Feature

With my daughter in front of the White House

I took the Emirates on April 14, 2008 to JFK, New York via Dubai. I always thought long-hauls are pleasant but to my utter surprise found it not so interesting. Although the airlines really strove hard to please an economy class passenger with all the means at their disposal (short of bumping you to the business class), age did become a factor. Five hours to Dubai followed by thirteen hours to JFK with a short reprieve at Dubai airport to stretch your legs was still not enough for it to minimize the swelling. I wonder whether the Business class passengers feel the same way.

What awaited you in the far land of miracles was what kept me going. There would be exciting experiences awaiting a traveler, this time as a 'Galpin Fellow' which was basically an exchange program between the two universities Independent University, Bangladesh and Quinnipiac University at Connecticut, USA. Prof. Mohammad Niamat Elahee as a Galpin Fellow had already visited Bangladesh to forge the exchange.

Quinnipiac is one of the twenty-two universities in Connecticut with Yale University at New Haven leading in all spheres. What I hear from assured sources that University of Connecticut follows Yale with Quinnipiac taking the third position in quality education within the state. As far as the whole country is concerned, the gap between these three universities is pretty wide. I trust the facts are correct.

The Prime Shuttle arranged by the host to lift the passenger from JFK to its destination was very pleasant. A two-hour drive along the plains of the country forces one to hypothesize that this is a virtual golf-course. This tentative conclusion was definitely verified as I traveled later during the weekends to New York, New Jersey and Washington. The temperature varied between 50 to 70 Fahrenheit, typically that of a Bangladeshi winter. The grass is mowed to the same precision everywhere with varied landscape as observed in golf courses. Miles and miles of greenery with splendid colors of leaves and flowers abound makes you feel you are in God's country. This is my second trip within a span of five months and the previous experience was that of observing white layer of snow all around. That is a pleasant experience of a different sort. The English winter had been remembered as the author had the opportunity to reside in the UK for three years in the late eighties.

The first objective of the trip was to complete a paper by the two Galpin Fellows to be sent to a refereed journal. Survey had been done in Bangladesh as in the US. The paper would reflect on the negotiation skills of buyers and sellers of the developed and the developing countries. It would focus on four aspects of national culture: individualism versus collectivism; low-context versus high-context; small power distance versus large power distance; and strong-uncertainty avoidance versus weak uncertainty avoidance. The five common negotiation tactics by Lewicki and Robinson (1998) could be considered questionable or unethical: Bluffing (BF), Misrepresentation of position to an opponent (MRN); Traditional Competitive Bargaining (TCB); Attacking the Opponent's network (AON); and Inappropriate Information Gathering (IIG).

Other things followed with the cooperation of the students, leaders in administration and faculty of Quinnipiac. The registration process of the students was well understood as the North American model has been emulated at IUB. The shortcoming at the Bangladesh level is the large investment in software to go on-line coupled with the baud rate. At the US end, being an old university and owning a large endowment, it was relatively easy to invest on a state-of-the-art technology.

This provided interactive communication being facilitated with speed and efficient facilities. The sports complex for example is a case in point. The two sports, ice-hockey and basketball, very popular in the perception of students have been housed in this premise. When the damage for the construction was stated, one was reminded that there is a wide gap in resources between the developed and developing countries. A university in Bangladesh could be constructed with the expenses towards a sports complex in the US.

The rule of law is well understood by the people at large in the US. The dependence on your own vehicle in the suburbs can keep you on your toes and what is high on the priority list is to keep your driving license safe without getting caught for any offence. Since there is relatively less or no public transport system in the suburbs compared to cosmopolitan cities like New York, people have to depend on their own transport.

If you want to spend a month outside the cities in the US, please get a paper from the international Automobile Association (AA) at Dhaka by showing your local driving license which I trust will facilitate you to drive a rented car in the US for a short while. Please also check with the authorities in the US before you leave if at all it is possible. It will be less expensive than hiring a taxi or a cab for your mobility. The next time you visit the US, smart cars or the public transport system in the suburbs also would be a possibility since gas prices are moving towards an all time record of $7 a gallon by the end of the year.

It was a delight to observe the primaries of the Democratic convention and follow the analysis of the multi-agencies and individuals. The sieving process that the President-hopeful has to go through is an exercise that can reduce one's longevity. The accountability towards expenses of the race and raising of funds through a transparent process is a lesson for any state apparatus. The internet was a practical strategy to raise funds, and the positive outcome for Mr. Obama was a reflection of his prowess to win over the electorates towards change and the finance for his campaign. Ms. Clinton however used the traditional strategy and was not very successful in raising fund as did her adversary. Although they are neck and neck in the race for the Presidential nomination, yet Mr. Obama's candidature appears to provide a wholesome feeling. A Visiting Professor from the US stated in a recent seminar at IUB that there would be an end of racism in the US once Mr. Obama becomes the first Afro-American President. Although a difficult proposition but that change would obviously be for the better for humankind.

I remember being the Trash Picker at Skiff Road along with the members of the Rotary Club of Hamden, District 7980 to partake in community work. Since I was there as a Visiting Rotarian I thought I should get my attendance as well as observe what can be learnt to replicate new ideas in Rotary Club of Dhaka West, District 3280 where I am a member. I attended the District Assembly, participated in the Auction night of RC of Hamden, and was a Guest Speaker at the same club.

If I do not state some nice objective words about the presentation skills of students of Quinnipiac University, not to speak of students of other institutions that I met, I will be missing a very important aspect of the education process of the US. I was invited to sit in one of the presentation of the senior students (ready to pass out in the Business School Undergraduate class) and to my pleasant surprise my assessment met my expectation. These students know how not to be over-confident, their communication skills were as lucid as can be expected, they were articulate and the substance of their presentation was precise and to the point. Although the grades differed (since there were various capacities of students) but one has a wholesome feeling that the faculty had done an excellent job grooming them up.

(Dr. Khan is an Economist and is currently the Registrar of Independent University, Bangladesh- IUB)

Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed facilitated the seminar in an interactive manner for about two hours. Power Point slides were on the screen to lead the session. The theme of the Seminar was “Manners do matter at work which are slightly different from good manners in social situation”. It was a very lively participatory two hours of active deliberations. Nobody, including the facilitator, could feel that two hours had passed so quickly. Dr. Ahmed covered the following topics : Definitions, Manners in Social and Work life, Table Manners, Dress and Grooming, Telephone Behaviour, Listening, Welcoming, Courtesies, Thinking about others, Time Management, Snooping etc. Dr. Ahmed at the end highlighted what qualities were required to become a well-mannered person.

The program ended with votes of thanks from the facilitator, the Project Director and the Participants.