CommerceUVA Fall 2007 (Investors' Report) - McIntire School of ...

ered,” Mangis says.
“In fact, in the future,
it might be good to
have representatives
from even more
countries teaching
part of the program
so that we could get an even wider diversity of opinion from
within the eU.”
Global Lessons
Indeed, one of the primary aims of the program was to help
participants gain a better understanding of some of the nuts
and bolts of doing business in the eU. What are the primary
economic drivers? how does the european tax model diff er
from that of the American model, and what are the business
implications? What should you expect from your dealings with a
european bureaucracy? What are some of the challenges of dealing
with an international work force? “Th e program was much
broader in scope than I’d expected,” says Mangis. “We had a lot
to cover in a week, but the program was so well planned that we
managed to fi t it all in.”
More Global Lessons
Mangis says that as a result of his interaction with Danish
students and faculty, he also noticed some more subtle cultural
Jeff rey Mangis in
Copenhagen (far left),
where cutting-edge
innovation meets
old-world beauty.
diff erences between european and American approaches to
global business. First, he says, his european counterparts seemed
to spend more time planning and less time doing when it came
to implementing solutions.
“Americans tend to dive right in and correct things as we
go along,” he says. Second, he noted, europeans’ motivations for
doing business seemed to have less to do with their own personal
gain and more to do with the good of their society, country, region,
or industry. Finally, he says, legally mandated stability in the
job market aff ords people a more balanced relationship between
their work and their life.
Not all Business
Of course, the executive education program itself wasn’t all work
and no play; participants also had the chance to tour famously
picturesque Copenhagen, visit such sites as the Viking Ship
Museum and the 12th century Roskilde Cathedral, and, of
course, tour the Carlsberg Brewery. Says Mangis of the brewery
tour, “Th e tasting was great. Oh, and they’ve also made some
amazing strides in system implementation over the last fi ve
years.”
Next year’s International Executive Education Program will run
May 4-9, 2008, and will again take place in Copenhagen. For more
information, visit http://www.commerce.virginia.edu/copenhagen.
Fall 2007 • 11