Camilo Munoz, Managing Director of Translation Source, Interviewed by the Wharton School of Business

Camilo E. Munoz G'99, W'99

Earlier this year, Camilo attended the Wharton Global Alumni Forum in Bogota in his
native Colombia. Here he talks about his exciting and varied career path since graduation.


Wharton School of Business Alumni, Camilo MunozWhat is your occupation?

I am the Founder and CEO of Translation Source. We help companies communicate in any language across 4 continents, 24 hours a day, and 7 days a week. The company is also currently launching a language interpretation solution via video conference.

What effect has Wharton had on your life?

Wharton has had an impact in my life at different levels, but the major effect has been that the School gave me the tools and confidence to manage my own career in a more satisfying and rewarding manner. In my case, that meant becoming an entrepreneur. A little interesting fact about my career progression is that I went to Wharton to become a Wall Street banker. Wharton helped me achieved that goal – I went to work at Lehman Brothers after my MBA; however, in the process, the Wharton experience changed my career expectations and goals and all my pre-Wharton plans ended up fully altered.

How would you describe your career path to fellow alumni?

It has been fun, bumpy and different than expected. Most of my pre-Wharton life took place in Colombia, my native country. My post-Wharton career has taken place in the United States and, mostly, as an entrepreneur in the language services industry. I believe in taking educated risks and that often means doing things a bit differently from the norm. The road has not always been glamorous, but it has always been exciting.

Do you have a story that illustrates the Wharton ROI?

In cold numbers, my Wharton investment was paid in two years by simply calculating my pre- and post-Wharton income differential. However, the real ROI is much greater, though more difficult to calculate. In my case, the Wharton ROI keeps going up every time I meet a potential client through the network or I share ideas with fellow alumni.

Please describe your experience with the Wharton alumni community and share any instances in which you have remained a part of the community as an alumnus.

I am fairly active in the local Wharton Houston Club which, by the way, is pretty well run. I also attend many events: This year I went to the Latin American Forum in Colombia and to my 10th year alumni reunion in Philadelphia. I highly recommend both events. I also interview MBA candidates.

What is it about your work that most excites you?

My big picture motivation drivers are (1) making a positive impact and (2) creating something that lasts. Currently, I am very excited about our video interpretation initiative. I believe this solution will increase language and health care access in an efficient manner and it will also target an often overlooked audience – LEP (Limited English Proficiency) persons in the United States. There are currently 20-25 million persons who do not speak English in the United States.

What books are you reading today?

I am usually reading one business and one literature book at any given time. Right now, my business book is “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell and my literature book is “Buda Blues” by Mario Mendoza.

What gets you up in the morning?

My daughter Isabella and my son Nicolas.

What do you see as the next big change in your industry/niche?

Technology adoption is the biggest shift in the interpretation and translation landscape. In the interpretation industry, the adoption of on-demand, video interpretation solutions will change a landscape currently dominated by expensive on-site interpreters and limited interpretation telephonic services. In the translation industry, machine translation is improving and will change the role translators play in the next 10 to 20 years. I believe translators tasks will increasingly be related to editing and proofreading rather than straight translation work.

Understanding the Translation Certification Process in the United States

Oftentimes clients within the United States will request that a document be certified in order to meet the needs of its intended purpose. US Entities that may require certification of translated documents include educational institutions (foreign transcripts and diplomas), the legal system (divorce decrees, marriage licenses, or law firms wishing to certify translations submitted as evidence), and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (birth certificates).

Certification of a translated document within the United States is a notarized affidavit stating that the translation is a true and accurate translation of the source document. The translation process involves many steps including translation, editing, proofreading, and desk top publishing or formatting. Each step is performed by a separate individual as part of an overall quality control process that is necessary for most any translation, but is especially important in the certification process. The certification is provided by the entity that oversees this comprehensive multi-step quality control process much as a manufacturer of clothing or other goods will put their stamp of approval on the item once it has passed their quality control process.

The certification is an additional layer of assurance to the client and anyone who may have need of the translation.

Do certified translations need to be performed by certified translators?
The short answer is no. Any entity overseeing the translation process can certify a translation.

Document certification and certification of individual translators are two separate processes. As discussed above, certification of a translation is a notarized affidavit assuring that the translated document is true and accurate to the source document, while certification of translators is a process ensuring the competency and skill level of an individual to perform translations.

Who certifies translators in the United States?
The American Translators Association (ATA), a national professional association of translators, does offer certification for translators working into and out of several languages. It is the largest organization in the industry with over 10,000 members and 30 years of experience.

In order to be certified by the ATA a translator must pass an examination that is administered across the United States several times a year. Translators must apply to take the exam by providing proof of eligibility to the ATA. Proof of eligibility includes education and other relevant experience. The test consists of translating one general subject document and another ‘technical’ document from the translator’s area of expertise from the following areas science/technology/medicine or law/business/finance. Upon completion, the translations are graded for accuracy by a select group of qualified ATA graders from across the country. Candidates that pass both the general and the technical document translations are awarded the ATA Certificate for Professional Translators.

The ATA certification is available for individuals qualified to translate into English from the following languages including; Arabic, Croatian, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish and from English into Chinese, Croatian, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Ukrainian.

For hundreds of languages of lesser diffusion the ATA has yet to develop a certification/test. It is important to note that even without the certification these languages get translated everyday to and from English, by many professional translators in a very competent manner.

Chetana Baskota
chetana.baskota@translation-source.com

Accounting for Culture in Marketing and Sales

Customizing content for a specific culture is best done utilizing a systematic approach that relies on qualitative data. While many organizations tailor their approach based upon known customer needs many forget to incorporate a client’s specific culture. It is culture that will provide the framework from which marketing and sales efforts are perceived and it is through cultural knowledge that the savvy professional and organization will differentiate themselves.

The approach described herein has been developed by Geert Hofstede. It is an approach that provides both qualitative and quantitative data. The approach described is intended to be universal, but should also be augmented with specific target market knowledge. In today’s Global society, culture is not static, but rather constantly evolving.

The key criteria utilized to define and give insight into culture are;

Collectivism-Individualism
The degree to which a person is responsible to self or the larger group or society.

Uncertainty Avoidance
The degree to which a society is risk averse or risk takers.

Power Distance
The emotional distance between superiors and subordinates.

Gender Orientation
The degree to which a society exhibits behaviors associated with gender stereotypes.

Time Orientation
A complex measurement of a variety of factors including sequential versus synchronous, the perception of past, present, and future, and short versus long term orientation.

Each culture is rated by their propensity across these criteria to gain a better insight into cultural expectations and responses.

The world averages for the above criteria are as follows;

Collectivism-Individualism: 43
The higher the rating the more an individual within this society is expected to look after himself and his/her immediate family. The lower the rating the more we see individuals integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, often extended families. The US has the globe’s highest Individualism score at a 91.

Uncertainty Avoidance: 64
Countries that score high on the uncertainty avoidance index are countries that have strict laws and regulations, a highly structured society, and tend to be more homogenous. Countries that score low tend to be more accepting of different opinions, beliefs, and cultures. The US has a score of 46 indicating a more accommodating culture accepting of differing in beliefs and opinions.

Power Distance: 55
A higher power distance rating assumes a greater inequality between societal levels, organizations, and within families while a lower rating assumes greater equality. The US rating is a 40 which is indicative of greater equality.

Gender Orientation: 50
The Masculinity/femininity index indicates that the higher the score the more assertive and competitive the culture (Masculine), the lower the score the more modest and caring (Feminine). The US has a score of 62.

Time Orientation: 45
Long term versus short term time orientation provides several insights into the focus of a particular culture. Cultures with a short term orientation focus on values such as 'saving face' and respecting tradition while cultures that focus on the longer term tend to focus on thrift and perseverance. The US has a score of 29 in this dimension indicating preference for a short term time orientation. A country such as China has a score of 118.

This introductory post is the beginning of a series that will offer specific examples of each criteria as well as specific applications for a variety of different cultures and countries. Feedback, comments, and specific inquiries can be forwarded to Doug Green at doug.green@translation-source.com.