Globalization continues to bring about dramatic change in the ways business is done. Sophisticated customers measure quality and service against global standards, and they demand competitive prices. Yet overseas competitors can have an edge in terms of labor cost, regulatory issues and technology.
Opening new markets and sourcing capital, talent and material internationally require intercultural understanding, as well as the capability to maximize global business benefits and minimize its costs.
The benefits of economic growth, increased consumer choice and low inflation can entail worker and cultural dislocation; free trade and protectionism are complex, double-edged swords. Economics can unite countries while politics can divide them.
Earl Peck, left, who created the IMBA program 20 years ago, and Malcolm Watson, the current director, talk about the program's evolution.
Today’s and tomorrow’s business leaders need vision and an understanding of the fundamentals of international business. Companies must be strategically smarter than they were last year - or last month. In order to be successful, they need a global team that can develop and implement a global gameplan.
In its 20th year, the International MBA program at Baldwin-Wallace College continues to provide both U.S. and international students with a solid grounding in global business. It also plays a role in supporting regional economic development by educating area managers about doing business in the international arena.
Begun in 1983, the International MBA program was the first of its kind in Ohio. Many of its 700 alumni from 55 nations belong to alumni groups in Bangkok, Seoul, Tokyo, Istanbul and Curitiba, Brazil. Eighty students are currently enrolled.
Earl Peck, who directed the program for its first 13 years, set out to emulate prestigious international graduate programs at schools such as Harvard, Yale, the University of Chicago and the University of Colorado. He believed that Cleveland, with both feet planted on its manufacturing foundation, needed to grow beyond its 1983 business boundaries.
“I expected most of the students in the program to be American students, as corporations here looked to become part of the international business arena,” Peck said.
Peck’s goals included preparing students to be ethical, technically proficient and knowledgeable about business and finance practice and theory around the world.
The original IMBA class included 15 - a mix of U.S. and international students.
Over the years, the ratio rose as high as two international students for every U.S. student in the program, but the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and their aftermath - including changes in government regulations affecting foreign students - have complicated travel to the U.S.
Today, under direction of Malcolm Watson, the program is about half international students.
“Schools similar to Baldwin-Wallace often have very few foreign students,” Watson said. “Our students might come from Parma, or they might come from Bangkok.”
The emphasis remains on preparing American and international students to do business successfully and ethically, but the program today has a cultural focus, as well. With a background teaching intercultural communications and teaching English to international students, Watson has particular expertise in helping IMBA students develop what he calls “reflexes, or ways to respond without panicking” to a variety of situations and stimuli.
“Americans are going to need more of these skills,” Watson said, as globalization continues and the playing field continues to tilt and heave.
Today, sophisticated potential students “shop” for a college that can provide a tangible edge. In order to win those students, B-W takes a personal approach in keeping with its small-school intimacy and appeal. Watson said that often, he hears that a student has selected B-W over others because it was the first to reply.
“When we respond quickly to inquiries about our IMBA program, it tells the person that we care about them,” he said.
A key element of the IMBA program’s success is its overseas partnerships. Through Management Seminars Abroad, students and faculty travel overseas for study, cultural exchange and broad experience. Travels have included Japan, Turkey, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Korea, Thailand, China, Vietnam, and the European Union - Germany, Belgium, France.
Many trips have involved long-standing partnerships. In Brazil, for example, B-W and FAE Business School in Curitiba exchange students and faculty on a regular basis. At Anadolu University in Turkey, several faculty members are graduates of the Baldwin-Wallace IMBA program.
Peck’s goals included preparing students to be ethical, technically proficient and knowledgeable about business and finance practice and theory around the world.
The original IMBA class included 15 - a mix of U.S. and international students.
The ratio rose as high as two international students for every U.S. student in the program, but the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and their aftermath - including changes in government regulations affecting foreign students-have complicated travel to the U.S.
Today, under the direction of Malcolm Watson, the program is about half international students.
“Schools similar to Baldwin-Wallace often have very few foreign students,” Watson said. “Our students might come from Parma, or they might come from Bangkok.”
The emphasis remains on preparing American and international students to do business successfully and ethically, but the program today has a cultural focus, as well. With a background teaching intercultural communications and teaching English to international students, Watson has particular expertise in helping IMBA students develop what he calls “reflexes, or ways to respond without panicking” to a variety of situations and stimuli.
“Americans are going to need more of these skills,” Watson said, as globalization continues and the playing field continues to tilt and heave.
Today, sophisticated potential students “shop” for a college that can provide a tangible edge. In order to win those students, B-W takes a personal approach in keeping with its small-school intimacy and appeal. Watson said that often, he hears that a student has selected B-W over others because it was the first to reply.
“When we respond quickly to inquiries about our IMBA program, it tells the person that we care about them,” he said.
A key element of the IMBA program’s success is its overseas partnerships. Through Management Seminars Abroad, students and faculty travel overseas for study, cultural exchange and broad experience. Travels have included Japan, Turkey, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Korea, Thailand, China, Vietnam, and the European Union - Germany, Belgium, France.
Many trips have involved long-standing partnerships. In Brazil, for example, B-W and FAE Business School in Curitiba exchange students and faculty on a regular basis. At Anadolu University in Turkey, several faculty members are graduates of the Baldwin-Wallace IMBA program.
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