Your New Reality

Today’s workplace is dramatically different from the workplace of 100 years ago. The norm used to be a 9 to 5 job, usually at one company in one community for an entire lifetime. People didn’t travel very often and most never got to see how people on the other side of the world lived. Companies were fairly homogenous organizations, with most employees looking alike and having similar values. 

When you enter the workforce, you will have the opportunity to interact with people from countries all over the world, both in person and virtually. Globalization has changed not only the consumer markets for companies, but also the pool of potential employees. Our world is increasingly diverse, not just in terms of race and nationality, but also gender, language, religion, abilities, and sexuality. However, it is only the most progressive of companies that have realized the benefit of diversity and made it a priority.      

Click on each of the letterrs in the word "DIVERSITY" to see some statistics that highlight the state of diversity in today’s workforce:

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National Competitiveness

A country’s national competitiveness is determined by its competitive advantages(something that sets you apart from your competition in the minds of consumers). Government can play a key role in developing these strengths and identifying new ones.

Canada’s Competitive Advantages

Canada has a number of competitive advantages. The list below contains information retrieved from Canada’s Competition Policy Review Panel (2008) and the Government of Canada (2017) website. Consider how these influence markets in Canada and around the world:

• Canada has a strong relationship with the United States and provides easy access to and through the U.S. market. This has been strengthened by trade agreements with the U.S. The North American Free Trade Agreement (which is currently being renegotiated) broke down barriers between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.
• Canada has an abundance of natural resources. We are one of the world’s largest producers of uranium, potash, hydroelectricity and natural gas. With the decline in many resources, we have the opportunity to invest in new sources.
• Canada has a diverse economic base. In addition to our mineral and petroleum resources, Canada is among the world’s leaders in fisheries, forestry and agriculture. Investing in our manufacturing industries is allowing our secondary sectors to grow and adapt. We have strong biotechnology and automobile parts industries, along with innovative companies that can benefit from foreign investment. We have increasingly strong service industry sectors, particularly in areas such as banking, high technology, film production and telecommunications.
• Canada has a highly educated population. Many Canadians have university and college degrees or diplomas, and are skilled and adaptable workers with strong work ethics. Canada spends more money (as a % of GDP) than any other country in the world.
• Canada’s cultural diversity, tolerance and acceptance of immigration are strengths in a global environment.
• Canada has a reputation for integrity and credibility through strong leadership and diplomacy.
• Canada’s strong banking system provides financial stability to Canadian investments. Canada’s most profitable companies are in the financial services sector and The World Economic Forum has singled out Canada’s banks as among the soundest in the world for the past nine years. Today, Canada’s five largest banks are among the world’s largest 55 banks and three of them - Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, and Scotiabank - are in the top 30. This provides for safe and secure investments and allows for a faster recovery in the event of an economic downturn.
• Despite its large size, Canada has a well-developed transportation network and infrastructure. Local and global goods are transported by more than 300 commercial ports and more than 752 airports, along with roads and railways.

After reviewing Canada's competitive advantages, watch the following video of Justin Trudeau speaking at the World Economic Development Forum:

Competitive Advantage in the Global Marketplace

The IMD World Competitiveness Centre at the International Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland, publishes a list each year of countries it considers to be the World’s Most Competitive. You can find the current list on their website.

Canada’s Top Performers

According to the Canadian government, these are currently Canada’s top performing industry sectors:

• Aerospace
• Automotive
• Bioproducts
• Biopharmaceuticals
• Business Services
• Chemicals and Plastics
• Digital Media
• Financial Services
• Functional Foods
• Machinery and Equipment
• Medical Devices
• Mining
• Oil and Gas
• Renewable Energy
• Software
• Wireless Communications.

Visit the Canadian Commissioner Trade Service site to see a description of Canada’s competitive advantages in each of the above sectors.

The Nation that Immigration Built

Today, Canada has a higher percentage of foreign-born citizens than any other country in the G8 (a group of 8 highly industrialized countries - the U.S., Canada, Russia, the U.K., Japan, Germany, Italy and France - that meet annually to discuss global issues like terrorism, economic growth, and energy) and the highest rate of immigration in the developed world, largely from Asian countries. We are a nation of newcomers.

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Embracing Diversity

This video will give you a better understanding of just how diverse the world really is.

As companies continue to expand globally, their target markets are becoming increasingly more diverse. Companies that fail to realize this greatly diminish their chances of success in the global marketplace. Employing a diverse workforce not only helps a company to better meet the needs of these target markets, but in fact acts as a source of competitive advantage. Here is a list of the major advantages of cultural diversity in the workforce:

1. Hiring employees who speak different languages and represent different nationalities allows companies to be more relatable and effective when operating in other countries.
2. Employees from diverse backgrounds offer a diverse set of talents, skills and experiences.
3. Diversity fuels innovation and creativity in problem solving, because of fresh perspectives and different points of view.
4. Diverse companies are also likely to attract more diverse applicants, which means that a company’s talent pool will be higher.
5. Employee morale is likely to be higher in a company that encourages all workers to contribute. Higher morale leads to higher productivity.

Watch this video to see how one company, Volvo Trucks, uses diversity to its advantage:

Diversity is Canada’s Strength

Justin Trudeau has been known to tout this tagline in his communications with trade partners and organizations, and in his tweets welcoming refugees to our country.  In fact, his cabinet is said to be the most diverse in Canada’s history.

Whatever your opinion of Prime Minister Trudeau, it cannot be argued that he is a great supporter of diversity in Canada. In the same way that diversity can be an advantage for a multinational corporation, diversity can be an advantage for Canada.

“As a growing number of countries turn inward and shut their doors to immigration and free trade, Canada stands poised to reap the benefits of its successful immigration policies and its diversity. A country whose citizens trace their origins to more than 200 nationalities should be the model for global connectivity.  This diversity dividend ought to be Canada’s global advantage.” (Dr Bessma Momani & Jillian Stirk, Centre for International Governance Innovation)

However, diversity is not the same as inclusion. An organization should not focus on diversifying its organizations and populations simply to fulfill quotas; industry must do so because of the power of diversity and equality. According to the latest World Gallup Poll (2011), out of 15 countries surveyed, Canada is the country most accepting of diversity. But we still have a long way to go. The following are some of the resulting statistics (as published in the Ottawa Citizen, May 20, 2017) from a 2017 online survey of 2,600 Canadians:

• 54% of respondents in Manitoba and Saskatchewan believe Canada has too many immigrants.
• 34% of respondents in Atlantic Canada believe Canada has too many immigrants.
• 56% of Muslims say their religion is misrepresented in Canada.
• 24% of English-speaking Canadians say that religious symbols should be banned from public institutions.
• 63% of French-speaking Canadians say that religious symbols should be banned from public institutions.

This generation may be the one that forces the more widespread use of diversity as a competitive advantage. A study by Frank Magid (2012) found that Generation Z (people born after 1995) have positive feelings about ethnic diversity and are more likely than older generations to include different ethnicities, religions, and races in their peer groups. This is the most racially diverse generation in North American history.  Take a look at the shift in the breakdown of different ethnicities across several generations:

	% of Caucasians	% of Hispanics	% of African Americans	% of Asians	% other
Baby Boomers	72	11	11	4	2
Gen X	62	18	12	6	2
Millenials	58	20	14	5	3
Gen Z	54	24	14	4	4

How do you think the ethnicity breakdown will change in the next 20 years?

Vocabulary Self-Check

Match the following terms with their correct definitions in order to assess your understanding of the international business terminology covered so far in the course.

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Congratulations! You have a good understanding of the basic terminology related to international trade.

A Case of Diversity

Case studies are used extensively in the study of business. If you go into a post-secondary program in business, you will find that there will even be entire courses devoted to the analysis and presentation of case studies. Typically, these case studies are written in report format and/or presented to the class in an oral-business style presentation.

For more information on case studies at the post-secondary level, take a look at Harvard Business School's video on the Case Study Method: