Have Skills Will Travel
Going abroad for a job can be a daunting experience. But for some McCombs alumni it is a can't-miss opportunity. Living and working in a foreign culture, they learn new ideas, change old perceptions and gain a refined international perspective–key advantages in the global business arena.
by Pam Losefsky 1 |
2
Living and working in the German state of Bavaria, Jill
Reilly, BBA ’97, has discovered as many similarities in
American and German cultures as there are differences. “Bavaria
was once a very proud kingdom and is today part of a powerful
nation. But Bavarians still wish they could secede and once
again be independent. Doesn’t that sound familiar?” asks
the native Texan.
In the Chinese city of Shanghai, Bob Faber, MBA ’96, finds fewer cultural similarities, but has hung up any preconceived notions. “The most important attitude to have is that things in your host country are not right or wrong—they are just different,” he says. “And there are always many paths to the end goal.”
Reilly and Faber are expatriates—just two of the three to six million Americans (or up to 2 percent of the United States population) who live abroad at any given time—and they are among a growing number of McCombs alumni who are packing up their home-grown business skills and following opportunity to the far reaches of the world.
For some alums, travel and adventure are in their blood. They grew up in multicultural families, or they have an innate facility with languages, or their parents held overseas posts and moved their families from one country to another. For others, it was a seminal moment in college or a newfound friendship with an international student that awakened a dormant wanderlust or keen interest in another culture.
One thing remains true regardless of the origin: Those who have traveled extensively and worked abroad agree that the experience changed the trajectory of their careers and lives.
Johnny-Come-Latelies
Americans in general, though, have come late to the party. Whether because of our relative geographic isolation or overwrought nationalism, Americans have been far less traveled and less interested in other cultures than the rest of the developed world. But as the world grows increasingly interconnected, that is slowly changing.
In the past 15 years, the number of college students studying abroad—often an American’s first international experience—has risen by more than 145 percent, according to the Institute of International Education, and continues to trend upward. And a large number of those travelers are business students.
“At some very forward-looking business schools, an international component is increasingly becoming a requirement,” says Leah Miller, director of BBA international programs at the McCombs School. “This is because of a general awareness that there is no way you can do business today without some kind of global component—and business students are more aware of this fact than students in general.”
Collegiate and graduate school experiences often plant the seed for international careers. Students learn the world doesn’t end at the borders of the U.S. Vast opportunities exist beyond our shores, and students discover they are capable of surviving and adapting to—and, yes, even enjoying—other cultures.
John Doggett, senior lecturer in management and an expert in emerging markets, recently returned from his third trip to China with a group of MBA students in the Global Connections program. He believes that even today, Americans are clueless about how much the world has changed in the last two decades.
“We’re in a cocoon, we’re complacent,” he says. “What I tell students is that they need to be ready—not to be threatened—but they need to take advantage of all the opportunity that’s out there.” As a case in point, he notes that the Chinese middle class is tremendous and growing by 20 million people every year. “Wal-Mart, Ikea, Dell, you name it—these companies are in China because that’s where the markets are.”
Bob Faber is one who heard the siren call of opportunity in China and relocated to Shanghai with Dell. He’s been there for about four years.
“UT provided a very balanced global curriculum and set of experiences designed to give students a global perspective,” he says. The class that most stands out for him is Doggett’s “Managing and Marketing in the Global Arena” course. “He really challenged many students’ U.S.-centric perspectives, which was very eye-opening,” Faber says.
Faber expects his position to benefit him well into the future, whether he remains overseas or returns to the States. “This assignment has given me a global perspective that I could not get otherwise,” he says. “It also has helped in directly understanding what it takes to have a team function globally.”
Navigating interpersonal relationships, whether at work or in one’s adopted community, can be at once the biggest challenge and the most rewarding part of living in a different culture, Faber believes. “It has made me realize the importance of relationships, both professionally and personally,” he says. “They are something you must give time to cultivate and then nurture going forward. If you are willing to do this, the dividends can be tremendous.”
When in Rome...
It didn’t take a collegiate study abroad experience to convince William Foley, BBA ’99, that the world is a big and diverse place, although college trips to the United Kingdom and Thailand probably cemented the impression.
Foley is an African-American whose immediate family includes adoptive Caucasian parents with six natural children and an adopted Hispanic daughter. “My parents were in the Peace Corps, and we were all educated to appreciate foreign cultures and instilled with the desire to explore the world,” he says. “I guess you could say it was a lifelong educational process that has served me well in my current capacity and location.” Foley lives in Tokyo and is married to a Japanese woman he met in Bangkok in 1998; the couple has two children.
Foley works for an executive search firm called the Ingenium Group. “I believe one of the biggest benefits living abroad has taught me is empathy, and this has served me well in business,” he says. “I don’t have to always like my counterpart’s point of view, but I need to at least understand where he or she is coming from.”
In the Chinese city of Shanghai, Bob Faber, MBA ’96, finds fewer cultural similarities, but has hung up any preconceived notions. “The most important attitude to have is that things in your host country are not right or wrong—they are just different,” he says. “And there are always many paths to the end goal.”
Reilly and Faber are expatriates—just two of the three to six million Americans (or up to 2 percent of the United States population) who live abroad at any given time—and they are among a growing number of McCombs alumni who are packing up their home-grown business skills and following opportunity to the far reaches of the world.
For some alums, travel and adventure are in their blood. They grew up in multicultural families, or they have an innate facility with languages, or their parents held overseas posts and moved their families from one country to another. For others, it was a seminal moment in college or a newfound friendship with an international student that awakened a dormant wanderlust or keen interest in another culture.
One thing remains true regardless of the origin: Those who have traveled extensively and worked abroad agree that the experience changed the trajectory of their careers and lives.
Johnny-Come-Latelies
Americans in general, though, have come late to the party. Whether because of our relative geographic isolation or overwrought nationalism, Americans have been far less traveled and less interested in other cultures than the rest of the developed world. But as the world grows increasingly interconnected, that is slowly changing.
In the past 15 years, the number of college students studying abroad—often an American’s first international experience—has risen by more than 145 percent, according to the Institute of International Education, and continues to trend upward. And a large number of those travelers are business students.
“At some very forward-looking business schools, an international component is increasingly becoming a requirement,” says Leah Miller, director of BBA international programs at the McCombs School. “This is because of a general awareness that there is no way you can do business today without some kind of global component—and business students are more aware of this fact than students in general.”
Collegiate and graduate school experiences often plant the seed for international careers. Students learn the world doesn’t end at the borders of the U.S. Vast opportunities exist beyond our shores, and students discover they are capable of surviving and adapting to—and, yes, even enjoying—other cultures.
John Doggett, senior lecturer in management and an expert in emerging markets, recently returned from his third trip to China with a group of MBA students in the Global Connections program. He believes that even today, Americans are clueless about how much the world has changed in the last two decades.
“We’re in a cocoon, we’re complacent,” he says. “What I tell students is that they need to be ready—not to be threatened—but they need to take advantage of all the opportunity that’s out there.” As a case in point, he notes that the Chinese middle class is tremendous and growing by 20 million people every year. “Wal-Mart, Ikea, Dell, you name it—these companies are in China because that’s where the markets are.”
Bob Faber is one who heard the siren call of opportunity in China and relocated to Shanghai with Dell. He’s been there for about four years.
“UT provided a very balanced global curriculum and set of experiences designed to give students a global perspective,” he says. The class that most stands out for him is Doggett’s “Managing and Marketing in the Global Arena” course. “He really challenged many students’ U.S.-centric perspectives, which was very eye-opening,” Faber says.
Faber expects his position to benefit him well into the future, whether he remains overseas or returns to the States. “This assignment has given me a global perspective that I could not get otherwise,” he says. “It also has helped in directly understanding what it takes to have a team function globally.”
Navigating interpersonal relationships, whether at work or in one’s adopted community, can be at once the biggest challenge and the most rewarding part of living in a different culture, Faber believes. “It has made me realize the importance of relationships, both professionally and personally,” he says. “They are something you must give time to cultivate and then nurture going forward. If you are willing to do this, the dividends can be tremendous.”
When in Rome...
It didn’t take a collegiate study abroad experience to convince William Foley, BBA ’99, that the world is a big and diverse place, although college trips to the United Kingdom and Thailand probably cemented the impression.
Foley is an African-American whose immediate family includes adoptive Caucasian parents with six natural children and an adopted Hispanic daughter. “My parents were in the Peace Corps, and we were all educated to appreciate foreign cultures and instilled with the desire to explore the world,” he says. “I guess you could say it was a lifelong educational process that has served me well in my current capacity and location.” Foley lives in Tokyo and is married to a Japanese woman he met in Bangkok in 1998; the couple has two children.
Foley works for an executive search firm called the Ingenium Group. “I believe one of the biggest benefits living abroad has taught me is empathy, and this has served me well in business,” he says. “I don’t have to always like my counterpart’s point of view, but I need to at least understand where he or she is coming from.”
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