Travel Smart for MBA Trips

Many MBA students use winter break to recharge after a grueling fall semester, but some grab their passport and suitcase to learn overseas.

Business schools such as the Sloan School of Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University of Wisconsin--Madison offer one or two-week learning experiences in Africa or other continents during winter vacation. Students learn about marketing, supply chain management or other core business subjects from an international perspective. Most schools also have study abroad options in spring and summer.

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These trips can be critical for understanding cultural differences that may help a business student excel.

"I think they get to see firsthand a product that exixsts in one market and exists in this other market. At the surface it may seem that it's the same product being traded around the world, but you'll see that those cultural differences really do exist," says Sachin Tuli, a lecturer of international business at the University of Wisconsin business school.

The iPhone is an example of this, he says.

"There's different voltages for the adapter, there's different languages in the menus, there's different search engines that are a possibility. They don't use Twitter. The warranty is done differently," he says. "All these things that help bring to life these challenges for students that they may face in the business world."

During these trips, students typically meet with CEOs, participate in group projects and practice presentation skills, while also exploring a new city and learning a new language and culture.

MBA students considering a global career can use the trips to learn how business leaders outside of the U.S. think.

"You get to understand better how they view the world," says Anna Helm, a professor in the international business department at George Washington University.

Students interested in traveling overseas while in business school - for a few weeks or an entire semester - should brush up on the do's and don'ts of studying abroad. Business school professors and students who have made the trips offered the following advice.

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Do your research: Tuli has traveled to India, Dubai and China, among other places, with students. One thing he often hears them say after a trip is, "I should have done more prep."

"The best thing students can do before these trips is spend time on their own researching," he says. Experts suggest students find out about their host country's cultural norms and business practices before the trip.

Tuli encourages students to find out if their schools subscribe to political risk reports, which he says is a common practice. These analyses describe a country's political and economic landscape and can be found in publications such as Business Monitor International or through companies such as The PRS Group, he says.

To become more aware of the culture, Helm of George Washington encourages students to read a book or watch movies from the host country. Tuli suggests students read websites such as CountryWatch or Global Road Warrior to learn about etiquette and other differences.

Research doesn't stop with customs and culture. Researching the companies and business opportunities available before travel can help a student's career.

"Understand your passion," says Marcos Ortiz, a graduate of the Sloan School of Management at MIT.

Ortiz, who works in marketing at Procter & Gamble Co., went to Kenya during winter break of his second year of business school. He had the opportunity to work in telecommunications, but consulting for the owner of several pharmacies in Nairobi was more in line with his interests, he says.

"I picked something that was closer to what I wanted," he said. "The work became very applicable to the kind of stuff that I'm doing right now."

Do be aware of how you're perceived: Students should be aware that while traveling they are giving an impression of what people are like from their country, experts say.

"They should be careful and be aware that they are basically diplomats of their country of origin," says Helm. "They're basically there representing their university."

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Don't ignore the native language: English is referred to as the universal language for business, but when on a business trip it's good to know a few phrases in the host country's language.

"Just to know the basics of the language is so important," says Linsey Wisor, a business school student at the Haub School of Business at St. Joseph's University who studied abroad in Barcelona. Knowing how to say please and thank you can help locals respect you as a tourist, she says.

Connecting with locals can be key for making the most of your experience, says Tuli. He encourages students not to have too much scheduled time and to immerse themselves in the environment.

"The greater purpose there is to really connect with the culture," he says.

Don't expect these trips to be inexpensive: While in Barcelona during spring break, Wisor learned about supply chain management and met with executives at Ritz-Carlton, among other companies. The almost two-week excursion cost her about $5,000.

Because she didn't have the chance to study abroad in college, she came into b-school having planned for an overseas trip.

"Knowing that I wanted to do a study tour I saved money for it," she says.

Ortiz encourages students studying abroad to make sure they have a job lined up in the U.S. before leaving. Knowing that you'll soon have an income to help pay off any debt from traveling can help with financial planning, he says. His trip to Nairobi was the precursor for a semester-long study abroad trip in Barcelona.

"Watch your budget," he says. Although, he says, these experiences can be once in a lifetime, he admits they are costly.

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