Final Blog Entry

         As the United States industries broaden their territory to other countries, they must not only worry about the standards and regulations of the United States, but of the countries to which they are doing business in. For example, Nextel is a phone company expanding to Chile to compete with the three main cellular providers which have dominated the Chilean broadband for a while. This company must now face new government regulations. For example, in Chile there are less environmental regulations set up so they have to decide whether or not to keep the U.S. standards or maybe save money by being less environmentally friendly. When it comes to gender differences in the work place, there is a much higher inequality between men and women in Chile. Women still make significantly less money in Chile as a man doing the same job. However, they have a more extensive maternity leave program set up allowing the woman to take off more time while still getting paid as opposed to the few months allowed here in the U.S.. This is another factor that will afflict U.S. companies doing business in Chile deciding whether or not to allow the same type of inequalities between men and women to save money but also being forced to pay their women for longer times for maternity leaves. Because of the differences between regulations in the U.S. and in Chile, companies are faced with the choice on whether or not to have the same standards for their company in both countries or to alter their business between the countries to try to save money in the different countries.

                Before traveling abroad, I did not think it was as necessary to gain a global education in engineering and business solutions because I did not think many American businesses did much work outside of the U.S.. However, after going through company visits and talking to professionals, it is obvious that global relations are a huge part of most businesses today. It is so important for students like me to have a broader understanding of business and engineering throughout the world because most successful businesses require this understanding. Additionally, I was extremely surprised by how much the Chilean students have already traveled abroad. Most of the students we talked to have studied in at least two other countries before! There are not many U.S. students I know who can say the same. If we want to compete in business in the global context, we have to actually go experience how other cultures and societies handle business and carry out their engineering principles. In the future, I want to take more language classes and travel abroad at least two more times so I can actually experience first-hand how more cultures are involved with business and engineering. By learning more languages, I will be broadening my marketability and open communication between people I would otherwise not be able to understand.

                Much of the basis of engineering and business can be learned in classrooms. For instance, how to do calculations or learning specific facts needed to create a product can be learned from a textbook. However, excelling at a job and improving a business must come with experience. For instance, our guide at the mushroom factory continues to travel to the U.S. and different parts of the world to get introduced to different techniques to help his business grow. A business will never prosper if it never changes. Some of the most important things we can learn must be learned on the job to allow us to try to improve things and give us the opportunity to apply what we learned in the classroom and identify what works and what does not work. For example, internships and co-ops are becoming an essential requirement for most jobs. If I never take a co-op or internship and get a job right after graduation, I will have no idea how to apply what I learned from class and really have no knowledge as to how the business works. However, by gaining hands on experience on the job, I will be able to learn things I never would have gotten from a textbook which will set me apart from other students without this experience when competing for a job.         

                As in the U.S., there is a connection between Chilean social life and professional life. Although there is obviously a separation between work and socializing, Chileans make business based on personal connections so a connection between social and professional life is almost necessary. For instance, the relationship between professors and students in Chile is even very close. The head of Industrial Engineering at the Universidad Santa Maria had all of us and his students over for a barbeque. Most professors here in the U.S. would not do this. I think in the U.S., many professionals like to keep business and social life separate. However, the model set up by the Chileans makes more sense to me. If you are doing business with someone, it should be important that you like them on a personal level. It makes doing business seem more friendly and allows for a more trustworthy relationship. Since business is done on a more personal scale in Chile, it is important for Americans doing business there to have an understanding of their society and their societal issues because these issues can affect a business. For example, one of the big issues is the newly set up government agencies involved in Chile business regulation tackling problems such as monopolies. They have pretty much free reign to make rules as they please in comparison to business regulators in the U.S. who must follow stricter guidelines. If we are not aware of new decisions they make, our business could be greatly affected without us even knowing. Another large societal issue in Chile is the expansion of human rights such as birth control and gay rights. For instance, divorce was just recently legalized in Chile. Will companies choose to supply birth control to their workers? Will they recognize gay partnerships to provide benefits? These are all questions based on social issues that businesses must address. Additionally, if a company does business in the U.S. and Chile, will they provide workers with the same rights in both countries where the laws addressing these societal issues are different?

                Communication is the most important aspect of any kind of job in my opinion. As an engineer, I will not only be working with engineers at work. I will be with people of all types of professions and it is important that I can understand their mode of work. Traveling with business students on this trip has given me a new outlook in the professional world. I will not only be focused on engineering principles but will also have to consider how it affects the business in different aspects such as profitability and reliability. As a team member, it is important to fully understand where each member is coming from because everyone will have something important to bring into a project. If everyone can effectively communicate with one another, the team will be able to more effectively achieve their goal. When working with people of a different field, it may be challenging to understand their ideas all the time. For instance, I did not know what Jaimes was talking about in parts of his business presentation because I had never learned about certain indexes or business terms. That is why it is so important to not only learn about engineering, but also about the business you are engineering for. It will be challenging if you are not aware of the business aspect of your job so putting forth an effort to learn what your team members already know is crucial and will make you a more valuable team member.

Day 14 (5/17/13)-Coming Home

Today marked the end of our incredible 2 week stay here in Chile. In the morning, Justine, Jessica, and I went to the local mall and vendors to grab some last minute souvenirs and then met up with Javier to grab a pastry at the bakery. We then made our way back and noticed a parade of students marching through the streets playing music. After we got back to the hotel, I finished packing up and we all danced a last dance to ‘Ai Se Eu Te Pego’, our new favorite song. Around 2 o’clock we caught the bus to the airport and said our sad final goodbyes to the Chilean students who helped make these two weeks amazing. After sleeping on the bus for an hour or two, we arrived in Santiago at the airport and began our long day of traveling! We got our bags checked, went through security, and had our last meal in Chile (empanadas of course!). Then we boarded the plane to Texas and made our way back to the U.S.. I want to thank Jorge, Brice, Verner, and all of the Chilean students who helped to make this trip an unforgettable experience that had taught me so much. It has not only taught me more about business and engineering in a different part of the world, but it has helped me to realize what I want to do in the future and has given me a love for travel and experiencing new things. Because of this trip, I am determined to study abroad for a semester and travel as much as I can, which is something I was not convinced I wanted to do before coming. I have met so many amazing people on this trip that I know will be my friends forever. So thank you again to everyone who has given me this opportunity and made this trip the best two weeks of my life.

Day 13 (5/16/13)-Horseback Riding

Today was sadly our last full day in Chile! However, it was by far the most amazing day spent here. We first arrived at a farm that had lots of horses, a few pigs, chickens, many dogs, and a baby cow! We quickly got prepared for the horseback riding and were given equipment to protect our legs. We were then assigned our horses based on our riding experience and preference of mild or wild horses. My horse was one of the bigger ones and was named Caraja. I had some difficulty getting on the horse, but felt pretty comfortable when we began to ride them. We started off down a steep driveway and had to cross a busy road to get to the beach where we began our ride. We started along the beautiful ocean where you could see the city outline in the distance. The weather was mild and a little breezy but very comfortable. Once we traveled along the beach for some time we got to an area with more grass that reminded me somewhat of a swamp which then turned into a forest. It was so quiet and it was great to just take in all of the nature around us.

The forest eventually turned into a desert-like area consisting of huge incredible sand dunes! Within a few hours we had traveled through all different types of terrain and the views were spectacular. Once we got through the sand, we stopped for some water and pineapple and then continued our ride. Our second half was along a huge stretch of beach where most of the horses galloped along the water and got a lot of us wet! Unfortunately, the riding eventually came to an end and we went back to the ranch. Once we got off our horses, the people who worked there prepared us a huge meal of sausage, chicken, steak, and pork! We were given pisco sours, wine, potato salad, and bread and once it got a little bit colder we had a fire to roast marshmallows!

Today was the perfect ending to an incredible trip. The horseback riding was by far my favorite part of the trip and I will never forget all of the amazing views we had along the way.

Day 12 (5/15/13)-Spa Day

Today was our relaxing spa day! We arrived at a country club-like place that had two pools, a restaurant, tennis courts, and a play ground. We were first served with the typical Chilean empanada consisting of meat, onions, egg, and an olive.

After having our snack, most of us just relaxed by the pool and caught up on some rest. Lunch was then served and consisted of a steak with an egg overtop and French fries (papas fritas!). The meal was delicious and our table was then served with a salad that had lettuce, tomatoes, and an avocado! After we finished, we got dessert which was a creamy pie and some type of pudding. After we were all full, we headed back outside and relaxed by the pool some more. A few of us went to play more futbol in the tennis courts which caused a few brush burns! Once the sun began to go down, we walked a few minutes over to Verner’s house who is the head of the Industrial Engineering department at Universidad Santa Maria and helped coordinate our activities. He hosted us for a delicious barbeque consisting of sausage and chicken skewers. It was a great time for all of us to just have some fun and enjoy each other’s company. We played volleyball for awhile, until Brice hit it over the fence! It was very cool to see how close the professor is with his students. It was very generous for him to have us all over and we were all so grateful for his hospitality!

Day 11 (5/14/13)-Hela, Conservas Centauro, Bosques Del Mauco

Today we had three of the final company visits! We began at HELA where we got to witness the production processes of many of their products such as paint brushes, wire disc brushes, and rolling pins.

It was really interesting to see production lines because as an Industrial Engineer, I may be working on improving production processes such as the ones they were using. Our guide talked to us about working to keep the balance between keeping costs down while maintaining the quality of their products because if something is faulty it could destroy their business.

We also went over the ways they try to improve their products and their production processes and how they handle their business including the importing of materials from various areas of the world that provide top quality materials at reasonable prices. They get many of their materials from Germany. After HELA, we went to Conservas Centauros where we learned about the business and production processes for canned foods.

We learned about the balance they have to keep between maximizing production and only using the best fruits/vegetables available. For instance, if there is a huge rain period, they cannot use the tomatoes grown from that area for a certain amount of time because they will not taste the same. We also got to see the production line of the products and see how they start from being imported on trucks to going through machines to eliminate parts of the vegetable such as skin or seeds and then being prepared for how they are used in the product.

We noticed that there were many more workers here in packaging and preparing the foods whereas HELA had more machines that could take care of these processes. Afterwards, we headed off to our last and smelliest company: Bosques Del Mauco. This is the mushroom farm. We were quickly told that there are only two mushroom farms in Chile, and that this was the largest one! The company also owns farms to obtain straw and manure from which helps eliminate a middle man when obtaining materials needed for mushroom production.

They went over the production process which included soaking the manure and straw in water leading to microlife growth and eventually putting the soil in trays in dark rooms to allow the mushrooms to grow. We also got to see the workers harvest the mushroom which was a very simple process. The process for growing the mushrooms is fairly simple and cheap and as the mushrooms can be shipped to various parts of the world, the mushroom business as a whole is very profitable. However, the worker has to go to different mushroom farms around the world to learn about various techniques in mushroom growing to continue to improve the business.