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The Class from Ipanema
by Gary W. McKillips
The sixth class of Global Partners MBA (GPMBA) students - 26 in all,
representing 14 nationalities - took up residence in Rio de Janeiro
early this year as part of GPMBA’s 14-month program. One of the
most unique programs in the world, GPMBA allows students to study
on four continents, with lengthy stays in Atlanta, Rio and Paris
(where they are taught by faculty from the Robinson College and
partner schools - the COPPEAD, the graduate business school of the
Federal University of Rio de Janiero, and IAE, the school of business
at the Sorbonne) and also have an intensive two-week
residency in China and visits to Washington, D.C., and Brussels.
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“Reading about a culture is different than experiencing
that culture in person,” said Indian student
Malik Surani. “You learn a lot more about people
as a resident rather than as a tourist just visiting
the country.”
Global Partners students call Rio home for five
weeks. They find apartments in Ipanema, a well-known
resort community in the southern portion
of Rio, and commute for classes to COPPEAD’s
campus in the northwestern part of the city. They
are responsible for finding their own accommodations
and meals and, other than classes and field trips
to various businesses around the city, they are on
their own to explore and learn about the culture
and the customs.
“It’s all part of the immersion process that makes
this program so unique,” said Karen Loch, director
of the Global Partners program for the Robinson
College. “Students not only read about the country
and hear about it from faculty, they can also experience
it the minute they leave their classrooms.”
GPMBA student Yi Deng, who was born in Beijing
but recently became an American citizen, said she
looks at the world differently than before. She
knew the way business was conducted in China
and the United States, where she worked in commercial
banking for three years after earning her
undergraduate degree at Georgia State. But she
knew little of the rest of the world. “I’ve never had
an experience like this – traveling, meeting new
people,” she said, adding, “It has taken me out of
my comfort zone.”
Commercial Diplomacy
“Perhaps the one most enduring lesson
learned from the Global Partners experience
is understanding cultural differences,”
said Loch, also noting that “this is where
the commercial diplomacy aspect of the
program becomes very important. Students
learn that understanding the customs,
cultures and business practices of various
countries is vital to success.”
Vahid Ghabel, a student from Tehran, Iran,
said he found the style of doing business
in Rio very similar to that in his native land.
“Brazilians are a lot like people in my country.
They are more nonchalant, less rigid in the
way they conduct business than people in
the U.S., for example.”
Brazil is also a country that treasures its
natural resources. According to Jeff Royal,
a student from Atlanta, Rio has immense
natural resources, and social responsibility
“is very important to them in preserving all
that they have.”
The idea of sustainability was driven home
when students visited Bio Rio, an incubator
primarily for start-up companies, many of
which deal in some aspect of sustainability,
and Rio Globo, the television giant in Rio
that has 80 percent of the market and
features programming designed to support
environmental causes.
All the Global Partners students spoke
highly of the quality of the faculty, both
in Atlanta and Rio. “From an academic
standpoint,” said Royal, “the courses are
very open and interactive, students feel comfortable expressing their own thoughts,
learning from each other as well as from
their teachers.”
Deng said of the leadership course, “I’ve
never had a class like that.” Surani said he
particularly liked the simulations that were
presented in the class. “We were thinking
all the time, looking at theories of leadership
and then analyzing how we could apply
what we learned to the next simulation and
in the real world.”
Royal noted that he’s regularly in touch with
his partners in a heavy equipment export
business that operates in Colombia. “As
teachers would explain concepts and how
they pertain to Latin American countries,
I was dealing with a crisis down there (in
Colombia) and was able to let my partners
know of other options.”
On Their Own
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| Dr. Alex Rodrigues, coordinator of the
Global Partners program for COPPEAD, with the GPMBA class from Ipanema. | |
Perhaps as important as the classroom
work and field visits is the time Global Partners
students have to explore the area on
their own. They meet the people, partake
in the customs and cultures of the area, and
experience its history and traditions. It’s the
final piece that gives context to all they read
and hear.
Whether it’s a visit to Petropolis, an area affected
by the February floods, a trip to the
Rio Art Museum, a visit to the iconic Sacred
Heart of Jesus statue, or a simple trip to the
grocery store, students gain confidence in
their ability to function effectively wherever
in the world their careers may take them.
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Copyright © 2011 J. Mack Robinson College of Business/Georgia State University
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