Across the world large companies look to cut costs and retool by using countries that pay lower wages instead of manufacturing in America. Some of these countries are considered third world countries. Others are economic superpowers like China that deliver mass quantities of goods. Some cheaply made and some more expensive.

We also know that there is a lot of red tape to get through when launching a business in China including setting up distribution agreements, having a representative office, and potentially setting up a Joint-Venture with Chinese partners. It is highly recommended that a company contacts a legal firm to help setting up a business in China. (Cina)

Companies in China are fiercely competitive and have driven their economy to new heights. Huawei makes telecom equipment including phones and processing chip. Huawei has become one of the world’s largest innovators. Companies like TenCent now appear on the New York Stock Exchange. (Yip)

Business leaders should create a plan to transition into China. China has a large workforce and is the most populated country in the world. China has a very low individualism score, which means that awarding employees may be inappropriate in nature. Businesses should push for a more global reward system while operating in China.

We also learn that China is more focused on long term views regarding time. Chinese people will often save and adapt well to new circumstances. Chinese as a culture is not an indulgent society and will frequently wait for rewards to come back. Either way when considering China, a company needs to understand that their society is vastly different from ours. China isn’t a capitalistic society at the individual level, unlike the United States.

References:

Cina, S. D. (2020, September 11). How to Setup a Company in China as a Foreigner – Our Guide. Retrieved October 30, 2020, from https://www.saporedicina.com/english/how-to-start-a-company-in-china/

Yip, G. (2016, June 06). 5 Strategy Lessons Companies Can Learn From China. Retrieved October 30, 2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/ceibs/2016/06/06/5-strategy-lessons-companies-can-learn-from-china/

From my perspective there is a lot of concern over the country of Saudi Arabia. Citizens of the United States generally believe that people in the Middle East area of the world are terrorists. This is primarily due to most United States citzens’ experience with Islam occurring immediately after 9/11/2001. It is easy to be a bigot, but to look at everything systematically is something different entirely.

Looking at the CIA’s factsheet regarding Saudi Arabia we find that they have an economy that is based highly on oil. Saudi Arabia has 16% of the worlds verified petroleum reserves and it exports 221.1 billion dollars worth of product. Primarily to Japan, China, South Korea, India, United States, United Arab Emirates, and Singapore

Saudi Arabia’s government is a monarchy. Their monarchy is headed by King and prime minister SALMAN bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud. He personally appoints people to the legislative council.

Heritage.org rates Saudi Arabia’s economic freedom @ 62.4 or the 83rd freest economy in the world. Recently Saudi Arabia has increased property rights.

References:

Saudi Arabia. (n.d.). Retrieved October 07, 2020, from https://www.heritage.org/index/country/saudiarabia

My topic is Ethnocentrism. According to Drever, ethnocentrism is an exaggerated tendency to think the characteristics of one’s own group or race is superior to those of other groups or races. What I will specifically address is the belief that the United States has superior culture, medicine, and does not have the same issues as the rest of the world. (Drever)

Ethnocentrism starts early in the life of Americans. Even calling ourselves Americans excludes the fact that Americans also include those who live in North and South America. Indoctrination starts very young in the United States with the pledge of allegiance. Some might say that this normal, and countries should always do this to ensure the support of their citizens. I however would argue that this is indoctrination.

We can look at another narrative this time from back in World War II. Japan bombed the United States at Pearl Harbor, forcing them into the war. The United States proceeded to beat the hell out of the Germans and Japanese. Or so you have been told. While this is partially true, it is often skewed as shortly after World War II the United States and the Soviet Union were propelled into the Cold War. What really happened is that Germany made several errors, but one of the biggest was pushing into the Soviet Union.  From August 1942 to February 1943 the Soviets and the Germans would amass nearly 2 million causalities at the Battle of Stalingrad. Eventually, the soviets would push the German lines back, resulting in victory. (Klein)

The narrative on the front against the Japanese goes like this. After the bloody battle of Iwo Jima, and on August 6^th, 1945 the United States deployed an atomic bomb hitting Hiroshima. Three Days later they hit Nagasaki with another atomic bomb. The Japanese promptly surrendered. This happened, sort of. The Japanese surrendered on August 15^th, 1945. The was propelled by not only the atomic bombs, but also the Soviet Union declaring war on Japan on August 9^th, 1945. (Klein)

As the United States goes through a period of civil turmoil and unrest, where people are demanding for equal rights and for history to reflect the atrocities that have occurred maybe we need to take a second look on how we educate. The ethnocentric narrative that the United States is the best country to ever exist and has not committed atrocities to natives or people of color needs to stop. History should not only be written by the victors.

References:

Klein, C. (2020, August 11). 5 Events That Led to the End of World War II. Retrieved September 17, 2020, from https://www.history.com/news/world-war-ii-end-events

Drever, H. E. (1952). A dictionary of psychology. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin.