Gaining global competenceStudents, business leaders excited about international experiencerequirement for undergraduates

In May 2007, the CarlsonSchool took the dramaticstep of requiring an inter-

national experience of all itsundergraduates. It is the firstcollege at the University ofMinnesota to do so. Theschool’s Office of InternationalPrograms has been workingever since to develop new edu-cation abroad opportunities,scholarships and tools tosupport students.

A key part of the thinkingbehind this bold move is to helpstudents along the path towardglobal competence. ExplainsAssociate Dean of International Programs Michael Houston:“No matter where business people are working—in the U.S. orin a foreign country—the global nature of business means thatthey will need to interact with colleagues, suppliers, distributors,or customers in or from another culture. The more competentthey are in these interactions, the more successful they and theircompanies will be.”

The Carlson School recognizes that global competence is aprocess of continuous improvement, without a finite endpoint.Competence lies in the desire and ability to seek and understandnew environments and work effectively within them. This viewhas a history in the pioneering work of Josef Mestenhauser, aprofessor emeritus of education policy and administration at theUniversity of Minnesota. His leadership in the field of interna-tional education has helped the Carlson School—and theUniversity as a whole—get where it is today.

Drawing on Mestenhauser’s work and research by BillHunter et al. (2006), among others, the school characterizes an individual’s global competence according to the followingattributes:• Open mind—A willingness to accept cultural norms other than

his or her own.• A desire to understand the cultural norms and expectations of

others.

• A mental model or frameworkto seek and organize knowl-edge about other countries,cultures, economies, etc.

• Ability to leverage the gainedknowledge to interact,communicate, and workeffectively and comfortablyoutside one’s environment.

The demand for such skillsis significant. For years, inresponse to the CarlsonSchool’s overseas MBA pro-grams, exchanges, and globalenrichment programs, adminis-trators have heard, “More,

please,” from global business leaders. “Widespread involvementin study abroad programs has made [Carlson students] betterprepared to drive growth in the global markets 3M serves,” saysNathan Malek, manager of 3M Strategic Business Development.Likewise, Douglas N. Daft, CEO of Coca-Cola, says that“understanding and valuing different cultures has shaped myability to lead our business, and it’s an absolute imperative foranyone who works at The Coca-Cola Company.”

Carlson School students have already responded enthusiasti-cally to the new requirement, recognizing the value they gainfrom international education. Those who have already partici-pated in education abroad programs say that even a short timeoverseas greatly enriches their perspective. “The best part wasbeing in China,” one student notes of his two-week Manage-ment 3010 class in Shanghai and Beijing. “Class presentationsdon’t come close to being on the street with the people and theculture.” Students also cite “having time to explore and figurethings out for ourselves” as the best way to learn. “I think weare getting a better education for our business careers,” says onestudent who participated in a global immersion businessexchange last spring, “because we are experiencing so manyother perspectives than just the U.S.”

Fall 2008

A Newsletter of International Programs

Going Global

Undergraduate students in Malaysia.

2 Going Global

Every morning, Patrick Walusimbitakes his chair by the door of thefirst primary school he built in

Mizigo, a village about 40 miles west ofUganda’s capital city, Kampala. For twohours, his eyes shine as he calls the nameof each arriving student—450 in all.

It would be extraordinary for any com-munity leader to devote this daily blockof time to greeting children. It is particu-larly so for Walusimbi, a pastor whosedays are spent overseeing the needs offive private schools and are frequentlyinterrupted by funerals, brown outs, andemergencies. The schools are in the

Carlson School student Dan Kaskubar helps build a sustainable plan for success for Ugandan schools

Making a differenceMaranatha Uganda network, whichWalusimbi founded in 1999 in neighbor-ing Mityana, a town of 40,000.

For Carlson School students interestedin building businesses and sustainabledevelopment in rural East Africa,Walusimbi’s simple act illustrates the keylesson: Relationships always come first. “Ican’t overemphasize how important it isto understand the culture and to havelocal buy-in,” says Dan Kaskubar, asecond-year MBA student who recentlycompleted an eight-week trip to Mityanato help Walusimbi develop income-gener-ating projects for the schools.

Kaskubar, who will graduate in May2009, met Walusimbi three years agowhen his church helped Walusimbi buildone of the schools. Kaskubar got in touchagain after taking the Carlson School’stwo-week Costa Rica Seminar last Janu-ary on sustainable business practices. “Iknew that Patrick had purchased 50 acresof land to provide food as well as voca-tional training for the schools, but that hewasn’t producing on all of it,” Kaskubarsays. “I wanted to see if I could use someof the tools I learned in Costa Rica tohelp him.”

One of the resources Kaskubar consulted with to helphim boost Maranatha’s egg production is The Egg Module(www.eggmodule.org), a business plan for egg productionin the developing world, started by Minneapolis socialentrepreneur Paul Helgeson, a Carlson School alumnus.

Students from the vocational school get a practicallesson in poultry management.

Dan and colleagues at Ugachick headquarters outsideKampala.

Fall 2008 3

Kaskubar probably never imaginedthat those tools would include a hangingscale, plastic bag, and 1,436 chickens,which were used to catch and weigheach bird on Walusimbi’s farm to learnwhy only 60 percent of them were lay-ing eggs. Kaskubar relied on the expert-ise of some Western experts in animalscience and egg production (see below)to help him analyze the egg operations.But most important, he also arranged atutorial in chicken management fromUgachick, Uganda’s leading poultryproducer. (It helped that Walusimbi’sbrother-in-law runs Ugachick.) “TheUgachick director was almost ridiculingin the way he talked to Maranatha’smanager,” Kaskubar says. “But becausehe was Ugandan, he was able to commu-nicate in a way nobody from the U.S.could have. Everyone was laughing andhaving a good time.” Kaskubar says withthis additional help, Maranatha’s chick-ens should be able to achieve 75 percentegg production and profitability. On atour of other area farms, Kaskubar andWalusimbi learned that some are dryingfruit for export to South Africa andEurope—another possible revenuesource for Maranatha.

“While it might seem obvious tooutsiders to seek out local assistance,

(from left to right) Patrick Walusimbi welcomesarriving students; Dan and colleagues at amicrofinance organization in Uganda; 70,000bricks for the new girls’ dormitory.

> > Interested in arranging your own social entrepreneur trip? Kaskubar’s trip cost about$5,000, half of which he raised himself, which included matching funds from Kids-Uganda. The Carlson School’s Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship funded the rest.

Can you picture yourself inBucharest helping develop theRomanian tourism industry

or perhaps establishing new trainingseminars for the Uzbekistan Women’sBusiness Association?

These are just two of the projects thatCarlson School MBA alumni have workedon through the MBA Enterprise Corps.Recent MBA alum Katy McIntosh iscurrently in Equatorial Guinea as a Corpsadviser, helping the country develop itsnational business capacity, enterprisefinance program, and supplier base in theenergy industry.

The Corps, a division of the CitizensDevelopment Corps, is a non-profit,private volunteer organization founded in 1990 by a consortium of leading U.S.business schools. The Carlson Schoolcontinues to be a strong participant inthis consortium.

For the past decade, the MBA Enter-prise Corps has worked to enhance trade,technology transfer, and investmentopportunities in emerging markets andtransitioning economies through theexperience and energy of recently gradu-ated MBAs.

To date, the Corps has sent more than1,000 volunteers on assignment to fourcontinents. Assignments are typically 12to 15 months. Benefits to volunteersinclude extensive training, a monthlyliving allowance, student loan defermentassistance and more.

Looking to make a difference with your MBAinternationally? For more information, pleasecontact the Carlson School’s representative forthe MBA Enterprise Corps: Abby Pinto,apinto@umn.edu, or view the Corps websiteat http://www.mbaec-cdc.org/.

Business know-how—translatedMake a difference in adeveloping country throughthe MBA Enterprise Corps

poverty helps create a “silo” mentality inUganda,” Kaskubar says, “with myriadsmall producers or suppliers who fearthat forming organizations or associa-tions helps their competitors. Thismakes it hard to partner to shareresources and best practices, and makesprocuring basic resources wildly ineffi-cient.” For example, getting 120,000bricks to build a girls’ dormitory for aMaranatha school took more than 50separate trips to independent brickproducers—whoever was selling bricksthat day.

In addition to helping identify newrevenue streams for the farm, Kaskubarprovided training and new computers(donated by KidsUganda, a non-profitorganization based in Chicago thathelps fund Maranatha’s projects) for anew accounting system, contacts to amicrofinance organization to provideloans, and a business plan that will helpWalusimbi lobby for funding for moreorganizational support staff. He alsoidentified a biosand water filter as a pos-sible income generator that would alsohelp solve the widespread problem ofaccess to clean drinking water. Becauseof his relationship with Walusimbi,Kaskubar will probably continue toprovide as much support as he can, evenif he can’t be there in person.

Kaskubar says he didn’t accomplishnearly as much as he wanted to during his trip, noting ruefully that “meetings”happened in the car, and that the day’sgoals often had to give way to its reali-ties. “I had to surrender a lot,” he says.“I just had to say, ‘This is the way it is. Ihave to go with the flow here.’”

To read more about Kaskubar’s trip, see:http://daninuganda.wordpress.com/. Also,watch for more information about anOctober talk by Kaskubar and Walusimbi.

4 Going Global

Laura Philippsen

When second-year MBA student LauraPhilippsen first heard about a new, two-week education abroad program

focused on corporate social responsibility inScandinavia, she was intrigued. Philippsen hadnever been to that part of the world, nor hadcorporate social responsibility really crossed herradar in a significant way.

Along with 24 other Carlson School students,she left in May 2008 for Oslo, Stockholm, andCopenhagen to meet with a mix of business andnonprofit executives in organizations ranging fromIKEA to UNICEF. The group also visited withcorporate responsibility scholars at various collegesthroughout the region during the program.

“I learned a lot about what companies can doabout corporate social responsibility and how it ismore than just about environmental actions,” saysPhilippsen. “Some Scandinavian companies see itmuch differently, and certain companies, in partic-ular, seem much more ahead of the curve in whatthey’ve set up.”

The four-credit course, Corporate Responsibil-ity: A Scandinavian Approach, is the brainchild ofRobert Strand, ’05 MBA, and the Office of Inter-national Programs at the Carlson School. Strand, a marketing planner at Boston Scientific, traveledto Scandinavia in 2005 and 2006 on a Fulbrightscholarship to study corporate social responsibilityin a “region where, as a whole, the economic,environmental, and social practices are better thananywhere else in the world,” he notes.

The course is modeled after a business ethicscourse Strand took in 2003. The course was

Northern exposureA two-week education abroad program offers an up-close look at Scandinavian corporateresponsibility practices

sponsored by International Programs and thentaught by Carlson School Professor Norm Bowie.The program offered students a two-week trip toLondon and Brussels to visit nongovernmentalorganizations, businesses, and government agen-cies. For this new ethics seminar, Strand usedconnections he had made on his Fulbright, andsupport from International Programs, to craft aprogram with meetings during the day and freeevenings.

For Philippsen the course provided manyinsights. In one session she learned about howNovo Nordisk and the World Wildlife Fund collab-orated on renewable energy strategies that led tothe company building wind turbines—rather thanbuying wind energy—to power offices and plants.

Many executives she met also were more candidthan she expected. “In the question and answerperiod, we asked one executive if he would con-tinue sustainability measures if his business wasstruggling,” says Philippsen. “He conceded that [asustainability focus] was not a sure thing.”

Strand has been gratified by the large number ofpart-time Carlson students who attended the Scan-dinavian course, an appealing virtue to Philippsen,a full-time student. “One of the best things I gotout of the trip was getting to know more studentsin the part-time program,” she says. “We weretogether for two straight weeks, taking overnighttrains together and having a great time. It was agreat group of people—I think a lot of thoserelationships that we made will continue. We’vealready had a few reunions.”

—Frank Jossi

Fall 2008 5

Where and howshould you fulfillyour international

experience requirement? FromCosta Rica to Thailand, Nor-way, or Australia, opportuni-ties literally span the globe.The Carlson School offersundergraduates the choice ofnine short-term GlobalEnrichment courses and 19semester exchanges, and iscommitted to continuallydeveloping new programs andpartnerships. Here are themost recent opportunities:

A world of possibilitiesNew programs, exchange partnerships support students’ international experience requirement

Semester Exchanges > Always popular, semester exchange programs provide anopportunity for rich cultural immersion. New this year for undergraduates:

National Taiwan University (NTU) Taipei, Taiwanhttps://www.carlsonschool.umn.edu/page8055.aspxExperience the dynamic culture of a country in evolution. At NTU, the oldest and most distin-guished university in Taiwan, you’ll study courses such as e-commerce and international marketing(in English) with other students from all over the globe. A Chinese language certificate course isalso required.

Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Brisbane, Australiahttps://www.carlsonschool.umn.edu/page8056.aspxA free-trade agreement signed in 2005 between Australia and the United States makes Australia animportant country for continued growth in business partnerships. Students can take traditionalbusiness classes as well as others in the departments of information technology, creativeindustries, education and other areas.

Thammasat Business School Bangkok, Thailandhttps://www.carlsonschool.umn.edu/page8054.aspxIn this city of 10 million, you’ll see first-hand how Bangkok serves as an economic gateway toother parts of Southeast Asia. Take courses in English in subjects such as strategic managementand consumer behavior while also studying the Thai language.

Short-Term Programs > Global Enrichment programs give students an intense, focusedinternational learning experience. New and recent opportunities for undergraduates include:

Management 3010: An Introduction to Global Entrepreneurship Shanghai and Beijing, Chinahttp://www.csom.umn.edu/Page7797.aspxJoin a group of 30 of your peers at the center of one of the world’s most exciting economies. Guest speakers, site visits, and case studies will provide hands-on exploration of entrepreneurialcharacteristics, skills, and processes.

Human Resources 3021: International Human Resources Management Brisbane and Sydney, AustraliaExplore the changing nature of human resources in a global economy, with a focus on U.S. andAustralian labor market trends. Brisbane and Sydney, both expanding their business roles in theAsia-Pacific region, boast some of the most multicultural populations in the world.

Finance 4641: International Finance & Risk Management Manchester and London, EnglandVisit two of England’s leading cities for business, finance, and culture. You’ll analyze the interna-tional dimensions of corporate finance, investment, and risk management, including a study ofemerging economies, in the classroom and at site visits in both cities.

Norwegian Summer Program: Intercultural Management Oslo, Norwayhttp://www.csom.umn.edu/page8143.aspxGet three weeks of intense study of intercultural business practices at the prestigious BI Norwe-gian School of Management in Oslo, along with a heady dose of Norwegian life and culture.

Vienna Summer Program: International Business Vienna, Austriahttp://www.csom.umn.edu/page8142.aspxHost to multinational companies such as Siemens, 3M, IBM, and Panasonic, Vienna is a powerfuleconomic hub between East and West. You’ll gain broad international business perspectives fromstudents and faculty from around the world at the Vienna University of Economics and BusinessAdministration.

Brisbane, Australia

Taipei, Taiwan

Bangkok, Thailand

6 Going Global

New research shows that studentswho study abroad develop agreater ability to handle stress

and relate todifferent types ofpeople and situa-tions, qualitiesthat are particu-larly valuable for businessesleaders. In fact, a recent studyshowed signifi-cant gains in theseskills in as little as four weeks

abroad, leading its authors to urge busi-ness schools to offer a wider selection ofsuch programs.

“These types of interpersonal andcoping skills are tremendously importantfor anyone in a global and competitivework environment, especially managers,”says Rohini Ahluwalia, associate professorof marketing for Carlson School and a co-author of the study. “Even if you do notgo on to live or work overseas, the successyou gain in navigating that experiencehelps you become a stronger manager.”

The study, published in the Fall 2007issue of the International Journal of Business& Economics, surveyed attitudes of 660undergraduate students from 30 U.S.universities before and after a summersession or semester program, either inItaly or at home. (The study abroad

Study abroad improves leadership skillsShort-term programs offer the biggest boost

programs were offered through the Con-sortium of Universities for InternationalStudies, or CIMBA. Starting in fall 2008,Carlson School students will be able toparticipate in CIMBA’s program inItaly—see sidebar for more information.)

Researchers collected data for twosemesters and summer programs. In onequestionnaire, students were asked to ratehow important and enjoyable they foundexperiences such as “getting to knowpeople from other countries.” In anotherwell-known test called the Cross-CulturalAdaptability Inventory (CCAI), whichassesses the four underlying dimensionsof cultural adaptability, they rated theiragreement with 50 different statementssuch as, “I feel free to maintain mypersonal values, even among those whodo not share them.”

Students studying abroad improvedsignificantly in all four dimensions ofcultural adaptability: flexibility andopenness, the ability to maintain a posi-tive attitude while coping with stress, theability to respect oneself and others andto take responsibility for one’s actions,and the ability to attend accurately tointerpersonal relations and the context ofcommunication.

The researchers were surprised to seethat the four-week, study abroad groupimproved the most. Even though 70percent of the students reported priorinternational travel experience, two of theskill dimensions for the semester abroadgroups leveled off during their experi-

Rohini Ahluwalia

Study abroad in ItalyStarting this fall, Carlson School undergrads can participate in the semester-long CIMBA study abroad

programs in Paderno del Grappa, Italy. Unlike an exchange program, CIMBA’s system more closely aligns

students’ classes abroad with those they would take at home, Ahluwalia says. “The courses are the

same core business classes and electives, taught by professors from the consortium schools in English,”

she says. “At the same time, students get lots of planned field trips, guest lecturers, presentations by

business leaders and associations, and plenty of other opportunities to immerse themselves in the local

culture.” It doesn’t hurt that the campus offers breathtaking views of Mount Grappa.

Find out more: https://www.carlsonschool.umn.edu/page8058.aspx or http://www.cimbaitaly.com/

ence, leaving their coping and communi-cation abilities high. Researchersreasoned that some initial exuberance fornew participants probably wore off overthe course of 14 weeks as the reality ofliving in an unfamiliar environment set in.Scores for semester students studying athome stayed the same. “The good news isthat students’ capacity for tolerating theunfamiliar was apparently improvedthrough this experience, and their overallcross-cultural adaptability increased,” saidthe researchers.

Another key finding was that thosestudents choosing the semester-long,study abroad program had higher pre- andpost-test scores than any other group,making them fundamentally different,the authors noted, from students whochose to study at home. Given thesesignificant pretest differences in atti-tudes, would programs of differentlengths really make a difference inattracting students less inclined to tryinternational programs?

Absolutely, Ahluwalia says. “People areat different levels of readiness for interna-tional experience. Therefore, it’s impor-tant for an institution to offer programsthat vary in length and type of offering.”In recognition of this diversity inreadiness, the Carlson School’s Office ofInternational Programs continues to buildprograms of varying types and lengths tosupport students in their internationaleducation journey.

Fall 2008 7

By the numbers

Executive MBA programs (fall 2008)

NUMBER OFSTUDENT S PROGRAM COHORT(S)

68 China Executive MBA two *

29 Vienna Executive MBA one

71 Warsaw Executive MBA two*

*Figures for the China and Warsaw Executive MBA programs arebest estimates.

Number of Carlson School students abroad (fall-winter 2008-09)

231313622Argentina • Australia • Austria • Belgium • Brazil • Chile • China • Costa Rica • DominicanRepublic • Ecuador • France • India • Ireland • Italy • Netherlands • New Zealand • Singapore •Spain • South Korea • Thailand • United Kingdom • Venezuela

…in Global Immersion programs

…in Global Enrichment programs

…in Learning Abroad Center programs

Countries represented

International students (fall 2008)

We have a diverse populationof direct-enrolled interna-tional students at our school:

82 45

28155

Exchange students This fall the Carlson School ishosting:

4913

Internationalresidencies (summer and fall 2008)

The Carlson School’s Officeof International Programshosted 3 groups of visitingMBA students and scholars:

131• Executive MBA and MBA

students from SogangUniversity (Seoul, Korea)

• International scholars fromthe National Defense Univer-sity (Washington, DC)

• Executive MBA students fromRomania, in partnership withthe Vienna University ofEconomics and BusinessAdministration (Vienna,Austria)

Undergraduateinternational students

Countries of citizenshiprepresentedCountries most represented:China, Korea, Russia

Graduate internationalstudents

Countries of citizenshiprepresented Most represented: India,China, Korea

Exchange students

Countries represented

International residencyparticipants

• Australia

• China

• India

• Taiwan

Faculty(to date in 2008)

International Programsgrants supportedfaculty travel to thefollowing countries for research andconferenceparticipation:

Case study in the makingBear Stearns executives give Vienna Executive MBA students a behind-the-headlineslook at a historic merger

In May 2008, Bear Stearns, one of the mostrespected financial services firms in the world,was in the middle of a merger with JPMorgan

Chase. Its struggle to recover from the fallout of thesubprime mortgage crisis was daily headline news.

But despitethese challenges,senior Bear Stearnsexecutives met, asscheduled, with 36students from 15countries in theVienna ExecutiveMBA program onMay 8th. Now inits ninth year, theVienna Executive

MBA program is a joint degree offering of the CarlsonSchool and the Vienna University of Economics andBusiness Administration.

In planning the corporate visit, Carlson SchoolInternational Programs staff leveraged their existingrelationship with Bear Stearns to shape a compellingexperience for the students. The visit was part of thestudents’ final capstone course, in which they partici-pated in corporate visits and academic sessions inboth New York and the Twin Cities.

“I was astonished that Bear Stearns agreed still tomeet with us,” says Liselotte Schoell, class presidentand human resources executive with telecommunica-tions company Mobilkom Austria Group, a leadingmobile service provider in Central and EasternEurope. “What can you really say in such a situation?”

John Tyers, senior managing director, Anna MarieSimone, managing director/principal, and Murali Bal-asubramanian, managing director, greeted the Carlson

School students with breakfast in the same confer-ence room where their firm’s fate was decided. “Theywanted to give us the real picture of what was goingon, and weren’t afraid of our questions,” Schoell says.“It was a positive, easygoing atmosphere.”

For about two hours, the students and BearStearns executives engaged in a deep discussion aboutthe factors that led to the company’s merger withJPMorgan Chase. “They really tried to give us a pic-ture of how the credit crisis in housing developed—the reasons for it, and how that in turn led to thecollapse of hedge funds,” Schoell says.

Balasubramanian, who grew up in London andspeaks German fluently, explained the crisis withinthe context of U.S. and European regulations, saysDileep Rao, who teaches entrepreneurship and ven-ture financing in the MBA program and served as thestudents’ faculty member in New York. “He brought agreat cross-cultural background to the discussions.”

Rao says the most valuable lesson of the day wasthe realization that the kind of crisis that impactedBear Stearns is not unique. “Most students will nevergo through a case like this themselves,” he says. “Butthey realized, as they thought of similar ‘runs on thebank’ they’ve witnessed from around the world, thatthis could happen anywhere—it’s not unique toAmerica or New York.”

Students left Bear Stearns impressed with thecandor and courage of their hosts. “Given the stressand the real financial pain that a lot of Bear Stearnsfolks were going through, the amount of effort theyput out created lots of goodwill toward the CarlsonSchool and the Vienna Executive MBA programamong the students,” Rao says. “They were absolutelyfabulous, and the students said it was a fantasticvisit.”

International ProgramsCarlson School of ManagementUniversity of Minnesota

321 Nineteenth Avenue South, Suite 2-210Minneapolis, MN 55455612-625-9361carlsonschool.umn.edu/internationalprograms

The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.

© 2008 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota. All r ights reserved.

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Students at BearStearns offices inNew York, May2008.