Fall 06 (pdf) - University of Wisconsin Oshkosh

Getting down to business
For UW Oshkosh business majors,
the key to success is becoming
knowledgeable about the world so
they can be “well-rounded” employees,
said College of Business dean
Al Hartman.
“It is important for business leaders
to understand the social sciences,
so they can determine how business
will be affected by changes in the Al Hartman
political and social environment,”
he said. “It is important to understand the arts and
creativity as we compete globally, not so much on our
ability to mass produce but on our ability to innovate.
And business leaders must understand the sciences
so that they can make sense of research findings that
could affect their businesses.”
The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools
of Business–International, (AACSB International),
which accredits UWO’s College of Business, requires
that no more than half of a student’s credits for
graduation be in business courses.
Trotting the Globe
Everyone knows that business
has gone global. Some firms are
moving or expanding overseas;
many are selling their products
and services in Europe, South
America and Asia. And it’s just
going to increase.
That’s a big reason the UW
Oshkosh College of Business
puts so much emphasis on studyabroad
programs. But it’s more
than that. Study-abroad also helps
students be better citizens of the
world … and the U.S.
“All students
should participate
in study-abroad,”
said Master’s of
Business Administration
Program director
Don Gudmundson.
“It broadens their perspective.
They see things that
are happening in the world
differently after they travel.”
Gudmundson and his wife,
foreign language professor
Fumiko Fukuta, led a study-
abroad trip to Japan for the
third time this spring. Economics
professor Marianne Johnson
initiated a study-abroad trip to
Peru in 2004 (photo above)
and will co-lead one of
two study trips to Peru
in 2007. In January,
management professor
Ashay Desai
led a study-abroad
class to Eastern
Europe.
All three
agree that internationalexperience
is almost
a necessity for
today’s business
student.
“We can
study different
cultures and the
“Sometimes students complain about the general
education requirements, but I tell them that having a
strong liberal arts education prepares them for work
and life. This knowledge and these skills will help
them be successful at upper levels of management
and in their communities,” Hartman said.
Wells also sees potential for more students to
combine a College of Letters and Science major
or minor with a major or minor in one of the professional
colleges, such as a business major with a minor
in environmental studies. “Just think about all of the
way they do business, but seeing
it first-hand makes it real,” said
Johnson, who has been to five
countries since she arrived at UW
Oshkosh five years ago and will
travel to Vietnam in January.
“In today’s world, students
must have some degree of international
exposure before they can
go into the job market,” Desai
said.
Seymour student Beau Buchmann
(photo left) said his 2004
trip to Peru was a life-changing
experience.
“After going to Peru, I had a
whole new perspective on life,”
said Buchmann, who followed
the Peru trip with a study tour to
Greece in 2005 and one to Great
Britain last summer. “Seeing all
the poverty made me happy for
what I have at home and all the
opportunities I have.”
This summer, Buchmann
was selected for the Engalitcheff
issues surrounding the environment that impact
businesses,” he said.
Last April, the College of Business teamed with
the Wisconsin Green Building Alliance to offer
a symposium to explore the “myths, realities and
promise” of using sustainable building practices in
a new UW Oshkosh academic building, planned for
construction in 2007.
Besides “going green,” UW Oshkosh business
graduate students will soon have the option of
going global.
“In a day and age when global business is
converging and the world is emerging as a
single large market for products and services,
it has become increasingly impor-
tant for business organizations to be
equipped with strategies and employees
qualified to tackle global markets and
cultures,” Hartman said.
To prepare students for this everchanging
environment, the College
of Business will begin a Global
Institute on Comparative Political
and Economic Systems at
Georgetown University. He’s
also working as an intern at the
U.S. Treasury Department.
“I really like UW Oshkosh
because of the econ faculty, but
there is not much diversity on
campus,” Buchmann said. “Also,
you learn a lot about yourself
when you study abroad because
you are constantly outside your
comfort zone.”
Melissa Cousineau of
Combined Locks, senior manager
of dedicated operations at
Schneider National and an MBA
student at UW Oshkosh, went to
Munich, Germany, and Prague,
Czech Republic, with Desai’s
group in January. She had previously
spent several months of
study-abroad in Mexico.
After 10 years of varied
business experience, Cousineau
said she was beginning to feel
confident she knew how things
worked in business. But things
work differently in other countries.
In Munich, for example,
assembly-line workers are allowed
one beer per shift.
“To continue to be a successful
nation, understanding
the importance of values and
cultures is important,” she said.
“Those individuals and compa-
nies who truly understand and
respect the details will distinguish
themselves with success.”
Cousineau said Schneider
has opened an office in the
Czech Republic.
“Touring the businesses
there was an invaluable experience,”
she said. “My one-week
snapshot showed me that
country is full of people who are
highly skilled and eager to work
and grow.”
Faculty members who led
the business study trips saw
their students grow in confidence
shortly after they landed
in the countries they visited.
“For some, it was their first
plane trip,” Gudmundson said.
“The first days were mind-
bending. But as time went on
and we visited various businesses
and cultural venues,
they began to overcome their
Master’s of Business Administration Program
in August 2007, in collaboration with universities in
Germany and India. Thirty students—10 from each
country—will take courses together and participate
in mixed discussion groups. They also will meet
three times for two weeks each–once in each of the
three countries.
Marketing major Amy
Schmidt in the library.
inhibitions about meeting different
people and being among
people who live differently than
they do.”
Eastern Europe is a potential
market of the future
for American business, as the
region catches up to the more
advanced countries of Western
Europe
In Prague, Desai’s students
visited a McDonalds and learned
from the local franchisee how
McDonalds is trying to penetrate
the urban market in the
Czech Republic.
“They’re establishing modern,
upscale restaurants, because
people there do not like
fast food,” he said. “It was like
a three-star restaurant! There
were waiters. They offered beer.
So far, it’s working for them.”
—Frank Church
page 13