Blog

How to “pre-adapt” your future and power more success

Nature has much to teach us—even about business. Did you know, for example, that when bacteria are grown alongside an antibiotic, they not only become resistant to it but also different antibiotics to which they’ve yet to be exposed? Biologists call this “pre-adaptation,” and in today’s volatile, uncertain,

14Jun

‘Tis the Ramadan Season

WAC Austin
Blog, News, Recent
culture, Islam, Muslim, Ramadan, religion

Muslims in the greater Austin community began the holy month of Ramadan on Monday, June 6. They joined billions of other Muslims worldwide to observe a month of spirituality and devotion. For the next thirty days, they will fast from dawn to dusk. In addition to abstaining from eating and drinking throughout the

10Jun

3 Cross-Cultural Tips for Doing Business during the Holy Month of Ramadan

Suzanne Krause
Blog, News, Recent
business, culture, employees, employer, international business, Islam, Muslim, Ramadan, religion

For most government organizations and government linked companies, time for Muslim prayer will have a bearing on meeting time. In addition, during the fasting month of Ramadan, they tend to dislike a meeting in the afternoon. ~Executive, Malaysian Airlines Do you think your business calendar and

31May

JETRO: Your Business Partner for Japan

WAC Austin
Blog, CGT, News, Recent
access, business support, economic development, government, international business, investment, Japan, Japanese, JETRO, opportunities

Is your company looking to stake a claim in the world’s third largest economy? Japan enjoys political and economic stability, provides strong IP protection, and has well-developed transportation and communications infrastructures. Japanese consumers are sophisticated, demand high-quality goods, and have a per

12Apr

The irony of “green card soldiers”

wacaustin
Blog, Recent
education, foreign policy, green card, green card soldier, immigrant, immigration, Latin America, soldier, Spanish, veteran, war

There are thousands of non-United States citizens—immigrants and asylum-seekers—serving in our military. They are called “green card soldiers,” and there are currently 37,401 on active duty. Please follow and like us:

28Mar

Carrie Vanston puts the focus on corporate cultures

The World Affairs Council always holds a soft spot in my heart because it takes connecting to a whole other level – internationally! Its most recent endeavor, the Global Business Luncheon Series, continues its Please follow and like us:

28Feb

An immigration paradox

wacaustin
Blog, Recent, Uncategorized
Economics, immigration, intern, internship, labor

“You can hardly go through a day, much less observe a holiday, without the fruit of their labor in your life” —David K. Shipler, The Working Poor The topic of undocumented immigration is in need of some truth-telling: We fear the dispossession of American jobs, the economic hurricane that is sure to drown our

24Jan

Who’s Swimming Naked? Exposing business risks and opportunities in China

By Jeremy Haft, author of Unmade in China: The Hidden Truth about China’s Economic Miracle, Adjunct professor at Georgetown University, and CEO of SafeSource Trading, LLC. Haft will speak to World Affairs Council of Austin on Wednesday, January 27, 2016, at the ACC Highland Business Center. China is in the

04Jan

Today’s Hungary at a Glance

Phillip ‎ Aronoff
Blog, Recent
communist, Consul General, Economics, Europe, Eurozone, Hungary, VAT

After living under the oppression of Soviet Union domination, Hungary achieved independence with the breakup of the Communist block. As a democracy Hungary’s government has gone back and forth between the Socialist party and the FIDEZ party, left and right. Currently the FIDEZ party is in its sixth year of

Banda on the streets of Olomouc in eastern Czech Republic, historical capital city of Moravia.

14Dec

UT Austin student immersed in Czech culture, finds Texas links

This summer, with the help of the Czech Studies Summer Fellowship at my university, The University of Texas at Austin, I studied abroad for one month at the Summer School of Slavonic Languages at Palacký University in Olomouc, Czech Republic. The program had 98 students from 30 countries, including 3 American