Developing International Business Managers Through International Study Visits to China

Globalization is a key factor in the success of business organizations today, impacting many aspects of management performance. Understanding the global business environment has therefore become a key objective in the teaching of international business on Executive MBA programs. Drawing on the theory of experiential learning, this study examines the relationship between program structure and learning activities of an international study visit (ISV) to China and the learning experience for Executive MBA students. The findings indicate that learning experience may be most effective where the structure of an ISV incorporates certain activities that promote experiential and deep-level learning. Educational implications are discussed.     

The Development of Undergraduate International Business Practicums in Small Business Schools: An Experiential Learning Framework

The value of the inclusion of experiential learning opportunities in international business education has been well established in the literature. We set out to examine industry-identified skills and experiences that could lead to enhanced employability and early career performance. Through our extensive review of theory, empirical work, leading programs, practicum channels, and our own qualitative study, we proposed frameworks to help guide small business schools best structure their undergraduate international business experiential learning offerings. Specifically, we suggest the establishment of tracks or concentrations with supplemental skill focus, emphasis on foreign language proficiency, and requiring at least two international internship or service learning practicums, preferably abroad, that include mini-consulting projects, presentations, and deliverables.     

Impact of International Business Education on Ethnocentricity

Abstract

As evidenced by recent surveys of American managers, there is a serious shortage of qualified candidates on the US job market. This shortage is most evident in two specialization areas: high-technology knowledge workers and internationally competent managers. Indeed, American companies rate lack of qualified high-technology personnel as their number one reason for slower than desired business expansion. The other less glamorized, yet serious shortcoming of the American educational system is its inadequate training of cross-culturally competent workers for this truly global post-industrial era. In response to this human resources crisis, realizing that “the future economic welfare of the US will depend substantially on increasing international skills in the business community,” the United States Department of Education began an active campaign of promoting international education and research in several major American universities in the late 1980s. Since 1988, nearly 40 universities have been awarded tens of millions of dollars to engage in such activities as developing formal international business curricula, offering foreign language courses, promoting internationally-oriented research, provoking international education and research dialogues among the faculty, exchange programs between American and foreign universities for students and the faculty and similar activities. This research is a first attempt in evaluating the impact of one such program on the internationalization level of American students. It will be shown that the international education program at one major American university has successfully produced a cadre of more global and less ethnocentric workforce for American corporations.     

Designing Curriculum for Real-World International Business Needs

Economies continue to become more integrated through international trade and foreign investment, as well as by more, and more, complex global supply changes. With the expansion in the level and scope of international business (IB), it becomes all the more important that university graduates seeking careers in IB be able to “successfully hit the ground running” as they enter the labor force. The Schulich School of Business introduced a Certificate in Managing International Trade and Investment for undergraduates in 2012. Its aim was to intensify their learning by deepening their knowledge of IB and providing them with integrative courses, real-world learning, and cultural intelligence, enabling them to be effective in organizations as soon as they graduate. To ensure that the curriculum was in line with real-world needs, executives and other experts were interviewed to identify the skills they wanted to see in people they were hiring for their IB activities. The factors identified from this qualitative research informed the development of the Certificate. The global mind-set fostered will give students a competitive edge both in the recruitment process and on the job.     

The Domains of Undergraduate International Business and International Management Courses in Accredited Schools of Business

ABSTRACT

This study compared undergraduate international business and international management course syllabi from 190 management departments at accredited U.S. business schools. Comparisons revealed considerable overlap in topic areas in the two courses. The findings indicate the need for greater domain clarity and differentiation in objectives, topic areas covered, and textbooks used. Domain clarification could lead to more truthful representation of the two courses, better training and disciplinary grounding of course instructors, more appropriate hosting of the courses in business school departments, and enhanced skill-sets among students in these courses. Finally, clear domain definitions are necessary for reliability and validity in international business research.     

Exploring the Differences of Undergraduate Students' Perceptual Learning Styles in International Business Study

More than 45,000 international students are now studying for bachelor programs in The Netherlands. The number of Asian students increased dramatically in the past decade. The current research aims at examining the differences between Western European and Asian students' perceptual learning styles, and exploring the relationships between students' learning styles and their academic achievements in international business (IB) study. One hundred and seventy-two students from a Dutch university participated in the survey research. Western European students significantly outperformed Asian students in academic performances. Significant differences in learning styles were also found between Western Europeans and Asian students in English, second language, business subjects, and group project learning. Besides, in comparison with Asian students, Western European students preferred to learn from hearing words, taking notes of lectures, and getting involved in some classroom experiences such as role-playing. They may benefit more from lecture-based subjects than Asian students. Based on the findings, practical recommendations are offered for instructors in international higher education.     

Closing the Learning Loop: A Review of Assignments in International Business Education

The continuing rapid globalization has significantly changed the nature of business and management, leading to increased pressure from a wide range of stakeholders to globalize business schools and to internationalize business curricula. This comes with a corresponding imperative to rigorously evaluate the impact of an international business education at institutional, program, and course levels. This study focuses on the types of assignments employed and approaches to assignment design in international business courses. A total of 92 studies in the scholarly literature on international business and international management are reviewed from 1970 to 2014. The study finds significant opportunities to expand and enrich research on assignment design, so as to better equip international business educators to validly and reliably measure learning outcomes.     

International Business Research: Coauthorship Patterns and Quality

The authors investigate published international business research in four international business journals over a 10‐year period, 1995–2004: (a) patterns of coauthorship across regions, and (b) the relation between coauthorship patterns and the quality of international business (IB) articles. A cross‐region coauthorship enhances the quality of an article, suggesting that international collaboration creates synergy in IB research. The authors do not see any positive correlation between alphabetical ordering of coauthor names in multiauthored articles and article quality—a result that is contrary to some evidence in other disciplines. Finally, international management articles appear to be more frequently cited than articles in other IB research areas.     

An Assessment of Experiential Learning of Global Poverty Issues Through International Service Projects

Service learning has been used to supplement a standard business curriculum, but not typically in an international business context. We report the results of two short-term study abroad programs in which we incorporated service learning projects, one in Cambodia and the other in Vietnam. Our objective is to assess how we organized and delivered effective service learning projects in short-term study tours, and to assess students’ learning outcomes on global poverty issues in a business curriculum. We used both quantitative and qualitative assessment measures. The findings suggest that several types of learning outcomes did occur through the service learning projects, as the literature suggested. Seeing poverty firsthand and doing something about it through service learning may be a first experience for many students, but it seems to be a transformational one for many. We conclude that students may approach business and even political decisions with a greater understanding of their impact on poverty in the developing world.     

Scholarship of Teaching International Business: Challenges and Opportunities

International business (IB) is an important topic for business schools as business is global, but much business school teaching of IB still seems inadequate. IB education can be challenging but also presents many opportunities. We need to build our knowledge base of effective IB teaching methods and procedures. Such knowledge can not only be used to improve the teaching of IB, but it can also improve data-driven resource allocation for teaching IB. Clearly, the Journal of Teaching International Business has an important role to play in these processes.     

Implementing Experiential Action Learning in International Management Education: The Global Business Strategic (GLOBUSTRAT) Consulting Program

This paper discusses the theoretical foundations and implementation challenges and outcomes of a unique “hands‐on” global consulting program that is integrated into an international EMBA program for mid‐career and senior American and European managers. It details the challenges for the integration of experiential action learning, double‐loop learning, service learning, and tacit learning into global management education and discusses the value of such integration for the EMBA‐participant's learning experience. The lessons learned from the implementation of the use of integrated global consulting based on an experiential action learning model on EMBA education are discussed. The andragogical model of education used should be a useful guide for designing and implementing experiential action learning based MBA/EMBA programs.     

Social Networking Media: An Approach for the Teaching of International Business

Internet technology and Web 2.0 applications have enabled social networking media to expand in ways that link people globally. By fostering communication, social networks hold immense potential for the enhancement of teaching, especially in the business arena. This article defines social networking and provides a framework for understanding the six categories of social media. It also describes specific applications of social media for the academic environment. It underscores the notion that learning business at the university level is not solely an instructor-led, one-way form of communication, but a student-led, two-way dialogue. An application of social media to an international business course is described. International trade, culture, and global HR management are selected topics that are enhanced by usage of social media. A mini-case study outlining how social media was incorporated into a course is furnished. Assessment data reveal that social media enhances student learning, satisfaction, and sense of connectedness. In its conclusion, the article argues that creatively applying social networking enables international companies, regions, and nations to achieve shared prosperity—thus reaping the benefits of sustained financial growth.     

论我国国际贸易的电子商务服务模式

本文提出我国国际贸易的电子商务服务模式,应建立国家级的统一数据交换出口,为进出口企业、银行、物流公司等服务商及政府监管机构建立统一的数据交换平台,使国内外与国际贸易活动相关的机构完成电子商务协同作业。本文分析了这种服务模式的建设构架、优势和政府应发挥的作用。     

The Problem of Constructive Misalignment in International Business Education: A Three-Stage Integrated Approach to Enhancing Teaching and Learning

Past evidence suggests that constructive misalignment is particularly problematic in International Business (IB) education, though this paradigm has received limited research attention. Building on the literature of three independent teaching methods (threshold concept, problem-based learning, and technology-based learning), this study contributes to the IB education literature by integrating the three existing methods in a co-complementary and co-supporting manner, and carefully implementing them across three subsequent stages spanning across the length of the IB course. Empirical evidence on student satisfaction and assessment performance shows its usefulness in reducing the negative effects of constructive misalignment among the sampled students. The approach provides practitioners with refreshed insights into how the three independent methods can be integrated to create greater value for learners.     

Commitment to the Study of International Business and Cultural Intelligence: A Multilevel Model

Adopting a multilevel theoretical framework, we examined how metacognitive and motivational cultural intelligence influence an individual’s commitment to the study of international business (IB). Data from 292 undergraduate and graduate business students nested in 12 U.S. business school classes demonstrated that individuals’ metacognitive and motivational cultural intelligence are positively related to their commitment to the study of IB. Furthermore, there is additional commitment when the classrooms’ cultural intelligence climate is high. We discuss the implications of these findings within a classroom context that involves cross-cultural interactions.     

Business Marketing Education: A Distinctive Role in the Undergraduate Curriculum

ABSTRACT

By extending their knowledge of markets beyond the consumer-goods domain, by deepening their understanding of how organizations make buying decisions, by strengthening their grasp of cross-functional processes, and by providing them with decision-making skills in this important area of marketing, the business marketing course makes a special contribution to undergraduates and the undergraduate marketing curriculum. Moreover, the content and focus of the business marketing course are closely tied to important themes that are transforming business practice. This article isolates the distinct contribution of business marketing education and examines important trends that are reshaping this domain. The central knowledge areas that comprise the undergraduate business marketing course are detailed and linked to specific course design strategies that can be pursued to strengthen the skill set of marketing students and respond to the needs of important constituents.     

Teaching International Business as an Opportunity to Develop Cultural Sensitivity

Business program graduates are expected to perform with cultural sensitivity in international and intercultural professional environments. In order to support student development of the necessary mindset, a variety of assignments and activities have been integrated into the undergraduate International Business (IB) course. This article describes several types of exercises that can be used by anyone teaching this course or one where cultural sensitivity is an important component. No quantitative data are presented, nor are any claims made to the efficacy of these assignments. But student comments point to increased cultural sensitivity and a better understanding of the issues of globalization.     

A Challenge-Feedback Learning Approach to Teaching International Business

This article introduces a challenge-feedback learning (CFL) approach based on the goal-setting theory of human motivation, the deliberate practice theory of expert performance, and findings from the research on active and collaborative learning. The core of the teaching concept is the CFL cycle in which students repeatedly progress through four steps (Challenge–Act–Feedback–Reflect). Upon completion of one cycle, a new, more complex challenge is introduced in which students have the chance to go beyond their current skills level. The article also presents an example for an implementation of the CFL approach in an international business (IB) curriculum. The CFL approach is particularly useful for acquiring the problem-solving, adaptation, communication, metacognition, and intercultural teamwork skills needed in IB practice.     

Undergraduate Business Education in the People's Republic of China

Abstract

Adaptation to the Market Economy

The People's Republic of China is transforming its economy to a market-driven focus. A key aspect of this is the conversion and elimination of state-owned enterprises. To do this requires a mass education program for enterprise managers. The approach to change examined in this study is based on curriculum internationalization models. This paper examines the needs perceived by potential employers for university graduates. Conclusions are based on in-depth interviews held in and around Shanghai as part of a City University of New York-Shanghai University cooperative program.