What Does Industry Say? 

Good afternoon. Thank you for the invitation to speak before you today.

      I have to confess, this is somewhat of a fantasy for me. For most of my life I have been lectured to by professors, teachers and worse, teaching assistants. I always promised myself that if I got the opportunity to address a group of educators, I would set a few things straight. And by the way, there will be a quiz after class today.

     ZF Industries is the North American Division of ZF Friedrichhafen AG, a privately held German based automotive supplier. With 37,000 employees and locations throughout the world, sales will cross the 6.0 billion dollars threshold this year. World wide, ZF is known for its innovation, quality and performance. German influenced engineering concepts drive the value added equation and has become our calling card. ZF's customers include every major transportation manufacturer including John Deere, Caterpillar, BMW, Ford, GM, Daimler Chrysler, Toyota, Nissan, Porsche, Freightliner, Navistar, I think you get the drift.

     As ZF does business on every continent except Antarctica, and given that not everyone speaks German, ZF had to adapt to achieve success in the international marketplace. Few products sell themselves, no matter how technically superior they are or no matter where they are made. ZF's first major endeavor outside Germany was in the largest market in South America, Brazil. Just a few years later in 1979, ZF established its next major market initiative in Northbrook, Illinois. Twenty years later ZF has 13 plants in North America and is approaching 1 billion dollars in sales.

     What is our formula for success? There are many elements, but one is particularly important. Just as important as investment capital, invention and innovation, human capital is the first and most critical asset for a successful business. And thankfully, that is why we are here today. As little as ten years ago, there were 2 kinds of businesses, international and domestic. Today there are still two kinds of business, international and Internet. Within a few years, all businesses will be international and on the Internet.

     Nothing will replace the human contact in the business enterprise. Language and custom are the conduits of communication. To be successful outside of your home country, communication must be in the local language. That can be challenging with 6000 ‑languages and dialects worldwide.

     The most valuable assets at ZF are those employees that can communicate in more than one language. America is a great country in many respects.  If there is one weakness or better yet, area for improvement, it is the recognition of the value of mastering a second language. In Germany, foreign language instruction starts early and continues throughout the student's years in school. This results in students that are well prepared for international career in commerce.

     Finding engineers that are bilingual gets more difficult every year. The trend is getting worse. The high school where my children will attend school is located in a village known for its German heritage. This school is part of the largest school district in Illinois. As one of the best schools in the state, many of the students go on to engineering curriculums at the top engineering schools in the country. The problem is that this school does not offer German as a language. German engineering, a common phrase in today's marketplace. But there is not enough demand by the current student population to support a German language curriculum. That is a problem.

     Hollywood and the US media have promoted English as the prime language for commerce in the world and the Internet continues that dominance. But engineering projects are negotiated face-to-face, person-to-person. Fluency in a second language is more than a nice thing to have; it is a key ingredient to success.

     Every new engineering, manufacturing, sales, and service position we fill at ZF, we actively seek bilingual applicants. While we prefer German as the primary language, we also find value in Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, French, and Italian applicants.  Bilingual employees not only allow us to communicate in the native language, but also allow us to understand the culture and value systems that influence commercial relations.

     One program that ZF has utilized is the International Engineering Program of the University of Rhode Island. The employees that come to us from this development regime are well prepared for the demands of our market. Not only do these employees thrive at ZF, they succeed. Our most recent hire, Kevin Zaretsky, has recently received a significant internal promotion, less than a few years after graduation. We will take every Kevin Zaretsky you can send us.

     Not every employee we hire comes to us fluent in a second language. That does not present a problem to ZF. We offer our employees many avenues to develop and master a second, or third language. We offer German language lessons at lunch, ESL classes during work, tuition reimbursement for those employees that prefer the academic route, Berlitz classes for time constrained employees and short term job exchange programs to perfect language skills. We even offer financial rewards to employees in positions where fluency in another language is critical.

     The borders of business are no longer synchronous with the borders of countries. My workday starts with conversations with business partners in Germany, Sweden, England and South Africa, among others and it is not unusual to finish my day by starting someone else's day in the Pacific rim.

     The global marketplace is more than a buzzword in automotive world. Worldwide vehicle centers and common platforms demand that we support our customers where they want. These platform teams combine the best talents from throughout their company resulting in a platform or project team that could be substituted for a United Nations committee. It is customary to find engineers from other countries that speak 2 and 3 languages fluently. The same cannot be said for American engineers.

     The largest market opportunity, China, is one market targeted by all of the major commercial players throughout the world. We need to prepare our children for this arena of competition. The viability of future economies, the future standard of living of our children, will depend on their effectiveness in markets in the Pacific Rim.

     As the US is a large country, most people in the US can travel for hours before encountering people speaking another language. Many Americans are still insulated from the impact of international competition. The velocity of international competition will accelerate with each year.

     Foreign language training must be valued by the education system as a means to establishing a bilingual workforce to secure our position in the world marketplace. The business and education communities must work together to prepare our children for the realities of the future. The prerequisites of Reading, Writing and Arithmetic and not enough to prepare for competition in the 21st century. Language preparation must start at a young age and continue through to the university level. As engineering can be described as a "language" to communicate technical issues, fluency in a 2nd language should be considered a requirement for an engineering student.

     As to setting things straight, here is my question to you. As mankind entered the current millennium, transportation was key to commerce. All progress in commercial arrangements was conducted in person, therefore, the need for better transportation. As transportation improved, the pace of development and innovation accelerated. To sustain that rate of development and innovation, communication tools including telegraph, telephone, satellite and now the Internet followed. My question to you is this, how will language be impacted by the thrust of instant communication. With rise of the true multinational business conglomerate, will one language dominate worldwide commerce or will translation devices allow an even greater diversity of language in the worldwide marketplace. I am certain that we will see a change, but what will it be?

     In conclusion, I am encouraged by the work of organizations such as yours. Your invitation to ZF demonstrates your commitment to promote the dialog that ensures continuous innovation and improvement. I applaud your efforts and recognize your contributions to the success of the global economy. Continue your mission; it is a necessary and desired investment to our continued success. Thank you.
  

File last updated: Tuesday, December 16, 2003