Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/58060
"Global executives have told us that it takes at least three months to become immersed in a geographical location and appreciate how the culture, politics, and history of a region affect business there." —Gail Naughton, San Diego State University, College of Business of transparency is not the same in China as it is in Hong Kong. As the conversation progressed, you could feel the tension growing over these cultural differences." Daniel Bradlow, director of international legal studies at American University's Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C., agrees that multinational transactions increase the complexity of legal, political, and economic issues. Bradlow recently initiated a joint effort between the law school and AU's Kogod School of Business. The result is a two-year LLM/MBA program designed to produce graduates with specialized skills in law and business, which will begin in the fall. "There is only so much a law school or business school can teach on its own," says Bradlow. "If we want skilled international business law- yers, we must give them access to both legal and business training." He adds that, because law and business students view global problems differently, they'll be able to engage in richer discussions and devise more nuanced solutions. As globalization complicates business transactions, business schools will need to offer more programs "at the intersec- tion of disciplines," says Dick Duran, dean of the Kogod School. "We take a strong business curriculum and add it to a law, foreign language, public affairs, or inter- national service curriculum," he says. "At American, 'and' has become our favorite conjunction." Around-the-World Study Tours Many prospective business students, too, are getting the message that exposure to global business experiences will be essential preparation for their careers. The most recent application trends survey con- ducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council indicates that nearly two-thirds of full-time and part-time MBA programs around the world reported a sharp increase in the number of applications. More schools reported that the number of international applications has increased, indi- cating that more students are actively seeking global educa- tional experiences outside their home countries. Not just that, they want global study tours that run longer and offer more comprehensive understanding of global business practices. Traditional two- to six-week visits to international venues have long been a mainstay of global 46 BizEd JULY/AUGUST 2007 business education. But those may no longer be enough to give students the global knowledge they'll need to satisfy employers. Instead, some business schools are establishing extended multidestination study tours designed to give stu- dents a larger view of global business. For instance, the Global MBA, an online program at the Instituto de Empresa Business School in Madrid, Spain, emphasizes diversity, of both its students and its study desti- nations. The program is offered in either English or Spanish; the English course serves 63 students from 32 countries, while the Spanish course serves 64 students from 14 coun- tries. IE's Global MBA includes "integration days" in 15 cities around the world. Students travel to these destinations for two days to meet face-to-face, attend seminars about the region, and visit local businesses. "Students have found the inte- gration days to be the strongest point of the program," says Stephen Adamson, associate director of admissions. In the fall of 2006, the Thunder- bird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona, began requiring that students in all its programs complete what it calls the Thunderbird Global Experience. Students can choose among intensive courses and internships held in the U.S., South Africa, Europe, Asia, or Latin America. By graduation, a student may have spent six weeks in Czechoslo- vakia, six weeks in Mexico, three weeks in the Middle East, and another three weeks in China, says Ángel Cabrera, dean of Thunderbird. San Diego State University's College of Business Administration in California also will soon launch its Global Entrepreneurship MBA, which emphasizes long-term study in several global regions. The program, which accepts its first cohort of students this September, will require each participant to spend 12 weeks in each of four different regions: China, India, the Middle East, and the U.S. The program was created through a mul- tilateral partnership that includes SDSU; Indian Institute of Management in Lucknow; University of Hyderabad, India; American University of Beirut in Lebanon; and the United Arab Emirates Higher Colleges of Technology, which has 14 campuses throughout the UAE. SDSU is currently negotiat- ing partnerships with universities in China. "Global executives have told us that it takes at least three