Mat Reynders Speech

On Friday we were asked to attend the speech by Mat Reynders in the Yockey room.  I can tell you that right away I wasn’t at all excited about going to this.  However after listening to him and hearing what he had to say, it helped open my eyes a great amount.  I believe that in my 3 and 1/2 years here and Morningside this was the most beneficial speaker/activity that I have attended while being here.  He spoke about how he wasnt quite sure what he wanted to do after he graduated college, which I can relate greatly too.  As of right now I still don’t even have an idea of what it is that I want to do.  After hearing what he had to say I learned that it is absolutely crucial in developing and forming relationships with as many people as you can because this is an essential building block in becoming successful.  It really hit me when Mat was talking about how you need to figure out what is important to YOU, and to make life goals so you always have something to look back on to help you realize if you are reaching your full potential.

Along with the international business side of things, it was very helpful when Mary asked Mat about any problems he has encountered when being in different countries due to his cross-continent MBA program.  He answered by saying that he usually always had someone with him that knew the language and the cultures so they didn’t run into too many problems.  However he did talk to us about the one time they were walking in a mall in Dubai and some of the people that were with him were holding hands.  This was apparently against the law because an officer walked up to them and told them to stop holding hands and if they did anymore they would be kicked out.  This is very interesting and I didnt know that about that culture.  The last thing that i found interesting that he talked  to us about when answering Mary’s question was the time frame that the people in India use and the fact that they never say no because they find it rude and they just want to satisfy you.

 

Blog #2 The Constant Gardner

The movie that I chose to watch, aka it was the only one that was on Netflix, was The Constant Gardner.  During this movie a female named Tessa is determined to expose the pharmaceutical companies that are giving the people in Africa a drug called Dypraxa.  She is convinced that the American companies that are producing this drugs are field testing them on these African people because they would rather not spend an extra three years and millions of dollars on recreating the drug.  Moral of the story is the American’s and corupt British diplomats are taking advantage of the people that live in Africa.  Their excuse is that these people are already dead anyway so its not that big of a deal that they are giving them their drugs and running these field tests with them.  Basically these American companies are being bullies and getting their way because of their wealthy and standing.  Tessa eventually gets killed because she has learned to much about the situation and is about to expose to the world what is going on in Kenya.  Later on Justin does everything in his power to figure out whom has killed his wife.  Justin knows the local languages which helps him communicate with the locals when asking questions.  One of the times he gets arrested by the Kenyan police, but the British Diplomats use their authority and power and easily get him released from the polices custody.

I was truly disgusted when I learned what was really going on in this movie between the pharmaceutical companies and the fact that the Americans/Brits were behind it.  It is a travesty that things like this actually do happen to the people in African because they are so vulnerable and don’t have much say.  This movie really opened my eyes to potential and current problems that are going on in the world, and just how corrupt some businesses and people are.

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

In this scene the mercenary lady begins to talk about a thief and a murderer.  The mother of the other woman whom is sitting there has no idea that the mercenary knows exactly who it is.  She knows that it is the ladies daughter who she is sitting next to.  She says that the murderer/thief is a very unique person and demonstrates so by pushing the tea cup off the table and the daughter caught it with ease.  All the while the mother has no idea this is going on.

International Business Blog #1

Should MNCs protect shareholder value by restricting the placement of female employees in certain foreign countries? Discuss sexism in international business

In my eyes I feel that MNC’s should in fact be careful and put restrictions/limits on their placement of female employees in certain foreign countries.  One area that I feel that they would need to put these restrictions and limits on would be the middle east.  In the 1970’s only 17% of the women in the Middle East were literate.  Women were not offered schooling, and for the most part were not allowed to hold any sort of job.  However, by the 2000’s the literacy rate had increased to 53%.  More families and women were deciding to go to school because they were actually being allowed to attend.  Although women were getting more chances to get educations, they were still being restricted from getting jobs.  Most women in the Middle East are expected to be stay at home mothers, where they take care of all of the housework, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the children.

Women are not allowed to pick who they marry, they are just treated like a material possession by there father, and then the same by there husbands.  Many people are not properly educated about places like this, so when they send people overseas, especially women, they run into quite a bit of problems.  I feel that if you are a MNC and are thinking about sending a female over to the Middle East you are either ignorant and not educated about the sexism that takes place there, or you have efficiently prepared your female employee on what to say and do when there.  In my eyes I feel that only in situations when you absolutely HAVE to send that female over there, and she is trained properly, should you even consider this option.  If an untrained female employee is sent to the Middle East to conduct some sort of business proposition, the business you are dealing with will feel extremely disrespected and will probably almost instantly refuse to do business with you.

Sexism is everywhere, but it is more prevalent in certain countries.  One must weigh the options in which will help and hurt you when thinking about sending a female to a sexist country.  This is a very important issue that needs to be dealt with when considering using a female employee.

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