As a major trade partner, EU attitudes relevant in U.S.

In an increasingly global economy, doing business with or working for companies overseas is a distinct possibility. \nThe United States alone accounts for 9 percent of the world's total exports and a whopping 15 percent of total imports, according to a report by the World Trade Organization. Comprising about 21 percent of U.S. exports and 19 percent of its imports, the European Union is the second largest buyer of U.S. goods and the largest provider of U.S. imports, making it a major player in the American business landscape. Future business professionals, like IU students at the Kelley School of Business, will most likely need to be versed in more than just domestic economic traditions when venturing into the job market. \nGerman native Andreas Hauskrecht, a professor of business economy and public policy in the Kelley School, said he prefers the U.S. business structure. \nHauskrecht has worked in four countries and said he has been "around the globe a total of 300 times." \nThough the European and U.S. models are becoming more similar, Hauskrecht said the European economy has had the tendency to be less transparent. European governments require less information be released to the public than the United States' government. \n"Insider trading has been quite strong," he said. "It is almost expected there and not punished nearly as hard as in the United States." \nIllegal insider trading generally refers to buying or selling security using nonpublic information, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Web site. \nHauskrecht also said that unlike in the United States, where the economy is superior to the government, in the EU the government is superior to the economy. This difference results in higher taxation levels in the EU.\n"The sales tax, called value-added tax, is 19 percent and taxes on cigarettes are remarkably high at 70 percent (in Europe)," he said, "and that is hard for people with the bad habits like I once had."\nIn Europe, gas prices are at about $6 per gallon. \n"Tax is about 85 percent on gas," he said. \nHauskrecht also said that Americans work much more than Europeans. \n"My secretary had a total of 44 vacation days," he said, "and that is absolutely normal." \nIn comparison, the average American usually takes a maximum of two weeks vacation.\nHealth insurance is mandatory in Europe, Hauskrecht said. Unless other measures are taken to obtain private insurance, the payment is taken directly out of paychecks. When he was single, living as a professor in Germany, he said he was "taxed to hell."\nThe U.S. income tax rate ranges from 10 percent to 35 percent, according to the Congressional Budget Office's Web site. The European Union's statutory tax rate is 25 percent, but tax rates in countries throughout Europe range from 25 percent to more than 40 percent, according to a report issued by KPMG, a U.S. accounting firm.\nHowever, Hauskrecht said the income gap is smaller in Europe than in the United States. \n"Much of the goods are provided by the government," he said. "People pay more, but expect to get more. Inequality in Europe is a negative thing regardless of your political stance." \nFrank Kelcz, a graduate of Bowdoin College in Maine, grew up in the United States and has lived and worked for 22 years in France, Belgium, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. He has started international publishing companies in all of those countries and currently has clients in Singapore, New Zealand, South Africa, Israel and the United States, helping them with business strategy, marketing, sales and fundraising. \n"In America, it is all about profit, money and speed," Kelcz said in an e-mail interview. "In Europe it's more about the softer things like relationships, integrity, tradition and quality." \nBecause of the different countries in the European Union, it is much more difficult to develop a single approach that works for every location, he said.\n"In America it is easier to develop a strategy for the entire country and roll it out," Kelcz said. "In Europe, languages, local laws and customs make it much more complicated." \nKelcz also said that in Europe it takes much longer for things to get done. \n"In America deals are looked at in terms of short-term returns," he said, "This means relationships are less important because commerce is more important than the relationship. People care less about consequences of failed deals because there is always another deal around the corner." \nBut in Europe, everyone knows things take time and there is not the rush to get it done, Kelcz said. \n"Relationships are more important because it takes longer to get things done and you'll have to consider whether or not you can live with your partner," he said.\nAnother interesting dynamic to European business, Kelcz said, is the lack of stress on contract law. He gave one example, citing a time when he rented a club for a night and the club's owner required specific provisions for the rental. He brought out a contract, but the owner refused to sign. \n"I shook hands, did not sign a contract and prayed that he would respect the deal, which he did," he said. \nIn Europe there is frequently a familial or patriarchal sense in management where employees are "taken care of" by the head of the family and the organization, Kelcz said. \n"This engenders great loyalty and great variability in terms of how individuals are paid and compensated," he said, "But generally this is not the case in America." \nSome business students say they find overseas career opportunities appealing.\n"I would love to work in Europe since the farthest I've been outside of the U.S. is Canada," said Andrew Hughes, a sophomore finance major. \nMarketing and international studies major and senior Nathanael Mokry spent last semester abroad, traveling across Europe and Africa. \n"I would prefer to work in Europe because, from what I've heard, the corporate culture is much more relaxed and you get more vacation time than you would in the States," He said, "In Spain, it is not uncommon for most stores to completely shut down from 2 to 4 p.m. for the sole purpose of a nap. Basically, I would prefer to work in Europe because it allows for more balance in a person's life"