Ethical Issues in my Profession:
China is a very rapidly changing country. It has changed from a state-run self-sufficient economy to the largest capitalist nation in the world. Its manufacturing sector has grown unlike any other in recent history. It is very hard for nation to keep a constant ethical code throughout such radical changes. However I think I have observed enough of China to make some very broad assumptions about ethics in that country. It seems to me that the individual is not guaranteed an important place in society, if used to make a name for himself or merely to stay afloat, he must push himself to succeed above his colleagues. Everywhere you go you see people doing their best to make a living. Now that China is no longer entirely state-run, the iron rice bowl that Claudia talked to us about is no longer there to guarantee a living wage for all Chinese. So the entrepreneurial spirit is necessary for many to make a living wage. Unfortunately even this spirit is not of much help to the vast number of Chinese who live day-to-day on subsistence farming in the countryside. Claudia repeatedly mentioned that the government had incentives to lure city-educated people to go West and develop the backwards regions. She said that only those offered very lucrative deals go because life on the wealthy East Coast is the only place that offers the luxuries and culture they are accustomed to. They can either move West and struggle to develop and run a barely profitable business, or they can make a nice wage at a cushy job in the East. China must find a way to bring their bright educated talent to the West if they are to bring China’s new rise to all the people. And with a country of over a billion, how can everyone profit from even such an astronomical climb?
Educational Breadth as Professional Development:
One of the first realizations I made when I stepped onto the streets of Beijing was the sheer number of people. This is a massive country with over a billion people. How many Chinese college graduates will be equally qualified as me when I graduate? How can I compete with them when they are willing to work for a much lower wage then I? What skills or unique abilities will I have that will make more attractive than most of these competitors? What is so superior about Western engineers that permits them to demand 2-3 times the wage? The trip to China forced me to weigh all these questions. I still have not come up with answers to most, and even those I feel confident in now are sure to change as Chinese education and development approaches Western levels. It has also made me fearful of my future as an engineer. I will graduate Pitt with a degree and world-class training as Chemical Engineer. But where will American chemical companies be when I emerge? Through my father, I’ve seen how the chemical industry is hurting even now and is very vulnerable to market shifts. Whatever happens, I must be prepared to adapt myself to changes in the global economy. Having a diverse set of skills and constantly updating and adding to them is essential for being able to move with opportunities. I’ve spent many hours discussing this with a retired lawyer I work for, and she makes the very valid point that one must be willing to constantly evolve if they want to stay top dog.
Lifelong Learning:
Life in the United States is changing rapidly, but it is also changing all around the world, and in many different ways. If you made a tour of the world today, you would not recognize many parts in 30 years. It is important to expose oneself to the world constantly so that you can understand the cultures and people who will be leading the world. China’s inevitable takeover of the world stage motivated me to learn more about this powerful nation that most people have no experience with. My own perceptions changed dramatically after the trip, and will be very useful in adapting to this new giant’s rise. Similar to the previous paragraph, maintaining this edge requires that you stay on top of the changes shaping the world so that you can understand and learn from them. If you make a trip to India to see how manufacturing is going in the country and find that a business there can do your manufacturing better for less money, you have profited from having worldly experience. Much like how I spend personal time staying up to date with technology developments so I can be better prepared for my job as a tech consultant, an international businessperson or even an engineer should invest some of their time in staying up to date with the outside world if they want to be competitive on that front.
Social Environment:
The social environment in China is so different from that of the US that it took me all my journal entries to put into words just half of the things I saw. The cultural differences of China are very profound, even a century after China opened up to the West. But there area growing number of similarities as especially young Chinese begin to adopt the cultural practices and consumer culture of the West. The advent of the internet, however censored, has also allowed young Chinese to communicate with and emulate Western cultures. But as a country with thousands of years more history than most Western nations, Chinese culture still maintains many of its old traditions and incorporates them into newer Western ones. We did not get a chance to see what office culture was like in the companies we visited, since most of them were about their products or marketing and we did not get to see the Chinese worker in his natural habitat. There is a significant ex-pat community in Beijing, and there are businesses and social venues which cater to them and their higher budgets. I remember when I met Lewis and he told me that one of his sons goes to a Hebrew school. Surely this school was not founded by a community of Chinese Jews, but by a community of ex-pats who wanted to raise their children with some Jewish children. Much like many urban Chinese, Lewis's kids were influenced by a variety of cultures: American, Chinese, and Hebrew.
Functioning on a Multi-Disciplinary Team:
American companies are unrealistically homogenous, especially at higher levels like engineering or management positions. So the ability to work in teams of people from other cultures and backgrounds is still an uncommon skill. But as China becomes not only a huge in manufacturing but moves into technical fields like design, American engineers will be forced to interact at some level with Chinese engineers or plant operators. My father has had similar experience. As the person who did most of the traveling to plant startups around the world. Because he had spent time travelling to these locations and meeting the people who ran local operations, he was also integral to communications with the plant after startup. Actually traveling to another culture and meeting the people who you will work with in the future is incredibly useful for not only getting things running, but maintaining relationships and communication lines that you may use longer after your first contact . Those who have not worked or traveled in these areas may not understand how operations are run there and may find their work hindered by a lack of understanding.