Readiness of Puerto Rican managers in the southern region of Puerto Rico to compete in the international business environmen

The purpose of the Project Demonstrating Excellence was to study the perception of Puerto Rican Managers who are in leadership positions in Puerto Rican businesses on the readiness and preparedness of Puerto Rican managers to compete in the international business environment. These businesses must be currently engaged in or planning to initiate international business activities. It was hypothesized that Puerto Rican managers perceive themselves as ready to compete in the international business environment, and that colleges and universities in Puerto Rico are contributing to the readiness and preparedness of Puerto Rican managers to compete in the international business environment.;The researcher gathered data by means of interviews of randomly select top Puerto Rican managers in business organizations in the southern region of Puerto Rico. In addition, questionnaires were administered to other top and middle Puerto Rican managers in the same business organizations where the interviews took place. After these two processes, a list of the characteristics that Puerto Rican managers indicated that are necessary for success in the international business environment was developed. This list was compared to another list which was prepared from the reviewing of the literature by international and Puerto Rican authors. Finally, a comparison of these two lists of characteristics was made in order to determine the mind frame on international business by mainland and statewide business persons.;Data analyses were based on central tendency measures, dispersion measures, rank, and hypotheses were tested by means of cross tabulation, Chi Square, and t tests. The results support the three hypotheses stated in the research. The first hypothesis indicated that business programs in colleges and universities in Puerto Rico significantly contribute to the awareness of Puerto Rican business managers to understand the factors that are needed to be ready to compete in an international business environment. The second hypothesis stated that universities and colleges in Puerto Rico are preparing and providing for the next generation of business managers who should be ready to compete in an international business environment. The third hypothesis dictated that Puerto Rican managers who have had traditional and non-traditional education in International Management are significantly more prepared to compete in an international business environment.;This study has implications for business organizations, professional business organizations and Business Schools in colleges and universities in Puerto Rico.