Rudy Parga is Managing Shareholder of the law firm Ryley Carlock & Applewhite. He has a broad commercial and employment litigation practice, and previously led the firm’s Litigation group. Parga is named in multiple editions of Best Lawyers® and Southwest Super Lawyers®, and has garnered recognition locally as well. He is also frequently acknowledged for his community leadership, which includes serving on the Chicanos Por La Causa Board of Directors. Although Arizona has been in the spotlight for controversy over issues that center on cultural differences, there is strength in cultural diversity in the Valley’s business community that is also a driver of commerce.
During my 20-year career as a lawyer, I’ve been amazed to see how small and interconnected the world has become, thanks to rapid advances in technology and communication. It’s clear to me that cultivating cultural awareness in an organization is now a necessity to ensure business success. In my own firm, for example, we have completed client projects throughout the world and in myriad languages, including English, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and Portuguese. Aside from bottom-line benefits of fostering multiculturalism in the marketplace, I believe and have seen firsthand that people within an organization ultimately believe that promoting cultural awareness is the right thing to do. The richness of different perspectives fosters more robust creativity in finding business solutions for clients and customers.
This month’s cover story looks at how businesses are using cultural awareness to their advantage in the marketplace. In Business Magazine explores what businesses are doing to enhance opportunity and business development with and within identified cultural communities that include Hispanic, Asian and Native American, as well as business growth that spans cultural boundaries. In addition to input from individual businesses, In Business Magazine has reached out to organizations that include the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Arizona Asian American Association and the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program.
Looking at business opportunity with the United States government, Doña Storey’s “Enterprise” feature offers insight on best practices as well as pitfalls to avoid for businesses contracting with what she identifies as the “world’s largest consumer” – the government. Business owners’ exit strategies and cashing out a business are the focus of this issue’s “Strategies” article from Amy Handler. And exploring a challenge facing business leaders in our increasingly interconnected global world, David Dotlich discusses, in the “Roundtable” feature, how executives lead others to successful outcomes when there are no “right” answers. These are a few of the wide variety of topics and information in this August issue of In Business Magazine directed to the decision maker and aimed at growing business in the Valley.
In Business Magazine presents the Valley’s most comprehensive “Business Owner’s Legal Guide” for business owners to use as a reference in seeking legal services Valley-wide.
I am pleased to be Guest Editor of this “Multicultural” issue of In Business Magazine and invite you to enjoy the articles that follow.
Sincerely,
Rudy Parga Jr.
Managing Shareholder
Ryley Carlock & Applewhite
