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International Business Strategy

IBM 4


Oliver Torres Ruiz


Career Strategy


Prof. Dr. Niels Berhmann








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Introduction
In order to show the strategies that we have learned through this International Business
Strategy course, I am going to present this paper where I show my future career strategy.
As a Business student in a world where everything changes in seconds and the technology
moves constantly is mandatory to create a strategy or a life plan that allows us to grow
and reach our goals on time.
As a Guest student from Mexico here in Germany I have seen that the way people do
business here is quite different, here in Europe you have to deal with many cultural
problems and design strategies that allow you to do successful business with many
different countries.
As a Mexican studying business in Mexico this is really valuable for me, I have been
instructed to focus in USA and the big market that we share with them. This experience is
going to help me not only to expand my business vision but also to know which methods
are the best to be able to solve everyday problems in my future work.
Broadly speaking my work is about, where am I right now? Where do I want to go? And
how am I going to get there? Using some strategies that we have seen through this past
weeks.








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Life Plan
First of all I have to say that the subjects that I am taking here in Germany are very
different from the ones that I should be taking in Mexico, my studies are focused in
Trading and International Business, what does this mean? Mainly the objective of a career
like mine is to be able to work in Logistics, Exports, Imports, Border controls, having my
own trading company, advise clients about all the laws they have to accomplish to do
business with another country or working for the government. Thanks to the European
Union and the good reputation that European products and countries hold this is
something not many people has to study because commerce is easier here than in
America.
With this in mind my alternatives in the future are already chosen, when I decided to
studied this I did it without thinking well which my future would be with this career or its
consequences, until now I believe this was the best decision I have ever done.
In this moment after all the Business strategy sessions I finally realize that I should have
done a better decision making process, but I did not had all the resources and knowledge
that I have now. It is necessary to say that I ran with luck.
So after all this explanation of my past and point of view it is time to start designing my
future. Now I now where am I, and the first thing that I want to do is start with a very
common and easy strategy that normally applies in companies, lets create some short,
medium and long term objectives. This is very useful to begin and having a general
overview of the situation.
Time Objectives
Short Term. (1
month to 1 year)
-Successfully finish my exchange semester here in Germany with final grades
no less than 2.
-Return to Mexico, finish the year of studies that I have left there with final
grades also no less than 2.
-Start my social service and finish the mandatory 240 hours in less than 6

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months.
-In the other 6 months left, start my internship in a German company, if it is
not possible try in a Customs Agency or in a Logistics company.
-Keep studying German to improve my level.
Medium Term. (1
year to 5 years)
-Stay in the company where I did my internship between 2-3 years in order to
get the necessary experience and get there promotion to be enough qualified
to get a better job.
-If my last job was no with a German company, now is the time to find one.
Start working there for 3 or 2 years left, get a promotion and find the
possibility to get employed by that company here in Germany.
-If any of the last options is possible, is necessary a B plan, after getting
experience in my first job, start with a master in logistics or economy in order
to be better qualified for a better job. I would prefer to start working as soon
as possible in my field, that is why I left a Master as my last option.
Long term. (up to
5 years)
-By this time I am between 27 or 28 old, my career has to get in the right
direction since this point, the ideal panorama for me would be to live for a
couple of years in another country, since I am studying here in Germany and I
have some knowledge of the language I need to focus on that, working in
Germany and learn a lot about the how to do business with European
countries, after maybe 5 or 10 years living here return to Mexico with a new
perspective and ideas will help me to improve and be able to have my own
business and create an export-import agency, with contracts with German or
European companies in that point I have done the necessary to become a
successful business man.
-Maybe that ideal panorama is not possible, it is always a good idea to have a
B plan, again is time to do something different, if I cannot accomplish my
objective of working and living in Europe for some time, after getting my
master degree I would like to work in an important airport or port in order to
enhance my logistics abilities and become an expert trader. After getting
experience and knowledge I can start a company or an agency dedicated to
control international merchandise, exports, imports, logistics and so on.

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After explaining my life plan in just some sentences I need to make a SWOT analysis of
myself, this is necessary to know which tools I can use to have a successful working life.
Just to remember a SWOT analysis is a planning method used to evaluate the Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, it is normally applied for business and marketing
to evaluate the success of it, but it also can be used in yourself to know which are your
advantages and disadvantages and see what can you do to improve yourself and avoid
problems.


Positive Negative
Internal
factors
Strengths Weakness
-Ability to work under pressure.
-Discipline.
-Responsibility.
-Teamwork.
-Technological skills.
-Leadership.
-Languages.
-Sense of punctuality.
-Lack of experience.
-Shyness.
-Need of strong motivation.
-Indecision.
-Lack of compromise.

External
factors
Opportunities Threats
-The number of German companies arriving to
Mexico is increasing.
-Mexico is growing economically.
-Trading experts are required in the field.
-Germany is the 7
th
business partner of Mexico.
-The manufactures are our increasing export and
import products.
-People that work on the customs, exports and
imports sectors are normally well paid jobs.
-Strong competition even from people that
studied something related to business.
-International economic problems that can slow
commerce.
-Mexico losing position against Brazil.
-Lack of interest from companies to invest in
Mexico due to the new financial and economic
reforms.

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After doing self-examination I see that I have plenty of things to change, my weakness
should be transformed into my strengths in order to reach my goals easily. It is really
interesting how your point of view about your environment can change after just a small
self-reflection exercise. I really think this is going to be useful for me in the future, it is
necessary to see everything clearer in order to follow the right path.
As a dream or a final goal in my life I want to create my own Mexican International
Trading company, with that company being able to change the economy and worldwide
position of my country, move thousands of ships and airplanes per year, that is how
economy moves nowadays, I truly believe that we have the potential to grow as much as
the new rising countries, it is just matter of time and some changes.
In some general steps my strategy has to be to move fast, do not waste time, as soon as I
finish my studies I have to start working hard. Personally I think that getting a Master
degree opens you a lot of doors, it makes you a more specialized professional and more
companies are going to be interested for you, but in my specific case I do not thing that is
the best path to follow, there is nothing in this world that teach you more than practice,
there is the important school, real problems are the best way to learn what school cannot
teach you.
Getting negotiation skills, dealing with cultural and understanding problems are the
everyday routine in my field, if you can become an expert on those points, the
opportunities will come.
I would like to finish this work with a motto that reminds me every day of what is life
about; We all die. The goal isn't to live forever; the goal is to create something that
will.(Chuck Palahniuk, Diary).
With this on my mind, I work hard daily to be the closer to my goal, and maybe one day I
will reach it.