There are several topics the past few weeks that have been interesting to me while learning about global leadership. One topic from Lesson 12 that intrigued me while reading about it is the European Union. To me, the European Union is an important thing to study because of the importance it places on certain topics in a global leadership sense. Some of these topics include human rights laws, protections for minority groups, and democracy (PSU WC, 2019, L.12).
In Lesson 12, we talked about the cultural effects of the European Union (PSU WC, 2019, L.12). To be a global leader, you have to understand that not only do differences exist, but that these differences are what make commerce between countries possible. Without global leadership and understanding what it is, companies have a lot to lose, more than just profits. The European Union rids itself of border controls between the 28 member countries (The European Union, How It Works, and Its History). This enables the member countries to obtain a free flow of goods between one another more competitively (The European Union, How It Works, and Its History). Under the European Union, a new leader is picked every 6 months (The European Union, How It Works, and Its History). I think this is a good thing in that new ideas can flow. Here in the United States, even though we are not a member, the European Union can be a good model to follow in some aspects in regards to how it operates such as limiting the time a leader has in office. Here where I work, some school board members have been in place for 15-20 years and a lot of problems and corruption has happened and new ideas are never brought up and put into place. Under the European Union, the currency they use is the Euro (The European Union, How It Works, and Its History). The trade structure has pull vaulted to the top just behind China for the largest economy (The European Union, How It Works, and Its History).
Under the European Union, human rights are an important topic that is strictly enforced. This gives all people basic human rights. This is important because everyone should be treated fairly. Under the European Union, women, children, and minorities rights are endorsed (Human Rights and Democracy). We live in a day and age where some try to segregate certain groups because they are different. We see this in the Me Too movement and the Black Lives Matters movement. By backing all groups and mandating that all countries who are involved with the European Union, they are setting themselves up for total success in a business sense. They also oppose the death penalty and discrimination (Human Rights And Democracy). These are issues that have a stronghold here in the United States and have divided its people. When you look at other countries, they don’t have the issues we have and I feel it is because of the fact that they stand against it.
Even though the United States isn’t part of the European Union, there is a lot to be learned from how they operate and the things they stand for. They are a good model for other countries to follow. If only the United States could set the bar where others within the European Union have, what a difference we could see. Part of the total success of the European Union I feel can be seen in the strict laws they have in place when dealing with human rights. It is great that they place such a great emphasis on this very issue.
References:
Amadeo, K. (2019). “The European Union, How It Works, and Its History”. Retrieved April 10, 2019, from https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-the-european-union-how-it-works-and-history-3306356.
European Union. (2019). “Human Rights And Democracy”. Retrieved April 10, 2019, from https://europa.eu/european-union/topics/human-rights_en.
Pennsylvania State University World Campus. (2019). OLEAD 410: Lesson 12: Modern Western Europe: The European Union. Retrieved April 10, 2019, from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1964331/modules/items/25821737.