The Big Picture: I urge all my staff to know about & learn important elements of business beyond their local region & about the credit department. I prefer them to know: (1) Where & how they fit into the company structure and why? (2) How global economy trends affect our business & to track these events. (3) Who and which stakeholders are pivotal to our efforts to collect due & unpaid debt. (4) Is the customer part of a large group of businesses? (5) If yes, who & where is the parent and other group companies based? (6) Learn & monitor the impacts a decision made locally will have on our business globally. (7) How different cultures may govern ways of conducting business, disputes & payment trends.