Submitted By: Mark Polydoris

Since reading The Post-American World, I’ve become something of a Fareed Zakaria nut. I’ve spent some time reading his articles in Newsweek and watching him on CNN. Between the financial crisis, the election of Barack Obama, and the attacks in Mumbai, I keep asking myself: What would Fareed do? (I’ll have WWFD shirts available by our next GSBA meeting).

Zakaria’s latest article in Newsweek discusses the bailout and how China and US relations are more important than ever. According to Zakaria, it is virtually certain that China will be buying up a lot of US public debt, almost 10 percent of it. China wants to keep the US economy alive so we keep buying their stuff (apparently from the dollar store where Dr. Carr shops), but now it has the option of jump-starting it’s own economy since its citizens are able to spend large amounts of money. Either way, as the article states, China has options, and America doesn’t.

Talk about living in a post-American world! The article’s description of “Chimerica” paints a vivid picture where the fate of America is locked in with that of China. Are we already living in a post-American world when China can afford to finance both its economy and ours? Is there really a “Chimerica” if China has the option to simply finance itself? Can China achieve economic independence without relying on American consumption?

[This post was submitted last year by trip and program alumni Angie Dip in connection with the 2008 trip. This issue has been in the news again recently so I am re-running her submitted post.]

“Customer service. Technical support. Administrative and accounting processes. So many services are being outsourced to India. Let?s add another one to the list: pregnancy, or rent-a-womb.

Check out this article from ABC News regarding the cheaper service of surrogate mothers offered overseas in India.

In the United States, the cost of the services of surrogate mothers, which include the in-vitro fertilization to home health care costs from the time of pregnancy to when the baby is delivered, is about $60,000. In India, however, the price is much lower ? just about $6,000 for a successful in-vitro fertilization process.

Some women use this service because they either have medical complications that prevent them from being able to give birth, or, according to a new trend, they want to be mothers but do not want to put their careers on hold for the pregnancy.

The process seems mutually beneficial to everyone. The doctors involved gets paid for their services, the couple who wants the baby gets what they want, and the surrogate mothers get a paycheck that is equal to about ten years? worth of work to take care of their family. Although by supporting the outsourcing of pregnancy, everyone involved would be in a win-win situation, taking advantage of and exploiting the impoverished women in India is depressing to me. But, I understand that this is a great money-making opportunity for these women. Nevertheless, this ?business,? also called reproductive tourism, is thriving in India, bringing in over $400 million a year.

India is a top choice for surrogates because of its low cost, its excellent medical treatment, and its availability of surrogate mothers and English-speaking doctors. In addition, there is little regulation right now in India on this business. (Eventually, there should be stricter rules to prevent women from being abused.) The women usually sign a contract agreeing to hand over the baby to the potential parents. In the United States, on the other hand, some states may allow a surrogate to stake her claim to parental rights during a short period after giving birth.

What other outsourcing opportunities will they come up with next?

Questions to consider:

How do you feel about India outsourcing pregnancy? As a future businessperson, do you think it is okay as long as it?s a win-win situation for everyone involved? Or do you think it is unethical?

If you do not agree, think about the women who are not able to bear children because of medical complications. What if you, like Tracy Thornton from the article, were put in their position? Wouldn?t you want a service like this provided to you?

Do you think China will make a similar approach (to gain more business and compete with India)?

For more on the outsourcing of pregnancy in India, check out these related articles:

Womb for Rent: Surrogate Mothers in India

Outsourcing a Womb”

Prof. Carr addendum:

Good post.

In asking the question, “Is this ethical or unethical?”, avoid the natural reflex to shoot from the hip and pull out the easy and broad statement of “why, yes!” or “why, no!” and instead dig deeper and apply one or more of the commonly studied ethical theories that philosophers have given us to try to sort out these things — Natural Law, Utilitarianism, and Legal Positivisim.

Does an analysis under each yield the same, or different conclusions?

And re: the people discussed in the article, which theory are they using, intentionally or subconsciously, to explain, justify or feel comfortable with their decisions?

And can you think of other people, companies, politicians, governments, religious leaders, and even your classmates and professors, etc. who sometimes ‘flip-flop’ and cherry pick the ethical theory that gets them to the result they want or justify their argument and position?

One example for practice analysis:

“Iraq is a just war and noble cause because our Judeo Christian God says all people deserve liberty and a democracy” is a common natural law justification where one could say, “Of course, this activity is right (code for ethical and moral).”

A utilitarian ethicist and/or disciple would look at Iraq and says, “What? You are nuts. That activity is wrong (code for unethical and immoral) because the costs of being there far outweigh the benefits.”

A legal positivism theorist focuses on the stated law as the baseline for determining what is right (ethical and moral). He/she could go either way on this issue, depending on the law at issue and its interpretation. For example, some believe Bush et al., have violated significant American and international laws re: the Iraq thing. Others argue and interpret said laws were minor or if significant interpret them the other way and conclude said laws were not violated.

What are the weak spots of each theory?

Which theory do you use and consistently adhere to in your everyday personal and professional life? Are you ever guilty of flip flopping to get to the result you really want?

Please keep the above in mind as you analyze any issue you see in China and India that disturbs you because you have not been exposed to it in the US.

And stay tuned. More to come on the ethics issue in a subsequent post …

Professor Carr addendum: Click HERE to check out this piece that came out in the NY Times on this subject. Some interesting comments on this Times‘ blog post. See also this recent Newsweek article that highlights the risks of adoption and how said joy can turn into an (honest) parent’s worst nightmare.

Submitted by: David Caldwell

It seems as if a firestorm of coverage has erupted from India in the past few days: headlines like “Indian Official: Terrorists Wanted to Kill 5,000” and “India Ends Mumbai Rampage After 60 hours, 195 Dead” seem to bring the visceral carnage straight into our living rooms and onto our coffee tables from 13 time zones away. Since the development and distribution of modern satellite and fiber-optic communications matured in the 90’s, information has been pouring back and forth in ever increasing volumes over our tiny blue planet as quickly as relativistic speed limits have allowed. With this ever increasing capacity, we’ve begun to push entire industries abroad to take advantage of lower costs and greater production capabilities. Indeed, even our military has started pushing GPS and communications technologies into the forefront of its offensive and defensive capabilities - replacing battalions of troops and stockpiles of nuclear warheads as its primary deterrent.

On the flip side of this coin has been the quick and cheap dissemination of communications tools to more unscrupulous characters. It came as a shock to Indian commandos that the terrorists involved in this week’s attack were found to be using “Blackberries to Monitor the World’s Response to Their Actions“. According to CNN, “the gunmen were as brazen as they were well trained, using sophisticated weapons, GPS technology and mobile and satellite phones to communicate….they were constantly in touch with a foreign country.” It goes without saying then that access to cheap, ubiquitous communications technology can come as mixed blessing.

Update: Apparently Twitter has gained some popularity in India, and it was used extensively by the people present at the event: Mumbai: Twitter’s Moment

Submitted by: Morgan O’Hara

Please take a look at this beautifully written article, entitled India Calling. It talks of the allure of the motherland for young, Westernized Indians.

The “brain drain” trend has greatly benefited America. That the world’s brightest minds decide to coalesce within our borders has given this country a sustainable competitive advantage over other nations. We can argue that the rest of the world has benefited, in that the U.S. has dragged it along. But now, the rest of the world is picking up steam.

In the conclusion of the The Post American World, Zakaria claims that for America to preserve its leadership, it must continue to welcome the brightest minds from abroad, who in turn must aspire to succeed in this country. This is a virtuous cycle.

So what do you think of the brain circulatio’ trend? Will the world?s brightest minds no longer be so enticed by our roads paved with gold? And though this new trend may not solely benefit America, won’t it surely be good for the world? Maybe then they can drag us forwards; or is that already starting to happen? As Americans, we value our supremacy, geopolitically speaking. But isn’t the world better off , us included, if the playing field is more leveled?

Albeit a small sample size, of the students I met from Cal Poly’s Indian Association, only a few seemed willing to relocate to India. I get the impression that only the most intrepid souls will take the plunge and thrust themselves into a very chaotic country. And they will likely be the ones to reap the benefits. In turn, the ‘brain circulation’ trend will continue to increase.

Submitted by: Jimmy Spann

The answer is that they are all terms in exciting game of Cricket. A nightwatchman is a batsman who comes in to bat out of order towards the end of a day’s play in a multi-day game. If a batsman gets out without scoring any runs, he is said to be out for a duck. And if a bowler completes an over without any runs being scored from it, it is termed a maiden.

Cricket is the largest sport in India and is also commonly played in England, Australia, Pakistan, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. I have seen part of a game played a few years ago and it has intrigued me since. The game takes a lot of skill as well as a lot of discipline and persistence. I have never had the opportunity to be a part of any sporting event that lasted over multiple days, and think that it would take a lot of talent and strategy to win a game of cricket.

The game is very similar to Baseball in the cases that there is someone throwing a ball towards a player from the opposing team. This is referred to as bowling the balls, where the bowler is the one throwing the ball and the batsman is the one attempting to hit the ball. If the batsman swings and misses, then it is called a ball. Six balls constitutes an over, at which time a new bowler and batsman start the process all over again. A typical game usually lasts around 55 overs.

There are a few ways of scoring runs. The easiest way is to hit the ball and then run between the wickets, which will score a single run. The other way of scoring is to hit the ball out of the playing field. If this is done without bouncing 6 runs are scored, while only 4 are scored if it bounces at least once before leaving the playing field.

I, like many others, enjoy playing and watching all kinds of sports. I would be interested in attempting to play this game before we embark on our adventure. What are everyone’s thoughts on the game and possibly the chance of trying to play some afternoon before we leave?

This is the basics that will help everyone get started and the link listed below has an in depth description of the game:

http://www.cs.purdue.edu/homes/hosking/cricket/explanation.htm

Also here is a fun fact about the game:

The longest and highest scoring game on record was 9 days long between South Africa and England and it ended with an agreed upon draw.

This Youtube video also helped me understand the basics. And many others gave me more insight to the game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9STtcwo0xE&feature=related

This is a tongue in cheek post. Kind of.

We are fortunate to have several outstanding professors in the MBA, MS in IT, and MS in Tax programs who early in your program teach those who invest in themselves by taking such a course some of the tools and basics to lay a foundation for effective communication skills, a number of which relate to networking.

Candidly, where we need to improve is after you take their initial Effective Communication Skills for Managers course, by building a stronger and more consistent culture of continued networking in our grad and undergrad business programs and across our entire university for all students. Here, I am talking about much more than the weekly touch base and briefing at a local pub to blow off steam.

This can be a challenge to do in paradise SLO (or Santa Barbara) and Cal Poly where you can run into the mentality of, “Dude, it’s all good all the time here in sunny SLO town; I did not come here to be pushed in such a manner and I already think I am pretty awesome at this so why you sweatin’ on this stuff?”

Perhaps the first reason is that it’s my job to push people out of their comfort zone. Taxpayers don’t pay me to be another government bureaucrat interested in keeping the status quo.

Perhaps the more important reason is that it’s a big part of business, my friend, and your future and your survival (in this economy) may depend on how good you are at it. On this note check out this WSJ article, Networking? Here’s How To Stand Out.

Each of us can also get better at this skill.

What are your take-aways from this article? And as an reflective future manager, what can you do differently in the future to develop your networking skill set in SLO or Santa Barbara town and at Cal Poly while you are here studying with us and in Asia in this regard when we travel there?

What can you learn from the Chinese and Indians in this regard? (After all, networking is one of the big reasons we are loading up and heading to Asia this summer for your international field study, and you will see from our travels that you can learn a lot about this business practice from the Chinese and Indians.)

As an aside, if I benchmark and point toward another business program to emulate that does networking really, really well, as much as it pains me to do so I would have to acknowledge that it would be USC and the Trojan family. Sit in a first day freshman class there and you will see what I mean. Of course, you also need gobs and gobs of money to be a Trojan and it’s likely your student loan debt will be astronomical if you do so. USC is not perfect and also has its own share of challenges like any institution.

That said, what programs are you aware of that do networking really well? How did they create and how do they sustain said networking and entrepreneurial culture (refer to your OB course for ideas)?

And how are those business cards coming along that I suggested you get? If you don’t yet have them heading into week 7 of the quarter especially in this economy, can you tell me, pray tell, why not?

I welcome your thoughts.

And like I said. This is a tongue in cheek post. Kind of.

Summary: Submit your comment, sit tight and in time it will appear. No need to retype or resubmit it if you don’t see it appear right away.

A buddy helped me fix my recent blog technology problems. As part of his fix, submitted comments now go into a moderation/hold pool, and then I approve them for publication. Most bloggers do this anyway. Before, all comments appeared as soon as they were submitted. Some days I will get this holding tank sooner than other days to click on the approve button so your comments appear for publication. Will depend on work flow. All non-spam comments will be approved for publication as submitted. I am advised this new process should help better prevent some of the tech problems I have been having lately.

Of course, this conclusion depends what you are measuring and/or what you value.

Many of you are reading Fareed Zarkaria’s, book The Post American World for your book review this quarter.

A good discussion has been going on over at the China Law Blog re: one of the central themes of this book.

Click HERE to check it out.

And here is a nice short  video of Zakaria talking about four things that he believes bode well for America.

Your thoughts?

I am struck by how little Americans at all levels know and understand the foundations of capitalism, how little or rarely they think deeply about them, and how little they have thought about the different types or shades of capitalism and their pros and cons (e.g., in what way is China more capitalist than the US?).

I am also struck by how they are also often so willing to readily accept the benefits of capitalism but are then unwilling to vigorously defend it (or are intellectually unable to do so) when it is attacked.  Not sure if this is driven by guilt, an unwillingness to be unpopular, or other.

This above observations are especially apropos given the current financial crisis. This post is also timely in that it ties into last week’s seminar by our Orfalea College economics faculty that a number of you attended.

So let’s take a minute or two to think more deeply and discuss the topic of capitalism.

To that end I recently came across this very interesting PBS short video that features the famous South American economist, Hernando de Soto, with an insightful take on the relationship between capitalism, the existence of contracts and property rights, and the development of societal and cultural trust and how such trust is formed (Francis Fukuyama, by the way, has written a very insightful book that is listed in your syllabus on this latter topic called Trust: The Social Virtues and The Creation of Prosperity).

Click HERE to watch this PBS segment. (You will need to scroll down and click on the “Chapter 19 - Capitalism Redfined” link. ) This segment has direct relevance to what you will witness in China and India.

And to dig deeper see also these recent WSJ articles, opinion pieces and letters to the editor:

A Capitalist Manifesto

Capitalism Encourages More Personal Responsibility

Is the Rescue Plan Socialism? The Far Left Says ‘No Way’ Comrade

Crisis Stirs Critics of Free Markets

And for a well received book that discusses the different types of capitalism and their tradeoffs, see Good Capitalism, Bad Capitalism: And the Economics of Growth and Prosperity by Baumol, et al.

Your thoughts, biases, beliefs, arguments, concerns?

A while back Pierre and Kyle posted on the topic of cheap cars in India and the market for them. Click HERE to refer back to their posts.

Periodic Cal Poly MBA Trip blog follower Sin Yaw Wang then jumped into the discussion and raised the following point:

The car is way too expensive for India that, by the way, does not have the road system for more cars. What India should have developed is an electric bicycle industry like China. At US $300 each for high-end model, they are (more) affordable and easier to manufacture. They also pollute much less.

Of course, they also make less money for companies like Tata. Hmm, what’s good for the company is not for the country. Maybe that’s why there should be a stronger government. Oh, never mind, that will be China.

Today’s WSJ contains a nice article on his point, Riding Two-Wheelers in India: Honda Bets the Middle Class Will Chose Its Motorcycles Over Rivals’ Cheap Cars.

The article points out that while most of the world’s auto global giants are rushing to supply low-cost cars to the masses in India, Honda is taking another route and focusing on motorcycles. I would loved to have been in the board rooms listening to the debate and discussion on whether to go car, bike or motorcycle in India.

Time to buy a few shares of Honda stock?