In This Issue
“Going global” is no longer an option; it is essential. For today’s - and tomorrow’s - companies to thrive, they must do business around the world.
In international business, executives and managers must have the knowledge, vision and agility to capitalize on rapidly changing markets and technology, to respond to sophisticated customers who demand quality and service at global standards, and to inspire strategic thinking and action in employees who seek stability and may fear change.
In Northeast Ohio, communities depend on the success of companies based here.
The Baldwin-Wallace College International MBA program, our Executive Enrichment program, B-W Corporate Partnerships and the Kamm and Spahr Lecture Series can help prepare current and future executives and business leaders for the rapidly changing global marketplace of today and tomorrow.
In this issue of “Business&Economy@B-W,” we’ll explore some of the ways that Baldwin-Wallace ensures that its programs are relevant and responsive to area corporations that want to thrive, and some of the ways
B-W contributes to Northeast Ohio’s regional economy by providing a solid grounding in the fundamentals of international business for students and business managers.
We’ll take a look at the 20-year history of our International MBA program, as told by founding director Earl Peck and current director Mac Watson. We’ll also hear from some alumni of this program, including Jason Huo, a December 2003 graduate just starting a new career with the Ohio-based company that makes Smucker’s jams and jellies.
Robert R. Ebert, Ph.D., B-W’s Buckhorn Professor of Economics, will explore a timely international issue: “Dollars and Chinese Yuan: Prudent Exchange Rate Policy or Financial Protectionism?”
We’ll examine recent Executive Enrichment workshops dealing with globalization, and hear from two of our corporate partners about how these programs really do enrich their managers.
We’ll get a taste of the new textbook, International Logistics, by B-W Professor Pierre David, Ph.D.
A special recognition goes to a current MBA student, Elissa Katz, for receiving the 2003-2004 Rainmaker Scholarship from Northern Ohio Live magazine.
We’ll review last fall’s Kamm and Spahr Lecture Series event that featured local business leaders in a panel discussion of how four locally based companies are “Competing in a Global Society.” We’d like to again say thank-you to those who participated: Andy Banks, Chairman and CEO of Mid-America, a consulting firm specializing in e-commerce; Christopher Connor, Chairman and CEO of Sherwin-Williams Co., whose paints “cover the globe”; Curtis Moll, Chairman and CEO of MTD Products, Inc., whose lawnmowers battle international competitors for space on the sales floor at Home Depot and Wal-Mart, and Rosalind Thompson, Executive Vice President of Human Resources for Jo-Ann Stores, Inc., which in a relatively short time has developed a sourcing strategy that sends buyers around the globe.
We hope these articles will illuminate your understanding of the vitality and viability of global business, and of how we study global business here at Baldwin-Wallace College.
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