Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/55957
In some MBA programs, students either must be bilingual when they apply, or they must learn a second or third language by the time they graduate. Ryan Damerow Kathleen M. Bailey Studies, also works as a business development consultant and focuses primarily on international business. He says that "the language compo- nent of my program here is probably as important as my MBA. It gives me an immensely practical skill set and differentiates me from other MBAs in the job market today." Thielke notes that his language skills allow him to communicate with individuals in his target language and enable him to read a wider vari- ety of publications, which benefits his work-related research. It's feasible that recent graduates who have a solid command of a for- eign language could be more attrac- tive to potential employers because they can get right to work when posted to a new country, rather than having to learn the local language as part of their training. Therefore, we believe that students who are con- templating starting an MBA program should consider programs that devel- op candidates' language skills. Some business school administra- tors may hesitate to add language learning requirements to an already demanding MBA course load, but such requirements are already part of the curricula at a number of top institutions. In a few programs, MBA students either must be bilin- gual when they apply, or they must learn a second or third language by the time they graduate. Among the schools with multi- ple-language requirements are U.S. institutions such as Thunderbird School of Management in Glen- dale, Arizona, and the Monterey Institute of International Stud- ies; U.K. programs such as the Cranfield School of Management, Durham Business School, and London Business School; Euro- pean schools such as the Interna- tional Institute for Management Development in Switzerland and the École des Hautes Études Com- merciales de Paris at HEC Paris; and Asian schools such as the Chi- nese Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai. Other programs rely on different methods to develop the language abilities of their students. For exam- ple, INSEAD, which has campuses in France and Singapore, uses English as the mode of communication in the classroom; however, students must have skills in a second language when they apply, and they must study a third language to meet graduation requirements. At the PanAmerican Institute for High Business Direction (IPADE), with multiple locations in Mexico, the primary mode of com- munication is Spanish in the first year and English in the second year. Some of these programs also pro- vide opportunities for students to live in countries where their target languages are spoken, which helps them further develop their commu- nication skills. These MBA programs are equipping students with the 21st- century skills of communicating and collaborating across cultures. One businessman who strongly believes in the value of language skills is Chris Bernbrock, program director of the Cloud Academy of IBM. This global forum, geared to professors and researchers in the IT field, includes academic institu- tions from the U.S., China, Qatar, Europe, Australia, and Singapore. Bernbrock's previous posts with IBM included positions in global marketing, sales, and education— and language skills proved valuable in all of them, he says. "Working in teams globally, on projects that tap expertise around the world and around the clock, is a daily reality in many companies now," he says. "Having the ability to work with colleagues from countries throughout the world, especially when I have at least some familiarity with their lan- guages and cultures, makes the team- work go so much more smoothly." As more executives join global companies and work with interna- tional teams, their experiences will mirror Bernbrock's—and they, too, will need a facility with language to carry out their jobs. We believe there's no better place for tomor- row's business leaders to acquire their language skills than in today's busi- ness classroom. ■ z Ryan Damerow is the administrative assistant for TIRF–The International Research Foundation for English Language Education, which is based in Monterey, California. Kathleen M. Bailey is the chair of the organization's board of trustees. For More Information • "The Impact of English and Plurilingualism in Global Corpora- tions" can be viewed online at www. tirfonline.org. • The CILT report on the effects of shortages of foreign language skills in enterprise on the European economy can be found online at www.cilt.org.uk/home.aspx. BizEd SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2010 71