Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/62210
Speaking Globally A C The first students are completing the newest alliance-based, globally coordinated business degree programs. Their most important lesson? That communicating among culturally diverse groups is not a matter of language, but understanding. Competition is fierce in the global marketplace, as corporations maintain international offices, hire overseas contractors, and expand into developing markets. As the corporate world broadens its glob- al horizons, so, too, must business students at all levels, from under- graduates to executives. More students are realizing they must be able to communicate across cultures to compete with their peers. As a result, many are turning to business schools to find degree pro- grams with the global reach to help them do just that. Take, for example, David Urquiza, an international area sales man- by Tricia Bisoux illustration by J.W. Stewart ager for Prolec GE, a Mexican manufacturer of electrical transform- ers and part of a joint venture with General Electric. In 2001, Urquiza was nearing completion of his MBA at The Monterrey Tech Graduate School of Business Administration and Leadership (ITESM) in Mexico. During one of his last courses, his pro- fessor approached him about applying to a new program about to be launched by the Global e-Management alliance. A collaborative effort of seven schools worldwide, GeM would com- bine courses in e-management with a global education. Urquiza immediately agreed and entered GeM's first cohort in 2002. His job involves the need for both technological skills and international insight, something an alliance-based program such as GeM promised to offer. In addition, it offered him the chance to study at seven schools around the world and receive an introduc- tion to a variety of cross-cultural perspectives. "I worked with a team of five people to complete a course project. We developed a tech business and then presented it to real venture capitalists. I worked with an entrepreneur from the Netherlands, a historian and Web page developer from Spain, an English bio- 34 BizEd SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2003 L I N N T E • R S T O N U I F O A •