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Notes from Abroad

Three recent graduates of the M.S. in Commerce Program, plus Dean Carl Zeithaml, share their impressions from the Program's Global Immersion Experience.

This summer, 43 M.S. in Commerce students and seven McIntire faculty members spent six weeks in Europe and Asia during the Program’s first-ever Global Immersion Experience. Students studied at McIntire’s partner schools, visited leading global corporations, and toured the regions’ cultural attractions. Three of them—plus McIntire Dean Carl Zeithaml, who traveled with them—discuss their travels and the benefits of the Immersion:

Carl Zeithaml
I co-taught one of the GIE courses (European Business Strategy) in Copenhagen and Prague, and I also had the opportunity to view the final GIE project presentations and to join the closing celebrations in both Europe and Asia. The six weeks that I spent abroad involved many miles of travel, but I learned so much that it was absolutely worth the repeated jet lag and living out of a suitcase.

Although I previously spent considerable time in Denmark, the GIE significantly enhanced my knowledge of the European Union and its impact on the conduct of business both within the EU and between the EU and other parts of the world. Through the GIE, students and faculty interact almost daily with a variety of international business leaders. We learned about global strategy in the beer industry at the Carlsberg Brewery headquarters, and we experienced firsthand how to blend tradition and innovation at Tivoli, the 167-year-old amusement park that was the inspiration for Walt Disney. We visited a major P&G facility outside of Prague, toured the entire operation, and had a great lecture about the strategic complexities of operating in Europe. Without a doubt, selling laundry detergent across many countries, cultures, and economic and political systems is both daunting and fascinating. All of these experiences made me a much more knowledgeable and effective teacher when I entered a Robertson Hall classroom in late August.

Perhaps more importantly, I was immersed in another culture where I grew to appreciate a very different perspective on business and the world. Whether teaching, visiting companies, or riding my bike to class every day, I realized that sustained success in another environment requires openness, flexibility, and leaving your assumptions in Charlottesville. Just when I thought I understood the situation, I was surprised. Effective communication and interpersonal relationships were more about asking questions, patience (difficult for me), and listening than simply language and customs.

The lessons can be brought home and applied. For example, I quickly realized that Denmark, a very small, yet prosperous nation, is a country with virtually no natural resources. The country’s competitive advantage is its people, and they’ve learned to be phenomenally innovative and creative, and to do more with less. I could not help but think of the Comm School. We have limited resources compared to many competitors, and we’re relatively small, so we have to be creative and make the most of our human capital. Constraints within reason, rather than abundance, actually may motivate real innovation and differentiation.

Similarly, the GIE helps the School build high-quality international partnerships. McIntire will not be able to open branch campuses in different countries. By partnering with the top business schools around the world—including our newest partners, ESADE in Barcelona, Bocconi in Milan, HKUST in Hong Kong, and Peking University in Beijing—we gain access to some of the best business minds and teaching faculties in the world. At the same time, we welcome superb students who enrich our classrooms here at McIntire. It’s a great way for us to globalize the School on a day-to-day basis. These relationships are also essential because, in the near future, our goal is to have 100 percent of our students, undergraduate and graduate, with a significant international experience.

	M.S. in Commerce students explore Prague during their Global Immersion Experience.

Sam Carr (A&S ’08, M.S. in Commerce ’09)
Traveling to Europe illustrated the complexities facing the European Union in a way that reading the Economist while sitting in Charlottesville could not. With the “hit parade” of great European capitals—London, Paris, Rome—it’s easy to overlook Scandinavia, Belgium, and Central Europe. But we had the opportunity to visit and study in these places and see firsthand the challenges and opportunities that face the European Union, the euro zone, and the idea of the single European market. Just by reading, you can get some sense of the disparate governments and peoples of Europe. But only by being on the ground did I really gain an understanding of the necessity for the “single market,” how it evolved, and the victories of capitalism within Europe.

In Brussels, we visited the European Parliament, the arena in which the barriers that exist between the EU’s 27 member nations are maneuvered, and trade wars averted. We visited industry groups, corporations, and trade associations committed to liberalizing trade and supporting new, effective legislation. In Prague we saw the complete reversals in economic systems and political ideologies within parts of Europe. In St. Wenceslas Square—where the streets were widened to expedite the response of Soviet tanks to protestors—my classmates and I dined at Starbucks and McDonald’s and witnessed a Humvee rally in the streets. Twenty years ago this scene would have been unimaginable. I left with a real perspective on how controlled economies have given way to emerging free markets, and the role that foreign investment, entrepreneurship, and commerce have played in this transition.

Lauren Schmidt (A&S ’08, M.S. in Commerce ’09)
I thought I had a pretty good idea of what China was all about: My head was filled with images and impressions from various books and movies. It only took a matter of weeks to totally change my perspective on the country.

First: Although the Chinese Communist Party is still in charge, China is not a communist country. From the man giving haircuts under the bridge to the hundreds of vendors haggling at the Silk Street Market, private economic endeavors are the norm. The government is definitely authoritarian (Facebook is even banned there), but the country is not communist.

Second: In its own way, China is a melting pot. In particular, the generation gap is enormous. The oldest have lived through empire, democracy, revolution, communism, and everything in between. Many of the youngest have had experiences not unlike those of us who’ve grown up in the United States. China also has one of the most pronounced situations of income disparity in the world: Although many have benefited enormously from the country’s recent explosive growth, much of the population still survives as subsistence farmers. Moreover, in order to cross into Hong Kong or Macau, you need to have your passport stamped.

Third: China offers great business opportunities. Despite the recent financial crisis, China’s GDP still grew by an astounding 7.9 percent this quarter. Recent emphasis by the government on sustainable and green growth has only continued to encourage foreign investment. Even the exploding population serves as a reminder of its huge consumer potential. No matter how you look at it, China promises to be a dominating force in the international economy for years to come.

	M.S. in Commerce students explore Sweden during their Global Immersion Experience.

Mary Griffin (A&S ’08, M.S. in Commerce ’09)
Before participating in the M.S. in Commerce Global Immersion Experience, I had never visited Europe. During the nine weeks I was abroad (including three weeks of travel before and after our residency), I gained a holistic perspective on European commerce.

One of the things that really struck me was the exchange of cultures throughout the EU, and the way that this affects commerce. In the United States, business is conducted with the assumption of a common nationality and culture, despite obvious distinctions within this national identity. In the EU, however, this assumption is upended, as 27 countries with individual languages and culture meet in a region only slightly larger than the United States. Although the EU creates a basic framework for commerce within Europe, I realized that this interaction of cultures creates hurdles for daily business in ways I had not previously realized. Products, services, marketing, and logistics must be catered specifically to each country. To reach a broad customer base, companies must divide the European market into individual countries, and further divide those markets into demographic segments as well. This requires tremendous scope, time, and money for businesses.

While I may never work in the EU, the lessons from this experience can be applied to the global market. While global commerce may not be as geographically consolidated as within the EU, the same sensitivity to cultural and political differences between countries is critical to conducting business.

 

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