What global trends present new challenges to students?
There seems to be a weird exchange where the world is trying to adopt Western styles while we are trying to learn how others do things. It’s the proverbial two ships that pass in the night. For example, Americans are learning to kiss Brazilians on the cheek and the Brazilians are learning to just shake hands. The Mexicans are learning to be more direct, while the Americans are learning to spend more time with relationship building. Even on the freeways, Chinese try to imitate the look of things. All of the signs are in the familiar green with white lettering. The danger, of course, is that we start believing that because things look similar on the surface, they really are the same. However, deep down, the Chinese still believe that contracts are not valid with situations change. The Brazilians still think of themselves as more flexible than the Americans. And the Mexicans really do not want to wear sloppy clothes and elevate informality. So the challenge for students is to perceive wha
