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38 BizEd JULY | AUGUST 2015 rates the principles of ethnography, or the study of people and cultures. Both in class and on location, students learn the tools of ethnography as they deconstruct and reconstruct the cultures of unfamil- iar settings and determine how these in- fluence particular sectors. For instance, in the 2014-2015 academic year, they focused on the supermarket and grocery store industry. While on campus, students use video- conferencing technology to conduct two field reports about cultures in other nations. They conduct two more field reports during the eight months they spend abroad completing their language training and internships. The countries they can choose to visit include Japan, Morocco, China, Taiwan, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Mexico, and Brazil. The course builds on the notion of a business model—that is, it examines target markets, value propositions, value chains, and forms of revenue generation for a particular industry. As students observe customs and conduct interviews in real market settings, they develop an understanding of specific segments within the industry, including employees, managers, owners, custom- ers, and regulatory agents. They don't simply define the components of the model; they provide detailed descrip- tions of the physical and sociopolitical contexts, both formal and informal, that underlie the model. Students then share their reports so they can do comparative analyses of di•erent models across industry segments. Once students gain a fundamental understanding of a business model within a given industry, they relocate throughout the world to begin their internships. In their new settings, students must first replicate their earlier ethnographic analyses, each identifying the business mod- el for a local company in the same industry. Again, teams share information to conduct comparative analyses so they can understand why these models have emerged. They also learn how the business model in another country is influenced by institutional di•erences in culture, values, capabilities, social struc- ture, political structure, and economy. Students revisit the initial business model to consider how it might trans- fer to the new context. For instance, perhaps a student is working within an industry where revenue generation depends on property rights and patent protection. If, in this new locale, the legal system is undeveloped or nonex- istent, are there other institutions that might provide the same protection but in a di•erent form? If not, should the student reconfigure the original model to work in this context? Or should he or she recommend that the corporation work toward creating the institutions it needs to operate, such as those protect- ing legal or labor rights? Students work through each com- ponent of the business model so they can understand how it applies in the new setting. We don't want them simply to understand business practices in the host country. We want them to understand that these practices and institutions exist in their specific forms because they reflect historical, social, and cultural contexts. Because we also want them to examine their personal responses to local cultures, we include a self-reflective component. The course is delivered by two specialists with expertise in the busi- ness applications of ethnography. "We are seeing students challenge their assumptions about how things should work," says Ken Erickson, lead faculty instructor. "They're moving well beyond focusing on local business etiquette and making normative statements about cul- tures to understanding local institutions and informal rules." LEARNING AGILITY After completing these two classes, students come away with a deep under- standing of how markets vary—and the knowledge that local rules and customs change all the time. That's why it's im- portant for students to develop mind- sets of agility. "We want students not to get stuck on one model, but to learn to see patterns in settings of rapid and precarious change," Erickson says. "Our interns are helping their corporate hosts evaluate problems ranging from pro- moting sustainability in local supplier networks to teaming with multinational engineering groups on the bleeding edge of transportation technology. It takes time to build contextual intelligence, but our students will have a head start." At the Moore School, our goal is to produce business multiculturals. While we want our graduates to be bilingual, we also know that it's not enough for them to simply know another language. They also must develop the business acumen to learn about and act within rapidly changing business cultures that do not conform to the models typically taught in business school. These are the skills any future exec- utive will need to navigate a rapidly changing and uncertain world. Kendall Roth is senior associate dean for international programs and partner- ships at the University of South Caro- lina's Darla Moore School of Business in Columbia. He also holds the J. Willis Cantey Chair of International Business and Economics. MBA student Kate Williams visits shoe company Nisolo in Peru. Here, she talks with Juan Mostacero Medina, one of Niso- lo's quality managers. STUDENTS MUST DEVELOP THE BUSINESS ACUMEN TO LEARN ABOUT AND ACT WITHIN RAPIDLY CHANGING BUSINESS CULTURES...THESE ARE THE SKILLS ANY FUTURE EXECUTIVE WILL NEED TO NAVIGATE A RAPIDLY CHANGING AND UNCERTAIN WORLD.