Response to Classmates Discussions
BUS 638 Week 6 Discussion 2

Guided Response: Respond to at least two of your classmates by commenting on their posts with constructive comments that move the conversation forward. Though two replies are the basic expectation for class discussions, for deeper engagement and learning, you are encouraged to provide responses to additional students and to respond to any comments or questions from other students. In addition, responding to the instructor’s questions or comments is mandatory. Continuing to engage with peers and the instructor will further the conversation and provide you with opportunities to demonstrate your content expertise, critical thinking, and real-world experiences with the discussion topics. Your post must be organized using APA Style headings as outlined in the APA Style Elements.

Jason Stack

Oct 27, 2020 7:34 PM

Course Reflection/Review

Which topics did you find most interesting and why?

The fourth week’s topic of Trustbusting was the most interesting. There is something about a connection with a past law in 1890, post-civil war, that still carries so much relevance today that makes the topic surreal. The 1890 Sherman Act was the first federal legislation in the United States to outlaw monopolies and trade restraints (Trescott, 2019, par. ).The organization that was researched in week five’s discussion was Google, which has been in several trustbusting cases, both foreign and domestic. Although businesses, products, and methods have changed since 1890, the Sherman Act of 1890 will still be necessary.

Which subjects do you think will be most relevant in your business career and why?

Week five offered a wealth of information about expatriates, which could be the most useful in my current career. The subject matter of this week of the parent country nationals, host country nationals, and third-country nationals explored the advantages and disadvantages of each in an international business, as seen in Table 5.1 (Peng, 2017, pg. 485). Additionally, the discussion of different types of hiring strategies has been a wealth of information. I can apply this knowledge to understand better how my organization staffs its foreign and domestic companies. I currently believe my organization utilizes a geocentric hiring strategy for most North American locations, hiring the most qualified person for the position no matter their nationality.

Which topics would you like to see presented in a case study or business simulation format?

I would like to see a simulated international hiring process that covered utilized each hiring strategy. The best way to learn how to interview and hire the best talent for the job is to participate in the interviewing process. Additionally, the application of hiring strategies meets a simulated “real-world application” could be a real asset for students.

How did the virtual aspects of the course help broaden your view of international business?

I am a massive fan of technology in business, and I believe it can connect with international markets much easier than organizations did in the past. However, I was not a huge fan of connecting with an international spokesperson or penpal. I just felt like I was being intrusive or wasting their time. If Ashford wants to continue this type of connection, prearranged options or connections would be more beneficial. Ashford could control the information given to the student and ensure that it was sound advice.

After taking this course, would you consider a “virtual internship” to explore careers with a particular company? Why or why not?

A virtual internship… I believe this would be an excellent opportunity for a full-time grad student, especially during the Coivd-19 pandemic. According to Dent & White (2020), the pandemic has forced people to work from home with little productivity loss (pg. 1). They could work from home, possibly earn some extra income, but this would not be for a student like myself. There isn’t much time for anything else, working a full-time job, and balancing family life with course work. However, I believe this would be a fantastic opportunity for some.

References

Dent, H., & Jo White, B. (2020). Virtual Internships: Interdisciplinary Remote Work for Undergraduates during a Pandemic. Issues in Information Systems, 21(3), 11–19.

Trescott, P. B. (2019). Harrison Signs the Sherman Antitrust Act. Salem Press Encyclopedia.

Peng, M. W. (2017). Global business (4th ed.). Retrieved from https://redshelf.com/

Michelle Buckley

Oct 28, 2020 9:44 AM

Throughout this course we reviewed many interesting topics. Of those, I found it most interesting to study how organizations have failed internationally. Giant organizations, such as Microsoft, Google, and Facebook were among some of the companies we discussed who had major blunders overseas. This is interesting because one would assume that large companies would have done sufficient research to understand international culture and laws to avoid such turmoil, yet they did not. Every organization is subject to these issues and we must all continue to learn and evolve as a result.

What I found most relevant to my career were the discussions about hiring and human resource management. In my current role, pre-COVID, I am responsible for a significant amount of hiring and make decisions about outsourcing and unfortunately about layoffs as well. Learning about how other companies and countries handle these strategies has been helpful.

Because hiring is so relevant to my current role, I would like to explore it further and see it presented as a case study or business simulation. There are always evolving ideas about sourcing and recruiting talent, especially in an international arena. I think this would be interesting.

The virtual aspects of this course helped broaden my view of international business as well as any virtual learning environment can. However, I am a firm believer that there is nothing that can replace face-to-face interactions and hands-on learning. I believe a short internship or integration program in a country of interest would have really been the best way to learn more about international business and culture. Especially in this COVID-environment, where many people around the world are working from home, a virtual internship would be a good replacement for in-person interactions.

References

Peng, M. W. (2017). Global business (4th ed.). Retrieved from https://redshelf.com