Advice from College of Business celebrated economist Alexander Katkov

Counter to statistics that indicate typical U.S. workers of today will have three to five different career changes, College of Business faculty member Alexander Katkov says it’s more important to specialize. “It’s OK to be a generalist when you’re young. But in the global economy, it’s more advantageous to develop deep skills in a specialized area of expertise.”

Katkov knows a thing or two about global economics, opening up world markets, and surviving tough economic times. Before joining JWU in 1990 to teach economics and international business classes, Katkov was a celebrated economist in his home country of Russia. Through his renowned work in organizational change and management planning at St. Petersburg University of Economics and Finance, Katkov was tapped by the city’s mayor to help open the Russian economy to the outside world under the restructuring reforms of Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev. Granted permission to trade in the global arena using the free market model, Soviet enterprises lacked experience and needed help in making the transition.

This past summer, Katkov led two separate summer term abroad trips with College of Business students to St. Petersburg University of Economics and Finance, and Sejong University in Seoul, South Korea. The experience provided firsthand insight into the strategies, perspectives and philosophies driving global business in these growing economies. “It’s important to understand the overall Asian economic approach, particularly the Japanese model,” he says.

According to Katkov, students and workers in Asia place a higher value on education, from a very young age — which makes them more productive as working adults. “I saw this firsthand at Sejong University, where students are more serious about their studies,” he says. “This will give them a better competitive edge in the global economy.”

U.S. students and parents would be well advised to pay more attention to the importance of ongoing education — and gaining international perspectives on business. “In order to compete, parents must give their children the best possible education — less Game Boy and more study and reading of books. Learning a foreign language is important, as is exposing them to foreign travel.”

When it comes to the subject of outsourcing, Katkov points out that, unlike the manufacturing sector, the service industry can only partially be moved to countries with lower wages. “If you have the option, it’s more of a safety net to pursue a career in the service industry,” says Katkov. “With that said, however, the service industry itself is getting global, and so again, it’s becoming increasingly important to learn a foreign language — in particular, Spanish or Chinese.”

Email > alexander.katkov@jwu.edu