THE WORLD
is our CAMPUS International Business MBA Students Learn Lessons Overseas
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by MATT NORMAN
BUSINESS IS BUSINESS. Or is it? Are businesses run the same in other countries as they are here? If not, what do they do differently? What is the same? These are the questions that students in the International Business MBA practicum at Webber University hope to answer as they visit other countries to observe, firsthand, how businesses are run elsewhere.
More Than a Vacation
Traveling to a foreign country is undeniably exciting. The food, the culture, the sites, and the opportunity to meet the people all combine for a once in a lifetime opportunity. But for these students, this is work. They are there to learn how businesses in that location are run. The students must locate a company with offices in the U.S. as well as in the destination country. At the very least, they must find similar companies in both places. The students spend time at the American office and at the foreign one interviewing people and learning what they can about the business while taking care to respect the privacy of the business and its clients. They then compare and contrast the American office or company with the one they visited in the foreign country.
Not All Work
While the primary focus of these trips is the student learning about their businesses, it is not all work. It’s also important to understand the local culture
8 | APRIL 2020
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