Final Thoughts

            Visiting various businesses in Vietnam, I have gained a better sense of their potential for economic growth. Vietnam offers fair taxation rates, and cheap labor: both contributing to their increasing role as a player in the international business world. These two factors have also made Vietnam a great destination for corporations to establish factories and offices. One of the companies we visited, the II VI International Company, recently established their first Vietnamese factory. Their chief engineer told us about the company’s establishment, and the reasons they settled in Vietnam. The cheap labor was most appealing to II VI; the labor rates in Saigon are slightly lower than even those in China. I was pleasantly surprised with the benefits offered by II VI to their employees. Employees received 5 excused absences per month and received bus tickets to visit their families during vacation. The strong education system in Vietnam also helps to produce highly skilled employees. The employees at II VI are not trained engineers, but solely trained to do their specific part in the assembly line. The conditions in the factory were safe: the chemicals were also kept under a fume hood to keep the toxins out of workers lungs.

            A company with the same finances would be far more successful establishing in Vietnam than in the United States because of the lower net costs in Vietnam. When leaving Vietnam, I met a man waiting at the gate for the plane. He told me that he had just built two factories for his outerwear company in Vietnam. He was originally established in Arizona, but then went bankrupt because he could not make enough profit to pay for insurance and rent. He explained the difference between the business environments and showed me the attraction to doing business in Vietnam. The government also has contributed to economic growth: the corporate income tax has been lowered in order to make Vietnam an even more appealing destination for corporations to settle. Vietnam is becoming more powerful as their economy continues to grow, and I look forward to seeing what they may accomplish in the next 10-15 years. From the experiences on my travels, I have seen that Vietnam is treating their employees similarly to the way that Americans are treated; I hope workers wages will rise with the growing economy and that the money does not simply benefit the upper class.

            Having a wide understanding of different business strategies and techniques is valuable for problem solving in varied situations. The more knowledge you have, the quicker you will be able to work through any problem you may encounter in the business world. A broad education is necessary for anyone working in the business world. Everything is international: we are more globally connected than ever before. It is impossible to work in business without being conscious of other cultures and societies around the globe. It is imperative for American youth to be educated and exposed to global differences and problems that may not apply within American culture. Globalism is rapidly increasing, and those who can stay educated and up to date will have the most advantage to being successful in any industry. The topics most beneficial to understand about the international world include demographic differences, and growth rates. Classes solely focusing on global differences may help students to better understand their role in the international economy.

            The origins of ones skills for their profession can be varied. I believe general education is most important to teaching students how to be critical thinkers and find solutions to new problems they encounter. Once one has the ability to think critically, they will excel in finding solutions to these new problems. Education must be formed around a country’s economy, and the industries they participate in. For Vietnam, for example, the education system would be most beneficial to the students if it provided them the skills to work in an international business setting as they have a rapidly expanding economy. It is also important for student to be educated on the most recent advances in the technology worlds. If a student is studying nursing, it is essential that they are educated using the same medical equipment that would be used in the real hospital. These points also hold true in America; with the recent boom in technology and with the growth of globalism, American students must be educated and ready to work through any obstacles they come across. The more adept one is to change, and the faster they can react, the more successful they will be. 

            There was not a strong connection between people’s social and professional lives in Vietnam. Certainly people may involve their religion into their workplace, in some cases placing the symbol of their religion around places in their work. I was very interested with the Vietnamese students knowledge of current events in American sports. One student, Vung, was a huge fan of Kobe Bryant; he wore his official shoes and loved his baseline jump shot. While very knowledgeable of Bryant and the Lakers, Vung was not even aware the NBA playoffs were taking place at the time. I realized that while the Vietnamese were updated with new shoe lines, and jersey sales, they were not able to consistently follow the NBA besides checking on the Internet. I am curious to what awareness the rest of the Vietnamese have about American sports, as well as American current events in politics and economics. In American news, I am aware of some current events in Vietnam, mostly solely having to do with the economy. It seems logical the American news would be more concerned with economic issues in Vietnam, rather than social issues because the economics have more of a direct effect of the United States. Government policy and regulations do have a direct effect on the business world; Government’s may impose regulations helping or deterring big business ideals. 

            Working with students in different fields of study, I was able to gain a better understanding of the problems we faced because we had a wide variety of views of such topics. Often times when I am working alone, I may miss key ideas because I can be very narrow-minded. When working with engineering majors as a business student, I was able to more easily understand certain concepts with their explanations. Brian was especially helpful; without him, I would never have been able to understand what II VI actually made. In other cases, I helped explain to others the differences between insourcing and outsourcing, and other business concepts.