Ethical Issues:
Upon reviewing the trip and everything I have learned in Chile, I realize many things are different from the U.S. This includes many ethical differences. In Chile, instead of just a minimum wage there is also an ethical wage, which is higher than the minimum wage and deemed to be the ethically acceptable wage to live off of. Chile also has different building standards due to the earthquake nature of Chile’s terrain. The Chilean people take on an in the moment type attitude, which transfers into less life insurance and savings account than in the U.S. The Chileans are more concerned with now, not worrying about the future. Gender issues in Chile, I think, are less than in the U.S. They had a woman president in office a few years ago, and equality with genders is important. Pertaining to business, Chile has many less competitors within industries making it easier to enter the market. Just because of the sheer size of the U.S there are many more competitors in any certain industry. For example, the sports bar, California, thrived in Santiago because there was no other sports bar in the history of the Chile, let alone their surrounding area. Millions of sports bars exist in the States and who knows if “California” would have made it, but in Chile, it is a huge hit, and actually the only bar where you can watch the NBA and NFL. As showing by this example, businesses located in Chile may have a greater chance of survival than in the U.S.
Educational Breath:
In business, being “worldly” is absolutely essential. Learning and understanding different cultures and beliefs is hugely beneficial in the business world. Being narrow-minded will get a businessperson nowhere fast. The world is global and the more you know the better off you are. This is clearly shown by the Chilean students themselves. Their international experience is inspiring and really shows me how much more I need to learn. Each Chilean student had international experience and all planned on getting more in their college career. They also all know 2 or more languages. This has influenced me to try and improve my Spanish language and learn to be fluent. I also plan on studying aboard in the future of my career. I will study in Italy or Spain for more interaction relations and experience. I learned so much from the Chilean students about how different the world really is and how every culture has a different view on things. The experience simply cannot be taught in the classroom, everyone should go to a different country and see things for other people’s eyes for a while. I cannot wait to experience more of the world and learn how other cultures view everything differently.
Lifelong learning:
A businessperson knows to survive in today’s global, ever-changing world learning is key. Not just learning in school, but also life-long learning, including life experiences and forming their own opinions. Although, school is very important to learning, much more must be learned based on experience in the certain field they are in. For example, at all the different Chilean businesses each set of skills needed to operate the business effectively was different. Learning how to make compost and how to control the climate in the different phases of mushroom growth are something to essential to learn in the mushroom industry. Yet, in the winery business, a whole new set of skills must be acquired about the wine making process and industry. So, even though school is very important and essential in any education, there are many more things about the specifics of a field that must be learned to run the business. And with the ever-changing technology, one must always be learning different ways to do things more efficiently. Technology opens a lot of new opportunities for businesses and if they are not taken up on then the business may be left behind in the industry. Learning will never be at a standstill and there will always be more to learn. A successful businessperson understands that life-long learning is the source of continued success and growth in their industry.
Social Environment in Professionalism:
Social interaction is very prevalent in business in Chile. Chileans are very social people, so discernibly that transfers over to their business transactions. Business in Chile is very personal. Chileans relay heavily on trust when they do business and the forth runner of trust is communication. The best way to communicate with people of a different culture is to be well practiced and understand their culture. Current events are an easy way to start conversations that everyone can relate to and understand. Many Chileans are well read and keep up with the current news in their country. Their news is mostly the same as ours just in relation to their country, including futbol games, weather reports, and politics. Although it is advised to stay away from politics when first making small talk. Chileans are polite people that like to get along, compared to many cutthroat business people in the U.S. In the United States, your career defines you, while in Chile your personality defines you. I think the Chileans have this right and business is probably a much more ethical and respected practice. I love that Chileans focus on their family more than their career advancement. Family is much more rooted in love and support than a career ever could be.
Functioning Together:
Functionality in a group setting is crucial in business. Open-mindedness is the key to any successful team in business. It is very tempting to shut down every idea you disagree with in a group setting but that will only deteriorate the group and take for the potential success. This trip I learned not only to listen and work with engineering students, but also international Chilean students. These two diverse groups taught me a lot of being open to new ideas and learning from each other. The Chileans had a different view on many things and it was interesting to see things from their perspective and many times I took their views into account and even altered my opinion. Many challenges present themselves when working in a diverse group including miscommunication and biasness, but the important thing to remember is to always keep your mind open and listen and respect each member of the group. A challenge that could have presented itself is language barriers, but that was successfully avoided because the Chileans spoke beautiful English. If they did not speak English bonding with the Chileans would have been much harder, not impossible but definitely harder. Thankfully, their English was great and everyone was very nice and super interesting. I found every other person on this trip, Chilean, or American, very interesting and each one taught me something new I would not have known without him or her.
I had an amazing time in Chile, and met so many great people. I wouldn't change any of it, and I cannot wait /hope I get to see all of them again. I want to thank everyone that made this trip possible. I can't thank you enough! :)
