Potential Pitfalls of Ethnocentricism in a Globalizing World

This research was designed to evaluate ethnocentrism among college business students in a public U.S. university. Subjects were asked to complete a modified Descriptive Index instrument (Schein 1973, 1975) that asked them to describe American managers, British managers, Chinese managers, Indian managers, post Olympic Chinese managers, and managers in general. Significant similarities in subjects' perceptions were found between American managers and managers in each of the other groups. When dyads were compared, significant differences were found in subjects' perceptions of managers in general and American managers and managers in general and Chinese, Indian, and post Olympic Chinese managers. The results suggest that student's ethnocentrism may be an impediment in students' careers as they face the globalizing job market. Special training regarding multi-culturism may be warranted.  Friedman (1999), in the introduction to the book The Lexus and the Olive Tree, quoted an ad by Merrill Lynch that ran in major newspapers throughout America on October 11, 1998. The ad, paraphrased, declared that the world was ten years old and that it was born when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. According to the ad, it was not surprising that the world's youngest economy-the global economy-was still finding its bearings. The term "globalization" suddenly became ubiquitous, appearing almost daily in virtually every media form. Quickly following were attempts to 'define' exactly what was meant by the term. What is globalization? Generically, the term refers to the melding of the world's economic, cultural and political systems. However, perhaps more to the point is the definition proposed by Peter Stearns (2003): "the acceleration of interregional contacts in speed, in increased volume, and in widening range." Since the early 1990s and into the new millennium globalization has continued to accelerate and spread. The world has shrunk and with this phenomenon new ways of looking at the world have emerged, especially from the perspective of those who will spend their careers adjusting to and coping with the internationalization of business operations (i.e., college aged adults). Garavalia (1997) pointed out that while students need to learn job skills to be productive in their own countries, it is important that they have a realistic perspective of their relationships to the world at large. According to The Princeton Review (2009), the most popular college major, as reported by the greatest number of colleges, is business administration and management. This survey suggested that a large number of college graduates are likely to have a direct first-hand relationship with globalization and related concepts. As such, in their studies toward a business degree, business students will confront the idea of international business in many of the courses they take. The topic of globalization has been included, without exaggeration, in every introduction to management textbook currently available. And what are students likely to learn about this phenomenon of business internationalization? As one example, Knicki and Williams (2008) ask: "What three important developments of globalization will probably affect me?" Their answers: 1- the rise of the 'global village' and electronic commerce; 2- one big world market: the global economy; and 3- cross-border business: the rise of both megamergers and minifirms worldwide. In 1958, Lederer and Burdick coined the epithet "Ugly American." It referred to perceptions of Americans being overbearing, ignominious and insensitive, especially to those overseas. In 1958 the concept of a world economy that eventually did become the reality 'globalization' was not a consideration. America was big enough and rich enough so that what the rest of the world was doing was not really very important. Japan was making 'laughable' cars that were not very well suited to American driving conditions or tastes. …

Field of study: Education