It is impossible to be truly competitive in today’s marketplace without an international education. The US government is seeking to grow our national economy by helping small and medium size businesses to export their goods. In order to be competitive, it will be necessary for all people involved in manufacturing, marketing and other related fields to be knowledgeable about sales and marketing around the world.
Effective development and marketing of products abroad requires more than language skills. Knowledge of world cultures is important to carry an effective message to consumers around the globe. Customs, religious beliefs and common sayings are important to understand in order to market and sale a product in places other than one’s own home. Miscommunication can lead to an ineffective, or even offensive, marketing message.
International education seeks to broaden a student’s understanding of problems and solutions within a global environment. International commerce, diplomacy and environmental efforts will be useless if the entire world is not evaluated and reached with effective messages. A student graduating with a degree that has not been instructed in the largest possible world view will not be as employable or as effective as their classmates who are.
Not every student needs to be multi lingual, but mere world history classes will not be enough to prepare them for the rapidly changing world economic situation. A student needs to be able to identify culturally significant values in individual countries, not just by general region. This will allow them to participate in world commerce effectively.
Students also need to be aware of rapidly growing countries where new products and services are needed. Many South American countries which had never been serious players in world economics now have a new middle class with disposable incomes. Tapping into such markets as these will allow US companies to sell far more goods and services than they could achieve in the US or North American market alone.
An international education is critical for preparing students to utilize these markets. It will be key in a strong US economy moving into the next decade.