also seen as part of the education infrastructure. Even though I worry about gross inequalities, there's a heck of a lot more literate people, especially literate women, in China, than there's ever been in human history (3).
Even beyond training, what distinguishes Motorola from many other companies moving to foreign countries to make a profit is its commitment to the people in the target culture. Its determination to honor and promote the culture of the people it hires and does business with makes standard run-of-the-mill ôdiversityö training look like a phony, half-baked way of avoiding lawsuits rather than a sincere attempt to generate respect. According to Carnella Hardin, ôMotorola has gone so far as to open a special center for cultural training at its headquarters in Schaumburg, Illinois,ö where it is putting hundreds of its managers through short courses. Mr. Moorthy, a Malaysian who runs the training center, says, "It is imperative that we understand all national cultures and respect all cultures - and use it as a competitive advantage" Mr. Moorthy's goal? ôTo make Motorola managers ætransculturally competentÆ" (5).
It is easy to see how profound an effect this type of corporate ambassadorship can have on interpersonal relations, business plans, and global markets. Any person anywhere would be more comfortable trading with or working for a company that trained its people to learn his culture rather than impose theirs on him. The good will generated from this commitment alone could break most of the barriers that stop other corporations in their tracks. Deborah McFarland, World Bank, agrees. ôThe very groups we want to label as exploitative, the Motorolas, the Coca-Colas, are the ones doing the very thing we look to governments to do, and thatÆs to provide that sense of civic order, those public goods that those governments cannot or do not or will notö (3). Motorola takes globalization seriously. In f...