Chapter 18
Globalization and Managerial Opportunities for Engineers
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
18-1. Q: Describe some of the effects of globalization.
A: The student can go many different directions with this question. Some common themes that should
18-2. Q: Congratulations! You have served as an R&D manager so effectively that you have been
appointed Director of R&D for your company’s affiliate in Tokyo. What differences will you expect
to find in your new assignment (other than language), and how might this affect your life and your
management style?
18-3. Q: What is the significance of current political shifts in the United States and Europe on a future
engineering career.
18-4. Q: China was not explicitly considered as either a developed or developing nation in the text. Why is
this?
18-5. Q: The discussion of globalization on an engineering career notes the higher number of engineers
being trained outside the United States. How should engineering programs prepare their students for
this future of a “blended” engineering workforce with engineers trained to different standards?
18-6. Q: Give an example of an “appropriate technology” that might be preferable in a specific developing
country situation instead of the technology used to solve the same problem in the United States.