutions would impact their own personal societies. In China, the mere presence of the difference of the cultures means there is a difference in the way solutions may be reached and to what end they are reached. Knowledge of other cultures will help develop a better picture of the way people operate, their goals and aspirations as a people, and their cultural limits and so on. The better the student is able to understand the constraints a culture has, the better they may be able to tailor solutions to fit the culture. Without such knowledge, a risk may exist where a student may violate some unwritten rules of a culture. Such knowledge can be gain from exposure to the worlds many cultures, and the more exposure, the better prepared the student will be to tackle global issues. Classes that will help expose me or other students to other cultures involve foreign language, global economics, world religions, and other study abroad opportunities.
Lifelong Learning:
During our visits to the four companies, we discovered that much of the education that was needed for the job was provided by the company, while background knowledge was required from a university. Several of the companies we worked at, Tsinghua Solar for example, had worked out a neat system where many of their employees come directly from Tsinghua University and then in return the partners share in research and new technology. It is necessary to learn how a particular profession is developing, as a simple education is not a one-time investment. It is important to understand that new technology and research will necessitate the need for people in a given profession to keep up with the methods that are being used by the main industry itself. The technology made it possible for people in the company to become a successful business, and it allows for future development as a company for new products. The new technology was commonly learned from on the job experience, and because the students from the partnered university were given better access, the transition could be slightly easier. As new developments are made in an ever changing market, it is important that people in every profession keep up with new development so as to better improve the way they do their job, and by providing a better, more quality product or service, it is far more likely that they will constantly remain competitive.
Social Environment:
In the connection between people’s social lives in China and their Professional lives, only one word will be able to describe the link: Family. In China, family means everything. People are closer to their families than US citizens could ever imagine. While some may be career minded people, most are concerned with the needs of their family. Hence, most business is centered on the way a family works, is the reason that most people desire to get a job that will pays well.
While most of the Chinese are aware of the major news that goes on in the US, most are oblivious to the intricate workings of our home country, and it appears that it is a mystery for most Chinese due to a lack of access to information, or a passive attitude that doesn’t find the US interesting. They are, however, well informed of what goes on in their own country, as provided by TV and newspapers. On the TV, for example, people learn about how their government is functioning, and events that are occurring in other provinces. For all this news it is important to have a broad knowledge of the issues related to the global economy because those issues will affect business and engineering solutions may change based on people’s wants, needs, or personal desires. In Chinese business, it is also important to understand that above all else, there are economic and cultural issues that prevent much of the domestic Chinese goods from being marketed globally, and this prevents their products from reaching the US, which means that if they discover new technology, we may struggle to keep up. For example, a cultural issue that exists is the major writing barrier, which prevented Hanvon, one of our companies, from marketing their product in the US, because they only developed a Chinese character based technology. It would be optimal to eliminate as many of these issues as possible making for more global business and a more competitive market.
Functioning on a Multi-Disciplinary Team:
I believe that I do work well with people from another profession that is in this case, students from the school of business. It is important to realize when approaching matters of a professional concern that they don’t always have the experience to handle an issue in an engineering perspective. So it is imperative that one must take charge in that way. But it is also important to leave business to the experts. It’s important not to overstep. They are experts in their own realm and you must leave and understand their input. That said, you should also tailor your own words such that you do not leave other members of a Multi-Disciplinary Teams struggling in your explanation.
Challenges that exist on such teams include the fact that problems are not always limited to one discipline. Solutions that may satisfy one professional may displease a different professional from another discipline. This may cause for conflict and strife within the team, which is a distraction that a team does not need. Another challenge that may exist is professionals may overstep their bounds and try to do more than they are intended. This can cause the product or service to have some flaw in production or management that will affect the whole company. It will also affect the team dynamics in that some will have not included enough of their own opinions and expertise into the final product or service and therefore will likely not be the absolute best marketable option.