We're told that the economic future belongs to the BRICs: Brazil, Russia, India and China. How will these rapidly industrializing countries change the face of international business? How will they change the face of design? Will young designers be required to know Mandarin or Cantonese? Will English still be the langua franca? Check out the discussion started by No.2 on this topic, and put in your two cents.
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Having dual professional memberships of both SPE and IDSA, I face business bias every day. People, potential vendors ask me where I bought molds/tooling from. Due to some of bulky extrusion blowmolded parts we make and other factors I have little choice but sourcing molds here in the States. They judge me by my look and accents disregard the truth that I learned and serve blow-molding businesses throughout the States in last 18+ years. Being migrated to the States for more than two decades I found it was an interesting experience to visit my native-English-spoken-friend's design firm in Sherko, China last March. He's from Midwest and he communicates to his employees in, guess what, English. I also chatted with my schoolmate, Timf the night earlier and we found some interesting cultural issues.
What I find interesting in one of Steve Toloken's opinion in PlasticsNews is he means to wake up English native speakers to pay attention to major foreign business languages. I heard this kind of comment quite a bit recently; however, I'd really like to campaign a new definition of bi-lingual: design and manufacturing, marketing and processing, aesthetic and engineering, etc.
Some businesses somewhat lose competition because their employees lack of these kinds of bi-lingual skills/concepts, particularly in management fields. Management judgments based on insufficient business 'languages' could cost companies a lot of money and precious time. A good designer/product development team may challenge customer regarding business related regulations such as FDA, JPMA, and UL. Products may be designed/developed within more focused envelop. Time and efforts may be saved is required tests information can be shared during early stage of product development. Scraps may be reduced if operators understand function of individual part and/or feature is molded.
To be bilingual is great for business if we can expend its spectrum.