Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/438743
42 BizEd JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2015 it's been said that ginger rogers was a great dancer because she did everything Fred Astaire did, only backward and in high heels. Now imagine if she had a suc- cession of international suitors engaging her in a waltz, pas de deux, tango, and dozens of other elaborate moves, each with its own rules and rhythms. How well would she do then? A business school dean looking for the right international collaborator might end up trying out steps with a series of poten- tial partners, each with its own particular style. To avoid dancing backward, the dean should strive to take the lead in any such arrangement. But to remain relevant in today's competitive environment, the dean definitely should learn to dance. International arrangements—more specifically, global business school partnerships—are flourishing in today's market. Of the top 100 EMBA programs ranked by the Financial Times in 2013, more than a quarter were internation- al partnerships. More significantly, programs that are global partnerships are qualitatively beating their domes- tic counterparts: Seven of the FT's top ten EMBA programs in 2013 involved cross-border relationships among schools in countries such as the Unit- ed States, China, France, the United Kingdom, and Singapore. Traditional MBA programs also have been forming partnerships with overseas institutions at a furious pace. Business schools looking for the right global partners are doing an elaborate dance, where every move is a possible misstep. But when the right programs match up, schools can choreograph a flawless routine. YOU THINK YOU SO CAN DANCE? BY DAVID A. THOMAS ILLUSTRATION BY STEPHANIE DALTON COWAN