Globalization Here To Stay, NSU Panelists Say
Globalization Here To Stay, NSU Panelists Say
NSU President Dr. Don Betz welcomes the panelists to the Inauguration Forum Global Business and Economic Development held Monday night at the Broken Arrow campus. The panelists included Barry Clark, Mike Lybarger, Bob Hogrefe and Dessie Apostolova.
BROKEN ARROW When Mike Lybarger purchased Total Valve Systems Inc., a Broken Arrow-based safety valve company, he saw that for the business to grow, he needed to make a push into the international markets.
There are some markets out there that are really immature and need the same products and services out there that we consumed over the past four years, said Lybarger. The developing nations out there are going to be growing quite large over the next 20-30 years. If you are not competing globally, its going to be really hard for you to grow your sales and remain competitive internationally.
Lybarger was one of four panelists for Global Business and Economic Development, a forum held at Northeastern State University Broken Arrow to honor the inauguration of the institutions 17th president, Dr. Don Betz. Other panelists at the forum included Barry Clark, director of Global Business Services at the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, Bob Hogrefe, co-founder and president of Access Optics LLC, and Dessie Apostolova, director of International Trade Offices for the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. Dr. Jon Shapiro, NSU professor of marketing, served as moderator.
We live in a time when, while nations still exist and are important, the barriers between nations, between people, fall almost daily before us and as a result we have to scramble to understand the new world in which we live, work and raise our families, said Betz.
The interaction of companies in foreign markets are necessary for companies located in Oklahoma to grow, and that forecast is not likely to change any time soon, said Clark.
Globalization is similar to the weather, said Clark. Theres no denying globalization, you can like it some days and not like it other days, but its here. Its a fact of life. Some countries get it better than others and adjust to it and prepare for it, but it is here.
The purchasing power of the world economy stands around $54 trillion, with the U.S. making up one-third of that, or around $14 trillion, said Clark. While the world economy is expected to shrink for the first time in 60 years, emerging markets in Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe are still expected to grow.
Small and mid-size companies account for 95 percent of the exporters in the U.S. and represent about 85 percent of all exports from the country. In Oklahoma, exports exceeded $5 billion for the first time last year. The states largest exports are in grain, aerospace and oil and gas equipment, Clark said.
Canada, Mexico and Japan make up the top three countries that Oklahoma companies export to, followed closely by China, Singapore and other Southeast Asia countries.
Oklahoma ranks 20th in the nation for the number of international students who attend universities in the state, Clark said. Our universities get it and all of these graduates, or most of them, go back to their countries and are great ambassadors for our state, he said.
Lybarger said that with the emphasis on retooling America, Oklahoma maintains an advantage in terms of cost-of-labor and resources available for global markets.
Im very positive about Oklahoma, very positive about Broken Arrow and I think we have a lot to look forward to in the global economy, he said.
Betz stressed that one of the values of Northeastern would be to focus on the value of an international education for the institutions students in the coming years.
The internationalization of our campuses, our quest for global literacy and global engagement, will be one of the defining virtues and values of this institution, said Betz. For us the quest, the goal is to create a learning module, a learning environment, to encourage people to learn exponentially and that cultural learning will draw us ever deeper into understanding this world phenomena.
With the volatility of global markets, Hogrefe said that globalization should only be undertaken by companies prepared to deal with issues over the long-run.
Globalization is not for the faint-hearted, he said. When currencies take massive swings like theyve done recently and you're dealing with local currencies as opposed to the dollar, you have to be in it for the long haul and consider where your inventories are going to take you.
The process of globalization can be a very successful experience for a company that clearly defines who its customers are and what services they provide, Hogrefe said. But businesses need to be wary of entering markets they do not understand.
Globalization is not going on the Internet and looking up somebody someplace far away that offers unbelievable promises at unbelievable prices, because the results will also be unbelievable when you get them, said Hogrefe.
The Oklahoma Department of Commerce has services available for small and mid-sized companies who want to enter global markets, but do not have the in-house resources to make those contacts themselves, Apostolova said.
We have resources and services available for people, entrepreneurs, companies, educational institutions, and communities, said Apostolova. We really interface with companies, with clients, and this truly is where rubber meets the road in terms of economic development.
Some of those services include developing relations between Oklahoma companies and international trade shows allow local products to be visible at an international platform, counseling companies on dealings with businesses in foreign countries, and working to develop contact networks for people interested in doing business in international markets.
Apostolova added that it was good to see Northeasterns efforts to provide a global education to the universitys students, which will better prepare them for careers in a global society.
It is very encouraging to see the explicit emphasis that NSU is placing on developing global literacy and engagement, said Apostolova. I certainly wish that had been available 10 years ago when I was shopping around Oklahoma for graduate level programs in the area of international relations or global business. Thats another important gage of Oklahoma to engage internationally and to truly develop and sustain some of those assets and skills sets that are going to sustain us not only economically, but also socially and culturally into the 21st century.
In a world that is constantly changing, Betz stressed that providing students with international opportunities was the best way to prepare them for careers in the years ahead.
The world of international commerce, international diplomacy, international trade and just internationalism has become a part of our world, said Betz. The fact remains that we are in and of this place, this world, and we are, as an institution, fully committed.
Inauguration Week forums continue Tuesday, April 28 with Health Care Challenges in Eastern Oklahoma, at NSU Muskogee in the Conference Center Auditorium at 7 p.m. and on Wednesday, April 29 with Building Sustainable Communities in Eastern Oklahoma, at NSU Tahlequah in the NET Building Auditorium at 7 p.m. A Student Community Picnic will be held Thursday, April 30 at 5 p.m. in the Culver Courtyard next to the University Center in Tahlequah.
The week will finish with the inauguration ceremony of Dr. Don Betz as the 17th president of Northeastern State University on Friday, May 1 at 2 p.m. on the Seminary Hall Lawn.
4/28/2009
Published: 2009-04-28 00:00:00