Preparing Students To Compete In The Global Marketplace. What a Student Should do to prepare himself for Global Market Place? Globalization is everywhere and the professional world that awaits you upon graduation is becoming increasingly interconnected. In addition, technology continues to advance by leaps and bounds. Not surprisingly then, employers increasingly seek workers who have both cross-cultural competence and cutting-edge technical skills.
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What’s worse, you may not have had the opportunity to acquire or practice these skills in college. So, what’s a student to do to prepare for the global marketplace? One of the best ways is to study abroad.
To prepare you to meet the demands of the increasingly global marketplace upon graduation, studying abroad should be an essential component of many undergraduate degrees—and mandatory for MBA.
Today’s students need as much international exposure as they can get, but what can students do when they are first starting?
It can be difficult to convince employers of your ability to think globally if you don’t have international experience. Studying abroad is a smart way to establish your international credentials, and more and more students are spending a portion of their college years abroad.
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Table of Contents
Developing a Global Mindset
At the most basic level, having a global mindset means having the skills that are proven to work cross-culturally.
So perhaps you haven’t been taught everything you need to know yet. The good news is that you still have time to help yourself.
Regardless of where you are currently on the continuum of global awareness, studying abroad can help you develop that all-important global mindset.
Ask academics, business professionals or government officials to describe “global mindset” and most will offer a similar definition: the ability to work successfully across cultures (though not necessarily in another country).
Experts disagree, however, as to what makes one person better prepared than another and whether or not a global mindset can actually be taught. Having a global mindset requires not only possessing the technical skills necessary for operating successfully in an international environment, but also the personal skills necessary for applying these effectively.
As a 21st century global worker in addition to your technical or industry skills, you will need cultural sensitivity, the ability to interpret situations, information and facts while being an empathetic and diplomatic team player, and a passionate curiosity that lets you enjoy the cultural diversity you live with in to bring out the best in you and your colleagues. Such skills may prove to be an important way to differentiate yourself professionally. And study abroad is one very important component of this preparation.
Globalization is here to Stay
Whatever you think personally about the desirability of globalization, everyone agrees that it is here to stay, and all of us especially you as students will do well to accept and embrace it. Employers certainly already have. As a driver of career success, global experience is destined to continue moving from “nice” to “must-have” in today’s marketplace. Many would say that it is there already.
Expand Personal Horizons
Studying abroad expands your horizons while opening up a world of personal and professional opportunities. Students who are true global thinkers may already be planning to study abroad. For those who are just getting curious about the big world out there, studying and interning abroad are well worth exploring.
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Cross Cultural Aptitude
One of the most important life skills you’ll gain from studying abroad is cross-cultural aptitude, the ability to appreciate different cultures and solve problems while operating in an environment different from what you’re used to.
You will find that cross-cultural competency matters as much in the communities where we live as in the offices in which we work.
Globalization means that wherever we live, we are likely to share our schools, communities, neighborhoods, clubs and faiths with people from increasingly diverse backgrounds.
Enhance Language Skills
Studying abroad also enables you to further your language skills, especially if you opt for true immersion where everything is done in the target language and study or do an internship abroad for a significant length of time.
Studies show that at least one semester is required to advance significantly, and exponential progress can be made in one year. The benefits of truly mastering a second language are self-evident. Not only can you communicate more closely with speakers of that language, but you can also better understand that culture since language and culture are invariably intertwined.
Conversing in another language can help you connect with locals on their level, and you may even find yourself thinking or dreaming in their language. Even if you don’t speak another language fluently, just being around others who do will open your mind.
Studies also show that learning a foreign language makes you smarter and improves your proficiency in your mother tongue. Neuroscience continues to reveal how language learning shapes memories, perceptions, and basic thought patterns.
The quote traditionally sums it up best:
“ To have a second language is to have a second soul.”
Global Competition for Jobs
Today, there can be no denying that Entrepreneurs face fierce competition from an increasing number of global rivals. Globalization is driving the demand for a workforce that possesses knowledge of other countries and cultures and is competent in languages other than English. Most of the growth potential for businesses lies in overseas markets, While, markets are facing greater competition from foreign-owned firms.
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But changes are coming. Price water house Coopers predicts that by 2050, the E7 (China, India, Brazil, Russia, Indonesia, Mexico and Turkey) will be more than 50 per cent larger than the G7 countries (the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan) when measured by GDP at market exchange rates. The Global Trends Report projects that China will surpass the United States as the world’s largest economy by 2030, but other reports show China doing so a bit earlier.
Do You Feel Prepared to Compete on a Global Scale?
Today’s constants seem to include both ever-closer global integration and ever-accelerating change. But are today’s graduates prepared to handle the challenges that globalization poses? Do you feel prepared to compete on a global scale?
Right now, the competition appears to be getting tougher for graduates as not enough of them possess the skills and aptitudes required by global organizations. Such deficiencies could hamper your ability to find a job when you graduate.
One executive quoted,
“strong technically” but cross-culturally “short-changed” and “linguistically deprived” graduates suffer to find a job.
Another said,
“if I wanted to recruit people who are both technically skilled and culturally aware, I wouldn’t even waste my time looking on resumes, I would show interest to hire.”
The ability to work across cultures is no longer a nice-to-have skill set for elite executives; every year it becomes more essential to finding any job at all.
For Example, A machine operator at a plant in Stockholm that exports widgets to Lahore need to know how to interact effectively when Pakistani customers visit. A nurse’s aide at a Houston hospital that serves a large Hispanic community has to communicate with family members in ways that encourage rather than discourage patient compliance with doctor’s orders. A farmer in western Australia can open up potentially rich new revenue streams by understanding exactly what qualities in Australian ginseng will appeal to the Korean market. The examples go on and on.
Insight Surveys on Globalization
A recent Forbes Insight survey found that more than one-third of the executives surveyed plan to hire more foreign nationals in the coming years for executive positions.
A McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) study found that worldwide, 40 per cent of job growth in advanced market economies like the United States in the coming decades is likely to go to foreign nationals.
One survey of more than 10,000 HR and recruiting personnel worldwide found that most insist that job candidates have international study experience, especially at the executive level.
Global problems require the global exchange of knowledge
International skills are not only needed in business settings. Above all, learning another language and culture reminds us that we are not alone. We share the world and its problems, and we cannot solve the mall on our own.
Global problems require the global exchange of knowledge to forge solutions through international dialogue and collaboration.
Studying abroad enables today’s students, future leaders from all backgrounds and in all sectors, to gain access to international experiences that will help prepare them to be global citizens.
Learning how to interact with people from other countries and cultures will be essential for those who wish to address a host of urgent topics and issues from climate change and renewable energy to terrorism and interfaith dialogue that is essential to advancing peace and prosperity for all.
Whether you wish to work in business, government, academia or in the not-for-profit sector, the skills you gain will help you to be more effective and successful.
Reasons to hold Students for Study Abroad
When it comes to travelling overseas, many students focus on the reasons not to go. According to college administrators, concern about affordability tops the list of reasons students decide not to study abroad.
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But additional barriers include fear of racism, worries about delayed graduation, and few role models either family or faculty who have traveled abroad.
Most administrators agree that increasing racial and ethnic diversity in study abroad will require an effort to persuade students that going abroad is both possible and necessary.
Conclusion of the Topic
By now, the alarm bells may have begun to go off in your mind. Your ability to work globally and cross-culturally may make the difference between a satisfying career of progressive successes, and a struggle to succeed. Thankfully, though, studies show that younger students like you are already embracing the necessity of global awareness.
Interesting outcomes has mentioned below of different Surveys about Global Mind Set.
80% of surveyed believe that jobs are becoming increasingly international.
60% say they would be better employees if they had a better understanding of different world cultures.
86% agree that a solid foundation in world history and events is crucial in coming up with solutions to the problems of the world today.
79% say that it is important in today’s world to be comfortable interacting with people of different cultural backgrounds, a percentage essentially equal to the perceived importance of writing skills (78%), technical skills (76%) and math skills (77%).
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