Category Archives: Commerce

International Commerce

DIVERSITY TOWN HALL: LINKING BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY

Diversity Town HallDiversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) of the futureUTC

 

October 2021:  American Diversity Report presented its 2nd annual Diversity Town Hall in partnership with the Gary W. Rollins College of Business at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC). Speaking virtually, the panel of business leaders explored the relationship of business and community in creating the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) of the future.

MODERATOR

Dr. GAIL DAWSON
Associate Professor of Management
Director of Diversity and Inclusion
Gary W. Rollins College of Business/UTC

PANELISTS

ERIC FULLER
President and Chief Executive Officer – U.S. Xpress

DEBORAH LEVINE
Founder/Editor/Consultant – American Diversity Report

DAVID ORTIZ
Corporate Diversity Officer, former board member – La Paz

LORNE STEEDLEY
Vice President for Diversity and Inclusive Growth – Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce

CLICK FOR VIDEO OF DIVERSITY TOWN HAll

CLICK  for transcripts
Presentation #1 by Deborah Levine

 

NOTE: The Town Hall is also the October Black-Jewish Dialogue in partnership with: American Diversity Report,  Chattanooga News Chronicle, Mizpah Congregation, Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga, Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda (C.U.R.B. )

The Powerful Connection of Spirituality and Entrepreneurship– by Deborah Levine

When COVID-19 changed the economy, more people became entrepreneurs. The act of creating your own business has an underlying connection between spirituality and entrepreneurship.  How does that work? The first element is the business side of the endeavor and its bottom line, otherwise known as ‘show me the money.’  The second motivation is self-fulfillment.  Some refer to this element of entrepreneurship as ‘personal satisfaction.’  But the core of the vague term ‘personal satisfaction’ is what is best described as a spiritual sense of purpose.  This spirituality is sometimes linked to one’s particular faith tradition, but is not necessarily so.  Rather, there is a commonality in this spiritual sense of something greater than ourselves that translates across the boundaries of specific religions.  Most importantly, there is tremendous power where this spirituality and business overlap.

Continue reading The Powerful Connection of Spirituality and Entrepreneurship– by Deborah Levine

COVID-19 and the Social Economy – by Tuhin Mukharjee

Economic Impact of COVID-19

COVID-19 has led to a dramatic loss of human life worldwide and presents an unprecedented challenge to public health, food systems and the world of work. It has had a devastating effect on our social economy, public health & monetary system. Millions of people are at risk of falling into extreme poverty, while the number of undernourished people, currently estimated at nearly 690 million, could increase by 132 million or more by the end of the year.

Half of the world’s 3.3 billion global workforce are at risk of losing their livelihoods. Workforce caregivers  facing biggest challenge of survival & informal economy workers are particularly vulnerable because they lack social protection, access to quality health care and have lost access to productive assets. They are lacking proper nutrition, secure jobs & cannot access  health care faculties.

Continue reading COVID-19 and the Social Economy – by Tuhin Mukharjee

Diversity Marketing and Communication Today – by Anna Kucirkova

Five decades ago, the only consumer that brands cared about was the White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASPs). The reason being that they represented the majority of the consumer market. Some years down the line, a few companies/brands realized that directing marketing material towards the African-American ethnic population has the potential to boom up their business. So, they devised multicultural marketing strategies.

But today, a few more years down the line, shows a different consumer picture. Now, the population of America has become progressively diverse. The mixed-race population and Asian people are the two fastest growing groups in the US. On the other hand, there is a lag of growth in the Non-Hispanic white segment of the US population. From July 2015 to July 2016, Asian and mixed-race population grew by 3% while Non-Hispanic whites grew by just 5,000. Research suggests that by 2040, the minority groups today would combine to attain a majority in the US population. So, the marketing strategies that used to work a few decades back would no longer work in the future. This has led to professionals diversifying their marketing procedures.

Continue reading Diversity Marketing and Communication Today – by Anna Kucirkova

Corporate Governance and Sustainable Development – by Bojana Bogojević

At the present moment, when only a few economies of the world have recovered from the global economic crisis that befell, and only spill-over has occurred for the rest, corporate governance has become a vital solution for the economic growth and sustainable development to which every economy aspires.

What is Corporate Governance?

Corporate Governance is the system of process and rules under which a company is directed and controlled. Corporate Governance isn’t just a set of value statements. There are a significant number of very technical legal requirements that companies must follow in order to demonstrate that they have good corporate governance.

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Going Global – ADR TRENDS 2019

According to the Conference Board the global economy will slow in key markets such as Europe and Japan and U.S. companies will  struggle with exports to China and mature economies around the world. Yet, for many, doing business globally remains a primary source of revenue and a major goal in 2019. Few are naive about the challenges involved in going global in today’s environment. But expanding the local-global connection will be a 2019 goal for many businesses, leaders, and employees.  Here’s what they will need to consider.

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The Online Experience – ADR TRENDS 2019

Forbes Magazine has listed 11 trends to watch in online technology in 2019. Those trends include increased online sales, more automation, improved interface between humans and Artificial Intelligence (AI), better cybersecurity, faster connections, and the convergence of various technologies along with multiple devices that are inter-connected.

Perhaps the most intriguing, and unexpected, trend predicted is addressing the technology backlash. No details of how this would be done are given. But, the article assures us that headlines about the negative influence of technology on our democratic process, society, and interpersonal relationships will fade away as 2019 progresses.

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Global Leadership: Five Steps to Calibrating your Cultural Compass — by Dr. Richard Griffith

Global Leadership today: The modern workplace brims with activity as people dart from meeting to meeting. Sometimes our communication is too brief. At times our messages are not well thought out. Even when the communication is crystal clear, the message can get lost in a wave of workload. But because our organizations tend to rely on best practices, people have a common frame-of-reference when there are misunderstandings. Best practices are a common denominator that allow us to understand and predict behavior, and serve as “true north” as we navigate the complexity of modern organizational life.
As organizations expand internationally and multi-cultural communications between employees, vendors, suppliers, and customers become more frequent, we are finding that the common denominator of best practices begins to unravel. And once we can no longer fall back on best practices, our inner compass can go haywire.

Continue reading Global Leadership: Five Steps to Calibrating your Cultural Compass — by Dr. Richard Griffith

How to Grow as an Entrepreneur:  Episode #4 with Lynda Spiegel – by Fatima Williams

womenInspired by the response to my article, 2018 Challenges for Women Entrepreneurs and How to Overcome Them, I initiated this series called, How to Grow as an Entrepreneur. I talk to Leading and Inspiring Women all over the world to Raise Awareness among Women and ask them if they are ready to Pass the Baton on to aspiring entrepreneurs!

Lynda Spiegel is an Awesome Mom of two and the Founder of Rising Star Resumes that provides job search strategies, resume, cover letter advice, and LinkedIn profile keyword optimization. She is an author of frequent articles on The Wall Street Journal Experts Blog, LinkedIn Pulse, CornerstoneOnDemand, and Talent Culture Blogs.

Continue reading How to Grow as an Entrepreneur:  Episode #4 with Lynda Spiegel – by Fatima Williams

Global Trade and the Trans-Pacific Partnership – by Deborah Levine

While President Trump reconsidered the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)?  Many American cities, like Chattanooga, have built their economies on international industries, their vendors, and outdoors sports competitions including Ironman.  Before the halt to our participation in the TPP, there was a well-attended panel discussion on the controversial TPP  at the Small Business Incubator with moderator Jim Frierson, who was Chief of Staff in the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) during the Reagan Administration. The cabinet agency is responsible for developing international trade policy for the President and negotiating with our trading partners. America’s first bilateral free trade agreements — with Israel and Canada — were initiated, negotiated, and implemented during his eight-year tenure. As intense competition from Japanese autos and semiconductors appeared to threaten the US and then receded, the seeds of an ambitious Pacific regional trade compact were planted in exploratory meetings by the USTR himself, Ambassador Bill Brock, a Chattanooga native.

Continue reading Global Trade and the Trans-Pacific Partnership – by Deborah Levine