On Monday, Feb. 28, the Career Development Center hosted its last seminar, “The Business of Business”, in a series entitled Career Bites. This seminar was facilitated by Carl Edgecombe, and featured a discussion of current trends in business.

Since Sept. 11, the hotel industry and other industries have been geared more toward service. The hotel industry in particular has added trends such as the “heavenly bed” and changed their menus to be more health conscious to further customize and improve their product for consumers.

One of the many trends discussed in the seminar was outsourcing. Outsourcing has both positive and negative aspects. It causes people to lose their jobs due to the fact that some U.S. companies have chosen to move overseas. It also affects the promotional practices of many businesses.

Outsourcing also has many benefits, such as companies saving money. If people who have families are willing to relocate to other nations, he or she are more marketable to their parent company.

Outsourcing affects the U.S. economy because it gives several major U.S. businesses more opportunities to further expand, helping both foreign companies and U.S. companies to develop capital.

Another important topic was transnational trade. When companies enter into a foreign country, the people of that particular country might feel inferior because those particular people might not have the necessary job skills that employers are looking for. International trade creates competition, boosts the economy, and exposes people to a different entertainment facet.

Companies also need to adapt and restructure in order to keep up with foreign companies, this can be done through a virtual business model.

Technology is also an issue because it may seem to be helpful to society, but at the same time, it can cause stresses in society, particularly for businesses.