Each issue of Management Momentum will spotlight an exceptional UNT Management Graduate.

TIMOTHY RAMSEY, the 1973 Outstanding Graduate of the Department of Management is our featured Alumnus who is on the move.

Mr. Ramsey grew up in Texas and graduated from Athens High School. He began working in the

Production Control Department at Texas Instruments (TI), which was a summer job, intending to return to school in the fall. As things turned out, however, he married, and TI became a full-time job. Mr.

Ramsey's supervisor at TI encouraged him to finish school at any cost, using evenings, Saturdays and early mornings. As it turned out, TI practiced flex time well before it became a popular management practice, much to Mr. Ramsey's benefit. Mr. Ramsey is currently the Director of the Worldwide Facilities Management, Texas Instruments. We asked Mr. Ramsey to share his experiences in international

management with us. His response follows.

Q: How did you enter the field of international management?

A: I began my career in corporate facilities in 1973, working in the planning group, which determined space needs for the corporation. I periodically traveled to our international sites to work on small projects and administrative rearrangements. I worked with foreign TI employees, construction and engineering firms, and purchasing--all had new ways of thinking and problem solving. Often these solutions were superior to my preconceived ideas. In 1977, I relocated to Asia for a two year assignment and began to learn the management styles and cultures of the Asian countries from Japan to Australia. In 1980, 1 left TI to be the facilities director for a startup, joint venture semiconductor company. This joint venture was extremely successful and gave me the opportunity to work with people of various educational and cultural backgrounds. In 1989, I returned to TI to help build the corporate facilities group into a world class team, my most challenging and rewarding project to date.

Q: Do you have a particularly memorable international experience?

A: My first international trip was to Italy, and it was overwhelming. I was a young man from rural Texas, trying to drive through the middle of Rome with one eye on the road and one eye on the magnificent architecture. The plant was located in a city with no English books, radio, television, or newspapers; few people spoke English. By the end of my month's stay, I was reading labels on shaving cream cans to hear the English language. But from that trip, I knew I wanted to be involved in international activities for the rest of my career. Rome is still my favorite city, and I plan to retire there in a few years.

More recently, I was in a business meeting in Thailand. The chairman of the company and I discovered we both graduated from UNT in 1973 with degrees in Industrial Management. Mr. Uswachoke and I have become friends, see each other frequently, and enjoy talking about UNT and how the world suddenly has become a smaller place.

Q: How can education be more effective in preparing students for an international career? A: The student today must focus on global issues and get "out of the box" in thinking. Hopefully, schools will begin to broaden the students' horizons by offering courses in selected world cultures, religions, art, history, and languages. Accounting, finance, and management are a must, but do not adequately prepare the student to face someone who has nothing in common with the basic human elements that cause us to be us. You must come to the point that you value the diversity of the world and understand that we are in a larger community and that every member has value. The question really is, "What value do I bring?"