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Contact Information: Natalie Speechley, Director of Marketing Services

Bisk Education/University Alliance Online 9417 Princess Palm Avenue, Tampa, FL 33619

813.621.6200 For Immediate Release:

Thunderbird Launches Program on Doing Business in China

New online certificate program gives executives tools they need to understand the Chinese market

TAMPA, FL (June 12, 2007) ─ Napoleon referred to China as the “sleeping dragon” and warned that when she awoke, she would shake the world. Hundreds of years later, China is the fastest growing economy in the world. The country’s low cost of labor, the increasing quality of that labor, a growing consumer class with a penchant for Western goods, and China’s membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO), all make it an attractive place to do business. With this in mind, Thunderbird School of Global Management has launched Doing Business in China — a comprehensive, one-of-a-kind online certificate program on the dynamics of contemporary Chinese business. The new eight-week program offers working professionals the tools and knowledge they need to work effectively within China’s modern business environment — 100% online. Taught by world-renowned Thunderbird faculty who have lived and worked in China, the program enhances students’ global competitiveness through: • Discovery of how individual cultural preferences differ from Chinese counterparts • Exploration of China's political economy • Understanding the Chinese consumer • Applying tools to tailor personal business styles to the Chinese market • Developing management strategies specific to Chinese negotiation • Understanding the historical, social and economic forces that affect decision making in the Chinese business environment Unique Cultural NavigatorTM helps professionals gage cultural sensitivity The program features the Cultural NavigatorTM, a Web-based tool that builds global management competencies. Through a series of online self-assessment exercises, professionals discover their own cultural preferences, how they differ from their Chinese counterparts and most importantly, how they can adapt their individual business styles to achieve optimal effectiveness and avoid costly mistakes. Participants receive 12 months access to the Cultural NavigatorTM. China has been moving up the value chain very rapidly in recent years and is no longer solely recognized for its low-cost labor according to Olivier Bouclier, Thunderbird’s Senior Director of Corporate Learning and Executive MBA program. “In order to maintain or

acquire a sustainable competitive advantage, companies need to understand China’s economic, strategic supply chain and marketing opportunities. The cultural, geographical and economical challenges in China differ significantly from those of any other civilization. Therefore, companies and their executives, need to learn how to interact with Chinese people, companies and administrations.” Just how important is contemporary China to businesses around the world? Enrepreneur.com put it this way: “If you still think of China as a third-world economy, think again. It’s a country of 1.3 billion people who are increasingly well-educated and worldly, and who are preparing to compete at the high end of the business world. Name an industry, and there’s a good chance the Chinese will soon be battling for a piece of that pie.” Sessions for the new online program will be offered 12 times per year and begin the first of each month. The program is comprised of four components: The Cultural NavigatorTM and three lectures including interviews with businesspeople addressing challenging topics and critical case studies. The program’s online multimedia technology is provided by the University Alliance Online. Students experience an interactive online learning environment through streaming audio/video lectures, faculty-monitored chat rooms and message boards. Students can log in at anytime, anywhere they have access to the Internet. For more information about Doing Business in China, please call 800-605-5278 or visit www.ThunderbirdGlobal.com. About Thunderbird School of Global Management and the University Alliance Online Founded in 1946, Thunderbird is the first and oldest graduate management school focused exclusively on global business. It is regarded as the world’s leading institution in the education of global managers and has operations in the United States, Latin America, Asia and Europe, including Russia. Ranked No. 1 in international business by Financial Times, U.S. News & World Report, and The Wall Street Journal/Harris Interactive 2006 Business School Survey, Thunderbird is dedicated to educating global leaders who create sustainable prosperity worldwide. The school’s programs facilitate the development of the global mindset which is critical to managing effectively in different social, economic and political environments. More than 38,000 students have graduated from Thunderbird, and its alumni live and work in more than 140 countries. For more about Thunderbird, please visit www.ThunderbirdGlobal.com. University Alliance Online, with more than 300,000 enrollments to date, is America’s largest exclusive provider of online certificate and degree programs from the nation’s leading universities including Villanova University, the University of Notre Dame, Tulane University, Thunderbird School of Global Management, Saint Leo University, Regis University, Jacksonville University, The University of Scranton, the University of South Florida and Florida Institute of Technology. Program offerings include a broad range of professional certificates, as well as associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

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