The Chronicles: Part Two 

Of Turkish, Korean and Spanish Dramas...

Oppa, çok güzel, y te quiero..

Be assured. I am not making these words up and I am perfectly fine. These words, belonging to different languages, have become a part of my dictionary. It is not due to my every day interaction in the diverse community at McGill, but it is more to do with my growing love for international soap operas. To others, it may seem like a "complete waste of time" but to me, its my chance to gain much wider understanding of the global cultures around the world. Its my opportunity to appreciate the similarities that I share with people of different backgrounds and look at the differences at the same time. Even though, this interaction may be limited to one end, but it still allows me to explore a lot of things that I was previously unaware of.

Whenever someone would bring up the term 'global citizen' or 'global player', I would think about Coca Cola and the way its logo is written in different languages.

source:http://www.coca-colaconversations.com/2010/03/cokes-international-logos.html

Or if you go to McDonalds in some other country besides your home country, you may find some dishes to be customized in accordance with the local culture; McAloo Tikki (vegetable burger) found in India, McArabia (grilled kofta burger with spices) in Middle East, and CBO (Chicken Bacon Onions) in Europe.

Does this reflect diversity? Does this satisfy the definition of 'global player'?

Yes it does. Well, I am not here to advocate the inclusion of McDonalds meal in your everyday diet, but   I find it quite fascinating the way companies employ regional orientated strategies and go on to become global companies of tomorrow.

If these huge organizations like McDonalds, Coca Cola, Pepsi Co etc make these regional strategies one of their distinctive competitive advantage, then should individuals( or specifically anyone part of the global workforce) also position themselves in similar way?

I am not saying that one should consider joining a language class from tomorrow, but if we all make an effort to know  more about other cultures through the use of powerful tool called media, we can become better global citizens of tomorrow which will lead to lesser stereotypes and healthier co operation.

And technology has made this much simpler, because it is due to Web 2.0 that people like me are able to watch all their favourite international shows on viki.com which provides a video platform for these dramas with english subtitles (subtitles are available in 31 languages).