Schumpeter writes recently in The Economist (citation) that the world of business schools is indeed huge. Huge in size--13,000 programs worldwide and counting...big in power--graduates line up for "master of the universe" tittles, and very big in rich, fast, jet-set values. He asks if the many cosmopolitan polyglots are spun into a hall of mirrors where it is a false reality in terms of the actual global world. Wall Street can develop tunnel-vision...narrow streets, tall buildings, monetary vertigo, you know?
The globalization has been rather sudden. I estimate the number of business schools has actually doubled in the last 12 years. It cannot sustain that pace for long. The world market is not big enough for that. There would be a bubble or an overbuilt global supply and it would lead to a blemish on the shining star rising of the MBA credential. Nobody can afford that!
Partner and sister school relations across borders is still exploding and is very exciting, but may be elite oriented and may be trying to tap a small segment of the total market....those who can actually afford to and want to leave ho,me and travel to another land for study abroad. Europe and Asia are leading in this category, and the US is following far behind. So very few US students still travel out there and study.
Schumpeter does not deal that much with another of the big rocket-propelled grenades of this higher education global business-ed picture. That is the huge mass market distant learning schools and programs which actually cross borders electronically and sort of inhibit travel-oriented students from the temptation to get up and actually travel abroad for study. It is so easy to be an armchair student. But masses are doing it and getting "global exposure" from home, literally within their house.
Our school is one of 13,000 on the planet. CIBU is defining its uniqueness daily. But, for any of you who is wondering if we are bold enough, here is a snapshot of CIBU's brave stake in this game.
You are in a class in an MBA program at CIBU. Your student team has: One Canadian, one from Holland, one from France, one from China, one from Vietnam, and one from Korea. They all have the necessary background degrees, test scores and minimum English to be qualified to be there. BUT, English skill varies across the students and in the order of the above listed team members it goes from very fluent to just intermediate.
Now introduce the team's project: it is a real live case. The company under study is a Korean company in California. The team must make a research project, and a presentation to the Korean executives. A Powerpoint slide show is going to be key.
The team members are restless. A few of the very fluent in English ones are very uncomfortable with the few who are not. This leads to feelings of which ones are most important and which ones are not.
Now, enter how CIBU is different: at CIBU under these conditions described above, the presentation and powerpoint to Korean executives live in person, must be in both English and Korean! That is CIBU policy. No exceptions. No English-only superiority or forced linguistic-cultural superiority will be allowed. The client wants it and deserves it in both languages. That is real world. The same is true at McCann-Erickson Worldwide, Citicorp, Siemens, Toyota or Hyundai in any professional global environment. English is the platform and the universal gateway agent language, but the client culture and language is totally honored and respected and used.
Now, who is the very most important member of this student team? Who may be less dominant, but deeply knows the cultural manner of communicating the message with ultimate best emphasis, tone, rhythm, and drama? It is the Korean student, of course.
In many, many, many business schools, this is totally overlooked and not practised. At CIBU, it is everyday policy. CIBU is not only global, it is like an international airport. English is the base, but we are multilingual. Striving for multicultural homogeneity through an English-only classroom is a contrived and false reality and leads to students being overlooked and neglected by all. CIBU breaks this mold with bravery and boldness.
I figure I sit at least 100 hours each year for 20 years or more in rooms and meetings where I hear other languages and I do not follow or understand. We always come to English. But I always show respect. It is never time wasted. It is time invested and respected. That lesson starts at CIBU, not on the first job assignment.
We are defining our true uniqueness everyday and every minute, and every student is equally a miracle.
The globalization has been rather sudden. I estimate the number of business schools has actually doubled in the last 12 years. It cannot sustain that pace for long. The world market is not big enough for that. There would be a bubble or an overbuilt global supply and it would lead to a blemish on the shining star rising of the MBA credential. Nobody can afford that!
Partner and sister school relations across borders is still exploding and is very exciting, but may be elite oriented and may be trying to tap a small segment of the total market....those who can actually afford to and want to leave ho,me and travel to another land for study abroad. Europe and Asia are leading in this category, and the US is following far behind. So very few US students still travel out there and study.
Schumpeter does not deal that much with another of the big rocket-propelled grenades of this higher education global business-ed picture. That is the huge mass market distant learning schools and programs which actually cross borders electronically and sort of inhibit travel-oriented students from the temptation to get up and actually travel abroad for study. It is so easy to be an armchair student. But masses are doing it and getting "global exposure" from home, literally within their house.
Our school is one of 13,000 on the planet. CIBU is defining its uniqueness daily. But, for any of you who is wondering if we are bold enough, here is a snapshot of CIBU's brave stake in this game.
You are in a class in an MBA program at CIBU. Your student team has: One Canadian, one from Holland, one from France, one from China, one from Vietnam, and one from Korea. They all have the necessary background degrees, test scores and minimum English to be qualified to be there. BUT, English skill varies across the students and in the order of the above listed team members it goes from very fluent to just intermediate.
Now introduce the team's project: it is a real live case. The company under study is a Korean company in California. The team must make a research project, and a presentation to the Korean executives. A Powerpoint slide show is going to be key.
The team members are restless. A few of the very fluent in English ones are very uncomfortable with the few who are not. This leads to feelings of which ones are most important and which ones are not.
Now, enter how CIBU is different: at CIBU under these conditions described above, the presentation and powerpoint to Korean executives live in person, must be in both English and Korean! That is CIBU policy. No exceptions. No English-only superiority or forced linguistic-cultural superiority will be allowed. The client wants it and deserves it in both languages. That is real world. The same is true at McCann-Erickson Worldwide, Citicorp, Siemens, Toyota or Hyundai in any professional global environment. English is the platform and the universal gateway agent language, but the client culture and language is totally honored and respected and used.
Now, who is the very most important member of this student team? Who may be less dominant, but deeply knows the cultural manner of communicating the message with ultimate best emphasis, tone, rhythm, and drama? It is the Korean student, of course.
In many, many, many business schools, this is totally overlooked and not practised. At CIBU, it is everyday policy. CIBU is not only global, it is like an international airport. English is the base, but we are multilingual. Striving for multicultural homogeneity through an English-only classroom is a contrived and false reality and leads to students being overlooked and neglected by all. CIBU breaks this mold with bravery and boldness.
I figure I sit at least 100 hours each year for 20 years or more in rooms and meetings where I hear other languages and I do not follow or understand. We always come to English. But I always show respect. It is never time wasted. It is time invested and respected. That lesson starts at CIBU, not on the first job assignment.
We are defining our true uniqueness everyday and every minute, and every student is equally a miracle.
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