Capital Business Radio

On Wednesday May 25^th, we went to the Capital Business Radio in Madrid. This is a radio company that broadcasts radio shows about finance, stock markets, and businesses. I was unaware this was even a type of radio show field before this trip. Being finance and accounting major, I was in awe the entire time. The gentleman that spoke with us told how the company works and what their future goals are. One of the future goals is to expand all the way to the United States and be the most listened to finance radio show. He even told us they already have employees over in New York that watch the stock market every day and report back to them so they can tell Spain what is going on. This was unique and interesting because I just didn’t hear much about the US at any other field trip.

               My favorite part of this field trip was meeting one of the radio journalists/broadcasters. He explained what each show was about and when the shows were live or recorded. Then to conclude the trip, he took us to the actual radio booth and we were able to watch a broadcast live. 

FAIN elevators

On Monday May 23^rd, we visited FAIN, which is a well-known elevator company in Spain. At FAIN, we met with Gema, who is the owner, and Rafael, who is the CEO. Rafael spoke with us about how he thinks a company should be ran, how FAIN stands out from other companies, and how he has positively impacted the company in the two years he has been there. Rafael explained that the company goes by three absolutes: make FAIN the best place to work and recognize their own employees, be the best service company in Spain, and grow. He explained in great detail how much employees matter to him and how they are the reason a company can sink or grow. Rafael told us about their strategy for being one of the best national companies. Number 1: Employ positive people and do not work with pessimists. Number 2: Always smile. Number 3: Train people. Number 4: Boss needs to set an example. He stressed over and over about having good employees and creating a good work environment.

Another really interesting thing to me was the open floor plan of the office. Everyone sits in this open space which creates this feeling of equality. I actually had a chance to talk with Gema with a few other students and we asked her where her office was and she pointed out into the open with all the other employees. I thought this was really different for a major company because normally owners have their own office that sets them apart from their employees.

Gema and Raphael’s business concept really hit home with me because my family owns a local service company and we have a similar business structure and goals. We asked Raphael how he can still maintain the employee satisfaction and one-on-one feel if he grows to be the best elevator company and he won me over with his respond. He said, “To be the best you don’t need to be the biggest”. Employers all over the world could really learn from Raphael. I'd say this field trip was well worth the 45 minute walk. 

Stereotypes

As I'm getting ready to go over to Spain, I keep thinking about what I'm up against once I get there. Just like Americans have ideas and stereotypes about other cultures they do to us as well. So a few that really seem to be popular stereotypes about US Americans are that we are materialist or money-hungry and that we are uneducated and gullible. Many people think Americans are very economic materialistic and that we care too much about money. I think this stems from the American Dream to be happy and have the "perfect" life. Well you cant have the "perfect" life without money or so some may think. However, I definitely think you can. I am a broke college student who is living life to the fullest and happy without a doubt. Not every stabs people in the back to get to the top. People also think that Americans are uneducated and gullible. They think we are uneducated about other cultures and countries beyond our own. And since we don't want to find out about other countries, this also makes us lack intellectual curiosity which makes us ignorant. Keeping all these stereotypes in mind and how they are so far off from who I am makes me want to keep an open mind in Spain and not stereotype them. It also makes me want to show them how different I am from these stereotypes without coming across as trying too hard.

Globalization in Spain

As I get ready to travel to Spain, i cant help but think about how globalization is effecting Spain. Well as i said in my last post, it can have positive and negative effects. Globalization is effecting Spain negatively because of outsourcing.  Its great to outsource because it reduces expenses for businesses(labor) which decreases the cost of the finished product. It creates lower wages for labor so you can hire more people for less money and then make more products in less time with more people. However As I stated in my last blog outsourcing causes unemployment to increase in the home country. This is showing big time in Spain because there unemployment rate in 2014 was 25.1%.
Globalization is helping Spain economically though. Their GDP continues to rise which puts them towards catching up to other European countries. They also have been able to banking and large corporations sectors by interacting with other countries.

Positives and Negatives of Globalization

Globalization refers to the development of a country around the world around the world through integration, interdependence, and interconnections. It can be seem in a positive or negative light. A few positive outlooks of globalization are increase in competition, technological advances, and greater access to foreign cultures. A few negative outlooks are unemployment rates increase, flat world, and its not universal. I'm going ot go into a little more depth in a couple of these. First, globalization increases competition, which encourages creativity and innovation. It also gives the consumer power because companies will lower prices. Globalization can be seen as negative because its not universal, which means the rich just keep getting richer and the poor has no chance. Globalization normally means companies will outsource which can be a good and a bad thing. You create jobs in other countries for less money but you take away jobs in the home country. For people in the home country, outsourcing only hurts them and the local economy. Globalization also gives us easier access to foreign cultures and customs which is a good thing because we become more knowledgeable about the world around us. However, it can become a problem as well which some countries start acting and changing cultures to fit another one. This causes the world to become "flat" because there is no longer great diversity.