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Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Globalization vs. Protectionism

Globalization is an opportunity for workers within an industry where a country has a comparative advantage in that industry, while it is a very real threat to workers in industries that have no comparative advantage or in countries where comparative advantages have been diminished by exploitation. When input of resources is equal, a country is said to have a comparative advantage over another country when their productivity and profits are intractably greater that of their competitor nation, due to an intrinsic absolute advantage of efficiency of output. Countries that can produce a good or service at a lower cost can gain a larger market share for their product when trade barriers such as tariffs are limited and open trade is encouraged.

In fact, without the availability of open market policies, increasing market share for many U.S. companies would not be possible as the U.S. economy alone may longer support their growth, (Champy, 2008). Champy goes on to outline seven steps which a company can take to seize the economic opportunity that is presented by globalization including: developing a global business model, becoming a low-cost producer, focusing on value, finding the right global partners, hiring the best local workforce , maintaining consistent values across cultures, and strengthening financial capabilities.

The largest major identifiable threats to globalization and international trade are national protectionist policies. Countries that support international trade can compete in larger markets than those countries that adopt nationalistic protectionist policies. Inevitably, other countries cease to trade with countries that adopt these protectionist policies. Many American politicians, in response to fears expressed by American workers as a result of the recent economic crisis, are openly criticizing the North American Free Trade Agreement, (NAFTA), and espousing protectionist policies despite the fact that NAFTA has generated 26 million jobs in the United States, (Dowd, 2009).

According to Ricardian theory, each nation has a fixed endowment of natural resources, (Appleyard, Field, & Cobb, 2010). Countries exchange these natural resources in order to develop. It is clear that in order for a nation to compete successfully in a global market it must be able to retrain their workers into industries in which it can specialize in industries that utilize these resources. Retraining workers to be productive in industries where they have a comparative advantage should be easily accomplished in developed and developing nations. Additionally, for traditionally underdeveloped nations, or those nations where resources have traditionally been exploited and historically no developed value has been added, globalization provides an advantage in that these nations often realize the highest return on foreign investment, (Anyanwu, 2006).

For all nations global trade could potentially be beneficial for those workers in industries where the nation has a comparative advantage, though for certain nations open trade can pose an even greater benefit. Nations that attempt to protect industries where they cannot achieve a comparable advantage will suffer under increasing globalization.

References:
Anyanwu, J. C. (2006, April). Promoting of Investment in Africa. African Development Review, 18(1), 42-71. Retrieved from EBSCOhost Business Source Complete.
Appleyard, D., Field, A., & Cobb, S. (2010). International economics (7th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Champy, J. (2008, January 1). Is global trade a threat or opportunity? Financial Executive, 24(1), 36-41. Retrieved from EBSCOhost Business Source Complete.
Dowd,A. (2009, April 1). The rising tide of protectionism in the United States. Fraser Forum. 31-33. Retrieved from EBSCOhost Business Source Complete.

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David Hector Thibodeau

1045 Wylie Street SE • Atlanta, GA 30316

• davidhectorthibodeau@gmail.com



Professional Experience:



Georgia College & State University - Milledgeville, GA 31061 2008 - Present

www.gcsu.edu



­Serials/Acquisitions Coordinator

­• Establish policies and procedures for the efficient operation of the Serials and Acquisitions Department, oversees database maintenance and quality, and processing of materials.

­• Supervise full-time faculty, staff, and student positions.

­• Manage electronic serials collection using electronic management software systems.

­• Update bibliographic holdings for serials collection using standard library utilities.

­• Direct all major projects and daily activities involving the management of the serials collection.

­• Oversee participation in National Library of Medicine’s DOCLINE ILL program.

­• Meet with department faculty to review their acquisitions needs and serve as a library liaison with academic departments.

­• Provides assistance and advice to the Dean/University Librarian in the overall administration of the library, including strategic planning and the establishment of overall goals and objectives.

­• Assist library administration in monitoring the budget and expenditures, recommends equipment, supplies, personnel, and other needs. Perform fiscal period close in Voyager integrated library system.

­• Serve as primary liaison to vendors and as the technical contact for electronic databases, including setting up trials, negotiating licensing agreements, managing SLAs, and authoring RFQs and other correspondence.

­• Participate in collection development to support the curriculum by recommending acquisitions and participating in the evaluation of current collections.

­• Develop and prepare statistical and narrative reports.

­• Provide reference services as assigned.



KPMG LLP - Atlanta, GA 10/2003 - 10/2007

http://www.kpmg.com/



­Southeast Area Library Associate

­• Relocated from Miami to Atlanta by KPMG due to assuming additional offices in 2006.

­• Reference, research, and collection management for fifteen Southeast area libraries.

­• Developed on-line training sessions for proprietary accounting research platform.

­• Set up, developed, and administered SharePoint internal collaboration web site.

­• Liaison to National Operations teams on SharePoint development.

­• Redeveloped external acquisitions web site to be high functioning and suitable for firm-wide use.

­• Collaborated with marketing department to improve collateral for delivery to clients and targets.

­• Account contact and administrator for firm-wide on-line subscription.

­• Coordinated development of the Latin American Tax Handbook between the European Tax Centre, the Latin American Tax Center, and the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation.

­• Led a team to develop an electronic tool to survey library users.

­• Appointed Work Environment Initiative Local Action Committee Representative in South Florida.

­• Promoted from Area Library Coordinator to Area Library Associate and relocated from Boston to Miami in 2003; originally responsible for library collections, acquisitions, vendor relations, and accounts in 13 Northeast area offices.



KPMG LLP - Boston, MA 03/200- - 10/2003

http://www.kpmg.com/



­Northeast Area Library Coordinator

­• Implemented integrated library system software in area libraries.

­• Assisted in creating a collection development database on MS Access to track expenditures.

­• Substantially decreased print purchases through resource sharing and eliminating duplicative materials.

­• Developed electronic process for Partners to select and order professional literature annually that resulted in $60K savings in the Northeast in the first year, (project adopted firm wide).

­• Piloted on-line access to tax literature platform in Northeast Area that resulted in over $25K cost savings in Northeast area and a wider distribution of resources, (project adopted firm wide).

­• Coordinated and developed training programs for Lexis/Nexis, Westlaw, and other information platforms for professionals and support staff, (project adopted firm wide).



Education:



American Intercontinental University

­• 2010 – Present, MBA – Project Management Concentration



­Simmons College--Boston, MA

­• Summer 2000; audited - Knowledge Management

­• Summer 1999; audited- Management of Information Technology

­• 1996-1998 MLIS, Graduate School of Library and Information Science



­Boston College--Newton, MA

­• 1984-1988 BA, College of Arts and Sciences: Double Major: English and Psychology





­Hebrew University--Jerusalem, Israel

­• Summer 1988 & summer 1990, Assistant Archaeological Field Supervisor and associated graduate level classes.



Leadership:



Georgia Leadership Institute – State Personnel Administration

­• 2009 – The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People



­Florida Library Leadership Program -- Tallahassee, FL

­• 2005-2006 - Year-long comprehensive series of learning sessions that focuses on developing an understanding of leadership, within a conceptual framework and practical applications.



Certifications:



Emory University - Center for Lifelong Learning – Atlanta, GA

­• 2008 - Emory University: Management Certification.

­• Courses included: Essentials of Personnel Management, Win-Win Negotiations, Essentials of Supervision, Essentials of Motivation, and Essentials of Coaching for Managers.



­New Horizons--Boston, MA

­• 2002 - Certified Internet Webmaster – Foundation Fundamentals

­• Courses included: Networking, Internet, and Web-Page Authoring Fundamentals.



Professional Memberships:

SLA Georgia Chapter Board Member 2009 - Present

­Tennis Club II Condominium Association President, Fort Lauderdale, FL 2005-2006

­Member: ALA, NASIG, CIP



Skills / Strengths:

• Lexis/Nexis, Westlaw, Factiva, ProQuest, EBSCOhost, & other information databases.

­• Conversational French, some Spanish

­• MS office: Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Word, Outlook, SharePoint, Visio, and Project.